This weekend finished up a GREAT basketball season for the Dwyer boys. The past 2 years, Oliver has played on Calvin's 3rd/4th grade team (when he himself was in 1st and 2nd grade). This year, he played as a bonafide 3rd grader and had a blast! There were actually 4 Wellsville teams in this age division, and the Wellsville teams were, by far, the best competition of all of the schools in the league. Another bonus of having multiple teams was having lots of home games! Oliver usually played point guard and did a great job of bringing the ball down the court.
He also did a nice job of driving in the lane. . .
. . . and made quite a few outside jumpers as well.
His defense really improved over the season, and he helped make sure all of his teammates knew who they were supposed to be guarding.
Oliver's team finished the season with only one loss and had a lot of fun playing together! Oliver is definitely sad that their season has come to an end. This boy would wake up every Saturday morning and say, "I can't wait for my game! I love basketball!" And his love for the game is very evident as he plays. He's so much fun to watch! Great season boys!!
Before we move on to Calvin's season, let's take a little sister break. These girls get to go to SO many games, and most of the time, do a really good job. Thankfully, there are often friends and family to help keep them entertained, like Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Evan, and Syd's friend, Ally.
And sometimes, they would entertain themselves. One game it was "fish faces" that kept them laughing. Silly girls!
With both boys games on Saturdays, we got pretty lucky that the times mostly worked out so that we could make both games. Here's one Saturday when we left straight from Oliver's game to make it to Calvin's, and this was after Jackson's Friday night game. Here are 3 handsome Dwyer ballers!
Calvin's team was a little different this year. One of the other dads (and high school teammate of Russ) organized some 5th graders to go play in the Olathe Rec league, where you could bring your own team. Wellsville Rec is 5th/6th, and teams are chosen for you, so the Olathe league offered the advantage of letting all of these 5th grade boys play on the same team. The competition wasn't quite as good as we'd hoped through the regular season, but the boys sure had fun anyway! Like his brother, Calvin generally played point guard for his team.
He had some nice drives in for lay-ups, also. This team was fun because ALL of the boys were so good!
Oliver sat the bench with Calvin's team, and even got in one of the games! I love that my boys love playing together.
Saturday was the big year-end tournament. It actually started last weekend, but our team was the top seed and so got a bye for the first round. We came out a little flat in our first game, but still handled the team easily. The semi-final game gave us a much bigger challenge and we trailed in the 4th quarter, but battled from behind for the win. Finally, the championship game arrived! These boys were so excited for a re-match with the "Mavs" who they had played a great game with earlier during league play. It was a well-fought match and our Eagles were behind most of the game. BUT, we came back and won it in the 4th quarter! The excitement on the boys' faces was priceless as they jumped in the air and chest-bumped each other!
Final score 34-30. Good game, good game!
Championship medal presentation!
Great season! Undefeated and tournament champions! But more importantly, they had a blast and learned a ton. A huge thanks to Brent for organizing the team and being a great coach. These boys are so fun to watch already; I can't wait for future years of ball with this group!
My boys are so lucky to have a Dad who also happens to be a great coach. And even in the midst of tax season, he makes time for his family. We are ALL lucky to have him!
I'm sad to see the season ending, but I have a feeling these Dwyer boys are going to keep on doing what they love in the off season. I sure love watching them play!
