upwards!

the girls and I after the game

Mr. G is playing Upwards basketball this year - and it's so much fun!

Another friend of mine has a son playing, and here is her description of the program (thank you, HH for the awesome description - I hope you don't mind me copying your overview):

"For starters they turn out all the lights, turn on a disco ball and the kids get to run out through an inflatable tunnel that they bust out of with LOUD music! (Y'all ready for this!) They announce each kid by name and just do such a fantastic job of making it a BIG deal! One of the neat things about this program is that they have really thought through everything. Not just what makes the game fun but how to really teach the kids at a young age how to play. Each kid goes through an evaluation and is then scored and placed in a lottery. Every team gets a fair amount of beginners and intermediate players. Then when its game time each kid has to guard someone who is at their same playing level so that no one gets humiliated. It worked really well! The greatest part about Upwards is that it is a ministry. Each week the kids learn a Bible verse and the coach gives a 5 minute devotional. At half-time at each game, they have a guest speaker who gives a 5-minute testimony as well. It's really neat. The goal is for all of these kids to hear the gospel before the season is over."

Most of the kids on Mr. G's team have either played before, or they are in the 2nd grade...so, it's definitely a new thing for him, but, he's having fun and I can't wait for him to play each year!