It's always good to get the first one out of the way!

I knew they were nervous.  Sarah, because she told me many times she was nervous.  Peter, because he was silent.  And I have to admit, I was nervous too.

Yesterday they played their very first games as members of their school basketball team.  They decided at the end of last season that they were ready to move up from the local rec/learning league to their school team.

I had been to one of their school's JV basketball games and I knew it was going to be a lot different than they were used to.  It was going to be a much faster paced, more aggressive game than they were used to.

We loaded up the car immediately after the school bell rang.  I drove Peter, Sarah, and two of Peter's teammates to the game - which happened to be almost an hour away.  But the weather was beautiful, the drive was peaceful, and all four kids worked diligently on their homework.  And I have to admit that I enjoyed eavesdropping on the boys as they talked about homework, school, teachers, etc. 

We arrived at Sacred Heart right on time.  It was a beautiful school - clean, bright, large. The gym was nice too.  It was very well lit and I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera.  I might have been able to get some nice shots.  The lighting in most gymnasiums makes it hard to get a decent shot.  (Well, that and the fact that I still don't know how to properly use my camera!)

The girls started their warm ups and the boys team all sat together and formed a little cheering section.

The game began and Sarah did not start.  I think she and I were both a little relieved about that.  The girls have a big team and the coach did a great job and giving everyone a chance to play. 

I could tell Sarah was a little unsure of herself because any time she got the ball, she immediately looked to see who she could pass it off too.  But she did take two shots.  One missed and the other went in!  She also grabbed a couple of rebounds and did a pretty good job throwing the ball in as point guard. 

The girls ended up losing but it was a really good game.  And then the boys were up.  Peter's team is really small compared to Sarah's and since he is one of the taller kids on the team, he got to start. 

The boys game was much faster paced than the girls.  And those boys were aggressive (but not in a bad way).  And Peter was, well, Peter.  He knew what was going on, but I could tell he was unsure of what to do with the ball. Or afraid he was going to mess up.  He passed it off a lot but he did make 6 nice rebounds and the boys won!

The next game is on Saturday but the kids will miss it because we are going to Washington, DC for Peter's birthday.  It's always good to get that first game under your belt. I think we will all breathe a little easier now.