Today we start March Madness Math or “Bracketology”. It’s a fun and easy way to tie math into the real world for our kids. Plus it’s a great answer answer to the eternal question of “When am I ever gonna use this?”.
Well, a week ago, Oakley made her basketball debut. Amazingly, she actually managed to score her first basket in that game too! Alas, a vast family illness meant that I was the only one there to see it.
This week, though, we all made the game and Oakley delivered the goods again. Enjoy Oakley’s first captured video game…
Well, this isn’t Aspen’s first time on a basketball court, but it is her first game in 2010. Her Black Ninjas team got off to a slow start, but made a valiant comeback in the end.
Alright, this week I took the new little video camera with me to the game (instead of the camera). That’s right, the team is so good that I can spend part of the game shooting instead of coaching it. As much as I’d like to do that, I can’t say I’m much of a videographer when I’m coaching… I get distracted.
Still, I was able to capture a proud moment of Aspen. In the 5th period, I assigned Aspen the task of guarding the best player in the league [not on our team]. She’s fast, she shoots pretty well, and she’s got, well, attitude. At halftime, as we walked back onto the court, she snapped at one of our girls and said, “You’re going down!” Keep in mind that we were up big at this point and she had been outscored by Cassie (the girl to whom she said it).
So, the little 30 second snippet below will show you a bit about how things worked out when Aspen took her turn defending her.
At last, after a few days of messing with formats and video companies, I have Aspen’s Basketball Debut ready for you.
Quite frankly, I was worried about this game. Our practices have been quite chaotic, and I thought things could be remarkably ugly. Well, the game was a pleasant surprise, as was Aspen’s play. She plays on a team with 5 2nd graders and one other 1st grader. But I think she looked like she belonged.
To help you, on this occasion, Aspen’s team is wearing blue. She’s number 7 (short, dark hair). The video consists of almost all of Aspen’s relevant, visible plays. It is fully 9 minutes long, so don’t feel you need to watch any/all of it. Things to watch for include Aspen’s great defensive hustle (and aptitude) and the fact that she scored once, had a couple of assists, and even took a ball off the nose.
As for the video, I’m trusting that I’ve got the embedding figured out. You should see the video itself right beneath this post. It will look pretty good here, certainly better than YouTube. But, if you really want a high definition experience, you have to click through to Vimeo’s hosting of the video. They have an HD option that make it look beautiful, even if you click the full screen option in lower right. So, if you want the full experience, click on this link ( Aspen’s Basketball Debut) and enjoy it over there. On a video as long as this one, I would say it’s worth it.
Also, special thanks to Jenn, who spent the whole game holding a video camera and watching two kids in the bleachers. No one would be able to watch any of this without Jenn’s cramping biceps.
