Trials at North Sydney

Guess who Addam's favourite player is.

Just balling around

Waiting in line during a drill

Well, what a great day.
The best thing about Addam's trials was that he had fun.
From the moment he got in he was smiling.
After he arrived, he went accross to the court where everyone was shooting around. He quickly hooked up with the Cool Cubs and then a couple of guys from lasy year's rep team who were now in under-14s challenged Addam and one other guy to a game of two on two.
It wasn't long before they were laughing, trying different tricks on each other and generally having a good time.
When Addam dropped a three on them, there were high fives all around. When they ankle broke Addam he laughed just as much as they did.
It was a great start and it just kept going like that.
He trialled beautifully, getting through all the drills easily and really concentrating.
When it came to the half court games he linked up with three of the other Cool Cubs. They played really well and Addam's rebounding, passing, dribbling and decision making was almost flawless.
What really struck me was the way that all of the teams - some random collections of players, some made up of mates who got together - spread out and passed. The games were so entertaining and the skill level was really high. Even players who didn't have a high skill level in the drills seemed to instinctively move to open spaces rather than towards the ball. It's very clear that a passing game is absolutely fundamental to North Sydney.
Most of the kids here really like each other.
I would say Addam is almost a certain starter to make the first cut.
Those who made the squad will find out on Wednesday when it is put online. After that, the groups train together until December when a final decision is made. All squad players go to a team.
There will be one first-division team and two second-division teams.
If Addam keeps playing at this level he will have a great shot at a division-one place.
Another interesting note, of all the big men, Addam was the only one who was bottom age. Every other big man will be moving up next year to under-14s.
It was a really lovely day, and not just because he tested so well, the look of joy on his face for much of the trials was the best thing of all.
Anyway, we'll find out on Wedensday how he went.
Till then.
Alvin

Cool Cubs thrilling win

John chats to the boys before the game.

Wow! What a win at North Sydney.
The club game against a much taller and older team came right down to the wire. The cubs are mostly nine and early 10s are playing in under-12s.
This game was won on defence. It was clear that the coach had worked on that facet of the game at training.
Addam's passing and rebounding were good, though he did hover on the outside at times looking for the jump shot a little too much, especially because he is the tallest player on the team.
The game was tight for the first half with just a couple of goals in it each way.
Early in the second half our opposition skipped ahead by six to eight points. It looked like it was over.
But then the boys came up with some stops and with quick passing they managed to get some goals.
Addam came on and took the ball wide out on the left side. He faked up opponents who were doubling him, did a step and dribble and then shot a deep jumper, close to the three-point line with lovely form that swished through. The boys took the lead.
There were just two points in it with 30 seconds to go and some top defence saw the Cubs come away with a well deserved, fighting win.
The other team was naturally upset, but it was such an entertaining game that they should be just as proud of how they played. Not many of the parents knew who had won when the final whistle blew because all eyes were on the court not the scoreboard.
Even if the boys had lost, it was a fantastic effort and we would have all been just as proud of them.
Addam was unlucky with his jump shots in this game, hitting two from seven, as most of them failed to roll. He did a beautful right hand hook ( he is generally a left hand shooter) after a rebound also in the second half. Once again his passing was beautiful and there were a number of assists that came from his long and accurate throws.
His defence is improving. If e could just get up and down the court faster he would be unstoppable. Hopefully that will come with age and effort.
Today we have the trials, and we will find out who is in the North Sydney squad. The divisions will be decided in December.
I'll let you know if Addam makes the first cut today.
Seeya
Alvin

Leaving Bankstown

Sometimes you wonder about why some people get involved in this game.
Addam and his Aces team played last night in the under-12s at Bankstown. They were never going to win the game, as somehow they managed to get put into the top division and the majority of the team have little or no experience. All the boys have learned to live with that and are there just to have a good game and get better.
But once again the refereeing was shockingly biased.
And that should come as no surprise as both referees belonged to the club that we were playing.
So once again we had a ridiculous foul count in the first half, calls for carry ball that clearly weren't, a cross-court ruling that was given before the ball or player had got over the court, a disallowed goal that clearly should have been a three-point play and a host of other things.
By half time, the team was really upset.
I reminded them that as a team they are in this together and that it is impossible to play against the referees. Lastly I said: ''it's a game and you are a team. You are all in this together and you should look after each other. Forget the referees, this is all about basketball and nothing else. Not winning or losing but just about getting better".
They went out after that in a better frame of mind and just enjoyed the second half.
The game played before ours was the Ragers versus On Fire.
That was another case of appalling refereeing with two former On Fire players refereeing the game. The coach of Ragers, George, just lost it.
George is often angry at Bankstown, while when he plays at Sutherland he is much more relaxed and happy, win or lose.
On Fire are notorious in under-12s. They play with enormous spite and I have watched players on that team intentionally try to hurt players on other teams on at least half a dozen occasions. The coach doesn't reign them in and claps when opposition players get fouls. That coach is proud of the team she has built but they are just plain nasty and have completely forgotten what basketball is all about.
But worse of all is that the team wins many games on bad calls. And not just one or two, but consistently bad calls throughout the entire game. No coach I know expects the refereeing to be fair when they play On Fire, which is a crazy state of affairs.
And that nasty On Fire attitude is infecting other teams.
We have decided that after this season we will cease playing at Bankstown altogether, because this consistently biased, nasty attitude has pervaded the under-12s for the past two years. Other teams will do the same and eventually On Fire will end up playing themselves.
We have had bad refereeing at other clubs, but at least it went both ways. That was just a case of young referees learning and you learn to live with that.
Addam has played at five clubs and only Bankstown has this level of nastiness.
Bankstown needs to realise these are kids. Addam is just nine. At this age we want to build their fundamentals, teach them sportsmanship, make them better players so that when they are older they will be good players in all respects.
Winning is not important. No one will remember, even in a seasons time, who won the grand final last time. It's a trophy for the shelf, a day out with the team who become friends and then on to the next adventure.
Bankstown is teaching their under-12s all the wrong things.
The only reason this club may stay strong at grass roots is because the Liverpool and Macarthur clubs collapsed. If they get on their feet again, it will be hard to see how Bankstown can maintain the levels they have so far enjoyed.
People like us, and kids who want to try other sports if they don't enjoy basketball will leave.
And if they wonder where all the players went, then they should look at the kids' competition.
As it stands, we think we can make Sutherland on Fridays, which would be great because we really love that club. Addam can play in the under-14s, division 2 among nice kids and parents, with a better coach than me, (Hi Steve!) and unbiased referees.

Meanwhile at Sharks

Steve from Sharks messaged us today.
We were hoping to get a club game at Sutherland today but it was just impossible as I wasn't home till nearly six and the game was at 6.30pm.
He mentioned that the Sharks will have a tall boy from last year's Norths team, which I guess will give them a good chance of being number one again this year.
It makes sense that a Norths boy would cross over since the other Sharks team beat them in the grand final at the end of the season.
That will give them the height they needed.
But as we said to Steve, it's not the wining that matters, but how much Addam improves over the season.
We'll miss the boys and parents at Sutherland, they were a really nice bunch and maybe if things change we can get back there again.
But right now we have to play where we can. And I've been very satisfied with what I have seen of the coaching staff and the organisation at North Sydney.
The parents and kids seem pretty nice here too.
Anyway, more trials this weekend and a couple of games too.
We'll see how it all works out.
Cheers
Alvin

Our first day at trials

Addam had his first trials at North Sydney today.
There were about 50 kids all up, over two courts.
Addam's Nana and her friend, Joan, came along with us.
It was really pleasing to see people so interested in him.
He started the session fairly low key, just getting up and down the court towards the back of the group as they tore up and down (well they did tell them to go slowly) but keeping all his basic skills nicely together with his left and right side.

During a lay-up drill he chatted to one of the coaches and he seemed to be getting along really well with some of the kids who were there.
But when it came to half court games he shone. He was rebounding hard* (thank goodness!) ripping the ball and always looking for the good pass. Defensively he did very well.
In the last team he played against there was a big guy who was very strong rebounder. He was clearly older than Addam. He ripped the ball from Addam the first two times but there was no way he was going to do it again. Addam played it very hard after that.
I briefly chatted with the division one coach, who recognised us from the representative season this year.
He asked: "Are you Addam's dad?"
It's quite clear there are a few eyes on him.
What really stood out for me was that Addam was always dribbling with his head up looking for a pass. And he made some beauties.
It was a good solid day and on this showing I would say he is a fairly good chance for division one.
We'll wait till next week to see how he goes, because nothing is certain in this game.
I like the coach here too, he is big on fundamentals.

* Just a note about rebounding. Ths time last year Addam was really doing well rebounding. That was until a club coach told him to stay out from under the basket so he could fast break and score. At that time he was by far the only offensive threat the team had. As a result he stopped rebounding at both ends. It has taken almost a year to get him rebounding again. Once he gets his timing he is really strong, and if he pulls down a rebound he can do a hook shot with both hands, jump shoot out to the three-point line, put back or pass. Not bad for a nine-year-old.

Addam's season

Addam calls for the ball during a three-on-two drill.













Addam and Terry (in purple) discuss the finer points of basketball.




















Addam has a laugh as Thibaut (in yellow) walks by at the Metros













I've been thinking about this blog and, rather than let it die until next season, I have decided to make it a blog about my son Addam and how his basketball is going.
Sadly, it seems very unlikely that we will be playing with Sutherland next season.
Quite simply my new job has made it impossible to get to Sutherland for the Wednesday and Thursday games.
And if we can't play in club we can't very well represent the club.
Sutherland did give us a way around it, but in the second half of the season we may still be in exactly the same boat, and neither Michelle or myself want to force the club into making difficult decisions that might see Addam removed from the team or playing illegally.
That would be a lose/lose situation for everyone.
We have been left with two options, to play at Bankstown or North Sydney.
Bankstown is out of the question, primarily because of the sportsmanship aspect. We saw some things in our first rep season that we didn't like.
There's no need to go into the details.
The other option is North Sydney.
They have club games on Saturday, which we can make, and we quite like the way they trained their players.
But most of all the club seems exceptionally well organised.
North Sydney's trials begin this weekend and we will be there.
We went to the Metropolitan Development League last weekend, after we found out it was on through Addam's club coach at Norths, John.
If you are selected for one of the four teams in this league then you get to play before a Sydney Kings game twice.
Essentially these teams are made up of the best, by age, in Sydney.
This time around they had a low turnout and Addam was automatically selected.
Hey, it will be fun for him.
Having said that I believe Addam would have made it anyway.
It was great to see people from all the clubs where we have played. The guys from Sutherland, including Terry, Thibaut and Jack G were there, along with players from Bankstown (Hi Elly!) and nearly all of the Cool Cubs from Norths.
At the end of the day one of the people involved in trials at Norths came up and chatted to us. That was how we found out about this weekend.
They seem eager to have Addam trial, which we hope is a good sign.
Tonight we, the Aces - Addam's Bankstown club side - played against an On Fire team. We lost the game, but our tallest player and best rebounder (Elly again) went out in foul trouble early on. It was almost as if the referees had it in for her.
We were also down Addam's friend Chris, who is a fantasic defender, so we fell away towards the end. However, I do believe this team can beat them.
That said, Addam had a great game. He was rebounding, distributing really well and top-scored for the team with a combination of outside jumpshots, put backs and left and right-hand drives to the basket. It was really nice.
I've added some photos of Addam at the metro trials from last weekend.
In the meantime, I'll get back to making this a regular posting site on how he is going.
Cheers all
Alvin