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. 

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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. 

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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. 

Finals

We don't have any games for the next two weeks, and that is the last week this season. It is the finals and for JV we are playing for 3 against Kearns A, B, or C. We lost to all of them during the season. I know what you're thinking. How did you lose to a C team? Well... Half the team was gone. There was a swim meet and there was no one at the game. We only lost by 1. I was carrying, but I missed the last second shot to tie the game. I just barely hit the cross bar with 2 seconds to go. We also lost to the B team, but I'd rather not talk about that one. It was kind of sad how we lost. There was one super aggresive kid on the C team that really pissed me off. When I was guarding him he would shove his head into mine. I have no idea what he was doing. I was so confused.

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For the Varsity we are playing for 6th place. We lost our first 3 games, then tied one, and won the last 3. We ended off the regular season looking really strong. We finally got it together and won some games. Hopefully we can win against whoever we are playing against for 6th. We probalby should have done better than 6th, but at the start of the season we weren't really playing at our best. We have won the last 3 games we played and we should carry the momentum into the last weekend. I have no idea who we are playing, but I hope that we can beat them. There haven't been many people that I have hated in the varsity games lately. We have been winning and it is way more fun when you are winning. I haven't had the urge to hit someone in a varsity game for a while. I guess that's a good thing. Only 2 more weeks until the end of the season. I'm really sad about that and really don't know what I am going to do with my life once the season ends.

Destroying Kids

Last weekend I had another 3 water polo games. 1 of them was a varsity game and the other 2 were JV. The first varsity game we won 12-1. Our defence was amazing and our offence finally started to work. We scored on a lot of counter attacks and we finally were able to score goals when we set up our offence. I didn't even have to play the whole game. Our entire team finally showed up and we had 3 subs. It was the most we've had all season.

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The next game we had was a JV game. There was one really annoying kid on the other team. He was number 2 and I hated him so much. He was chubby and when I was guarding him he tried to be tough and fight me, but he had the weakest puches I've ever seen. He was like tapping me. It was like he thought he was tough, but was to scared to actually hit because I would've kicked his ass. I was really close to destroying him, but I just elbowed him in the ribs once and he got super scared and stopped. When destroyed there team so in the fourth quarter I wasn't playing, and he hit our goalie in the face, with the ball, twice within a minute. I was about to jump in the pool and just wreck him. That kid is lucky that I didn't find him in the locker room after the game.

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The third game was another JV game. There wasn't anyone that really pissed me off, but we absolutly destroyed the team we were playing. I scored 11 goals and 4 or 5 of them were half court shots. The goalie was really small so basically every shot I took went in. There was one girl that was drowning one kid on my team. He couldn't do anything about it. He was drinking a lot of water when she was guarding him. It was funny watching some girl half his size drowning him. The final score of the game was 15-9. That was the first day all season that we have one every game. It was a good day.

PorkChop

Last weekend I had a water polo game. It was a varsity game, so there were a lot of people that were a lot bigger than me. I was one of the smallest ones there. When we started I was guarding this super fat kid that couldn't swim. Everyone on my team nick named him Pork Chop. He was really annoying. I couldn't move him. I would try to push him out of the way, but he was so big that I would move. 

Throughout the game I started to hate him more and more. He was really bad at swimming though, and it was really funny. 

Image 

Courtesy of Whats Your Beef Butcher Shop

One time, he got kicked out and had to go to the corner. It took him so long to swim there and then when he was allowed to get back in we were all on the other side of the pool and he just didn't want to swim. His coach started yelling at him to swim, but it took him at least a minute to get down to the other side. He looked like he was dying. Towrds the end of the game he started to stay on one side of the pool and didn't even bother swimming back. He just sat there. When I was gaurding him I could hear him breathing really heavily and then he would try to grab onto me when we had to swim to the other side. He missed every time, but it got really annoying. 

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Sadly, my team lost to the hands of Pork Chop and his team. It was a really close game and we were winning at the start of the second quarter. It was a really low scoring game and there wasn't much off offense. We couldn't really get much going. The end score was 7-9. I'm still mad that we lost and especially mad that we lost to Pork Chop. He was really annoying. I wish we beat them