Upward Basketball 2013

Now that our family has gotten busier than I ever intended, we are setting limits on number of athletics activities each kid can participate in at one time.  Our daughter chose gymnastics over basketball this season but wished desperately that she could be on the court during every practice and every game her brother attended. She was a great cheerleader, however, and she took a special interest in encouraging one player on our son's team who refused to get off the bench and play in any games.  He was obviously just too young to play this year, but she encouraged him regularly and even gave him a Valentine on Valentine's Day week to boost his confidence.

While we love the UPWARD program and have not been able to say enough good things about the ministry or this awesome church that hosts it each year, this year did not meet the ultra high precedent set and upheld during our previous years with this program.  For reasons we do not understand but trust were valid, the coach did not follow the rotation schedule in the book, so our son played every period of every game except the game he missed due to family travels without sitting out once, even though I asked the coaches to pull him out to give another player who did not get to play as often more time on the court.  While I try not to be a helicopter parent with my own kids, when I perceive that another child is being treated unfairly, it's all I can do to keep myself from flying up (and possibly off the handle) like a helicopter parent to set things right for another parent's child.  But I was reminded that as a parent in the stands, I can't see what happens off the court and do not have the wisdom to judge rightly.  What an encouragement it is to know that mankind's ultimate Judge has all knowledge and all wisdom to judge with perfect righteousness combined with infinite love to extend grace to those who trust in His name.

Psalm 9:8

And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

All that time on the court gave our boy more time to learn to play more aggressively. He handled the ball a lot more, took many shots from the 3-point range with confidence, and scored more points than last year.

One of the biggest blessings of this UPWARD season was seeing so many little boys my son's age from our neighborhood at the court each week.  I had not even realized how many boys are in our neighborhood his age. These games gave me a chance to meet more neighbors and find new friends for our boy.  During the first game, our son played against a team comprised of three boys from the neighborhood.  One was his closest neighborhood friend.  That first game was his team's best all season.

Our son has very interesting form when he shoots that we will have to correct later.  For now, he shoots with both hands thrusting the ball off his right shoulder.  When he jumps, he must jump super high since he's so much shorter than the other players.  His legs kick out when he leaps in a form that reminds me of something from those old kung-foo movies my brother watched during our childhood.


Nana and Pops drove into town to watch one of his games.   Seeing them there made my son feel extra special.  Many other neighborhood kids have grandparents living in the same town making it easier for them to attend their games, but when grandparents drive an extra long distance to see a game, it means a lot.

The awards supper and awards ceremony were awesome as always.  When we got into the car to go to the awards program, I noticed that our son was wearing his red plaid bath robe, and our girl had her Minnie Mouse ears on her head.  Thankfully, they removed both to look more respectable at the awards program. After each player received his or her award and gift (an UPWARD basketball), we all watched a fabulous presentation by an illusionists with a powerful Gospel presentation.

We'll be returning to UPWARD next year (even though detours due to scheduled road construction will double our commute to the church), and I suspect that my husband will be coaching.