8th and 7th Grade-December 4th

Jackson Junior High 1 vs. YBA Xtreme 8^th grade

Saturday morning saw an explosive start with YBA jumping out to an early lead and extending it throughout the game for an easy win.  Bret, Ish, Tanner and Parker got YBA off to an early start and Zach and Josh played well on the interior boards early on with Zach seeing some quality time on the perimeter in the 40 offense.  The bench came in and played well as a unit with Garret, Lance and Gavin playing some solid minutes and Austin showing some positive moments with his offensive game.  Overall a solid win but we needed to continue to work on our games and got a bit content at times in this one to go through the motions.  Rebounding and getting back in transition defense continue to areas in which the team needs to improve upon over all as a group.

Flight Elite vs. YBA Xtreme 8t^h grade

This one can be summarized by the first few minutes of the game which saw Flight Elite get three quick transition baskets and not 1 of the 5 YBA players on the court had even made it over half court and therefore did not get back at all in transition defense leading to an early timeout to emphasize that if they don’t get back on defense it would be a long game and a loss.  YBA came out of the timeout again a bit sluggish and continued to turn the ball over allowing Flight Elite to build upon and extend their early lead.  Overall this game got away early and while YBA made a few runs they were never able to break into the lead and equalize this game.  The keys to this loss were lack of effort and willingness to run the floor, turnovers due to advancing the ball up court with the dribble too much and not the pass, lack of rebounding on both ends of the floor. 

Folsom Force vs. YBA Xtreme 8^th grade

Game three saw a much more focused and lively YBA team take an early lead with excellent court awareness and ball movement along with a better focus on attacking the basket north/south versus YBA’s occasional habit of not finishing strong at the basket.  Bret was impressive in this game get multiple three point plays the old school way by making the basket off of excellent dribble penetration and making the free throw.  Parker and Tanner stepped up big in this game and provided excellent court awareness and offensive presence.  Josh and Zach did a nice job inside despite a very physical game that Josh let get to him a little and he perhaps lost a little focus instead of playing through it.  The bench provided an excellent effort in this game coming in to give the starting five some 2 minute strategic breaks and keeping the positive momentum on YBA’s side.  Stand outs off the bench were Max, Gavin, Garret, Lance, and Austin.  Folsom actually cut the early big lead for YBA to single digits late in the game but a switch suggested by Tanner paid off and he played the inside spot on the 40 offense and played an impressive 2 man game with Bret to break the game open for YBA.  Late in the game the game became a free throw shooting contest with Folsom intentionally fouling for the final 3 minutes and as a team YBA shot well from the line to ice the game.  A game highlight was Bret knocking down 3 in  a row from the line after being fouled as the half ended from deep behind the 3 point line.  Excellent TEAM effort and a solid win.

Tuolumne Thunder vs. YBA Xtreme 7^th grade

YBA basically handled this game very easily.  Some new comers played well in this one and Dominque was outstanding from the perimeter in this game.  Cole was solid and Trey played his usual excellent defense creating several turnovers with his excellent hands and Brandon and Noah were dominant on the interior.  The game got a little sloppy and unstructured at times but YBA began to move the ball nicely late in the game and were able to score several transition baskets to widen the lead.  Excellent win.

7th Grade YBA-Xtreme Highlights

click here to view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7V94l9VxjQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

4th Grade-November 20th

This weeks newsletter I will call EXPLOSION.

We had an explosion of great defense and offense, great teamwork, great basketball fundamentals, and awesome YBA family time. Because of this, we were able to take home a championship trophy for the whole YBA 4th grade family.
Our first game, we played a fast and furious fundamentally sound Delta Running Rebels team. Our Dawgs had a team of only 5 players for this tournament, but still gave a 110% effort throughout the whole game. Both the Rebels and Dawgs started out strong, but our Dawgs proved to be a stronger team both offensively and defensively due to our boys' strong basketball fundamentals. We defeated the Rebels 38-19.

Our second game, we played and defeated the Reno Ballers 4th grade team. The Ballers were no match for our 4th grade Dawgs, but they gave a good effort and were really good sportsmen. Our Dawgs remained in a 3-2 tight defense and man-to-man never allowing a pass inside the key or a drive to the basket. Our boys did not need to release their monster full court press. We defeated the Ballers 57-9, again with only 5 players using awesome basketball fundamentals. 

In our championship game, we played our brother team, YBA Xtreme, also a very fundamentally sound team coached by Coach Mack. Director Ken Gee, Coach Mack, and I all decided to have a family fun game by mixing up the two teams, 4th grade Dawgs and 4th grade Xtreme.....and boy was it lots of fun. Each player revealed great offensive and defensive skills that I was proud to see. Their training received by YBA to improve their core basketball fundamentals proved to be a success in this game. I recognized that many players were using the fundamentals that are taught at our training sessions. All the 4th grade Dawgs looked great! What a blast we had. Both teams were working hard and impressive. After our game, our boys and parents had a fun filled time at Skipolini's Pizza as a 4th grade YBA family. Coach Mack and I really feel fortunate to have such a great YBA family. Great job boys and thank you YBA parents for the great weekend!

Coach Martinez

4th Grade-November 20th

What a mile stone week for our 4th grade YBA program!  I want to start out by thanking the players and their parents for their flexibility and dedication.  Coach Robert Martinez and I have been working to combine our practices to better benefit all the players in the 4th grade YBA family.  This includes agreeing with which offenses, defenses, set plays, presses and press breaks that we will run as a program.  I think our GREAT week of fantastic play has proven the huge steps taken towards accomplishing this goal. 

To start of the week, the boys came out and trained very hard.  We had some great cardiovascular, core, ball handling, rebounding and defensive training this week.  The one thing that I stressed this week in training and will continue to push, is to also be working on these skills at home.  I told each child that while the training is great, it alone will not significantly increase their skill level.  The kids need to go home and work on these skills each day.  I can already tell which kids have committed themselves to doing this.  For those that are interested, I will be happy to develop and individual plan for them. 

Wednesday was a great practice.  We had both teams on the floor to learn the new offense.  We put a couple of wrinkles into the offense this session.  The boys were a little slow to catch on, but by the end of practice they were able to run the offense.  We didn’t get too involved in our defense, but we did manage to work on some drills that would help in man to man defense.  All of the boys worked really hard and were very focused.  This focus and drive hugely benefited us when both teams played a full tournament on Saturday. 

Heading into the weekend, I knew this tournament would be the first tournament we would play opposite of our DAWGS brothers.  We were placed in the same division, but different pools.  The first game of the tournament was against CJBA.  We have played this team twice and have lost two very tight games.  This week proved to be a different story.  I think the team did a great job against the press.  We were very patient thanks to the calming effect Spencer had with the ball in his hands.  Zeki did a nice job attacking the basket when needed and Matt was a beast on the boards.  We pulled out a 7 point victory!!! 

By the time we got to the second game, the DAWGS had locked up their spot in the championship game with two blowouts.  We played a young Reno Baller’s silver team and did not play a great first half, but we still managed to lead by 13.  At half time, I challenged the kids to push the lead to 23 by the end of the third period.  Boy did they rise to the challenge!  I blinked my eyes and we were up 30.  The lead was built by some great shooting by Vince and excellent defense by Evan.  Caden, who was playing in his first tournament with Xtreme, was looking more comfortable and made some great plays!  By the time the final buzzer went off, the boys secured their spot in the championship game with a 41 point win! 

TWO YBA TEAMS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!  For those of you not familiar with AAU basketball, this is not a common occurrence.  In fact, this is the first time as a coach that I have been involved in this type of scenario.  Coach Martinez, Director Ken Gee and I came together and decided to reward the kids by splitting the teams up and playing the championship game as a YBA Family game.  Coach Martinez and I started out the season with the goal to set up each team so that any player could play on either team and not skip a beat.  This game would be the first time we would be able to put this to the test and we were not disappointed.  We instructed the boys to play as hard as they could against each other, but still go out and have fun.  To their credit, the boys did not fool around. Noah was on fire for Coach Martinez!  He made several layups and his dribbling skills were noticeably improved.  It was all business out there.  Both teams played very hard and wanted to win as did each coach!  The game was very close and went down to the last minute.  After the game we came together as a team in a “Circle of Fire” and cheered each other on.  We ended up taking one big championship picture and what a great picture it was.  It was great seeing two sets of jerseys mixed all together as one YBA family!  

After the game we had our first family dinner at Skipolini’s.  While there was some issues getting our tables together I really enjoyed the night.  The parents were on one side of the restaurant while the players and coaches sat at one big table.  This was great.  We had DAWGS and XTREME players mixed together and bonding.  The boys had a great time eating pizza and being goof balls.  This time at the table allowed Coach Martinez and I to finally sit back and smell the roses.  While we preformed great in the tournament, I think I can speak for both Coach Martinez and myself in saying that we are becoming more proud of how our YBA family is forming as each day passes.  This is what we set out to do from the first day Ken came to me about taking the YBA Xtreme 4^th grade team.  It has been only three short months, but we have the foundation set for what we really wanted to accomplish.  As we were sitting at the players' table we could look down the table and watch the kids treat each other as equals; there were not lines drawn between teams.  We also noticed the same thing with the parents.  Going forward, we plan on having many more of these types of events as we feel they are very beneficial for not only the players, but the parents as well.   

I want to finish by saying that I am so proud of all our boys.  To come into a tournament without even fully learning our offensive or defensive schemes and have the level of success they had, is simply remarkable!  I can’t wait to see these teams play after they have learned the entire scheme.  All of these boys work very hard and should be commended on their efforts and teamwork this week.  What we will continue to build on will be the camaraderie between the teams as well as their basketball foundation and skills.  To the parents, please don’t think that your efforts, dedication and attitudes go unnoticed or unappreciated...I have to thank each and every one of you for trusting us with our plan to mirror our teams and practice together.  I know it may have seemed odd to some of you, but we really believe this will be a huge benefit to all the kids in the program to develop each player in the way that works best for each of them.  Thank you for staying positive and flexible.  Keep filling those emotional tanks!!! 

Sincerely.

Coach Mack 

8th Grade-November 21st

Placer Blazers vs. YBA Xtreme 8^th grade

Sunday morning brought a cold morning a cold gym and a cold start for YBA.  A sluggish warm up transitioned into a sluggish first quarter allowing Placer to grab an early 10 point lead.  YBA woke up a little in the middle of the second quarter and finally took the lead with some strong defensive pressure, defensive end rebounding and some transition baskets by Bret and Parker.  YBA was turnover prone through out this game maybe due to cold hands but never the less YBA turned the ball over again and again allowing Placer to believe they were in this one.  Noah stepped up from the seventh grade team and played a solid game at both ends of the floor both rebounding and scoring on the interior.  And Ish continues to show excellent grit, superior court vision and a talent for turning the game flow in YBA’s favor.  The bench played some solid minutes led by Austin and YBA held on in the final minutes due to some clutch free throws from Parker.  A step in the right direction but YBA still continues to play hard in spurts rather than for 28 minutes of the game and when they do play hard for the full 28 minutes this team will be a tough opponent.  Nice win have a nice Thanksgiving break and be ready to get back to work in practice next week.

Fairfield vs. YBA Xtreme 7^th grade

A slightly warmer gym (but not much) hosted a tough opponent in Fairfield in YBA’s first of two games.  Some early turnovers allowed Fairfield to stay in the game in the first half but YBA turned up the defensive pressure late in the first half and took a lead into halftime.  Noah and Brandon led YBA in the first half owning the defensive glass and controlling the interior on the offensive end.  Cole and Bailey turned in solid performances at the guard positions and Tre and Gauge provided some solid minutes off the bench.  Team defense was outstanding in the second half with two charges taken and the ability to turn the opponent and jump the ball creating turnovers and easy transition baskets allowing YBA to stretch the lead for a comfortable win.  Learning points out of this one:  as a team we need to get into the fast break initial offense quicker and our guards need to do a better job pushing the ball up both the right and left sides of the court and hitting the corner earlier,  also we need to learn our out of bounds plays so we don’t need to waste timeouts to go over them, and we need to run the offense instead of being in a hurry and forcing low percentage shots out of the rhythm of the offense.  Finally we need to get better in our 2-3 zone offense I could not put you back into it as we let Fairfield back into the game as we failed to fulfill our defensive assignments and we gave up to many easy baskets and became complacent we will work on it. Otherwise this was an impressive win.

8^th Grade Placer vs. YBA Xtreme 7^th grade

Ok the gym was a few degrees warmer in this the 12:10 p.m. game but I think hands were still a little cold.  This one got off to a frantic pace with Placer content to apply full court pressure for the majority of the first half and capitalize on quick YBA turnovers for easy transition baskets and a large lead that they maintained the rest of this one.  YBA panicked a little in this one but settled down to do a nice job breaking the press at times for easy transition baskets and once we learn to keep our poise against pressure we will be able to compete better in games like this but that only comes with experience so we will be better the next time we face full court defensive pressure for having experienced it in this game.  YBA needs to get to the positions in the press break quicker and all five players need to fulfill their role or we will fail as a team as we did today.  Guards need to get to their spots and set solid screens and bigs need to flash middle and come to the ball.  We need to realize that the faster we pass the ball the easier it will be to break the pressure but we were content to dribble too much and allowed ourselves to be trapped but we will get better.  Great performances from Noah and Brandon again in this one we made some impressive three point shots in the second half so that was a positive.  We played an older opponent and we did not have our entire team there for this one so it was a good test and a good measuring stick for things we need to improve on.  Thanks to Zach for stepping in and helping us out since we had a small roster with players missing today.  Lessons learned:  need to set up the press break and move the ball not dribble to break the pressure don’t be in such a rush, break the pressure and if we don’t have a lay up set up and run the offense we failed to get into 23/Kentucky once the entire game, be stronger with the ball, and we need to work on our ball handling but a respectable performance we just need to believe in ourselves more and compete like we know we can.  Have a nice Thanksgiving break and be ready to get back to work next week.

8th Grade-November 6th

Reno Ballers vs. YBA Xtreme

On Saturday November 6, 2010 the YBA Xtreme 8^th grade team squared off against the Reno Ballers in a closely contested game that saw Reno edging away in the end.  The game got off to a furious pace with both teams running the floor and playing an up tempo game in the early minutes.   Bret lead YBA early attacking the basket and either scoring or making the extra pass to Tanner, Parker or Ishkan for perimeter shots or dumping it inside to Josh for easy transition baskets.  YBA as a team passed the ball brilliantly at times in the first half but sometimes passed up good shots too.  In addition, YBA was aggressive attacking the offensive glass lead by Parker and Josh and was able to capitalize either getting to the free throw line or getting put backs for baskets.   The momentum of the game swung in Reno’s favor early in the second quarter when YBA had trouble solving Reno’s full court pressure but YBA came back to close the deficit  to 6 even 4 several times in the second half.  In the end, Reno’s impressive outside perimeter shooting off some untimely YBA turnovers gave them the edge and allowed them to ultimately keep the momentum in their favor. YBA saw solid performances off the bench on the perimeter from Gavin, Austin, and Max and with Lance and Garret providing some solid minutes on the interior.   YBA played a solid game for about 20 of the 27 minutes and was somewhat indifferent the other 7 minutes.  Still with several chances to attain the lead the difference in the game came down to YBA’s conditioning, missed free throws late in the game, lapses on defense both lack of on the ball pressure and rebounding the ball and as the game wore on settling for quick outside perimeter shots that were not falling when YBA had a solid mismatch inside with Josh.  But overall YBA showed some heart for its first game together and some impressive individual performances at times and now needs to work toward recognizing when to pass and when to take a shot along with playing more cohesively as a team.

  

Davis Hotshots vs. YBA Xtreme

In their second game on Saturday November 6, 2010 the YBA Xtreme 8^th grade team squared off against the Davis Hotshots.  The tip off was just minutes after game 1 so conditioning was definitely a factor in this game and some players were not able to stay for this game but frankly this one got away as Davis was a weaker team than YBA.  Perhaps a bit of a let down performance coming off a hard fought loss in game one which could be understandable.  However, as is emphasized in practice fatigue in life as in basketball calls for an entire team effort and for really focusing on the fundamentals of the game.  The fundamentals in this case being passing the ball around for high percentage shots (more leg bend than normal on your shots and free throws) and not settling for quick outside shots as we have no legs, not turning the ball over, playing solid team defense with a real emphasis on help and recover defense since everyone is tired and rebounding the ball and not giving up second and third and sometimes fourth chance baskets to the opponent as YBA did.  YBA did a solid job with its help defense early in the game but the recover piece was missing late in the game and too many easy transition baskets were allowed.   In addition, the Hotshots while not an overly aggressive or quite frankly athletically gifted team did shoot the ball effectively outside an element helped likely by YBA’s decreasing defensive pressure as the game wore on and the Hotshots increased their lead with their solid perimeter shooting while keeping momentum on their side by hitting key free throws throughout the second half.  Overall YBA played pretty hard despite being physically exhausted and Bret, Tanner and Parker played respectfully on the offensive end with Josh continuing to impress on the interior.  In the end, YBA simply did not execute on the offensive end and applied very little defensive pressure in the second half of this game while continuously failing to notice the fifth player on the opponent was already at the offensive end resulting in several uncontested lay ups for Davis.  As in the first game some impressive individual performances were turned in at times and as a team YBA needs to show up to practice this week forget about last weekend and move forward focusing on conditioning, ball  handling, recognizing when to pass and when to take a shot and playing intense ball pressure team defense for 27 minutes or in other words the entire game not just 20 minutes.  That said a solid start overall.

Deloe Shively

4th Grade-October 30th Tournament

What a weekend!  This weekend we had a team of players who had never played together and yet we still came within a few seconds (and a point) from a victory.  I’m very proud of how the kids reacted to such a HUGE challenge this weekend.

In our first game, we played a much larger CJBA team.  I know I must sound like a broken record when I say much larger team, but this team we played against had one player weighing over 200lbs!  We played great...jumping out to a 10-0 lead.  CJBA was able to chip away at us all game, and they finally took the lead in the final minutes.  We had been dealing with foul trouble all game as there was a 3-1 foul disparity.  Our boys had goose eggs on their heads, cuts and bruises on their arms, but throughout, our boys were able to keep their composure and come back to take the lead by 1.  On the last out of bounds play, CJBA was able to find a wide open player for a mid range jumper to win the game by 1 point.  It was a clutch shot, but one we should have never given up.  We played so well all game and had just one tiny mental mistake with 4 seconds to go.  What each player and coach alike can take away from this, is that we cannot afford to give an inch, and we  must be mentally engaged  at all times during the game.  Each and every boy contributed, and I am very proud of the fight in them.  It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog that counts; and we had tons of fight!!

Do to the extraordinary amount of fouls, this game ran 25 minutes over and our next opponent was waiting on us.  We had literally 3 minutes to regain our composure after having our hearts torn out, to get fired up for our next game.  We played a very good Irish team that gave us all we could handle in our last bout with them.  To my surprise, the kids reenergized and jumped out to an early lead.  Quite impressive after what they had just gone through.  Each of our kids was mentally and physically drained, and each one of them somehow managed to dig deep down inside of themselves to frustrate the Irish all game long.  The boys were able to pull out a 4 point win.  If not for a couple 3’s in the last minute, the game wouldn’t have even been that close.  Great team effort!

I thought the kids deserved to win the championship this weekend.  I wanted to take a moment to address the refereeing in the first game.  While I know we did not get the calls we deserved as indicated by the 3-1 foul discrepancy, these things will happen.  We aren’t always going to get the call.  We lost by 1, but what we need to do is stay focused and worry about what we are doing.  We should NEVER rely on the referees to win a game.  If we had done just a little more, we could have won.  We can always do more and we will do more!

To put things in perspective, we started this program approximately 10 weeks ago.  We have gone from playing scrimmages for the first couple of weeks and learning a completely new system, to playing for the championship in our last 2 tournaments.  Please do not lose sight that some of these teams we are playing are top notch teams.  We are not playing HotShots teams.  I’m very proud of the work that the boys have put in and the dedication and accomplishment of each and every player and parent. 

Bob Mack

4th Grade-Week 6

WOW, what a great way to end the session!  Both our 4^th grade teams (comp and tournament) worked very hard this weekend and ended with a 2-1 record.  I’m so proud of how this team responds under pressure.  They have demonstrated this quality all session and especially this past weekend.  All of the kids have worked very hard and have all improved since we first began this program.

Our first game this weekend was a very close game.  I think the 8am start time really affected how we played.  Everybody was sleeping and just going through the motions; we didn’t even score once during the 2^nd and 3^rd periods, and we trailed EDH by 10 points as we entered the 4^th quarter.  However, half way through the 4^th quarter we finally woke up and went on an 11-0 run to win the game by 1 point!!!

Our second game was a tough game for us.  We played a MUCH larger and older (5^th grade) Reno Ballers team.  The Ballers had us down early, but we never gave up.  In fact, we managed to trim the lead down to single digits late in the game, and in the end we lost by 14 points.  I wanted to share, that after the game, the Ballers head coach came to me and told me that our team was a very good team, and he was impressed with the tenacity and the lack of “quit” we put forth as a team.  He recognized what a young team we are and wanted me to share with you all that we gave them all they could handle.

Our final game was one of the most physical games (for this age group) I have been exposed to in quite some time, and it was a great introduction for our Comp players to see and feel what AAU basketball is really about.  One of the players from the Irish team was partially ejected for an intentional foul.  This team was not a cheap shot team, but they played quite a physical game.  That being said, I also felt that  this game was a blast.  Our players responded to the physicality the way I expected them to…with class, composure, perseverance and FIRE!  The game took off as a defensive dual, and to further complicate things, we were on the much smaller court 8.  Putting these two teams on that court was like putting two lions in a small cage together…it no doubt was a physical situation!  Both teams were in the double bonus by the time we entered the 4^th quarter, and there were multiple players who fouled out, some for their fist time.  In the end, clutch defensive stops and free throws sealed our 2 point win over the tough playing Irish team.

Please take note that I did not give any named shout outs in this week’s blog; this was weekend’s style of play and end results were truly based on the team effort this week, and I didn’t feel it necessary to point out individual players.  Without the contributions of each and every player, we wouldn’t have been as successful as we were this week. 

We finished this first session living up to our motto: “100%, 100% of the time.”  I feel privileged and honored to have worked with each and every one of your boys this session, and I look forward to helping them further their basketball careers.  A big THANK YOU to our parents as well…at this level of basketball play, it’s not just the players that have to be dedicated; it’s the parents too! 

Coach Bob

6th Grade Week 5

6th Grade Tournament Team:

Today was a great performance by the sixth grade tournament team against the 7th grade Xtreme Competitve Team.  We were outnumbered and under sized.  We only had five guys, however those five guys, J Kim, Jakob, Taylor, Kaes, and Grant were stars today.  They executed the game plan perfectly and stayed competitive.  This was definitely a breakout game for Taylor Ittner, he was rebounding, playing great defense, converted most of his free throws, and making tough shots in the paint. Overall this was a solid game played by the tournament team.  These guys showed more heart today then any team I've ever had the pleasure of coaching. -Coach Kevin Parker

6th grade Competitive Team:

We had a Saturday game against the Xtreme 5th grade tournament team. We played great as a whole team.We played good defense and by doing that it lead to great offense.  Today Matthew and Logan played a big part in the game by being big leaders and keeping the team together. Everyone was rebounding wonderfully today.  Today was great guys!!  Thank you - Coach Colton

5th Grade-Week 5

5th Grade Tournament Game

 

Wow! These kids are a joy to coach! 1st off the boys were not intimidated at all by the older kids. As the interim coach for Coach Tom he told me to focus on "Help Defense" This form of defense is what most high school coaches teach. In this defense each player guards his man and HELPS towards the ball. In particular Derek Galvan did an exceptional job with this concept.

The defense improved with each quarter of the game the players improved. It was a hard fought battle right to the last play. We called a time out and came up big in the end with a deep pass from Dawson Fugate to Ryan Haug to seal the deal for the victory for the 5th Grade tournament team.

 

5th Grade Competitive Game

The boys faced a experienced 4th Grade tournament team and played very competitively and handled adversity against a tough press. The boys had a 1st half rebound fest grabbing most rebounds for extra shot attempts. The boys saw a little full court press that the 4th grade team went on a 6-0 run. The boys gathered there composure and passed through the press and fought hard but lost a close game.

 

 

Ken Gee
Youth Basketball Academy Director/Coach/Trainer
www.ybadawgs.com

4th Grade-Week 5

Another positive week in the record books!  They boys worked hard, and it showed in their lone game this weekend.  We reviewed quite a bit in practice this week.  We added some wrinkles to the offense, and I challenged the boys to be more creative when running said offense.  They are starting to mix up their screens, cuts, and where they are cutting.  Once they get a full grasp of the offense they will have a blast running it.  We also worked on some fundamentals such as passing, shooting and cutting in practice.  This week’s practice will be very similar. 

Our lone game was against the familiar 5^th Grade Comp team coached my Coach Jeanette and Director Ken Gee.  Both our comp and tournament teams were able to play in this game, and I was happy with everyone’s production.  Josh ran the point guard position exactly how I wanted him to; he was able to get them into their offense and played solid defense.  Julian came up big playing the 5 late in the game and he LOVED it.  Nathan and Spencer played a very good full court defense!  Vince may have had the ESPN play of the game with a wrap around reverse.  When I asked him how he did it, he responded “I have no idea...”  Awesome!  Sava’s shot looked smooth while he was adjusting to the new offense.  Ryan did a great job using his body on several occasions. Noah and Garrett really battled the much bigger 5^th grade bodies.  Zeki got a taste of what it will be like playing against tournament teams at the one, and he did it well.  The 5^th grade team continues to improve and has pushed us to keep advancing.  A big thank you to the 5^th Grade Comp team.

In the end we won the game by 3, but I feel we learned many lessons from that game.  We learned we need to be more disciplined in our offense and our defense.  We learned that when we get a team down, we need to keep them there and that passing is ALWAYS faster than dribbling.  Overall, it was a great weekend!

Coach Bob Mack

6th Grade-Week 4

On Saturday the comp team won the first game by one point. 

They did so in dramatic fashion by coming from behind.

Aided by the efforts of Jeremy Niefert's scoring & rebounding. Also, the ballhandling and penetrating of Darren Baker played a big role. The fine play of C.J. Russell was also on display.

 

The second game with the Tournament team, was also down to the wire.

We lost by 3 points to the E.D.H, Trojans. A team we had beaten the weekend prior. Austin Rosenberg had a good game. The contributors were Logan Begley with fine point guard play. Taylor Ittner with strong rebounding. And the all around strong play of J Kim Porras and Matthew Ortiz.

 

In the third game of the day the tournament team pulled away early in the first half to win by at least 15 points.

It was a great defensive team effort that allowed us to secure the win.

Standouts J Kim Porras, Austin Rosenberg, steady play of Jacob Renard.

Grant Skrownski also played well.

 

Sunday Competative Team Game

 

This game was a challenge.  The boys got to practice there plays, work together and identify where they need additional help in practice.  Over all they had a great time.

4th Grade-Week 4

As we finished yet another positive week, I can say that the boys are being more and more challenged, and that won’t change for tonight’s Monday trainings either!  We will have a tough training session tonight and a very focused Wednesday practice as well.  We will focus on new wrinkles in the offense, defensive rotation, shooting, passing and rebounding drills.  There will also be a real focus on intensity this week!

This weekend featured two games against older, bigger and stronger AAU teams.  The first game was against EDH gold.  We started the game cold and could not buy a bucket.  Twice we were able to pull ahead with 10 point leads, but could not keep the other teams at bay.  Finally, thanks to Spencer’s defensive intensity and Julian’s aggressive drives to the hoop, we were lead to a victory.  Our intensity level was high at times, but we could not sustain it.  We did not live up to our motto of 100% effort 100% of the time. This is definitely something that we will continue to focus on.

Our late afternoon Sunday game was against the Delta Runnin Rebels.  This team consisted primarily of 5^th and 6^th graders.  The team obviously had a size advantage on us and we only had 5 players….no subs!  Opening the game, we were thoroughly outworked in the first half.  Our boys looked like they were worn out and not interested in the game.  We walked the ball up the floor, did not get into our offense, played without intensity and failed to find the kind of defense we were capable of putting out; the score reflected that.  At the half we were down 33-12.

Most of our halftime was spent talking to the boys about pride.  They all had solemn looks on their faces.  By the time we finished our chat about pride I challenged the team to win the second half.  I wrote the score down on my clipboard and told the kids we were starting over.  Finally, I saw the fire ignite in their eyes.  They boys came out and played like I knew they could.  They all played an intense, physical style of ball.  With 36 seconds left we called a time out with the second half tied at 17 all.  I drew up a play that would distract the Rebels and leave Josh open in the right corner.  The boys ran the play to perfection leaving Josh wide open to knock down his 5^th three pointer of the game and gave us the lead.  The boys held on to win the second half 20-17!

I have to say, these boys could have packed it in early in the first half and nobody would have thought less of them.  They were playing a very skilled, larger and older team that was doing what they were supposed to do.  To my delight and pride, THEY DID NOT GIVE UP!!!  These kids were gassed, but they somehow reached down and played with pride, intensity and most of all, for each other, in the second half.  I am very proud of how these 5 kids reacted to this challenge.  Way to go Julian, Sava , Josh, Noah and Zeki!  Please take a moment this week to sit down and speak to your boys about this.  They all learned a valuable lesson that can be carried on in all of their future endeavors on and off the court.  If these boys remember this lesson I have no doubt that they will succeed is whatever they choose to do. Way to go; keep up the hard work and dedication to our team and to yourselves!

Coach Bob Mack

3rd Grade-Week 4

3rd grade comp vs. Delta Running Rebels

The team had their first test of a "real" competitive game against the team from Stockton. Applying the defensive theories they have learned, they got off to an early lead.  The team led by 10+ points for three quarters, but the Delta Rebels wouldn't quit.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the lead was cut to 1 point, and the YBA-XTREME team held strong and kept the lead for a 1 point win.

Team leaders for this game were Brian Lambey (tough shots made, and an elbow taken to the mouth), Parker Stone and Tyler DeRaps (Great guard play and tough defense), Derek Schwarze played great help defense and showed great hustle.

As a team, they played together, passed the ball well and showed tremendous improvement!  Great job!!

3rd Grade Tourney Team vs Delta Runnin' Rebels

The key to this game was defense and smart basketball.  The YBA-XTREME team beat the team from Stockton by 13 points, not only because they made more baskets, but because they played great defense!

Help defense was the key, and the YBA-X Club had it!  LJ Braner played a great inside game, and grabbed a ton of rebounds, while the rest of the team showed they can slow it down a little and play a great zone defense.

Alex Portello(aka AP) was tough on both ends, and made some tough layups.  Jaedon Pughsley(aka JP), Christian Paras (aka C) and Malik Jackson all contributed to the great guard play!  Handling the pressure by passing, and looking up court for the open man was HUGE!  Lots of great, SMART passes made by these players!

JP played great defense and hustled on both ends. He must've gotten 4-5 steals in the last minute to keep the other team on their toes.

Riley Burrows showed some great moves, and played a great all around game.  And Jayden Ohara, Alex Lin and Matt Limon all contributed on the hustle, help defense and teamwork.

Overall, the team is making great strides to becoming a true tournament team.  They are developing their individual skills (Monday Training) and they are raising the basketball IQ.  Both are needed for success!

7th Grade-Week 3

I am very pleased and proud of the efforts and the attitude displayed this weekend as we did well and fought hard in all our games. For the tournament team this last weekend's victory is the sweet reward for all the hard work that we've put in and losses that we had to grow and learn from! To win your 3rd tournament and first in D-2 is very impressive! You guys need to take that intensity and spirit into your school seasons and also bring it back with you in January! As for the comp team you guys played hard and well for your first tournament, don't let the scoreboard trick you into feeling bad because I guarantee that you've never played as high a level of basketball as you did this weekend.  Even if you are an AAU vet the difference between 6th and below and 7th & up is significant. We performed well and will continue to improve in all phases of the game. I want to cover each player briefly to discuss your strengths and what you should improve while your off playing middle school ball (& if not then, Yay! you get to come back and continue to play for me). I have seen a tremendous amount of improvement for the brief period of time we've been together.

#0 Adam- Your athletic ability, rebounding, fearlessness, & defense are your strong points right now. You have to develop your left hand and dribbling skills.
#0 Ryan- Your shot, passing and defense are your strengths. You need to develop your left hand & must dribble with your head up better.
#4 Cole- Your desire, defense, dribbling and attitude are your strengths. You need to keep your head up better and work on going left.
#5 Matt- Your driving ability, speed, and attitude are your strengths. You need to keep your head up and improve your ballhandling.
#6 Monty-Your low post game, court vision, & rebounding are very strong. You need to cut down your turnovers (better decsions) and need to find the rim when finishing.
#9 Jacob- Your Defense, fakes, hustle, and attitude are your strong points. You need to improve your left hand in particular, dribbling overall and see the court better.
#14 Tanner- Your dribbling, driving, basketball IQ, & shot are all solid for your age. You need to cut down on your turnovers & work on going to the basket instead of sideline to sideline.
#20 Garret- Your Defense, court vision & awareness, and attitude are your strongest attributes. You have to work on your lefthand dribbling, lefthand finishing and dribble with your head up.
#22 Daniel- Your Offense, intelligence and attitude are your biggest strengths. You basic issue is the lack of actual basketball experience, everything is basically just a matter of playing more and working at getting better.
#23 TJ- Mr consistent, you are solid in all categories from Defense to dribbling, your strength is your versatility. Your weaknesses are that you need to tighten up everything offensively: dribbling and lay ups, shooting, and passing.
#24 Josh- Your strengths start with Defense, but your dribbling, shot, & attitude are all very good. You need to work on your aggresivness to the rim and attacking defenders and defenses, and you have to use different passing angles.
# 32 Kyle- Your strengths are your shooting, right hand, & defensive work. Your left hand has to get better and your concept of offensive basketball is already improving.
#41 Joseph- Your strengths are your shot, your defense, and your athletic ability. You are the classic case of a late starter for basketball in the new millenium, once your experience level raises you will be a very good basketball player with the work.
Gage- Your strengths are your shot, and finishing at the rim. Another case of a late start and very little formal basketball experience, again you will be a good player when your experince level rises.

I gave you this information as a guideline as to what to improve and what to take advantage of, don't waste this knowledge! Use it to improve & do your best on the court! I will miss the guys that make your team, and will be taking it out on the boys left.  :)

I believe we will be having a comp game for the kids that are available. I will put out the info when it is finalized.

I had a great month with you guys and can't wait to coach ALL of you again in January!

Coach Adam 

8th Grade-Week 3

Xtreme Tournament team Sat Game 1

On Saturday morning , September 25 the YBA Xtreme Tournament team squared off against the Lodi Flying Tigers in their first tournament game.  Lodi proved to be a formidable opponent displaying aggressive full court defense and quickness to the basket for easy scores still YBA kept the game within reach through out the first half of play behind the outside shooting of Ishkhan Oganesyan and Zachary Green and the inside play of Justin DiRuscio.  The second half saw a better conditioned and more athletic Lodi team pull away for a victory but the YBA team showed great heart and competed until the final whistle.  In the end YBA simply turned the ball over too many times allowing the opponent to score easy transition baskets, did not get back quick enough in transition defense and was largely out rebounded at both ends of the court.  Overall for the first game as a team and with only 2 official practices under their belts the tournament team showed a lot of potential and saw positive things happen when they controlled the tempo of the game and ran the offensive sets with solid ball movement instead of settling for the first available shot.

YBA Xtreme Tournament Sat Game 2

On Saturday afternoon , September 25 the YBA Xtreme Tournament team squared off against the Davis Hotshots in their second tournament game.  The game began with a frenzied pace and YBA gave up some early transition baskets that allowed Davis to build a small lead.  YBA looked more comfortable running their offensive sets yet appeared a bit flat and lacking energy in the first half.  In the second half the YBA team showed better energy and made some positive things happen on the offensive end with solid movement without the ball and effective ball movement instead of settling for the first available shot.  Justin DiRuscio turned in a solid effort rebounding and scoring some baskets in the post area and Ishkhan Oganesyan, Sean Patrick Lallen, Nicholas McNamara and Zachary Diele provided solid efforts at both ends of the court as well.   The difference in this game was YBA’s inability to get back in transition defense which lead to a significant percentage of Davis’s points being scored with uncontested transition baskets.  In addition, YBA was outrebounded on both ends of the floor and had a higher turnover ratio than Davis.  But despite these short comings YBA showed great heart in the second half and showed some positive energy to build on for their next tournament game.

YBA Xtreme Competitive team Sat Game 1

On Saturday morning, September 25 the YBA Xtreme Competitive team played their first tournament game against the Davis Hotshots.  Davis came out of the gates applying an aggressive full court press and was able to attain a sizeable early lead by converting a high percentage of forced turnovers into quick uncontested transition baskets.   After a few early timeouts to reiterate the press break YBA did a nice job moving the ball side to side and getting it to a big in the middle of the court to offset the Davis full court defensive pressure and get into the YBA offensive sets.  Joshua O’Neal and Hunter Konrad contributed some valuable minutes on the boards and scoring some baskets in the low post and despite giving away some inches to their much taller opponents Zachary Farr and Gavin Triplett played a respectable game at the guard positions.  Despite a poor shooting night from outside Sanam Bains turned in a solid aggressive effort at both ends of the floor and Nathaniel Smith showed excellent hustle and nice offense presence of mind to ball fake and get multiple three point plays the old school way by making the basket despite being fouled and knocking down his free throw.  Overall for the first game as a team and with only 2 official practices under their belts YBA put forth a solid effort and showed great potential at times and needs to improve going forward on controlling the tempo of the game, rebounding on both ends of the floor and getting back on transition defense.

YBA Xtreme Competitive team Sat Game 2

 On Saturday afternoon , September 25 the YBA Xtreme Competitive team squared off against the Lodi Flying Tigers in their second tournament game.  Lodi came out with aggressive full court pressure and was able to build an early lead off turnovers converted into to easy uncontested transition baskets.  YBA came out with solid energy against their larger opponents and showed some improvement over their morning game with their ability to set up the press break and get the ball more effectively over the half court line and transition into their half court offensive sets.  Joshua O’Neal and Hunter Konrad who played all four games for YBA Xtreme provided solid play on the boards and on defense and the guard play of  Zachary Farr, Gavin Triplett and Max Cohen was much improved over the morning’s effort.  Nathaniel Smith continued to lead the team in hustle and effort and once again turned in some nice three point plays converting both his shot and free throw and Sanam Bains provided some speed and quickness on the perimeter.  Overall the team still settled for quick low percentage shots on the offensive end instead of making the defense work by moving the ball around and looking for high percentage shots.  Transition defense was still a weak spot allowing the opponent to score a high percentage of their overall total points on uncontested transition baskets and second chance put backs on the offensive glass.  But game two saw some positive improvement in the YBA Xtreme Competitive team’s poise, effort and cohesiveness as a team and the potential is there for great improvement in the weeks ahead.   

Sunday intra squad scrimmage 9, 10 a.m games

On Sunday morning  September 26 the YBA Xtreme Tournament and Competitive team’s squared off in their weekly intra squad scrimmage.   You have to hand it to all players as they showed up at 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday after four sizable losses on Saturday to be blunt about it and they had excellent energy and were determined to get to work and make themselves better so congratulations to all players for an excellent attitude coming off some not so fun losses. 

The nine o’clock game saw great energy and effort by both the blue and white teams with the blue team maintaining a small lead throughout most of the game.  Both sides continued to get familiar with the offensive sets both against man and zone defense and showed great improvement in their cognitive understanding of the various baseline and side line out of bounds plays.  Joshua O’Neal and Zachary Green saw limited play due to wrist and ankle injuries respectively.  Zachary Diele was impressive on both ends of the floor and Sean Patrick Lallen, Justin DiRuscio and Nicholas McNamara showed played solid defensive and showed great floor leadership throughout the game.  Keys for improvement continue to be getting back on transition defense and not giving up uncontested transition baskets, rebounding on both ends of the floor, solid man to man help defense and reducing turnovers.

The ten o’clock game once again saw the blue team maintaining a small lead throughout the game and both teams looked much improved running the “wheel” offense against a 2-3 zone defensive set.   Both sides still need to improve their cognitive understanding of the various side line and base line out of bounds plays as both teams still looked confused as to what they were to do at times.  The blue team showed solid full court man to man pressure and both teams were at times effective running the special pick an roll play called at the discretion of the point guard but improvement in the area of setting solid screens on an actual player not thin air is still a point that will continue to be emphasized in future practices.   Nicholas McNamara showed some nice outside shooting and Hunter Konrad and Justin DiRuscio were effective on defense both recording several blocked shots and giving solid efforts on the boards.  Overall both teams still need improvement in controlling the tempo of the game and not getting into a race horse up and down out of control type game.  Our offense needs to make the defensive work hard and we need to look for high percentage shots by moving the ball around the floor and moving better without the ball.  Again it needs to be said that the effort of all players was very commendable after some lop sided losses on Saturday no one was feeling sorry for themselves and everyone was giving 100% effort and trying to become better basketball players and the coaches will take that attitude over a win any day. 

Deloe Shively

6th Grade-Week 3

Saturdays tournament was a great success.  My competitive players got their first taste of an AAU tournament.  Jonathan Lund, Grant Skowronski, and Carter Smith really put their skills to the test in the first game.  They were rebounding, shooting and defending the whole first game, which led to a nice victory.  In the second game the tournament team pulled together and stayed competitive until the very end, but they weren't able to hold on.  The third game was a hard fought thriller.  All the boys were playing with the skills they have been taught.  This made them very competative.  Logan Begley's defense sprang the team back to life and led them to get the lead back.  Matthew Ortiz also played some solid defense with great rebounding and scoring.

 

The boys did great this weekend! We walked away with two wins and one loss.  The teams came together and played some great basketball.

5th Grade-Week 3

We had our second tournament this weekend playing two games against two good teams. We only had 6 players and were fortunate that Harmon stepped up and played with us.  We are learning to play together as a team and realizing team work, hustle and defense wins games. We need to cut down on our costly turnovers and be ready to catch the ball when it is passed. Rebounding position and blocking out on the defensive boards is a must if we want to stop easy put back points. We are learning as we go that playing uptempo competition requires execution, focus, hard work and sprinting up and down the floor. The boys played hard this weekend and Harmon was a big help on the boards. Lets work hard at practice and keep learning and getting better.  Keep up your awesome attitudes, hold your heads up high, be proud of your teammates, keep listening and learning from Coach Tom, and be ready for our next tournament!        

4th Grade-Week 3

4^th grade Xtreme had yet ANOTHER great week of training, practice and games.  The boys worked really hard in training and had a high level of focus in practice.  We worked on refining our offense and defense this past week, and I think it really shined this weekend.  I will keep adding wrinkles to the mix as the weeks progress.

We played our first tournament game this Saturday against a familiar EDH 5^th grade team.  We got off to a slow start, but finished strong.  We really let the size of EDH affect us in the first half.  Their size along with our inability to just get a couple shots to drop, kept the game close.

In the second half our team began to click.  We started to run the offense and hit our cutters.  Spencer, Josh and Chase really got us into our offense and created some opportunities off the cuts.  Nathan and Julian helped out in the post and hit some big shots down the stretch.  In the end, we turned up the heat and were able to pull ahead for the win.  Great job guys!

On Sunday we had 2 games.  The first game our comp team played the 3^rd grade tournament team.  Noah, Zeki and Garrett played all the minutes they could handle.  Garrett hit some huge jump shots out there.  He was on fire!  Noah seemed to get every rebound in his area.  Zeki played with the same fire we have come to expect.  He was able to run the offense and get to the basket.  This game allowed us to play some of our players out of position.  Vince, Ryan and Sava all played on the perimeter, and they loved every minute of it.  As this team progresses, expect to see more of that.  I’m going to start to play some of these players out of their comfort zones.  I don’t expect them to be perfect when I put them in new positions as we are all a work in progress. 

As a side note to this game, I want to take a minute to speak about our 3^rd grade tournament team.  These kids did not quit. They could have easily packed it in and given up, but they weren’t having any of it.  It’s a testament to each of those players and Coach Lance that they kept playing until the final buzzer.  They deserve a lot of credit for their effort and hard work, and I’m proud of what they have accomplished.

Our final game Sunday was against our BIG brothers, the 5^th grade comp team.  We played well for most of the game.  I asked Coach Tom to have his team press us as much as they could.  This was the first real game time pressure we have had to deal with.  I felt that the boys handled the pressure fairly well.  We will work on it a lot in practice this week.  We made some errors, but for the most part did a great job.  This game was a great learning experience for all of us on and off the court.  We learned a lot about body language on the bench.  The boys learned that they still need to conduct themselves with a high level of sportsmanship on the court and on the bench.  When on the bench, we can’t hold our heads down, complain or negatively react to your teammates, opponents or referees.   These are difficult but necessary lessons to learn.  We were able to pull together as a team in the 4^th quarter and once again, pull out another victory.  I don’t think I have ever coached a team that finishes as strong and determined as this team does.  There is no “quit” in this team’s vocabulary.  I have never been so proud of this team.  They managed to turn what could have been a negative experience into a positive growth situation, and we are a stronger team for it today. 

This was a long and hard week on the kids, and they ALL have responded well to it.  Now that I have a good feeling for the boys’ personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, I will be challenging them constantly.  Each player will be addressed differently whether it is playing out of their desired position, learning a new skill, mental approach, body language, etc.  I have already seen some huge changes in each of the boys this session.  We have a strong group of kids who really want to reach that next level of play, and it is my responsibility to get them there.  Please take a moment as parents to really fill their emotional tanks.  All of our boys deserve a pat on the back for a job well done this week. 

I just know that this coming week will be another good one.  We have more high-intensity training on Monday and another great practice lined up for Wednesday.  I would also like to take this opportunity to let you know that we have been given an official assistant coach; Jayson Price of the YBA family, will be a great addition to our coaching squad.  Jayson is a great guy and very eager to learn and help the kids improve.  We are very lucky to have him.  Please take a moment to welcome him to our team on Wednesday. 

Thanks,

Coach Mack 

3rd Grade-Week 3

3^rd grade tournament team was physically outmatched against the 4^th grade comp/tourney combo team.  While the score may have made the game seem lopsided, the 3^rd grade team made great strides!  They played hard and hustled throughout the game, and they showed signs of their basketball IQ being elevated.  They learned to slow the ball down, to get (semi) set up, and then run a play (one they learned in 15 minutes prior to the game).

They were beat, but not beat down, as they understand that this is just preparing them to be one of the best teams in the area.  A few players short for various reasons, the kids really gave their all.

The coach is excited to see progress each week, and will continue to challenge them to keep getting better as basketball players, and as individuals.

3rd Grade-Week 2

3rd grade comp vs 3rd grade comp (intersquad)

 A great game was played between the two teams, as the players from the 3rd grade comp team faced off against their teammates.  We had a few tournament team players mixed in, just to fill out the rosters.  It was a fun game, and the important thing is everyone played hard!  The players are coming along in learning the "faster paced" game and learning the new concepts they are being taught.

I saw many players applying some of the things we have been working on in practices, so this is exciting!  I look forward to the day when it all "starts to come together".

3rd grade tournament team vs NorCal Matrix 3rd grade

 In their first game playing against a "real" tournament team (one with tournament experience), the team played REAL well.  The YBA-XTREME team lost by a small margin of five points - in DOUBLE OT!!!  An exciting game for all involved!!

The players are still in their "Transition Period" from rec league to AAU basketball, and it showed at some points. Easy passes were stolen, unguarded dribbles were poked away, and the overall aggressiveness and speed of the opposing team seemd to take YBA-X by surprise.  Many of the kids made adjustments while playing (stronger passes, guarding the dribble, passing more) and that is what kept them in the game.

A few great things to point out - defense.  The team did well on the defensive side, with the coach seeing many of the concepts being taught trying to be applied.  Also, passing.  The team is doing a great job in seeing an open man.  The first step is seeing them, then the next step is getting the pass there.

There is great potential in this team, and this first loss is nothing to hang their heads about.  Coach is really proud of all the boys and how they hustled and fought every second of the game. 

4th Grade-Week 2

The 4^th grade Xtreme had another great week!  We began the week with training on an intense Monday night however crazy it may have seemed, we were able to get some good work in with all the kids.  Keep in mind, we had no idea how many kids were going to show up, and we were overwhelmingly pleased with the turnout!  We have made some changes to the process and will continue to make refinements as needed.  During these training sessions, the kids will be pushed towards their goal of playing basketball at a higher level. 

Wednesday’s practice was chalked full of instruction and once again, I asked a lot from the kids.  It was a practice full of positive energy and praise.  We did have a slight issue with lack of focus, and in an attempt to gain that focus back they all ran their share of lines.  We touched on a 1-2-2 defense, three quarter court press, learned 2 out-of-bounds plays, and reviewed the offense, our press break, 2-2-1 press, m2m and 2-3 defenses.

Sunday was game day, and once again I was really proud of all the kids.  In the first game we split the teams up for an inter-squad game.  Zeki took control of the ball and penetrated very well!  Noah and Garrett faced off against one another at the 5 spot and battled for every rebound.  Ryan was able to get open for some clean looks.  Keep shooting the ball Ryan; it will come!  I asked the kids to run the offense, and they did it at a very high level.  Nathan and Julian were able to get the offense setup and started.  We will keep working on our cuts this week.  Please remind your boys, “PASS-CUT-ROTATE”.  We’ll get it.  Sava continued his solid play and was knocking down jumpers.

Our final game was against the 5^th grade comp team.  Our boys played their hearts out against a much bigger and stronger team.  We worked as a team trying out all of what we learned in practice last week.  We played m2m, 2-3 and even a little 1-2-2 defense.  The boys tried to run our out of bounds play, but it didn’t always go the way we drew it up!  We’ll be working more on these this week in practice.  I was very happy that they did try to set them up.

The game was tight from start to finish.  The 5^th grade team has some beasts under the boards that we struggled with all day.  Vince did an excellent job in the 4^th quarter of staying low and fronting their big man.  This was a task that I asked each of our post players to do.  What was impressive, was that these players have never been coached in this and were open to learning and applying this new skill.  I was even able to get in some playing time for our comp kids.  They came off the bench and provided some great fire.  I have been asking a lot from Josh as I have been playing him out of position this whole season.  I’m asking him to take on the point guard duties.  He’s made great strides, and I’m very proud of him for taking on something he is not comfortable doing.  This type of attitude is contagious and it shows on this team. 

Late in the 4^th quarter when Josh hit a wall, Spencer came in and provided exactly what we needed.  He came in with the much needed energy and defense.  Chase was a warrior all day.  I can’t tell you how many elbows he took trying to defend the ball.  His combination of speed, effort and attitude is so huge for us.  I told the boys entering the 4^th quarter down 4, that defense is what was going to win this game.  All of the kids bought into this, buckled down and played lock down defense.  YOU GUYS ROCK!

I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I am so proud and impressed how hard the boys are working.  I have asked a lot of them each and every time we meet and they have stepped up and met the challenge.  In fact, they have thrown it back in my face with “Coach, is that all you got?” 

The boys have all of 24 hours to relish in the accomplishments this week.  We are back at it hard starting Monday 5-7pm with training and we will have a very intense practice Wednesday.  I’m sure they will exceed my expectations.  They have done it thus far and they will continue to do so. 

On another note, a big thank you to all the parents.  The kids are not the only ones that need to be dedicated for this program to work.  An extra thank you goes to Mark Sienkiewski for offering to assist me on Wednesdays.  Maybe I can get him to join me full time!!  You have all been great and very supportive of what we are trying to do with this program.  Every one of you have my promise that I will continue to work as hard as I can to better your kids not only as players, but people as well.

 Coach Bob Mack

5th Grade-Week 2

Tournament Team:

This past weekend we had 3 games on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.We came away with a 2-2 record for their first official weekend playing at the AAU level of competition. The boys had their first taste of  aau competition and tempo in their first game against a good Delta Runnin Rebels. Boy, did they run! They were fast,quick and aggressive. Our boys played hard and accepted the challenge but at the end, with only 7 players, we ran out of steam. 

The second game vs. EDH proved to us that we are a new team and we need to keep working hard and focusing. The boys were tired and less focused but kept their heads up and learned what it is going to take to play at this level. The 3rd. game vs. EDH, the boys were showed up ready to play. The team passed the ball well and found their open teammates, they were aggressive on the boards and started to gel offensively.  The team routed their opponent and realized with hard work and teamwork, good things happen!  

The game on Sunday was vs. a good Elk Grove team who were very well coached and aggressive. It was head to head down to the final seconds in the game when Coach Tom drew up an awesome out of bounds play.\ The boys executed the play to perfection and made the winning basket as time ran out! 

This team has great passion for the game and they work hard at getting better.  Can't wait til next weekend to see their progress!     

Comp Team: 

The team played a very good 4th. grade Extreme tournament team this weekend.  The boys came out and scored right away and played well defensively. They stopped the aggressive penetration drives of the 4th. grade guards and rebounded well. The boys listened to Coach Tom and worked hard at executing new plays. With playing a fast uptempo team, our 5th. grade team gave it their all. They slowed the pace down for the first 3 quarters but with only 6 players, they ran out of steam by the 4th. quarter. They never gave up and fought til the end.  Keep working hard and see you at practice on Wed!    

6th Grade-Week 2

Sunday, the 6th grade teams at an Intra-Squad Scrimmage.  J Kim Porras again set the bar high with his shooting, rebounding and defending.  Austin Rosenberg was scoring rebounding and getting physical with some great defense.  Jacob Hedger's hot shooting kept his team close all the way to the end of the first game.

In the end all the boys came together on their teams which made for two great games.  We are definitely looking forward to some tournaments.