Playhouse 395‘s production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” just finished its three-week run at the Dorothy Joseph auditorium in Bishop, and it was a wonderful success.  Gracie was in it, of course, and the production itself was the most professional, with the best performances yet put on stage by the company.

It was a magnificent show, with great dancing, fantastic singing, and all kinds of surprising technical effects.  It’s truly amazing how much local talent there is right here in Bishop to put on such a show.  The music was played live by Dan Daugherty and a talented pool of musicians.

The lead was played by none other than one of Joey’s soccer coaches and high school teacher Jeff Pratt.  Gracie was in the twenty-five person children’s choir.  The songs were so catchy I keep humming them in my head, and I can’t stop!  Go Go Joe!

Anyway, it was the best production they’ve done, and I hope they continue to put on great shows and encourage the arts right here in Bishop, California.  Congratulations to Gracie, and *everyone* who volunteered for Playhouse 395.  It was just the best.  Thank you!

Joe Griego

The Bishop U12 boys AYSO select team traveled to the Lancaster National Soccer Center in Lancaster, CA for the Quartz Hill Shootout soccer tournament over the weekend. We weren’t sure what to expect, as we haven’t played any big teams from Southern California before.

It turned out that we had the most difficult draw in the tournament!  The first team we played was from San Fernando Valley.  We lost that one 2-1, but played quite well.  Jerrod Dossey scored in that one from an excellent strike fed by Elijah Alexander.  The second match was against Downey, and we lost 3-1.  We conceded two goals in the last quarter, having been beaten by fast breaks.  Joey scored in that one from a great strike outside the penalty area that caught the keeper by surprise.  The last qualifying match was against Valencia, and we tied 1-1, on a penalty kick by Elijah Alexander in the final minute of the match.  Every other team in our flight failed to win a match, so we advanced to the medal round on goal difference.

We met Valencia again in the 3rd place medal match.  This time, we played much better, defeating Valencia 2-1 to capture 3rd place in our division.  So guess who the 1st and 2nd place teams were?  San Fernando Valley and Downey – the two teams we had to play in qualifying.  So our qualifications were the toughest draw, but it was a good experience for our boys.

None of the teams we played exhibited the tactical skill and touch of the Bishop boys.  Of course, I’m biased, but every team we saw only played the long-ball strategy – that is, they sent their biggest, fastest boys up front and kept booting the ball forward hoping to catch our defenders off guard.  This will work at the youth level, but without teaching the touch and foot skills that they’ll need at higher levels of play, they will never get better.  I was gratified to see that as our boys grow and catch up size-wise to other regions, they will have superior foot skill and tactical ability.  It was a good experience which validated the strategy of Bishop soccer to develop players, rather than concentrate solely on winning matches.  Bishop boys play better tactical soccer than any teams we saw at Quartz Hill, so that was fun to see.

Click on the photo above to see the photo gallery from the Quartz Hill Shootout tournament.

Joe Griego

Gracie is nine years old today. It hardly seems that long ago. She had a fairy-themed birthday party on Saturday, and you can click on the photo to view the whole gallery. We had a house full of fairy girls, and while it was chaotic, it was also pretty fun. The girls created their own fairy masks, played pin-the-wings-on-the-fairy, ate cake and ice cream, and ran around the house squealing. Mochi *loved* chasing after the girls, and nipping at their fairy dresses.

Our little baby Gracie will be old enough to drive in seven years, can vote in nine more years, and will graduate high school in 2018. Hard to imagine, huh? Anyway, enjoy the photos.

Joe Griego