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.