Month: November 2025

It took all weekend, three days of basketball and three games on Sunday, when Quin’s Get Better Daily basketball team won a tournament in Palmer. Quin, 10, may have played his best basketball in the championship game, which came right down to the final seconds before being decided.

Quin made a high percentage of shots, including multiple 3-pointers. He defended well, shared the ball well, handled the ball well and rebounded the ball well. All was well, for sure, even the worthy competition.

The team GBD beat 24-20 was from Fairbanks and one of the best youth teams I’ve seen. A fiercely competitive bunch who played smart and made a few 3-pointers of their own, they never let up, even when Quin’s GBD squad was building toward a double-digit lead. Such a commanding lead was never reached and GBD led by just two with seconds remaining when Aso, a teammate of Quin’s stole the ball and took it in for a game-sealing bucket.

There were many similar exciting moments throughout the weekend. Much credit is due to all the kids who participated and produced a thrilling competition.

November of 2025 has arrived and with it a sports schedule for Quin that causes old people like me to feel phantom pains. It seems he is either skating or dribbling all waking moments of each and every day. I’m not sure how he ever goes to school, but I’ve heard tell he does go enough to win awards there and even attend parties with other kids.

His sports schedule is busy enough for Quin to have recorded a hat trick in a hockey victory and drained several 3-pointers on the basketball courts. Currently competing in a Palmer basketball tournament all weekend, Quin’s GBD squad is undefeated through two games at the time of writing this post.

The purpose of this post is not to provide scores and highlights, however, but just to get some kind of update on the board to document that the winter of 2025 is full of good stuff from Quin.

I receive high quality video highlights from Laura the videographer. I’m saving them for a later post, maybe around the first of the year. Quin continues to astonish with his vast improvements in basketball. The 10-year-old can dribble with both hands like a circus juggler, tickle the twine with feathery touch and play defense like a badger guarding its den.

His tireless work ethic is to thank, no doubt, as well as strong guidance from GBD coaches that have shown him some new tricks. Having attended most of his basketball games in person, I can vouch for everything I’m writing.

I haven’t been to a hockey game yet, but I hear Quin’s shot is deadlier than ever and that he stealthily skates to strategic zones in hunt for new scoring opportunities. He even puzzles coaches by shooting and scoring right where they told him not to.

The Holidays are lined up to provide plenty of sporting fun for all as Quin’s 11th year speeds along.