Big Turnout

Around 80 7th and 8th graders turned out for basketball training and tryouts over their winter break.  Here’s hoping this is the beginning of something even bigger.

Chest Pass Training

 

Basketball Season Begins

Thank God we were finally able to begin our basketball training and tryouts during the last two weeks.  This is our highschool team. We are hoping they develop into a unit that can make a showing at upcoming tournaments through the winter and spring.

High School Boys Basketball

Setting up this passing/box out/rebounding drill took some time, but the guys really got into it and worked at it with a lot of gusto once they figured it out. 

Girls Basketball "Dream" Team

At one point during tryouts we split the girls up into teams.  The one that chose the name "Dream Team" won most of the scrimmages.  So the name is seeming to stick around.  Our group here is a little low on numbers because of the upcoming Lunar New Year festivities.   We will resume practice again on Valentine's Day.  We hope to continue the winning streak in games after another few weeks of training. 

Boys Basketball Team

After a week of tryouts and a week of practice, the boys boiled down to this group of 7th and 8th graders.  Next week they have to go back to school, but we hope to keep practicing twice a week, then enter them in area tournaments and see if we can show the power of passing, rebounding, defense, and teamwork.

Our team of coaches is coming together and starting to solidify as well.  Darhai on the left is our plumber and fix-it man from the Cama project center.  Next is Tobo, probably the best basketball player in town, and very useful in showing the skills needed to excell to the highest levels of league play in Mongolia.  Last year he was voted MVP of the All-Mongolia Leauge All-star game.  Then there is Coach Toya.  She works at this Gym we're using, which is the nicest one in Darhan.  She is also quite a good player in her own right.  Having a woman coach is helpful for pulling together the details and working with our girls team, aslo 7th and 8th grade.

Pray that God will use love for basketball to build high-trust relationships with families who discover the grace, truth and love of Jesus.