There are like six of us that play on the same select team. We've been playing together for a long time. Everyone knows how each other plays.

We're doing really good. I expected us to come in here and beat everyone because we've been practicing really hard. A lot of people don't think we're any good — even people at our school. But they don't really come out and watch us. We have a lot of talent. We've pulled together and we are a whole lot closer than in years before.

It was really painful. I just felt so vulnerable that someone could, with the stroke of a pen, cut me off from my child that way.

We wrapped 467 age-appropriate paperback books for the kids.

These kids are very impressionable. Knowing that, we have to be very conscientious of how we act.

The goal is to expose third-graders to Valley, to show them how cool it is and make them want to work to get here. We started working on this event in October and it went really well.