Big D

The day after the Wapato loss, Juan and I were talking about our need for height. So we asked the boys who the tallest kid was and they uniformly responded, "Dario." Juan and I checked with the counselor and she added that Dario was a great kid with a kind heart. I know him as he was in my class in kindergarten and I see him and his brother playing around the school.

So Monday at lunch we called him into Juan's room for a sit down. We asked him if we wanted to join the team. He did but wanted to know if our practices would interfere with his Judo practice. Here we are asking Dario to be the big man and deal with bumping bodies and he tells us he is in Judo. Very good news indeed.

Later I heard that at the Monday afternoon recess, Alan was showing Dario how to make lay-ins and free throws. And then on Wednesday Big D showed up for his first practice. Nothing says welcome to Eagle basketball like a mile run.
Then in gym he jumped right in the drills and in the scrimmage worked on getting the ball on the baseline and laying it off the glass.

After practice the boys lined up, Alan was a half a head shorter and the rest of the team was at his neck and some an inch below that. Dario is the Big Man.

When we left the gym I took Dario to his house. I met with his mom and she signed him on the team. She asked why we wanted Dario when we just have two games left. I responded that Dario had two traits we value. First he has a good heart and second he's tall.