Dribble, Dribble, Shoot

For the past four weeks Luke and Ruby have been in training and learning how to play basketball.  Provo City has "smart start" programs for a lot of their sports which allows younger kids to learn the skills and rules of a game before they are old enough to play in the organized leagues.  A parent has to be involved and Tim has had the best time helping the kids learn to play.  Luke has been asking to about basketball for awhile, but I have honestly been surprised at how much both he and Ruby enjoyed the program.  Each night after class they were so excited to show and tell me what they had learned and they always said that they had the best time.  Tim took lots of videos and it was amazing to see both the highlights and the bloopers along the way.  It really was a fantastic experience.

Gooooooo Team!

These kids definitely know how to have fun!

Both kids loved learning to dribble and Luke showed me all of the tips and tricks they had been taught.  Unfortunately we do not have a small basketball so they have struggled to practice much at home but they have still tried with every ball and even balloon that they can find.  They have also gotten pretty good at the bounce pass - I think that is one of their favorites. 

During the last two classes they played a "game" and tried to put everything they had learned into practice.  Tim sent me a lot of video and it was awesome.  There were plenty of parents on the court giving advice and directions but it didn't seem to be helping most of the kids.  I was impressed at how well Luke and Ruby understood about guarding - they definitely made it tough for most of the kids to make much progress down the court.  One of my favorite moments was when a kid finally just grabbed the ball and ran down the court and shot a basket.  Luke immediately raised his hand and made sure to point out to the coach that the boy hadn't dribbled.  He definitely listens to the rules and then works to follow what he's told.  

Of course, the very best part of the entire experience for my kids was getting a medal and a certificate.  They are so proud of what they earned and love showing their medals off to anyone who is interested.  I love that they learned a new skill and really enjoyed playing a new sport.  Luke is already counting down the days until he will be old enough to play on a real team.