Reflection

As I wrap up this blogging project, the last post on this blog will be about how I've changed over the course of the last year. I've changed a bit in the last year. I've become more proactive in the last year. Before I would always procrastinate everything. I was really lazy, if I could wait to do something, I would wait until the last possible minute to do it. Now I've done a better job with my time management and getting stuff done on time. Now I have more free time than I did before and the quality of what I do has improved. Also the amount of effort I put into things has increased. Before I would do things halfway and then just give up a lot. I wouldn't really finish things that I started. Also in sports I wouldn't put in as much effort as I could and now I've been putting more effort into what I do.

Image courtesy of The Shot Doctor

I've gotten bigger, faster, stronger over the course of the last year. I've started going to the gym and have been training a lot harder. Last year I couldn't last an entire game. If we were playing a good team I would be done by the half. Now I've been able to last longer. Not the entire game yet, but I can swim harder, longer and that has made me a better player. I've also developed a lot of my skills. My overall fitness level has increased as well as my health. This blogging project has also given me a new perspective on writing and I've learned a lot about this type of writing. Blogging isn't the same as writing an essay. It's a completely different style and requires a lot more creativity to write. I found that it can actually be kind of fun. 

Backpack

Yesterday, I had a JV game. I didn't even know that I was going to play until the day before. My coach just came up to me and told me that I was now aloud to play, because I was young enough. The pool was outside, and outside it was 40 degrees and raining. It sucked. It was freezing. Everything was cold and wet. I don't know who thought that it was a good idea to play when it was that cold, but who ever did should get fired. The game started and we went down early. They scored 3 goals in the first 3 minutes and our first goal came near the end of the first. At the end of the first quarter we were down 1 to 5. It didn't look good for us. The second quarter started and I scored a beast backhand. Then I scored another goal near the end of the second. They scored one more to make it 3 to 6 at the half. We were coming back, slowly, but it was happening. 

Image courtesy of TET

The second half started off very slow no one scored for the first 3 minutes. They scored two goals, then they subbed out their bigger guys and put in a bunch of guys that were our size. This made life so much easier. They got subbed in with about a minute and a half left in the third and in that time I scored 3 goals to end the quarter. We got the momentum back and the comeback was real. We were within 2 points now. The score was 6 to 8. Things were starting to look good for us and we thought that we had a real chance to win. The fourth quarter started and they scored a quick goal. Then I answered with a goal of my own. It was 7 to 9. Then they scored one more. Things started looking worse and worse, but I made some plays and scored 2 more to make it a one point game with a minute left in the fourth. We were so close, but then they scored and that was it. We lost. I almost made the comeback, but we lost.

Comeback Kids

Last week, we had a scrimmage against a team that we hadn't played in over a year. We had no idea how good they were. We didn't know what to expect. We they showed up, we found out that they were big, really big. We started the game and we scored the first goal. They couldn't swim very well so our counters worked well on them, but we weren't able to make any shots. At the end of the first quarter, we were tied 1 to 1. The second quarter didn't go very well for us. We couldn't really do anything. Our offense wasn't happening. We couldn't even get shots off. It was bad. They scored 2 more goals to make it 3 to 1 in the middle of the second quarter. The rest of the second quarter was pretty uneventful. No one scored and we still couldn't do anything.

Image courtesy of BBC

The third quarter started badly for us. They scored and went up 4 to 1. At then end of the third quarter, we started our comeback. With 30 seconds left we scored. Then we made a last second shot. I had the ball in the corner and the guy guarding me fouled me with 2 seconds left. I threw it up to someone in the middle and it was the worst shot I've ever seen, but somehow the goalie didn't block it and it went in. I have no idea how. It was such a weak shot and it just skipped right over the goalie's arm. We were back in the game. At the end of the third the score was 3 to 4. The fourth quarter started and we were feeling like we could comeback and win the game. We scored a quick goal to tie it up at 4. We started playing a lot better and our defense also improved a lot. Halfway through the fourth I got a wide open shot from around 8 meters and drilled it. We were up 5 to 4. No one could score for the rest of the game and at the end, the score stayed the same at 5 to 4. We had one. We came back from being down 1 to 4. 

Tough Game

We went to a tournament that lasted 3 days. It was far enough away that we had to stay in a hotel. We had one game on Thursday, two games on Friday, and another two games on Saturday. The first 4 games were really easy. We won every game by 4 or more points. This got us into the finals. The finals were in the afternoon on Saturday. We had played really well leading up to this game, but we were playing a good team. The game started and they scored the first goal. Then they scored again, and again. We were down 3 to 0 halfway through the first quarter. Things weren't looking good for us. Then I scored a goal to make 1 to 3 and the very next possession I scored again. We were within 1 point. At the end of the first, they scored one more goal to make it 2 to 4. The second quarter went really well for us, we scored 3 unanswered goals. We took the lead at 5 to 4. I don't know what happened, but we just started playing really well. We were all on the same page and knew what to do. At the half we were up by one.

Image courtesy of Daily News Hungary

The third quarter was back and forth no one could really do much. Our defenses took over they managed to score one goal, but we were able to come back with a goal of our own to keep the lead. We were playing really well, but so was the other team. No one had a clear advantage; the game could go either way. The fourth quarter started and we came our hard. We scored a goal within the first 30 seconds to go up 7 to 5, but then, they started to make a comeback. They scored one goal and then a few minutes later another one to tie it up at 7. There were about 2 minutes left in the game when we scored again to go up 8 to 7. Then they answered to make it 8 to 8 with a minute left. It was their ball. We stopped them and got the ball back with 28 seconds left in the game. We had one more possession to win. We called a timeout and talked over what we were going to do. We set up and 10 seconds into our possession, we get an exclusion. We were up a man with 15 seconds left. It doesn't get better than what just happened. We pass the ball around for a bit and someone took a shot and missed. We got the rebound and missed the shot again. The game was over. We went into sudden death over time. We won the opening sprint and set up our offense. We missed a shot and then they missed one too. On our next possession I got an open shot from around 9 meters and I barely missed it. On their next play we were caught out of possition and they scored. That was it. We lost.

3rd Place Game

Later that day we played in the third place game. We weren't able to compete in the final, because we let the last team score more that 5 points. That's really stupid, because we didn't lose a game. We had the same record as the team that got into the finals. It was the team that we tied too. Anyway, the team we played for 3rd place was a team we had already played before. The last time we played them, we beat them by a lot. Our coach said that they had some people that didn't play when we first played them, so we really didn't know what to expect. The game started and about 30 seconds in they scored. Then about another 30 seconds later they scored again. We were down 2 to 0. It wasn't a good start. Then we started getting it back together and we answered their 2 goals to tie the game up. Then we kept scoring. Our lead grew and we were up 4 to 2 at the end of the first. The second quarter started and we kept scoring. We went up 5 to 2. Then they scored 1 and it was 5 to 3. With about 20 seconds left in the half, we scored another goal to make it 6 to 3.

Image courtesy of Dalje

The third quarter went surprisingly well. We got out to a big lead and were up 10 to 6 by the end of. In the middle of the third, coach started to sub in most of the second team so they could play a bit. We were still able to do pretty well even though some of our starters weren't playing. the fourth quarter also went really well and the game ended with us scoring 14 and the other team scoring 9. It was a really good game for me. I scored 5 goals and had lots of assists. It was a good day, and a good tournament.

Bad Game

Our next game was Saturday morning and by morning, I mean morning. Like 7 am. I had to wake up at 6 and it sucked. It was a weekend and I had to wake up that early. One kid showered before the game and showed up with his hair perfectly made, while the rest of us looked like we just woke up, which we did. We all looked at him like, wtf are you doing. Why did you shower. He showered at like 6 am and then got into a pool with chlorine an hour later. I really don't understand what he was thinking. We were all super confused. Anyway, the game started and they scored the first goal. This wasn't good, because we had to keep them under 5 points to make the finals. We had to do this, because we tied to the team we played the first day and the way they decided who made finals was goals against. It was supposed to be an easy game, but it went really badly for us. We were able to tie it up at 1 and then scored again to go up 2 to 1. Then we scored again right before the end of the quarter to get a 2 point lead. The second quarter went ok and we got up 4 to 2. Then we scored another 2 to and they scored one more and we were up 6 to 3 again. I don't know why, but whenever we were up 6 to 3 things just started to bad. Every time and this was no exception. They started to score. The kid I was guarding would never go play defense. You would think that would be an easy goal, but no. While we were getting the ball down whoever had the ball would get it stolen and then that guy would be sitting on the other side of the pool all alone. It got really annoying and half the time I couldn't go play offense, because he would just be sitting back. They scored a few goals becuase of this, and at the half the score was 6 to 5.

Image courtesy of  The National

The third quarter did go to well either. We both scored 1 goal and it was still a one point game 7 to 6. We had so many opportunities to score, but we just couldn't convert. Their goalie wasn't even good, our shots were just so off. The fourth quarter started and we knew that we had to start playing a lot better. We should have killed this team. They scored a goal to tie up the game and we responed with another goal to go up by 1. Then with about a minute left they scored to tie the game up at 8. Our coach called a time out so we could talk it over and draw up a play. We set up and were able to score with about 20 seconds left. Then their coach called a time out and we knew that if we stopped them here, we would win the game. They set up and pass the ball around for a bit, then were able to make a shot and tie the game up again. The game ended in a tie, but this team we were going to play overtime. We played terrible in overtime. We had so many missed opportunities. It was sudden death, so the first team to score wins. I choked one goal when I had the ball and it was me and the goalie with one guy trail. It hit the top post. It was terrible. Finally we were able to score a goal after 3 minutes of missed shots and just bad playing. We won, but it didn't feel like a win.

Really Close Game

Our second game was on Friday. The game started out pretty well and we had an early lead. We were playing well and were able to shut down their offense. With about 5 seconds left in the first quarter our goalie had the ball and he shot it from our goal and made the full court shot. It was crazy. Everyone started screaming. At the end of the quarter we were up 4 to 3. It was a close game, but we were playing well. About half way through the second quarter, we got up 6 to 3, and again like last time, things started to go downhill after that. They scored 2 quick goals and it was back to a one point game. With 10 seconds left in the half they scored another goal to tie it up 6 to 6. After the goal, we lined up and I got the ball. The clock started to tick down. When there were 4 seconds left, I shot the ball from half court, and it went in. The crowd went wild. We went into half time with the lead up 7 to 6.

Image courtesy of FINA

The third quarter was a back and forth. We would score, then right after they would score. No one could pull out a lead. It was a very even game and at the end of the third quarter the score was 8 to 8. The fourth quarter began and in the first 2 minutes, we were up 9 to 8. Then they came back and tied it up. The game continued on until there were about 2 and a half minutes left in the game. We scored to pull ahead 10 to 9, but then a minute later they scored again to tie it up. Our coach called a time out and drew up a play with around 45 seconds left. We were able to score and there was only about 20 seconds left in the game. They called a time out. All we had to do was stop them, and we would win the game. We set up and did a really good job on defense. We stopped their shot and our goalie was holding the ball. We thought that was it, but then one of their guys steals it from our goalie. He passed it to another guy who was on the other side of the cage and had a wide open shot. I thought we were going to tie again, but one of my teammates came from behind and stopped him from shooting. The game was over and we won 11 to 10.

Tied Game

Last weekend there was a tournament that last 3 days. It was from Thursday to Saturday. Our first game was Thursday night. We had never played the team before and we really didn't know what to expect. We had played their JV team last year, and they were really bad, but they could have had some really good kids on their varsity team. They didn't have anyone good, and the first quarter went really well for us. We were up 3 to 0 and we thought that we had the game in the bag. The second quarter went pretty well. We kept our 3 point lead, but they had also scored 3. The score going into the half was 6 to 3. We were still fairly confident that we could hold on to our lead.

Image courtesy of FINA

The third quarter did not go well. We didn't score any goals and they had caught up to us. The score was 6 to 6 and now we started to get worried. Our defense had fallen apart and our offense had come to a stand still. I don't really know what happen, but we just couldn't play. The fourth quarter started and we were all really nervous. We didn't want to end up losing this game. About a minute into the quarter, we scored and we were up 7 to 6. But they came back and scored and it was all tied up again. With just over a minute left in the game we were able to score and take the lead. We stopped their next  possession, but were not able to score on our next one. They called a time out with around 30 seconds left in the game. All we had to do was stop them and we would win the game. We failed and they scored with 10 seconds to go. We tried to get a quick shot off, but missed and that was the end of the game. There was no over time, so the game ended in a tie.

3rd Best Team in the State

We played what a team that many people considered to the third best team in the state. They had some really big kids on their team. At least 2 of them were 6'4 and they had a few others that were almost as tall. We knew it was going to be a hard game. The first quarter didn't go so well. We were down 5 to 1 at the end of it. Their counter attacks were just too good for our defense. That was the only way the scored goals. When they set up their offense, they couldn't score on us. The second quarter went a lot better. We started to play better and stop their counters. At the half the score was 6 to 3. The come back was real.

Image courtesy of Telegraf

At half time we really thought that we could come back and win the game. In the middle of the third quarter we were only down by 2. The score was 9 to 7. But then, things started to go downhill and by the end of the third they pulled ahead to make it 12 to 8. It just kept getting worse from their. They scored a quick goal at the start of the fourth and then coach took out half of the starters and left me in with most of the second team. I had no idea what he was doing and by the end of the game the score was 16 to 8. We let them score 4 more goals in the fourth. It was a really close game at one point, but we just let it go. It was a game we could have one, and I think that if we play them again, we have an actual chance at winning.

Visitors from Texas

Last weekend visitors from Dallas, Texas came to play us. They were really good and had robes. They were really cool. My whole team wanted them. It made them look so good. Just having robes makes you look 10 times better than you actually are. They were still really good and we got beat really badly. The final score was 23 to 3. It was not a good game for us. We couldn't do anything. Our offense was nonexistant and our defense was even worse. They countered on us a lot. Half of my team doesn't get back on defense and its really hard to cover 3 people at once.

Image courtesy of Courier Mail

They had one really good guy. After the game I found out that he go a scholarship to go play water polo at Cal. He was lefty and was unstopable. He was also really fast at swimming. Whenever he got the ball he would score. There was nothing we could do about it. Towards the end of the game they put in thier JV team. We could handle them and in at the very end of the game we figured out how to score and started playing a bit better. It was too little too late and, in the end, it was a good learning experince and we found out how far we actually have to go to be able to beat them. Its gonna take a lot of hard work and effort and isn't as easy as we thought it would be.

First Game of The Season

Last week, we had our first game of the season. The team we played was really bad, and after the first quarter we were up 9 to 0. I scored 3 of those 9 and after the first quarter he took out everyone that was starting and put the newer kids in. It was a good opportunity for them to get some game time against a team that wasn't very good. They did a really good job, and at half time the score was 16 to 1. I played for most of the third quarter, but I didn't play for any of the fourth. The final score of the game was 23 to 9. The same guy scored all of the other teams 9 points. He wasn't even good. I played defense on him in the first half and he would try to shoot from 7 meters and I stuffed him almost every time. He would also try to kick me in the face every time we were swimming down. After a while it got really annoying, and I wanted to straight up hit him in the face. He never actually hit me, so I wasn't that mad about it, but it was still getting on my nerves.  

Image courtesy of RTS

Overall, the game went really well and it was a good way to start out the season. Lots of the newer players got game time and we stomped the other team. They shouldn't of scored 9 goals. They really shouldn't of scored at all. We lots of games coming up and I can't wait to see how good we are going to get this season. 

Practice Again

Water Polo practice finally started agian and I am really excited about the upcoming season. High School swimming ended and we had the State swim meet. We won the meet by a lot. The other teams weren't even close and it was a good way to end my first year of high school swimming. Now I can switch to my main focus, which is water polo. We've had practice for a week now, and it feels great to get back into the swing of things. So far we've only been going over the basics, but I can't wait until we get into some new stuff. Our first game is this week and it'll be interesting how well we do. We have some knew people and our coach isn't very good at explaining things, so I don't know if they actually understand anying.

Image courtesy of Water Polo Planet

We have a lot of games this week, and many more to come. I think that we have at least one every week and somethimes even 2. This will go on all the way to May. That is when state championships are. I'm just really happy that swimming finaly ended and water polo started. I'm ready to see all the people I hated in the fall again and beat them. I'm not gonna lost to Pork Chop again.

Too Many Swim Meets

For the past 2 weeks we have had a swim meet every week and we have 2 more in the next 2 weeks. It just too many. I don't understand why there is a swim meet every single week. It's pointless. I'm not gonna go any faster than I did the week before. There is no reason to have a swim meet every week. The only good thing that comes out of it is that we get to miss practice once a week. Normally swim meets are on a Wednesday and that is distance day. I hate distance. So that makes it a little bit better, but one every week is still way too many. One time we had 2 swim meets in one week. One was on Wednesday and the other was on Friday. Why? There is no reason to have them 2 days apart. There should be maybe 2 meets a month. Not 2 a week.

Image courtesy of The Epoch Times

One more problem with swim meets is that you get home a lot later than when you get home from practice. The worst are away meets. I get home really late, and then have to do homework and other stuff and it's really annoying. Even home meets. They take too long. Also they are right after school and I just don't feel like I can swim fast right after school. High school swimming will be over soon, and I'll go back to club swimming, where we only have 1 or 2 a month, which is a lot better.

Practice

Last Saturday, we had a random practice. I thought it would be fun, but some guys from a different team showed up, and I have no idea why. They were really annoying. There was one kid there that thought he was hot stuff. He was a big dude, not fat, but really beefy. He acted like he was the boss of all of us and we were all so done with him and the 2 other guys he brought with him. I don't even know who invited them. I showed up and was like,"Who the hell are these random kids". I was pissed off from the start and that kid just made it worse. 

Image courtesy of Water Polo

At the start of practice we did some swimming drills and he started talking about how fast he is at swimming and stuff. He told me his times, and it turns out that he actaully sucks. He was at one of our high school swim meets and his stroke was the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life. It was so bad. After that, we started to play a game. In the middle of the game, the coach stopped it to talk about something and coach said that someone needed to get to a certain position and that kid said, "like that'll happen". That pissed me off, and probably even more my teammate who was guarding him. 

New Years

So this post is a little off topic and a little late, but I want to talk about new years and all the great things upcoming in 2015. The first thing I want to talk about though, isn't so great. Its about all the people that when you show up to school again after the new year and they say, "I haven't seen you since last year". It is actually the most annoying thing and I want to punch the kid in the face when they say that. Its just like "stop". We all get it. Its a new year, but it doesn't mean you have to get even more annoying. The next thing is that I'm still gonna be writing 14 on all my papers for the next 4 months until I finally get it right. I just got used to writing the year, and now it changes. Also my sleep schedule is so messed up. I've been staying up untill 2 am all break and sleeping till 10. Now I have to wake up at 6 and on the first day back, it was the hardest thing. I'm so tired right now.

Image courtesy of water polo world

Swim practice over the break was also a lot better. There were only about 10 people that showed up, so almost everyone got their own lane, which was really nice. I hate it when there are a lot of people in the lane. It's just too crowded and you can't swim the way you want too. Now that normal high school practice is back, there are at least 7 people in each lane, and in many there are more. It is so much better when you have your own lane. On a positive note, the water polo season starts in about a month and a half and I am so excited for it to start. We are a 3A school so at state we don't play any of the really good teams that have destroyed us in the past, so we have a shot at winning state this year. It would be awesome to win state and I'm just ready to play water polo agian. Swimmings fun, but Its just not the same.

Another Game

So last weekend we had 2 games against kearns. We hadn't practiced in over 2 months so no one expected to do very well, but it was more just for fun. The first game we played was the JV game. It went a lot better than I thought it would. There was some kid that played with us who was visiting Park City, and he helped out a lot. He was pretty good. I had a good game, especially for not playing the past 2 months. I scored 3 goals and one of them was the 2nd best goal I have ever scored. I swam down the middle of the pool and my defender was on my feet. There was also one to my left and one more behind the person chasing me. I got the ball, turned around doged the person behind me. Then the two other people came at me and I went right between them and shot it. It looked a lot more epic then it sounds. Trust me, you had to be there. In the end we won the game by one point. It was a really close game and really fun to play in.

Image courtesy of  water polo world

The second game didn't go as well. It was a varsity game and we were playing the team that one state 16-2. Some of their starters weren't there, but still. They are a really good team. The first quarter wasn't too bad, we were only down by 3. The second quarter however was a total slaughter. They just destroyed us. They were up by 6 at the end of the half. Our excuse was that we haven't played in 2 months, but it was a really bad quarter. The second half went better. We both scored 6 points in the second half, but I think it was more because they stopped trying than us actually playing better. They had some really big guys on that team. Some were definatly double my body wieght. It wasn't that good of a game, but it was just fun to be playing water polo agian. The seasons starts up agian in February and I am so excited for that.