Updates, updates, updates

So I finally updated the blog. There are 3 new posts today (4 if you count this one) so scroll on down.

Basketball

Basketball season at Beaver Dam High School has officially ended. It was an extremely good and rewarding season. This season made my passion and love for coaching blossom again. I have been very blessed to have such a wonderful team.

Before Christmas vacation, we were struggling and had a record of 2-6. I felt like we were good enough to have a 7-1 record at that point but we just weren't playing up to our potential. We had a really horrible game right before the break where we didn't play together and were completely out of sync. The last thing I told my team before taking 2 weeks of for Christmas was that they needed to decide if they wanted to be part of a team or be individual players. When we got back together in January, we sat down and had a great discussion. I told them that we were 2-6 but that we were good enough to be 7-1. They just needed to learn to trust me, my assistant and each other. They needed to believe in themselves the way the coaches believe in them. I then told them that we would lost the next game (we were playing a top 5 team in the state) but that after that game, we should go a huge winning streak and not lose again--we should win 7 games in a row. It was up to them to decide if they wanted to accomplish this goal or if they wanted to just go through the motions and not be team. I was blessed that this particular team took hold of my message and meshed together so well.

I have been around a lot of basketball and I have never seen a group of girls grasp the concept of team as much as these girls did. They become great friends on and off the court. It changed the season for us. We did lose our next game, by a lot. It didn't discourage us though. We went on this awesome winning streak and accomplished our goal of 7 straight wins. During this streak, a lot of history was accomplished for the girls basketball program at Beaver Dam High School.

We beat Fredonia for the first time, twice in fact!! We beat Grand Canyon (first in history as well) by 10 points. (This was the team we played right before Christmas break that sparked the turn around. We lost to them by 18 points during that game.) We qualified for the regional tournament for the first time, and we didn't just squeak in, we finished tied for second place in region. We had a spot guaranteed in the tournament with 3 weeks left in the season. It was a great experience to go to the regional tournament, and although the game didn't go well, it was great to be part of the history. Even with that loss, we finished with a winning record 9-8...the first winning season for the girls' basketball team. I am happy I had the opportunity to coach this group of kids and watch them as they accomplished so many things. As I told my team, they deserve the credit for everything that has happened this season. I cannot take credit. It was the girls that decided to take my message to heart and become a team. It was their heart and determination that made them so good this season. It was a blessing to be able to sit back and watch these things transpire...and with so many sophomores on the team, Beaver Dam basketball has a bright future.

Short School Story

On Wednesday at work, one of cutest things happened. I was at the elementary school teaching PE, as I do each day. The class that I was currently teaching was first graders. We were sitting in a circle, because we had just finished stretching, and I was waiting for the kids to stop talking and wiggling around. As I waited, I started tapping my fingers on the ground. I looked across the circle and saw a boy looking at me intently and also tapping his fingers on the ground. I then folded my hands. The boy copied me and folded his hands. I went back to tapping and he followed along again. I smiled at him and then noticed that a few other students next to him had joined in and were also copying me. I continued to do different things with my hands and eventually all of the students in the class were quietly coping my hand movements. I would tap the ground, then clasp my hands, then tap again, clap, and just do random things. They all continued to follow along. We eventually broke into laughter and then continued class and played a game. It was one of those heart warming moments you get as a teacher.

Family Happenings

We aren't very good at keeping the blog updated but life for us has been good lately. Life stays busy with work, church callings, and school. Mahonri currently has two callings, the stake men's sports specialist and also advancement chair to the Eagle in Scouts. I guess since he has two callings, it means that I get a little break. We were released from Primary in December. It has been nice to be able to go to Sunday School an Relief Society again.

We have both been playing church basketball. It is nice to get out and get a little exercise. On the women's side, our ward is the only ward to have a complete team participate each week. They are going to let us participate in the regional tournament. It should be fun. I enjoy going to watch Mahonri play and his team has being well. Because of his calling, there are times that he has to help referee or run the scoreboard.

School is back in full swing again for the semester. Mahonri is taking a full load and still working part-time at The Locker Room. He has some in-store credit from some sales he has completed and so he decided to buy use that credit to buy a new bow. It hasn't arrived yet but he is looking forward to getting it. He likes to spend time a few afternoons a week shooting his bow.

Well, I guess that is all to update what is going on. Life pretty much stays the same for us.