Father's Day is sacred ground in this house. Not for some gala celebration, but a few low-key activities I have with both kids and the fact that, outside of breakfast, I stay at home.
First strike: An unscheduled tournament pops up at Spooky Nook on Father's Day weekend.
Second strike: Only Millie's team has enough players available, so I'll be stuck with a moody teenager (Maja) skulking about the complex all weekend.
Third strike: The championship game for 5th grade is late enough that we won't salvage our annual tea party/game day. I can do my best impression of a moody teenager too.
The best positive of the weekend was that is was all-girls, which doubled the rosters and attracted teams from Massachusetts, Ohio, and into the Deep South. Of course, the 11th Grade Division had 86 teams.
5th Grade? Only 8, divided into two pools of 4. And we quickly discovered the top three teams were stuck in pool A.
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| The whole weekend felt like this play |
The team's first opponent was the odd man out of the A pool. Most of the local lower-division teams didn't make an appearance, didn't want to pay the exorbitant entrance fee, or found a tournament on their own level. These poor guys didn't know what hit them, as the 44-4 win started a weekend where they would be outscored 10-118. The parents cried poor sportsmanship, but when it's the second half of June and some teams are looking towards various national tournaments, if not the AAU/UAA Nationals themselves, the only mercy granted is the running clock after a 20-point lead.
The second game verified the effectiveness of my Power Index. New Heights NYC was #4 on last weeks rankings, and with the exception of a national tournament in April, my results were accurate. All athletic players, with a Top 5 point guard leading them, the game was so intense that it went to double overtime.
I don't usually link, the Youtube videos the organization posts, but the girls' games usually get posted later in the week. This one got uploaded that night:
Spoilers, Millie's team won 45-42, on some miraculously unlucky foul shots by the other team.
Sunday morning wasn't going to be a cakewalk. They faced a team from Massachusetts that wasn't top team, and not the 2nd best team in New England, but the team that faced those teams every weekend, and every once in awhile, won a couple against them. They had nearly rallied to tie up their game with New York, after being down by 18, so not a single soul expected an easy go.
Up by as much as 13 in the early 2nd half, the Mass team chipped away at the lead, using a Point Guard of Unusual Size and Athtleticsm (PGUSA?) and the largest, most athletic center we've ever seen at 5th Grade/11U. For the second straight game, things went to overtime, then double overtime, and it was poor foul shooting in the final second that sealed a 38-36 loss.
The best news about an 8am loss that essentially gave New York the championship game on tie breaker criteria? We could check out of the hotel, grab some lunch and by the time we got home, the girls would be game for the usual Fathers Day activities. Except, of course, that the girls wanted to watch all of the other games taking place, with their friends and teammates in other age groups.
Not exactly what I wanted, and I think the program went 1-4 in championship games on Sunday, but I did to see the 5th grade championship game, where New York destroyed the Pool B champ, 44-16.
Millie's team had played the Pool B champ previously, and usually mercied them, but it wasn't surprising that they emerged from the pool with two 4th grade teams, and an unknown 5th grade team from Jersey that actually lost to one of the 4th grade teams! The three games between NY/PA/Mass was essentially a round-robin championship series. Disappointing, but most parents from all the organizations (save the above-mentioned one) were happy to get the opportunity to play each other.
To add a little extra level of insult, not only did we not get back after until after 7pm, but on the last 20 miles of the drive, the engine shielding of the car popped free, causing a fantastic scraping grinding noise, but outside of exposing the engine block to potential rocks, etc, there is no additional damage. A quick online order for a replacement and fasteners, and a quiet evening, and I'll be ready for the next tournament next weekend... and more importantly, Historicon.
5th Grade Power Index: It's going to take a bit to adjust to dealing with an out-of-the-region team, but the good news is, even with losses, the Clutch and New Heights index numbers actually went UP. My last index will be after next weekend, and the minimum qualifier will soar up to 15 games (effectively five basic tournaments).
7th Grade Power Index: If Maja's team was able to play this past weekend, the 7th grade division was quite deep, and most teams playing got an index boost from the competition alone.
The lone exception was really New Heights 7th grade, who's pool play to get to the championship game was against some of inferior teams. This drops their index number to a tie with All Day Hoops, and my unofficial tie breakers are most wins then fewest losses.
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