West Jordan Jags - PreSeason 2020

The Freshman West Jordan team WAS going to play in a Spring League ... but it suffered from Covid Cancellation syndrome. The boys still got together a couple of times to play in the open air at the park.  Then there was a clinic at the high school in June. Two sessions, one for 6th-9th, and one 10th-12th. The coach at the high school told Colton to attend with the older group. Monday/Wednesday from 1:00-2:30. 

Colton got tapped to play a few games with the VARSITY team. It was at a non-Jen location and I wasn't sure how much playing time he'd really get, no video, but Colton had fun. Then there was the Rocky Mountain Showcase that the West Jordan team would be playing in. Colton was playing on the Freshman team. And the Sophomore team. Based on feedback from one of the Wolves parents who'd attended the BMJ just a week before, I gave this one a try. It was at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. They were not charging admission for spectators this time (although we did have to fill out health forms/contact info, and had to wear masks the whole time. No drinking fountains available so I was sure to bring extra water). 

July 7th - Freshman WJ vs Bingham

July 7th - Freshman WJ vs Pleasant Grove

There were more games, but I got a little behind, because, well, Colton had ELEVEN games in the first two days of the tournament! He didn't play any JV (those games were always at the same time as the sophomore games) but Coach Sawyer called on him to come play a little Varsity. But the fun didn't last. The tournament got cancelled because of Covid concerns.  The kids had participated in a car wash fundraiser, but had still had to pay some for the tourney costs. These funds were refunded when the rest of the tournament wasn't able to continue.

School started up in August. With Covid concerns, online options were offered, and Colton did a duel approach. Four classes in person at Joel P, and then three classes online. This was actually done more for basketball reasons than for anything else. Now his afternoons were free, and he could attend the 4th period basketball class at the high school on A-days. Until the high school got shut-down for a two week quarantine. In September/October, Colton was playing on a couple WJ (Showtime) teams, Freshman and Sophomore (in addition to Wolves). The coaches tried to work with scheduling and ... NO conflicting games! Amazing! BUT, all the Sophomore games were in Utah County. I didn't make it to even one of those games (I did get some video from one of the other moms, so there is one set of Sophomore clips). The Freshman games were closer, so I made it to most of them, but still just got a couple highlight videos completed. 

September 19 - Freshman WJ vs Riverton

September 24 - Sophomore WJ vs Layton

October 7 - Freshman WJ vs King Zone

Sophomore Showtime

 

... and some Colton Clips ...

... after the summer clinic, there was "open gym" at the school in the months before basketball tryouts. A couple nights a week, the boys could go and play, and the coaches would watch and get to know the boys and their moves. Until Covid Cancellation of course ... the boys were lucky to get in as much as they did. Made it through the Fall season without cancellations too. Again, spectators were limited, teams had to wait outside until the game before was done and those teams had exited. Masks had to be worn. We were happy that the boys got to play though! Next up ... basketball tryouts and High School basketball!

The Pack is Back ~ Wolves 2020

In May, the Wolves started practicing again. Practices were at the Riverbend Event Center, and then practices were also at Lincoln Academy in Utah County. As these were locations Jen doesn't drive to, there was a lot of carpooling going on. There were some scrimmages, and then a few games ... all in Utah County, so again, no Jen, no video clips. 

New Jerseys

In June - the boys went to Idaho for a tournament there. 

The Berlin family let Colton tag along with them. 

In July - It was the BIG MOUNTAIN JAM at the Mountain America Expo Center. Now, this IS a location I can drive to, it's just in Sandy, but they charge so much for spectators, and there are usually so many courts set up in the space that it's a little overwhelming with crowds and yelling and whistles. I have skipped games at this location before, and did so again. But Collin's mom Mai took video and got it to me, so I still made highlight reels and got to see the action. Here's Game #1, Game #2 and Game #3. Here's a spotlight on Colton from one of the games ...

 

After the Big Mountain Jam had its run, the Rocky Mountain Showcase was happening the next week at the same location (Colton would be playing in it with West Jordan) ... but it wouldn't make it. It was determined that someone with Covid had been there, and it had to shut down. Shortly afterward, we heard that one of the Wolves had tested positive, as had one of the parents of a West Jordan player. The Wolves did have one more summer tournament still ... another trip to Idaho (missing a couple of players). 

The Wolves then played in a Fall League ... many games were too far South for me to make it to. The restrictions on spectators were pretty tight anyway, so Colton's carpool actually got to benefit, as each kid was only allowed ONE spectator/parent. With me not attending, both of Collin's parents would be able to watch. There were a couple of games closer, at Sport City, so I went to watch there, and have video highlights. September 12, 2020 and October 3, 2020. 

Here's another set of Colton Clips ...

... and that wrapped up the Wolves. As traditional basketball season set in, the boys would be trying out for their school teams and hopefully be playing there for the next few months.  

Covid & Basketball

Well ... Covid-19 had been in the news, but it seemed a world away, not something that would affect us personally. Even when there were first reports of it appearing in the U.S. and even in Utah, it still didn't seem real. That all changed on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The boys were waiting for the game to start, but tip-off for the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder game had been delayed for unknown reasons. Then it was announced the game was off and everyone in the stadium needed to leave. Shortly after that, the news reported that Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for Covid-19. The NBA suspended all game play, and other sports followed. People were panic shopping, and there were soon shortages at the stores. School moved online that Friday. Everyone was encouraged to "Stay Home, Stay Safe" ...  In the Family Update for February, I'd written about how Colton's West Jordan season had wrapped up, but that his Wolves were getting back together, and that basketball wouldn't be ending anytime soon ... I was wrong! The future was very uncertain.

Without basketball to play, or even watch ... the boys turned to some NBA-opoly. It's a real game, it's just old, and the teams are rather outdated. There was the "indoor hoop" play as well, until a dunk that was a little too-powerful broke it (we ordered a new one and the boys were back in business pretty quickly). Overall, I thought the Blackham Boys coped pretty well all things considered.

The NBA was back by July ... in a bubble. And local leagues were attempting play as well ...

Colton - West Jordan Jags (Winter) 2019-2020

Tanek, Carter, Ty, Ethan, Jackson

Colton, Elijah, Quinton, Dominik, Matt

There had been tryouts in the Fall. Colton had a couple friends he'd played with on the Showtime team in the fall that didn't make it, and he was sad about that. Carter, Tanek and Matt from Showtime made it, and Elijah and Jackson had played on the summer Showtime. Colton quickly clicked with the team though and they all became good buddies. Ryan Farmer, the 8th-grade coach from last year was coaching again. 

Here's a couple clips reels highlighting just him ...

... but I got to all the games and made videos, except for the last one in each league. Those were losses and the boys were very down and I wasn't sure if they'd even be interested in reliving those ;)

Find complete game highlights here - West Jordan Jags/8th Grade.2019-2020

It was a good season. They didn't win the championship, but won most of their games. I think I'll remember the controversy over Tanek being on our team. His family had moved into the Copper Hills boundaries a few years ago. He had been playing for CHHS, but after playing with Showtime in the fall and clicking with some people, he decided he would attend West Jordan for his high school years. It really wasn't that much of a stretch. His siblings were going there, as they'd lived in the WJ boundary before. Copper Hills however was not happy about the prospect of losing him and pushed the issue for the Bantam league. Tanek ended up making it official by switching schools (from Sunset Ridge to West Jordan Middle) in February. He'd planned on just finishing out the school year and then switching, but went through the rigamarole to make it legitimate for the season (CHHS still said our game against them before the switch, which we won, was a forfeit).  

The boys were planning on playing a Spring AAU ... 

but then came Covid, and it shut everything down.

Callahan Continues ...

 I always said that Callahan didn't just LOVE basketball, but he LIVED basketball. After his Varsity season, as he's graduated from high school and moved onto life, with school/work/relationships, basketball did move to the background. But he still enjoys playing.  I don't get to many of his games, but I hit a few here and there. 

Here's a game from a while back ...

Spring of 2019 he played in the T-ville league - They got the T-shirts!

Summer of 2019 Cal joined some CHHS Alumni for the annual Alumni tournament. As most of Callahan's graduating class was gone (only Stockton was around) so they joined the 2016 graduating class, and the won the tournament!

 Cal was having fun playing with some of the old crew again.

Dimple Dell League. Fall 2019. 

Here's Highlights ...

Unfortunately ... Cal broke his foot (reminiscent of 8th grade!) the next week. So back to a boot for several weeks while he recovered. He is back on the courts though. Playing with his buddies some nights during the week, and planning on some competitive church ball. Maybe I'll go see him play. 

Keaton - Cheering Them On

 This is Keaton.

This particular dress up (pictured above) was a school "sports" themed activity. He's got his Space Jam jersey (actually, it's Callahan's) and his sports socks. He always enjoys dressing up for themed events to cheer on the school. Senior year was filled with a lot of fun!

Starting with football ...

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While waiting out the evacuation (lightening at Friday’s football game) Keaton and Cameron provided some entertainment ...

A post shared by BlackhamBall (@blackhamball) on Aug 18, 2018 at 7:08pm PDT

... and then basketball season started up

… and it culminated with Keaton and the crew doing a drill performance

 Keaton has been great coming to a lot of Colton's games
to cheer on his brother too.

But he generally doesn't dress up for those ...