Athletes of the Week - Alexa and Alex

St Rose widget girls hung on to win a nail biter 10-9 over St Mary’s. The win evened our record on the season, at 3-3. We have good 4^th great leadership from Mia, Madi, and Brook, all of who have won athlete of the week already this year, but in this game, the star was Alexa. Alexa is a 3^rd grader, and she’s usually the smallest girl on the floor, but she has a huge heart, and huge determination, to go along with her quickness, and good athletic instincts. She scored the first two baskets in the game, and when you win 10-9, 4 points is obviously huge. She also played great defense, and was constantly encouraging all of her teammates, and being a positive force. Congratulations to the widget girls and to Alexa.

Our widget boys black team has played a tough schedule so far, and their record reflects that. Last week, however, they played St James, and we knew we had a good chance to get back in the win column. Black won 20-16, getting their second win of the season, and bringing their record to 2-4, with two games remaining in the regular season. Black is led by 4^th graders Stephan and Sergio, but they also get good contributions from third graders Jose and Alex. This week’s male athlete of the week is Alex. Alex is a three sport athlete, but basketball is probably only his third sport, after football and baseball. As the season goes on, he is learning that he can be quite a good basketball player. He is very good defensively, and this week, he finally broke out on the offensive end. Alex led the team with 13 points, probably surpassing his previous total for the whole season. Alex also has one of the best attitudes in the school, and along with Alexa, is a great example and model for St Rose.  

Athletes of the Week - Daizja and Aaron

Daizja has earned Athlete of the Week honors after leading her team to a solid win over a strong All Souls and a close overtime loss to St. Mary's. After a difficult December, the team came back from Christmas break ready to play and picked up a much needed home win against an All Souls team that had only lost one game. During this time, Daizja's leadership was very important for the success of the team. It has not just been from the amount of points she has scored, but in her ability to challenge her teammates to be the best. Mr. Moo is incredibly impressed with how Daizja has been helping him in talking to her teammates and pointing out areas to improve during the game. This has been a strong contributing factor in the team's success the past two games. Against a very strong St. Mary's team, Daizja led the charge making a great pass to Marla for the shot that sent the game into overtime. In overtime, with seven seconds left, Daizja shot a three that just barely missed. Even though she didn't make the shot, Daizja kept a positive attitude and demonstrated the leadership we have all come to expect from her.

St Rose varsity boys had a good team last year, but competing in the very tough (and tall) division 1, we only won 2 league games. We lost Emilio, our leading scorer, Ronnie and Evan, our posts, and Michael, the best pure athlete in the school last year. Going into this year, we returned 5 players but we don’t really have any posts, and the league is still very good (and tall). After a win over Notre Dame to open league this year, we had losses to St Mary’s and St John Baptist. We then beat SVDP and lost to Good Shepherd to put our record at 2-3 going into last week. On Thursday, we played probably our best game of the year in front of a packed home crowd, and beat All Souls 41-36. This brought our win total on the year to 3, which was already more than our total league win total from last year. Last Saturday, we played at St Anne’s, the defending champion from last year. People tend to exaggerate about things like height. No exaggeration however, St Anne’s had a 6’5 kid. They also had several kids around 5’11, and very talented guards and shooters. We were overmatched, and we dropped to 3-4 on the year, but during last week’s two games, our point guard really stood out. Aaron was our starting point last year, when we pulled him up from JV as a 6th grader. That experience, as well as the experience that he continues to gain playing on teams outside of school, has really paid off for Aaron. Aaron led us with 12 against All Souls, including 10 in the crucial second half, when we fought back from a 3 point halftime deficit. Aaron led us again in scoring against St Anne’s with 9 to run his season point total to 98 (he has since gone over the century mark for the season). Aaron is our primary ballhandler, best shooter, best passer, and a good intuitive defender. Aaron also has stepped into a leadership role, which isn’t easy as a 7th grader. He is well liked and respected by all his teammates, opponents, and certainly by his coaches. I am very lucky to be able to coach him.

Athletes of the Week - Julian And Brooklin

The widget girls played St Pius 3rd grade the last game before Christmas, and rolled to their second win of the season, evening their record, and matching their win total from all of last year. Previously this year, 4th graders Madi and Mia have won Athlete of the Week, and now another 4th grade girl wins the honor. Brooklin is an excellent all-around athlete. She can throw the football almost as well as any of the boys in the class, is consistently the best or one of the best at any sport we play in P.E., is an excellent volleyball player, and more to the point in the winter, she’s a rapidly improving basketball player. She is fast, gets lots of steals and loose balls, blocks shots, and against St Pius, she scored a career high 12 points. With Brook, Madi, and Mia playing both basketball and volleyball, the future looks bright for the St Rose girls’ programs going forward.

Our varsity boys division 1 team got off to a great start to the year, winning the Blessed Sacrament pre-season tournament. We then played Notre Dame, and sailed to a victory, continuing our momentum. Then, reality set in. We had back to back games against St Mary’s and Nativity, and although we were in both games, we ended up losing both by about 10 points. Therefore, we headed into the last week before Christmas with a 1-2 league record. On Tuesday, we played St Vincent de Paul on the road. We had previously beaten SVDP in the championship game of the Blessed Sacrament tournament by 22, but it was a 6 point game mid 4th quarter before we finally ran away. We were confident going into this game, but SVDP has 2 6 footers, one of who is a very capable left-handed scorer. Tall teams have given us lots of problems in the past, but we were able to play at our pace (fast) and stretched out to a double digit lead by halftime. Aaron played a great all-around game, and Mario came off the bench to tie his career high with 8 points, but the player who drew the most attention from the defense again was Julian. Julian is a tremendous all-around athlete, and although soccer is his main sport, he has tons of talent in basketball, and his skills are improving all the time. Julian really shined in our next game against Good Shepherd. We got off to a 10-0 start, and although I still thought they looked dangerous, I think everyone relaxed and assumed we were fine. We weren’t. By half, we were down 20-16. Then disaster struck. Every shot we took rimmed out, and every shot they took found the bottom. More importantly though, we gave up. We were shell-shocked, we were bickering, we were unaware, and we had the worst quarter of basketball I’ve been associated with in my life. At the end of 3, we found ourselves in a 43-18 hole. With 6 minutes left, there was no chance we were going to come back and win, but I challenged the team to show some fight, show some pride, and come back out and compete as hard as possible for 6 minutes. During the 4th quarter, Julian’s leadership came through more than I’ve ever seen it before. He scored 13 points in the game to bring his season total to 71, but way more importantly, he didn’t give up. He was vocal, he dived all over the floor, he fought for rebounds, he took the ball to the basket with abandon, and with his team falling apart around him, he showed leadership qualities to match his athletic qualities, and this will serve him and us very well going forward in the new year.

Athletes of the Week - Erica and Miguel

The JV girls played their first game of the year on 12/9 against Most Precious Blood. The varsity boys B played right before the girls, so between the JV girls crowd, the leftover varsity boys crowd, and the MPB crowd, the game was well attended. This year’s JV girls team only has two 6th graders. It has six 5th graders. Of these eight girls, three have never played before, so it has a little bit of the feel of a widgets team, trying to fit a bunch of girls together and make a cohesive team. With that said, it wasn’t a big surprise to see a slow start. After a quarter, our girls were down 2-0. We were playing very hard defense, and getting a ton of steals, but we couldn’t get good looks on offense and knock them down. I saw a sign last night at St Vincent de Paul that said “Hustle requires no talent.” I like that sign and that motto was on display early with our girls. All eight players were playing as hard as they possibly could, and that effort was keeping us in it until a few shots started to fall. Erica is not only the tallest girl on the JV team, she’s one of the tallest girls in the whole school. Some tall girls let their height do all the work for them, but not Erica. Erica was playing all out, getting her hands on tons of balls, blocking shots, tipping passes, and generally making life miserable for the MPB girls. She also helped with ball handling, rebounded aggressively, and scored the majority of our points. As she hopefully continues to grow, and works on her offensive skills, she has a chance to be one of the best girls basketball players St Rose has seen, and she is well deserving of the athlete of the week honor.

The two widget boys teams play the same teams through the season, but they play them at different times. So far, the black team has had the tougher schedule, and they’re currently 1-2. The red team has played a couple 3rd grade teams, and they’ve had easy wins, and have had a chance to really work on Play Like a Champion concepts (sharing the ball, playing unselfishly, equal playing time, etc). Last week, our red team beat St James 28-8, to run their record to 3-0. Diallo played very well again, but another 4th grader, Miguel, really stood out. Miguel has as much energy as anyone in the school, and he’s always had lots of athletic ability. He’s starting to harness that energy and ability into a controlled basketball setting, and his basketball skills are really starting to emerge. Miguel can score, and he runs the floor very well. He also runs the point when Diallo’s out. He knows the plays, and he does a good job directing traffic. Miguel’s main strength though is his defense. He is so fast, and so instinctual, that he gets tons of steals. Widget rules require that you stay on your man, and Miguel follows these rules, but you can tell that next year, when he’s allowed to double team, or play zone, or jump the ball, he will be an absolute terror on defense. With Miguel and Diallo as red team leaders, our widget boys red team is in a good position (1st place) going into the Christmas break.

Athletes of the Week - Diallo, Stephan, Mia

Written by AD Mike Thomas
Nov 28 - Dec 5

Girl Athlete of the Week

The widget girls’ team has been steadily improving since the beginning of last year. Coach Slater has remained patient, and kept a long term view, emphasizing skills, teamwork, and defense. It started paying off toward the end of last year, and this year, it’s really starting to pay dividends. In week one, we lost a heartbreaker 10-8 to Blessed Sacrament, but last Friday, our girls finally broke through with a 26-7 win over St Therese. The girls played stifling defense all night long, and got offensive contributions from the whole team. Mia led the way with 10 points, which I believe is a widget girls record for St Rose. Mia is always cheerful, and works to lift the spirits of her teammates. She is a team leader in practice and in games. With Mia, Brooklin, and Madi leading the way for the Raiders, the future looks bright for Coach Slater’s squad.  

Boy Athlete(s) of the Week

It was a clean sweep last Friday for the three St Rose widgets teams. Our girls beat St Therese, our boys red team beat St Pius 3^rd grade 30-17, and our boys black team beat St Pius 4^th grade 24-18. St Rose red is now 2-0, and St Rose black is 1-1. Having one week of game experience definitely showed for our 3^rd graders, as they were much more comfortable and aware on the floor. The way was led though by two fourth graders, Diallo and Stephan. This is the first time we’ve had co-athletes of the week, but I just couldn’t choose between Diallo and Stephan. Diallo has been a leader on the floor for two years now for St Rose, but it has taken him some time to embrace the role of always getting his teammates involved, as well as getting his own points. Last week, St Rose red played a 3^rd grade team, and Diallo could have scored as many points as he wanted to. He scored 4 or 5 baskets early, and then not only started making sweet passes to his teammates, but also directing them around the floor, and putting them in the best positions to receive passes and be able to make shots. Diallo always gets lots of rebounds, and lots of steals, to go along with his assists and points, and is becoming an all-around player who can shine in all aspects of the game, including leadership and being unselfish.

Last year, when we broke up the teams and tried to make two equal teams, we put Diallo on one team, and Jose on the other. With Jose a 5^th grader now, and no longer eligible to play widgets, we had to find a new leader for St Rose black, and Stephan was the choice that jumped out. We knew he was absolutely one of the nicest, politest, and best behaved, most focused, smartest students in the school, and now we know something else. He’s one of the best basketball players in the school. Last week, leading a mixed 3^rd and 4^th grade St Rose black against St Pius’ all 4^th grade team, Stephan led the way with 17 points. He ran the floor extremely well, made a bunch of tough, contested lay ups, and hit his free throws as well. Stephan runs the point for St Rose black, is the defensive leader, and now has grown into a true scoring option. If you get a chance to come watch widget boys games this year, come on out. With Diallo and Stephan leading the way, the widgets are a lot of fun.  

Athletes of the Week - Anthony and Madi

Written by AD Mike Thomas
Nov 21- Nov 28

Girl Athlete of the Week

The widget girls didn't have a team two years ago, so last year was the first time that any of the then 3rd or 4th graders played on a basketball team. They played hard and competed well all year, but their lack of experience hurt them record wise. With a year of experience under the belt of the 4th graders, and the youthful energy and enthusiasm of the 3rd graders, this year perhaps bodes a little better for the widget girls. Our girls opened the season last Thursday night at Assumption against Blessed Sacrament. We lost a thrilling game 10-8, with seemingly countless St Rose shots rolling around the rim before falling out. The Raiders were led by Madi L., Mia G., and Brooklin L. The athlete of the week this week for the girls is Madi. Madi is one of the nicest, most respectful girls in the school. Madi is one of the best students in the school. Add to those accolades an improving and promising athlete, and Madi truly embodies everything good about St Rose. Madi ran the point for large parts of the game, she scored half of our points, and she was a leader on the floor all game long.

Boy Athlete of the Week

Last year, our varsity boys A team competed in CSAL division 1, and we had a tough time during the regular season. We had a good team, but we had no height, and we were routinely competing against 6'2 and 6'3 players, and we had a hard time matching up. We finished well though, and everyone started buying into the idea that we had to run, and pressure the other team all game long in order to be competitive. Last week, we competed in the Blessed Sacrament pre-season tournament, and after three games, we found ourselves champions. A huge part of our success last week was Anthony M., and he's the first male athlete of the week for 2011-2012. Last year, Anthony was probably our best baseball player, but he didn't really get a chance to shine in basketball. I knew he was a good athlete and that he could shoot a little, but I hadn't yet seen him put it all together. Now I have. Anthony scored 8 against MPB in our first game, 8 against a very tough Blessed Sacrament squad in the semis, and then led the Raiders with 12 in the championship game against SVDP. Anthony hit three threes during the tournament, including back to backers in the first quarter against SVDP. He also did everything else. Anthony ran the floor non-stop, made a bunch of extremely difficult catches and finishes in traffic, played great defense, played high and low in the zone, and rebounded against much taller players. Most of all, Anthony played as hard as he could at every aspect of the game, and did everything he was asked to do. Anthony's performance in the first week of the season bodes extremely well for the rest of the year.

St. Rose Wins Blessed Sacrament Tournament

St Rose’s boys and girls varsity basketball teams competed in Blessed Sacrament’s annual kick-off tournament from 11/14-11/20. The girls won their first game over St John Baptist, before falling in consecutive games to Christ the King. At the end of last year, the girls varsity team had no 8th graders, so we returned a strong core this year, and we added a very athletic group of incoming 7th graders as well. Daizja, Gaby, Naomi, Mireya, and Luz are joined by Marla, Capri, Janay, and Joanna. The difference between last year and this year was apparent immediately in our first game against SJB. Coach Moo has his girls playing a very aggressive defensive style, and the girls came out firing on all cylinders. With the defensive intensity of Mireya, Capri, Janay, and Joanna setting the tone as the highs in the 3-2, and the rebounding of Luz and Gaby complimented by the scoring of Daizja, Marla, and Capri, this year’s Raiders team is definitely fun to watch. Through three quarters, SJB could muster only 5 points, and although SJB started getting some better opportunities in the 4th quarter, we still held on for the comfortable victory. Our next game came against Christ the King’s division 1 team, and with somewhat tired legs, we fell, but we still got valuable experience against a top opponent, especially as we try to learn how to handle the ball against pressure. Our third game came against Christ the King’s seventh grade, and it was a see-saw battle all game. We were down 2 with a few seconds left, and Coach Moo set up an inbounds play that yielded a very good look, but alas, the ball rimmed out. Players, coaches, and parents all came out of the tournament encouraged though, and the future looks bright for our girls program.

The boys draw had four division 1 teams, one division 2 team, and three division 3 teams. Our boys opened against MPB division 3, and it wasn’t an equal talent match up. What was encouraging though, was the balanced scoring. Returners Julian, Aaron, Rolando, Tony, and Anthony scored 15, 14, 14, 12, and 8 respectively, and newcomers Mario and Santi each scored 4 points in their first varsity game. We squared off against a talented Blessed Sacrament division 1 team in the semis, and it was a nail-biter all game long. BSS got up 11-5 after one, and still held a six point lead, 20-14, at half. We evened the score 28-28 after three, and then went on to eke out the victory 37-34. Although we had trouble getting good looks and knocking them down for most of the game, we fought extremely hard, and never gave up, or got down on each other. Last year, we had a lot of close losses, and it was good to see this group overcome adversity right away, and fight for all 40 minutes. Julian drew a ton of defensive attention and manpower, and although he only scored 2 points, he played the whole game, got a bunch of rebounds, and allowed our other players to get open looks. Aaron didn’t have any field goals, but his seven free throws in the second half were absolutely crucial. Aaron also played all 40 minutes, and did the majority of the ball handling duties. Rolando chipped in two buckets in each half, as he makes the transition to more of a forward this year from his guard position last year. Tony and Rolando both fouled out, which meant that incoming 7th graders Mario and Santi finished the game on the floor. This was a huge spot for them, and they acquitted themselves very well, fighting for rebounds, loose balls, and steals, and playing confidently with the ball on offense, as they get used to our systems. The players of the game though, were Tony and Anthony. Tony hit three second half threes, on his way to a game high 10 points. Anthony played extremely good and hard defense, ran the floor well, made some very hard catches and finishes in traffic, hit a big third quarter three that made the defense extend and respect him, and generally played a great game. After our BSS win, we had a couple days off to rest before the championship game. The championship game saw a familiar trend from last year, as St Vincent de Paul had two six footers. We’re pretty used to giving up a bunch of inches though, and Julian, Tony, Rolando, Mario, and even Anthony played low at times, and battled for rebounds all night long. Our scoring was once again very balanced, at 12, 10, 10, 10, and 7. SVDP played almost exclusively a 2-1-2, with lots of focus on the top, so Aaron had to be patient, but after a quarter of distributing, he started finding his opportunities, and SVDP had to pick their poison. Still, it was only a 6 point game mid 4th, before we went on a big run to put the game away. The final was 49-27, and it yielded a very nice pre-season tournament win, that in turn yielded the newest addition to our trophy case. Hopefully, more are on the way.