The minute Emi's morning soccer game was over, we rushed to the junior high for a basketball game. Emi's team has two shifts of players who split their playing time 50/50. Emi plays point guard on one of those shifts. Our coach installed a set offense this week that asks the point guard to bring the ball to the top of the key and pass the ball to teammates who are (in theory) setting screens and breaking to get open. One of Emi's strengths is crossing over his defender and driving into the lane, but he didn't get any chances to do that in this offense.
When he did get a breakaway layup opportunity, he was cool under pressure, and scored a basket para la abuela.
Coach Rhoades asked me this week if Emilio could play up with the U-14s on Saturday and Sunday because he wasn't sure he was going to have enough players. Emilio already had a basketball game scheduled at 11:30 on Saturday and a U-12 soccer game at 4 pm in Shawnee, but the fifth grader didn't hesitate to say "yes" to this opportunity to test his skills against some sixth and seventh graders.
Emi got his first action at left midfield.
Though we didn't win, Emi played with energy and confidence and improved the team's overall level of play when he was on the pitch.
Emilio artfully split this double team.
Emilio also got some time at right defensive back and made some of his best plays there against Real Madill's strongest player.
Our defense gave up a lot of goals in the first half, so Coach Rhynes gave Emi more time on the defensive end in the second half.
At the end of this game, Emi got some play at left forward and got off this shot on goal just before the final whistle.
La abuela treated the family to lunch at the Asian Buffet (Emi digs the fried rice) and dinner at Delicia's (Emi and Nina dig the beans). In between, Emi and I played an Xbox Super Bowl match up between Dallas and Pittsburgh in anticipation of this Sunday's regular season matchup between the rookie Dak Prescott-led 7-1 'Boys and Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers. With Emi at the controls, the 'Boys won a close one.
This summer, for my birthday, Mom and Dad gave me tickets to take Emilio to see the Cowboys play against the Buccaneers (Dec. 26). For Emi's birthday, they bought him a Kindle that we plan to take with us when we go to Europe next summer. We bought him Kindle versions of Iron by Iron by Ryan Graudin and Gemina (from The Illuminae Files)
by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
On the eve of Emi's 11th birthday, we said we could get him the newest version of the Xbox One sports games he likes to play, or he could go with me to see the Thunder play against Toronto.
On the drive down, we listened to an audio book recording of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" read by Nick Offerman. Before the game, Emi said he wasn't sure which team he'd be rooting for, but I told him we had to root for the home team. After we parked, we bought tickets on the lower level from a guy standing outside the gate. He offered them to us for $65 each, but we got them for $40.
During the game, we ate popcorn and nachos. The Thunder scored the first 12 points in the game but ended up losing 102-112. Russell Westbrook scored 36 for the Thunder; DeMar DeRozan scored 37 for the Raptors.
On the drive home, we got vanilla Frosties at Wendy's, and listened to some more Tom until one of us fell asleep. Fortunately, it wasn't me.
The Spartans are playing this game without Blake, who usually plays center mid and is the heart of the defense. Before the game, Coach Underwood tells Emilio he will be playing him some at center mid, which means more distributing, more defense, and fewer shots on goal. It also means he'll make the throw-ins and kick the corners and, therefore, won't get to wait in the box for the corners to come to him).
Emi did a great job on the corners.
The first scoring opportunity in the game comes when Emilio gets fouled in the box. His penalty kick bounces off somebody's butt and comes back to him. His second kick almost gets in.
Three minutes later, Emilio's corner kick comes back out to him, and he delivers a bending strike into a narrow gap between the keeper and the post to put us up, 1-0.
Seventeen minutes later, we're down 2-4 (!), when Emilio makes a run that produces another strike between the goalkeeper and the near post, and we're within one at halftime.
Emilio starts the second half at his usual position--forward--and it doesn't take long for him to get this one off. And that's the hat trick.
Three minutes later he makes a great crossing pass with the left to Bentley.
Three minutes after that, he makes a great pass to Gareth.
Eight minutes later, we are losing 4-8 (!), and another team is walking behind me, when Emilio hustles into the corner to steal the ball and nutmeg the defender. You can hear their admiring "ooooooo." You can also hear Emi's mama shouting encouragement. The play ends with Emi winning a corner.
For the first time in this game, someone other than Emilio makes the corner kick. Emilio assumes his place on the edge of the box and with perfect economy delivers a strike to the near post. That's #4 on the game. According to my good friends on the internet, that's called a "haul." And we're down 5-8.
One minute later, Emilio steals the ball and delivers a great pass to Gareth. His first shot is blocked, but his second is clean, and we're down 6-8. Gareth dabs afterward, to the displeasure of his vocal dad/coach.
Two minutes later, Emilio backs off to avoid an offsides call. Shortly afterwards, Gareth scores, but the point is nullified because Gareth is ruled offsides. Video replay suggests that he was not offsides at all.
Two minutes later, Emilio gets loose on another run, and his kick is true. That's #5 on the day--a "glut"?--and we're down 7-8.
Two minutes later, Emilio steals the ball and pops in his sixth goal of the day. That's a double hat-trick, and the score is tied 8-8.
Unfortunately, CNP Sting sneak in their ninth goal of the game just before the final whistle. If we'd had Blake in midfield, I think we would have won this one.
Emi's six goals (how many hats can Emi wear? Today, the answers is: two) give him twenty-nine goals in nine U-12 games this season.
Our division record is 4-2; our tournament record is 1-2.
Front row, from left to right:
Luke (defense), Christian (defense), Gage (goalkeeper), Tristan (defense/forward), Gareth (right forward), Devin (left forward). Back row, from left to right: Ethan (defense), Blake (center mid), Carl (defense/injured), Caden (defense), Tyler (defense), Emilio (center forward), Asher (defense). Not pictured above, but pictured below at the left end of the back row: Bentley (left/right forward).
In his second game, Emilio gets the start at point guard. He'll play the first half of each quarter, and then his crew of five will rotate off to be replaced by a fresh group of subs from the bench.
This highlight reel begins with the first possession. When Emi gets passed back to, he is open and launches one from the top of the key. It doesn't hit the mark, but it's close, and shows the kind of confidence he plays with. He told me afterwards that he declined to take any other open shots from outside because he didn't think his coach would want him to. He was perfect on his breakaway layups, and finished with six points on the day, which probably led the team (which scored 21 points total). When he penetrates and gets stopped, he passed the ball back out, chased down lots of loose balls and nabbed several rebounds. He loves to drive and dish. And when his group left the court midway through the fourth, we were winning a game that we eventually loss by a single point.
