Eric made two free throws in the HP JV Basketball game; making it a two possession game with 10 seconds to play. His only points as HP wins 57 -50 in their season opener.
HP JV Bball @ Herkimer
Leave a reply
Category Archives: basketball
Ponds, Canoe Camping, Garden, Tendonitis
To celebrate graduation from middle school Eric hosted a small party with 8 or nine of his buddies. After much waffling about the possibility of rain and alternative rain dates we went ahead and had the party on Friday night with a bonfire and pizza. We had a lot of fire wood from cleaning out wood along the fence line. We staged the bonfire in the pasture in front of the equipment lean-to. The boys played basketball and ‘man hunt’ which was a team approach to hide and seek. Kids left by 11:30 and there was a down pour fifteen minutes afterwards.
Eric’s graded fluctuated through out 8th grade. He would perform poorly and then focus attention on that issue; get it corrected, only to have some other subject matter suffer. A lot of the issues were a result of staying organized, turning in work and studying for tests and quizzes. We really tried to stress his need to take personal responsibility for his grades. In the final marking period he seemed to pull it all together and managed to get on the High Honor Roll! Hopefully, this all carries forward into high school.
Eric signed up onto the HP JV basketball team competing in the summer Accelerate League. There are only a couple of 9th grade players and two HP players decided to play elsewhere when the decision of team composition and coaches was being made. So far, three games in, the team has not yet had a practice or set plays.
Eric resumed his summer job unloading hay for the neighboring farm. He enjoys the work and partnership with the Hughes and Nathan. But so far haying has been delayed by the weather as we have had rain, rain, rain.
In mid-April I took a mis-step walking down the driveway to the barn resulting in a twinge in my left calf. After a weekend of sitting on bleachers watching Eric’s basketball games I was concerned about a possible blood clot as the pain moved up and down the back of my leg. When that was ruled out I gave it more time until I finally visited the doctor who suspected tendonitis and prescribed PT. After three weeks of regular stretching the Soleus ligament it has responded and feels normal.
The fish in the pond are huge. Scout went nose to nose with one of the 34″ grass carp.
For the 4th of July weekend we went canoe camping near Stillwater Reservoir. It was a short paddle to a unused campsite. Kathryn out-fished everyone else catching 5 bass and 1 sunfish.
Finally, with three consecutive dry days Eric got to unload hay and Troy Cole started on our outdoor projects; grading the top soil from the south pond, installing drainage tile, grading around the minnow pond, making a gateway access between the two pastures, digging a ditch to prevent flooding near cookout corner.
Early June Roundup
On Memorial Day Weekend Mark & Danielle hosted a Hay / Muller picnic. We drove to the Hays and dropped off Eric and then picked up Barb and Joe in Albany getting back to the Hays at 12:30. Barbara really enjoyed getting out among family and the weather was perfect for a picnic.
Eric went on the 8th grade camping trip (Thursday – Saturday) to Beaver River; sharing a tent with 6 of his buddies. Initially he wasn’t interested in going, but relented under ‘encouragement’. I think he had a good time as he said having his life guard certification would allow him to go again as an underclassman.
While he was on the camping trip we went to Rochester for Leo’s wedding. We just made it to the ceremony as the bride was walking in. It was a short ceremony and over in 10-12 minutes. We hung around the reception, talked to most all the Skellys’ and then drove home.
On Sunday Eric played in a 4 team round robin tournament at HCCC. Three teams consisted of 8th and 9th graders. One team had three varsity players and they blew out every other team. Eric had an mediocre showing; he had some rebounds in traffic, he had a couple of good blocks and played good defense, but he missed all his shots, except for a fast break layup.
Modified lacrosse finished up with Eric playing as a 2nd line middie. Eric got better at boxing out and digging out the balls on the ground. He did a few face-offs and overall enjoyed the games. He is planning to play summer lacrosse at TriCityLacrosse when the fields dry out enough to play.
This weekend Kathryn and I started cutting firewood from Cookout Corner. There were lots of standing dead ash trees and we likely could get out entire winter’s supply just from Cookout Corner.
We put Eric’s computer desk and the large entertainment center out by the road with a free sign. The computer desk was picked up within an hour. The entertainment center was taken by an Amish family who loaded up on top of their carriage. Quite the sight to see.
Mohawk Valley Elite Shootout
MVE played in three games this past weekend; losing by 2 points to a 9th grade/JV team from Waterville with 8 seconds left; losing by 6 points to Rome Select in a game that had MVE trailing, but threatening the entire game and finally to Amsterdam when the team missed many, many easy shots.
Madness on The Mohawk Basketball Tournament
For the second weekend in a row, Eric played in an AAU basketball tournament as part of his Mohawk Valley Elite team.
- vs Amsterdam Select at St. Gabriels Gym in Rotterdam
- vs Goddard Riverside at the Duanesburg YMCA
- vs Galway at Amsterdam High School
The score was tied 28-28 vs Amsterdam Select and then MVE team went on a huge shooting hot streak before winding down to win 66-52. Eric did his usual good rebounding and made 3 of 4 foul shots at the end of the game. We stopped off at Gibbys Diner for lunch and then went to the Duanesburg YMCA. Goddard Riverside pressed the entire game and ran MVE off the floor winning by a 50 point margin. Galway was a similar situation with the final score 48-14.
Rising Stars Tournament
Eric’s Mohawk Valley Elite team entered the ‘B’ pool of the local Rising Stars Tournament sponsored by D Squad. They lost overwhelmingly to Central Western (Green) (from Weedsport) and narrowly beat the Midstate Wolfpack (from Sherburne Earlville) on Saturday. Sunday morning they beat Midstate Wolfpack 46-21 and then lost narrowly to Central Western.
2017 HP 8th Grade Basketball Season
Eric and his teammates had an undefeated season playing 9 games vs Remsen, Old Forge, ADK, West Canada Valley and Little Falls. Eric was on the starting unit primarily playing as a 2 guard. The team followed a A / B format meaning the starting unit usually played quarters 1 & 3 and the 2nd unit played quarters 2 & 4.
The team won most of their games by wide margins. The opposing schools had very few players that were playing club or AAU basketball to improve their skills.
HP 8th Grade Basketball vs Remsen
It has been a rough week for the HP Middle School. Eric’s 1st 8th grade basketball game, scheduled for last weekend, was canceled by Little Falls due to threat of snow or missing school bus or something. This Thursday he had a 2 hour delay, but managed to play their 1st game vs Remsen and won easily. Eric had 6 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound in 14 minutes of play.
Friday there was a bomb threat and Adirondack Schools canceled all after school activities due to lake effect snow, so again, no basketball game.
Eric’s 14th Birthday
Eric turned 14 on Saturday January 7th. Eric and I went to an SU game vs Pittsburgh. SU basketball has been a roller coaster this early season, with proclamations by Coach Boeheim of the talent and depth of the team; early blowouts vs non-conference foes and losses against good teams (South Carolina and Wisconsin) and huge losses against St Johns and Boston College. Boeheim changed rotations frequently and settled on a Gillon, White, Battle, Lydon and Roberson for win vs Miami. Pittsburgh was successful vs the 2-3 zone in the past but had a new head coach and new personnel. So against this backdrop Eric and I were hoping for a good game.
The 1st half was a blow-out with SU taking a 20-8 initial lead which they stretched to 42-21 at the half. They slowed down the game mid-way through the 2nd half and Pittsburgh made a little run, but SU won 77-66.
Eric and I had a good trip, talking sports and basketball on the car ride to/from. The walk up the hill was a little chilly (19 degrees) and it made Eric wish he had brought a jacket to go over his sweatshirt…. but live and learn, eh?
Twisted Ankles
Eric Fall Accelerate League ended with his team being in the 2nd seed. They beat the RFA team on the final game of the season and ended up playing vs Frankfort in the finals and winning. Eric with him suffered a sprained ankle in the last regular season game. On the opening play he got an offensive rebound and came down wrong twisting his ankle. He put the shot back in, but his pain was evident three strides down court. We ended up taking Eric to the emergency ward of St Lukes. Xrays were clean and he was given an air cast and permission to skip gym, use crutches and the elevator. A followup with his doctor got him a schedule with PT.
Eric kept clock at the playoff games.
Bushey, Jaden, Ty, Bryce, Ian, Eric, Kyle and Matt posed after their championship win.
