The Warrior...

Josiah played his first ever basketball game last Saturday! We'd been telling him for the last two years that he could play Upwards basketball in our church's program the winter he was in kindergarten. And fortunately, months before leaving home we successfully located a church (down in Chula Vista) running the program so we could make good on our promise. Only problem: they start with first graders, not kindergarteners like at home. Oh, and a second problem: they start their practices in November, not January like at home. They agreed to take Josiah since he's an old kindergartener, but the bottom line is that he's the youngest, smallest squirt out there, who also had the luxury of only one practice before the opening game of the season. Jesse and Jim say that playing with bigger, more capable kids is what makes you good. Personally, I want to know where the bubble wrap is.

We were so proud of him on Saturday, though! It involved the confusion and lost expressions one expects from a court full of 6-8 year olds, and wow were there ever skill differentials among the kids. But the Upwards program is great for "doing it right" and really helping all kids along. This church also runs the Upwards cheerleading program, and it was kind of hilarious watching Josiah run out when his name was announced in the dark gymnasium through a bunch of little girl cheerleaders. Ha!

If you squint a little at the picture at the bottom of the post, you can see a serious gap in Josiah's teeth. At his one and only practice two days before the game, he took a ball in the face that busted out his remaining top front tooth (which wasn't particularly loose yet). Yikes! Jim, who had taken him to practice, has nicknamed him The Warrior for coming back through the tears and pain to carry on.

 This one shows what a squirt Josiah is compared to several of his teammates...  

Here he is running onto the court at the start of the game (totally blurry since the gym was darkened for effect...)

Mr. Gappy, the Warrior

Oh, and for the record, during the game Josiah got the ball a few times. He made a couple of reasonable passes to teammates, and twice he made shots at the basket although neither went in. (Fortunately in one case, since it was after the half and he shot toward the wrong basket. Oops! A teammate helpfully blocked it. So confusing how the goal changes halfway through, right?)