Maryland Elite secures first tournament championship

This year Chris takes the court with the AAU Maryland Elite in the D2 15U. The team contains a core of the athletes from last year's 14U Chesapeake Bay Breakers. As the only warm-up before the critical Maryland AAU tournament--a national qualifier, the team traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a 3-game minimum tournament at Steel High.

The 15U Elite defeated West York on Friday (I was not at that game, margin of victory about 14), and followed that victory with Saturday wins against Bashore [43-29] and United Athletics [50-22], to take them 3-0 into the championship game. For the tournament championship, the Elite faced again West York in a more tightly contested game.

The Elite took an early lead (before Laura and I realized that the game had started--schedules were approximate, apparently) and played the first half with varying modest leads, but the score was effectively knotted at halftime. The lead came and went throughout the second half, with Monty extending the lead at the free-throw line to 7 with 0:28, and West York chipping the lead to 4 before the final buzzer. Final score 35-31.

Getting Ready for Basketball

Chris has made the 15U Maryland Elite basketball team. First tournament is this weekend in York, PA. I think there are a total of 13 tournaments this year, with Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas in July. There are a few kids I know from last year, including Monte, who has taken to dunking the ball, but there are lots of fresh faces also.

Easter Celebration

We got to pick up Corinne for Easter, and celebrated in Flintstone, Maryland. Chris and I made an awesome bonfire. We went to a very nice Easter service at a Church of the Brethren along a trout stream. They had a very interesting praise-hymnal. Great old songs along with contemporary praise songs. And they had a small country gospel songbook also. And me without my photocopier. No pictures of the bonfire, church, or trout stream...

Some catch-up pics

A few semi-random pictures while we get primed for the upcoming basketball season.