Summer Ball, by Mike Lupica

                Summer ball is a sequel to a book I read earlier in the year called Travel Team, I also wrote a blog post on Travel Team. Summer ball is written by Mike Lupica, and it is about Danny Walker who loves playing basketball, it is his life; the only problem is that he is considered short in the sport of basketball. Even though Danny is short for the game he is the best in his town, he lead his team to the national championship, where they won. But he only ever wants to improve, to do so he leaves his town for the summer and goes off to a summer camp that’s all about basketball; it is called Right Way basketball camp. Immediately he feels out of place, he is forced to look up at everyone because of his small size. Before the practices even start he is worried that he doesn’t have what it takes to be good enough here, he thinks he’s going to look horrible compared to everyone else. Danny is lucky he is not alone; he has two of his team mates with him, Will and Ty. This camp isn’t like a camp where you sign up and get to go, it’s where they ask you if you want to come and learn from the best; this means everyone there will be amazing at what they do.

                Danny might have gone with his friends, but when they got further into the camp they figured out that Danny was going to be in a different cabin. This scared Danny, he isn’t a kind of guy who goes up to people and makes friends easily. Luckily for him there was a kid in his cabin who acted just like Danny his name was Zach. Danny’s hard time at camp got worse whenever he saw the kid who made the tournament last year hard for him, Rasheed. They had to face off yet again. Danny doesn’t know whether he wants to leave or not, the camp isn’t what he expected, he HATES it. Danny is not the type of kid that gives up when something is tough; he sticks it out, works with his team and along with Zach Danny starts to enjoy his experience at camp. In the end he stays, learns a lot and enjoys more things than he did in the beginning.

Reasons to Skip School

                School Tournaments: When your school is having a tournament it should be a free day basically. There is no reason why you should not miss class to go cheer for your own school. And hey sportsmen ship counts we should also cheer for the other teams who really don’t have anyone. This is reason number one.

                Sick Days: This kind of day is nothing you can help, you get them every once and a while but it should definitely not be punished by being an absence. Everyone gets sick and not everyone is faking it just the 2 percent.

                Free Days: Every student should be allowed a free day every once and a while. This should be given to the students by the parents but the school should definitely allow it. I think that everyone would encourage this, even those kids who LOVE going to school and LOVE studying will encourage this.

                Suspension: Is this type of punishment really that bad. I mean you get to skip school for however many days. Maybe you miss some important lectures but honestly who listens anyway. Honestly why do teachers make this a punishment if I ever get suspended my parents will be mad but I will be very happy, just another free week.

                That your dying: So every now and then there is that kid that gets diagnosed with a life and death situation from their doctor and their parents make them go to school and say “it’ll be a good time for you to be with your friends.” WHAT!!! No if anything it should be that you should get your friends out of school and you all go to an amusement park or something.

                The Hunger Games Premier: This movie is only the greatest thing in theaters right now, it might have premiered during the weekend but the schools should give the Monday free so we all have time to go watch it yet again. This will let this have enough money to make another movie if not better then just as good.

                Listening: NO ONE LISTENS ANYWAY

                Birthday: Why one earth would someone have to go to school on their birthday. It is a celebration and school is the opposite of being a celebration. You should go out with your parents and friends and just goof off the whole day.

Never Trust Your Parents!!

So I and my little sister wanted to get two of my cousins to come visit for my sister’s graduation, but it was supposed to be a surprise for her. When we told our mom we knew that it wasn’t a great idea, but we did it just because we had to. It was one week after telling the secret to my mom and she blew it, she told my oldest sister that people were coming and she even said one of their names. But she was smart enough not to tell her the other name. One week left, just one week until the surprise was coming and my mom blows it all, she tells my oldest sister the name of the second cousin coming. I’ve always known that my mom is not trust worthy, but I thought she might have actually been able to keep this one. I was so mad because it was a surprise from my little sister and me and my MOM just had to screw it up. Parents can’t ever be trusted with secrets; their minds are too old to keep them. Learn to find out which parent is more trust worthy, then tell them things but keep it from the other parent, there will always be one who can keep secrets better than the other. But make sure that if you don't completely need to tell them whats on your mind or a secret then just don't. 

I'm not saying never talk to your parents about things because it is healthy for you to because if it is something they know that you 100% don't want people to know then they will most likely keep it to themselves. Parents help in many ways, they just annoy their kids A LOT.

Irlen Syndrome

Most people who have dyslexia will also have Irlen syndrome. Irlen syndrome is a disease that deals with the connection from your eyes to your brain. Someone who has Irlens will look at a white piece of paper and the words will move around. Most people actually have this syndrome but they won’t know it because most doctors do not notice it in a normal checkup. Also most people who have this think that everyone reads that way; they think that the words move around the page for everyone; but in reality it is only happening to the people that have this syndrome.

The only way to have a temporary resolution for this problem is to wear these special glasses. The glasses that must be worn are not normal; they are actually all different colors. The reason this helps is because the syndrome is caused by the rays of some sort of light bouncing off the white paper back into your eyes, this causes a distraction for your eyes and that is why when a reader looks at a paper the words start to move around or they skip from line to line or even just around the pages. To counter act this the glasses come into effect, they glasses dim the reflection of the light and helps the person with this syndrome read, right and do anything else.

Effects without glasses

•      Getting lost in writing
•          Words move
•          Skipping lines
•          Mixing up numbers
•          Poor depth perception
•          Sevier headaches
•          Light headed
•          Hard to multitask

I do have this syndrome; I was the first to be diagnosed with it. The only reason I ever figured out about it was because one of my teachers had it and she did some small tests on me with reading then from there she told me to go to a real doctor that studies this and then I was diagnosed with it and I started to use the glasses and I saw a huge improvement. Before I was diagnosed my grades were always not as good as I thought they could be but once I started to use my glasses I started to notice that I was studying for less time and having better results with my grades. I myself have always played sports on for some reason I would play better when no lights were on than when someone would turn the lights in the gym on. This is because the syndrome also affects your depth perception because of the lights; it has the same effects as if you are reading. I have never used my glasses when I play sports but I'm sure it might help, luckily the sports I'm in right now do not force me to use the lights so I am still able to do my best possible. I would recommend ever teacher to be taught something about this so they can recognize if a kid has Irlen Syndrome.

Formal Clothes for a PARTY

I am originally from the US but because of my dad’s job I have moved around a lot to new places and new experiences. Well now I like in Venezuela, this is my fifth year here and probably my last. I am at the age where everyone is starting to turn fifteen. Here that is a very special age for most girls and some guys because they get to have a quince. A quince is like a sweet sixteen in the US but usually more formal. By more formal I mean the boys have to wear tuxedos and a bow tie and the girls have to wear long formal dresses with high heels. Usually if you are not wearing the appropriate clothes then you will not get in. This usually isn’t such a big problem for girls since they love to dress up and look as nice and possible formal as they can. I just think that it is weird how it has to be soo formal for one party. I would be ok with just wearing a suit and tie but wearing a tuxedo and bow tie is a bit extreme.

                It is usually because it is a tradition for the people attending the party to wear formal clothing but once the party starts the only thing that is the same for most quinces is the beginning. In the beginning there is usually a slideshow of how the child who is now 15 has grown up and what she looks like now. Then the father, cousins and grandfathers all start to dance with the person that the party is for. After that the parents and family members stay for almost the whole time. Most of the time the parents who are paying for the party invite their friends and they do whatever they like.

                I really don’t know why we have to wear formal clothes to such a big party. Sometimes it is kind of cool because we are able to act older for the time that we are at the party. I think that this is the main reason why we have a wear formal clothes because in Latin countries this is the right of passage with a girl becomes a woman and this is supposed to make her feel older, and to do that everyone has to were the best look clothes. 

3 Teams, One Day, One winner

                Last weekend there was a small basketball tournament with only three teams, it was being held at our rival school so we were forced to dominate. This was the first tournament of the season; the cuts for the team weren’t even made yet.

Game One:

The home team, the rival school, the start of the tournament. This game seemed like it would direct the rest of the tournament. The ball went up for the jump; we won it. Great start; but the actual start was horrible there was no score after about three minutes. Then finally a fast break and we scored. From there the score went up, well our score went up but the same could not be said for the other team. At the half the score was low but we were up from 3-11 we were winning. Our half time talk was just telling us to not cream them too much, but it looked like the other coach pretty mad. Half time was over and we went back on the court, it seemed like there was no change. The only difference I saw was us taking it a bit slower. The final score ended up being 37-11 we won.

Game Two:

                This game was not supposed to be such a big shut out. We had played this team two months ago; we had lost by at least twelve points. Unlike our first game this game started off fast pace and we had the first basket again. The other school did make it hard for us to score but we kept up with them. They started off rough and there were fouls on the first ten drives. That was the only way we were scoring. At the half we were up by two points with the score being 14-12. This half time talk was about a new defense, we had to learn it in ten minutes. When the game was back on they made no changes and our new defense confused them and they were unable to penetrate it and score. My team had a lot of fast breaks and easy baskets. We kept on increasing our lead. At the end of the game were had the comfortable lead of over 20. The final score was 32-54. This gave us a break, then after the break we would have to have the final.

Game Three (THE FINAL):

                The break was a curse; all the starters were sore and just didn’t feel like moving let alone playing a basketball game. I would have rather played a game right before it than have a break, that way we would have been warmed up and ready. The game started off the same as our second game, same speed, same team, and same people and close to the same score. After the first courter the foul calling just kept on getting worse and worse it was as if we were being beat up rather than being beat. Our best player was elbowed and he was dropped to the flour; he had to sit out for a good amount of time. The worst part of that was that there wasn’t even a foul called. The score at the half was 21-18 we were losing. The half time talk was more of us trying to forget the first half and start over. The second half started and it was horrible, it was as if the people playing had never played together. We were all mad at each other and we all thought we had to make shots even if they seemed impossible. This made the score go bad. We ended up being down by almost 25. With only three minutes left our coach seemed as if he gave up; he put all the subs of the subs in and the other team was not letting up, their coach seemed like the only one on the team that really was a good sport. The final score was 58-28. They had won the trophy and acted horrible about it too.

We were all ok because this tournament wasn’t the most important but. We went there to win we were unable to do that but we did beat the home team which was good enough. This was more of a warm up for our bigger more important tournaments that we have in March. 

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

Travel team is a great story for anyone that likes sport book, or just sports in general. I have read a number of books by this author, his name is Mike Lupica. He has easily become my favorite author. Every book he writes has a great message that any sports player could relate to, all of his books are about sports. His writing style is easy to understand, but complex at the same time. The way he does this is by using easy to understand words and describes a number of things; but he also has hidden meanings in some things a character would say.

                Travel team is well written and has a great message behind it that can be related back to anyone who really thinks about it and understands. This book is about a young boy named Danny Walker AKA double crossover. Double crossover is a term used in basketball which is Danny’s sport. Danny is a very talented young man when it comes to basketball; the only problem is that he is very short. His height gives him fast speed and great agility, his height also affects the way he can shoot and do other things in basketball.  Danny was encouraged to try out for his towns travel team; at first he was hesitant but then after his friends and family talked to him about it he tried out. When he got to the try outs he looked around and everyone was way taller than him. Danny was cut from the team because the coach said that he was too short even though he was much better than some of the kids that were not cut. After Danny was cut he felt like quitting basketball for good. His father Ritchie Walker who used to be a professional basketball player came back to visit and ended up staying for a while. Up until this point Danny’s father did not stay for very long, he and Danny’s mom were divorced for many years. When Danny's dad finds out he was cut from the travel team and was willing to quit they both come up with the idea of making a team with just the people that were cut from the travel team and whoever else wanted to join, they were not going to turn anyone away. The only problem with this idea was that the coach Danny’s father has a drinking problem and has trouble focusing. The greatest part of this team is the mentality they have; they are the kids that are the underdogs, the ones who want to prove everyone wrong. The kids on the actual travel team now think they are the best and have to show nothing more, but the underdogs have nothing to lose only everything to gain. That’s only half of the story; I'm not one to spoil things for others so if you want to know what happened in the end you will have to read it yourself.

                ­­­­­­in my opinion this book could not have shown a better message for kids and athletes. I was reading about Mike Lupica and I read that this had some truth behind it because it is what happened to Mike Lupica’s son. This is interesting because it makes it more interesting and makes the message more powerful. The message that I'm talking about is don’t take criticism so seriously, if someone tells you that you don’t have the right height, weight, look or talent. Then don’t take it to heart, that is not written in stone and that is just someone’s opinion not a hard fact. The situation can always change. The book illustrated how weak someone can be when something goes wrong, but then everything is turned around and towards the end it shows how mentally strong one person can be and how important good friends and family are. This book is great for everyone because everyone has been told they were not good enough at least one time in their life and if they haven’t yet they will soon. It is part of life to be told you’re not good enough, that’s wrong the wrong this is actually listening to it and quitting at whatever you were trying to accomplish.