8th Grade Basketball Season

Nathan played on B team this year and had the time of his life!!!! He was actually picked to be on A team but remembered the year before when he played on A team and didn't really have fun with it. Nathan is great at basketball but only plays in the neighborhood with his friends. A team was really fast paced and he just never felt confident, always felt nervous like he was going to mess up. So this year, he actually emailed his coaches and told them he decided not to play basketball this season. We told him if that's really what he wants to do, we support him. We left the decision up to him. One day I get a call while I'm at school, and it's Coach Angus. He said he found out that Nathan decided to quit basketball and asked me why. I told him what Nathan told us, that A team wasn't as much fun because he doesn't feel like he's good enough. Coach Angus asked me if I thought Nathan would want to go to B team with Coach Mac (the new young coach). I told him I wasn't sure, but maybe that would be a good compromise. Then he went on and on about what a good athlete and kid Nathan was and that none of the coaches want him to quit. He asked if he could have my permission to talk to Nathan one on one and see if he'd be ok with B team. I thought it was so great that he reached out to me personally to try to get Nathan back on the team. It worked. Nathan was so happy Coach talked to him and offered him B team. And man, was Nathan a star on his team!!!! He loved it and actually felt like he was a good player, which he is! He just didn't believe in himself enough, and he focused too much on any mistake he made instead of looking at all of the good plays he made.  A few weeks before the tournament, Wayne took him to my school gym almost every single night because Nathan wanted to practice. I was so proud of both of them for giving up their free time to practice. The boys had a great season and made it to the district play offs. A team lost in the first round but B team won! They made it to the finals and did lose that last game, but it was super close. The other team was overall better so deserved to win, but Nathan and his teammates did not make it easy! We were so proud of him, and he just loved working with Coach Mac. It was such a great experience for him and so much fun for us to watch!