We're here!

Hoops Sagrado arrived in Guatemala on Tuesday on time and in fairly good spirits (thanks to United Airlines, but not thanks to the 5:45 a.m. flight). We almost lost two before we even left D.C. but fortunately they made it to the airport, checked in and through security with just moments to spare. Not that we are suggesting you risk it, but it does prove that whole two-three hour rule wrong!

We wasted no time getting right down to business with a first-ever for Hoops Sagrado set of games against one of the premier Catholic high schools in the country, Don Basco. For those of you who
have traveled with us before, wowzers was this school nice.

The Hoops Sagrado Young Guns were the first up and while it's clear that there they still need to work together on playing as a team--this was really the first time they had all played as on team--they did a great job, especially considering that most of them had been up for pushing 20 hours at this point. It was touch and go, but in the Young Guns prevailed 43-38.


Demani (4P/2A/1R), Renard (5P/1A/11R), Kevin (13P/11R), Manny (2P/3R), Djeder (2P/1A, one black eye), Max (1R), Ronnie (1P/3R), Carlos (1A/2R), Alec (11P/9R), Christian (1A, 3R), Zion (5P), and Xander (1R).

Next up were the women and let me just say for a group that has a) never played together and b) has some members who CLAIM they aren't basketball players, they really came together and played an incredibly tough game against the national high school champions...yes, the national high school champions! Kudos to all of them for playing well, working together and doing it with a smile on their face. While they didn't win in the end (52-34), it was a great first start!

KayKay (8P/2A/6R), Tee (15P/1A/13R), Tevanah (6P/8R), Mackenzie (1A/5R), Malaika, "I don't play basketball" Coleman (5P/10R) and they were joined by our dear friend Maria Salanic who plays on a team here in Guatemala.

After a late, but quick dinner at Pollo Campero, everyone headed to their rooms at the hotel in Antigua and it was lights out and even quiet by 11pm!

Today we head to the home of our heart Xela where everyone will meet their families and get settled in. On the way we'll make a stop at Ximche and do a bit of orientation. It will be a long day, but it will be good to be home in Xela.

For the parents out there (and everyone else too), the group so far seems to be doing really well adjusting to their new environment and each other. There will be bumps, but considering some of the stuff that was thrown at them yesterday, I'm confident they will handle it well.

We'll do our best to keep the blog updated as much as possible, but you'll understand if it's not every day. We're super excited to be here and we hope you'll enjoy following along on our trip.

Adventure is out there!