My son is in a youth basketball league. It is under the umbrella of Upward Basketball. This is a league that modifies some of the rules to make sure that all the kids get to play and have fun. They also have devotions at each of the practices, and at many of the games.

I am coaching my son’s team, and having a blast. There are nine guys on the team, all in fifth or sixth grade. We spend most of our practice time scrimmaging. Because there are only nine players, either I or another coach frequently participate in the scrimmages. It is a blast to get out on the floor with them and play.

This week at practice, we had two coaches playing on the same team after one of the guys had to leave early. The two of us started feeding passes to one of the players who generally doesn’t score very often. He must have outscored everyone else during that scrimmage. It was such fun watching his confidence grow. He started moving into space and asking for the ball. Great fun.

These guys have surprised me some. The kid that we expected to hog the ball, passes to everyone on the team. They all keep a positive outlook and play hard. I have watched them mature during the season so far.

Tags: basketball, youth, sports, kids, coach