Lily's First Junior Jazz Season

This year, there was a new Junior Jazz league, an all-girls league, for 5th-7th graders.  Lily is in 5th grade, so I signed her up for it because last year she watched Amara play and wished aloud that she could go out and play too, even though she was adamant that she didn't want to play when sign-ups took place.  So, this year, I required her to play for P.E. credit for homeschool.  I'm glad she did play, even though she got nervous before games, she learned a lot, and by the end of her season, she understood how to play and wanted to play more often.  She even begged us to play it as a family.

 Grandpa Tom came to Lily's season finale, and Grandma Bobbie was at almost every game.

Lily's coach, Jerusha Riser, was so sweet and amazing, and she happened to be my mom's neighbor.  She was always so upbeat and positive, and she was really good at instructing the girls on the rules at their practices.  They only had 2 practices at the beginning of the season, and then they began the games.  Since this league was so new, there were only 4 teams, so we got to play each team twice, I believe.  In this league, they play with pretty much all the rules, including steals, fouls, and free throws, and they had 2 refs at each game.

Lily and her coach.

 It was really fun watching her team learn and play the game.  Each girl had their own personality and competitiveness.  Some girls were quite aggressive and made lots of steals, others held back and tried not to get the ball very often.

 Because of the age differences, there was quite a bit of variety on the court as far as size, coordination, and ability.  But, everyone was really nice to each other, and everyone tried their best.

 One day, about mid-season, Lily told me she didn't like to play basketball because it was boring.  I told her that if she actually tried to get the ball, and get into the game, she would have more fun.  Later that night, she had a game.  When it was all over, she told me, "Guess what?  That was actually a lot of fun.  I tried to remember what you said, and I tried more, and I had more fun!"  I'm happy she was able to find a way to make the best of what she thought she didn't like, and in the end, it came out in her favor.  She really enjoyed playing from then on.

 On Lily's last game, she even got a rebound, shot it back up, and made a point for her team!  It was the cherry on tiptop of her season!  You should've seen me go crazy in the stands.  Ok, me, grandma, grandpa, and dad.  We cheered louder than ever before!  :)  GO!  LILY!  GO!

Lily had a great season.  We're looking forward to playing more as a family, too, especially now that the season is over.