Friese~Party of 5: 'Tis the Season!

I do not mean the Christmas season or even Thanksgiving, but rather this "season" of life we are in! Malia started basketball 2 weeks ago and we had her first game last Saturday! Not only is this exciting for her (or so I assume(d)), but majorly exciting for Tim & me! Malia has played basketball here and there and taken a few basketball classes through our small community center and understands that the round ball needs to go through the hoop. How we get that ball in the hoop and all the rules of dribbling and not traveling, stealing the ball and not fouling--well, she will learn as will the rest of the girls on her team!

Last Saturday (11/12)--1st game
3rd/4th grade league for all Mounds View schools--games all at Chippewa which is nice! We arrived early upon her coachs' request and the girls dribbled and did some passing/defense drills outside while we waited for our court to open up and it was fun to see all the girls (11 of them) and the encouragement they gave freely to each other. We finally get on our court about 10 minutes after our game should have started, but no biggie as we are the last game of the day!
And it was a great game! 12 minute quarters, a fun drill at halftime and our team lost 22-18. Not bad for the 1st game and Tim and I are excited to see the girls grow in their understanding and love of the game! Malia was sad that they lost, of course, and sad that she didn't "touch" the ball as much as some girls. But with some good encouragement and a sweet pep talk with my growing-up little girl, she was smiles again.
It's so incredibly crazy being the parent in a sports situation. On our way home both Tim & I looked at each other with knowing smiles and sighed....trying to make our blood pressure go down...trying to relax from the stress of watching our precious Malia out there on the court...wanting her to just do her best and be proud of her efforts and attitude on the court. It was then that we said we were thankful for a week between games! If we only had a day between games we might go CRAZY!!! It is a fun excitement and craziness watching Malia out there on the courts--for sure! We sure are thankful for her sweet spirit, her eagerness to learn and her desire to please us & God while on the court or in school for that matter!! **makes me a little teary-eyed**

On that note--enjoy these pics from her 1st real game!