Can't believe that a week from today we are headed home. The first few days have flown by. The structure of the tournament means that mainly you play once a day and today was no different really. If only you could always play at the same time to make scheduling easier. But at this level you get what you're given with all the times being shared around.
Overnight we found out that one of our players was up for 'Player of the Day' for yesterday so we lifted the social media ban to allow the girls to jump on and vote. Unfortunately it was not enough to win, but she was our player of the day anyway.
A good morning walk again today with each of the girls having some individual feedback from their coaches. It is their opportunity to hear about their positive contributions and those areas that need some attention.The coaches have been brilliant in building the confidence of the girls but also bringing them into line when they are not following their instructions. Its a delicate balance, especially when you are dealing with teenage girls.
The girls have another spoons tournament to fill in the time while I went to do a more substantial shop, and then we have an early lunch again to meet the departure deadline. I get them to pack some snacks in case they are a bit hungry before the game or on the way home from the game.
The tournament is being run really well. The staff on the ground have been brilliant. When a strapper was not available at the regular place, the staff jumped to attention to locate someone who was skilled to fill the need.
A special treat for me today was seeing a recent friend Ainslie who I had met when I was attending as a manager to the Australian Murray River Country Jamboree. Ainslie had coached there. That's the great thing about the basketball community, everyone knows everyone and you can find a friend in most stadiums across the country. Geelong is her home stadium, so she helped me through to our change room, but loved that she understood when I needed to attend to my players. We had the SEABL change room today.....which will only mean something to basketball people. Needless to say, it's pretty awesome.
Tip #1 (the same as Tip #2 from Day 2): Make friends. Today it was the scoretable's turn to give a smile to. They were all very responsive and when it came to having to be told about an issue with long hair getting in the way of numbers they were able to approach in such a way that made it resolved very easily.
The game today was awesome, I was more organised on the bench and had a better plan of attack. The lollies were nearly left behind so, the girls were grateful to have a sugar hit. I was confident they would do well, but it was an untidy game, but the end result was that we won vs ACT. A highlight was our coach who jumped in to assist the oppositions player when they rolled on their ankle pretty bad. Their bench was not even moving to assist while the player was sobbing on the floor.That's how we roll here at NSW Country! We will always help, even in the middle of an intense match up and our opposition is hurt. Go Pete.
It felt good. The girls were much more relaxed and after the game were very proud of themselves And rightfully so.
A catch up with the families after was great. Let's hope the parents are as supportive if, heaven forbid, we have a loss. I think we are going to be ok though. I have been blessed with a great bunch of families who are just as cool as their kids. Some blisters and bumps after this game though, like war wounds.
We came home and the time just flies by. On the way home I get a call from the girls who have arrived home before me, that they were wanting to bake some cookies. Of course they can (with some instructions and guidelines )!
Tip #2: If you have a charcoal chicken shop or a supermarket nearby then pre-order BBQ chickens cut up into servable size pieces ie quarters or eighths for a quick and easy meal one night.
By the time I get home the cookies are nearly ready for the oven as I take back my kitchen to get straight onto dinner. On the menu tonight with the BBQ chickens is mashed potato and veges. With the protein already sorts I get a few members of the team onto the peeling of the potatoes, everything is ready to cook in no time. A bit of gravy for the top and we have a good hearty (and healthy) meal.
Tip #3: Have a roster for help with the clean up. Players are quite capable of helping wipe down tables and benches, packing dishwashers and overall clean up. I should have done it sooner, but today decided to put one into place to manage the increasing workload and to be honest we are one big family this week so everyone should chip in.
While the girls chill out, they are told they will be able to go in and watch the boys team play tonight, which they are keen to do. So they load up the bus while I hang at home and do washing, call a parent, and take the car out to fill it up so we don't have to worry tomorrow. The coach said you should put your feet up.......did not really get a chance to do this. But will have a night off later in the week.
Money balancing: Tonight I do a check of the money and the budget. Keeping on track with this is so important. We want to make sure the girls are well catered for, without having concerns later on in the week.
Another smooth running day. Phew, its all coming together.
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