Congratulations, Class of 2009

Photo Courtesy of Jess Choi

It was a very emotional last night for the graduating Class of 2009 as they said their goodbyes as a class officially for the last time.

This marks the third straight year I have attended the graduation dinner dance and I saw something that I had never seen before -- in addition to the new dance moves by several of the graduates.

At the end of the dance, they formed a circle, linked arms around each other for a very special last moment. It was a very nice and fitting way to close out the night.

Of the graduating classes in the last few years, I think this is probably the closest of any of the classes I have been around. No knock on any of the other classes, but from top to bottom, this is a very closely knit group.

When you graduate, the thing everyone says is, "Don't worry, we'll have a reunion soon." Well, guess what? It's been 10 years since my class at St. Mary's graduated and we haven't had one.

But when this class says it, I truly believe it. The tears last night were from the heart and not forced. And it won't really hit until Monday when you walk by the 8th grade class room, only to find it empty.

Congratulations to all of the graduates for their hard work and we all wish them the best of luck in high school and in the future. We will miss you all.

And FYI...their last song was this...(my new favorite)

Graduation weekend continues

The 8th graders officially will say goodbye tonight, at the end of their graduation dinner dance tonight.

The big question going into tonight is who will be the first person to cry?

When I graduated 10 years ago, HOLY POOP ON A STICK...our entire class cried except for two people. Wonder who those two people are...

It'll be sure to be an emotional night. And if you aren't at the dinner, tune into the Stanley Cup Finals, Game 5 -- HUGE GAME.

NBC @ 5 p.m. The winner will take a (3-2) series lead.

For today, enjoy this video made by James that chronicled the 8th grade day at Track and Field last Saturday.

Graduation!!!

What a great finals game last night and I'm not talking about the NBA one. How does a Finals game turn into a 25-point blowout? Good grief...

Anyways, while you all were drooling over Jameer Nelson and Kobe Bryant, I watched a fantastic hockey game.

Check out this goal as I prepare for graduation.

Graduation Eve

It is graduation eve and above is a picture that Sophia drew of the 8th grade girls team. You can try to figure out who is who.

A few things to cover since this has been 8th grade week and I haven't been able to keep people abreast of what is happening.

UNIFORMS
Bring them back if you haven't already!!!

FINALS TONIGHT
Everyone is excited about the NBA Finals tonight, but not me. I am more excited about the Stanley Cup Finals and I will watch that over basketball any day.

But I will continue to offer my expert analysis and predictions for the NBA Finals. So far, I am 100% right on my picks so far.

Laker vs Magic
I am rooting for the Magic so I think my opinion may be a bit skewed. I think Dwight Howard is too much for the soft Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol inside. I haven't watched that much of the NBA playoffs but I don't recall hearing much about Andrew Bynum. The guy has been pretty quiet.

I think Superman dominates inside and the Magic continue to hit the 3-ball. Mickael Pietrus has done a good job this playoff season defending the likes of Lebron and he will now have to do the same with Kobe Bryant. It wouldn't shock me if the Lakers won, but...

PREDICTION: Magic in 6.

The Lakers, who decide to play on some nights, will finally catch up to them and they lose in the finals for the second straight year.

EVALUATION SURVEYS
Today, end of the year surveys on the entire program as well as individual coaches were passed out. Please take the time to fill those out as they are very important in the evaluation process. Return them no later than next Wednesday.

The 8th grade boys

By Coach Philip Choi

The goal for this year, as it was the past years, was to make it to the playoffs. The question during pre-season was how I was going to integrate the four players who have been playing since 3rd grade with 3 players who only started playing last year. I reviewed every player and came to the conclusion that we were not a fast team, we were not a tall team, we were not a winning team; based on the fact that we never made the playoffs.

What we did have was players with different skills, some are good shooters, some good passers, some good rebounders, and some good defenders. So to win we would have to play as a unit, a team. No one on the team was responsible for one duty. Everyone was responsible for every duty. I knew the players really wanted to win and during pre-season I witnessed that when they were down by ten in the fourth quarter and came back to take the lead only to lose it in overtime. Perry had a four point play, hitting a three and being fouled. He had his best quarter ever.

At the start of the season, I saw that the skill level of this team had improved from the past year, three players stood out. Nicholas was hitting his shots and a lot of them early in the games and were three pointers. Elton was blocking shots and getting offensive rebounds and getting put backs. Perry was leading the defense and hitting shots.

Even more important was the contributions of the other four players on the team. Kevin was mainly at point and moved the ball around beautifully. Jon played great defense and hit a few three’s. Greg had a couple sweet drives to the basket. Simon was doing the dirty work, rebounding and getting the garbage baskets.

The team had some great quarters and some bad quarters. The bad quarters, the team would miss all their shots and not even score, but the good quarters, they were hitting a high percentage, scoring 17 points during one quarter. Even the opposing coach said to me, “I have never seen a team shoot like that”.

The team ended the season 5-3 and finally reached the playoffs for the first time. In the past, this team had a lot of adversity to play through and they did that and improved themselves along the way. During the playoffs they had to play the number one seed and did not get pass them. But that does not take away the season they had, one that they can be proud about. They played together as a team, they won as a team and they lost as a team. They never blamed each other for missing shots or playing bad defense but I saw the opposite, they were encouraging each other and supporting each other, which is the meaning teammates.

On a personal note, I wish them all the best in high school and success for the future. I know that they will take with them memories for a life time as I have. It has been my pleasure coaching these boys and seeing them grow into young men.

My St. Mary's Career

By Olivia

It might only be Bryan’s second year as athletic director at St. Mary’s, but he has been an amazing one at that, bringing in new sports for the school. I now don’t only have basketball to play here at St. Mary’s, but basketball, volleyball, and baseball. Without Bryan, I probably wouldn’t have that extra push to embark on these new adventures.

As I graduate and leave for high school in Minnesota this fall, I will always remember all the sports I played at St. Mary’s.

This is my first year playing volleyball and I’ll always remember those silly times my friends and I had at practice with our coach King. We’ve had our rough times, where he would make us run a ton, but we’ve also had our funny moments like when we broke his flip-flops, or when Shari blasted the volleyball over the fence at Helen Wills.

One memory I will remember forever is winning our last game of the season. I remember it went into the third set and the pressure was on. I was probably one of the least consistent servers on the team and it was up to me to serve the ball over the net-- not under, or into it.

I think at that moment, I realized I couldn’t let the pressure get to me. I ended up serving all the balls over, and we won the last set 15-9. But I couldn’t have done it without the support of my whole team.

Because I learned a new sport in volleyball, I now play club volleyball. I would’ve never had the opportunity to play volleyball if I didn’t try something new. So, if Bryan ever asks you to play a sport. PLAY IT! You’ll never know what potential you have in that sport until you try. It might also be harder to start a sport as you get older, so start young.

Volleyball might be a new sport this year, but another new sport that came before that was baseball. Everyone might think baseball is a sport for boys, but NO! A girl can do anything just as good as a boy can. I might be one of the few girls out there willing to play baseball, but baseball is such a fun sport and I really hope more people would play. I started playing baseball in seventh grade, with one other girl—Sophia. We both had a great time just being out there with all of our friends.

Last year, I was probably one of the worst players out there because I was always afraid of the ball. I would always be like “OMG the balls going to hit me!” Even if the ball was like a million miles away! But this year as an eighth grader, I found baseball to be ten times better! I went from being an outfielder, to now being short-stop, second base, or even pitcher (even though I’m the worst pitcher, it’s still fun :). Last year I couldn’t even hit a ball, and this year I batted fifth in the line up. Baseball is really a sport anyone can play and it isn’t just for boys. Girls can have a blast out there, too!

At the same time I played baseball, I also continued to play the sport I was most familiar with – basketball. For the eighth grade girls, some of us have played basketball since third grade, but for some others, it was only their second year. We’ve won championships in third grade and in fifth grade. But the weirdest thing from those victories, I don’t even remember playing those games.

Last year, we had three new coaches, Matt, James and Alex. The three of them would yell and scream at us, but they would always have their reasons. We were 7th grade girls when they took us in and they didn’t know us very well. But they still did everything they could to try to make the season successful. They were such remarkable coaches.

We went from a disastrous 2-6 season in 7th grade, to being the eighth grade girls division five runner-ups. Not only has Bryan been an amazing AD these past two years, but he was an amazing coach this year. I wish we had all our coaches for most than just a year or two.

We had those times at practices where we couldn’t stop laughing or the times out of basketball when we were just chilling at those Warriors’ games goofing around with each other. I think we’ve grown so much as a team that it will be hard say goodbye to all my teammates and my coaches.

I will always remember what they’ve taught me and those moments where I/we would go crazy. They would always call me loud or crazy or all those things but it was always for a reason. I love them and I’ll miss then so much next year.

Playing sports is so much fun and you never know what potential you have until you go out and do it! It can give you so much more confidence in your abilities. And just being there with friends makes it all that much better. Remember, if you are only playing basketball, try something new like baseball or soccer or volleyball. You’ll never know what can happen unless you take the chance of trying something new.

As I leave St. Mary's, some of the things that will stick out most is my time playing sports. Playing basketball since 3rd grade and making it to championships three times, and bringing home the championship title twice. Playing baseball for two years and making it to playoffs the second year. Playing volleyball for the first year, being team captain, and playing in the CYO all-star achievement games.

Without sports I probably wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thank you to all my coaches, teammates, parents and everyone who made my time at St. Mary’s so much fun. I will miss you all.

The 8th grade girls

By Coach James Chiu

When I was younger my uncle used to tell me to play more basketball because it would make me taller. Well, I’m probably not going to get much taller, but I’m pretty glad I decided to stick with basketball.

I’ve spent a good portion of my life on the court running, sweating, shooting and doing everything to expand on the facets that make a good basketball player. But, never have I had the opportunity to take on the position of a coach until January of 2008.

It was a change going from player to coach, but as a team of three, Alex, Matt and I took this transition in stride. Since, we were all inexperienced we took the challenge and kept an open dialogue, working together with the motivation of helping our team of 7th grade girls learn the game of basketball.

This task proved to be a learning experience for all of us as our first season fell short of our expectations. Although we saw great improvements in the skills of our girls, a good start switched over to a series of tough losses that brought our high hopes back down to reality, finishing with an overall record of 3-8 (tournament and regular season).

With a new season, the addition of a new veteran coach in the great Bryan Cheung, and an extra year of experience under their belts, these girls came back with a mission. Through the added direction of Bryan, we pushed this team to learn from their mistakes and surpass the players they were the day before. Working hard every practice, through repetition and willpower these girls showed us not only how much they enjoyed playing the game, but also their competitive spirit in pursuit of success.

The biggest question was whether these girls could perform when it mattered, in game situations. Throughout the season, I saw a lot of sloppy plays, mostly from inexperience and bad habits. But, as we progressed I saw continual improvement. Whether it was making more lay-ups, grabbing rebounds, playing better defense or making plays when it counted, these girls were able to step up and earn their overall 10-3 record.

Although we fell short in championships, this game did not define our season. This 8th grade squad fought valiantly to come back from a flat start. Showing the grit and determination that true champions are made of. All in all, I want these girls to remember the path they took to reach their goals. Remembering the work they put in, the relationships they’ve carved and the motivation necessary to become great at something they really enjoy.

For this class of girls, I hope nothing but the best, and that they never become satisfied with mediocrity. Continue to set goals, aim high and have fun on the way to the top.

I am truly thankful to have had the opportunity to coach this graduating class of 8th grade girls. I will always remember not just the games, but all the great times at practices and events. From game winning shots, to surprising performances, to simple things like somehow being crossed by Olivia in practice or blocked by Shari (of course I got them back), these moments are the substances that have made my time with these girls one I will cherish for years to come.