It's hard not to root for the Kivalina girls. With only 6 players in uniforms that are a little tighter than most, they do their best to compete no matter the score. I'd like to think that's a reflection of spending a season with me. I've tried to teach them some fundamentals and basic sets but more importantly, tried to teach them that no matter the score IN LIFE - you can't stop trying your very best.
The only two things that you can always control are your own Attitude and Effort. It's easy to gripe and moan when the chips are stacked against you. It's hard to keep fighting when the clock is ticking and the other team is pouring it in. But I am very proud of the way that our team fought till the bitter end. We played the Kiana Lynx on Friday morning and put a scare in to them. We got to the foul line often and let's just say, made them reluctant to go after loose balls.
At halftime the deficit was 7 points. We lost by much more because we just ran out of gas. But we didn't run out of hear. As a matter of fact, two of my players fouled out and the four on the floor kept clawing away. We even outscored the Lynx in the last two minutes of the game when we were playing without a full squad.
The final horn sounded on our season and I can honestly say, I was happy. I am proud to be a Qavvik.
Prior to the nightcap Championship Games of the 1A Regionals, it was Senior Night for the 3A Kotzebue Huskies. We drew the lower Concessions shift for the first game. Again, with dogged determination and steadfast effort, the Kivalina girls worked well together and can be proud of their effort. We were slinging nachos, slushies, pop and popcorn like professionals. I may have even detected a bit of cooperation and a hint of a smile every once in a while. It was fun.
And then... the reason for the season.
The Championship Games.
Girls = Selawik vs. Noatak
Boys = Selawik vs. Noatak
I'm sure both villages were empty and I can vouch that most of them were packed in to the Kotzebue gym. Another standing room only, capacity crowd cheered, hollered, clapped, pointed and prayed their teams toward victory. In the end the Noatak Lynx captured the 1A championship for both genders. With that they earned an automatic berth to the State Tournament in Anchorage in two weeks.
I again enjoyed soaking in the sights and sounds from the baseline VIP seating. For the girls game the Superintendent of the Northwest Arctic Borough School District sat directly to my right and we made casual small talk throughout the game. She politely introduced herself and was full of smiles. Dr. O'Brian even took a stab at crowd control when the overflow got close to the edges of the court. I smiled from my plush seat in First Class.
Ovetime. Three Pointers. Steals. Fouls. Drama. I'm no sports writer and to be honest, I am a bit over stimulated right now. There's just been so much to take in. It's been a lot of fun visiting with the other coaches, referees and chaperones. It's been great to contribute a solid effort at making this an exceptionally run tournament. There's even more games to be played on Saturday....we've still gotta determine who gets to battle it out for the second berth on Saturday night.
PS - this place constantly smells like chicken fried rice and sweet and spicy Asian food.
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