Basketball 2012-2013

We have been done with Saturday tournaments now for almost a month.  This is the one sport that the Bleeker family really could do all-year-round!  We love to play it and we love to watch it.  It is the one sport that we all “get”.  Even the littlest member of our family has basketball running through her veins.  Seventy-five percent of her day is spent dribbling and shooting on her little hoop.  Each year there is a little sadness when all our teams are done playing, and this year was no exception.  The conclusion of Caden’s basketball season brought some extra sadness, knowing this is the last year he will be playing with his teammates, and best friends.  Caden will be making the transition to the Sioux Center Middle School next year and will have to say good-bye to many things, one of them his basketball teammates.  Our last tournament was played in Sioux Falls.  We had such a fun weekend with the kids and families that we have grown to love and appreciate over the past 7 years.  That last game was  bittersweet.  Bitter, because we are going to miss them like crazy.  Sweet, because we love them so much we will miss them like crazy.  Caden is in a class with only 13 boys.  Seven of them are very close, and have been since Kindergarten.  Those 7 boys where his teammates.  Those boys just loved to play together and it showed.  In the AAU “sports world” there can be a lot of drama.  We are so grateful we were spared from any of that (thus far). 

With only 7 players most games (two players also played hockey, so didn’t make it to most tournaments) the boys got lots of playing time.  Caden played the point guard position most of the time.  He did a really nice job taking care of the ball. 

Bryan had the privilege of coaching Caden for his first two years of basketball.  I call it a privilege, and it really was.  At first, I was a little concerned about how it would go.  Kudos to my husband who is the most competitive man I have ever met, yet by watching him on the bench you would never guess it.  Kudos to my son who can take constructive criticism and see it as his Dad wanting the best for him and his game.  It doesn’t always work out, but these two did great as a coach/son combo.  It was fun to hear the two of them re-hash games, plays, and discuss areas where Cade’s game needs improvement. 

Caden’s team was notorious for keeping every game close.  Many times they were not the most athletic team on the floor and they just hung in there.  Sometimes they were very obviously the most athletic team on floor and would blow a 15 point lead.  It drove me crazy!  I am sure that there were at least 15 games that they won or lost by just one or two points.  They also played in many overtime games.  They finished the year in classic SCCS 6th grade boys fashion!  They had several chances to win the game in regulation, but a jump ball and a turn over allowed the other team to tie the game and send it into overtime.  With less than 10 seconds left in the overtime, Caden ended up getting a steal and layup to finish the game off.  It was a great end to a great season! 

Celebrating a great bunch of boy and a fun win with ice cream!