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Monday, February 28, 2011

Monday Morning Quarterback - The First Win


Monday Morning Quarterback
  • One who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight
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MMQ welcomes you back after a two, or was it three week hiatus. The boys basketball season has come to a close and we open the chapter for the girls basketball season as well as the baseball season.

So let the criticizing begin.

So let's start with the 8th grade girls.

It is not going to be an easy walk through the park like it was the last year for the 8th grade girls. They jumped two divisions and will need to play their "A" game every single game. Gone are the days of 20 point blowout wins against the teams like Waldorf.

There are no easy games, as evident by their tournament the past week.

Marissa may be the best free throw shooter the school has seen in years. Without her free throws, the girls lose all three games.

And strange enough in the one game they did lose, she shot a masterful 15-for-16 at the free throw line.

They key to the girls' success this year is how well they can take care of the ball. Turnovers were prevalent in all of their games, and in two of them, they got away with turning the ball over.

There aren't that many ball handlers on this team, so the ones that do touch the ball more need to get better. And those who aren't good at it, need to get better as well.

The division is going to be quick and they will swarm the ball. Ball security is more important than anything for this team.

Now onto the 3rd/4th graders who won for the first time yesterday.

There is nothing like your first win in anything. And it's even more special when you have lost a bunch of games like this team has in the past. Win number one is something special, something you cherish, and something you remember for the rest of your life...Kind of like a piano recital...

After watching yesterday's game, it made me fat back, or flashback to the first wins for teams at St. Mary's in the last 3-4 years.

Here are the ones that are most memorable.

Year One (2007-2008)
Class of 2010 Girls, 6th Grade Basketball @ CYO Serramonte vs St. Anne's
It was a Saturday afternoon and Tianna didn't show up until the fourth quarter, and the girls hung on to win their first game ever played.

Year Two (2008-2009)
Class of 2009, 8th Grade Girls Volleyball @ Mission Dolores vs Waldorf
It was a Saturday night/late afternoon. This girls team had won two sets this year heading into their final game. It was their first year playing volleyball and the girls had won the first set. After losing the second set, I thought to myself that it was pretty cool to win three sets in your first year. Then Olivia stepped up and served 9 straight balls over for the win.

Class of 2009/10, Baseball Team @ Rossi vs Corpus Christi
St. Mary's baseball was usually on the wrong end of the 8 run rule, where mercy is applied. When a team scores 8 runs, the inning is over. On this afternoon, it was St. Mary's doing the scoring. Hit after hit after hit. And then Derek struck out the final batter. 10-6...the team's first baseball win.

Year Three (2009-2010)
Class of 2010, 8th Grade Girls Volleyball @St. Emydius vs Bayview YMCA
I wasn't at this game. I got a text in the 49ers press box and had to do a double take when I saw that the 8th grade girls had finally won a volleyball game. That win gave the girls momentum all the way to their championship appearance.

Current 5th/6th Grade Girls, 4th/5th Grade Girls Volleyball @ Good Shepherd vs Good Shepherd
Again, I wasn't at this game.This time, I got a text while standing in the Raiders Press Conference Room. I couldn't believe it. The girls actually won, and not only did they win, they did it in only two sets.

Class of 2010/2011, 7th/8th Grade Soccer @ Silver Terrace vs OLPH

The stars aligned for this game. Everything had to go right. Derek made a penalty kick and OLPH had a penalty kick go wide of the net. Justin had a chance to give the team a lead but his shot hit the goal post. But Derek's corner kick was dribbled in by Tommy and the 2-1 score held.

Current 7th Grade Boys, 6th Grade Basketball @ CYO Serramonte vs St. Cecilia
It was a Friday night and the first time that the current 7th grade boys had a team. This was before the DeMarillac invasion. It was a tight game throughout and then the boys busted the game wide open with an incredible fourth quarter. That is where The Shem made his first ever shot.

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