Springdale Sonics!!!

This year I have been blessed to have the opportunity to coach a 7th grade basketball team from our school. This is not a "school team" and is not affiliated with the AAA, but it has been a great experience thus far. It is my desire to one day coach at the junior high and high school levels and this has given me some great experience to draw from.

Our team is part of the Springale Sonics program, which is designed both to provide a program for these students to be involved in and to give our middle school basketball players an opportunity to develop their skills in preparation for playing basketball in junior high.

My team is amazing! We are 0-2 so far, but we are constantly improving. More importantly, they are a group of guys that have a lot of fun playing basketball and really enjoy each other. I have 11 players on my team. This includes 8 Marshallese students, 1 Asian, 1 Hispanic, and 1 Caucasian. This has led to some minor communication issues at time, but has also been extremely educational and exciting for me. Here is a picture of our team from before our last game:
Here is a more accurate picture:

Who couldn't love these guys!!!

THANKSGIVING BREAK!!!!

So... I hate to be negative, because I love my job and would not trade my students for anything. But, I am soooo excited for the 5 straight days I am about to get with NO 7th grade interaction. Don't get me wrong, they are truly wonderful. But, they are also very draining. Every day, regardless of how I feel or what I am thinking about outside of school, I have 115 12-and-13-year-olds who are expecting me to be focused completely on them. It will be nice to simply have some time off!

Also, I wanted to make sure, in case anyone actually is reading my blog, that I take a moment to say "Thank You" for everything that I am thankful for. I am truly blessed. I have an impact on a large number of kids every single day and that is an amazing blessing. Even more wonderful is the impact that they have on me. I am thankful to God, through whom all of my blessings come. I am thankful to my family for helping me get to this point in my life. I am thankful for our country, for our schools, and for our future.

Having said all that, enjoy your holiday, be thankful for all that we are blessed with, and be sure to watch some football. Let's all go ingest some tryptophan!!!