Hoop it up

Eldest is playing biddy basketball this winter, and it's been entertaining. It's a league of pre-K and kindergarten kids, and the rules allow for only occasional dribbling, small basketballs, no scoreboard and 8-foot baskets.

It's fun to watch, but thankfully I'm not coaching, because it would drive me crazy. Ever watch team handball during the Olympics, a sport in which you need to bounce the ball a couple times down the court? This is what the dribbling skill at this level is like. And it's just as tough to keep the kids focused as it is in soccer, maybe even more so because it's more chaotic. The coaches are doing a great, patient job with the kids.

Eldest is getting better week to week -- his dribbling is improving, he's getting rebounds, and his shooting is getting somewhat better. The first couple games, he was shooting underhand (and made a basket one week), but he's switched to overhand and is still figuring he needs to shoot up, not straight across. He'll get there, and if not, he'll always be a better soccer player. I have a hunch Littlest might be the better basketballer -- we can't even take him to games, because he goes so nuts and wants to play that he won't sit still.

I remember playing biddy ball when I was a first-grader, and how much fun it was. I know now how much fun it must have been for my dad to watch.

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