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Peace |
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I have worked travel ball with players this young and they do amazing things. There is always a kid that could out dribble many high school players and the ball is bigger then their head. Peace |
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Deer In The Headlights ...
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Adam is right, seventh grade is seventh grade. But, depending on the set up of the grade system in the school, and the makeup of the teams, some seventh graders can be much better prepared for organized basketball than other seventh graders. It looks like JRutledge attended a junior school with grades similar to what I attended back in the 1960's, and used to teach at, and coach at, up until about twenty years ago. Junior high was grade seven, eight and nine. Back then it was very difficult for a seventh grader to make a junior high team with eighth, and ninth, graders trying out. If there was a seventh grader on my junior high school team, and I don't recall more than one, or two, he was probably a very talented seventh grader. Now, here in Connecticut, all ninth graders are in high school settings, no more junior high schools, instead we have middle schools of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The seventh graders that I was referring to may, or may not, be anything like the seventh graders in the original post. The kids that I was talking about attend Catholic middle schools. These schools have a very competitive "varsity" teams that consist of mostly eighth graders, and talented seventh graders. The less talented seventh graders play on the "junior varsity" team, playing in a league that combines both competition, and instruction. If you're a seventh grader on a "junior varsity" team, then you probably are not very good, because, if you were, you would probably be on the "varsity" team. These are the seventh graders that I was talking about, some of them playing organized, competitive, basketball for the first time, and often being confused about some of the simplest rules, especially with the pressure of fans, coaches, officials, a scoreboard, etc., especially in the first weeks of the season. |
Semantics. And "varsity" is still a silly term for middle school basketball of any level.
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The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost) ...
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Peace |
Travelin' Man, Ricky Nelson, 1961 ...
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Seventh graders on a Catholic middle school "junior varsity" team, are those that did not make the "varsity" team, and are certainly not the crème-de-la-crème, and again, these are the deer in the headlights kids. This is why I had a slight problem with Adam's, "7th grade is 7th grade". They all aren't the same. If the seventh graders on our town travel team were to play the local Catholic middle school "junior varsity" team of seventh graders (remember the best seventh graders moved up to the "varsity"), the score would end up being about 112 to 6 (Believe me, I know, I've worked scrimmages). It may not be apples to oranges, but it's Delicious apples to Macintosh apples. |
What's So Special About Rome ???
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Does this, "When in Rome ...", stuff work in other sports like it seems to work in basketball? |
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Yep, some 7th graders are better than others. I never said otherwise. I only said whether you call their school a junior high or a middle school is completely irrelevant. What makes a difference is how much basketball they've played up to that point. |
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Peace |
We Have A Winner ...
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But once you venture down to officiate games between pre-teen gym rats, then you can, or can't, adjust to the talent, and experience, of that team, league, or individual, as well as the expectations of that league. I've been working this Catholic middle school "junior varsity" league for over twenty-five years, and I know exactly what's expected of me. If I call a do-over in the original post, especially if it's early in the season, early in the game, and with a confused player, I'm 100% positive that my assigner, all my partners, the league president, both coaches, the principal, and all the fans wouldn't blink an eye. In fact, I'm certain that my assigner, and the league president, are pleased with the job that I do, as I am usually selected to officiate league playoffs, and have worked state, and New England, tournaments at this level. Quote:
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