After this weekend, we're already halfway through the shortened fall AAU season.
And we're already halfway too long.
Maja continues to live her best life, taking the season off and playing volleyball, doing the school play, and being the social butterfly in both. She didn't have a complete run of the house, as Millie's team was just driving up to Scranton for the Ladies Ball, a regional playoff of girl's teams leading to some high falutin' championship somewhere in the United States.
Of the 13 teams in the 7th grade (2029) bracket, only two were from Pennsylvania, but that didn't guarantee quality with the out-of-state teams. The opening game was against a perennial basement dweller in all of the D-level tournaments. And we knew there were going to be problems this weekend when Millie's team trounced them by thirty, but allowed more points than that team had scored total in any tournament. They were a lot bigger, faster, and overtly aggressive than I had anticipated (12+ fouls per half, our girls got a lot of foul shot practice.)
Game two on Saturday were against the Gauchos out of New York City. Any team that travels out of the Five Boroughs tends to be very legit, and as we counted the players from other NYC that joined their ranks, we knew it would be trouble. The first half had the Gauchos with 7-0 and 6-0 runs to start and finish it, with Millie's team righting the ship in the middle 22-12. The Gauchos poured on 10 to start the second half, and despite another rally, the wheels came off with five minutes left in the game, with parents arguing everything except black cats in the dark. The officiating was woefully pathetic and inconsistent the entire game, so I'm not sure why everyone decided to throw down at that minute.
Going 1-1 on Saturday meant we had a bye, but had to face the #1 seed, who were somehow NOT the Gauchos. Playing a team from Ohio, they fell behind again, only to battle back before halftime. In the second half, they played flat again, and were forced to rally in the last two minutes to grab the lead and hold on with some clutch foul shooting, winning 38-34.
The second (spoiler) and final game was the semi-finals, with an old competitor, the York Thunder. They've met up in playoffs and championship games since everyone was in 4th grade. The big difference now? The York girls have either grown considerably taller, or they've been actively recruiting better than us.
ANOTHER slow start had the Thunder out to a 5-0 lead, until folks clawed back and were only down 13-12 at the halftime.
Cue bus releasing all its tires.
There was some altercation between the refs and (mostly) our parents right at the half, so bad the the convention staff parked themselves courtside. Millie's couldn't handle the press, couldn't support each other, and couldn't make a shot when players decided teamwork wasn't necessary. That resulted a 21-3 run, when everyone on both teams decided to stop scoring and the last five minutes was a trickle to a 35-17.
I don't know what was worse: player effort, parent conduct, or a lack of coaching decisions. The new recruits for the fall definitely kept games closer with their height and wingspans, but their lack of experience hindered some potential stops and some rallies.
They're in New Jersey next weekend, and historically the competition is not as fierce, but the girls meant need some more butt-kicking, and the parents, a dose of reality. Until then, it's Maja and Millie's last week of volleyball, first full week of play tryouts for Maja, and school open gyms start next week.
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