At the TOP!

All of the champions have been crowned. WOW what a great tournament. Every championship game was amazingly competitive. Right until the bitter end.. Each team gave 150%. It was a great finish to a fantastic sports camp.

We began our morning with the championship football game between Brown and Stanford. The scoreboard was turned on and we even had a game announcer. Chip Brierre, coach of The U, commentated the game. He was great. The kids loved the banter and the music between plays. It was a real stadium atmoshphere. The game was nothing short of exciting. Brown took an early lead, but a couple of trick plays later and Stanford was right in the game. In the end, the Bears pulled ahead and Stanford could not answer, Brown over Stanford 34-22.

With their #1 ranking, it seemed that Brown was destined to be football champs. This disciplined team didn't let us down. They did it for Kitty!

Over on the soccer field Duke took on Notre Dame. The Blue Devils came decked out in warpaint. They were ready for a battle. This team was HOT! You couldn't stop them. I saw some soccer that I hadn't seen for the last three weeks. Where did they get these players? They stepped up their game and showed some skills that rival FIFA 2011! The final... Duke 6-2 over Notre Dame.

The afternoon championship brought two brothers together in the sport they love. These two guys play competitive ice hockey back home. This afternoon they met up on the floor hockey court. Brown took on Ohio State.  The Bears were down 6-0 before coming back late in the 3rd quarter. At the end of regulation it was 7 - 7. Overtime lasted 1minute. In sudden death, Ohio State was victorious. It was an amazingly entertaining game. Thanks guys!

Duke and Penn State didn't disappoint us on the basketball court. Penn State kept a steady lead for the first three quarters of the game. The fourth quarter teams rallied to bring the score to within 2. They traded baskets throughout the final minutes. Duke put a shot up in the last second.. It went in... swirled around and bounced out. It was CRAZY.... The crowd went wild. What a game. It was a memorable end to a great day.

We finished the evening with our last campfire. The campfire was held indoors at Edwards Lecture Hall. We had a threat of storms so we decided to keep the group inside. Our MC's drew a "flaming W" on the chalkboard...(clever).

Tonight's skits were fantastic. WOW! I am telling you... boys today are so theatrical. It had to have been the best skit night ever. I believe I felt that way last week and the week before, but they continue to step up their game.

The guys are eager to see their families tomorrow, so travel safe and we'll see you  in the morning!

Champions!

Yesterday we saw two championship games. In Lacrosse, Virginia, who was originally a #7 seed in the tournament defeated the Buckeye's by a score of 9-7. The game was tied 4-4 during half time. The two teams traded goals until UVA pulled ahead late in the 4th quarter. It was an amazing win.

Penn State and Ohio State met on the diamond for last night's championship softball game. This game was played in front of  a crowd. It was a beautiful night for softball. There was only one other game going on, so teams had a choice to practice a sport or watch the softball finals. The only thing missing? A hotdog vendor!

These two teams didn't let us down. There were no errors, but there were some big hits. Both teams made amazing plays. The hit that brought in Penn State's two runs after they were down 1-0 in late innings, was a doooozzzzyy! It made for an exciting ending to a great game. Both teams had an incredible run in the playoffs.

There were playoff games and exhibition games played all day long. The last semi-final football games were played between Miami and Brown. #1 Brown dominated the game and won 35-0. This group is so amazing they installed a defense designed specifically to shut Miami's powerful offense. The Bears executed perfectly and Miami didn't have an answer.  In the other semi-final, Stanford took on LSU. This game went back and forth for a while until Stanford pulled ahead. The clock finally ran out on LSU. With a final score of 32-18, #11 seed Stanford moves onto the Championship game against Brown. This game will be played this morning at 9am.

To set up todays basketball semi-finals, Duke and Wake Forest met up yesterday along with Brown and Notre Dame. In typical Blue Devil fashion, Duke pulled ahead early and stayed ahead to defeat Wake Forest. Wake brought the score within two during the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but the 4th quarter would be all Duke. The final... 45-37. The Brown/Notre Dame match up remained close throughout the entire game. It was only in the final minutes that Brown hit back to back to back three pointers to pull ahead and secure the win. The semi's will be played this morning.  Brown takes on Penn State and Duke will face UNC - how about that classic match up??? The championship will be the featured game tonight.

Hockey and soccer are both getting pretty exciting. The mid-morning soccer game today between Notre Dame and Duke will be for the championship. Both teams had impressive wins yesterday. This is going to be a great match up. The Hockey final will be the feature just before dinner.

Yesterday was a full day. We had groups doing all sorts of things. In the afternoon a couple of teams met up to play some ultimate frisbee.. WOW what a fun game. They had a blast.

Probably the biggest highlight of the day was the field trip that four teams were fortunate to be a part of. They headed up to White Oak Canyon in Madison County. It's our little tropical waterfall getaway. Check out the link to right of this blog entry to view some spectacular photos and video.

Well, it's hard to believe today is the last full day of camp. We'll close out the week with our final campfire. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. It's been a fabulous three weeks. I think we say this every year, but this HAS BEEN... the best camp ever. Thanks for sharing your most precious gifts.. they have given us joy that words cannot describe. It's been a blessing to have every one of them here at The Forest.

Enjoy yesterdays photos and the youtube video of White Oak Canyon. We're looking forward to seeing you early tomorrow for games and awards. See the schedule to the right. Safe travels!