Coach Smith

Coach Gabe volunteers with the 5th and 6th grades boys at the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club, and here are a few pictures from yesterday's game.  It was so neat to watch these kids look up to Gabe and hear them call him "Coach!"  Also, the parents just loved him, but then again, how can you not!

Gabe warming up with the kids having them alternate layups.

More drills

A one-on-one teaching moment with one of his players.

Congratulating the team with their win!

At one point, one of the kids (Alex) was really exhausted and wanted to sit out, and Gabe already told another kid (Will) to sit out.  Then, I overheard Alex trying to convince Will to play in his spot, and Will said .... "Coach Gabe told me to sit out."  It was so neat to hear one of the kids reinforce what Coach told him to do without questioning it or trying to do otherwise.  

There was a lot of encouragement and general direction throughout the game.  It was an evening of constant "Good job ____, great rebound ____, good hustle ____," and so.  Gabe is really sensitive to this teaching environment and ran with a lot of positive reinforcement so the boys would enjoy learning the game of basketball.  It is suppose to be just "fun and games," but the kids are competitive and of course want to win.  If you look at the scoreboard ... it says 33 to 23.  The score was actually 53 to 23, but once one team is up by 20 they reset the scoreboard.  This way it doesn't hurt the moral of the players!  Kind of smart if you ask me.

This evening gave me a glimpse into the future, and I look forward to the day Gabe can spend his evenings and spare time coaching our kids.  That is, if they like sports and want to be athletes :)