Kyler Plays Basketball

During the month of January, Kyler was able to play on his first sports team! There was a local basketball league for the elementary kids, and it was a lot of fun! We were going to let him play t-ball or something while we lived in Lubbock, but it was really expensive (like $125, ridiculous). So he never played. I was shocked when they told us the basketball league cost $10 and that included the t-shirt!! Wow! We did have to pay $1 to get in every game, but that didn't break the bank either! Kenney volunteered to coach his team as long as no one else could do it. Well of course they picked Kenney. He was the coach for the kindergarten and first grade purple team! We were really surprised that Kenney was the only male coach, not that there is anything wrong with that,  we just thought there would be more dads involved. I think it was safe to say that the kids had more fun than Kenney, but it was fun for him too! Kyler liked the first practice, but after the first game he didn't like it because he couldn't shoot without being blocked. Welcome to real basketball Kyler! You are no longer the biggest, playing against your two little brothers!! Haha! Towards the end of the season he started to have a lot more fun with it.

During the first couple games, Kyler pretty much avoided everyone on the court. He didn't want anyone to touch him, and he sure wasn't going to touch anyone else! He was without a doubt, the first one back when the ball changed possessions. He was definitely one of the fastest kids out there every game!! He didn't get the ball very much even though he was one of the better shooters. By the last game, I was afraid he might not get a chance to make a basket. However, during his last turn on the court he made a shot!!! I was so excited for him!! He didn't show much emotion, but he was really happy!! He also kinda played defense during the last game. He at least got close enough to touch people!! Next year it should be really fun to watch Kyler and Damon play together!!

PS~ These pictures are not very good. I was trying to control two crazy little boys dying to play basketball and holding a baby, so my picture taking really suffered!!

Not unusual to catch him alone without anyone else around!

Notice where the ball is and where all the other kids are looking... except Kyler!!!

During Kyler's first game he got blocked while taking his first shot, as seen here.  It made him pretty hesitant to get close to all the other players after that.  Eventually he got comfortable enough to shoot again!

First one back and no clue where the ball is!

I got super excited when this happened.  Kyler got the ball on a fast break and was alone dribbling the ball.  He can run faster than he can dribble so the ball got behind him, but he did shoot a basket all alone.  I was bummed when he didn't make it, but he just got too excited and nervous at the same time, so he didn't shoot his best shot!

Warming up before a game.

These kindergarten and first graders were so much fun to watch. They were clueless to pretty much everything going on, but they all had so much fun!!

Kenney did a great job coaching!  All the kids loved him, and he made it fun for all of them.  It was impressive how much better the team got as the month progressed!

I told Kyler to get with one of his friends after the last game to get a picture.  He just stepped slightly closer to the kid next to him, whom he hardly knows, and faked a smile.  This is Kyler and TJ.

The team picture.  Kyler really wasn't as small as he looks in this picture.  The first graders were definitely bigger, so it will be fun to watch next year!

This is the beginning of the first game. Our team, which really wasn't very good, was playing the best team! Our kids still hadn't figured out how to throw the ball in or learned to not steal it from one another! Towards the middle of the month we had kids doing "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to pick which kid to throw the ball to. It was quite funny, but the beginning of the season was a little embarrassing because the kids seemed so clueless. Kenney was trying to explain and yell so the kids could hear him, but they didn't listen very well. They were just too excited which made it even more comical.

This video is the best because in the background you can hear Radley and Damon yelling, "Go Kyler!" You can especially hear Radley yelling, but Damon is Kyler's biggest fan. He would get excited when anyone made a shot, but even in warm-up, if Kyler made a basket Damon was the first to yell and get excited for him!

This is just one of the many times Kyler would just run as fast as he could to get back. It was so funny to watch. If there was a fast break Kyler could always catch up to the kid with the ball, but he never played much defense once he caught up! We can always teach defense, but we can't teach speed, right?!?