Good Riddance 2013/Top 10 Moments

We're hours away from the end of 2013 and for me this year could not end soon enough.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of good happened in this year and let's touch on a few of those moments, which are all covered in the Top 10 moments of 2013 video below.

For me, the rankings of the video pretty much sum up how I would order them, but that countdown just represents numbers. Each moment captured so much more than a digit.

The one obvious one is the volleyball championship. I recounted at Awards Night last year I teared up a bit when the girls had won it last year because it was the first one ever for the school, at least in my time. This year was different. Not to say either year was better, but that win on 11/11 made a statement

Win or lose, it felt like our volleyball program had finally made it. I was there with Tiff Ye when she was in 8th grade, faulting on her serves. She'll get mad that I mentioned it, but oh well...

But the point is it was like pulling teeth to get even half the girls to consistently serve the ball over the net and that was all grades.

Time and patience, and now we have back to back volleyball championships.

I don't like talking too much about individual efforts, but how can I not acknowledge how good Edwena is at volleyball. Without her, there's no way our school has even one title. It helps that she plays almost year round, but she was also a beginner when she first started playing in 4th grade. It's been five years and she's the best player we've had at St. Mary's. Even though it looks like she's made it, she'll be the first one to tell you she has a lot to work on, and that's great, because we should all strive to get better every day.

Two other girls on the team I want to recognize are Fiona and Victoria, both have played every single sport we've had to offer since 3rd grade.

In 2013, we also said goodbye to Kaela, at least from St. Mary's. In two years, Kaela won two basketball championships and is an incredibly gifted athlete. It's too bad she couldn't finish her CYO career wearing a Saints jersey.

I think one thing sports has to offer are moments, memories, special places in our hearts that we will never forget. Hopefully most of them are good, but there are also some bad, those painful losses.

Ones that will live with me forever from 2013 is the excitement and sense of accomplishment following some great moments. The 5th/6th graders making the playoffs when they were a point away from being eliminated, Justin's buzzer beater a few weeks ago, Jackie scoring a goal all come to mind right away.

Your first made basket, first base hit, first catch, first goal, first wins, a lot of you either accomplished or witnessed these moments.

And last but not least, it's been a very rough year for me and I wanted to thank all of you who have provided a temporary distraction or relief. That's the great thing about athletics, it is an escape and a world you can live in where the worst thing that could happen is you lose a game.

It's no secret that even this sports program is not what it used to be in terms of participation and excitement. Every now and then I get asked how come I don't do Epic Video anymore? Honestly, I feel the energy and enthusiasm as a whole is not there anymore.

I don't want to sound needy or upset, although I may be a bit of both, but even video hits are far down from what they were before. I looked back at the video from 2010 documenting the best moments and it had 250 views. This one below will be lucky to get 100.

Maybe we take things for granted, or maybe highlights of games or blogs or Warriors games aren't good enough anymore because it's all been done. I still feel like our program has so much more to offer. What other school has video highlights???

I may not have as much time as I once did, but if I sense the energy and excitement, I'd be a little more inclined to do more.

There are those who are dedicated to this program and I thank you for that, but those numbers are dwindling unfortunately. I remember walking into classrooms back from 2008-2011 and I'd get a round of applause every time I entered a classroom. Sometimes now, it's like I'm not even there.

Maybe it's time I stop reliving the glory days and accept the fact that it's not 2011 anymore.

So for you who continues to come back here, daily, or even every few days, maybe spread the word around a little more to other people.

Thank you to all of you for your support and Happy New Year.

And in the words of Counting Crow, "Maybe this year will be better than the last..."

Merry Christmas...

And a day...

So what did you eat? Send me your pictures!!!

Farewell to Candlestick

Somehow, someway, the 8th grade wins

The 8th grade boys played to their billing, “The best bad team out there.”

No matter how painful it is to watch them play, the 8th graders more often than not find ways to win, and they did exactly that Friday night in a playoff rematch, pulling out a last second win 23-21 in overtime.

They had the ball with a 21-19 lead with 30 seconds left. The plan was to run out the clock, but Garrick decided to lob an across the body pass towards Raymond, which was picked off by the other team. They took it down and scored on a lay-up to tie the game at 21-21.

With about 15 seconds left, the 8th grade elected not to call timeout and see what could happen. Raymond took it down the floor, and the ball was tipped into the backcourt. The referee inadvertently blew his whistle so the 8th grade had 8.5 seconds left on the clock.

With Raymomd being blanketed, Garrick inbounded the ball to Ryan at the top of the key. Auti got away from the man who was guarding him and got open. Ryan then bounced it nicely to Auti who had a clear lane to the basket.

He took a dribble, stepped to the basket and hit the game winner with just a few seconds left to give the 8th graders their second victory of the season.

It was a game that honestly neither team deserved to win. Both teams were sloppy, didn’t play good defense and at times looked uninterested.

But since ties aren’t allowed in grades six and up, somebody had to win the game.

Garrick and Raymond were both extremely good from the free throw line. Without their poise at the stripe, they would not win the game.

On the contrary, Thomas was 0-for-9, and missed six in the latter stages of the 4th quarter and overtime.

He had a chance to win the game in regulation but clanked both his shots with a little over 10 seconds to go in the fourth.

Raymond hit a 3 pointer early in the 2nd quarter to give the 8th grade (2-1) a 9-2 lead. It looked like they had a chance to pull away and turn the game into a blowout.

But the other team kept it close, making it a 9-6 game at halftime.

What plagues the 8th grade from winning in good fashion is their problems right now are the same problems they had in 5th grade, if not earlier. They play the same style of basketball, except they weigh more and are a few inches taller.

It equates somewhat to football on a basketball court.

There are a lot of strong young men on this team, but they have absolutely no fundamentals. They can’t dribble correctly, pivot, and don’t even have a decent shooting form.

But what they do have is heart and toughness, which explains why they find ways to win games. Almost every player on the team is willing to dive on the floor and play physical to get the job done. Teams do not like playing against the 8th grade, as evident by most of the post game hand shakes.

The 8th grade makes the teams they play uncomfortable, which throws their opponent off their game.

But the basics of basketball for most of the players on the team is so flawed that sooner or later, it’s going to be tough to overcome.

They’ll have all winter break to see if they can figure out a solution.

Too many turnovers lead to 7th/8th grade loss

As Mrs Yu once yelled, "Take care of the ball!"

The 7th/8th graders apparently either never watched that highlight or have neglected it.

In a game where turnovers outnumbered points, the 7th/8th grade lost 16-13 for the first time in the regular season.

Edzon, the team's leading scorer, was held to just one point, a free throw in the second half.

It was a sloppy game throughout, full of bad passes, lack of communication and just bad overall awareness.

Even when Jackie scored his first points ever, it was off of a broken play.

Benjiman, like Jackie, who is playing in his first year, spun wildly out of control and just chucked the ball in desperation towards the basket, hoping it would find someone in a red jersey.

Luckily, Jackie was standing right there and his lay-up made it a 9-8 game.

Then Matthew scored on a shot from the lane to give the 7th/8th graders a brief 10-9 lead. The other team then hit a jump shot the other way and never looked back.

Offensively, there was just no rhythm. For the bulk of the second half, the 7th/8th grade (2-1) broke the other team's press in the backcourt and in jailbreak style, rushed down the court and lost the ball.

They actually had several fast breaks where they had the numbers, but the person dribbling the ball kept his head down, never to look up, and eventually forced up a shot or threw the ball away.

The lack of basketball IQ is really hurting the team right now, as many of them rush when they don't have to do so. And with Edzon struggling to score points, the supporting cast did not do a good job of picking up their teammate.

At the end of the game, they also were unable to get the ball back or foul in the last 40 seconds or so as the other team ran out the clock as time expired.

Friday Night Recap: Two brutal games

It was not a pretty sight at either of the 8th grade games Friday night.

First, the 8th grade had to count on an Auti layup with less than 10 seconds to go, just to win 23-21 in overtime.

Then the 7th/8th graders were dealt their first loss of the year, 16-13.

Both games were extremely sloppy and left you wanting to pull your hair out.

More to come later.

7th grade moves above .500 before break

This time there was no need for any late game heroics, as the 7th grade won easily 42-29 Thursday night to improve to (2-1).

The game wasn't as close as the score would indicate as the boys had control of the game even before the tip.

Jonathan hit two technical free throws because the other team did not have an official scorebook, a new CYO rule this season.

After hitting the two free throws, Jonathan took the ball off the tip and scored a lay-up to quickly make it 4-0.

Barely two minutes into the game, it was 8-0 thanks to two Jason Lei lay-ups.

It was a good shooting night for Jonathan who has been a little rusty from the outside for his standards. He hit two 3 pointers and another outside shot and had a game high 18 points. He was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Allen also had the biggest game he's had offensively and scored 5 points.

Their opponent played a decent game but was nowhere near the caliber of teams the 7th grade faced in games one and two. After the first few minutes, it was pretty much expected the boys would come out on top and they played that way.

They weren't as dialed in and really didn't give it their max effort for portions of the second half because they knew what the end result would be.

It's good they can win comfortable without giving it their all but it's also a little dangerous to fall into traps like that, because bad habits can develop and could become hard to break.

All of the lights

These aren't just highlights, it's a full show. Enjoy...

Monday Morning Quarterback

A brief quick look at each team and what they can improve on for the near future.

3RD/4TH GRADE
More game experience. They need to try and get used to playing games as soon as possible. The more they can grasp in a short period of time, the quicker their first win is going to be.

5TH GRADE
Rebounds and defense. It is a small team and only one real post player out of the seven on the team.

6TH GRADE
Taking care of the ball. This team turns the ball over way too much.

7TH GRADE
Free throws and not giving up easy baskets. Every game they play will be tight so every point will be accounted for - can't afford to give away points.

8TH GRADE
Need more of a contribution scoring wise from the entire team.

7TH/8TH GRADE
This team does not shoot the ball well. That needs to get better.

And finally, what did you do to contribute to society yesterday? Well, this is what I did...

7th/8th grade makes it a perfect weekend

The 7th/8th graders won their second game in three days 18-6 and are off to a (2-0) start to begin the season.

Edzon scored a game high 8 points, but had trouble early converting from close to the basket and also went scoreless from the free throw line. The team as a whole did not shoot the ball very well.

Benjiman, playing in only his second game ever, scored his first basket.

6th grade hangs on for first win of the year

The 6th grade boys broke through with their first victory of the year Saturday morning with a 16-13 win.

Bill had a huge 1st quarter where he scored 6 of his 7 points, and had two big blocks as time expired at the end of one.

At one point in the 2nd quarter, the 6th graders had a 10-0 lead but that lead dwindled as the game worn on.

The other team started hitting some outside shots and cut the lead down to as little as two.

Offensively, the 6th grade (1-2) went into a scoring drought and had only two free throws in the second half, outscored 9-2 in the final two quarters.

Amarit and Ethan both hit a free throw each in the 4th quarter.

After struggling to find their rhythm Friday night, they distributed the ball around a lot better Saturday with every player on the team getting off a few shots.

Ethan hit a two jumpers in the first half and had 5 points on the day.

With less than two minutes to go, the 6th graders were clinging to a three point lead. They managed to do just enough at the end to make sure their first win stood.

Even though the ball was in their possession with less than 10 seconds to go, they turned the ball over leaving a second on the clock, giving the other team one second for a desperation heave.

The other team was able to get off a shot at the buzzer, but Amarit got a piece of the ball and the game ended.

Some fans of the opposition were yelling for a foul but the referees did not blow their whistle.

Larry Wong made his first appearance on the bench as a 6th grade coach.

7th grade wins on Justin's buzzer beater

Like Leslie told the 7th graders after the game Friday night, every game is going to be just like this.

After losing by a point in their opener last Sunday, Friday night's thriller came down to the final seconds and it was an unlikely hero that put his name into St. Mary's history.

In the game's final seconds, Justin picked up an offense rebound in point blank range and scored on a putback as time expired to give the 7th graders a 49-47 win.

It was the first St. Mary's buzzer beater to win the game in the modern era.

The 7th grade (1-1) had the ball with 29 seconds left and planned to milk as much of the clock as possible to get the final shot.

With the game tied 47-47, Jason Lei drove to the basket and drew a little contact and almost got his shot to go into the basket. But on the rebound, the other team jumped on the scrum and called a timeout, even though the player looked like he rolled on the ground and traveled.

Following the timeout, the other team's inbounder took almost a full step onto the court, stepping over the boundary, which turned the ball over back to St. Mary's.

Allen inbounded the ball to Jonathan who took a long jump shot that didn't even hit the rim. But Justin was in the right place at the right time and made the biggest shot of his career. He said after the game it was his "top one" moment.

Late game heroics overshadowed a monster game and career night for Jason who scored a personal best 31 points.

For a player his size, he has great control with the ball, and he's so strong by the basket, not many teams can contain him. He accounted for several fast break lay-ups down the stretch to keep the game close.

Neither team was able to stretch their lead to more than just a few buckets. The 7th graders trailed 23-22 at halftime, and the game continued to go see-saw the rest of the way.

Jonathan scored 15 points, which is a little modest for one of the best shooters at the school. In his first two regular season games, Jonathan hasn't really been able to get into a rhythm shooting from the outside.

Teams are really starting to gameplan around Little Johnny, so he'll need to make adjustments in order to regain his touch.

Like the 8th grade, the 7th grade needed this win.

The last thing on their Christmas wish list was an (0-2) start.

Raymond's back in 8th grade's first win

It was a throwback to the earlier years when it was Raymond's show and everybody else was just there for decoration.

On one hand, it's not so good, because you never want to be so dependent on one player on the team.

However, if Raymond can put together these type of performances on a consistent basis, the team seems to play better.

In Friday's 26-18 win, Raymond matched the other team, tying his career high, scoring 18 points of his own in the 8th grade's first win.

For a division five 8th grade (1-1) game, it was really slow offensively, with the scoreboard reading 8-0 heading into the 3rd quarter.

Things then picked up from there and both teams matched each other point for point the rest of the way. The cushion from the first half proved to be the difference in the game.

As close to a must win game as possible, the 8th graders did just that. They didn't want to go (0-2) and put themselves in a bad spot just two games into the season, so this was a huge win for the class of 2014.

Overall, the team played better, and the opponent wasn't as strong as game one. But the fouls were atrocious, and almost expected from a team that plays very aggressive and physical. Some would even say out of control.

The ref sure felt that way as one player on the 8th grade was assessed a flagrant foul, knocking over a player on the other team on a lay-up.

Jason Ng scored 6 points and Audi scored his first two points of the regular season.

Their next game is a playoff rematch Friday against St. Cecilia.

7th/8th grade finally starts season, wins late

The 7th/8th grade continued the trend Friday night, pulling out an exciting victory at the end.

With 10 seconds left, Jia Jun wrestled the ball away from someone on the other team and hit the game winning shot to give the 7th/8th graders a 16-14 win to start the season.

It was a low scoring affair for the 8th grade level, but the teams did manage to slowly trade buckets as neither team had much control of the game.

From the free throw line, the boys shot 4-of-13, a very unflattering 30 percent.

Edzon had a game high 6 points and Matthew scored 4 points.

In his first year playing basketball, Jia Jun has shown a lot of skill for a basketball rookie. He played a handful of tournament games before Friday night and has shown great improvements in a very short period of time.

"He hustles really hard," said coach 7th/8th grade (1-0) coach Derek of Jia Jun. "I can count on him to go after every loose ball."

Jia Jun scored 4 points, including the game winner and Vince chipped in with 2 points.

Jackie, Alex and Benjiman all played in their first games of CYO basketball.

And they'll get to play their second on Sunday when the 7th/8th graders go for win number two.

Big game by Bill, but 6th grade falls short

It was the 4th quarter and Bill was at the free throw line for his third chance to complete and And 1.

Friday night, he scored a bucket and got fouled three times.

But unfortunately, the inexperience and turnovers led to the 6th grade's second straight loss, 24-13, to start the season.

Bill scored a career high 9 points and grabbed almost every rebound for the 6th grade (0-2).

Playing with only five players on the night, the boys got tired as the game went deeper.

In half court sets, it's only Amarit and Eric playing hot potato with the ball. Other players on the team need to be more involved as well as look to get the ball.

Luckily, it's a fast turnaround as their next game comes Saturday morning, where they'll try again for their first win of the season.

Amarit was fouled behind the 3 point arc and made two out of his three free throws to close out the 3rd quarter. He then added a jumper in the fourth and scored 4 points.

5th grade pulls it out at the end

By Cynthia Leung

The 5th graders narrowly won Friday night 20-18, improving their season record to (3-0).

After taking a 10-2 lead in the 1st quarter, the 5th graders gave up 8 straight points in the first three minutes of the second quarter. From that point on, both teams traded points back and forth.

They were tied 18-18 with two minutes left on the clock. Then, Brendan scored 2 points to give them a lead with less than a minute left in the game. They managed to hold the lead and win the game.

Brendan had a game high of 14 points. He was aggressive throughout the game, shooting jump shots and driving for the basket.

Calvin had 4 points on the night. Darren chipped in with 2 points.

3rd/4th grade drop second game

In their second game of the season, the 3rd/4th graders came close, but fell 12-8.

Nabiyou had a team high 6 points and Kenneth scored the very first two points of his career.

 They are now (0-2) on the season.

Highlights

Sometimes, people just want to be appreciated...Enjoy the RAW highlights.

Spot the noob

7th grade loses by one in Half Moon Bay

The drive back from Half Moon Bay is even longer when you lose.

Unfortunately, the 7th grade will go through that feeling Sunday afternoon losing 44-43 in their season opener.

They held an 8 point halftime lead but couldn't hold it and went into the 4th quarter tied 30-30.

It's going to be like this the entire year as the 7th grade is playing in division three, the highest any St. Mary's team has been in years.

Full recap to come later.

6th grade loses close one in opener

The 6th grade played their first game ever as a team and lost 10-8.

It was a sloppy but close game throughout but the boys couldn't prevail at the end.

Ethan had a team high 4 points, while Amarit and Eric both had a bucket each.

This team has only six players.

5th grade starts season 2-0

By Cynthia Leung

A nice balanced team effort Saturday afternoon gave the 5th graders a (2-0) start to the season, winning 18-10, their second victory in less than 24 hours.

Everyone on the team had a chance to score thanks to some great distributing by Brendan, who had a game high 8 points.

The twins Damon and Darren had some very nice steals throughout the whole game, and were aggressive on defense. They each had 2 points, both on fastbreaks.

For Damon it was his first basket, which featured a beautiful spin move followed by a bank shot.

Calvin also had 6 points today off of some nice jumpers.

There are still a few things they need to work on like being more aggressive on the offense and grabbing rebounds but they are going in the right direction. But these two wins are definitely a good confidence boost for the 5th graders after three losses in the tournament.

3rd/4th graders lose debut

The 3rd/4th graders played their first game ever Saturday afternoon and lost 24-4. Nabiyou scored all 4 points for the team including a buzzer beater to end the game.

All six players for St. Mary's were playing in their first ever basketball game so there was a feeling out process.

One player on the other team played like a good 6th grader, which was pretty much the difference in the game.

Even with the lopsided score, it was only a 4-2 game with about a minute left in the first half. But that player on the other team scored a quick four points and stretched the halftime lead to 8-2.

8th grade falls flat in opener

The lack of fundamentals and trend of sloppy play finally caught up to the 8th graders in their regular season opener.

In a lopsided 37-21 defeat, they were outplayed in every facet of the game.

Up against their stiffest competition of the year, the boys did not come close to matching their opponent. 

After their second championship appearance in three years, the 8th graders were bumped up a division and should expect teams similar to the one they played Friday night.

They'll need to find a way to get some sort of rhythm because every game they have played up to this point has been sloppy.

Again there were the moments where players looked lost on the court and others shooting the ball as awkwardly as possible.

One player from last year's 8th grade team said even before the season started that it was okay that they don't make the playoffs cause they played in a tough division. That team went (1-7).

Hopefully the team this season embraces the challenge instead of being content with just playing in a strong division.

5th grade rides Calvin's hot hand to first win

Calvin scored a career high 12 points, leading the 5th grade boys to a 17-14 victory to begin the regular season.

They led for the entire night until midway through the 4th quarter when the other team scored six straight points to take a 14-13 lead.

With about two minutes left, the 5th graders came up with a steal and Calvin scored off a rebound to give the 5th grade back a one point lead. He then hit a jumper a little bit later on to give the boys a three point cushion.

Brendan scored the other 5 points in the win.

After losing three straight games in the preseason tournament, it was good for the boys to get a little taste of victory and some confidence.

They'll look to carry that into tomorrow's game where they look to start the season with two straight wins.

Wing showed up in the final minutes of the game and was only able to watch the end.

8th grade wins the CYO preseason tournament

The kid front and center is a coach, and not a player.

The 8th grade made St. Mary's Athletics history Sunday afternoon by winning the CYO Preseason Tournament in a sloppy 17-13 game. It's the first time any St. Mary's team has accomplished this feat.

It was a typical game from the 8th graders, who have found ways to win for the last three plus years. They may be the worst best team as their fundamentals are incredibly flawed, including bad shooting form, poor dribbling and reckless play in general.

But that's probably why teams have trouble when they play the 8th grade. There's no way to prepare for a wreck.

Thomas had a game high 6 points and his twin brother Joseph scored 5 points.

To have an 8th grade tournament championship played in the teens shows that both teams have a lot to work on and it was a hard 28 minutes to watch.

But in the end, the boys got the job done. Hopefully, they'll add more skill to the wins the rest of the way.