Little Number 8...

After school William takes the bus to Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club. On most days he really likes Herbert Hoover and on most days so do I. The staff are wonderful and they love William. Of course for many of them, they are under the influence of the "cute factor." I mean, come on, our son is adorable and he uses his powers of cuteness to get what he wants and to get away with more than he should. However, there are a couple of staff that have his number. They gave William break after break until it comes to a breaking point. You see, if you give William an inch, he will keep pushing it until he has taken a couple miles. I'm not saying that I don't give him breaks, cause I do, but I learned early on that you can't give in too much cause he'll keep pushing. Some of the Herbert Hoover staff have learned that and they are my favorite because while they are all great people, it is the ones who call William on his "stuff" and hold him responsibility for his actions that are great role models. They drive William nuts, but he actually ends up respecting them much much more in the end.

So yeah...Herbert Hoover. Besides going there for after school, he also played basketball for them this year. He looks so little out there, but he isn't the littlest on his team. They are a ragtag group and they didn't win a single game, but they all improved including William. He gained confidence and improved his dribbling skills. He also learned about teamwork and passing the ball. The uniforms they had were all too big on him, but it made him look even cuter. My adorable little number 8...

In the beginning of the season William's team played in two different leagues. However, after a few games in one of the leagues it became very apparent that the other teams: 1) were really aggressive, 2) were better, and 3) didn't back off even when they were winning by more than 20 or 30 points. So, our team dropped out of that league.

The other league we were in was better, but still had a bunch of good teams that had been playing together for a couple years. William played guard and while he got more comfortable taking shots during the year, he didn't score a single basket.

And then in the very last game of the season. Bam! A shot from a step in front of the foul shot line. Swisssssh...nothing but net! And the crowd goes wild. Literally. You see I had been sitting with all the mothers throughout the season and they were hilarious. And they of course thought William was adorable. After chatting for many weeks, they were aware of the situation of William having not scored a basket. So that last game when he scored, they all cheered REALLY loud. It was awesome. William even said after the game, "everyone yelled really loud when I scored." I told him everyone was excited for him. It was one of those "Thank God" parent moments. I mean in the big scheme of things, scoring a basket isn't a huge deal, but to a nine year old it is everything. I actually had been sitting there saying little prayers every time his team came down the court. And it was sooo worth it... My little number 8 was so proud of himself that night.