Rookie Season

Casey's inaugural basketball season recently came to an end. (See early season scouting report here.) It was an interesting season. His team survived a mid-season coaching change. The new coach was in charge for the last four weeks of the season. At the season ending banquet trophy presentation, Coach Chris described Casey as a high energy player with a much improved shot. His evaluation was based on his four weeks of observation ( I doubt he read the scouting report). Casey also played heavy minutes every game, mostly out of necessity to simply field a full team of 5. Some players would opt for sitting on the sidelines with their parents, or bolt mid-game for a potty break. Casey tried to maximize his court time. It was obvious Casey LOVED to play. At the banquet, he was presented his trophy and a certificate of achievement. All he kept repeating was, "I'm so happy. I WON. I got a trophy!!". And he kept repeating that phrase the rest of the day. After we got home, exhausted from all his 'high energy play', he napped on the couch, HOLDING HIS TROPHY!

Certificate of Achievement

Individual Photo

Team Picture

Fire Truck

Right now, Sydney is at a stage where he LOVES his fire truck. Every time we go for a walk, he grabs his fire truck and insists he take it. While not the most EFFICIENT mode of transportation, it is clearly the most ENJOYABLE mode of transportation for Sydney.

MVI 4695 from p wang on Vimeo.

Sailing

During our latest SD trip, Uncle Ed and his family took Da Boys sailing. He rented a 22 foot sailboat and we cruised around Mission Bay. Afterwards, the kids tried SDP (Sitdown Paddle Boarding), which is their version of SUP. Great weather, great company and an all around great time!

Perfect Weather!

Mommy and Sydney

Daddy and Casey

Group Shot

Kid has some GUNS!!!

Sitdown Paddle Boarding!!

Mountain Climbing

Years ago, back in the '80's, my Daddy, my big bro Ed and I climbed Cowles Mountain. Fast forward 20+ years, and I decided to introduce MY boys to the climb. Since Da Wang boys are only 4.5 and 2.5 years old respectively, I didn't know if we were going to get anywhere near the top. (The hike to the top is 1.5 miles long and has an elevation change of about 950 feet.) Cousin Elena made the trek with us, and uncle Ed RAN up the mountain and met us in route. Da Boys did great! They both walked all the way to the summit. There was virtually no whining; the only times Sydney cried was when he fell and skinned his legs. There where a couple of pretty good scratches, some even drew a little blood, so I'd say a little crying was justified. As we neared the top of the mountain, I looked around. There were people of all shapes, sizes and ages... even a few dogs. But there sure weren't a lot of children as young as Casey and Sydney. I am so proud of my boys.

Ye-Ye, Phil and Ed cerca 1985

Cousins...

So much enthusiasm to start

Daddy and his boys

Casey and Elena

Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye's house as viewed (zoomed) from the top of the mountain

Casey

All smiles at the top!

Phil and Ed 2013

Group Shot

Boys day out

Big bro had a birthday party to attend, so Sydney and Daddy got to hangout together today. All morning, I asked Sydney what he wanted to do. His answer alternated between 'beach' and 'pool'. I must have asked 20 times, and never got the same answer twice in a row. Dude changed his mind more often than I change underwear. We settled on 'pool'. With no big bro around, Sydney had his pick of the boats, shark, turtle and pool balls. After splashing around in the pool for about an hour, Sydney said, 'home'. So, home we went, took a quick shower and headed out to lunch. We hit the new 5 Guys hamburger joint. Again, with no big bro, we feasted on the peanuts. Apparently, Sydney really likes peanuts, especially when Daddy cracked the shells and broke out the peanuts for him. Sydney was eating them so fast, poor Daddy had a hard time keeping up and serving the peanuts in a timely manner. Sydney even tried to bypass a step, and tried to crack the shells himself. He ate a great lunch; tons of peanuts, one whole hamburger and some fries. All that eating (and swimming in the sun) made him so tired, he came home, marched straight upstairs, grabbed his 'pan-nings' and went to bed for a nap.

Trying to figure out how to get the peanut out of the shell

Halftime, time to rinse down the burger with some water.

Last bite!

Oh Sh!t, Ocean

We were in the car and Casey told me that he had to 'hang onto the handle'. I absentmindedly said,"The oh sh!t handle. That's called an oh sh!t handle." He then repeated, "Oh sh!t handle". Left with no other choice, I had to agree. Casey then paused, and said, "It's only for the beach; that's where the ocean is". That one had me puzzled for a few moments, until I realized, "Why yes, it's an 'ocean handle'"!!!!

Scouting Report

These days, they scout potential college and professional athletes younger and younger. I have heard of fifth graders receiving college recruiting letters. Therefore, I offer the first official scouting report for Casey Xue Xian Wang.

Casey was recently scouted at his first basketball practice with the YMCA Junior Lakers.

At 4 yrs, 5 months, and 45 1/2 inches tall, he has great height. As all scouts will say, "You can't teach height". For an athlete of his height, he exhibited great baseline to baseline speed. He also showed great defensive instincts, continually seeking out position on the low block, and quickly establishing deep post position on both ends of the floor. At this point in his maturation, he is strictly a right handed ball handler, but showed decent dribbling skills for a big. However, with any defensive pressure, or a momentary loss of concentration, or even an errant dribble off his own foot, he was quick to pick up his dribble.... and subsequently start again. (That's OK, they don't call double dribble- traveling violations in his league). Therefore, Casey apparently showed a great understanding of the rulebook, and will do anything within the rules to better his game. He had an off day shooting, (heck, its been virtually his ONLY day shooting). Although he did not shoot for a great percentage, (OK, he went 0-fer), his shooting form showed great promise. He did not let missed shots affect him. Like a true volume shooter, the misses didn't bother him nor affect the other facets of his game. He showed some skill as a chest passer, and at this point seems more eager to pass than to shoot. Perhaps an ideal teammate for the Kobe type players... He worked one on one with the coach on shooting basics; bent knees, feet spread apart, two handed ball grip, etc. Casey is a coach-able athlete, who patiently took instruction from the coaching staff. He showed good stamina, playing the entire game. Apparently, at this age, some athletes refuse to play, opting to stay with mommy/ daddy on the sidelines. Others will decide mid-game to bolt. Casey is a good teammate, and does not appear to be a locker room killer. He participated in all team huddles, and the post game handshake line. (Again, actions not to be taken for granted at his age).

Basketball from p wang on Vimeo.