Mandatory AAU Basketball Rant: Week 7-9

 After two weeks off, dealing with injuries, family functions, and even some COVID quarantining amongst players, the girls were back at it at Spooky Nook outside of Lancaster.  

I think it's official: We're just about ready for a calming down period.  A formal break will never happen unless Maja does move onto volleyball or cross country for junior high, but for the parents and players, I think it's time to just be kids again and make basketball a "sometime' thing again. 

First off, we only got a glimpse of the immensity during our first trip to Spooky Nook.  The basketball tournament had ten courts and we shared space with a volleyball tournament inside, and a field hockey even outside/in a detached dome. 

This time around, the field hockey players were still milling about, but the tournament took up THIRTY courts from 8am-9pm Saturday and 8am-8pm Sunday.  Thanks a LOT of basketball players and families.      

This is Field House 2, where most of the volleyball took place during our last tournament.  Sixteen courts, with a mezzanine in the middle for fans to watch eight courts on each side. 

Masking restrictions have been lifted here in Pennsylvania, and it was odd to see people's faces... and hear parents being parents.  Luckily, folks are still giving each other a wide berth around the complex and teams sort of stayed together.  

Millie: It's a little sad that Millie's team is so good.  They scored more points in their championship game win than most of the teams scored during the entire tournament.  They're 4-3 in championship games in their 7 tourneys this season,  Their losses were to  (1) a regional AAU powerhouse that normally travels the eastern seaboard, (2) a regular competitor that magically added three super tall girls to the roster for the championship game. Those girls were never seen in the division before or since. (3) A team out of York that was fantastic.  The game was well-fought and fantastic all-around, unfortunately we haven't seen them in a tournament since.  I know people love the blowout wins, but part of AAU and all the traveling is to be tested by opponents outside our neighborhood.  Here's hoping York shows up at the next week's tournament for a much needed rematch.

Despite Millie only scoring once or twice a game (at best), she was named Captain for her team.  She was effectively running the defense, so now she gets offensive duties on the court, as well as enough bench time to draw up what's going on for the bench players.  It's a crazy honor for her, and a testament to all the work she's putting in as a student of the game.

Athletic academics aside, she's still the hockey enforcer on the basketball court, ripping balls out of peoples hands, judo tossing girls twice her size on jump balls,  and guarding even bigger girls.  She was so noticeable, that random guys would walk up to us as parents and talk about her play.  To quote one of them, "That girl is simply a menace."  Let's hope it stays on the basketball court and no society in general.

Millie blocking a normal-sized girl's shot.  The small woman amongst girls on the right was her primary target for most of the game.

With 400 teams, most from out of town, and in the early onset of lifted pandemic restrictions, all Lancaster hotels were pretty much booked solid, or charging $250/night, two-night minimum.  Thankfully we found an AirBnB listing of a remodeled 19th century farmhouse a few miles from Spooky Nook that was not only half the price, but was big enough to share the costs with another family.  The hosts were a little quirky, but people remodeling farmhouses and running AirBnBs are required to be a different breed.  

We didn't spend much time there, as the AAU organization was nice enough to host a cook-out and get-together for the teams and parents.  It was nice again to socialize sans mask and see the kids maskless and in street clothes, acting like kids.  

Maja's sixth grade team has already won two more championships than most expected (0), so the goal was to win a third over the last two tournaments.   Their usual combo of zone defense and hustle was ripped apart by a team from Connecticut with tiny players with professional accuracy, hitting of 8 of 10 three pointers, and beating them 37-27.   They're second game was much better, a 32-13 win.  On the Sunday playoff run, we thought they had given a nationally ranked team a 29-18 drubbing, only to discover that the 6th grade team had moved up to play 7th grade, and this was the nationally ranked 5th grade team they beat.  

Unfortunately, the met up against a regular opponent in the semi-finals who were finally full strength since mid-April.  They overwhelmed Maja's team in the  first two minutes to an 8-0 run, it progressed to 22-2 at halftime, and by the time they stopped the bleeding, it was a 37-15 loss.  

They've got one more week to add to the championships, but it looks like they'll be short-handed, plus Maja needs to leave by 2pm Sunday for her final dance recital (ever?)

Maja's played better, adding the first of two amusing stories,  her double plantar fasciitis mention from the last injury was re-diagnosed as actual growing pains.  We know this because she grew a whole two inches in the past two weeks.  She was running at about 85% this week and hopefully she'll be 100% next weekend. 

Second fun story:  As everyone waited for the dreaded hours between games Sunday, most of the girls were watching other teams play, or draining their batteries on their phones.  Maja was called out and praised by a random parent from some other team for being the only girl on a full bleacher of girls to be reading a book.

She had a few good shots, and some sweet assists, but this might be my favorite moment of her this weekend.

Next Week: The final tournament, and we plan for the Summer.