First of all… have you noticed its spring?? Or what passes for spring in this part of the world. Shhhh… don’t jinx it.
Tessa has been enjoying the warm weather.
Work is almost full bore, the final nudge of the throttle to full comes when the crews start & that will be another ten days or so (depending on the weather). Will likely get a few days skiing in over the school break now that basketball is done.
So you got left hanging with basketball… Eric’s team came second at Zones which gave them a berth into Provincials. The basketball played at Zones was intense; the team that came first in the Zone went on to a second place finish at Provincials.
The first game of Provincials was a loss in a tight game & it bumped the team to the “C” pool so at best an eighth place finish. The coach talked to the kids about playing the second game using the whole bench, get everybody on the board, (& if it was close try & win). It was a 20 point loss, certainly a team they could have beaten, but it finished the tournament on a real happy note & I felt it was the right move. In many of the games leading up to that point some of the rookies had seen little or no action… now they can say they played at Provincials. I never checked the score-sheet but I think everyone recorded at least one basket. 
For Eric the last game of his High School career came on the following week as he & team-mate Brandon were selected to represent NDC in the 1A/2A South Central Zone All-Star game. The participants were split East & West & they made a game of it; the final score 93-91. It was smiles all around with many of the kids saying that was the best game they had ever played in. Eric said “I was actually getting passes on my fast breaks”. A great way to finish the season for me too watching Eric among his peers whom he had played against throughout the past three seasons (or longer).
On the weekend I jammed 1512 Basketball shots into Lightroom and spat out 258 keepers into my Zenfolio site for sharing with the athletes, family & friends. I had been considering Zenfolio for quite a while having initially been introduced to it by an scrambling partner Wietse. That was more than a year ago but with the revamp on the company website I needed a new place for what formerly was my Designers Corner segment… the first segment on the build is my tree portfolio which has saved me a lot of time describing the trees I propose for landscape clients in the past…. So the time had come for Zenfolio. I hope it will help me to stay a bit better organized when it comes to my photos and as Wietse pointed out, it acts as an online backup. Such that anything in the ‘clouds’ is secure; it’s another place to keep ‘stuff’.
So if you want you can wander over to Zenfolio for basketball, skiing, or the start of the landscape portfolio. Just mind the pylons, barricades, & open man-holes… heavily under construction.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Spring 2010 roundup
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Get open
Well I managed to go a solid month without posting, unlikely a record... I've been busy it seems.
Ok, I had this big long thing written accounting for my whereabouts… lets just say the last while has been a gong show. I’ll blog a bit belatedly about a couple of things otherwise suffice to say it goes like this: work…basketball…chores….shit weather…work…work… with every once in a while SKI or SUN…
But basketball deserves a few more lines. Eric’s team, NDC Timber wolves, finished third in league play leading into the playoffs. NDC is 2A, the top two teams were Foothills Comp (4A) and Highwood (3A) our cross-town rival. NDC defeated STS to advance to the quarter final Friday night against Highwood. We have never beaten Highwood at basketball. Long story short it was an epic game that ended 64-61 NDC. First time a 2A school has made the league final since 1999. Foothills Comp is a strong team with a post who must be 6’6” or 6’8”… anyway, the final game was a hard fought 43-73 finish during which we seemed to frustrate them enough their coach was yelling at them like they were loosing. Time was we’d play them and they’d sit their starters and still roll over us. Most excellent to see that improvement.
Next up at the end of this week is Zones in Didsbury. The boys must defeat Drumheller & Brooks ranked #1 & #2 in the province respectively in order to advance to Provincials. Last year they got to Provincials by finishing second to Drumheller and due to our Zone being so tough there was a wildcard slot from our Zone. We’ll see how it goes; it’ll be fun to watch Eric wind up his High-school career playing at that level.
I only shot about a third of this years play due to my camera being in the shop for a while & some games I just prefer to watch. I’ve got a few good shots using my longer lens even though its auto-focus is frustrating. Overall there should be a good collection of shots once I find time to process them all.
What to do next winter??? It’ll be an adjustment I’m sure but I’ll bet the time will get filled, & maybe I’ll even do some snowshoeing! & more shoot’n… you can count on that.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Volleyball - AA Provincials - Fourth
Games were played in Rocky Mountain House from Nov 26-28, 2009.
Not every face is smiling... they lost the third set of the bronze final 13-15. 
But that was kind of how this run went. There were some close games to win Zones & some real close games to advance to the semi final.
Eric's role on the team is setter but he doesn't always keep his feet on the floor! If he gets a chance for a spike or a tip he'll take it as well as his share of the blocking. 
Eric was also the team captain which meant talking to ref from time to time among other things. He always keeps a cool head. That was a great run Eric, proud of ya boy!
Late entry: After the tournament was finished they awarded the banner for sportsmanship & our NDC team was the recipient! A great honor & apparently it seldom goes to a team with such a high finish position. This is a great accomplishment as sportmanship is a very highly promoted aspect of the schools program. Cool eh?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Volleyball - AA Zone Champs
Well Eric & the gang won the AA Zones Championship in Volleyball on the weekend in Black Diamond. Undefeated in their pool, then the semi final against Oyen went right to the wire & the final against Prairie Bible (Three Hills) went to three also ... they were very pumped to get those wins. If you don't recognize Eric he is standing immediately right of the banner. He has the role of setter again this year.
Had to process the team photo right away to submit for Provincials so figured I'd throw it up here at the same time. It'll do but it would have been nice to have the time to change some settings & use the flash.
Friday off to Provincials in Rocky Mountain House. Short week so I guess I'd better get at it. (edit, events start Wednesday, games start Thursday)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
This Post Smells Like Feet
Eric is a gifted all-round athlete but basketball is his sport. His season wrapped up with an eighth place finish at Provincials, the first appearance for an NDC team at that level. A starting lineup guard, he spends a lot of time handling the ball and setting up the plays but he gets his share of points. He plays a very controlled game & is always fun to watch. Next year most of the team is back so it should be another good run.
In terms of shooting, basketball is a perfect storm. Cave like lighting, fast action, & limited places to shoot from. My equipment is quite limiting in this regard but I make out alright sometimes. Most of these shots are cropped & a little noisier & blurrier than I would like. I do enjoy the challenge. 
Thanks Eric... it was a fun year, an no, we are NOT eating at Boston Pizza again for a long time...
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Volleyball 2008
A few of my shots from Eric's 2008 Volleyball season. For having last volleyball season off to heal a dislocated shoulder he became a pretty good setter.
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