GSIS 10 Year Anniversary Yearbook: Memories | Page 47

2008 “Basketball was huge a success.” GSIS had over 30 third, fourth, and fifth-grade students participate, and hosted TCIS for a jamboree. Afterwards everyone went swimming. 2012 Donghee Han (Class of 2020) is currently in eighth-grade. He still plays basketball and is planning to continue playing. “When I saw the young students play, the excitement was still real.” Jaho Koo (Class of 2013) 2013 2009 Class of 2016 John Park played elementary basketball during his fifth-grade year. Even though he did not play in high school, he did continue to play soccer and became captain of the team. GSIS Elementary School basketball continued to grow rapidly. With about eight student coaches and three coaches, the 30 elementary students in the basketball team enjoyed learning and playing the sport. 2015 2010 I have got players on there who don’t have a lot of sport activity in their background, a few that never played basketball, and some who are very serious about basketball. For each one of them, you see them come together.” - Mr. Kaiser 7 6 8 9 In elementary basketball Mr. Kaiser, Mrs. Mikki Yoon, and senior Kwon Jun Lee were involved in the Basketball Sport. Joshua Laroche, a fourth grader, said, “Mr Kaiser was the most helpful. He helped us with dribbling, shooting, lay ups and more.” Although Mr. Kaiser taught important basketball skills, he emphasized teamwork rather than technique. Regardless, Mr. Kaiser still taught the players some basketball skills such as shots and a movement called “beef.” In beef, players focus on the ball to stop the opponents who try to steal it. Additionally, as students practiced Mr. Kaiser said he occasionally interrupted them to give suggestions for improvement. The students went over the fundamentals of basketball and team work. Moreover, the students were very enthusiastic about basketball. Even though the players only had an hour to practice they worked really hard and were satisfied. The players had to focus during practice to keep up with the challenging exercises. At times the students became frustrated, but their determined spirit kept them going. Joshua Laroche said, “I’m going to improve my layups and dribbling by practicing during the week and basketball practices.” Some players showed incredible improvement in their basketball skills. Mr. Kaiser talked about a fifth grader who struggled in basketball who asked him for help. Although at first she struggled at shooting the ball properly, after following Mr. Kaiser’s instructions for several more practice sessions, she made a perfect shot. It sank right into the net and Mr. Kaiser said that her face expressed, “Wow, look what just happened!” This amazed both Mr. Kaiser and the girl who made a basket. Elementary basketball was difficult and tiring, but also enjoyable for everyone. Students showed growth and teamwork under the coach’s guidance. 10 Basketball After School Activity Top Row: Coach Hughes, OSAN Guest Student, Coach Hughes; Middle Row: Kanak Bhuwlka, Brain Jeen, Ethan An, Thomas Hughes, Vinayak Chopra, Ayushi Gupta, Nirvika Gupta; Bottom Row: Andy Dang, Nathan Ryu, Natsuba Suzuki, Masataka Shimokawa, Sameeksha Vashishtha, Helena Chin, Disha Mahesh, Pranav Pattan, Akihito Koyama, Joshua Laroche, Max Chin Basketball Sport 11 Top Row: Ayushi Gupta, Keahi Brumsickle, Kai Thomas, Kaleb Kim, Abhinav Jha, Akihito Koyoma; Middle Row: Trisha Palli, Nivirka Gupta, Emily Hong, Etlam Sharavya, Coach Kaiser; Bottom Row: Joshua Laroche, Saran Watanabe, Philip Cho, Hyung Wook Ku, Pranav Pattan 47 _GSIS Yearbook-ES_Part 1.indd 47 4/16/16 10:46 PM