Well not quite the March Madness of the NCAA tourney, but it was basketball, junior high basketball that is. Game today, was way out in the town of Kamigori, about a 20-30 minute drive. Hopped in my car and drove out, but when i got to the town i thought i could find the school it was being played out, because coach Tomo told me its near the station. So how big could this town be? Luckily it wasnt very big, because i stopped by an elementary school, high school, and then found the jr high school. Thought it was being played there, but no basketball, only volleyball, even the kids said "ohaiyo gozaimus" to me and i didnt even work there, so nice. After driving in circles i soon figured out it wasnt at any of the schools, so just decided to drive near the station, then bingo, found the Kamigori gym where the game was being played. Must take note to double check the place its being played at.
When i got in i was a bit late and the 1st quarter just ended and i found Tomo sensei outside of the gym smoking. I thought this was a bit strange as i am sure the 2nd quarter was going on. Met with Ueo sensei and she kindly informed me Tomo sensei was a bit mad and needed a smoke break. No problem i thought as my kids were ahead, but the basketball game resembled more of a game of hot potato. No baskets, missing outside shots everywhere, off balance shots, and crappy passing. Did the kids eat breakfeast? What was going on? It was like slow motion. After seeing about 2 minutes of the game, i could see why Tomo sensei was out smoking. If i could i would too. In the end after much shouting at the kids, mostly by me and Tomo sensei, the kids picked up the pace and started playing better hitting their inside shots and layups. In the end it was a nice waxing of 93-15, a suprise victory for my team, because usually they are on the other end of the score, no joke!
Honestly I didnt expect to win, earlier in the week i asked the kids how were the other teams, and they said those teams were good. So i figured one game and i would be done and then go home and sleep a bit more, but since we won, i gotta hang around. Of course i would prefer to win than lose.
I think Tomo sensei feels more comfortable when i am there as later on he was a bit more relaxed, as i helped him sort out what the kids needed to do to improve their game.
When i was sitting on the bench one of the students, Kenta pointed out that i was on the roster now! I was coach number 3! AC - "assistant coach" ... ha ha ha .. that was so nice of them, and my name was even in english and not katakana. So cool, now i can sit with the team for realz.
There was a nice break, next game would be at 130. So it was just a time fo the kids and coaches to relax. I just hanged out with Tomo sensei and Ueo sensei, Tomo sensei is pretty cool guy, and we can chat along pretty well with our broken japanese and english mix. Found out that we share some common things, such as food! All food! Yum! He was even nice enough to buy me a bento and drink for lunch. Tight.
On to the last game, it was supposed to be a strong team they said, cuz i think they had a bye. But when i looked at them, it was like playing against the smurfs. They were all super small, and i was like they are a strong team? Anyways, whoever, gotta play tough no matter how short they are, cant be overconfident. So decided to go with our best 5 at the time. Ummm .. because matters were complicated when our best 2 players of course got hurt this week! Morimoto and Akamatsu both with knee pains were at about 75%.
And the game starts, bit close after the end of the first quarter. An advantage of being small is that you are fast. Damn, those smurfs. The team had trouble keeping up but they held tough, by the end of the 2nd quarter the kids were running out of gas. But we upped our lead to a bit over 12. The start of the 3rd quarter began and looks like they were going with their mini lineup, took the big man out, so i think they were all about 5 feet tall. Looking to take advantage, i sent in the injured stars. Gotta get them a bit of action. Out of the gates, it was text book basketball, my team was stealing, rebounding, putting pressure, and making easy shots. Near the end of the 3rd quarter it was about over as we upped our lead to 20 and cruised the rest of the way to a nice 73-38 victory. Nice!
Over 3 years the kids couldnt win a game, but now with a little american style coaching we got 3 wins in a row. They were all smiles after the game, nothing like a good hard fought game. Next onto day two of the tournament which comes on tuesday. Nothing like Japan to put a tournament on a national holiday. Crossing the fingers for a victory, but i seen this next team, and damn they good, they waxed us triple digit style last time, ouch!
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