Winter sucks….especially for picture-taking. Dark gloomy indoor facilities for soccer, dark gyms….low camera angles. Not a good combination for anything half decent…and we’ve tried!
This weekend worked about better for a variety of reasons. So, there are a lot of pictures in this post! But, first!
Kevin/Dad: Kevin won his first match, 15-12, 15-5, 15-3. Dad lost 14-15, 15-9, 5-15….played some 20-something and I just didn’t have the stamina to keep up with him at the end. Oh well.
Cpher: Finally won two back-to-back games; beat Holt 49-45, beat Eaton Rapids 45-40.
Thought the kid really played well in the first game even though his shots didn’t go in. I think universally, coaches and parents, thought Cpher had the best game of the year in the second game, against Eaton Rapids.
The first game, against Holt, had quite an ending. We were down by four with about 50 seconds to go. There was a big scrum for the ball, Holt ended up getting it and one of their coaches called a time out, hoping to keep possession before we could steal it back.
That was a mistake….they didn’t have any more time outs. The other Holt coach was yelling at the one coach; pretty ugly. They get a technical; we get two free throws and the ball. Make one of two, and then make a three-pointer to tie it up. We press and steal the ball and score and then they have to foul us and we win by four in the end.
Thought the boy did well on defense; gathered a lot of rebounds and did what he needed to do against Holt’s big guys.
Having games at Holt High School sucks….and that’s too bad. It’s the newest high school in the area and it looks great…and I’m sure the gym is awesome for high school games. But, when you are trying to fit two games on the court it sucks….there is no room on the gym floor for seats or the stands to be pulled out. So everyone is up on the balcony, and if you sit in the chairs you have to watch through the fence or stand.
The bright side is that you are up high and can see the game differently. Following the usual deal, I taped the first game and plan to go back and pull out all of the Cpher moments. Took pictures in the second game…most pictures are when the players are on the side of the gym away from us but I did take a few of Cpher as he was down on our end…I’m probably shooting down at him at about a 45 degree angle for this shot.
And this one, as he guards an inbound pass.
Had seven points; this is two of them. A rebound and then back up for the points.
Strong on defense.
Strong on defense!! Cpher and I had to laugh, we are trying to figure out what Eli is doing there on the far right….
This is the play Cpher talked about as we left the gym….”Dad, I was over the line on one of the inbounds plays”. Not a big deal…..especially since….
the other crappy thing about the Holt gym is that the lines for the ‘other’ courts are this pale green that you can see under Cpher in this photo. Another of Cpher’s baskets.
I have no pictures of his finest offensive moment, it happened on this end on the other side of the basket. But there was a shot, and he had to run all the way out to the sideline to get the rebound. He didn’t hesitate, he dribbled in, posted up, blocked the defender out, and scored. Maybe the most I’ve seen him move offensively. Had a chance on a fast break today too but the pass was too high and too long; made him do almost a 180 trying to catch it.
Not in good rebound position here…..but not coming over the back either. The other big guy got in foul trouble (and eventually fouled out) so Cpher was on the court a lot.
Did get this rebound.
And I was happy to see that even late in the 2nd game he was running the court well….
Late in the fourth quarter got fouled getting a rebound…we were in the bonus, so, reluctantly he went to the line.
Made the first, missed the second. A good day of basketball!
Matthew: Two games to finish off this first session of indoor soccer. Tied the first match 1-1; lost the second 2-0.
These indoor games, for the first time ever, are at the Eastern Michigan University Dome. It’s the dome for the football team, so, you can see the football lines in all of these pictures. But it’s bright, and very nice. The field is huge…the biggest soccer pitch that we’ve played on yet! Wish he had more games here!
There seems to be some club-edict that we wear white in indoors. Not a fan, have never been a fan, of all whites. Heck, go with blue shorts every once in a while if you want white tops.
Thought the boy played ok. Not his greatest outing, especially in the second game where he spent more time on the bench than I’ve ever seen him spend there. Had a bad pass that led to quite a breakaway…..and I need to talk with him before the next games to make sure he understands that, especially in your end, your passes need to be your teammates feet, not to a space in front of them where the other team can get them.
Always have liked these pictures from behind on free kicks….
With every indoor game I’m becoming more and more confused about what the coach wants Matthew to play; he has said, when we talk, that he sees Matthew as a center-mid but in these two games, when one of the center-mids was gone playing basketball, I expected Matthew to play there a lot and instead, after a brief stint to start game one, he was back at center back for the majority of the two games. Not sure if this is a winter thing or what….we'll see what happens I guess.
