ALEXIA TORRES HIGHLIGHTS

Some highlights from a couple of games at the DFW Elite Girls Basketball Tournament 2012. Click following link.

ALEXIA TORRES DFW ELITE 2012

SA ISLANDERS VS DFW TEAM AND HOUSTON ELITE.

Green Hoop and Goal

A couple of weeks ago we took the family to go support our kids Middle School Musical Play from St. George Episcopal at the Antonian High School Auditorium. 

The Play was a tribute to Dr. Seuss, his books, his stories and characters, hence the name "SEUSSICAL JR".

Keep in mind, these kids are in middle school having to perform over 20 skits and musical numbers. Many of them in only the 6th grade. You would think that nerves would be in high gear behind the curtain. And of course you have to give a lot of the credit to the Directors (Haley Bankey, Keith Earle and Elizabeth Kiehne), but the kids performances were simply magical and flawless. I was thinking the Musical Play should be running at the Majestic Theater downtown San Antonio playing to a pack house.

Whereas the play as an entirety was magical, the individual performances were stunning to say the least from the cast. Their confidence and poise shined brilliantly. A couple of the girls in particular, Vaeda and Molly, sang with such boldness and spunk that even Simon Cowell would be impressed.

My son AJ couldn't wait to go get all the casts autographs afterwards. Heck I was jealous cause I wanted to myself. 

Commitment, Dedication, Hard Work, Time, Practice etc. It applies not only to sports but to almost everything!

But in doing so, sometimes things get sacrificed. Sometimes you can't be everything to everybody.

So in the Spirit of Dr. Seuss, this is for my son AJ and to every youngster that may have a dream to play ball or maybe even star in a musical.

"Green Hoop and Goal"

I am a Coach.

I am a Coach.  A Coach I’m told.

That Coach I’m told. That Coach I’m told. I don’t like that Coach I’m told.
 

Would you like to shoot in a green hoop and goal?

I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told. I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal.
Would you like to shoot here or there?
I would not like to shoot here or there. I would not like to shoot anywhere.

I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal. I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

Would you like to shoot in a house?   Would you like to shoot with a mouse?
I don’t like to shoot in a house. I don’t like to shoot with a mouse.
I don’t like to shoot here or there. I don’t like to shoot anywhere.

I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal. I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

Would you like to shoot in a box?  Would you like to shoot with a fox?
Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse.
I would not shoot here or there. I would not shoot anywhere.

I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal. I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

Would you? Could you? In a car? Shoot them! Shoot them! Basketballs, here they are.
I would not, could not in a car.
You may like to shoot. You will see. You may like to shoot in a tree?
Not in a tree. I would not, could not in a tree. Not in a car! You let me be.
I don’t like to shoot in a box. I don’t like to shoot with a fox.

I don’t like to shoot in a house. I don’t like to shoot with a mouse.

I don’t like to shoot here or there. I don’t like to shoot anywhere.

I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal. I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

A train! A train! A train! A train! Could you, would you on a train?
Not on a train! Not in a tree! Not in a car! Coach! Let me be!
I would not, could not, in a box. I could not, would not, with a fox.
I will not shoot with a mouse. I will not shoot in a house.
I will not shoot here or there. I will not shoot anywhere. I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

Say! In the dark? Here in the dark! Would you, could you, in the dark?
I would not, could not, in the dark. Would you, could you, in the rain?
I would not, could not, in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train,
Not in a car, Not in a tree. I don’t like to shoot, Coach, you see.
Not in a house. Not in a box. Not with a mouse. Not with a fox.
I will not shoot here or there. I don’t like to shoot anywhere!
You wouldn't like to shoot in a green hoop and goal? I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.

Could you, would you, with a goat? I would not, could not with a goat!
Would you, could you, on a boat?

I could not, would not, on a boat. I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not shoot in the rain. I will not shoot on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be!
I don’t like to shoot in a box. I don’t like to shoot with a fox.
I will not shoot in a house. I don’t like to shoot with a mouse.
I don’t like to shoot here or there. I do not like to shoot ANYWHERE!

I don’t like to shoot in a green hoop and goal! I don’t like to shoot, Coach I’m told.
You don’t like to shoot, So you say. Try it! Try it! And you may
Try it and you may I say.

Coach! If you let me be, I will try it. You will see.
Say! I like to shoot in a green hoop and goal! I do! I like it, Coach I’m told!

And I would shoot in a boat! And I would shoot with a goat...
And I will shoot in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree. It is so fun so fun you see!

So I will shoot in a box. And I will shoot with a fox.

And I will shoot in house. And I will shoot with a mouse.

And I will shoot here and there. Say! I will shoot ANYWHERE!

I so like to shoot in a green hoop and goal!
Thank you! Thank you, Coach I’m told.

And Thanks again to all the Cast, Crew and Staff at St George Episcopal.

Bravo! Bravo! A standing ovation well deserved.

 

Cinderella and the King

Congrats go out to the Reagan Lady Rattlers girls basketball team for taking the 5A Region IV Championship, earning them a trip to Austin and the Final Four.

They had a deep team of quality players. They demonstrated team ball with 4 starters in double figures. They played tough defense holding the Wagner Lady Thunderbirds to 4 points in the 3rd quarter essentially locking up the game. They made the plays and had less turnovers.

Wagner had turnovers when they needed to make a run. They never adjusted to Tessa Ramirez, enabling her to go on a scoring run by herself in the 2nd period. They couldn't seem to put the ball in the basket when they needed too in the critical 3rd period. Desperation crept in and it was too little too late in the 4th.

The Lady Rattlers were steady all year while the Lady Thunderbirds were up and down. Somehow the game mirrored their basketball seasons.

Wagner does not have anything to be ashamed of. They had a magical fairy tale of a playoff run. They beat a Johnson team ready to explode in to the basketball scene, they beat a very deep savvy Jay team, they upset a strong talented Churchill group and took care of a good Del Rio team. They have a strong core coming back. They made a great run with unbelievable comebacks, game winning shots, clutch free throws, buzzer beating half court shots and a little bit of magic.

The only thing, the clock reached midnight and reality checked in.

In the process, CINDERELLA lost a slipper and was sent home.

Every team sent home early is living with WHAT IF'S......... except one, it's living a Fairy Tale......

Hail to the new KING from Region IV!

REAGAN LADY RATTLERS

Better to be Lucky than Good

The local 5A Girls Basketball season is quickly coming to an end with 4 teams vying for a trip to Austin.

Steele Lady Knights are making a run and seem to be peaking at the right time. They have been playing with confidence and with a mindset that they can't be beat. It almost seems that part of their arsenal is to intimidate their opponents to submission. If they get in a groove in a game, they will be hard to stop because of their talent, athletic ability and most important, they really want to kick some behind. They might benefit if they utilize their inside game more as well as their bench, as they move further along.

Reagan Lady Rattlers are in a position many have predicted before the season started. Even without one their top scorers from last year in the beginning of the season, they have been steady throughout the year. What's tough for any opposing team is who do you focus on to stop defensively? The team has too many players that can legitimately hurt you inside and out. If their defense plays at a high level, they will be a tough out.

Wagner Lady Thunderbirds might be a team of destiny. Two times they have overcome the brink of elimination against two tough teams in Johnson and Jay. You might begin to think that maybe fate has something to do with their success. They have a very athletic group of guards with an added inside game to boot. They seem to adapt offensively and defensively better than any team left in the field to whatever the opposing team throws at them. They have to control their turnovers if they want to continue making a run. 

Churchill Lady Chargers are also in a predictable position. They were one of the favorites coming in to the season. No one yet has even come close to challenging them in the playoffs. Will they continue to steamroll through their competition? Will the lack of stiff competition hurt them when they play a team that comes down to the wire? Is everyone healthy and at 100%? A lot of talent and skill especially at the guard position makes them a favorite if they are clicking on all cylinders.

So Steele vs Reagan and Wagner vs Churchill, who is going to come out on top?

With all the X's and O's, game strategies and overall breaking down of possible key match-ups, let's keep it simple: Defense, Control the Paint, Limit Turnovers, Make Layups and Make Free Throws.

Who has the advantage? 

With so close competition and evenly matched teams, well maybe, just maybe........

......Sometimes its Better to be Lucky than Good.

Go Support Girls High School Basketball!

Simple but Complex

In just the first few days of Girl-Sanity High School Basketball, how many games have been decided by either made or missed free throws?

How can someone that practices endlessly at the free throw line miss when it counts at the end of the game? How can someone that doesn't practice or not even shoot a high percentage make their free throws when it counts at the end of the game?

Is it mental.... is it nerves...... is it luck.....

Maybe its not that simple.

In these times, with all the shooting specialists available, training guides, training equipment etc., it seems free throw percentages are getting worse.

NBA great, Rick Barry shot the free throw Underhanded (Granny Style) and ranks 3rd all time in shooting percentage with .900 mark. Compare that to Superman Dwight Howard's .600 career percentage. If Superman's free throw percentage averaged .900 like Rick Barry, his career scoring average would jump from 18.3 to 21 points a game.

Maybe because of our DNA, we are all wired different. Let's face it, we all react different when we are put in pressure situations. I remember back in school how some kids dreaded going to the front of the class to make a presentation. Some of these very same kids were top in academics for the class and very well versed and prepared. But as soon as they got in front of the class, all their circuits would shut down. Then you would have some kids that would go up like they were naturals even though they were not well prepared. 

So whatever the science behind it, whatever theory you might want to agree with, whatever proper mechanics you believe in, Free Throws matter!

So when the game is over and it is pretty close in the scoreboard, you might want to talk about the referees or coaching. You might be in cloud 9 because your team won or simply devastated because the season just came to an end. The last thing in your mind might be Free Throws.

But I would bet that .900 % of the time (Rick Barry's Free Throw %}, the game was decided by either made or missed free throws and not by any Underhanded trick (Rick Barry's Free Throw shooting method)!

So with the Girl High School playoffs in full swing, how many more wins or loses are going to be decided and come down to the Simple but Complex.......FREE THROW!

Go support Girls High School Basketball

ST GEORGE EPISCOPAL DRAGONS

NOT IN OUR HOUSE!

ST George Episcopal Dragons 8th grade Basketball team goes 23-0 to end the season as ISAL District Champions. Led by Coach Fred Copeland, the girls overcame numerous obstacles to keep their two year undefeated streak alive going 46-0 in that span.
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: ALEXIA, NICOLE, MIRANDA, HANNA, LESLIE, GABRIELLE, MOLLY, LAUREN, ELIE, VAEDA AND TARA.

Something to Prove

High School Girl-Sanity Basketball is in full swing. If the first full day of action is any indication of things to come, it will be a shame if you don't go out to see first hand what everyone leaving the UTSA Convocation Center last night was saying, "AMAZING!".

In what almost seemed as an under card to the main event, O'Connor's freshman Amber Vidal helped pick up the slack with her teammates when their big time player Ebony Easter had to sit with foul trouble. Vidal and Easter both finished with 13 points, in putting away a combative Southwest team that simply didn't want to go away till the deciding last part of the game.

Johnson vs Wagner took the stage in what possibly seemed to be a changing of the guard in Girls High School basketball. Wagner, a perennial powerhouse trying to find an identity with the departure of so much great talent, trying desperately to prove they still are a team to contend with. Johnson, a young super talented group of young ladies trying to define an identity for themselves and their High School, trying to desperately prove they belong with the city's powerhouse teams by getting their first win in school history and making a long run in the playoffs.

Both teams had something to prove........

There were spectacular plays as well as careless mistakes. There were strengths and weaknesses on both sides. Just as a player was tentative and unsure the next second they were aggressive and confident. Missed opportunities were plenty on both sides with unpredictable and unforeseen opportunities for players not expected  to play much.

With so much to prove, how could it have been settled in just any regular common way. 

With so much to prove, how could it have been settled in regulation or one overtime.

With so much to prove, an unexpected hero, Johnson senior Sarah Allen, went to the line and made both two free throws to give the Jaguars a 58-57 lead with 33 seconds left.

With so much to prove, it could have only ended in dramatic fashion......

Freshman Kiauna Clark hit the game-winning shot in the second overtime with about 3 seconds to go, essentially giving Wagner the win.

This only proves that more great action is yet to come in the days ahead.

Go and Support Girl-Sanity High School Basketball!

Oh What a Night

On Friday, February 3rd, 2012, I made the short trip to witness a girls High School  game between the Floresville Lady Tigers vs Victoria East Lady Titans. I was expecting and hoping for a good game. What I got was a Show that almost left me speechless.

For starters, the Floresville gym was standing room only as half the town of Floresville was there to witness and support the boys and girls Varsity teams. The backdrop was set for what became an old fashion duel of wits, heart, desire, passion and wills.

The game was played full court, fast paced with non stop action between two 4A state ranked teams. It was intense and wild as the home court fans cheered on endlessly trying to will their team to victory.

 Just when you thought that one team had an edge, the other one would come back and make a run. What was crazy, each team forced each other to an extreme number of forced turnovers. Each team withstood knockdown blows, just to get up and give some themselves. In the last quarter the lead seemed to change hands every second. There were more key and clutch plays by both teams in the last two minutes than you normally see in a whole game.

What was more impressive is that after running back and down for all the game, kids could still manage to have the strength, stamina and endurance to hit big shots at the end. One in particular from Erica Hernandez seemed to come from mid court by the corner no less.

Justifiably so, the game couldn't be decided in regulation. There was at least 4 times in the last minutes that you might want to say "OK that might be it".  Momentum swung back and forth at a violent pace.

In 4 minutes overtime, Victoria East scored 17 points to 10 for Floresville to win 87-80. OK stay with me a minute. Floresville's 10 points in overtime were at a pace to score 80 points in a game. Which under normal circumstances and over 90% of the time would mean a blowout win. At Victoria East's pace, they would have scored a whopping 136 points. Still not impressed. This came after just playing and running nonstop up and down the court for 32 Minutes in regulation!

Girls High School Basketball at its best! And the playoffs having even started. Don't miss out on the action. Go out and Support Girls Basketball!

You might come away speechless with only flashbacks of what you just witnessed.

As I walked to my car I gathered my thoughts........What a GAME....

Oh What a Night........For Girls Basketball.

MVP

The Super Bowl has come and gone.  The New York Giants are the Super Bowl Champions! Eli Manning is the MVP!

One play in particular will live on in the annals of history of the game. Eli Manning threw an almost perfect pass for a 38 yard reception at a crucial point of the game. But without great protection and blocking from his offensive line and without a spectacular catch by his receiver, we might not be talking about Eli Manning and the New York Giants.  Deservedly as a society we like to praise and talk about the Stars of the teams but I want to give some credit to the players and teammates behind the scenes.

The 2011-2012 Girls High School regular season is coming to an end tonight for most of the local San Antonio area teams. Although some schools will advance to the playoffs, for many it ends tonight. And that means in the next few weeks all Seniors will be playing their last games for their High School careers. Many of these players are not Star athletes that are constantly or consistently being written or talked about. But for many, they are vital contributors to their teams. They participated in all the same practices as the Star players. They all did the same hard work. They all put in the same time. They all had to sacrifice.

Some had big roles, some had small roles and some didn't play much at all. 

But for every team win, no matter what, they won.......

For every loss, they lost......

For every tournament championship, they are champions......

For every District title, they are District Champs.......

And for every Star player, they are there behind the scenes on the court providing rebounds, points, assists etc. or off the court providing encouragement and support!

A lot of Seniors like Marshall's Kaitlyn Goertz will play their last game for their High Schools.

For all the hard work, dedication, commitment, and accomplishments,

You all are the unsung MVP's!

In my humble opinion

The football season is finally coming to an end this Sunday when the two Best teams play for it all in a showdown between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

But are they really the two Best teams in the NFL or are they the two teams Playing the Best in the playoffs.

In the end, very few people are going to remember which team almost went undefeated, which teams had record breaking seasons, which teams were the Division winners, which teams were offensive juggernauts etc.

Most people including some that don't even care or know much about football are going to know who the eventual Super Bowl Champion is going to be when it Ends.

In local High School Girls basketball, two teams have been the clear cut Best teams the last few years, John Jay and Wagner. But this year, the field is wide open with at least 10 teams having a  better than outside chance of playing in Austin. Those teams in no particular order and in my humble opinion are Cibolo Steele, Judson, Wagner, Reagan, Churchill, Johnson, Stevens, O'Connor, Jay and Brandeis. 

If you consider the point guards for these teams, you have an amazing display of leaders and talent. A few can single-handedly carry a team on their backs like in Churchill, Johnson and  Jay and some are unbelievable catalysts like in Stevens and Judson. Take a look at athleticism and its off the charts in teams like Steele, Reagan, Stevens and Judson.  Some teams have freshman contributing big time like in Steele, Churchill, Stevens, O'Connor, Jay and Brandeis. Whats more amazing is that the majority of star players in these teams are non seniors. And lets not leave out the Head Coaches. Some Head Coaches in particular can Will their teams to Austin. Do I really need to mention teams????

As the regular season winds down, there is plenty up for debate.

So who has the best players, which team has the best offensive and defensive stats, which team is the most athletic, which coach is the best, which team has the deepest bench and which team is the Best?

One thing for sure is that soon we will know which team is Playing the Best. And in the End for that particular team going to Austin, nothing else will seem to matter much.

And in my humble opinion, there shouldn't be much else that matters than being there supporting how all this unfolds.

Go Support GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL!!!!