Last week I gently complained about a walk up a hill or a 20 minute drive. What a foolish mammal I was!
Last weekend's tournament was labelled King of Prussia, but I've yet to find a game that actually took place in that zip code. The 8am simultaneous games for Millie and Maja were gone, thank God, but they now had 3:10, 4:20, and 5:30 games, each one playing at sites 35-40 apart. We took separate vehicles to divide and conquer, my wife took Maja's games, right by our hotel outside Lansdale, and I took Millie's all the way in Malvern.
Millie's game started amazing and kept getting better. Millie grabbed the opening jump ball, dribbled to the basket, was pushed mid-dribble, and proceeded to the make the first shot of the game from her knees.
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| Off the scoreboard, around the snackbar, nothing but net. |
She had 6 of the first 7 points and was relaxing on the bench to let the other girls get a chance.
Final Score: Clutch 30 Diamonds 0.
Game two for the day was against one of the better programs in the Philadelphia area. This was the team that Maja "broke" her wrist against when she played 4th grade ball, so I knew they were good back then. Then I remembered that Maja's team was down to four, so 2nd grade Millie was given a jersey and took here sister's place for the rest of the tournament.
And while the game against that program was a blow-out, Millie ended up being the leading scorer.
I did learn that I do not like the team's parents when things do not go our way. I'm used to hearing abuse on the refs, but the general commentary of the parents to their own kids is simply ridiculous.
Yet another unhealthy reminder, Welcome to AAU.
In the end, the girls kept it close and kept pulling away in what I expected to be the highest scoring contest for the weekend.
Final Score: Clutch 40, District One 30.
Forty minutes or so away, Maja's team was overcoming their own odds against some pretty good competition. Balls were not bouncing their way early, but they clawed back to two victories, winning their 6th grade pool, and advancing to the semis on Sunday.
Final Score: Clutch 22, Comets 18
Final Score: Clutch 27, Sonics 24
Millie's Division moved super fast, and even with my wife and Maja needing to leave to drive back home for Maja's dance competition, I managed to swing a super-quick visit to The Compleat Strategist. I almost regretted my actions, as the main road the store is off of has been the bane of my driving in the area over the years, but apparently all traffic ground to a standstill in KoP around dinnertime. We still made it to the hotel by Maja's site before the pizza arrived.
My wife and Maja made the trek up for the dance competition and got back before midnight. No giant trophy, but their routine on video looked spot on, at least to this dancing fool.
Sunday was another logistical nightmare. Games were at the same sites, but Maja had her semis at 10:20, if she won the finals were at 12:40. Millie had here semis at 1:50 and finals at 4:10. With the long commute, we expected to watch Game 1 together, divide and conquer the kids, and end up together for 4:10.
Maja's team made things easier for us. While neither team could make a bucket, the Clutch were particularly horrendous. I think if my calculations were right, they may have shot 6% in the first half. I was honestly worried they would be subject to the mercy rule in the second half, but they climbed out of the deficit and came up short at the end.
Final Score : In the Zone 26, Clutch 21
Amusing fact: Maja faced this program two years ago (prior to her wrist injury). If memory serves me right, they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in that game as well, but only lost by a handful.
With out schedule conundrum solved, we ventured down to the Phelps School in Malvern, stopping by Five Below for the girls, and Trader Joes for my wife.
The 4th graders had an easier time in their semis, only playing the 2nd place team out of the other pool. While it wasn't a shutout, it was a solid win to move on to the finals
Final Score; Clutch 39, Chargers 13.
In the Finals, Clutch did not get the upper hand early. In fact, even the parents forgot that pressing was allowed at all times in this tournament (even though they did it on Saturday). The Comets were relentless on their full court press, and rotated in their entire bench of twelve. If it were a boxing match, the Comets scored an two early knockouts and despite the best of adjustments by Clutch, won the rounds to a demanding 39-17 victory.
My only complaint of a 2nd place finish against an obviously superior opponent? Their coach went into "the speach" that I dread. Refusing to admit to a shellacking from a better team, and criticizing the players for general lack of effort, or heart. I have heard that speech from pee-wee baseball and up through all sports, from my coach and overhearing the other team's coaches. It's a speech that rarely goes over with any players, because the reality is the other team is simply superior, and no amount of grit, guts, hustle, spirit, or elan is going to get you closer on the scoreboard, especially when the effort they're putting out is resulting in more injuries than scores.. And the video online doesn't lie. They only had one play to break a press, and once the other team saw it enough, they simply started the motions before Millie's team did. It's fourth grade basketball, and a one-trick pony offenses and defenses work until someone stops them. Here's hoping they know what to do if and when they meet up again. Considering I've shown up for practice more to hear the coach's pre-practice speeches, for good and bad performances, I was disappointed with the direction she took.
Outside of those two or three minutes post-game that stuck in my craw for the past week it was a good weekend, capped off by a quick visit to the King of Prussia Mall and an Runner-Up dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Victory may be sweet, but that hamburger was more delicious that it deserved to be.
Next Up: Mother's Day Weekend Tournament
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