Hard work and dedication pay off

Jonah has one more game left this season.  He has been playing for almost six months.  The coach started out with a lot of practices.  They were practicing four times a week. Jonah didn't mind all of the practice, he loves to play basketball so he will play any chance he gets. 

Jonah was disappointed that he didn't make the A team this year, but he handled it well and decided it would be a good thing because he would get more playing time.  He definitely got more playing time.  At the beginning of the season he played the whole game every game because the team was so dependent on him. He was one of the only players that could shoot and he also had the best ball handling skills.

His coach put him in as the point guard.  His coach told me a while ago that Jonah was his best player and he counted on him a lot.  I was glad that his coach put that trust and responsibility on Jonah because he stepped up.  Jonah said that sometimes the coach would get frustrated at practice because most of the boys would just goof off.  One practice he kicked everyone out except for Jonah and one other boy because they were the only ones working hard. 

Jonah does a great job at listening to his coach and working hard to practice what the coach is teaching him.  Jonah gives it his all at practices and games.

And he's handsome!

Jonah really stepped up with rebounds this season.  He got really aggressive and fought hard to get the rebounds.

Jonah developed a lot as an individual player this year, but he also developed as a team player.  He worked hard to help the other boys develop and make sure that they got a lot of opportunities to shoot.

I love that Jonah was just as excited as his teammates when they would make a shot.  He cheered them on and complimented them all the time.  Today the whole team did amazing.  They were passing and everyone was making great shots.  There was one boy that hasn't made a basket all season and he made a few three-pointers, Jonah was so excited for him and kept passing him the ball.  After the game Jonah ran right over to tell Ian good job again.  It was so fun to see how far the team has come and how well they are playing together.

Jonah has been making some awesome three-pointers this season. He had three of them at his game today, along with at least five other baskets and a foul shot!  Last Monday Jonah had two games and both of the coaches from the other team stopped to tell Jonah what a great player he is.  I love watching my boy do what he loves.  It is especially fun to see his hard work and dedication pay off.