WilcoxZone

This was Grayson’s first year to play in an organized basketball league and I have to admit, he did a lot better than I figured he would. The goals are lowered to 8 feet which seems low but for him using a fairly large basketball is still a pretty long way. He started out the season being unable to dribble and in the end gained a ton of skills necessary to really play the game. In his final game, he missed making a basket by just a whistle. Just a whistle? It was in bounds play, Grayson caught the ball, off the pass, shot and made it but just as he was making the shot, the ref blew his whistle because one of Grayson’s teammates had run out on the court in a bit of momentary confusion about who was supposed to be in the game. The ref had blown his whistle to get it sorted out and Grayson’s basket was no more. He took it well. But when the played was replicated (with the substitution thing sorted out), his shot rattled around and out. It turned out to be just one of several of close calls where he almost managed score.

It was amazing to watch over the course of the season how Grayson improved and how when we worked on stuff at home, it showed in his skills (especially during the next practice). His coach noticed and too and proclaimed Grayson the most improved player. But that really shouldn’t surprise me, because he clearly worked harder than any other kid on the team. He listened better, he concentrated harder and just gave more overall physical effort in a consistent manner than anyone else. One major reason is his love for the game. He’s always loved basketball, both playing around with the little toy hoop we keep inside as well as watching it on TV. As it has come time to learn the “real” game, he’s really applied himself in away that he’s not for soccer for anything else he’s tried to do. I think that was the highlight of the season for me was just watching him apply a real passion for something — and seeing what that looks like with him. It’s pretty darn neat.

As for photography, though, it was a complete the disaster. Nearly all the gyms we played in were too dark (even with a high ISO) to really properly stop the action. I finally resorted to trying out the strobes (with permission) and that wasn’t much better because either everything else was too dark or I still didn’t manage to properly stop the action. It was tough. For his portrait I went to ISO 100 and used both strobes (one on partial and one on full) and hastily setup a quick shot. It turned out okay but I am still disappointed I couldn’t get more action shots. It’s clear that places like the O-Dome have entirely different lighting than elementary schools (surprise, surprise). So it still remains a goal of mine to photograph at a college game from the floor as a press photographer. Not sure if it will ever happen, but I can certain hope.

This entry was posted Monday, February 5th, 2007 at 4:52 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.