Pirates

If you don’t know, I am a proponent of kids watching basketball to get a better understanding and appreciation for the game. While the collegiate level is arguably the best for the kids; high school basketball can also be invaluable for their development.

On January 8-9 (Saturday and Sunday), 2011, I encourage you to take your aspiring basketball player to see the high school game played at a high level. Nationally ranked boys powerhouses, St. Patrick (#4), St. Anthony (#5), and St. Benedict (#23) – that all happen to be from the Garden State – are among a slate of teams that will take to the hardwood for bragging rights. The girls will play three games on Saturday (1/8/11) at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus; and the boys will play four games on Sunday (1/9/11) at Kean University in Union. The events have sold out in the past, so I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to buy tickets – which are only $10 for adults and $5 for kids.

Over the course of the next few weeks, there will be a number of holiday tournaments that I’ll try to keep you informed about so you can get your child out to see high school basketball, and continue to learn in the process. But the SFIC Basketball Festival – www.sfichoops.com – is something you don’t want to miss.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Keep up the hard work and let’s have some fun!

I hope you are as proud of the kids as Jaimie and I are; they completed quite a regular season. During the off-season, the two of us wavered back-and-forth about where we wanted to play – in the 5th Grade League with 4th and 5th graders; or in the 4th Grade League with 3rd and 4th graders. We had a half-dozen or so 5th graders in mind for the team; but after some lengthy discussions, we decided against playing in that league.

Before the team was in place, the two of us got on the same page in terms of philosophy. We are firm believers that defense travels well – in most games, on most days, at most places, against most teams, and despite most referees. Offense, on the other hand, tends to be less dependable and may not show-up when needed. We made good, aggressive defense our signature.

We lost about 65% of our offense from last year’s team – including three somewhat reliable ball-handlers. That team finished the regular season with seven wins and six losses during the regular season – three teams accounted for all our losses. Fast forward to this year, it’s easy to try and minimize the team’s success; but it’s important to keep things in perspective. We didn’t play down in order to be successful; the National Division is the one we’re in every year. The general rule of thumb is that the American Division is for teams from larger towns with bigger high school populations – like Westfield (1,776 students), Morristown (1,477), or Flemington (2,897) – where they have more kids to choose from; and the National Division is for smaller towns – like North Plainfield (961), Clark (844), or Cranford (1,118). Our kids just played very well this season.

We went with a boot-camp approach the first couple weeks of practice, going three (sometimes four) nights a week to get the kids ready for the season. And we planned on using the Clem Santy Pre-Season Tournament (Dunellen) to get the kids comfortable in their roles/positions, while playing against other teams. The kids showed us something during that tournament; we were really impressed. Even though Westfield beat us convincingly, it was important for the kids to experience some adversity early-on. Despite all the lopsided victories we’ve had this season, that Westfield game was the game we learned and taught the most from. The offensive and defensive sets we taught the kids was all done to prepare for a well-disciplined, aggressive team like Westfield.

Long-story short, the kids kept getting it. The rigorous practice schedule that we planned to curtail after the New Year, allowed us to keep developing and getting better. We became that game circled on every team’s schedule – looking at the results of our previous games, our opponents either wanted no part of us or thought they were the team that would beat us. 13 games later, your ’08-’09 North Plainfield Pirates find themselves without a regular season blemish; that is quite an accomplishment.

To put our season in perspective, when our opponents played each other, they averaged 23 points per game while giving up 22. In games against North Plainfield, teams only scored 12 points per game on average, while we scored 33 – our average margin of victory was nearly the rest of the Division’s average points per game. That’s impressive!

Until our final regular season game, no team scored 20 points on us. We held five teams to less than 10 points. We held two teams to a single point. And although there is no Mercy Rule in our league, we routinely pulled back the reigns when the game’s outcome was clearly not in question; personally, I think that’s an important lesson for the kids, because we’ve been on the other end of some blowouts and that’s not a good feeling…at all.

So as we put the 2008-09 GSBL 4th Grade Boys National Division Regular Season behind us with an undefeated record of 13-0, we will now look to step-up our game in the postseason tournaments we’ll be participating in. Because of our success in the National Division, we will be moved-up to the American Division for the Playoffs; by rule, we go in as the 6th seed in a 13-team single-elimination tournament.

Nestled in the middle of the Playoffs is a post-season tournament we entered at Drew University in Madison; a well-established basketball organization called Hoop Group (headquartered in Neptune, NJ) runs a Tournament of Champions competition March 13-15.

But before that, we need to get ready for Cranford in the Clark Tournament this weekend. In just over a month, this basketball season will be history and we’ll be longing for next year shortly thereafter.

I know this is already a lot longer than it should be, but there are a couple other things I need to remind you of. The weekend of March 7-8, the North Plainfield Youth Sports Association (NPYSA) will have its annual Can Drive; the purpose of the event is to raise funds to help subsidize the banquet at the end of the season. I believe we have two players and their parents, outside local high-volume stores (we’ll let you know which stores), in two-hour shifts, throughout the day. Remember, everyone’s participation is required in order to fulfill you $100 Work Bond commitment.

The banquet will be held on March 28th at the Vermuele Center. The cost is $10 per person, and we need to have a headcount and all monies in by Sunday, March 15th. Players are free for the event.

And we are going to order the hooded sweatshirts for the kids. I hope to have a price by the end of the week, so I need size information for each of them – you probably want to order them a little big so they get more than a few months out of it. And if you’re not a hoodie kind of person, there is different apparel you can order that will still show your team spirit – same or similar printing, which will also be determined by week end. I plan on putting an order form together today.

And for those of you looking to further hone your kid’s basketball skills, several of us have begun looking into summer camps; there are local day camps (i.e. Kevin Boyle, Rutgers, and Excel in Basketball), and there are sleep away camps (i.e. Hoop Group – Stroudsburg, PA, and Jim Boeheim – Syracuse, NY).

That’s enough for now. Please congratulate your boys on a great season, thank them for all their hard work – including finding the time and discipline to complete their schoolwork; and let them know we can’t be satisfied – we still have a lot of work to do.

In case you weren’t aware, our team advanced to the semi-final round – or Final Four if you will – of the Clark Holiday Tournament. We will play Cranford, this Saturday, February 28th in Clark – the same gym we’ve been in for the other games. The game starts at 2:30pm, so we want to make sure the kids are there by 2:00pm. If we win, we would play in the Finals on Sunday at noon.

But before we move-on to Saturday, we have some unfinished business to take care of. Our regular season – and our pursuit of perfection – concludes tonight with our game against Montgomery. The kids have worked hard all season, and are in position to make history. We are all very proud of them. They have far exceeded our expectations and continue to get better as the season progresses. So let’s cheer them on tonight as we go out on our “home court” to get it done; don’t forget the game will be played at Somerset School this evening.

Instead of practicing on Friday (1/30), we decided it would be nice to go support the Girls teams (from the Traveling program). There will be two games at the Middle School beginning at 6:45pm. The 4th Grade Girls will play, followed by the 6th Grade Girls.

In addition, the Boys Varsity Basketball Team will be in action at the High School at 7:00pm on Friday (1/30). If you want to take a short walk up the hill to see their game, the kids can get in free if they are wearing their Recreation Basketball Shirt.

And just to clarify an earlier communication, the Basketball Festival is scheduled for 5-7pm next Saturday (2/7) at the High School. For those of you that have not gotten back to me, please let me know if you plan on attending.

Finally, our game against Montgomery on Saturday (1/31) has been moved to a later time and different location; the game will now start at 5:45pm in the Upper Middle School (Montgomery). You should give yourself at least an hour to get there from North Plainfield. Please keep your eyes open for deer and police – there are several speed traps along Route 206. I will bring directions to the Girls games on Friday.

Thanks