Go Fighting Irish!

Cody had his first basketball game this morning! He was so excited to get up and put on his uniform. He looked so handsome, and so did Coach Daddy!

Cody's team is the Lil' Fighting Irish (well, it's better than the "Lil' Hokies," which another poor unfortunate team has to deal with!). He is lucky that one of his friends from preschool last year, Trevor, is also on the team with him. And the Kindergarten league includes boys and girls, so there is one adorable little girl on the team.

Here they are, with at least half of them looking away from the camera:

Not exactly a candidate for "team photo," huh? You'll notice that Jackson is on the bench as well...he has been helping out as "Assistant Coach." The kids all think he's a rock star (well, except for maybe Cody LOL), and he has really been having fun with it.

Now, Cody has always been big, right? Well, not much has changed. He towers over the other players, even though many of them are the same age.

Here's our guy, #1 (he says he got to be that because Daddy's the coach...in truth, we had no say over the numbers):

In this Kindergarten league, it is all about teaching the kids the fundamentals, the rules, and sportsmanship. They don't keep score, and the coaches are allowed on the floor with the players and the ref to help direct the game and answer questions as they come up during play.

This is the player line-up at the beginning of a period (they play 6 periods, each 6 minutes, and each player gets to play 3 and rest 3).

The kids each get a colored wristband that matches up with a player on the opposite team...that helps them all recognize who their man is. I'm not sure they actually got that today, but eventually it will sink in. :)

Both teams played REALLY well, and it was so much fun to watch them go! Cody scored a basket (he was SO SO SO proud of himself and did a little happy dance right there on the floor!), and the kids all had some good passes, they tried to play some defense, and they all had a good time.

It was especially fun to see the kids respond to Coach Anthony...he is SUCH a good coach, and they all just love him. I didn't see any other teams going up and hugging their coaches after the game, but Anthony's kiddos did. Cody is SO lucky to have his Daddy as a coach, and he loves every second of it.

This is Cody's first sports experience, and it makes me so proud to see him out there doing all the things he's doing! WTG Codes!