Reasons for Holding Back

I have not been updating this blog for a good reason. I wanted it to be interesting to be read by others about my experiences with a team that had the great chance of moving up. Well, with having two losses already (should only be one) the main objective right now is to win the rest of our games out. Since our second loss, we played cupcake teams that our U18 teams could beat. Last night was our competition of the year. People were calling it the biggest basketball game in this towns history. I would not say all that, but by all means, it was big. This team was undefeated coming in, we had two losses. If we lose this game, it would mean that we fall three games behind this team, and with the level of competition in this league, we would be lucky if they lost one other game before the end of the year.

The game lived up to its promotion, with the biggest lead being five points all the way to the fourth quarter. The refs finally let both teams play, and it was a physical battle. I can easily say that this was the first game that we played as a team with one goal. The on-court body language was great, and when they tried to make a run, we came together and made a run of our own. It was a team victory. One thing I want to point out is that our locals like to read articles in the paper from the other team, and I was the topic of discussion. Some things were said about me to try to distract me from the main reason of being out there on the court. I just want the team to win and do everything in my power to make it happen. I took the defensive role last night in locking up their main big man and holding him to 6 points. My team recognizes that more than the fans and that's what matters most.

We have two games left before Christmas break. I can officially call it just a break. Their was a debate about me possibly not finishing out my time here, and to look elsewhere. At this stage in my career, their are some things that I just have to suck up and take it in. The win last night made it an easier decision, because I do believe that this team can move up. We just need to be ready for the tough 2nd half schedule we have looking ahead.

New Experience

Before I let you guys know about the new sport I am trying, I would like to express my thoughts on the past two games. We won both of them, and yet I still see some flaws in our game plans. Our two opponents were Kronberg at home, and Ludwigsberg on the road. I expected more from Kronberg knowing that they were in second place before we played them. They struggled as a team as much as we did. The refs called yet another tight game, and I was unable to get into the game rhythm that I expect from myself. I need to improve in certain areas/holes, but it is also hard because of our weekly practice schedule that is back to only 3 times a week. We ended up winning by about 15 points and remain two games behind Weissenhorn, the first place team.

Our game this past weekend was against Ludwigsberg, a young squad. They have a team in the first division also, so they like to develop their younger players in our division. They hung around for the most part of the game until late in the third quarter when we made our run. We were up by about 25 before we subbed in our young kids. "Over matched" is not a decent word to use when I compare our kids to their young kids. We ended up winning by about 15 when the final buzzer sounded, and it was another win in the books. We have about two more "tune-up" games before unbeaten Weissenhorn comes to our gym. Stuttgart is up next for us, and it will be a homecoming for Coach Heck, who was a player/coach for us last year, with him now playing in Stuttgart. I enjoyed playing under him, and I will always respect him.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go snowboarding up in the mountains. I always wanted to snowboard since I was a little kid, I guess that is the white coming out of me haha. But anyway, lesson 1, do not ever learn how to snowboard from a guy that has trick dvds of himself out on the market. I did not know that until he made me try and do things on the board before I even learned how to slide properly. My body is so sore in spots that I thought could even get sore. From my 198 wipe outs yesterday, the best one is when I tried to do a "controlled landing"(in his words) and ended up flipping forward, spinning on top my head, and the board was up in the air looking like helicopter propellers. I was break dancing in the snow and it did not hurt that much until an hour later. I see little kids passing me on skis and snowboards performing like its nothing, all while I am sitting on my rear end wondering, "Why Do I Keep Falling?" I will snowboard once again before Christmas break, and I promised to myself that I will cut my wipe outs in half to about 100. If not, then I will turn the snowboard into a body board, and just slide down the hill on my stomach. Either way, I will end up at the bottom of the mountain unharmed.

Catching Up

It has been about two weeks since my last post. I have been waiting for something interesting to happen, but I was let down. Nothing interesting goes on in the great town of Schwenningen. I have been letting time pass by with a lot of NBA/NFL games, depending on the day. I would say my hours are messed up, but I can not say that because when I head back to the states for Christmas break, I will be on their time. I have to stay up late in order to watch the sports games of the day. Its alright, its not like I have anything better to do during the day, other than sleep.

We have had two games between this post and last post. Two big wins. All of these games we have in the future are must wins, no matter home or road. Our previous losses will be tough to overcome, but if we go underfeated the rest of the way, it will be all gravy baby. We played Treis-Karden at their place, and we came out great. Due to our coach quitting on us, we were able to play more freely and it was good for us as a team. We ended up winning by twelve, with a few breakdowns in the fourth quarter. We were up by about 17 going into the fourth quarter, and they pulled within 4-5, before we put some defensive stops together and pulled away. We will always accept an ugly win on the road, as long as it is a win.

This past Sunday, we played home against Giessen. Giessen is always a physical test for us, and they will continue to fight no matter what the score is. It was a close game throughout the whole game. All of our big men were in foul trouble, and no one was able to get into the flow of the game because the refs decided they wanted to call it tight the whole game. I think they believed in the "no-contact" sport in basketball. Does that exist? It is safe to say that over 50 free throws were shot in this game by both teams. A two and a half hour basketball game is not acceptable. I know it was boring for the fans, because I was bored out their on the court. Another win though, with the final score being 73-67. I finally had a decent game, going back to playing with worrying what the coach is going to say. The teams defense is getting better day by day.

This week is another big test at home. We play Kronberg, they stand at second place in the league. They will play a full-court press the whole game. The gameplan is, if we break the press, we win easily. If we turn the ball over, we lose, EASILY. I honestly do not know how we are going to do against the press. We will see what happens. Stay tuned.....

Expect the Unexpected

The previous post I created was over a week ago. No posts since because we were getting ready to go up against our rival in Konstanz. Konstanz is about 35-45 minutes away from where we play at, so all of our fans like to travel there to watch. It is such a good environment when we play there because their fans are fun to interact with. You know me, I can not just focus on the game, I have to have fun out there.

Preparation for the game was a little confusing, because what we worked on leading up to the game, we did not execute during the game. The whole week we were preparing for a Box-and-1 against their point guard with me denying him the ball. We were hoping that my length would balance out his quickness. Well, game-time comes, and we play regular man for the first quarter. We played the best defense of the season in the first quarter, finally playing man, and jumping out 16-8 at the end of the quarter. 2nd quarter is where everything changes. I do not like to go against my coaches decision, but he changed the defense up into a 1-3-1 zone, and their pg ate it up, allowing him to get inside the rest of the game. Where I come from, we say "if it aint broke, dont fix it." I guess they never heard of it over here.

Anyway, I believe we were up by two at the end of the half, and the momentum was in their hands. They jumped on us at the beginning of the 3rd and we were just trying to stay close until they started missing shots. The problem was, they weren't missing the shots the rest of the game, and we were playing catch up. At the end of the games, they ended up winning by 11 or so, and all the credit goes to them and their coach. They asked me in the post game interview what I thought was the deciding factor, and I stated, "they out hustled us in every aspect of the game. It was clear that they wanted it more." It hurt me to state that, because where I came from, my team never got out hustled by the opposition. Now, Konstanz stays at the top of the division, and the Schwenningen Panthers are in the middle of the pack.

This leads me another situation. Our coach quit on us Monday. Why? I do not know. He stated that we were not disciplined, he had another baby on the way, and he needed to spend time with his family. That is an ok reason, if anyone wanted to believe it. His wife is about 6-7 months pregnant, so before he accepted the coaching position, he knew he had a kid on the way. I think this would be more understandable, "As a team, we are not meeting the expectations set forth, I am stepping down." Everyone knows that we are struggling, but we can not run away from the problem. We have two losses already this season, and another big test coming up on Sunday on the road. Treis-Karden is in second place I believe, and they do not lose on their home court. I hope we can change things around, especially going into the game with no head coach. Going to be a tough one.

In order for me stay sane over these blog posts. Everyone who knows me know that I am a basketball fanatic, and I will be voicing my opinion in posts in the future. This means more frequent posting from me. Below is the daily highlights from the 29th of October. LETS GO PHOENIX........

Late Update

A lot has went down in the past two weeks. 2 wins against two halfway garbage squads. One game was on the road, and my boy AD was unable to play in that one. His reason for not playing was "turf" toe haha. The real reason was his interests wants were elsewhere. He is basically waiting for a tryout with a higher division team, so good luck to him.

Our second game was against a team on our home court. It was our last tune up game before our rival Konstanz this Friday. Right now, they currently stand at the top of the league, the main reason because they have not played anybody. I can say the same thing about this team, so we will know where we stand after Friday. I am a little uneasy about it though, I just hope that people do not try to do too much going into the game. Just because it is a big game, we do not have to change the way we play together just to stand out in the end.

I have finally figured out what my role is on the team after the past two games. I am not involved with the offense due to the fact that we have only two plays. I play the 1,3,4,5 positions throughout the game(I do not play the two because if I was there, I would be shooting every time). The only time the coach talks to me is for me to try and contain the other teams scored. I should just be called Bruce Bowen from here on out. Or Bruce Bruce. Once I start to get my corner three to be consistent, I am officially changing my name. Speaking of the NBA, one more week until the regular season opens. It gives me something to watch during the late night boredom that I go through. Its better for me because I eat in the night now. The millions I get paid to play in Schwenningen allows me to buy bread and have buttered toast for my midnight-3am snack.

Anyway, like I said, NBA in a week. Its all about Baron's Clippers, and Shaqs Suns. Until next time......