Super Sunday

Sunday morning we began our day with Camper and Coach of the Day awards. One camper and two coaches received an award yesterday.  Coach Alexander also honored two teams for their outstanding conduct, cohesiveness, and sportsmanship. Once we were through with the awards it was time to 'talk tournament'. Round 5 would begin with games at 10am and the teams were eager to find out what they were going to play.

The first set of games went as predicted. There weren't any big upsets but the games were quite close. We had an Ivy League match up in soccer. Yale ended up pulling ahead 3-2 against Harvard for the win. Another close game was going on inside the Barbee. Michigan and Auburn played to a final score of 2-1 with Auburn moving on to the next round.

We saw an upset in Round 6. #11 Auburn met up with #6 Oregon in Handball. WE LOVE HANDBALL! It can be anyone's game at anytime! It's so fast moving and if you're 'clicking' you can go all the way. Coming off a big win in hockey, Auburn used the momentum on the handball court. The final score was 9-6. 

Over on the hockey court Georgia and Texas played an intense defensive game. The final was 3-2 Georgia. The Bulldogs younger guys took control of the game and scored the goal which put them ahead. Go Dawgs!

Brown beat Yale in football. The score remained 7-6 Brown for most of the game. Brown only pulled further ahead in the last minutes after Yale suffered an injury which removed one of their most dynamic players from the field. The Bears took advantage of the weakened Yale defense. The Ivy's have been quite impressive throughout camp. 

On the softball field we watched a great game. LSU was defeated by West Point in the end but it was fun to watch. LSU had some clutch hits and RBI's but West Point's fancy fielding kept the Tigers from scoring when they needed to. LSU kept their heads up and congratulated West Point on the win. The final was 11-8 West Point. I say RAY RAH Tigers! Although their record doesn't reflect as many W's as they would like their sportsmanship and positive energy is impressive.

Post Lunch and Rest Period we met on the steps of the Dick Gym so that Coach could go over the schedule for Rounds 7, 8, & 9. If teams were out of the tournament in the sports being played they were  assigned to the either the outdoor pool or the Capture the Flag game which was to be played on the fields behind Palamar soccer field. Coach Henry Dyke organized Capture the Flag. The flags were hidden so well by each team that I'm not even sure they were ever found!

Meanwhile, there was a major upset on the soccer field. #12 UNC took out #4 Georgia. The Dawgs were stunned by the play of the Tarheels. Every member of the UNC team contributed. It really was a great game. The final was 7-3. Another notable game would be the handball matchup after dinner. NC State played Kentucky. The game was finally decided after double overtime. The Wolfpack won 10-9.

The Pack is going strong. They defeated Harvard in basketball by a score of 74-18. Don't be alarmed by the score though. At some point Harvard realized they just couldn't keep up with the 'ringers' on the NC State team. The Pack made shots they hadn't made all camp and both their A and B teams were HOT! It may seem like they ran up the score but the Harvard players were fine with it. Both teams had fun and there were lots of laughs and smiles. It may have been the most points scored in a basketball game in the history of camp.

So what happens now? Today we'll play Rounds 10-15. There will be many gaps in play as we have several teams still alive in several sports. For the teams without a game, there are a few options. They will be assigned to either Capture the Flag, The Alpine Tower (where they will learn to climb) or Consolation Games. The outdoor pool is also an option after lunch. We're getting close to determining championship games. Things are getting EXCITING!

Happy Monday!

Sports Camp Photos June 29

Upset Saturday

Round 1, 2, 3, & 4 of the final tournament were played yesterday. We're calling it "Upset Saturday" as we saw five teams get knocked out of the tournament by lower ranked teams.

In the first round it was #12 Alabama taking on #5 UNC in softball. The Crimson Tide amazed even themselves with flawless fielding and heavy hitting right at the onset of the game.  UNC tried to rally but ran out of innings. The final was Bama 6 UNC 3.

After the first round of games instead of holding an individual instruction period, we set up games based on conference. 12, 13, & 14 year olds from the Midwest Conference took on the campers of the same age from the Southern Conference. In softball we had 10 and 11 year olds from the Midwest and Southern Conference playing each other. On the lacrosse field it was 12, 13, & 14 years olds from the West and East and 10 and 11's on the soccer field.  One conference kept their team jerseys on and the other was issued gray shirts. These games were really fun to watch. Things got a little nutty on the soccer field toward the end of the second half though. What is it about soccer that makes grown men turn into children and children turn into crazy little beings? Anyway, the kids enjoyed playing against their age groups and it was all in good fun!

After lunch we began Round 2. There were two upsets in this round. #12 UNC defeated #5Auburn in soccer by a score of 1 - 0. Auburn just couldn't buy a goal. There were many attempts. Shots were just over the goal or hitting the cross bar. The second upset of the round came in football when the Yalies took down the mighty Wolf Pack from NC State. The final there was 25-7. NC State's offense just wasn't clicking yesterday. Yale was out to show exactly how well they can execute and they did just that!

Round 3 followed canteen. We didn't see any upsets but there was a great game on the football field.  #6 Notre Dame and #11 Georgia were tied 0-0 at half time. With no score it was any one's game. By the end of the 3rd quarter the Irish were up 7-6. Other teams had begun to gather on the field to watch this exciting game. There were shouts for both Georgia and Notre Dame. Support came from their respective conferences. Both teams had good drives in the 4th quarter but it was Notre Dame who came  up with a score with just a minute to go. The final was 15-6 Notre Dame.

The fourth and final round of the day was played after dinner. A HUGE upset occurred on the softball field. #15 Michigan defeated #2 Oregon in Softball. It was all Michigan in the early innings. They couldn't do anything wrong! Everyone was hitting and they didn't make any mistakes in the field. The Ducks rallied to make it exciting but in the end it Michigan 8, Oregon 4. Go Blue!

What a day! It was gorgeous and the temperatures were comfortable. We've been so blessed over the past two weeks with regards to weather. Today promises to be another glorious day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

June 29 Sports Camp Photos

The Battle for Bracket Placement

Teams fought hard yesterday. Everyone is looking for high placement in the tournament. We were also able to make up games from last week which were cancelled due to thunder. We're all caught up and last night, after the campfire, Coach Alexander put together the Tournament brackets.

Speaking of the campfire, never before in the history of sports camp have the support staff counselors performed a skit. This year they decided to take on the challenge. THEY BROUGHT IT! There has never been a funnier skit than the one we witnessed last night. Jack Sari, Detrea Smith, Rob Wood, Sam Hodges and their supervisor Colin Gay wrote and directed the skit. They satirized some of the events of the past two weeks at camp in the form of a newscast, complete with opening music from an actual NBC newscast. The campers will be talking about last night for many days to come!

I've added a new element to the blog. To the left of this entry you will find links to short videos I've placed on YouTube. As the kids ask me to film, I'll add more links. 

Check out the brackets below. We'll update the scores each day.

June 27 Sports Camp Photos