For our daughter, Kaaria, basketball started a lot younger. We put her into a program called Y's World of Sports at the YMCA. She did 2 weeks each of baseball, soccer, and finally basketball. The baseball was interesting. She just wanted to get dirty, like the boys. Unfortunately for her, I'm the typical neat freak mother, when it comes to my kids' appearances. So, I wouldn't agree to her 'sliding into home,' or just rolling around the field, for no reason. I remember her having a breakdown one day because the rest of the kids were filthy, and she just lost it. She started crying and literally yelled at me. She was only 3 at the time. She told me I wouldn't let her have any fun because she couldn't get dirty. Thank GOD that was the last day of baseball!
For soccer, we bought her the shin guards. They were the cutest thing. So small. She's very petite, so they were really small! She had her whole get-up on. She liked soccer, but didn't love it. It was obvious.
Then, basketball came along. She had been used to being in the gym for the past 3 years, so she knew about basketball. The first week, they worked on dribbling, passing, shooting, etc. They had a mini-scrimmage at the end of the session. I wouldn't be lying if I told you that I almost peed my pants because I was laughing so hard. My little sweet petite girl turned into this monster defensive player. She ran around the court following the ball, with her arms wide out, and this vicious look on her face. She would attack the kid with the ball by giving him a bear hug, wrapping her arms completely around him, and fouling the heck out of him. She was hilarious!
The second week, my husband attended with me. He laughed so hard! I don't think we'll ever forget that day! On the ride back to the house, Kaaria told me that she loved basketball. "I want to play basketball until I go up there," she stated, while pointing up to the sky. She really loved the game. Oh boy, now we have 2 on our hands. I guess we better be prepared for anything!
Our introduction into the YMCA was interesting. The Y had just built a brand new gym. It had multiple courts, which lead to a lot of new parents jumping into basketball. Rejalla had just turned 9 and had to play in the 7-9 division. He played there for 3 seasons, with Cecilio coaching. Then, they asked 2 kids to move up to the 10-13 division. Rejalla was one of them. Our good friend, Dominic was the other. The Y staff felt that Rejalla and Dominic were outgrowing the younger division too quickly. They used lower baskets and a shorter court. John, at the Y said they should be more challenged and put them on the high school level courts. We obliged. I think that was such a good idea. When Rejalla played NJB, he was playing in high school gyms. So, this was perfect. He would no longer have to re-adjust.
Rejalla and Dominic quickly became dominant players in the 10-13 division. It was interesting. I don't think my husband and I quite understood how much Rejalla had improved from the 7 y.o. hot potato baller he was before. Then, NJB came back around.
I had kept stats for Rejalla's 3rd grade NJB season. He did okay. He scored 32 points, and 15 rebounds the entire season. That included 10 regular season games, 3 Championship Series games, and 3 All-Star games. Yes, he made the All-Star team...barely. That was a better year than he had in any previous season. We were proud.
(Now, I forgot to mention someone very special in all of this. Rejalla and I heard about NJB through a kid he went to school with. Christian, one of the few African-american kids at the school at the time, was wearing an NJB jersey that was his older brother's. The jersey looked official, so I had to ask what it was about. Then, I did my research, and that's how Rejalla signed up for the first season in the Rookie League. Christian was on that team. That was the beginning of a friendship that would last for a long time.)
When Rejalla played All Stars the first year, he basically froze. He played the required participation that NJB stated, but not much more. He really choked under the pressure. But, he did okay. Someone's got to be the last off the bench, on any team. Remember Kevin? Kevin did amazing! He had one game where he scored 11 points! He definitely didn't freeze up at all! Christian did great, too. These 3 quickly became the 3 Muskateers, and best friends at school.
We continued to keep our kids at the Y. It allowed them to play year-round. We never went back to the Boys and Girls Club or East Valley Community Center, because we had the Y. The next season of NJB would change our world, though.
Cecilio kept coaching, the whole time, under the premise that he was going to 'retire after this season.' Umm, yeah, sure! He still coaches today, 6 years after he started! He took on the NJB team when Rejalla was in 4th grade, too. As usual, Kevin and Christian were on our team. This year would be different, though. Now, they were the older kids on the team, instead of the younger ones.
Being older, the games became a little more serious. Coaches started to become angry when they were losing. Kids started showing attitudes. The ugly truths about youth sports started to come alive. One game, we were in Orange County for Championship Series. The scorekeepers were kids....young high school, maybe middle school age. The referees would call a foul on the other team, and the coach would tell the table that the foul was on someone different. He didn't want his stars to foul out. I started to become quite angry with the conduct of this coach. He was rude, on top of it all. I remember, I had to use the ladies room, of course during the last few minutes of the game. I went into the restroom and then I prayed. "God, please, let the better man prevail here. Please, don't reward this guy for his bad behavior. I wouldn't ever ask you to have us win, but this guy is so rude. Please, don't let him win this one." I felt a little guilty for my request, but I was so upset with this coach.
We're down by 2, with seconds left to go. Somehow, we had the ball, to inbound. The boys inbounded the ball, and swung it back and forth. Then, Rejalla, Christian, Joseph (another kid you'll here about later), and Kevin all looked at each other. It's as if they knew something we didn't. Then, they swing the ball to Rejalla. He launches a 3-ball. It hits the rim, swirls around and around on the top, and then, swish - it drops in!!! The buzzer sounds! We won the game! The team erupted with joy! THANK YOU GOD!!!
It didn't stop there, though. The coach was real angry. Cecilio, got in line, with the team, and did the ceremonial "Good game!" hand shake. The coach didn't join in. Cecilio approached him, personally, and told the coach that that was dirty, trying to confuse the scorekeepers. The coach was angry. Along comes Christian's dad, Lester. Now, Lester, he's a BIG man. He's around 6'8 - with a DEEEEEEP voice. He's not someone you would want to mess with. He asks Cecilio if he needs any help. That softened up the opposing coach, quickly, and we retrieved our 2nd place trophies and enjoyed the moment with the team.
So, the 3 Rejalla dropped wouldn't be a big deal, in most cases, but let me give you a little history on that particular 3. That was probably the 4th 3 he had ever! His first one came earlier in the season. We were playing our very friendly rivals....coached by Coach Mitch (who's also the All Star coach). They usually had 1 win more or less than us. Rejalla had just received his first pair of shoes that cost too much, and was on fire. He had a 15 point game. The first time he put the 3 up in a game, it was like the world was moving in slow motion. I watched from the bench. The ball dropped right in! I was so happy for him, I jumped out of my seat, dropping the scorebook and my cell phone on the floor! I teared up! He had come so far from the kid who was afraid to shoot. Now, he felt confident enough to shoot a 3!
That season, Rejalla's stats were much more improved. He scored a combined 131 points and 67 rebounds over the 16 games! He also lead the team in assists (28) and steals (45). He was hungry to play! We decided that we would take him to play in Las Vegas, for the Mae Fischer Memorial Easter Classic - put on by Vision Sports. We had a free entry (I'll explain that in another blog), and wanted to put it to use.
So, we began the North County Warriors....our glorious Green, Black, and Gold team, under our North County Hoops United (NCHU) umbrella.
This, will take you onto Part Three! ~ The life and times of travel ball with the Warriors! This is where it really gets exciting.
