From Basketball Court to Hallway – The Journey Continues

Both Joshua and Kristie tried out for their school basketball teams.  Both failed to make it.  But they both wanted to play, so we were left with Jr. Jazz basketball through the recreation centers.   Andrew was signed up as well since he wants to do everything his older brother does.

Andrew – Kindergarten

So we started practices this week and today was the first set of games.   Andrew was at 9am this morning.   He is in Kindergarten, and his is in an “instructional” league.   They only meet 1x per week for an hour on Saturday mornings.  They do 30 minutes of instruction with their coach and a 30 minute game with another team.

It was totally awesome.  Both boys and girls were all smiles (and some confused looks) when the game started.  It was mayhem of the best kind.  Most of the kids tried to dribble, but some didn’t bother.  Two of Andrew’s teammates were bigger than all the others and got quite a few rebounds.  They would just grab the ball and sprint to the other end of the floor, no dribbling attempted, and throw up some monster heave at the hoop.  And of course there was the sliding, jumping on balls, an occasional mild push (nothing serious or with ill intent).  They were just having fun playing “monkeyball” as we called it as teenagers.

The officials were awesome as trainers.  They were helping kids understand how to throw in the ball from the sidelines, telling them to dribble, and coaching them about game play.  At one point they did blow the whistle on one of the big kids and explained he needed to dribble when moving with the ball, and then gave him the ball back.

Others were more skilled and would dribble and take some good shots.  Andrew was one of these and scored a few times.  I told him on one trip down to try passing, and he ended up with his first assist by passing to the other kid who seemed to have some skill/experience.

To help the kids on defense they gave them all colored wrist bands.  Each player on one team had a different color, and it corresponded with the same color on an opponents wrist.   So if you had the blue band, you guarded the player on the other team with blue.   It was a cool coaching aid.

The kids had a blast, got to practice some skills, gained some hands on experience, and had good instruction from coaches and officials.  It was a grand time for everyone!

Kristie – 6th Grade

Kristie’s game was at noon at a different location.  Hers is a “competitive” league and they play four 8-minute quarters.  They got the schedules and team rosters on Monday and practiced once this week.  It was the same for everyone, so no team had a ton of time to practice before games started.

Both teams only had 5 girls.  (Kris actually only had 4, but another girl there saw them short handed and jumped in to play).  This game was much less of a “blast” and for the first time ever, I got thrown out of a youth sports event.

Getting Thrown Out

These girls are not Kindergarteners.  Next year they will all be trying out for middle school teams if they want.  They aren’t here for “instructional league.”  And yet the officiating was EXACTLY the same as for Andrew’s game.

There were absolutely NO fouls, traveling, or other such calls made in the first half.  The officials, two teenagers, did nothing but call possession when the ball went out of bounds and call a few jump balls when girls got tied up.   One of them was never even in position under the basket … he simply wandered around aimlessly, often giving us two officials up near mid-court.  He also seemed too scared to blow his whistle; the other one would make possession calls from across the court at times.  

When this officiating incompetence became clear to me near the end of the 1st quarter, I started talking to the official as he came by.  At first it was the wanderer.   He was right in front of me when I said, “You know they play sloppy like this because you let them.  If you’d blow that whistle they could learn to play better.”

Not even a response from him.  Not a word or a look in my direction.  He was happy to ignore me, ignore the game, and just get a paycheck for being there.  He was a lost cause.

About midway through the 2nd quarter they finally moved around enough to have the other official (who at least wasn’t afraid of his whistle) come past me.  To him I asked, “How are they supposed to learn to play the right way if you keep letting them play it wrong?”   He at least looked at me.  He replied, “Hey man, just leave me alone.”

Um, no.  I responded again, “Even on our team, could you call a foul, travel, anything?  Call it on my daughter, but call SOMETHING.”

“They aren’t doing anything wrong though.  I don’t want to hear another word from you.”

Nothing wrong?  I know Kristie had traveled at least half a dozen times, double dribbled twice, and committed who knows how many fouls.  Every girl out there was the same.  Pushing like crazy, hacking arms, walking all over with the ball, sliding every time they stopped.   It was bedlam much like Andrew’s game, ONLY THESE WERE 6TH GRADERS!!!  I was having none of it.

“You don’t see anything wrong?  You should be ashamed to get a pay check for this!”   **WHISTLE BLOWS**  He T’s me up to the desk and throws me out.   The second the whistle blew I was on my feet and walking out but told him one more time, “Ashamed.  You should be ashamed to get paid for this.”

My Expectations

I completely understand not seeing a foul, missing a travel, etc.  That happens.  I officiated high school games in Arkansas and it has happened to me.  Especially with only 2 officials instead of 3.  This wasn’t the case though.  These two had either made a decision to call nothing, or were incapable of seeing what was obvious and calling it.

I expect 6th graders to be officiated to a higher standard than Kindergarteners.  I’ll use Kris as my example, but it applies to every girl there as well.  How is Kris supposed to get better playing like that?

How does she learn NOT to travel if she isn’t penalized for doing it?  She won’t even recognize that what she is doing is wrong if it is allowed to happen.  Same with dribbling, carries, double dribble, etc.

And defense?  How will she learn to play good defense if she is allowed to play bad defense?   She won’t develop the instinct not to hack someone’s arm if the whistle isn’t blown.  They won’t learn good defensive posture and positioning if they learn that it works just fine to hang on somebody.  It is the officiating that teaches them where the line is between acceptable actions and penalties.

Kris will try out for the middle school team next year.  If she shows up and has been used to the standard of being able to travel, she will surely do it and be judged poorly by a coach.  Calling fouls and penalties on MY DAUGTHER will make her better. PLEASE DO IT!

And what about the highly skilled player?  You are robbing that one too.  If Kristie develops a killer cross over and pull up shot in the lane, she is robbed if the defender is allowed to hang on her as she changes direction to go by.  Kris would then learn by experience that the skill she worked to develop DOESN’T work, because the official allowed the defender to stop it without penalty.   So she doesn’t develop and her learning is stunted.

When bad officiating is present both the skilled and unskilled are penalized and will fail to improve.  What might be acceptable for Kindergarteners and some older grades should definitely be gone by the time they reach 6th.   This was worse than the 3rd/4th/5th grade games I officiated back East.   Just disgraceful.

Ejection Rescinded

So I sat in the hallway and watched the game through the open gym door.  At  halftime the official came to talk to me.   I explained to him what I just explained above.  He explained that he didn’t want to be yelled at.  I told him I hadn’t yelled.   I asked if I could come back in.  He said “Fine, but I don’t want to hear anything.”   Fine.

He walked in and then walked to the other court (behind a giant curtain).  When he came back he was with an older man in a green striped shirt.  He came walking over to me.

“Are you going to throw me out too?” I asked.

“Throw you out?  No! I’m the site supervisor though, would you tell me what is going on.”  So I told him about the utter lack of officiating, of my “be ashamed” insult, and of my expectations for players this age.  I also told him that when I pay to enter the league that I expect them to use that money for competent officials.

He totally agreed with me on expectations.  He said he would watch the game and see if he could see what I was describing.  When we were finished, he disappeared for most of the 3rd quarter but stuck his head around the giant screen a few times to watch for a moment.   During a time out on the other court he came over again and asked me about it.  I told him, still not one foul call.  I said one girl on our team lost control of her dribble at mid court and bounced it over her shoulder where it rolled down her back, she turned and picked it up and kept dribbling, all with no call made.   He looked aghast.   Nothing had changed.

Improvement… but still WOW!

So he made a change.  He took over the table at our game and sent the other kid to the other court.   During the last quarter break he talked to the officials and I could see he was trying to train them a bit.

To start the 4th, nothing had changed.   This supervisor had to call out from the table a few times, “That was a travel, you HAVE to call that.”   His presence and officiating from the table was the only thing that made it bearable in the 2nd half.   They were forced to at least LOOK like they were trying since the boss was there.

The one official that threw me out actually got better.  He called a few travels, and 2 fouls in the 4th quarter.  He might have hope with some training and experience.  The other was just as hopeless as the first half.   He wasn’t in position to see the plays, and he never blew his whistle except for possession calls when the ball went out of bounds.  He seemed like he was trying because the supervisor was there, but just didn’t have ANY idea how a basketball game should be played.  It was that or he just really didn’t care at all.

Afterward the supervisor came to me again.  He said that he has to write evaluations and a report after each day.   I had to provide my name and such so it could be recorded I was thrown out.  He said he will make sure there are improvements for next week and going forward.  He didn’t apologize for officiating being as atrocious as it was, but he did agree that it was unacceptably poor.

Joshua – 8th grade

Josh’s game was at 3pm at yet another location.  This team is largely made up of Joshua’s friends at school.   One of their Dad’s is coaching, but he told me, “I don’t know anything about basketball.”  So he is listed as being in charge, but he told me to please take over and help.  So now I’m unofficially coaching Joshua’s team.

This game was great.  Officials were good.  They missed calls of course, everyone does.  But they knew the game and made it fair.   The teams were fairly close in ability too.  Both teams have a couple of decently skilled guys, and a handful of question marks.   But even the question marks have decent skills and largely know the rules by this age.

The other team had one main scorer but it turned out Josh was able to shut him down.  The few times Josh had to come out for rotation of substitutes this guy would score and they’d take the lead.  Josh would come back and his scoring would stop and we’d take the lead.  It was fairly back and forth like this.

We were down 5 with about 3 minutes to go when I told the coach, “We’re at the point now that if you want to win we need to put Josh, Dallen, and Jarren back in.”   So he did.   The other team stopped scoring and with 25 seconds left we took a 1 point lead.  Josh fouled their decent player (and only other scorer) with 8 seconds to go.   Luckily he missed both (after making both shots on his previous trip to the stripe).  Our boys couldn’t handle the rebound though, and it was fumbled and ended in a jump ball, opponents possession.   2 seconds left and they called timeout.   They were given directions to not allow anything inside and to harass the scorer.   They got a pass in to another player who missed badly as time expired.   An exciting game made better by victory.

I made a point of shaking the officials hands and telling them good job.  I did rag one about a (correct) moving screen call though.  Who calls that in Jr Jazz?

Conclusion

I got ejected (kind of) from a youth sporting event.   I deserved it, but I wasn’t wrong either.

I’m not sure what to think of the fact that the boys had competent refs but the girls didn’t.   Was it a fluke that they had two bad refs? Or has Marv Jensen decided girls don’t deserve the same quality as the boys do?  I sure hope that isn’t it and assume it isn’t.

My other interactions with Marv Jensen Rec Center have all been positive with quick correction to the few errors made, so I hope that this is remedied as well.  ALL the kids deserve competent officials regardless of age or sex.  It is something I expect to receive as a customer paying outlandish prices.  And of the 6 officials I saw today 4 of them were great.

I’m sure I should conclude I was wrong to be insulting.   I was.  My characterization of their performance was spot on, but I could have left out the insult.

I’m glad I spoke up though.   The supervisor would have had no idea how bad things were otherwise.  Sure, he might have heard a complaint about bad officiating, but every official hears that.   But my being ejected drew enough attention for him to see it for himself and to realize it wasn’t a hollow complaint.  Hopefully it will spur some training (or firing) so that the customers (the kids) can get the most out of their experience.


Running Log: Cross Country 9/7/2017

9/7/2017

Location: Bluffdale City Park

Participants: NorthStar Academy, Summit Academy, Ascent Academy, Eagles

Course: 2 laps around the mostly flat city park.

Results

Both Joshua and Kristie participated in another Cross Country meet.  Josh continues to suffer from Osgood-Schlatter disease in his knee.  Because this course was 2 laps of a city park I was able to position myself near the 1 mile point and give them their times as they came by.

My perception was that Josh was far worse in positioning than last week due to the knee pain.

Kristie appeared to fair much better on the flat ground than she did in the rocky hills at Providence Hall.

This post is late in coming because the school never sent out official results.  I was waiting for them to come before I posted, but am now posting it without them.  If I can round them up later I will update.

UPDATE

Joshua finished 17th with a time of 14:37

Kristie finished 10th with a time of 16:26

Running Log – Official Event

I know that I was keeping a pretty consistent running log earlier this year.  But I didn’t know it would lead to this! Both Joshua and Kristie have joined the Summit Academy Cross Country team.  They had their first official meat last night!

1st Official Event

Josh ran a few events with Couch School last year before our fire, but this was Kristie’s first competitive school event of any kind.  This was obviously Joshua’s first event here in Utah.

The meet was held at Providence Hall, a charter school in nearby Herriman, Utah.  Turns out it is actually closer and easier to get to than Summit Academy, which is on the other side of Bluffdale.  Since this was so easy to get to we decided to take the entire family as a cheering section.

Teams were there competing from Providence Hall, Summit Academy (one team from the Independence campus, and one team from the Draper campus), Ascent Academy from Lehi, and a team wearing an Eagles jersey but whose school I didn’t ever catch the name of.   5 teams total.

The Race

These meets are a race around a 2 mile track.  The track at Providence was in the rolling hills of the Oquirrh Mountains and inside a small ravine next to the school.  The only flat section was the 100 yards where they started and ended.  The rest of the course was either uphill or downhill along the windy dirt track.  One section of the track was downhill enough that a few kids fell on their way down the hill.  A few bumps and bruises, no injuries.

Joshua

They raced the boys first.  Joshua had to wear his knee brace.  Since starting to run again his Osgood-Schlatter pains resurfaced.  He wore the brace and took some Advil and was ready to go.

Josh can do 2 miles on a flat track in just under 13 minutes, but with the hills I wasn’t sure what to expect.  He turned in a finish of about 13:30 (unofficial) which given his knee pain and track was pretty good in my mind.  It was good enough for him to finish 28th out of 100+ runners.

I’m not sure what they do with those Providence Hall kids,  because I think they had 5 boys finish before the first Summit Academy runner came across.   First boy finished in about 11:30 minutes.

Kristie

When all of the boys finished it was the girls turn.

I’ve only ever seen her run compared to her siblings, so I wasn’t sure what to expect of this small 6th grader running with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  She can do 2 miles on a flat track in about 14 minutes.

She finished her turn on those windy hills in just under 17 minutes.  I think her short legs had a harder time with the elevation changes than Josh did.  That time was good enough to finish 16th out of about 50 girls.  First girl across was about 14 minutes I think (I forgot to look).

Accomplishment

They both were totally spent when they were finished running.  Kristie looked ready to collapse.  I only took Joshua a minute of rest and some fluids to look ready to run again though.   I’m not sure he put out as much effort because of the knee.  Kristie gave it everything she had and it showed.

I think they both did quite well.

I know Josh is our best runner, but I know he’s never been blazing fast either.  He finished about where I expected him to finish.  I’ve always thought of Kristie as being quite fast, and given her size and age compared to the field I think it she did really well.   They both have room for improvement for sure (mostly just from physical growth), but I think they should both feel a sense of accomplishment.


Side note: Kristie actually tried out for the Volleyball team too.  But given the fact we’ve never played volleyball before, she was woefully unprepared for it.  Volleyball is even more of a tall person sport than basketball is, and given her short stature it was going to be an uphill battle.  She didn’t make it, but was just as happy to be running!

Joshua is eagerly anticipating basketball tryouts later this month!

 

 

Rock Climbing

I was feeling pretty good on Monday evening, and we wanted a break from housework, so we went rock climbing.

Unfortunately I can’t climb AT ALL! Julie can climb pretty well, though hasn’t done so since we got here to UT. Our climbing time is all about the kids.  They love it.  They feel accomplished and strong and love to tackle new challenges.  Like all siblings, they especially love trying to outperform each other by making a climb faster or by accomplishing a harder route.   It is an individual event, but great for the whole family.

The Quarry

There is an indoor rock climbing wall in Provo called The Quarry that is just right for us on Monday nights.   On Mondays, the cost is only $6 per person from 6pm-10pm.  This is a serious discount that we would like to take advantage of far more than we do (this was only our second time).

They have more climbs than I have been able to count.   I haven’t asked, but I’d guess the walls are up to 45-50ft tall.   They have many, many options.  even the youngest enjoy “climbing the alphabet” (alphabet handholds that ascend the wall).  The staff is polite and helpful as well as the other patrons!

Most of the wall space is set up with ropes in place waiting for climber and belayer to connect and climb.   These range from a beginner/youth level to advanced difficulties.

They also have a significant amount of space for lead climbers as well.  This section has carabiners in the wall waiting for a climber to ascend with rope in tow.  This section is all advanced climbing.

Not only do they have traditional climbing walls where harnesses and a belay are necessary.  They also have an awesome “bouldering” room.  This area has shorter walls but requires some high-skilled technique to complete the “routes”.  My kids don’t follow those, but just climb using anything available.  This is great fun because they can each climb at the same time rather than waiting for Mom or Dad to be available to belay them on the traditional walls.

 

Rock Climbing Monkeys

I admit I can be a braggart about my kids, and this is no exception.  They are awesome!!  None of them are afraid to try even the hardest walls, yet they still succeed more often than they fail.  When they have shown mastery over an entire section of wall then they attempt to just do one route on that section (doing a route limits your hand and foots holds to only a certain color rather than simply using anything within reach, this makes it much more difficult and requires more skill AND strength).

Steven, our littlest monkey who can climb, has yet to make it up an entire section of wall.  His short arms and small hands make it very hard.  But he still gives his best and is getting better.  He likes to show off when he finds an overhang with a hold he can hang from.

Andrew can make it to the top of certain portions of the easier sections (like the alphabet) and finds a way to scamper up many portions of the bouldering room.   His arm/leg length is the only thing holding him back from the most difficult sections.  Kid is a great climber.

Nikki, only slightly taller/longer than Andrew, has the same issues he has.   That little bit of difference though shows up in what she can do.  She can scamper up most walls that her older siblings can do.

Charlee is soooo strong at this!  On Monday she was about 1/3 of the way up one of the harder sections when one of the college kids next to us started up near her.   In short order their heads were at the same height.  I jokingly told her she’d get $2 from me if she beat him up the remaining 30ft.  I just paid out the money!! (Poor kid really heard it from his friends for losing to a little girl!)

Kristie is a whole ton of strength wrapped up in her petite frame.  Her light stature and strong grip make her a machine on those walls.  She is able to get anywhere she decides to get to!   Any time I give them a new goal (“climb this route and touch that hold”) she is likely to be the first to accomplish it!

Joshua, well, being the biggest and strongest tends to make him the best at our sporting activities.   This isn’t any different.  In terms of pure ability, he is our best.  The others are more impressive because of their size, but he is our strongest climber and most skilled.  He tries harder routes than the others, and so he fails more often.  But he keeps at it and gets better quickly.

Caitlin didn’t make the trip this time.  She was sick and stayed at home with the little one.

Wanting More!

As with all such activities, I’m always left wanting more.  Mostly I want to be able to participate myself, I admit.  But the kids have so much fun and do so well that I want more for them too.   I love their smiles, laughs, and effort to do well.

Unfortunately time is scarce, and money is even more so.  So this isn’t a regular event for us.   But it is one that we will try to repeat as often as occasion and finances will allow.  If you are looking for a fun activity to try as a family, then I highly recommend you give this a try!


I should add a shout out to Paul Murray and his great rock wall at the Family Cinema in West Plains, MO.   His wall was the first one to which we took the kids.  It is also an awesome location and we have had a ton of fun as a family there as well.   If not for Paul’s friendship and suggestion we might not have tried rock climbing as a family, and we would have missed out on something awesome if we had.   Thanks Paul!  Hope all is well!!

Update After My Hiatus

I’ve been on a hiatus and think I should give an update on life.  With nothing really going on I just haven’t found anything to write about.   Of course things have happened, but they all seem so small and insignificant at the time that they don’t seem worth mentioning.  It is only in the accumulation of seemingly insignificant changes that the scope of the change becomes apparent.

HOUSE PROJECT UPDATE

Things aren’t moving as quickly as I’d like, but they are moving about as quickly as they could possibly move.  We finished the wiring/plumbing/etc last week; HVAC was installed last week, and the sheetrock was hung this week.  The sheetrock mudders will be in on Monday.   By the end of the week we should be able to paint.

While the sheetrock was going up this week we were working on the deck that is going out the south side of the great room (going to have to stop calling it that because now it is a collection of small rooms that are no greater than any other rooms).   We have the supports up and joists up.  We don’t have any decking or railing on yet.  That might happen this week while the mudders have us out of the place again this week.

As soon as we can get back in we will paint just as quickly as possible and then get to finishing the bathroom and working on flooring.

I will try to get some video edited of what the space looks like out to you soon!

MISSOURI/FINANCES UPDATE

We have accepted (grudgingly) that we won’t be moving back to MO anytime soon.  This is sad.  We don’t want to lose the property though just in case we ever do find a way to get back there.

Even though we are way under water on the mortgage for a house that no longer exists, we have still been making the payments.   I’ve tried reaching the bank to see if we can work something out but they refuse to speak to me.  If nothing else I’d like to get approval to lower my payments since there is no insurance on the property (why would there be?) and the taxes are going to be MUCH lower now with no home.

We have sold our cattle.  They have been at a neighbors house since the fire and he took care of them over the winter.  I had him haul them to auction this week and should get a check for them soon.  That will help out a lot of things!

We haven’t decided how/when we are going to collect the rest of our things.  I think it is feasible to have everything loaded into my storage unit and then ship the entire thing here to Utah, but I don’t have a good way of getting it all loaded.  I could ask friends/neighbors to do it for me, but that seems like a big ask.   Maybe my Dad goes back and does it with help.  May I have to do it?  Still undecided.

FAMILY UPDATE

Everyone is fine.  Caitlin (15) and Joshua (13) had birthdays.  Everyone is healthy and enjoying the summer.  They’d like to not be working at my parents so much, but it hasn’t been bad.  With frequent (near daily) trips to the pool or the new splash pad in Bluffdale they are all getting out a lot.  They’ve done some hiking and sports too.

I think everyone is apprehensive about the move.  We know my parents place won’t be done.  We only have 2 weeks from today, so I don’t even know what state of cleanliness it will be in.   But school is starting, so we will move in regardless and make the best of it.   Maybe with school starting it will help make things easier for Julie and I to get things into a more livable condition.

VA/MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE

I’m surviving.  I’m still going to all my regular appointments (several a week) and getting by.

I have started and completed the beginners portion of Canines with a Cause.  I still don’t have my own dog but have been working with their dogs.  The first part of the intermediate class that begins in a few weeks will be looking for my own dog.  The timing is working out fine since I couldn’t have my own here at the Penrod’s, but can have one as soon as we move.   This will go a LONG way to helping my anxiety and will hopefully be beneficial in dealing with nightmares too.

Julie is still crazy!

EXERCISE/HEALTH UPDATE

You haven’t seen any running logs since the pool opened because we stopped running.  We have instead been swimming.  I have the kids do laps each time we show up to keep them doing some cardio, then they are free to go play (which rarely includes actual swimming).

My exercise has been fine, but hasn’t resulted in any weight loss.  I think it has trimmed up my waist a little bit (several people have mentioned it), but my actual weight hasn’t gone down.  Perhaps with time.