Yes, yes, yes! Chris Valleroy - Jake's dad - is going to be my assistant coach for Upward!
I'm going to be coaching two teams this year, and I'm already starting off with an awesome assistant coach. And, of course, that means I'm coaching Jake in the 5th/6th grade level, which means that even before I've seen my roster, I know I've got one of the sharpest basketball players out there for my team.
Mr. Valleroy was a wonderful team parent last year, and I recommended to Todd that he ask Mr. Valleroy to coach one of the teams. Mr. Valleroy knows the game, and any group of kids will benefit from his teaching, but more so than that, Mr. Valleroy has the right attitude to approach the game. That's something that many parents find difficult, especially if they've played the sport. You have to strike a delicate balance between encouraging a young player and discouraging bad habits. You have to override the desire to try to tell your kid to do things the way you did things. And Mr. Valleroy did just wonderful with Jake. Jake's a player with no bad habits, a willingness to share the ball, and a clutch performer. You have to think Mr. Valleroy would be the same kind of player - and will teach the same kind of things as a coach.
So, going in, I know that the 5th/6th grade team has a strong coaching advantage. The question will now become what level the players are at; is it a well-developed team capable of running a structured offense, or is it a team best served by a free-flowing offense like the Spartans ran last year? Perhaps just a few out-of-bounds plays?
I'm eager to get my rosters and get things rolling.
Also, last night, I played at the Tribune, with a guy named Allen, and against Steve and Lee. We played three games, with Allen and me winning the first and the last - the last on a 3-pointer by me with the score tied.
I struggled with my outside shot, especially so in the first two games. However, I went to the drive, and I was doing very well with the baby-hook coming off the spin move. Steve tried to back off so he wouldn't be vulnerable to the spin move, so I faced up, and just shot a couple of times.
More importantly, my hands were very active - the most they've been in a while - and I got a good number of deflections, tips, and shot-blocks. My passing wasn't where I wanted it, but part of that was because we were playing 2-on-2, and my teammate isn't a cutter at all. C'est la vie.
Afterward, I hit 19 of 25 from the free-throw line. Close - still not there yet, though.
I'm feeling pretty confident right now. We'll have to see how well it carries over to Tuesday's game against Foundations of Columbia.