The End of Basketball Season

Basketball season has nearly come to an end!

Basketball season is nearly over for me. I haven’t really shared anything on this blog about my coaching (as I’ve tried to focus strictly on my writing), but basketball is definitely a significant part of my life. As much as I enjoy writing, I don’t have a great deal of time to do so during the season. Basketball season more or less runs from the very end of October to the end of April for me, once you include the regular season, tournaments, and development leagues. 

This season was especially memorable. The middle school team that I coach (which is also the middle school where I teach) finished the regular season with an overall record of 11 – 9. We had a record of 10 – 6 within our conference and finished the season with the Penn State Fayette Jamfest tournament in February. We had two players score over 130 points and our team averaged 35.6 points per game. 

I again served as President of the Mountain Area Basketball League, which serves children from Fayette and Somerset Counties, for a second season. The league enjoyed another year of success. 

I coached three developmental teams within the Turkeyfoot Youth Basketball league. The playoffs and championships for this league will be played Saturday, April 28th. Our teams finished 5 – 1 (boys), 4 – 2 (girls), and 6 – 1 (coed elementary). Videos and photographs from this league can be found online thanks to the Somerset Daily American

Our developmental teams often play as the “Mounties”, which was our former mascot (our entire district became the “Red Raiders” about twenty years ago). With “retro” looks coming back, George Fitzpatrick of Color Wear (a local printer that creates and produces a good part of our athletic gear) and I created the logo below to sort of help bring our own retro look back:

Mounties.jpg

After Saturday, basketball season will be over for me until June. From June to July, we participate in a very brief summer season in Uniontown. My family is incredibly patient with me during the season, there is no question about that (and I greatly appreciate their patience). I’ll miss the game but I’ll will enjoy the time off. 

Team

Author: joshuajscully

That’s my picture up there. I’m not totally sure why I look so angry. I may be thinking about how much I hated the Crypt Keeper as a child. I grew up faithfully watching reruns of The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Unfortunately, I missed the boat in terms of writing for either of those programs. I do consider both to have been wildly influential when I think back to my earliest thoughts about becoming an author and I’m grateful my parents let me watch those shows as a kid (although there were probably some nights early in my childhood my mother wished she hadn’t let me watch those shows). If you’re familiar with either program, then you know what genres are my focus. I thoroughly enjoy science fiction, suspense, the twist ending, and some horror or supernatural elements as well. Honestly, when I was a kid the Crypt Keeper scared the hell out of me. As an adult, I’ve really learned to embrace the puns. Historical fiction is a favorite of mine as well, and the root of that is shared with my profession. I am an educator by trade, and I teach American History. I consider some of the best writing I’ve ever done to be within the realm of historical fiction and I really enjoy saturating my mind in the research end of those projects. I would make the argument that storytelling is in my blood. Even my sister mulled, very briefly (about 45 minutes), launching a career as a screenwriter! My last name is one of those Irish (and, apparently, formally Manx) ones with a wonderfully researched history -“the story-teller’s descendant”. On of the first day of school each year, I do share that “my name is Mr. Scully, and that rhymes with Kelly”, just so I do not hear the myriad of mispronunciations on the first day. Several years ago, I started a blog similar to this one to highlight my middle years as a teacher. If that aspect of my life is of any interest to you at all, you can still find that blog online. During my summers, I really have time to pursue my writing projects and this blog will highlight some of that work. My first attempts to sit down and write extensively occurred when I was 15, but only a few years ago did I make setting time aside to write a priority. I’ve also benefited wildly over the years from many willing readers among my family and friends. The direction and feedback from those individuals has been invaluable. Outside the world of the written word, I am an educator, basketball coach, lecturer, and (very, very occasionally) a landscaper. I have only ever known Western Pennsylvania as my home. Although I love a good novel, I am absolutely unable to resist the power of the short story. The latter is really what I hope to be remembered for one day.

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