Hello Basketball World! Sunday night I got back very late from Brooklyn, NY. That’s why my diary is a day late. I’m playing in the JR FunSport League as a guest player with Team Reading, PA. We went 2-1 on Sunday losing to Team Scan and overall we are 4-1. I played well and the second game I was named the Player of the Game. Since I was named the Player of the Game last week (and already received a FunSport shirt), my Mom got the Funsport shirt. She really liked that and wore it proudly the rest of the day! Shout out to Coach Ricky for thinking of my Mom!
I continue to get in my morning workouts before school. Obe has been really helping me gain the strength and conditioning that I need to get to the next level of my basketball game. I have been working with Obe for 3 months now and have gained almost 20 pounds. I have asked Mr. Melton to include a picture of Obe this week and as you can see he has spent a lot of time in the gym.
My Dad was away this past week at a big trade show for all the Amusement Parks around the world. He works for Skee-Ball; the game all of you guys have played at Chuck E Cheese or amusement parks. Skee-Ball also makes the SuperShot and Nothin’But Net Basketball Games that are in all the Dave and Buster’s. I really miss my Dad when he is away. Not only because I miss the basketball workouts he puts me through, but because he helps me with my Algebra 1 homework. On Wednesday night I faxed the worksheet to him that I had to complete and he spent an hour with me on the phone going over the problems with me. Thanks Dad for always being there for me.
Friday I received my report card for the first marking period. Thank God I got straight A’s and made the Principal’s Honor Roll. My goal is to make the Principal’s Honor Roll for my entire Middle School years. I have three more marking periods to go to achieve my goal.
Friday night I spent some time with my grandmother, LuLu, watching more 3rd Rock From the Sun shows. We just love to laugh together.
Saturday was a big day for the 8th grade Team Final. We had our tryouts at The Shipley School during the afternoon. The gym was packed with talent. There were 35 boys that came to try out. Coach Orlando had us doing some conditioning and skill work, but we mostly played 5 on 5 games. The games were intense and a lot of fun. I will not name any names, but there were some well- known players that came to the tryouts and want to be a part of Team Final this year. Coach Orlando and Coach Burton said at the end of the tryouts that it was going to be extremely difficult this year to pick the team. Thank you to coach Phil for allowing us to have the try-outs at Shipley.
I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving this week. My aunt, uncle and cousin are coming to visit from South Carolina. The only family member that won’t be at our house for dinner will be my cousin, Tyler. He is an Army Ranger serving in Afghanistan. We miss you Tyler and are so proud of you! I want to thank God for giving me so many blessings; my family, friends, great teammates and coaches. We will remember all those who lost so much from Sandy and pray that they can get their lives back in order very soon.
See you guys next week!
