Grphyons- Division B, Winter Season Champions

Basketball has become a dominant part of our family life. Lance and Dylan have coached five basketball teams, and they just finished the 2016 Winter Season as Division B undefeated champions.  Participating in this as a family has really united us and has also given us a deeper connection to the community.  We have met so many people, and we’ve become a recognizable face/name at the recreation center.  We have seen kids grow and develop into better ball players.  They still approach Lance with bright smiles and greet him as “Coach Lance”.  Dylan has matured through this process as well, and he has become a much more confident leader. 

Gryphons Selfie

The season ended, and we were undefeated.  This is the second back-to-back championship for Lance and Dylan.  I know many players are specifically requesting to be on their team, because they have come up and admitted so, but unfortunately, not all of those requests are honored as they (Recreation Center) try diligently to keep the team’s fair and balance.  One of the girls on our previous team gave Dylan a difficult time because she was not on our team this year even though she requested to have us as a coach.  She told Dylan, “I’m mad at you.  I was supposed to be on your team.  I requested you guys, but you replaced me with another girl.” 

In the Winter, the top two champion teams (first and second place) from Fountain Valley compete in a regional tournament against other local champion teams.  The tournament was held on Friday in Garden Grove, and for the first time, the Gryphons had to contend with defeat.  Lance and I are not sure how the other cities operate their programs, but none of the teams had any weak players.  Every single player could adequately or extraordinarily handle the ball and shoot.  We learned that the cities are able to recruit and build their teams.  In Fountain Valley, we are only allowed two request.  Imagine if we were able to recruit our team?  It seems a complete waste of time to continue onto the tournament if you are not given a competitive chance to win.  Lance encouraged to the kids to ‘have fun’ and take ‘wild shots’.  We came to the tournament with every intention to win, but after three quarters into the game, we knew it wasn’t going to happen.   We lost both games. 

Scrimmage against the other FV team before the tournament

Tournament photos

Lance and Dylan get a three-month break before summer season begins. We are trying to convince the Recreation Center to create an all-star team and have the first place team’s coach be the All-Start coach. This may be a possibility this summer. We shall see.