Basketball Updates

Well, to the reader's delight, I am not doing nearly as good a job updating basketball on the blog. Going into the holidays, we had a loss to Lee at Lee. Those of you who remember my blog from last year about Lee at Lee would remember how rare wins are in Hatcher Gymnasium. We almost got a second win this season, losing 62-60. It was a very good effort by our boys.
Last night (on my birthday of all nights) we played a very good Covenant bunch. But we absolutely played the most miserable, lackluster game that I've coached at Spotswood in my 6 years there. It was AWFUL and because of our lack of effort and intensity and the level of our opponent, we got blown out 76-61.
We bounced back today though with an awesome performance. While our opponent (Heritage) was not the level of Covenant, they weren't bad either. And we literally dismantled them 67-41. It was a good way to bounce back and takes the sour taste left in my mouth from back-to-back losses and lessens it somewhat. We play Waynesboro tomorrow for 5th place in the Holiday Tournament we won last year.
Our record currently stands at 5-2, hopefully tomorrow we will be 6-2.

4-0 Start

We started our basketball season a week ago. We opened up with an impressive 32 point victory over Stuarts Draft. Our PG scored a Spotswood record 45 points. He's the "real deal." This week, we had 3 games (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). We won all 3 although we didn't play particularly well, especially in last night's 8 point overtime win. In that stretch of games was also the "revenge" game which we won by 10 (Fort at Fort- the only team and place we lost at last season). We've got a lot to improve on if we hope to be the type of team we want to be. But the bottom line is, at the end of the day, our kids found ways to win the games we've played. I have to think that's what good teams do. A good start for the Blazers.
-Jimmy

Marykate

We are proud to announce the arrival of our daughter, Marykate Suter Miller. 5lbs. 5oz and 18 inches long. She arrived on Friday, November 13, 2009. at 9:26 in the morning. More info to come, just wanted to get a couple of pictures up!

Happiness

I thought after our last blog, this one had to be labeled "happiness" just because it is. Last week we had our scheduled 3d ultrasound, which baby girl Miller did not cooperate one bit. She couldn't get a single shot of her face around both feet and both hands and to top it off she wouldn't move at all....caffeine doesn't effect her at all apparently.

Well, sugar, does! We went back in today for try two and she was much more cooperative! We watched her open her eyes (a little creepy to see in all honesty), yawn, and practice breathe. One of the pictures even shows her smiling. I know its not a real smile, but its neat to see that those muscles work! :) Its amazing how much you can love someone you haven't yet met. She's already my pride and joy.

Sadness

I am sick of writing messages like these to our blog. I feel like I've done it way too often. After a wonderful weekend with Mom, Dad, and Rudy in Virginia, I received a call last night from Mom. Rudy had been hit by a car at around 10:30 or so. They took him to the vet right away but he had suffered massive internal injuries. So at around 11:15, they made the decision to put him down. Rudy was all the things I had spoken about earlier- stubborn, persistent, etc., etc. But after a year with my parents, he was also loving and kind. He was faithful and a protector of his family. He had become Gus' best buddy (I'm so glad I took video of them playing together this weekend). This is the most unfair I've felt life has been in some time- mom and dad are wonderful dog owners and I saw Rudy come SO far! All I can ask is that those reading this blog REALLY pray for my parents, especially dad. Rudy was dad's boy and there is going to be a hole that is left by this that I think will need divine intervention to fill. Please pray for them!!
-Jimmy

Is is back to school time already?

Both Jimmy and I started back to school this week. I realized its been a month since we posted...mainly because we were on vacation for about ten days in Ohio. We spent time with my family in Bluffton and in Hartville with Jimmy's family.

My cousins threw a wonderful shower for my sister and I since we were both home at the same time for the last time until after our little ones are born. We saw countless friends in both homes and I picked out my nursery furniture with Jimmy's mom. Its gorgeous! Baby girl doesn't know how lucky she is! We also visited a consignment shop in Hartville, where we picked out her very first buckeye t-shirt!

One fun story to tell is that goes with the picture I included. Gus and Rudy were the best of playmates this time and one time when they were running in the backyard, Rudy turned one direction and Gus turned the other and kept on going. We yelled for him and I ran up to the front yard to see if I could see where he went. I yelled down to Jimmy that I saw a dog running down the street but it was too dark to be Gus. The closer he got to me, I realized it was Gus...covered in black mud. He looked like one of those sea otters stuck in an oil slick! He was not happy when we had to hose him down and then give him a bath on top. I also managed to annoy my husband because all I could do was laugh...he is still working on thinking it was funny. Maybe someday! The other picture I posted are just ones of Gus asleep at the top of our stairs, too darn cute! - Kari

Boy was I wrong!

After 19 a half weeks of guessing we found out today that we are having a girl! I had been positive it was a boy! I even had bought some boy clothes off of the classifieds posted by our school system! Luckily, some of them are actually pretty neutral. We are thrilled, we would have been thrilled if it was a boy as well.

The little one actually was fairly uncooperative. I thought I might leave without knowing! The tech said it had been a long time since one had made her work that hard. I might have to have another ultrasound in a few weeks to check out the heart a bit more closely. She would not turn around! She has a good heart rate and she was moving, but I think she is like her daddy, likes his sleep! :) Now I can start picturing the nursery bedding and other items I was waiting to decide about!

Happy Fourth of July!

Well, it has been an eventful week! I got my husband back and my parents came to visit all in about two hours of each other. It was nice to have a full house! They helped us with our nursery. It is about done, I will post pictures of that tomorrow when it is completed. But I had to show a picture of our beloved, "scaredy cat" of a dog on the fourth of July. Gus hates fireworks. There were several displays going off right in our neighborhood so we went out to the back porch to watch them. We tried to get Gus to come too, but he immediately jumped at the door to go back in. Jimmy took him in and he was still scared. Jimmy's parents former dog, Hoss, had also not liked fireworks and thunderstorms and he used to get into the bathtub. We thought maybe it would make Gus feel better too. So I have included a picture of our silly dog sitting in the bath tub where he stayed for probably an hour! - Kari

Team Camps and Winning Expectations

As promised many moons ago, I would post some boring basketball news. We are on our last day of team camps. We started at Alta Vista (went 5-1 with the one loss coming against a state semifinalist last year). It was a good time and we learned some things. We've come to NC State to play against the "big boys" and have more than held our own (we're 6-1 here as well, and in the one we lost we gave away a double-digit lead and ended up losing by 4). We've said all week that there is just a different feel when you EXPECT to win rather than hope to win. And this team simply expects to win when they take the court. That confidence and the expectation of winning is going to be big as we continue our development and head into next season. We have gotten a lot out of the last several days (not to mention our individual camp 2 weeks prior to this) but this Coach is ready to be home with his wife and his dog! 210 Tanager Lane will look GOOD tonight!!
-Jimmy

Upcoming changes

Well, summer is finally here! I have had a quite busy week considering its my first week off from work! I try to put all my doctor and dentist visits in the summer so I don't have to take off for them so I spent a lot of time in doctor's offices. I also had my 16 week doctor's appointment for the baby as well. I am going to a practice that has midwives and doctors and opting for the midwives unless something goes wrong and I become a high risk pregnancy. As a part of everything we had the option to join a group of women all at about the same delivery time and have a birthing/parenting class as well as your normal routine check up. Seemed like a good idea to us since many of our friends said the ones they went to at the hospital were worthless. As a part of the time we listen to the baby's heartbeat and don't you know, when I got my turn she couldn't find the heartbeat! Scared me to death! She went and found one of the doctors and we did an immediate ultrasound and there he/she was....hiding just a little further into my pelvis than expected at this point! Needless to say there were a few tears shed! Already teasing mommy! Jimmy wasn't with me because of basketball camp and I told him he was not allowed to miss any more appointments!

This week was crazy basketball camp week for Jimmy. The coaches decided to do both boys camp and girls camp the same week (one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening) so Jimmy has been gone almost all day. I have been helping with the boys camp in the morning by running the concession stand. I get paid a little and I like just being there to at least catch glimpses of my husband! Then I come home and take care of our beloved Gus! Who by the way chewed up a bottle of chocolate syrup on my area rug last week. Other than that he has been pretty good! - Kari

Pure Joy

I'll add to what Kari already said and the pictures below. In trying to describe the experience from Tuesday's doctor's appointment, the only two words that keep coming to mind are PURE JOY. I don't know how any other father experiences hearing a heartbeat and seeing his future child. But that's how this future father did. I've tried to think of what else I've done that compares to it but I'm not sure that anything does. It was the excitement of beating Lee at Lee, the level of emotional experience on our wedding day, and the anticipation of when we first saw Gus at the SPCA but couldn't take him with us all rolled into one experience. That's the best I know to describe it and it was beyond that, but that's the best I got. We will try to do better with our blog but it was hard to write about anything else and we would not allow ourselves to write about being pregnant until we were through that first appointment. We'll do better now, though, with boring basketball stories to come.
-Jimmy

Expectations...

Well, it has been awhile...mainly because the only real excitement in our lives has been under wraps until today. Jimmy, Gus and I will be adding to our family in early December. We are really excited, especially since it took us almost a year to get pregnant. We had our first appointment where we got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. Even at 12 weeks, it is amazing how much is already going on in there! The other part that is extra exciting is that my sister, Emily, and her husband, Jon, are expecting their first child the week after us! It's fun having this experience together! Here are the first pictures of our little one!

We're Back!

Well we made it back late last night from Florida! It was a long day of travel and as you can see both my boys are worn out. Gus is actually asleep like this...he was not caught mid-squirm or anything of that sort. Even though he had fun staying with the boarders, I don't think he slept well the whole trip and he is making up for it today!

It was a good trip, but it is always nice to be back home!

Ready for some sun...

Well, after what has been a tiring last few weeks we are taking off for Florida in the morning. We will be making a stop over in North Carolina to watch the Final Four and spend the night at Jimmy's cousin Larry's. That is my idea of fun, being heckled by two North Carolina fans instead of one....

Then by Sunday afternoon, we will be in the Florida sun! We are taking Gus down with us and boarding him at a place down there. We wanted him close enough to go see if we wanted since we can't keep him at the place we are going to.

Can't wait....

Another Step in the Right Direction

I can't resist updating about our wonderful dog. Gus has been let out twice now in the front lawn with no check cord, no leash, no fenced-in area, nothing (except his new collar). Once was a practice session on "come" and he did great- I only had to buzz him once and never shock him. Tonight was a practice session on going "bye bye." He came out and hopped right in the car. Kari and I are proud puppy parents and I just had to share the news!!
-Jimmy

Coming Around

It's been awhile since I've posted on here. I guess without basketball games to update, I just haven't had much to say. I must admit, the final loss of this season has taken longer to bounce back from than other years. So much mental and emotional energy went into this season that when it was over, there was a hole left that I hadn't experienced previously. I think it's what happens when you coach a great group of kids and when 6 of those kids are seniors and you know that you'll never coach them again. But time is moving forward and we're already beginning to look toward next year- starting our weight lifting and spring programs (AAU, etc.). So we're kicking it in gear and that's exciting. So I'm starting to feel more and more like myself again and that is good.
Another area in our lives that is coming around is Gus. We've had to resort to a static collar, but boy does he listen now! I think he is starting to "get us" and we're starting to "get him" as well. In other words, a bond of trust is beginning to develop. He's such a good boy. He stays inside while we're at work and we've had (knock on wood) no issues. It's great to have a dog to come home to each day. It makes coming home after a long day even more rewarding!
-Jimmy

This Stings

Our season ended tonight. We played a very athletic, quick, and talented team. They shot the ball better than we had anticipated and we had to adjust our game plan because we got behind. We lost the game 68-54 (giving up the most points to an opponent for the season and scoring around 9 below our season average). I'm sure when I look back on this year in a couple of weeks, I will really appreciate how special it was. Right now, though, this loss stings because we did have much higher hopes. Our final record was 24-2- it was a great group of guys to coach. I can say that at this moment without hesitation.
-Jimmy

Region Champs

We are the Region 3, Division 4 champions. After beating Broadway on Friday 65-51, we made the 2 hour trip yesterday to Roanoke to take on William Byrd. We trailed early, 10-5 at the end of the first quarter. From there, though, we simply took over the game. Our defense and our tempo was too much for WB. We outscored them 47-12 in the next 2 quarters and went on to win the game 70-44 to claim Spotswood's first regional crown since 1993. It's on to the State quarterfinals where we play a very athletic and talented Salem team. The good news- they come to us. The game is Saturday at the JMU Convo. The funnest part about the weekend was having my parents and Kari's parents in town for the weekend. It was great to be able to share this moment with them!
-Jimmy

Wear Them Down

I've posted several keys to our victories (defense, hot shooting, etc.) throughout the season. Last night, the key was our team's depth. We trailed by 5 at the half and by 4 going into the 4th quarter. But as the game wore on, you could see Harrisonburg getting more and more tired, and our guys were still fresh. The game plan was pretty simple- press the whole night and run (I mean RUN) on offense every possession- we used the phrase TRACK MEET several times. Harrisonburg gradually just gave in under that intensity and we ended up winning, 70-61. It was a great night for our players- they got to hoist two trophies (regular season and tournament) and they went to receive them as a whole team. Now we play the winner of Jefferson Forest/Broadway in the Regional semi-final. If we win that, we assure ourselves a spot in the State quarter finals. That game is Friday, so I won't post anything else basketball-related until next weekend.
-Jimmy

Survive and Advance

We survived TA last night. We won the game 48-40 but had to come from 10 down in the 3rd quarter to win. It's almost like we're on cruise-control right now, knowing that we have advanced to Regional play regardless (what I don't like about VA's system). For those "basketball heads" reading this, TA played a Triangle and 2 against us and it bothered our offense significantly. However, to still come out with a "W" is what tournament play is about. We play a vastly improved Harrisonburg team for the District title on Friday night. I'll post at some point during the weekend to let everyone know how we do.
-Jimmy

Tourney Time

The regular season has come to a close. What a regular season it was! We finished 20-1 overall, 6-0 in the Massanutten District with a 62-41 victory over Turner Ashby last night. We move into District tournament play, where we face Turner Ashby again in the semi-final. We already have a bid to Regionals, so these next two games are about wanting to win the District tournament and have the claim of out-right District champs. We will need to play better than we did last night in order to accomplish that goal. I'm glad the tournament has arrived- I think our kids will get re-focused and start playing more inspired.
-Jimmy

Achilles Heel????

It sure seemed that way. With just over 5 minutes to go, Fort led 52-43. For the game, they hit a total of 12 3's (most of them were contested- we played good "D", their "O" was just rolling). Somehow, someway, we found a way, though. In the end, the final score was 60- SHS, 57- FDHS. We made some big plays on defense (steals, diving on the floor, taking a charge) and some big shots on offense. Our record improves to 19-1, 5-0 with only 1 regular season game remaining. It will be an emotional Senior Night on Friday. I hope that we're READY for Turner Ashby. I was proud of the way our guys hung in there, continued to battle, and made the plays necessary down the stretch last night. A great effort!
-Jimmy

New Ranking- #1 and a Proud Tradition

The newest version of the State rankings came out late last night. We have claimed the #1 ranking in the state. Once again, this is a huge credit to our players for their hard work. We've got such a GREAT group of kids and I'm so proud that they are getting recognized for their efforts. Now tonight we play Fort Defiance. We're 18-1 and this is the team that is responsible for the "1" in our record. I hope that our kids are ready for a payback game.
On another note, tonight is a proud tradition for our basketball program. Tonight is Academic Night. We start the 5 guys who have the highest semester GPA's, regardless of position, skill level, etc. It is a REALLY cool thing that Coach Edwards started and I'm always proud to be a part of this night when we honor our student athletes for their work in the classroom in addition to their work on the hardwood.
-Jimmy

District Champs

With a 63-49 comeback win (we trailed by, I think, 6 points with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter) we sealed a District regular season title and improved our record to 18-1 overall, 5-0 in District play. It was a great road win- I think our best TEAM win of the year. We had 4 players who scored in double-figures. The GREAT news about it is that it clinches a Regional playoff berth. VA works a little differently than Ohio- the regular season champ in each District is rewarded with an automatic berth to Regionals. This year that automatic bid also comes with a first-round bye, making it even more important. We will "bye" to the Regional semi-final. That's a HUGE step toward making state play (once again VA is different than Ohio in that any team making the Regional Final automatically advances to the State quarterfinals). Still more basketball to be played and more goals to reach. Last night was simply a big first step toward achieving those goals.
-Jimmy

What to say ? ? ?

I haven't updated this since the game on Tuesday against Lee. Partly because it's hard to know exactly what to say. Partly because I'm a coach and I'm busy getting ready for the next one. We completed a season "sweep" of RE Lee. I think we might be the only team that has ever beaten Lee by double-digits 2x in one season (we won this one 59-48). Our team defense and our execution of detail in our defensive game plan was the reason we were able to win. We continue getting better and better on the defensive side of the ball. We're not bad on offense either, but our defense is truly our strength. It feels good to beat Lee, but in the grand scheme of things, tomorrow's game against Broadway is the one that REALLY matters. I hope our kids are focused and bring the energy necessary to defeat a hungry and searching Broadway team.
-Jimmy

Snow Day!

We had a couple snow days last week but they should have called those "ice days." This was our first real snow of the winter so I thought I would take some pictures of it. I love where we live! I love a good day off from school (I think Gus does too). Jimmy went to run some errands, I finished our taxes and tonight we are hoping to still have the big game against Lee. They are number 1 in the state, we are number 2 - and we beat them on their home court in December - make sense? At any rate, should be a good game! - Kari

Improvement

I really don't know what else to entitle this post. Our team is getting better. We played one of our best games of the season, beating Harrisonburg 78-42. We beat them by only 4 last time we played them. The end that we've improved on the most is our defense. We are a lock-down defensive team right now. We've got a tough week coming up. We travel over an hour Monday night to Rockbridge (a game that was rescheduled due to snow) and then play the #1 team in the state on Tuesday night (we're ranked #3). Then we have Broadway AT BHS on Friday night for a clinching District title win. So it should be a very interesting week. Hopefully we can focus in and continue improving as the regular season winds down. I want our team to be playing its best as we head into the tournament.
-Jimmy

Puking, Passing Out= 15-1

In the strangest game that I've ever been a part of (as a player and coach), our boys held on despite miserable shooting (after the events mentioned subsequently) for a 44-36 win over another division rival, Turner Ashby, to improve to 15-1, 3-0 in District play. We jumped out to a 19-6 lead, with two dunks (one a thundering two-hander by our starting center and another one by our starting point guard on a fast break). It was after the second dunk when I guess a player from TA thought he'd had enough, and vomited all over the floor. Needless to say, they had to clean it up. However, it took them nearly 30 minutes before we could actually resume play.
We got playing again and then about a minute into game action, play was stopped again. This time for a message: "If there is a doctor, they are needed immediately in the Spotswood fan section." I guess one of our fans passed out. So play was halted again for about 5 minutes. When play finally resumed we had lost all our momentum and never really got it back. However, we made JUST enough shots to win the game.
It's nice because we are now 3-0 in our District with 2 of the first three being on the road. If we can simply hold home court, we should win the District title and receive an automatic bid and a bye to the Regional playoffs. Now, we just have to remain focused and finish down the stretch. I knew we would have a good team, I just never thought our record would be what it is at this point. Good teams finish strong, and we'll try to continue proving we are worthy of a "good team" title.
-Jimmy

Pink Puppy Paws

How about something non-basketball related? We like to tell our fun or crazy Gus stories, so here is one for today... we have had to leave Gus in the garage, without outside access because he has taken to jumping the fence. We are now moving to tracing the fence with electric fence, but that will take another paycheck and some time. So until then, he is in the garage during the day. Well, we have been really worried about him in there all by himself with no potty breaks so I have been rushing home to let him out. Two good days so far! No mess! We have been thrilled with this and praising him up a storm. So today after work I was petting his cute little face and telling him what a good boy he was...of course, he rolls over to get his belly scratched. When he does this I notice his feet are a different color....pink to deep red. For about one second I thought it was blood and about had my heart and stomach in my mouth...then I looked closely and realized it was pen. I quickly ran through the house looking for my red pen stain. I was not disappointed in my quest....there was a chewed up red pen on the basement carpet. Well, Gus got a lecture the whole time I scrubbed which I am pretty sure he didn't understand, but it made me feel better. And thanks to Oxyclean it did come out amazingly easily....I dare Jimmy to try to find it when he gets home! All stories aside, we do have a really good dog....he is no Marley. I just wouldn't have as much fun telling you about the times where he is good. Not quite as funny.
-Kari

Big Win

The game last night was close for a half, 29-23 at halftime. The second half we blew it open with a huge offensive explosion and lock-down defense. We outscored Broadway 25-8 in the third quarter on our way to an impressive 77-45 victory. Our record improved to 14-1. More importantly, we are 2-0 in our District and in sole possession of 1st place. We've got a week to get ready for TA, another District game, next Friday night. It's another road game so it should be tough. We'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone posted. I'm really proud of the way our kids are playing and even prouder of how they are handling success.
-Jimmy

State Ranked

The AP State polls came out yesterday and we are ranked #2 in the state of Virginia for AA boys basketball. I saw another poll that ranked ALL VA schools (private, prep, and all divisions) and we were ranked #22 in that one. So our team is garnishing a lot of praise. Our challenge as coaches is to keep our team humble and help them realize that these polls don't put banners (district, regional and state champs) on the wall. However, it is nice for us as coaches and for our players to be recognized for hard work, dedication and commitment. I'm very proud of our team.
-Jimmy

Been Awhile

Well, since my last post, we have gone 3-0. We beat Harrisonburg at HHS 61-57. It was a district game and so winning a district game on the road was very rewarding. All district games are extremely important (our next one is this Friday against Broadway). We then had back to back games against Waynesboro. We won at WHS without our starting point guard by 24 and then last night, beat them badly at home (74-22). It was almost uncomfortable winning by that margin. So our record has improved to 13-1, 1-0 in District play.
Mom and dad were down from Friday night until this morning. They're heading to my Aunt Millie's for a couple of days then back to Ohio. It was so nice having them here (the one negative of living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley is that we are distanced from our Ohio friends and family). Rudy and Gus had one minor "incident" then after that, did terrific together. I know that Gus will miss his buddy.
-Jimmy

Close Win

Well, it was close! We beat Stuarts Draft, 59-58, to improve to 10-1. They were a good team on an impressive win streak of their own. But we managed to make JUST enough plays and free throws down the stretch to hold them off. Their kid just missed a half court shot that would have won it for them (rimmed out). So we'll take 10-1 at the halfway point. Friday, we open up District play with Harrisonburg at Harrisonburg. Should be a TOUGH contest.
-Jimmy

Score

Fort: 54, SHS: 52. Sorry- forgot to post that.

First Loss

It was bound to happen sometime. We are now 9-1. We lost our first game to Fort Defiance at Fort. A tough loss suffered by our team to a team that clearly wanted to win the game more than we did. I guess all of us (players and coaches) could use a dose of what Coach E is calling "humble pie." It's good to remember just how fragile the game of basketball can be. We've got Draft on Monday and that should be an interesting game. We won by 6 down there earlier but they are playing really good right now. Should be a good test for us. 9-1 after 10 is still really good, we just have to remain focused and continue getting better.
-Jimmy