Basketball Cal

 I wrote about the boys winter basketball seasons (Big Boys Basketball) but Callahan, being the basketball boy he is, had a few other things going on that I thought I should mention.

The church puts on a region contest each year. A "slam dunk" and "3-point" challenge. Each stake in the region gets to send a representative or two. Callahan as nominated for the 3-point contest from our stake. Happily, the contest was held right at our church, so it was convenient and close. And ... he won it! The three-point champ. He hit 10 baskets in 30 seconds.

The team also went to Idaho for a tournament there (March 28-29). Callahan LOVED hanging out with his basketball buddies all day and all night. That is just a dream come true for this social kid. Of course, I can't coax a smile out for a photo! That face! They won all their games and made it to the championships, but lost there. 2nd place seems to be the status quo for them this season. Still, they felt they held their own against an all-star Idaho team.

Beyond the basic Saturday/Thursday games in the regular season, Callahan and Co. did take part in a few tournaments. They did the Holiday Tournament last December (they didn't win a game there). Then the President's Day Tournament in February (pictured above ... NICE high school set-up!) They won the first game there (highlights here) but lost the other two.

At left ... a picture of one of his knee pads. It's not very protective if it has a hole in it! We stopped at the store before his next game to get a replacement.

Callahan suffered a blow to the thigh during the final day of the district games. He actually didn't remember any specific impact, but he was aware of the pain after the game (and then they still had the championship game an hour later).  Although we couldn't see any physical signs (bruising or swelling) it was really hurting him, and he was limping around for a week. Then the state tournament schedule came out. Back to back games every day the next week. I wanted to be sure he wouldn't hurt himself more, pushing through the pain and playing, so I ran him into the doctor. The doctor said he was ok to play if he felt up to it and prescribed some physical therapy. We went to a few sessions of that. Callahan played and it was all right, although he still didn't feel at 100%. 

So ... not entirely sure what is in store for Spring.  We think the high school is pulling the kids into a couple teams for Spring Fling. Callahan really wants to go to Dixie this year (he missed last year, having just recovered from his second broken foot and the dates conflicting with youth conference). I've told him to start saving up his money! This kid LOVES basketball!