Keaton - Fall Season 8th Grade

Summer ends, school starts ... and it's back to basketball! Keaton played with the Copper Hills Youth Basketball team again. This year, Coach Allfrey was in charge of both 8th grade teams, and they were practicing together at the high school. They played in the Wednesday night Salt Lake Superleague to prepare for the real basketball season coming up.

James was on the team, but he was the only one Keaton had played with before. I got to know Bradley, Dawson, Brenner and Nathan. Mitchell and Brayden were also on the team but then didn't completely finish out the season.

This season was great, in that all the games were at the same location. I would have liked it a little closer, but Eisenhower Jr. wasn't too far out of my comfort zone anyway. It was nice not having to find new schools each week. I like consistency.

The boys had quite a few wins this season, and I did video most of the games. I just never got around to making them into muvee highlight reels as Keaton just didn't seem to care much. I did do one game anyway, the first one. You can catch it here.

Catching Up With Callahan

When the Spring season ended ... what IS a basketball boy to do? Luckily, there was still some basketball going on. In fact, there was a trip down to St. George, where the boys played in a tournament at Dixie.

Callahan had gone to Idaho with his team his 9th grade year and LOVED it. He hadn't done Dixie last year, as he had committed to a church activity during the same dates. But THIS year ... nothing, including the fairly high price tag was going to keep him from participating. You can see in the picture, he could NOT contain his smile or his excitement as he left for a few days of basketball and buddies 24/7 ...

As for SUMMER, Callahan and several friends purchased a three month pass to Gene Fullmer and spent hours during the days hanging out and playing basketball. They would also play at local churches, if someone was able to get the keys to let them in. 

In the FALL, Callahan and most of the other basketball team hopefuls participating in a training program at the high school. There would be time in the gym, running, weights. Callahan was lucky enough to slip into the 4th period basketball class too (reserved for the basketball team members) and that was a lot of running and conditioning (as league restrictions don't allow them to actually play basketball prior to the season starting).  Callahan and the gang he played with in the spring also played in the SLC Superleague for Fall. All prepping for ... 

Basketball Tryouts!

It's here!

Fall Soccer With Colton

Here's Colton and his crew. The Flame Throwers!

Another soccer season for Colton. In the Spring, we played with Uncle Clay and Cousin Addie in Herriman. It was an undefeated season (Spring Soccer).  As Fall soccer signups started up, we just went ahead and signed Colton up at the local rec center and hoped he might know some kids he was placed with (they do try to put kids from the same school together).

The change from Spring to Fall was a big one. It had been the 1st/2nd grade league in the Spring, with smaller fields. Now, it was a 3rd/4th division and the fields were much bigger, much more running. Some teams had a lot of 4th graders (we had one, but the rest were 3rd, with a couple 2nd graders too).

The first game, Colton had several close shots, but none of them went into the goal. The other team did manage to score, so Colton had his first loss. That wasn't the last loss ... they lost every game, until the last one, which ended in a tie at least. Only two goals the entire season. One that final game (for the 1-1 tie), and one a bit earlier, which Colton managed to kick in. It was the first goal of the season and the boys were ecstatic. Here's a quick clip ...

We missed the team pictures this year (Colton went to the Father's and Sons at the sand dunes), so I don't have an official team picture, nor the cute single magnet for my fridge. Oh well ...

Callahan - Spring Fling

Callahan's team played in the State AAU tournament ... I guess I never got around to posting about that. For Spring, the high school coaches divided the kids into two teams.  Callahan was with Ben, Austin, Parker, Casey and Rowland, Jared and Mason (who he hadn't played with in a while ... it was great to have the gang back together!)

Following the Winter Superleague, District League and Idaho Tournament tradition ... the boys made it all the way to the championships and then came in 2nd. So close!  I missed the first three games of this Spring Season (they were in Davis County and we had scheduling conflicts) but I made the rest and got video highlights ...

Game 1. Copper Hills vs Rams

Game 2. Copper Hills vs UBC

Game 3. Copper Hills vs Jordan

Game 4. Copper Hills vs Hunter

Game 5. Copper Hills vs Primo

Game 6. Copper Hills vs Timpview

Game 7. Copper Hills vs Murray

Playoffs Game 1. Copper Hills vs Gluts

Playoffs Game 2. Copper Hills vs UBC

Playoffs Game 3. Copper Hills vs Skyline

Championship Game ... Copper Hills vs Elevate

Keaton - Spring

The team Keaton had played with for Fall and Winter went their separate ways in Spring. He still wanted to play, so I signed him up at Gene Fullmer Rec. We ended up on the team with Zach Norman (who he had played with last year, and who is actually his 3rd cousin or something ... my mom and Zach's grandpa are cousins).  Being recreational (not competitive) basketball, it's not quite as hard core. I have one video from the season so far (here). 

Keaton also got the opportunity to play in the Spring Fling with the West Hills 8th grade team (they just had seven players and thought they might need any extra). He did really well, got quite a bit of playing time and did well.  Keaton hasn't cared too much about highlight videos (not enough to go through clips for me, which I do ask the boys to do) so I didn't get too much footage this season ... here's a quick video of some of the highlights (WestHillsSpringFling2014).

Colton - Junior Jazz

Colton was super excited to sign up for Junior Jazz again. He really enjoys basketball and while there are competitive options out there, Junior Jazz is the main option available for these younger kids.  We signed up with his buddy Randon, and Randon's dad was the coach again (same as last year). Colton's friend Garren also signed up on their team.

In this age group, they don't have a separate practice session, but spend the first 15 minutes in drills, and then play the game. All of Colton's games were at the Gene Fullmer Rec Center, which has a jogging track up above the court. I like to get in double duty, walking and watching ... but I can't do that and video at the same time. I compromised. I jogged the track during the practice sessions, and when Colton was on the bench. When he was playing, I'd run down and man the video camera.  I made two muvees, the first short one is from a single game, and the second (longer one) is a compilation from several games.  

Colton is such a cutie!

I love watching him play.

Callahan Winter 2013-2014

Callahan is now playing for the West Hills 9th grade team. They are playing in the Salt Lake County League  on Thursday nights, and on Saturdays in the school league. I'll try to update here as I finish video highlights ...

Salt Lake County League

• Game 1* (Dec 5, 2013) West Hills vs Sunset Ridge (Win) 71-21
• Game 2 (Dec 12, 2013) West Hills vs 9th Miners (Win) 43-39
• Game 3* (Dec 19, 2013) West Hills vs A-Train Magic (Win) 58-31
• Game 4* (January 2, 2014) West Hills vs Sunset Ridge (Win) 54-29
• Game 5 (January 9. 2014) West Hills vs Brighton (Win) 53-33
• Game 6* (January 16, 2014) West Hills vs Blues Clues (Win) 57-31
• Game 7 (January 23, 2014) West Hills vs Riverton (Loss) 32-37
• Game 8 (January 30, 2014) West Hills vs Stansbury (Win) 50-18
• Game 9 (February 20, 2014) West Hills vs 9th Minors (Loss) 42-46
• Playoff 1 (February 27, 2014) West Hills vs Stansbury (Win) 81-8
• Playoff 2 (March 6, 2014) West Hills vs Brighton (Win) 37-33
• Championship (March 6, 2014) West Hills vs Bingham (Loss) 56-41

Jordan District League

• Game 1* (Dec 14, 2013) West Hills vs Ft. Herriman (Win) 51-35
• Game 2* (Dec 14, 2013) West Hills vs Joel P Jensen (Win) 49-26
• Game 3* (Dec 21, 2013) West Hills vs West Jordan (Win) 50-37
• Game 4 (Dec 21, 2013) West Hills vs Oquirrh Hills (Win) 35-24
• Game 5* (Jan 11, 2014) West Hills vs Elkridge (Win) 56-28
• Game 6* (Jan 18, 2014) West Hills vs South Hills (Win) 48-32
• Game 7 (Jan 25, 2014) West Hills vs South Jordan (Loss) 43-46
• Game 8 (Feb 1, 2014) West Hills vs Copper Mountain (Win) 42-12
• Game 9* (Feb 8, 2014) West Hills vs Sunset (Win) 62-34
• Playoff 1 (February 22, 2014) West Hills vs Fort Herriman (Win) 62-31
• Playoff 2 (March 1, 2014) West Hills vs Copper Mountain (Win) 46-41
• Championship (March 1, 2014) West Hills vs South Jordan (Loss) 30-40

Keaton Winter 2013-2014

Keaton's team is playing together again (sans one, so just seven kids on the team) for Winter. They are playing in the Salt Lake Superleague on Wednesday nights, and in the Salt Lake Bantam League on Saturdays. Check the * for games with video highlights. 

Salt Lake Superleague

• Game 1*: Grizzlies vs SoJo Sonics (December 4, 2013) Win 45-22
• Game 2*: Grizzlies vs Bombers (December 11, 2013) Win 44-29
• Game 3: Grizzlies vs Nitro (December 18, 2013) Win 31-25
• Game 4*: Grizzlies vs Flyboys (January 8, 2014) Win 35-21
• Game 5*: Grizzlies vs The Swarm (January 15, 2014) Win 25-45
• Game 6: Grizzlies vs Herriman (January 22, 2014) Loss 25-34
• Game 7: Grizzlies vs Blue Ice (January 29, 2014) Loss 26-31
• Game 8*: Grizzlies vs Park City (February 5, 2014) Win 51-17
• Game 9*. Grizzlies vs E3 (February 19, 2014) Win 42-25
• Tournament: Grizzlies vs Herriman (February 26, 2014) Loss 25-31

E3 ended up winning the tournament ... (they were 9th seed going in!)

Salt Lake Bantam League

• Game 1*: Grizzlies vs Corner Canyon (December 7, 2013) Win 25-21
• Game 2: Grizzlies vs Brighton Orange (December 14, 2013) Loss 40-43
• Game 3*: Grizzlies vs Miners B (December 21, 2013) Win 44-27
• Game 4: Grizzlies vs Running Wildcats (December 21, 2013) Loss 11-28
• Game 5: Grizzlies vs Silverwolves (January 11, 2014) Win 48-23
• Game 6*: Grizzlies vs Herriman (January 18, 2014) Win 29-14
• Game 7: Grizzlies vs MinersB (January 25, 2014) Loss 24-34
• Game 8: Grizzlies vs Silverwolves Purple (February 8, 2014) Win 54-33
• Tournament 1: Grizzlies vs Herriman (March 1, 2014) Win 41-29
• Tournament 2: Grizzlies vs MinersB (March 8, 2014) Loss

Cooper Junior Jazz (4th Grade)

Last Fall, I signed Cooper up for basketball without telling him ... and he was MAD at me. After a rocky start, he really enjoyed that season, and it was a good experience. Several of the players were continuing on to Junior Jazz and asked Cooper to be on the team. So we signed up.  Cooper was nervous about the "new" team, as there were several new kids. It just wasn't gelling the same, he wasn't getting the passes, the playing time, the scoring. He didn't care for the "kid" refs that he felt didn't call everything (he worries about getting hurt). He played the first few games, then as the season hit it's holiday hiatus ... he didn't want to go back. We only hit a couple of the remaining games.

Here's Cooper's videos (all from the first part of the season, December 2013) ...

Game 1      Game 2      Game 3

Team Picture

Cooper did go to his last game ... 

he didn't really want to but I "encouraged" him to. 

I like closure, and he needed to pick up his pictures and trophy.

Thus ends this season of Junior Jazz. Cooper says he does NOT want to play on a team anymore, and I don't think I'll be pushing him. It's too bad, as he certainly has the talent.