Ben's basketball season began yesterday. Ben is a member of the fearsome Team 4 in the Irondale Basketball League 5/6 grade division. His squad played the hated Team 3 in their opener and were soundly thrashed, 57-11. It was not the beginning Ben was hoping for, but what can you do? Ben's team is wearing red shirts this year and Ben sports uniform number 3. He is playing hard, but it will be a struggle. It appears that there are two very good teams, two not so good teams, and two mysterious St. Anthony squads who are participating. St. Anthony, for those readers who are not familiar with local geography, is a small community adjacent to New Brighton and it has its own school district. Because the area in question is so small, it is unable to field full-fledged leagues for most youth sports, so it tends to partner with neighboring school districts (Mounds View, Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights) to place its teams.
Anyway, Ben is improving, despite the drubbing he received Saturday. Ben is now in his third year of basketball and he has a very good understanding of the game and what he needs to do. His team is not bereft of talent, but it is very inexperienced and Saturday's opponents were much more polished players. I think Ben will have an opportunity to improve a lot this season, since he'll get a lot of playing time. And he'll likely top last year's output of six points, assuming he gets a chance to shoot. Watch this space for further updates on this compelling squad and its progress.
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