Un"BEAL"ievable!!

Not since Jeremy Maclin, the sizzling Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, (who just happened to be in the gym tonight) led the Pioneers to the Final Four has an athlete of this caliber displayed his talents on the hardwood at KHS!  I had seen highly-touted Bradley Beal play as a sophomore, and thought he was good, but didn't quite get all the hype. . . well, now I get it!!  The kid can do it all. . . handle it, hit the 3, defend, and there's little doubt that he can get to the rim and finish with authority!  The Championship Game is at 2:00pm today as Beal's Chaminade squad takes on our very own Pioneers, who have cruised into the final with two 20+ point victories.  If you like high school sports, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you miss out on this one. . .

Kirkwood beat Duschene in the other semi-final game.  Lawrence Williams was a beast on the boards, and even had a rebound/transition/assist to Ben Crancer for a "3"!  "Larry" always plays hard and is just a good kid.  It's fun to see him have success.  My player-of-the-game, however, was #12 Mike McDowell.  Like Larry, he is just relentless, but what impresses me most is his self-control.  I think he has one of the best basketball demeanors I've ever seen.  He never gets frazzled and always maintains his composure, even when he receives an unnecessarily hard foul.  Way to go, Mike!!

The Pommies added to the festivities, as they perfomed their colorful "80's Routine" as they continue to prepare for their trip to Nationals in Orlando in February.  Keep up the good work, ladies!

C'mon out and root on your Pioneers as they go for a Championship, today at 2:00pm. . . Football can wait!

Denver Miller Tournament Kicks Off

The Denver Miller Basketball Tournament kicked off at Kirkwood High School tonight.  #1 seeded Chaminade handled Jennings, while the #2 seeded Kirkwood Pioneers dismantled Metro.  Duschene topped Riverview, while Eureka beat Normandy by 1.  

Tomorrow's bracket includes Metro vs. Riverview, Normandy vs. Jennings, Kirkwood vs. Duschene, and Chaminade vs. Eureka.

Chaminade boast one of America's finest high school players in Bradley Beal, while Kirkwood has one of the area's top freshmen in Evan Booker.    

Wrestlers Grapple with Webster and WIN!!

It was my first wrestling match in almost 2 years, and I can't understand why it's been so long between matches. . . Wrestling is almost like cross country in a way;  not a ton of people go to watch, but those who do realize they have seen something special.  (And I hope they tell their friends to come watch!)  I was watching several early matches and thought to myself, "Hey, that's just what every day is like for me!"  You struggle, and run into obstacles and you can either quit or keep fighting.  These kids certainly chose the latter option, and kept battling even when things weren't going their way.  The Pioneers came out on top on the scoreboard, but it was hard to see any losers.

They'll go back to practice tomorrow and use tonight's match as a learning experience and continue to put in the mind-numbing hours of work it takes to reach their goals.  Thanks for the inspiration, fellas!  Keep Working!!

  

Gunn Family

I headed over to my friend, Bill Gunn's house in Fenton on an unusually balmy (temp. in the 60s!)  New Year's Eve Day to take some family photos.  Bill has a great family, and we had a good time getting some fun pics.  We headed outside, but that session was cut short as a thunderstorm rolled in.  I left shortly thereafter, and as I turned on to 141 to head North towards home, I was caught in some traffic.  I noticed the church had damage to it's roof and a tree was torn up, and then the ambulance and police started arriving.  Traffic stopped and I got out of the car and saw a car (pictured below) flipped over.  It wasn't until later that day that I learned an F3 tornado had passed through town and done tremendous damage.  It was reported that there were no major injuries or deaths in town, so I can assume the people in the car were ultimately OK.  Several homes were completely destroyed, however.  It proved to be a New Year's Eve that will be long remembered. . .

 

Meramec Holiday Tournament 2010

The Meramec Holiday Tournament is consistently one of the best, most competitive basketball tournaments in the area.  This year was no exception, with Hazelwood Central proving to be the cream of the crop.  They are an explosive team that can get up and down the floor with the best of them, and if you make a mistake, they WILL capitalize on it.  

The Pioneers had to do battle without starting point guard, Ben Crancer, who was out with a wicked combination of the Flu and Strep Throat.  Justin Byrd did a nice job filling in, and showed that he has some toughness, hitting two free throws to seal the Pioneers victory over a much-improved Lindbergh squad.  

Watching talented young people play a game they love is not a bad way to spend a holiday week. . . 

Holidays

It's been a super-busy time of the year as the first semester of school ends and the kids take their final exams.  I was lucky this year, as I had no finals on the last day, so I was able to shoot All-State Band and Orchestra members and do some other fun stuff.  

The music program at Kirkwood is hard to believe.  Every year numerous kids qualify for All-State.  This year, in the All-State Band alone, Kirkwood has 17 individuals!!  Here Beth and Hannah ham it up.  These are two outstanding young ladies.  They both excel in the classroom, are amazing runners, and obviously outstanding musicians, but most importantly are just wonderful people.

In addition to the All-State stuff, I've really enjoyed shooting some Holiday sessions with kids from school.  They plan on giving the photos as gifts to their parents.  

The Dyroff girls were dynamite, and we got lucky to have scheduled our shoot on the day it snowed a couple of weeks ago.  We did some stuff inside, then ventured down to the train station in downtown Kirkwood.  It was FREEZING and windy and the snow was blowing so we had to work fast, but I think we got some cool images from it, and we had some good laughs as well.

Allie and her brother Jake lit up the room.  You can tell they're appreciative of each other as siblings and seem to get along really well.

Olivia has a birthday this week and decided she wanted to have a photo shoot with some of her close friends.  I got to meet Olivia, Sophie, Grace, and Shannon.  They were a lot of fun, and came out of their shells early on to really "work the runway".  You girls are fortunate to have each other as friends!

The Moran sisters were Marvelous.  They are beautiful and fun to be around.  Lots of smiles and laughter.  Thanks for hanging out. . .

Delaney is a student of mine and needed to get some promo shots done for her body-building competition.  I had no idea she was as graceful as she was.  It made me wonder what hidden talents all my other students have.  You just never know what's inside of people, and if you let them, they can pleasantly surprise you.  

Thanks for reading.  Have a wonderful Holiday!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. . .

Borrowing from the famous Christmas Carol, the Lieschen Fink Dance Recital certainly puts you in the Holiday spirit.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year!  Nothing beats watching kids you know dance and laugh and smile.  It's always a great night, and this year was no exception.  Adding to the fun were the large number of boys who decided to take the class this year.  They did an outstanding job.  Tony F. is a natural, but Twigo just might have stolen the show.  

This was Dr. Fink's farewell performance, as she has announced her retirement.  Well, you went out hitting a "walk off". . .  Way to go!  

And thanks to all the dancers. . . what a fun night!!  You were great!!