Hoops Sagrado

Keepin' It 100

2011-08-04T11:16:00.000-04:00

It was a busy weekend of games with three trips to the coast and one game in Xela (which we won't talk about on this blog). Our final trip was late Sunday afternoon to the town of Mazate.

The court at Mazate has to be one of the nicest onces that we've seen, it's also a bit off the beaten path, which is why there were very few spectators in attendance, which probably pleased the Young Guns and the Mazate Old Heads.

Young Guns 42 vs. Mazate 48
Despite their best efforts, unfortunately the Young Guns fell to the team from Mazate. Everyone gave it their best efforts, but the Mazate team (which also had a few over 21 players on it) prevailed in the end.

Brandon 17p/1a/17r
Jailen 7p/2r
Gibril 9p/1a/6r
Phillip 9p/2a/10r
Shanice 1r
Manny 2r

Old Heads 101 vs. Mazate 71
The theme of this year's trip is Hoops Sagrado: Keepin' it 100...and that's just what the Old Heads did by scoring 101 points against the team from Mazate. Everyone who played for the Old Heads scored giving Hoops its first "everybody eats" game of the trip.

Bryan 17p/7a/3r
Sam 10p/3a/4r
Aniekan 11p/2a/2r
Dario 15p/5a/10r
Josh 10p/3a/9r
Diggs 19p/1a/3r
Stan 7p/3a/5r
Phillip 2p/3a/4r
Brandon 10p/2r

EVERYBODY EATS!

Hoops Sagrado vs. San Felipe

2011-08-01T11:17:00.000-04:00

San Felipe, about an hour and half from Xela is known for two things: chicharron and carnitas and losing to Hoops Sagrado! :)

Sadly, all the chicharron tiendas were closed by the time we hit town on Saturday night, but we were able to keep one of the traditions alive!

Young Guns 52 vs. San Felipe 44
At first glace we thought for sure that the Young Guns were going to be out-matched by the much taller group from San Felipe and while there were some close moments, the Young Guns held it together for an 8-point victory--a victory which included the scoring debut of Kia!**

Brandon 16p/6a/19r
Jailen 18p/1a/2r
Gibril 9p/2a/2r
Manny 3p/2r
Phillip 8p/7r
Kia 3p
Canethia 1r
Antar 1a/1r

Old Heads 78 vs. San Felipe 59
Things were a bit different from the start with the Old Heads clearly dominating the game against San Felipe. Despite the commanding lead, tempers flared amongs members of the Old Heads team with a few angry words tossed about, but fortunately no shoes were thrown. In the end, everyone kissed and made up the Old Heads won by almost 20**.

Bryan 13p/5a/2r
Sam 5p/1a/2r
Aniekan 8p/2a/3r
Josh 11p/4a/9r
Stan 4p/1a/1r
Diggs 7p/1a/3r
Dario 27p/4a/15r
Phillp 2p/2a/3r

**Apologies to all the Hoops Sagrado players as these stats may not tell the complete story since Stat Girl was also responsible for running the board for the both games.

Hoops Sagrado vs. D'Antoni

2011-07-31T16:19:00.008-04:00

A very good friend of ours is a teacher at D'Antoni, a private school in the coastal town of Reu. Each year as part of their anniversary celebrations, Hoops spends the morning at D'Antoni playing a couple of basketball games and signing autographs.

The Young Guns were the first group up and we weren't really sure what to expect since D'Antoni's team was made up of students, alumni and a couple of teachers. But proving that age and size don't matter, the Young Guns proved victorious with Shanice making her scoring debut!

Young Guns 52 vs. D'Antoni 32
Brandon 18p/1a/10r
Jailen 12p/2a
Gibril 5p/1a/4r
Manny 3r/2a
Phillip 13p/10r
Antar 1r
Shanice 3p/2r
Canethia 1r

The Old Heads played another selection team from Reu (different from the one they played back at the beginning of the trip and although it was close in the beginning, the Old Heads quick go ahold of things and put the game away.

Old Heads 50 vs. Reu 42
Bryan 13p/4a/2r
Sam 2p/3a/5r
Aniekan 6p/1a/1r
Diggs 3p/5r
Dario 11p/3a/11r
Josh 8p/6r
Stan 7p/1a/4r
Phillip 1/1r

A Day at the Beach

2011-07-31T15:57:00.003-04:00

Friday was a day at the beach for Hoops Sagrado.

After playing a couple of games at a school in Reu (game posts coming soon), we boarded Marisol for the 45 minute trip to Champerico, a small town on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.

Unfortunately, it seems like the municipal government in the coastal area of Guatemala was taking lessons from D.C. (no offense to all of our friends who work for DDOT) because the potholes in the road to the beach were outrageous. Our normal 45 minute trip took about 90 minutes because you can't hit those suckers too hard...To say they are in need of a potholepalooza would be putting it mildly.

We finally got to the beach and it was clearly just what the doctor ordered for everyone. After more than two weeks of Spanish classes, hard work in the basketball camps, basketball games and just learning a new country, everyone needed the break and everyone seemed to have a really good time.

The group spent the afternoon eating seafood fresh from the ocean (literally brought in via the pier about half a mile down the beach) and playing in on the black-sand beaches and in the warm Pacific.

After a full day and with the sun setting, bonfires burning on the beach and lightening in the distance we packed up headed back to the cooler climate of Xela.

Spanish Classes

2011-07-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

One of the main components of the Hoops Sagrado program (besides basketball of course) is one-on-one Spanish immersion classes for the students. Each morning from 8am to 1pm, with a 30 minute break around mid-morning, the students study at MesoAmericas Spanish school in Xela. We also really encourage the students to get away from their desks and explore Xela with their teachers.

Although the five horus of class time is proving to be a bit difficult for some of the students this year, most have made the effort to show up relatively on time and pay attention to their teacher. If you listen carefully you can even hear some of them use their newly acquired Spanish-language skills in the afternoon basketball camps.

The students took their first tests last Friday and overall the results were quite good. One student even commented that he wished he had studied this much last year when he didn't pass his Spanish class!

Saturday Night Soccer

2011-07-25T10:35:00.000-04:00

Hoops Sagrado is a basketball program. For the five weeks we are in Guatemala we pretty much eat, breath and sleep basketball. However, for two hours at some point during the five weeks, we take a break from basketball and enjoy "the beautiful game."

Xela's professional soccer team, the Super Chivos, has won four national championships throughout the years and is one of the better professional teams in the country. On this Saturday night they were playing Marquense, a rival from San Marcos. The game was fairly typical of La Liga Nacional with some goals, a lot of bad passing, a lot of diving, numerous yellow cards, two red cards and a fight. In the end Xela tied 2-2. Not a loss, but a win sure would have been nice.

This was the first professional soccer game that many of the Hoops students had ever attended and we sure did pick a good one. The stadium was absolutely rocking (probably due to the two for one ticket deal that night). Our seats were at one end of the stadium that is known for it's raucous cheering. There are two large suppport groups for the Super Chivos. One is sorta like DC United's Screaming Eagles and the other is like the Barra Brava. We sat with the Super Chivos Barra Brava.

We're never totally sure how the Hoops students will react to the soccer game, but they usually have a pretty good time. I would say (and I think based on the photo with this post) that this group of students embraced the experience probably more than any other group we've taken to a game.

While basketball will always be the focus of Hoops Sagrado and the students we bring to Guatemala, we may have just gotten a soccer convert or two out of this experience.

Hoops Sagrado vs. Totonicopan

2011-07-24T10:37:00.003-04:00

Following a busy week of classes and camps (more to come about those in a future post), we boarded the bus amid a Friday night rain storm for the quick trip to Totonicopan for a couple of games.

We've talked about the uneven officiating in multiple posts and for multiple years, but the officiating on this chilly Friday evening really took the cake--especially in the Young Guns game. The Young Guns game was fairly close throughout with the team winning by as many as six and training by as many as seven throughout. With time running out (literally 7 seconds) Shaq hit three critical free-throws to tie the game at 60. Toto took the ball down court and got a shot off as time was running out, but the ball didn't go in. Then after the whistle on the scoreboard rang out indicating the game had ended in a tie and we would head to overtime, another whistle could be heard indicating a foul.

It's hard to argue with the hometown ref (and believe us, Bryan and Sam tried), but Toto was awarded two free throws with no time left on the clock. They made one. The Young Guns were without a doubt disappointed, but after the initial frustration wore off about the loss, they became a bit philosophical about the whole thing.

Young Guns 60 vs. Totonicopan 61
Shaq 12p/5a/3r
Brandon 15p/3a/7r
Malik 7p/1a/8r
Jailen 14p/1a
Gibril 9p/2a/2r
Manny 3p/1r
Phillip 2a/5r

The Old Heads game was far less controversial (a 40 point difference helps in this case). Hoops alumn and partner Stan Turner arrived in Guate on Friday in time for the Toto game and the Old Heads were also joined by yet another Jeff who is here in Xela studying Spanish and living in the same house as some of the students.

Old Heads 77 vs. Totonicopan 32
Bryan 10p/4a/3r
Sam 2p/4a/4r
Aniekan 10p/4r
Dario 24p/3a/18r
Josh 18p/5r
Stan 4p/2a/3r
Diggs 1a/2r
Phillp 8p/1r
Jeff 3p/1a/4r

Momostenango

2011-07-21T18:53:00.002-04:00

Hoops Sagrado took our first field trip today with the whole group loading up on Marisol and heading to the home of a local weaver and craftsman in Momostenango.

The visit to Momos is always one of the highlights of the trip. The students learn about how many of the handicrafts in Guatemala--blankets, wall hangings, scarves, hats, etc. are made using an ages old process and all natural materials.

After trying their hands at spinning the wool, the students are invited to the family side of the house where they are served fresh tortillas hot off the fire and have an opportunity to purchase some of the handicrafts. Don't be surprised if come winter, you see some snazzy wool hats on the heads of a number of Hoops participants.

San Cristobal Tournament Part One

2011-07-21T18:35:00.002-04:00

If it's raining, it must be the San Cristobal tournament! And of course this year was no different, but when we rounded the bend on the way to the court, what to our wondering eyes should appear? A new court covered with a roof and lighting! No more would the summer rains of Guatemala postpone games in San Cristobal!

That being said of course, we arrived for our 3pm game which did not start for another hour and 15 minutes.

The Young Guns were up first agains the San Cristobal selection team. Despite the fact that the San Cris team is made up of a few professional players and players who are at least twice the age of the Young Guns, the Hoops players gave them a run for their money. Unfortunately, despite an amazing three quarters, the Young Guns couldn't pull off the upset. We'll chalk it up to travel fatigue and altitude adjustment.

Young Guns 51 vs. San Cris 67
Shaq: 19p/1a/3r
Brandon: 6p/4a/9r
Malik: 12p/7r
Jailen: 8p/2a/2r
Gabril: 3p/5a/3r
Manuel: 3p/1a
Phillip: 1a/5r
Antar: 1r

The Old Heads fared better although even some of them were a bit gased by the altitude...and of course the questionable calls. Just like it's certain to rain most days in Xela, it is also pretty certain that just about every call is going to go against a Hoops Sagrado team.

Old Heads 63 vs. San Cris/Reu Old Heads 37
Bryan: 9p/5a/3r
Sam: 5p/4r
Aniekan: 4p/4a/7r
Dario: 18p/2a/13r
Josh: 8p/1a/6r
Diggs: 16p/8r
Phillip: 2p/2a/1r
Brandon: 4p/1a/1r

Hoops Sagrado vs. Reu

2011-07-20T19:31:00.006-04:00

We had barely gotten to the mountains of Guatemala when it was time to head to the coast for one of our first basketball games. Hoops Sagrado has a long history with the team from Reu including some very close and unfriendly games. The scorekeepers at Reu are also more than a bit creative with how they keep score.

Still, inspite of the heat and humidity (which probably feels just like D.C. right about now) and the creative refering and score-keeping, both the Hoops Young Guns and the Old Heads proved victorious.

Young Guns 55 vs. Reu 51
Shaq 12p/2a/3r
Brandon 19p/2a/17r
Malik 7p/7r
Gabril 6p/3a/2r
Jailen 12p/1a/4r
Manuel 2r
Phil 4a/3r

Old Heads 68 vs. Reu 42
Bryan 14p/8a/5r
Aniekan 2p/2a/9r
Sam 8p/5a/6r
Diggs 12p/1a/1r
Dario 23p/3a/8r
Josh 9p/7r
Phillip 1a
Brandon 2r

First Week

2011-07-20T19:05:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that we have already been in Guatemala for one week. Apologies for not posting sooner, but it's been a whirlwind to say the least. Here are a few of the highlights (not inlcluding basketball games which will come in another post):

Antigua
Everyone and all their luggage arrived on Wednesday the 13th and we spent two nights in the ancient capital of Antigua getting adjusted to life in Guatemala. Although most of the students know each other from D.C. the group quickly bonded over the learning experience of being in a foreign country and games of spades!

Iximche
On the way from Antigua to Xela we stopped at the ancient Mayan ruins known as Iximche. It was a great opportunity for the students to learn a bit about the history of Guatemala and it was also a chance for all of us to continue to get to know each other.

Arriving in Xela
We arrived in Xela on Friday evening and all the students were assigned to their families. The houses are: 1)Phillip and Gibril; 2) Sam, Malik, Shaq and Manny; 3) Deon, Brandon, Jailen and Antar; 4)Brianna, Canethia, Kia and Shanice; and 5) Josh. Bryan has his own house this year that we are using as a de facto meeting place and jump off for other activities.

T-minus 7 hours

2011-07-12T22:58:00.002-04:00

In a bit more than 7 hours we will be in the air on our way to Guatemala.

Unfortunately we're still waiting for one passport, but we've been assured by the powers that be that it will be available in the morning and therefore the student will be able to join us in Guatemala on the 14th. It's great that he will be able to join us, but the fact that he is arriving a day late is a disgrace.

Still despite the hurdles, we're excited to be on our way. Our first game is on the 14th at 8pm in Antigua. Jet lag be damned, we'll be ready to take on the the Antigua selection team and you can "tune in here" for all the stats and news from the game.

One week till wheels up

2011-07-05T16:55:00.002-04:00

With one week to go till our trip the passports are still trickling in for volunteers. As of today we've got six still outstanding.

Getting a passport is one of the biggest challenges our youth volunteers face every year. While we understand the State Department's need to move cautiously with issuing passports to minors, they also make it pretty much next to impossible for young people who don't come from a traditional two-parent household. They also don't make it easy for people who have to work for a living to get a passport. It always seems to work out in the end but not without some tantrum throwing and hours upon hours spent in the passport office the day before the trip.

Cross your fingers, say a prayer and light a candle for San Simon that the outstanding six passports are all in-hand by 4:30am on the 13th!

Hoops Sagrado 2011

2011-06-26T08:37:00.002-04:00

We're busy planning for our 2011 trip to Guatemala. We leave D.C. early in the morning on July 13 and will be in Guatemala for five weeks of Spanish classes, basketball camps, trips, basketball games and a lot of fun. Once we're on our way, stop by frequently to keep up with our adventures.

Hoops Sagrado vs. Pestalozzi

2009-08-18T20:05:00.002-04:00

Once again this year Hoops Sagrado had the pleasure of playing against Pestalozzi--a private high school in Xela. We don't say pleasure because all the teams dominate when we play (although that doesn't hurt), but because the games and the activities afterwards represent the true spirit of what Hoops is all about.

Young Guns vs. Pestalozzi
Score: 44 to 23
Elvis: 3 points/1 assist/5 rebounds
Devonte: 8 points/2 assists/4 rebounds
Jerren: 1 point/2 assists/4 rebounds
Jordyn: 1 point/1 rebound
Malik: 16 points/11 rebounds
Mit'hat: 5 points/1 rebound
Tyler: 10 points/3 rebounds

Las Chicas vs. Pestalozzi
Score: 44 to 14
Alexis: 4 points/2 rebounds
Breezy: 10 points/1 assist
Carla: 2 points*/3 rebounds
Chanae: 4 points/3 rebounds
Imani: 1 rebound
Jordyn: 10 points/4 assists/1 rebound
Justine: 1 assist/4 rebounds
KK: 4 points/4 assists/3 rebounds
Tyler: 10 points/3 assists/1 rebound
*Congratulations to Carla for making her first bucket in Guatemala...wahoo!

Old Heads vs. Pestalozzi (teachers and alumni)
Score: 66 to 27 (for three quarters until Pestalozzi called no mas)Bryan: 24 points/5 assists/1 rebound
Diggs: 9 points/3 assists/1 rebound
Mit'hat: 13 points/6 assists/5 rebounds
Sam: 8 points/3 assists/8 rebounds
Shaq: 12 points/2 assits/9 rebounds

Hoops Sagrado vs. San Felipe

2009-08-18T16:16:00.002-04:00

San Felipe is another coastal town that Hoops has started to share a nice rivalry with. Although not as hot as Reu, San Felipe stands out for its amazing chicharron. Even though all the chicharron stands were closed on this night of basketball, we made sure to make a special visit later in the trip to get some...fried pork fat... Sorry, Stat Girl got distracted.

Young Guns vs. San FelipeScore: 50 to 34
Elvis: 3 points/1 assist/6 rebounds
Devonte: 1 assist
Diggs: 13 points/7 rebounds
Jamal: 5 rebounds
Jerren: 4 points/2 assists/1 rebound
Malik: 10 points/1 assist/11 rebounds
Mit'hat: 8 points/5 assists/5 rebounds
Nate: 12 points/5 assists/1 rebound

Las Chicas vs. San Felilpe
Score: 41 to 34
Alexis: 3 rebounds
Breezy: 6 points/1 assist/4 rebounds
Carla: 2 rebounds
Chanae: 1 assit/8 rebounds
Jordyn: 9 points/4 assists/2 rebounds
Justine: 4 rebounds
Imani: 2 points/2 rebounds
KK: 8 points/5 assits/5 rebounds
Tyler: 15 points/3 assists/17 rebounds

Old Heads vs. San FelipeScore: 69 to 44
Aniekan: 4 points/4 assists/7 rebounds
Bryan: 14 points/5 assists/9 rebounds
Diggs: 6 points/2 assists/4 rebounds
Jerrod: 20 points/5 assists/4 rebounds
Mit'hat: 8 points/2 rebounds
Sam: 3 points/1 assist/3 rebounds
Shaq: 14 points/8 rebounds

Hoops Sagrado vs. Totonicopan

2009-08-18T15:15:00.004-04:00

How else would you rather spend a Friday night than cheering on all three teams of the Hoops Sagrado Knights to victory?!?! Although there were no near fights this year, there was still some questionable reffing in Totonicopan (as there seems to be in many places where we play). The Old Heads were joined by our very good friend Hans who was so helpful with all of our basketball planning this year. We really couldn't have done it without him:

Young Guns vs. Totonicopan
Score: 57 to 54
Elvis: 7 points/1 assit/2 rebounds
Devonte: 10 points/3 assists/3 rebounds
Diggs: 5 points/1 rebound
Jamal: 7 points/ 1 rebound
Malik: 11 points/12 rebounds
Mit'hat: 11 points/3 assists/4 rebounds
Nate: 6 points/4 assists/2 rebounds

Las Chicas vs. Totonicopan (minus Jario's aunt)
Score: 46 to 35
Alexis: 2 rebounds
Breezy: 2 points/3 rebounds
Carla: 4 rebounds
Chanae: 2 points/1 rebound
Jordyn: 4 points/4 assists/1 rebound
Justine: 3 rebounds
KK: 6 points/4 assits/1 rebound
Tyler: 31 points/1 assist*/6 rebounds
* Stat Girl disputes the assist, but what does she know about basketball?!

Old Heads vs. Totonicopan
Score: 48 to 45
Bryan: 21 points/3 assists/3 rebounds
Devonte: 2 points/1 rebound
Diggs: 6 points/2 assists/2 rebounds
Hans: 1 assist/3 rebounds
Mit'hat: 3 points/3 assists/3 rebounds
Nate: 3 points/1 assist/3 rebounds
Sam: 9 points/5 assists/17 rebounds
Shaq: 4 points/8 rebounds

Hoops Sagrado vs. Palestina de los Altos

2009-08-18T12:12:00.002-04:00

Hoops only played 2.5 games in Palestina because the sub-21 boys team for Palestina was more of a sub-12 team. The Young Guns did play a bit of an exhibition with the boys from Palestina beating them 14 to 12.

Las Chicas vs. Palestina
Score: 49 to 26
Alexis: 1 rebound
Breezy: 4 points/4 rebounds
Chanae: 4 rebounds
Imani: 4 points/2 rebounds
Jordyn: 15 points/3 assists
Justine: 5 rebounds
KK: 4 points/4 assists/3 rebounds
Tyler: 20 points/2 assists/12 rebounds

Old Heads vs. Palestina
Score: 72 to 37
Aniekan: 10 points/3 assists/2 rebounds
Bryan: 12 points/5 assists/1 rebound
Diggs: 3 points/2 assists/3 rebounds
Jerren: 2 points
Mit'hat: 3 points/1 assist/2 rebounds
Nate: 6 points/1 rebound
Sam: 5 points/3 assits/10 rebounds
Shaq: 15 points/5 rebounds
Stan: 16 points/3 assists/3 rebounds

Hoops Sagrado vs. Reu

2009-08-18T11:53:00.002-04:00

Without a doubt the hottest spot in Guatemala, the gym at Reu served up another intense series of games with the Knights ending the evening 2 for 3.

Young Guns vs. Reu
Score: 43 to 52(Reu)
Elvis: 14 points/1 assit/1 rebound
Devonte: 12 points/4 assits
Diggs: 2 points
Jamal: 1 rebound
Jerren: 4 points/2 assists/3 rebounds
Malik: 2 points/12 rebounds
Mit'hat: 2 points/3 assits/3 rebounds
Nate: 7 points/3 assists/ 1 rebound

Las Chicas vs. Reu
Score 53-52 (overtime)
Alexis: 4 points/1 assist/3 rebounds
Breezy: 2 points/2 rebounds
Carla: 1 rebound
Chanae: 5 points/1 assist/6 rebounds
Imani: 1 rebound
Jordyn: 17 points/3 assists/1 rebound
KK: 15 points/3 assists/7 rebounds
Tyler: 10 points/3 assists/ 6 rebounds

Old Heads vs. Reu
Score: 52 to 50
Aniekan: 5 points/4 assists/6 rebounds
Bryan: 11 points/3 assists/7 rebounds
Diggs: 11 points/2 assists/3 rebounds
Mit'hat: 5 points/3 assists/5 rebounds
Sam: 8 points/2 assists/ 6 rebounds
Shaq: 3 points/8 rebounds
Stan: 9 points/2 assists/3 rebounds

Hoops Sagrado vs. D'Antoni

2009-08-17T14:25:00.002-04:00

Visting the costal school of D'Antoni has become a Hoops Sagrado tradition and we were greated as warmly as the weather this year. We played four games against students and the teachers:

Las Chicas vs. D'Antoni (students)
Score: 22-18
Alexis: 1 assist/ 6 rebounds
Breezy: 2 points/ 1 assist/ 1 rebound
Carla: 1 rebound
Chanae: 3 rebounds
Imani: 2 rebouns
Jordyn: 6 points/ 2 assists/1 rebound
Justine: 3 rebounds
KK: 2 points/3 assists/3 rebounds
Tyler: 12 points/2 rebounds

Young Guns vs. D'Antoni (students)
Score: 37-16
Elvis: 3 points/1 assist/6 rebounds
Devonte: 10 points/3 assists/4 rebounds
Diggs: 1 rebound
Jamal: 3 rebounds
Jerren: 1 rebound
Malik: 13 points/10 rebounds
Mit'hat: 7 points/5 rebounds
Nate: 4 points/2 assists/1 rebound

Las Chicas vs. D'Antoni (teachers)
Score: 23-21
Alexis: 1 point/7 rebounds
Breezy: 4 points/1 rebound
Chanae: 2 points/2 rebounds
Imani: 3 rebounds
Jordyn: 6 points/1 assist/1 rebound
Justine: 2 rebounds
KK: 4 points/1 assist/3r ebounds
Tyler: 6 points/3 assists/8 rebounds

Old Heads vs. D'Antoni (teachers)
Score: 48 to 16
Aniekan: 6 points/1a ssist/3 rebounds
Bryan: 8 points/6 assists/2 rebounds
Diggs: 6 points/5 rebounds
Mit'hat: 3 points/2 assists
Nate: 4 points/1 rebound
Sam: 2 points/4 assists/5 rebounds
Shaq: 6 points/6 rebounds
Stan: 7 points/5 rebounds

Scores and Stats

2009-08-17T14:24:00.002-04:00

We are woefully and shamefully behind in posting not only about the trip itself, but also about the games....Stat Girl is going to do her best to get all the game stats/ scores/highlights posted as soon as possible.

Teaching in Chuisic

2009-08-17T12:40:00.003-04:00

(This year, as a fluent Spanish speaker, Carla decided to teach English three mornings per week in Chuisuc instead of studying Spanish with the other Hoops students. Here is an entry about her experiences.)

Teaching English in Chuisuc has been a great experience. The kids are very smart and have great attitudes.

I teach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (5th graders) and 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (6th graders). The classes give me the opportunity to talk the students more than the basketball camps and get to know more about their lives.

It is unbelievable the dedication and respect they have for learning, their teachers and their peers. This makes teaching easier for me, since I have to teach about 45 students per grade.

I just started teaching with 5th graders today and so far they are great. They have learned the alphabet and numbers 1-20. I have been teaching the 6th graders for about 3 weeks. They are very fun and we have a great time together. When I'm having a bad day or something, just talking to them makes so much better. They had their firs exam on the numbers 1-100 and all A's!

I am very thankful for the opportunity because I feel as if I'm helpth them better themselves by learning another language. I know that when the teaching period ends, I will most likel shed some tears because I'm going to miss my kids and we've made a connection and when it's time to say good-bye, it will be hard.

The Return of the Red Menance

2009-08-17T12:31:00.002-04:00

You'll have to forgive us for not posting for a while, but our access to the Internet has been sporadic at best. Even though we are now all home, we'll try to do our best to fill in the gaps from the trip and go over the past week or so, starting with the finals of the Kid's tournament.

Day two of the Kid's Tournament saw the third place and championship match-ups. In the third place games it was the girls from Xejuyup vs. the girls from Chuisuc. Both teams put up a great battle and in the end it was the chicas from Chuisuc claming third place by a score of 9 to 4. In the third place boys game, things were a bit more uneven with the Pachaj boys basically dominating the boys from Chuisuc with the final score of 15 to 6.

In the girls championship game, the Red Devils from Chirjquiac once again took the top spot for the fifth time in six years by defeating the Pachaj girls 13 to 10. Perhaps it's because their Director Lucy is a ball herself, or maybe there is something in the water in Chirijquiac, but their girls really do seem to dominate every year.

The Chirijquiac boys did not seem to fair quite as well in the championship game falling to the boys from Xejuyup 10 to 7. Still, they put on a great effort in honor of their coach Stan who had to leave them (in capable hands we might add) after two weeks of coaching.

Kid's Tournament: Day One

2009-08-07T10:09:00.002-04:00

The two-day kid's tournament kicked off on Thursday and it was one for the record books.

The morning got starated with a parade of all the players and coaches up the winding dirt road to the village of Pachaj where the tournament is being held this year (although Chuisuc is hosting). After a handful of welcoming speeches and the pomp and circumstance of the Guatemalan national anthem, the games were ready to begin.

First up were the reigning girls' champions of Pachaj vs. last year's third place team Xejuyup. It quickly became apparent that Pachaj would once again be playing for the championship on Friday and Xejuyup in the third place game. In the end, it was Pachaj 21 and Xejuyup 5.

Next up were the boys of Chuisuc and Chirijquaic. It was a barn-burner of a game with the score deadlocked at zero at the half! Chiri was the first to break the points-scoring ice and never looked back, finally winning 5 to 1. At one point in the game referee Bryan could be heard comparing it to a soccer game...Stat Girl does not like this status.

The Christmas-themed match-ups continued in the third game with the Chuisuc girls (green) taking on the Chirijquiac girls (red). At first it looked as if the girls game between these two aldeas was going to suffere the same soccer fate as the boys game, but the red menance of old reared its head in the 2nd half and the Chiri girls won 19 to 2.

The final game of the day between Pachaj and Xejuyup boys will do down in the Hoops Sagrado record books. It was a scrappy match-up from teh get go and at the end of regulation the score was tied at 8. The first (yes, Stat Girl said first) overtime saw tempers beginning to flare both on the court and sidelines. Although referee Bryan usually lets a lot slide, when players start playing dirty and coaches start copmlaining about the reffing, he starts calling the game tighter and tighter depending on the level of complaints. Over #1 ended with the score dead-locked at 10. The second overtime was equally as intense, it not more so than the first, only wiht a different result. With less than 2 minutes to go, Xejyuup increased the score to 12-10 and although there were some scary moments in the final 90 seconds, they held on to make it the championship game against Chirijquiac.

On Friday, for the Championship:
Pachaj girls vs. Chirijquiac girls
Xejuyup boys vs. Chirijquiac boys

For Third Place:
Chuisuc girls vs. Xejuyup girls
Pachaj boys vs. Chuisuc boys

Pachaj

2009-08-04T10:24:00.002-04:00

Chanae, Imani, Jerren, Jerrod, Jordyn, Malik

This is my [Imani] second year at Pachaj, this year Pachaj has been very interesting. The girls and boys at camp come to greet us. Even some of the teachers stay and watch the kids play. Sometimes they even give us water. It surprises me how patient the kids can be.

To get to Pachaj, we have to take a microbus to the Rotunda and then a school bus to Pachaj. We arrive at camp at 3:30 and leave at 5 p.m. There is 6 people at Pachaj. There’s Chanae, Jerrod, Jordyn, Jerren, Malik and I (Imani).

Every year the girls and boys have to be cut, we don’t like to cut anyone in the 6th grade because it will be their last chance to play if they don’t get a scholarship.

There’s a lot of 6th graders in our camp this year, about 13 so we had to cut the girls down 3 so we would just have 10. Lately we have been teaching the boys and girls how to dribble, pass and use defense.

When we get the chance we talk to the kids about there life outside of basketball. Talking to one of the girls I found out that her father lives in the United States. I found this different because parents are willing to go to the states to provide better for their family back in Guatemala.

Yesterday, the girls played against the boys we went into overtime with two on both sides. Unfortunately the boys won but today there will be a rematch hopefully this time we’ll win.

We have a tournament with other camps soon. We won the tournament last year and we to reign supreme again. In Pachaj we teach and play together as a team. Jerrod, Malik and Jerren work on the boys while Jordyn, Chanae and myself work on the girls. Chanae and Malik are here for the first time, they came with an open mind ready to experience something new and different.

Even though it’s me, Jerren and Jerrod’s second year. It’s also Jordyn’s third year we all came ready to re-experience camp at Pachaj again. Well, we gotta get ready for this tournament. Til next time. GO PACHAJ!

Chirijquiac

2009-08-04T10:20:00.002-04:00

Diggs, Justine, KK, Nate, Stan and Shaq

As first time visitors to Guatemala, Nate, KK and I [Justine] all feel that the children at our camp are a part of our family.

Our first time to the camp was very surprising. The trip itself was unexectped, yet very welcoming. The children all welcomed us and displayed their level of respect. As the first week came to an end, we knew that we had to cut 20 girls and 16 boys so that we can have an official team.

After we made the cuts, we then realized the amount of responsibilities that they had. Many of the children had to return to work so that they could support their family.

The experience is bittersweet. Nonetheless, we all enjoy the company of the children.

Xejuyup

2009-07-30T10:37:00.002-04:00

(Breezy, Jamal, Mit'hat, Sam and Tyler)

This summer, the pied-piper of Xejuyup has returned with a vengance...welcome back Samuel. Also returning home are Mit'hat, Breezy and Tyler along with our newest addition, Jamal.Withour squad complete, we have set out on our quest for the 'Ship.

During our first week of camp, we were graciously welcomed by our group (or kids) consisting of about 23 boys and 20 girls. We begin each day with warm-up exercises consisting of laps, stretching and pushups. Later we begin drills such as dribbling competitions, shooting, passing and defensive slides. A typical day in Xejuyup is never complete without a ball rolling down the steep mountain into the cornfields, resulting in all the boys flying down the mountain to get it. After the ball is retrieved, camp resumes with 1 on 1, 2 on 2 and finally 5 on 5 competitions at the end.

We have narrowed down the boys and girls teams to 10 memebers each. It was sad cutting kids who show so much effort, but it is great to work with smaller groups because we are now teaching advanced basketball topics like zone and man defenses and setting picks on offense. It's evident that the kids hard work has paid off in the first two weeks because their skills keep improving daily. When we first came to the camp some kids couldn't dribble and had trouble reaching the rim. It is amazing how quickly they are improving.

We are really getting close to our kids the more time we spend with them. We are amazed that the families are allowing their 4th, 5th and 6th graders to miss work in order to come to our camp. We must reiterate what an honor it is to work with them.

Chuisuc

2009-07-29T10:15:00.002-04:00

(Beginning today, we'll be running a series of posts written by our students about their experiences in the basketball clinics. First up is Chuisuc, which is run by Alexis, Aniekan, Carla, Devonte and Elvis).

The camp: five coaches, one court, two weeks and too many kids. No really, it's only too many in relation to the ten who make up the team. However, the team is more than the ten that play in the tournament, it is everybody that comes each day. Some show up to play ball, some just play around, but it is everybody who is around that makes it fun. It's speaking Spanglish, thanking Carla for speaking Spanish, making up handshakes and yelling cuadro afuara in hopes they will box out.

Working with the kids is interesting because you have to teach them everything in ways they'll understand. Basketball serves as a bridge to the language barrier. Although, unless they have ball in their hand, the questions they ask have nothing to do with basketball. The questions they ask are about your family and school.

By the end of the second week, the focus has shifted and its more serious. The questions are like "am I going to make the team?" and "which day are the cuts?" The second week came and we made the cuts. The kids took it pretty well. There was no crying and no bitterness. The best part is the kids we select are sixth graders so the rest are younger, giving them another year to make the team.

Now with the teams made it's still fun and now they just want to win. This week coming up we are teaching them 2-3 defense and offensive moves. The girls know their positions and are learning their roles.

Basketball is bridging the gap for kids up in Chuisuc with kids in America.

If It's Raining, It Must Be San Cristobal

2009-07-28T10:14:00.002-04:00

We are going to go a bit out of order here and talk about Saturday and Sunday before we talk about Friday. The events of Friday need a proper vetting before posting them on the blog, but please stay tuned, it will be worth the wait.

As for the weekend, we participated in the San Cristobal tournament for the 11th year and for the 11th year, the tournament was rain delayed. Seriously, no one should ever plan a wedding, a barbeque or any outdoor event for the weekend of the San Cris tournament because surely it too will be rain-delayed.

Still, despite the rain, our hosts in San Cris were as gracious as ever and this year even served us something other than hot dogs with coleslaw to show their appreciation.

Las Chicas were 50-50 in the tournament. On Saturday, despite their efforts, they lost to the host team 45 to 41. But the loss did not deter them and they rallied for an early morning game on Sunday and defeated the team from Pahula 41-30. The newest members of the team are learning hard lessons learned by last year's team. Just because someone looks like "she's 'bout 90" does not in fact mean that person cannot ball. For some reason this is always an issue with the girls team and those of us on the trip who at times might feel like we're "'bout 90" take a subtle pleasure in watching some of the more mature players on opposing teams teach Las Chicas a lesson about the experience that comes with age.

Las Chicas vs. San Cris (41 to 45)
Alexis: 1 point/3 rebounds
Breezy: 1 assist/2 rebounds
Carla: 2 rebounds
Chanae: 3 rebounds
Imani: 2 points/2 rebounds
Jordyn: 15 points/ 2 assists/ 1 rebound
Justine: 2 rebounds
KK: 3 points/ 3 assists/ 4 rebounds
Tyler: 20 points/ 7 rebounds

Las Chicas vs. Pahula (41 to 30)
Alexis: 2 points/ 6 rebounds
Breezy: 2 rebounds
Carla: 2 rebounds
Chanae: 6 rebounds
Imani: 1 rebound
Jordyn: 14 points/ 2 assists/ 1 rebound
Justine: 5 rebounds
KK: 6 points/ 3 rebounds
Tyler: 19 points/ 1 assist/ 9 rebounds

The Young Guns bounced back from Friday (more to come later) and took on the San Cristobal sub-21 team with a renewed passion. Malik was a beast on the boards and in buckets and completed a double-double with 26 points and 17 rebounds. But it wasn't a one-man show and everyone made the stat line in the 66-43 victory. Following a good night's rest and a morning off, the Young Guns prepared to play for the championship on Sunday against Totonicopan. With 3 minutes left to go in the third quarter and the Knights up by 20, the heavens opened up and it rained the way it only can in San Cris. After about an hour rain delay, the Young Guns took to the court again and looked to maintain their 20-point lead right through to the end. Of course that's when things started to meltdown and emotions were running high. Despite the inter turmoil on the team, the Young Guns were able to hold it together long enough for a 51-47 victory and be crowned junvenile champions.

Young Guns vs. San Cristobal (66 to 43)
Elvis: 2 points/ 5 assists/ 6 rebounds
Devonte: 7 points/ 2 rebounds
Diggs: 9 points/ 3 assists/3 rebounds
Jamal: 4 points/ 3 rebounds
Jerren: 4 points/ 1 assist/ 1 rebound
Malik: 26 points/ 1 assist/ 17 rebounds
Mit'hat: 8 points/ 4 assists/ 3 rebounds
Nate: 4 points/ 2 assists/ 3 rebounds

Young Guns vs. Totonicopan (51 to 47)
Elvis: 3 points/ 6 rebounds
Devonte: 9 points/ 2 assists/ 6 rebounds
Diggs: 5 points/ 3 rebounds
Jamal: 2 rebounds
Jerren: 2 points/1 assist/2 rebounds
Malik: 12 points/2 assists/13 rebounds
Mit'hat: 12 points/9 rebounds
Nate: 5 points/1 rebound

Thanks to extended rain delays on both Saturday and Sunday, the Old Heads didn't take to the court until the sun was beginning its daily creep behind the mountains. First up on the docket for the Old Heads was the host team. Despite the fact that folks on both teams are long-time friends and have shared a cerveza or two together, that didn't stop things from getting chippy and the fouls were flying pretty fast and furious. Mother Nature cooled things off with, wait for it, wait for it...rain delay and the Old Heads returned after the delay to defeat San Cris 61 to 44. What can we say about the championship game vs. Mazate (at least the portions of their team that showed up) other than what you would expect: a rain delay, bad calls, rough play and a stompin' by Hoops Sagrado. The Old Heads defeated one of their costal rivals 89 to 34 to once again be crowned champions of the San Cristobal tournament.

Old Heads vs. San Cris (61 to 44)
Aniekan: 14 points/7 assists/4 rebounds
Bryan: 6 points/2 assists/1 rebound
Diggs: 4 points/7 rebounds
Mit'hat: 3 points
Sam: 3 assists/6 rebounds
Shaq: 20 points/ 1 assist/ 11 rebounds
Stan: 14 points/3 assists/2 rebounds

Old Heads vs. Mazate (89 to 34)
Aniekan: 10 points/3 assists/6 rebounds
Bryan: 18 points/4 assists/3 rebounds
Diggs: 3 rebounds
Jerrod: 18 points/1 assist/4 rebounds
Mit'hat: 11 points/2 assists
Nate: 4 points
Sam: 6 points/5 assists/5 rebounds
Shaq: 7 points/2 assists/10 rebounds
Stan: 11 points/3 rebounds

Cunen and Chichicastenango

2009-07-23T02:41:00.002-04:00

The weekend brought the first roadtrip of our adventure and we traveled about four hours by bus to the mountain town Cunen in Quiche state.

Surrounded by mountains and next the Catholic church in the center of the town, the outdoor court in Cunen has to have been one of the prettiest settings for a basketball game the Knights have ever had the opportunity to experience.

With the sun setting over the mountains, the Young Guns took the court first. Our readers will have to forgive Stat Girl for not having a complete report from the Young Guns game (although all the stats are correct) because we spent most of the boys game trying to fix the clock/scoreboard. Luckily for us, Cunen's very own MacGuyver was able to fix with with some first aid tape (and gum wrapper of course). The final score was Young Guns 56 and Cunen 48.

Devonte: 7 points/ 1 assist/ 4 rebounds
Elvis: 9 points/ 2 rebounds
Nate: 10 points/ 2 assists/ 5 rebounds
Jamal: 2 points/ 5 rebounds
Malik: 8 points/9 rebounds
Jerren: 2 points/ 5 assists/ 5 rebounds
Diggs: 10 points/ 4 rebounds
Mit'hat: 8 points/ 7 rebounds

The Las Chicas game (and yes, it's odd to say The Las) started with a lot of discussion about whether or not the game should be for 8 or 10 minute quarters. Cunen decided on 10 minute quarters and by the time the game ended with a 50-27 victory for Las Chicas, we suspect the Cunen team may have regretted that decision.

Tyler: 19 points/ 2 assists/ 8 rebounds
Jordyn: 15 points/ 4 assists
Alexis: 1 assist/ 6 rebounds
KK: 10 points/ 1 assist/ 1 rebound
Breezy (2 points)/ 3 assists/ 1 rebound
Chanae: 4 points/ 3 rebounds
Imani: 2 points/ 1 assist/ 9 rebounds
Carla: 1 assist/ 3 rebounds

By the time the Old Heads game rolled around the court was under the lights--okay, so half the court was under the lights, the other half, not-so-much. It was pretty obvious early on that the Knights had things under control, especially when it was 45-10 at the half. The large lead gave the Old Heads an opportunity to get creative including several crowd-pleasing dunks by Aniekan "Oh My Aching Back" Udofia. It also gave Nate an opportunity to make his debut with the Old Heads (and score a bucket). In the end, it was 89-32 in favor of the Knights.

Bryan: 6 points/ 8 assists/ 4 rebounds
Sam: 7 points/ 2 assists/ 5 rebounds
Stan: 19 points/ 2 assists/ 4 rebounds
Jerrod: 21 points/ 4 assists/ 4 rebounds
Shaq: 13 points/ 8 rebounds
Mit'hat: 3 points/ 1 assist
Diggs: 5 rebounds
Aniekan: 19 points/ 3 assists/ 7 rebounds
Nate: 2 points

After the game, everyone headed to a local restaurant--the only one in town-- for dinner by candlelight, which was courtesy of a blown transformer. Our small hotel, of which we were fortunately the only guests, took on a freshman dorm atmosphere with lots of tall tales and farting...good times.

On Sunday, half of the group went on a hike to some local caves and waterfalls. The report from the field is that it was the most beautiful and amazing thing that some of the students had ever seen.

Around mid-day we boarded the bus to Chichicastenango. We were scheduled to play three games in Chichi beginning at 8 p.m., but the consensus on the bus was that people weren't really up for three more games at that hour, so we canceled the games and most likely saved American-Guatemalan relations for at least another week. We still stopped in Chichi to visit the market and try our hands at bartering for goods, but we were home in Xela before our first game was scheduled to start and in theory for everyone to get a good night sleep before Monday classes.

Coatepeque and Champerico

2009-07-22T10:24:00.002-04:00

After a week of classes and basketball camps, the Hoops Sagrado Knights descended from the Highlands of Quetzaltenango to the coastal town of Coatepeque for our first officials games on Friday.

Las Chicas and the Young Guns took on the boys and girls teams from the Pedro Molina high school and the Old Heads played the Coatepeque selection team--who were the league champions in 2008.

The ladies were the first up and when the scoreboard at halftime read 38-9 in favor of Las Chicas, the pressure of getting the first win in Guatemala quickly evaporated. Almost all of the ladies mad an appearance in the game and everyone who plaed made the stat line. Las Chicas 55--Pedro Molina 21.

Jordyn: 8 points/2 assists/5 rebounds
Tyler: 20 points/ 1 assist/ 13 rebounds
Alexis: 8 points/ 3 assists/ 10 rebounds
KK: 13 points/ 2 assists/ 6 rebounds
Carla: 1 rebound
Chanae: 4 points/ 1 assist/ 7 rebounds
Justine: 2 points/ 2 rebounds
Imani: 4 rebounds

Two-hundred members of the school community will be making their way to Pasadena for the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2010 and we were treated to a preview of their performance (including a special rendition of Happy Birthday for Chanae) between games. We aren't sure the Rose Parade has ever seen anything like it! Be sure to tune in and see for yourselves.

Next on the court after the brief musical interlude were the Young Guns. Although the boys didn't quite dominate in the same fashion as the ladies, they still managed to pull off a 36-29 vitory. At one point, the Young Guns proved threatening enough that when just about no one was looking but Stat Girl, a member of the selection team slipped on a Pedro Molina jersey and entered the game. Even though that may have helped keep the score closer, it was all for naught as every member of the Knights made the stat line and kept Hoops Sagrad 2-0 for the day.

Devonte: 2 points/ 2 assists/ 1 rebound
Jerren: 2 points/ 1 assist/ 4 rebounds
Nate: 8 points/ 1 assist/ 3 rebounds
Elvis: 5 points/ 6 rebounds
Malik: 10 points/ 7 rebounds
Mit'hat: 6 points/ 1 assist/ 6 rebounds
Diggs; 3 points/4 rebounds
Jamal: 3 rebounds

For the final game of the morning--okay, it's Guatemala so the final game of the afternoon--the Old Heads took on the league-winning selection team. It seemed as if blow-out was in the works at half-time with the Knights up by 16, but the Coatepeque team went on a 12-0 run in the 3rd quarter to make things interesting. With less than a minute to go the Knights were only up by 3, but fortunately kept the ball and thanks to a last-minute 3 by Diggs (with an assist from Bryan) to earn him the Dario Paul Poor Sportsmanship Award, the Knighs prevailed 54-48.

Bryan: 8 points/ 2 assists/ 2 rebounds
Aniekan: 4 points/ 2 assists/ 3 rebounds
Jerrod: 19 points/ 3 assists/ 4 rebounds
Stan: 7 points/ 1 assist/ 5 rebounds
Sam: 4 points/ 1 assist/ 8 rebounds
Shaq: 4 points/ 8 rebounds
Diggs: 6 points/ 2 assists/ 4 rebounds
Mit'hat: 2 points/ 1 assist/ 1 rebound

The best way to celebrate the Knights firs three victories was of course a trip to the beach. So after a lunch--which included a sampling of cow utters--provided by our host, we headed to Champerico to dip our toes in the ocean and watch the sunset over the Pacific.

Early Morning Practice

2009-07-15T08:08:00.002-04:00

It's 6 a.m. in Guatemala...do you know where your children are?

If they are on the Hoops Sagrado trip they are all currently walking about a mile to some local basketball courts for early morning practice. Time will tell how this turns out, but we suspect an early night for everyone tonight.

More soon....

We Have Arrived

2009-07-13T17:46:00.004-04:00

We have finally arrived in Guatemala and more to the point we have finally arrived in Xela! Only three days in and it's been a lot of firsts already...first plane ride, first time in a foreign country, first meal out of a cart...and it's been pretty exciting because everyone has survived, even the meals out of the carts! Every year in Guatemala its a different experience because the people on the trip are different. First impressions so far have been that folks seem really open to trying new things and really respectful of each other and the program. There's a lot more to write, especially tomorrow after the first full day of classes and camps, but we just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that we're here, we're safe and so far, we're having a great time (oh and learning too!).

And We're Off....

2009-07-10T20:41:00.005-04:00

The bags are packed (hopefully) and the passports have all arrived (finally...and don't get us started on that one) and Hoops Sagrado 2009 is set to take off (literally) on Saturday July 11. But before we get to Guatemala, let us introduce you to this year's team:

Alexis--rising junior at Bishop McNamara High School, first time Hoops participant. Alexis doesn't think there is a better way to learn than "hands on," and is looking forward to working with the children in Cantel.

Aniekan--graduate, School of Hard Knocks, seven-time Hoops participant. Made sure to load up on Zoloft prescription before heading out....the year of no technicals. Aniekan will be painting a mural in Pachaj this year.

Breezy--graduate, Winona State, two-time Hoops participant and getting things started right this year by being diagnosed with tonsillitis the day before the trip.

Bryan--graduate, Howard University, 11-time Hoops participant, fearless leader, father, husband, BFF, oh and the best ANC Commissioner in D.C. according to the City Paper. He's got a new iPod and new shoes this year...Xela, you've been warned....

Carla--rising senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C. and first-times Hoops participant. Carla is a native of Ecuador and excited to learn about a new culture and work on her Spanish.

Chanae--rising junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy and first-time Hoops participant. Chanae is looking forward to the adventure that the trip will be and becoming a more well-rounded person.

Deon--Diggs, as we like to call him, is a graduate of Hyde Public Charter School, student at Johnson & Wales in Miami and four-time Hoops participant. We're looking forward to having Diggs' steadying hand on the trip.

Devonte--rising junior at Suitland High School, first time Hoops participant and brother of Deon. Devonte is looking forward to sharing is love (and skills) of basketball with the children in Guatemala.

Elvis--rising junior at Wilson Sr. High School, first-time Hoops participant and brother of Mit'hat. Besides looking forward to having his skills on the basketball court, we're also wondering whether he'll show up with a mohawk or not.

Imani--rising junior at Montgomery Blair High school and two-time Hoops participant. Imani was on her basketball team at school this year, so we're looking forward to seeing her more on the court this summer.

Jamal--attended Wilson Senior High School and is a first-time Hoops participant. With about 10 minutes to go till the office closed, Jamal finally got his passport on Friday and now we're glad to have his infectious laughter on the trip.

Jerren--attended Bell Multicultural High School and is a two-time Hoops participant. After taking a year off from Guatemala, Jerren is back with us this year. The cart vendors in the market have been forewarned to stock-up!

Jerrod--graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and two-time Hoops participant. Having purchased all the salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and hot sauce that he can carry, Jerrod is ready for a second year in Guatemala.

Jordyn--rising junior at Paul VI and three-time Hoops participant. It's going to mean a bit less time on Facebook, but we know that Jordyn is really looking forward to coming back to Guate this year...now if we could just get the Momma to come...

Justine--rising senior at Thurgood Marshall Academy and first-time Hoops participant. Justine is looking forward to seeing a way of life outside of Southeast D.C.

Kaybria--rising sophomore at Paul VI and first-time Hoops participant. Kaybria (aka KK)is looking forward to improving her Spanish and enhancing her leadership abilities.

Malik--is a rising junior at Wilson High School and first-time Hoops participant. Now that his passport has finally arrived, we're very excited to have Malik with us. We suspect he'll learn the bus routes in Xela before anyone else.

Mindy--graduate West Virginia University and six-time Hoops participant. Stat Girl has a new notebook and spent the spring co-ed league season working on her stat-taking abilities.

Mit'hat--graduate of Luke Seymour High School and four-time Hoops participant. Mit'hat is back with us for one last time before adulthood sets in and we are looking forward to his goat herding skills and three-point shot.

Nate--attended Wilson High School and is a first-time Hoops participant. Nate lives in Adams Morgan and has never traveled before so he's looking forward to a new experience.

Sam, graduate Wilson High School and UMass. DCPS math teacher, six-time Hoops participant. After taking a year off, Sam is back and ready for a Super Chivos game...He'll be teaching English in the mornings and of course coaching at Xejuyup.

Shaq--graduate of Maya Angelou Public Charter School and three and a half-time Hoops participant. Shaq is back with us this year after having to leave early and we're glad he join us...and Stat Girl swears she didn't shrink the uniforms.

Stan--graduate Wilson High School and Michigan State. Stan currently works for a large public charity and will only be with us for three weeks this year, but we're glad for that time and Bryan is glad his rolls are safe for at least part of the trip.

Tyler--is a rising junior at Elizabeth Seaton, two-time Hoops participant and will celebrate her sweet 16th with us this year in Guatemala.... This is going to call for something more than Albamarl. At least it will save her parents a few weeks of car insurance!

Cue the Queen

2009-06-29T15:39:00.005-04:00

Didn't mean to keep folks in suspense, it's just been one of those weeks, but without further delay here is the final report from the Balance Gym Co-Ed Spring League:

The Hoops Sagrado Knights (8-0 regular season) Co-ed League season came to a dramatic conclusion as the Knights held on to beat Full Court Press (7-1 regular seasons) 82 to 76.

Things were tense from the very beginning and threatened to boil over at several points, but fortunately, there were no technicals, even for the bench.

Despite the final score, this was probably not the Knights' best game simply because there was a battle for each ball and just some dirty plays and bad calls.

Everyone contributed in some way though, whether with points, stats or emotional support and it was the Knights who got to cut down the nets at the end of the game.

Championship Game Stats*
Bryan: 5 points/4 assists/ 1 half assist/ 2 rebounds
Dario: 20 points/ 3 assists/ 15 rebounds/ 4 steals-blocks
Stan: 7 points/ 1 half assist/ 4 rebounds/ 1 steal-block
Aniekan: 6 points/ 2 assists/ 7 rebounds/ 1 steal-block
Jerrod: 34 points/ 5 rebounds/ 3 steals-blocks
Jordyn: 10 points
Tyler: 1 rebound

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for posts from Guatemala which will start in just about week (whew!). Stat Girl has a brand new notebook and is ready to go....VAMOS!

*Stat girl apologizes that she was a bit distracted at moments during the game so while all the points are there, everyone probably had more assists, rebounds and steals-blocks than what are listed.

If David Stern played in the NBA

2009-06-21T16:44:00.003-04:00

Where does Stat Girl start about today's playoff game against Flight of the Airballs?

Does she start with the fact that game started 20 minutes late because the other team was waiting on their girl? Does she start with the fact that #2 and #20 for the opposing team were total jerks(there is a better word to describe them, but this is a family publication). Or does she start with the one common denominator in both of the previous issues?

You see, the guy who organizes the league plays for Flight of the Airballs (he's #2) and it's amazing how different the rules are (and the calls are) when the Commish is playing in the game. (BTW Commish, if you want to borrow Stat Girl's pen, a please and thank you would have sufficed).

But the Knights went into the gaming knowing that in some respects the odds were against them and needless to say, the game was close and pretty darn intense.

Although the Knights lead throughout most of the game, in the second half Flight of the Airballs went on a 12-0 run and got the game to within one point.

As Bryan described it, playing against the Commish's team is like playing every team in Guatemala. We are never going to get the calls and you just need to keep your head about you. And kudos really to all of our players who understood that they weren't going to get many calls.

Cooler heads prevailed and although a couple of folks got in foul trouble, no one fouled out and no one threw any punches (although a rush order of Zoloft before the championship game may be in order).

Ultimately the Knights were able to pull of their closest margin of victory all season by beating Flight of the Airballs 63 to 53.

Playoff Game #2 Stats:
Bryan: 9 points/ 6 assists/ 1 half assist/ 3 rebounds/ 2 steals
Sam: 4 assists/ 1 half assist/ 6 rebounds/ 2 steals
Jerrod: 26 points/ 2 assists/ 2 half assists/ 4 rebounds/ 5 steals
Aniekan: 10 points/ 2 half assists/ 1 rebound
Dario: 14 points/ 2 assists/ 15 rebounds/ 1 steal
Jordyn: 2 points/ 1 rebound
Tyler: 2 points/ 1 assist/ 1 steal
Shaq: 3 rebounds

The championship game is on Saturday at 12 p.m. vs. Full Court Press. Hoops beat Full Court Press 73-58 in the third week of the league. But don't let the final score fool you. Hoops (8-0 regular season) were down to Full Court (7-1 regular season) the entire game until they finally tied it up with 9 minutes left to go and went ahead with 7:28 to go in the game.

Playoffs?! Who said anything about playoffs?!

2009-06-20T17:27:00.008-04:00

It was like deja vu all over again this week for the Knights as they once again took on the SAIS Ballers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Knights went up immediately and never really looked back. Although some of our previous games with the SAIS Ballers had been quite physical, this was a more civilized affair. Now don't get Stat Girl wrong, this wasn't a love-fest by any stretch of the means, but folks were definitely on much better behavior on both sides.

Bryan got things off on the right foot in the second half by having a Rick Berry moment with a nice two-handed finger roll for two points that sort of had everyone on both teams shaking their heads.

There was a bit of rough going at the beginning of the second half, but everyone quickly pulled it together and the momentum was on to try and score 100....

It was a true team effort today with everyone making the stat line in each category. And although the Knights didn't quite make it to triple digits but they came close.

The final score was 93-51.

Playoff Game #1 Stats
Bryan: 10 points/ 11 assists/ 4 half assists/4 rebounds
Jordyn: 24 points/ 4 assists/ 1 rebound
Sam: 4 points/ 5 assists/ 4 half assists/ 12 rebounds
Dario: 17 points/ 2 assists/ 15 rebounds
Jerrod: 27 points/ 6 assists/ 1 half assist/ 3 rebounds
Anikean: 8 points/ 1 half assit/ 4 rebounds

Playoff game two is Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Not sure who we will play, but from the looks of things it will be Flight of the Airballs who we beat in week 7 by a score of 78 to 56. They looked tough though in what we saw of their playoff game, so laces tied and fingers crossed.

Undefeated

2009-06-15T21:48:00.006-04:00

Week eight of the Balance Co-Ed League--the last week of regular season play--saw a rematch of the Knights vs. the SAIS Ballers. The Knights beat the Ballers 60-46 in a very chippy game in the second week of the league.

With our fearless leader off celebrating his high school reunion, the Knights really needed to step up against the SAIS Ballers, who despite their losing record (0 and 7) play tough ball (some might consider it a bit dirty).

Things immediately got off on the right foot (besides the fact that everyone was actually early for the game) when Dario got the tip that went right to Jordyn which she took down court for the first bucket of the game.

Perhaps it was in honor of emotional rock Bryan, or maybe everyone just shared a couple of Zoloft in the parking lot before the game, but the Knights were on their best behaviour throughout the entire 40 minutes. It never ceases to amaze Stat Girl that the meanest, dirtiest player for the SAIS Ballers is a teacher!!! Fortunately Hoops is able to counter-balance that bad impression of teachers by having Sam Levy on the team.

All-in-all it was a great outing by the Knights and everyone stepped up to help the Knights remain undefeated with a 73 to 51 victory.

A special shout-out to Jeff Owens who joined us for the last regular season game of the year as a warm up for Guatemala. He is also the recepient of this week's Dario Paul Poor Sportsmanship Award by allowing the clock to run down till its final seconds and shooting a two.

This Week's Stats:
Aniekan: 12 points/ 5 rebounds
Jerrod: 20 points/ 6 assists/ 2 rebounds
Sam: 2 points/ 6 assists/ 2 rebounds
Stan: 4 points/ 1 assist/ 1 rebound
Dario: 7 points/ 3 assists/ 12 rebounds
Jordyn: 9 points/ 3 1/2 assists/ 3 rebounds
Mehalic: 2 points/ 1-1/2 assist/ 5 rebounds
Bell: 9 points/ 1 assist/ 3 rebounds
Shaq: 4 points/ 10 rebounds
Jeff O.: 4 points

The playoffs are Saturday and Sunday, but we don't know yet what time and who we will play, so please be sure to check back.

Also, please keep Keith Gatling and his family in your prayers this week.

A win-win situation

2009-06-07T19:06:00.008-04:00

The Hoops Sagrado Knights played two games this weekend and made sure they remained undefeated by the time Monday morning rolled around:

Saturday's Game:

Saturday saw the Knights take on Stacey's Team who are much better than what their record and the final score would indicate. Once again, the pace was frenetic but that wasn't necessarily reflected in the scoring as the half-time score was only 36 to 24.

Although he did his own fair share of talking, Jerrod proved that with each passing game he is working on maintaining his composure in the face of adversity and instead of getting a technical, he showed his opponent the what-for by scoring against him.

On Saturday the Knights were joined by Hoops alumn George Samuel Mehalic as well as frequent Guatemala visitor Jeff Bell...

Hoops 81
Stacey's Team 57

Saturday's Game
Bryan: 15 points*/ 8 assists/ 1 rebound
Dario: 14 points/ 2.5 assists/ 16 rebounds
Jordyn: 5 points/ 3.5 assists
Aniekan: 8 points/ 2 assists
Jerrod: 9 points/ .5 assist/ 1 rebound
Sam Mehalic: 4 points/ 8 assists
Jeff Bell: 12 points/ 4 assists/ 4 rebounds
Tyler: 10 points/ 3 rebounds
Stan: 6 points/ 4 assists/ 3 rebounds

*This week's Dario Paul bad sportsmanship award goes to Bryan who let the clock run down, and talked smack to Stacey, who was guarding him, only to pull up as time was running out and shoot a three....

Sunday's Game:

On Sunday, the first-place Knights took on the fourth-place Flight of the Airballs...

All but one player on the squad made the state sheet in all three columns with at least a half an assist, two points and a rebound.

Defensively Hoops had a great game with Dario having at least four steals (Stat Girl is still working on that) and probably twice as many blocks.

Tyler and Jordyn both continue to make valuable contributions to the team effort and prove that no matter how rough and tumble some of the opposing players may be, that they can hang in there with the "boys" with no troubles.

Hoops Sagrado 78
Flight of the Airballs 56

Sunday's Game
Bryan: 11 points/ 9.5 assists/ 1 rebound
Tyler: 4 points/ 2 assists/ 1 rebound
Sam: 7 points/ 2 assists/ 2 rebounds
Sam Mehalic: 2 points/ 3 rebounds
Stan: 17 points/ 4 assists/ 2 rebounds
Jerrod: 7 points/ 3.5 assists/ 2 rebounds
Aniekan: 8 points/ 1.5 assists/ 4 rebounds
Dario: 13 points/ 4 assists/ 9 rebounds
Jordyn: 9 points/ .5 assists/ 1 rebound

As we move into the final week of league play before the playoffs begin and as our trip to Guatemala looms, questions still remain about the cohesiveness of the team. Some players still seem to think that basketball is an individual sport and not a team effort. Let's hope this week, that the team spirit that is Hoops Sagrado comes through.

Coming up next week is the final week of regular season play and rematch of the much disliked SAIS Ballers....Game time is 2 p.m. for anyone who a) is playing and b) wants to come and cheer the Knights on to an undefeated season.

Technically Speaking...

2009-05-31T21:44:00.008-04:00

Another week, another victory for the Hoops Sagrado Knights with a 66 to 46 win over Make It Rain.

Despite the completely frenetic play of the Hoops players, the game got off to quite a slow start with the first bucket not coming till at least 3 minutes into the game. With a half-time score of 32-26, this looked like it could one of the lowest scoring games yet.

Bryan was on fire from the 3-point line with all of his 21 points coming as 3's. And Sam is showing that he's growing into a leadership role, by giving Bryan a run for his money as assist leader.

In one of the more bizarre moments in league play with a mere 6 seconds to go and Hoops comfortably up by 17 points, Dario was casually bringing the ball up court, killing time. Other players had started shaking hands as if the game were over, but with time running out, Dario pulled up and shot a 3 to put Hoops up by 20....hmmmmmm

And Stat Girl actually made the stats this week...early in the second half, Dario made a great run up the court almost, but not quite out of bounds...problem is the ref--who didn't even see the run, called Dario out-of-bounds...Let's just say Stat Girl had a few choice words for the ref and he immediately called a tech on the bench...jerk.

But Stat Girl digresses, so without further delay, here is the stat line from week five's victory against Make It Rain

This week's Stats:
Bryan: 21 points/9 assists/4 rebounds/1 steal
Jordyn: 4 points/1 assist/2 rebounds/ 1 steal
Tyler: 4 points/1 assist/ 1 steal
Anikean: 10 points/1.5 assists/5 rebounds
Dario: 9* points/16 rebounds/5 steals
Stan: 12 points/7 assists/3 rebounds/1 steal
Shaq: 6 rebounds
Sam: 6 points/8.5 assists/6 rebounds

The schedule for the remainder of the season is as follows (always subject to change of course):
Saturday, June 6 at 11:30 a.m. vs. Stacey's Team
Sunday, June 7 at 12:45 p.m. vs. Flight of the Airballs
Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m. vs. SAIS Ballers
Saturday and Sunday June 20 & 21 Playoffs
Sunday June 28, 12 p.m. Championship game (Insha'Allah)

*Some have argued that Dario shouldn't be awarded that last three for what some might consider un-sportsmanlike conduct...but since the league scored the points, so too will we.

Boys vs. Girls

2009-05-18T10:09:00.008-04:00

This weekend served up two excellent opportunities to show that the girls can hold their own with the boys.

Although one had a more historical significance, the other, the Knights co-ed league game, was equally as entertaining.

With a huge game from Tyler, the only chica available to play this weekend, the Knights remain unbeaten with an 81-48 victory over Adam Morrison's 'Stache.

The game started off a bit questionably when Tyler was running late and it looked like Stat Girl was going to have to borrow a pair of sneakers from someone and get out on the court. Thankfully for all those involved, Allison, from Stacey's Team was able to don a Hoops jersey and join the game till Tyler was able to get there. Allison was a great asset for the three minutes she played and made the statline with two assists. (Thank you so much Allison!).

Perhaps it was the weather, maybe everyone got their Zoloft prescriptions refilled, but cooler heads prevailed this week and the Knights were about the best behaved I've ever seen. Not once that I can recall did anyone lose their minds over a call.

Stat Girl would like to give a special shout-out to Spencer Turner who got his own assist this weekend for helping out with the stats when Stat Girl had to deal with a quick emergency at the beginning of the second half.

There were plenty of steals (Jerrod with at least four), some fancy footwork and everyone got on the stat-sheet...all-in-all a great game.

This Weeks Stats
Bryan: 14 points/8.5 assists/4 rebounds
Stan: 8 points/2 assists/1 rebound
Tyler: 15 points/2.5 assists
Sam: 3 points/3.5 assists/4 rebounds
Dario: 17 points/3 assists/8 rebounds
Shaq: 10 points/1 assist/5 rebounds
Jerrod: 7 points/5 assists/2 rebounds
Anikean: 6 points/2 assists/4 rebounds
Allison: 2 assists

We're off this weekend for Memorial Day, but have two games the following weekend on Saturday May 30 and Sunday, May 31...I would list the times here, but as we all know, the league has a mind of its own and they would probably just get changed.

Day isn't the only word you can use after Mother...

2009-05-10T17:33:00.003-04:00

After some starts, stops and confusion, the Hoops Sagrado Knights were back on the court this Sunday in the Balance co-ed league against newcomers Full Court Press.

Despite the fact that for the first time this season the Knights had a full squad including 7 hombres and 2 chicas, it probably was not the Knigts best performance.

But as they have proved time and time again, it's the final score that matters and the Knights are now 3-0 with a 73-58 victory.

The Knights went down early and stayed that way until 9.12 to go in the second half when they finally tied it up. With 7.28 to go in the game, they went up and never looked back.

Three weeks in, it's pretty obvious that the bad calls are par for the course and that the Balance co-ed league has it's own Joey Crawford (this is not a compliment). This week, Aniekan was the recipient of his liberal use of the technical (okay, so Aniekan deserved the tech, but did not deserve the foul call that precipitated the tech).

The fouling this week was a team effort with everyone but Bryan getting their name in the book for at least one (and sometimes four) fouls. Again, some deserved and several obviously not.

Despite some ridiculous elbowing by the other team, Las Chicas Jordyn and Tyler held their own and once again proved the Knights proud not only with their heart, but also their skills.

We were joined this week by Stan and he immediately made a huge difference scoring 14points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. It's good to have him with us on Sundays.

The Knights always have the most vocal cheering squad and today they were lead by Momma Crocket and Bryan's grandfather Frank Hayes. They were a great addition to the bench.

Here is this weeks stat line:

Bryan: 4 points/8 assists/1 rebound (no fouls)
Stan: 14 points/ 4 assists/2 rebounds (4 fouls)
Sam: 4 points/ 2.5 assists/5 rebounds (2 fouls)
Dario: 9 points/1 assist/22 rebounds (2 fouls)
Jerrod: 14 points/ 1 assist/ 4 rebounds (3 fouls)
Shaq: 8 points/8 rebounds (3 fouls)
Aniekan: 8 points/2 rebounds (4 fouls)
Jordyn: 10 points/2 rebounds (2 fouls)
Tyler: 2 points/1 assist/1 rebound (1 foul)

Stat girl is working on steals and should have those added to the stat line next week.

Next up: Adam Morrison's Stache at 12:45 on Sunday, May 17.

Schedule Changes

2009-05-03T09:01:00.003-04:00

The Knights league schedule has changed...

May 3--no game

May 10--2 p.m. vs. Full Court Press

May 17--12:45 p.m. vs. Adam Morrison's Stache

Memorial Day Weekend, no games

May 30--3:15 vs. Stacey's Team

May 31--3:15 vs. Make It Rain

June 7--12:45 vs. Flight of the Airballs

June 14--2 p.m. vs. SAIS Ballers

Does the "i" in team go between the e and the a?

2009-04-27T09:49:00.015-04:00

At times during Sunday's Hoops game vs. the SAIS Ballers, it felt a bit like the Knights were playing a selection team made up of every obnoxious player they have ever encountered in Guatemala. The dirty plays began almost from the tip of the ball and the trash talking soon followed.

Now one would think that after experiencing this kind of 'play' in Guatemala year-after-year, cooler heads would prevail. Instead of letting the bad plays and bad calls go ignored, a few members of the Knights lost their heads and had to be reminded, on more than one occasion, that this is a team effort.

One player who had the team spirit from the beginning was Jordyn (and Stat Girl's not just sayin this in some sort of chick solidarity either).Even after a day spent tackling the grass and hedges at Casa Crockett, Jordyn (the only girl on the roster this week) had to play the full 40 minutes, but she did a bang-up job and absolutely didn't shy away from some of the rough and tumble play and came up with two 3's and 14 points total...probably a bruise on her hip too after trying to save a ball late in the game.

In the end, despite his frustrations with his team, Bryan was able to rally the troops, calm them down (or more to the point, shut them up) and in the end, dirty plays, questionable calls, and trash talk aside, the Knights prevailed 60 to 46 to remain undefeated in the league.

The Stats
Bryan: 10 points/4.5 assists/7 rebounds
Jordyn: 14 points/3 assists/1 rebound
Jerrod: 16 points/3 assists/1 rebound
Sam: 3 points/6 assists/ 11 rebounds
Aniekan: 5 points/10 rebounds
Dario: 12 points/1 assist/6 rebounds

Next up: Sunday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. vs. Make It Rain

Hoops Sagrado's Co-Ed League Schedule

2009-04-20T12:41:00.002-04:00

Sunday, April 26, 3:15 p.m. vs. SAIS Ballers

Sunday, May 3, 4:30 p.m. vs. Make It Rain

Sunday, May 10, 2 p.m. vs. Flight of the Airballs (call your mother before the game).

Sunday, May 17, 2 p.m. vs. SAIS Ballers

No games Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday, May 30, 12:45 p.m. vs. Stacey's Team

Sunday, May 31, 2 p.m. vs. Adam Morrison's Stache

Saturday, June 6, 2:15 p.m. vs. Stacey's Team

Let the games begin!

2009-04-20T08:49:00.003-04:00

Like the Phoenix, the Hoops Sagrado Knights rose from the ashes of the off-season on Sunday to win the first game of the spring season of the Balance Co-ed League 92-48.

The Knights pretty quickly jumped out to a 10 point lead and the game was never any closer. Even though the glory days of a 3-team, 100+ point victory in Jacaltenango are merely memories now, the Knights played as if that was just yesterday.

In addition to being leading scorer, Jerrod had some great take aways, and old-school Knight Dario was a beast under the nets. As you would expect, our fearless leader Bryan was also the assist leader. Stat Girl is going to keep her promise of recording half assists for everytime Bryan makes a great pass, but then the player in the receiving end fails to make the basket.

Proving that questionable calls truly are international, Aniekan got into foul trouble fairly early in the first half, but the Zoloft kicked in around half-time and he was able to play the second half with relative calm.

Special kudos go to Tyler who as the only girl on Sunday's roster had to stay on the court for the full 40 minutes. Not only did she handle the time on the court well, but she also held her own amongst the guys and other women on the court.

As the stats below show, it was a solid effort by everyone and it was great to have the Knights back out on the court together as a team.

Sunday Stats:

Bryan: 15 points/ 9 assists/ 2 rebounds
Tyler: 9 points/ 2 assists/ 7 rebounds
Dario: 13 points/ 2 assists/ 12 rebounds
Jerrod: 26 points/4 assists/ 8 rebounds
Aniekan: 10 points/3 assists/ 3 rebounds
Shaq: 11 points/5 rebounds
Sam: 7 points/ 3 assists/ 4rebounds

Games are held at Balance Gym at 2200 California Street, NW.

Next game is Sunday, April 26 at 3:15 p.m. See you at the gym!

Hoops Sagrado 2009

2009-01-13T20:44:00.001-05:00

Time is awasting people....Bryan is looking for 10 "non-knuckleheads" who are interested in going to Guatemala this summer.

Final Stat Lines for Hoops Sagrado 2008

2008-09-01T17:27:00.003-04:00

It's taken a while (Stat Girl has issues with math) but here are the final stat lines from Hoops Sagrado 2008. Just a few things to remember: These do not include any of the games played in the Cantel tournament (those pages seem to be mysteriously missing) and the stats for the Young Guns do not include any of the games they played with the Old Heads, nor do the stats for Las Chicas include any games they played with the Young Guns.

Old Heads
Leading Scorer: Jerrod w/ 16.7
Assist Leader: Bryan 7.72
Leading Rebounder: Jeff 7.6

Bryan: 11.83 points/7.72 assists/4.2 rebounds
Aniekan: 10.09 points/2.4 assists/5.44 rebounds
Jerrod: 16.17 points/3.3 assists/5.2 rebounds
Stan: 12.5 points/3 assists/4.6 rebounds
Jeff: 13.8 points/1 assist/7.6 rebounds
Shaq: 15.5 points/1 assist

Young Guns
Leading Scorer: Brandon 13.55
Assist Leader: Johari 3.9
Leading Rebounder: Alex 12.17

Brandon: 13.55 points/ 3.38 assists /4.75 rebounds
Johari: 10.4 points/ 3.9 assists/ 3.44 rebounds
Alex: 13 points/ 1.5 assists/ 12.17 rebounds
Connor: 9.8 points / 1.4 assists / 2.78 rebounds
Ronald: 3.67 points / 1 assist / 5.25 rebounds
Lexus: .2 points/ .2 assist/ 2.67 rebounds

Las Chicas
Leading Scorer: Jordyn 14 points
Assist Leader: Jordyn 2 and Tyler 2
Leading Rebounder: Brittany 6.13

Jordyn: 14 points/ 2 assists/ 3 rebounds
Tyler: 12.33 points/ 2 assists/ 2.75 rebounds
Breezy: 1.89 points/ 1.56 assists/ 4.75 rebounds
Brittany: 3.78 points/ 0 assists/ 6.13 rebounds
Bookie: 1.67 points/ .22 assists/ 4.5 rebounds
Akasha: .22 points/0 assists/ 1.13 rebounds
Melody: 0 points/ 0assists/ .67 rebounds
Kara: 0 points/ .11assists/ .56 rebounds
Imani: .22 points/ 0 assists/ .34 rebounds

And so it begins...

2008-08-30T20:44:00.002-04:00

The bags are unpacked, the laundry is done and everyone seems to be getting back to their lives in D.C. and we are already busy planning for Hoops Sagrado 2009.

We've decided to limit the number of participants to 20 in 2009 and that includes us "old heads." So far we've got four slots filled up which leaves 16 more decisions to make.

Let us know...

Adios Guatemala

2008-08-20T04:27:00.002-04:00

It's about 3 a.m. (Guatemala time) on our last day in Guatemala and while most of the group is sleeping, some of us have decided to push on through until the 4 a.m. departure time for the airport.

While we know that everyone will be glad to get home to see family and friends and to take a good, strong, hot shower, it really is with heavy heart that we leave Guatemala this morning.

For 33 days we've lived together, laughed together, learned together, and some times fought/disagreed with each other. We've met many new people and have created life-long friendships and bonds that stretch across language, race and borders.

For some of us, Guatemala has touched our hearts and souls like no other place or experience and it's our genuine hope that the Hoops Sagrado students are as forever changed by this experience as those of us "old heads" have been through 10 years of the program.

Adios y gracias Guatemala.
Hoops Sagrado

Adios Xela

2008-08-19T10:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, August 18, was a sad day for many of us as it was our last day in Xela. But before we boarded bus and headed out of Xela for the last time, we had a fiesta with all the teachers and directors from the four schools where we run the basketball clinics.

Since this is Hoops Sagrado, the fiesta included a few basketball games between the teachers and directors of each school with the Hoops folks who worked at each school pitching in. Although there was clearly some questionable play calling and refereing by other Hoops students.

After the basketball each school did a presentation for the students which including traditional dancing and singing. The directors of each school expressed their heartfelt thanks to all the Hoops students for the hard work that they do. Each student was presented with a small token from their schools which ranged from pieces of tipica with their names embroidered on them to hand-made purses and scarves.

For the first time, the superintendent of the school system in Cantel was at the fiesta and made a brief speech. His speech, which was quite emotional for many of us and basically included words along the lines of ..."Guatemala has no courses, Guatemala has no schools, Guatemala has poverty, but the students of Guatemala have angels and many of those angels are the students of Hoops Sagrado."

When the speeches and gift-giving had concluded everyone enjoyed a totally awesome lunch provided by the teachers of Chuisuc, then headed back to their homes to pack up and say their final good-byes to their families.

In what was probably a fitting moment, the bus pulled out of Xela for the last time on a totally beautiful and sunny afternoon.

We arrived in the lakeside village of Panajachel around 8 p.m. and within 5 minutes of getting situated in their rooms, most of the students were in the streets of Pana spending what little money they have left....if you're a loved one of a student on the trip, let's hope they spent some of that money on gifts for you!

The Week In Review

2008-08-18T09:47:00.002-04:00

Last week was a busy one and while we have tons of stuff to tell you about, the time is pretty short so we'll give a quick review here and then fill in with blog posts as we can (probably even after we get home).

Saturday Aug. 9 was the annual lunch with all the Hoops Sagrado scholarship students. This year's lunch was held in Pachaj and as always it was a fun and special day. That evening we played Xela in the local gym and won on a thrilling and controversial last-second foul shot.

Sunday Aug. 10 was the day of the Cantel Tournament. Always a day jam-packed with basketball the Hoops Knights once again fell to Xela in the final game of the day.

Monday Aug. 11--we visited a family of artisans in Momostenango who weave blankets, rugs and create many other handicrafts. The students always get to try their hand at spinning the wool and making tortillas. Monday was also the last day for the basketball clinics and the final chance to practice before the big tournament.

Tuesday Aug. 12--we headed back to San Felipe for three more games against a local school. After the games we boarded the bus and headed to Champerico for the day...Champerico is a Pacifical coastal town like Ocean City, Md. only worse....but it's still a good time.

Wednesday Aug. 13 and Thursday Aug. 14 were the annual kids basketball tournament and the culmination of all of our work here in Guatemala. It was a jam-packed two days with probably the biggest news coming out of the tournament being that the Red Beast--the 4-time defending champion girls team from Chirijquiac--fell in the first round of the tournament! They stormed back the next day though to end up in third place. And in a reversal of last year, both the girls and boys teams from Pachaj won the championship. After the tournament on Thursday, everyone grabbed pick up trucks and headed to the gymnasium in Xela where we played three games against a local high school with Hoops ending the day 3-0.

Friday Aug. 15 we all headed to Fuentes Georginas for a day of relaxation in the hot springs. The water this year at the hot springs is really warm, bordering on hot. Folks say the more rain that we get here in this part of the world, the warmer the springs are. After leaving the hot springs we boarded a bus for Totonicopan for three Friday night games. Once again, the Knights ended the evening 3-0 (just barely for the ladies who won by one point).

Saturday Aug. 16 and Sunday Aug. 17 we visited ruins outside of the town of Huehuetenango and then headed to a town near the Mexican border called Jacaltenango for Sunday morning games. As these may or may not be our last games here in Guatemala (we don't know what the plan is for Panajachel) everyone really put in their best effort to end the day 3-0 with the "Old Head" breaking the 100 barrier on a last-second shot by Stan.

That's it for now. We'll try to be in touch again soon. We leave Xela today for two days in Panajachel and then will be home on Wednesday. It's amazing how quickly 33 days goes by.

Pachaj

2008-08-08T11:29:00.002-04:00

(This is the final posting from our four basketball camps. The camp at Pachaj includes Jordyn, Jerrod, Connor, Imani and Bookie.)

Everyday at Pachaj we are greeted with a smile and hugs. When we finally reach the court the fun begins. Everyday we start off with layups and lots of running. The smiles on the kids faces definitely make the death defying walk up the hill worth it.

Sometimes they give us fruit and water. It really shows how much appreciation they have for us coming to there camp. In are camps there are a lot of girls that wear tipica during practice. To see girls playing basketball in heels and a skirt that symbolizes who they are.They play in clothes they are really suppose to play in. And also the fact that some of them have to work in farm fields or at home.

Teaching these kids basketball is a great experience and we wish that we can work with them everyday but we have to leave eventually. We had to cut the kids that made us sad but the kids were ok with it they still had smiles on there faces which brightened are day.

One thing that made me look at things differently is when one of the girls didn't have tennis shoes because they were to expensive. It made me a take a step back and appreciate my life more then I do now because not everyone is as fortunate. I hope we get to work with the kids next year because they were extremely grateful for us being at there school and we appreciated them being there too.

Chirijquiac

2008-08-07T09:24:00.003-04:00

(This is a third in a series of posts by our students. This is by Jasmine, a first-time Hoops participant. Jasmine is at Chirijquiac with Stan, Brandon, Ronald and Akasha).

When I arrived at the airport with the Hoops Sagrado program, I was expecting a unique experience. This opportunity to explore Guatemala would mean speaking and going to school to learn Spanish.

I heard about the many different types of camps that the participants of the program would be going to. However I had know idea which one I would be going to. I couldn't wait to find out. It turns out I was selected to go to a camp named Chrijquiuac.

I was told my camp was the furthest away out of all the camps and that to reach I would have to leave early from class. I was confused and nervous about what will happen at camp. MAN! People were not playing when they said that it was far away. The ride took forever!

Anyway my group which included Stan, Brandon, Ronald, and Akasha finally arrived to the village. Immediately after stepping off of the bus, the children running up to us and pulling me away with them as they walked to camp.

Now I understood what people meant when they said I would be the "new" Brittney. I only knew a little bit of Spanish, but understood that the girls were calling me Brittney. I said no and the girls got sad and asked me what my name was. I told them my name was Jasmine, they started to laugh and whisper among themselves.

I felt kind of out-of-place because I spoke no Spanish, had no idea what to do, and had neither Ronald or Akasha to help me translate. So initially I just sat down and watched everybody play.

Some of the girls walked up to me and asked me my name. I replied and they giggled. One girl asked where was Brittney and I said "No Se" and "Estados Unidos". The girl got sad and she asked was I her sister. I said no and she just looked at me. She then saw my hair and said in Spanish "Como su pelo." I just heard the pelo part and said "si". She then started to touching it. Then more girls soon followed. Brandon soon called out ¨Chicas¨ and the girls ran away from me.

Ever since that day, I loved my camp, and all the kids that we had. Even though I never got to know all their names, they knew mine (felt very bad), and we all started friendships. I just hope that I can come back to Hoops Sagrado. I enjoy Chiriquiac and I hope they do well in the tournament. Words cannot describe how

I got so attached to these girls. I really enjoy the innocence and playfulness of the children. I just wish that I can take them all home with me, even though I don't know them that well. I really happy that I am participating in the program, and looking forward to working with the children again in the future.

Chuisuc Champions

2008-08-06T09:20:00.002-04:00

(This is the second in a series of postings by the Hoops students about their experiences at the basketball camps.)

The coaches of Chuisuc are Alex, Aniekan, Johari , Brittany , and Melody. With only three of us(Alex, Aniekan, and Johari) being the returning coaches of the Chuisuc champion chicos, we hope that the chicas can step their game up this year with Melody and Brittany .

The first week of camp was so-so because of the rain. So instead of playing basketball, we played hot potato with the pelota under the pavilion of the school. The kids were not very good listeners until we made them not listening synonomous with “diez”(push-ups) and “veinte y cinco”(jumping-jacks). So now we rarely have to repeat those phrases.

The second week with Alex being the late comer, he floated between the chicas and the chicos. Aneikan and Johari taught the chicos triangle offense, 2-3 zone defense, and pass and cut. The chicos were getting the hang of 2-3 zone and the triangle offense.

Meanwhile the chicas were being taught “zone-high” offense and 2-3 zone defense. Brittany and Melody were trying to take things slow due to lack of discipline. Entonces, they constantly had the chicas doing defense/offense drills. At the end of each day, the chicos played against the chicas implementing the drills they learned earlier.

Este semana, so far so good. We are still observing our players therefore, we have not made our final cuts. Now the chicos and the chicas are playing as a team ¡because we threaten them with whose going to be cut (solamente chiste)!

In conclusion…we expect the best out of our Chuisuc champions (chicos) and soon to be champions (chicas). Our players remind us of the saying “work hard…play harder”. That’ll be all for now…until next time, Disfruta!

Second Helpings

2008-08-05T11:11:00.003-04:00

On Sunday (8/3) before heading to San Felipe for late-afternoon games, Hoops Sagrado made a day-long pit stop at Xocomil, a water park on the coast.

Now I know what you’re thinking…. “A water park? In Guatemala?” But seriously, this place is Disney World clean and not some place you would expect to find in a country that’s average household income is less than $1500 per year. Ahh, coffee plantations.

A water park with a theme of an ancient Mayan city is just wrong, yet so much fun. Sort of like pineapple on pizza.

Although some of us would have been content to spend the day on the lazy river (okay the two of us in the over-35 bracket) most everyone gave one of the many death-defying water slides a whirl. Fortunately, since we had three games to play that evening, everyone survived—albeit with a new found appreciation for just how much fun things can be with a different concept of safety—I mean really, what could possibly be unsafe about essentially climbing a 5-story building and shooting down a fiberglass tube into a 4-ft. pool of water with nothing but a thin piece of Styrofoam and your moxy?

After a day filled with sun and fun and admittedly a much needed break for everyone, we boarded the bus for San Felipe just as the heavens opened up and unleashed upon us a rainstorm that would have been worthy of a day off from work in D.C. It rained so hard that when we entered the gym in San Felipe we couldn’t hear each other (or our iPods) over the sound of the rain pounding on the tin roof.

Once they got the rain water off the court (covered mind you, but with no glass in the windows, things got a bit damp) and the lights turned on, Las Chicas were the first to take the floor. Although the ladies led for much of the game, once again toward the end of the game they were schooled by a 38-year-old with an awesome outside shot. In spite of the 45 to 33 loss, it really was a complete team effort and minus some questionable calls and the gutsy play of the ladies on the other team, it could have easily been a victory: Jordyn 10p/3a/4r; Tyler 13p/1a/1r; Breezy 3p/4a/3r; Brittany 2p/3r; Bookie 1r; Melody 1r; and Akasha 2p/3r.

The Young Guns faired a bit better with the final score although it was a close one. As is the case with just about every place we play, the calls were questionable and the Young Guns’ coach came this close to being shown the door…before he actually got the tech. Once again, everyone participated in the 39 to 34 victory and the stat line shows the complete picture: Brandon 9p/1a/4r; Johari 8p/4a/4r; Alex 7p/17r; Ronald 2p/7r; Connor 10p/1/7r; Lexus 3r.

Tensions were high before the tip-off for the Old Heads game but it quickly became obvious that this wouldn’t be quite the throw-down that some were expecting. The Old Heads jumped off to a quick lead that never dipped by more less than 16 points. When it became obvious how things were going to go, the mood loosened up and everyone on both teams seemed to have a good time in the 84 to 56 victory for the Knights. Bryan 17p/12a/2r; Aniekan 18p/2a/5r; Stan 10p/1a/2r; Jerrod 22p/5a/3r; Alex 11p/1a/4r; Johari 2a/1r; Connor 7p/3a/3r; Ronald 2p/1r; Stat Girl 1a.

Overall we ended the weekend 5-1 and are now looking forward to renewing our rivalry with Xela on Saturday night and Sunday in the Cantel Tournament.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2008-08-05T09:48:00.003-04:00

(Beginning today, we'll be posting a write-up from each camp. Today's post is from Xejuyup, which includes Tyler, Kara, Nadia, Lexus and Breezy.)

With two weeks into camp the kids at Xelujup have been at a bit of a disadvantage due to the numerous rain cancelations. The Hoops Sagrado crew of Lexus, Shaq, Kara, Tyler, and Breezy started camp on Monday the 20th, where there roughly twenty-five girls and twenty boys.

Lexus and Shaq had the boys while Kara, Tyler and Breezy coached the girls. We found that the language barrier was a bit difficult at first, but we quickly learned the necessary phrases to get by....for example Alto, Defensa, Atencion, Darecha, Izquierda, and Cenasta.

We taught the girls the beloved phrase on the trip "I'm broke Baby¨ and the boys responded quickly with the cheer "ballin'".

The week flew by and everyone was saddened by the departure of Shaq, especially the 20 young boys from Xelujup.

Week two was a hard week for us, as we were one man short with Shaq's absence. Tyler was recruited to coach the boys team with Lexus, and the girls' team was sad to see Tyler go to the other side!

Selection day was on Wednesday and the four of us dreaded telling the kids who would not make the team. Surprisingly the selections went well with a little assistance of candy, and everyone went home happy.

Now that the two teams had been selected we were ready to start our practices. Unfortunately due to rain on Thursday and Friday, camp was called off. Yesterday our team was fortunate to get our late addition, Nadia, who arrived late Friday night into Xela. Although she doesn't play basketball her presence is felt in many ways and we love having her!

The two teams are showing much improvement and we look forward to preparing for the tournament next week!

Team Xelujup, Lexus, Tyler, Kara, Nadia, and Breezy
Shaq we miss you!

San Cristobal

2008-08-04T11:24:00.002-04:00

Like the San Cristobal tournament itself (every year), this blog post about last weekend's games is a "bit" behind schedule.

We played the make-up San Cristobal tournament on Saturday, July 26 and in a format and pacing that bewildered even easy-going Bryan, Hoops Sagrado ended the day 2-5, but regained the San Cristobal title after losing it in 2007 to Mother Nature and Mazate.

The Old Heads defeated the San Cris youth team 75-37 (Bryan 8p/5a/5r; Aniekan 17p/1r; Stan 18p/2a/8r; Jerrod 16p/1a/1r; Brandon 5p/7a/2r; Johari 7p/2a/2r; Connor 2p; Ronald 1r; Lexus 2p). The Young Guns then fell 62 to 40 to the San Cristobal men's team (Brandon 17p/1a/4r; Johari 10p/1a/5r; Ronald 2p/5r; Connor 11p/1r; Lexus 1r; Tyler 1r) setting up a match between both teams of "old heads".

Despite repeated warnings from those in the know, the Hoops women's team was completely schooled by #6 for the San Cristobal team. Note to the ladies from D.C. (and Maryland)... just because someone is old enough to be your mother doesn't mean they can't teach you a thing or 10 on and off the court. The final score--in favor of San Cris--was 34-26. Jordyn 11p/2a/4r; Tyler 5p/4r; Brittany 5p/5r; Breezy 2p/1a/7r; Bookie 2p/6r.

Playing the San Cris youth team in the 3rd place game was a combination of all three Hoops teams after some of the Young Guns decided not to play. Perhaps it was the combination of experience or personalities on the court, but Connoer had the game of his life with 20p/1a/7r. And despite the 59-45 loss, everyone who made the effort to play in the 3rd place game got on the board: Bryan 1a/1r; Lexus 2r; Ronadl 2p/5r; Jordyn 4p/2a/1r; Tyler 10p/3a/1r and Johari 9p/4a/2r.

After a sumptious lunch of hot dogs with coleslaw (only in Guatemala) and orange soda, it was time for the main event. Although there is a lot of good natured kidding on and off the court between Hoops Sagrado and San Cristobal, things still get fairly intense at game time. And that intensity (or maybe it was the hot dogs) fueled the Old Heads to a 69 to 48 victory. Once again, every single player on the court and bench put in a solid effort: Bryan 6p/12a/5r; Aniekan 12p/3a/10r; Stan 6p/1a/5r; Jerrod 20p/2a/4r; Brandon 14p/2a/1r; Johari 4p/2a/1r; Connor 3p/2r.

And of course, as is tradition, after all the games, the group made its way to the midway of the San Cristobal fair where everyone enjoyed all the rides and the newbies had their first experience with corn on a stick...

Everybody Eats

2008-08-04T11:14:00.002-04:00

Our third Saturday in Guatemala found us once again descending from the highlands to the coastal town of Reu.

This time we were scheduled to play the women's and men's under-21 teams from Reu as well as their selection team--all in the local gym in front of a very pro-local audience. At the end of the night Hoops Sagrado was 3-0.

After jumping out to a 33-5 first quarter lead, the Young Guns held off a Reu rally to prevail 58 to 48 (although the scoreboard said 58 to 50). Everyone had a hand in the win, especially Alex (20p/3a/12r) who arrived in Guatemala on July 27. Also lighting up the stat board were Brandon (18p/4a/9r); Johari (13p/6a/5r); Ronald (2p/8r); Connor (3p/1a/3r); and Lexus (2p/6r).

Las Chicas had everyone on their feet cheering in the final moments of their 45-42 overtime victory. Both teams put in a tremendous effort that we all agree was one of the most exciting games we've seen in Guatemala--ever. With the score tied at 38 at the end of regulation (once again there was some questionable score-keeping), the ladies turned on the after-burners in over to come up with the victory.

As in the boys game, just about everyone had a hand in the victory: Jordyn (20p/1a/5r); Tyler (15p/4a/4r); Breezy (9r); Brittany (9p/10r); Bookie (2p/11r); and Melody (1r).

Since the selection team from Reu is made up of a number of players from Molar, there were a log of familiar faces (and dirty tricks) on the court agains the Knights. Even though the game was never really close, there were enough questionable calls and rough play that Jerrod fouled out (before the 4th quarter) and Bryan got a tech (no court would have convicted him). Despite that (or perhaps in spite of it) the Knights prevailed 55 to 47.

Again, as was the case with the Young Guns and Las Chicas, everyone had hand in the Old Head victory: Bryan (9p/6a/1r); Aniekan (10p/4a/7r); Stan (10p/4a/3r); Jefford (8p/2r); Alex (6p/1a/11r); Brandon (9p/1a/2r); and Johari (3p/1r).

Everybody eats!

Stat Line Through July

2008-07-30T10:54:00.002-04:00

Since we won't have another official game until after August 1, here are the stats through July 31.

Old Heads

Bryan 12.0 Pts 6.5 Asts 4.6 Rebs

Aniekan 10.0 Pts 1.7 Asts 5.7 Rebs

Stan 11.6 Pts 2.0 Asts 7.6 Rebs

Jerrod 13.6 Pts 1.25 Asts 7.3 Rebs

Shaq 15.5 Pts 1.0 Asts NA Rebs

Brandon 6.0 Pts 2.75 Asts 1.3 Rebs

Johari 3.4 Pts 2.25 Asts 1.0 Rebs

Connor 1.8Pts 0.0 Asts 1.0 Rebs

Young Guns

Brandon 16.7 Pts 2.6 Asts 3.5 Rebs

Johari 8.4 Pts 4.0 Asts 3.0 Rebs

Connor 9.6 Pts 2.25 Asts 2.6 Rebs

Ronald 4.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 5.3 Rebs

Lexus 1.8 Pts 0.0 Asts 2.6 Rebs

Jeff 4.0 Pts 0.0 Asts NA Rebs

Tyler 4.3 Pts 1.0 Asts 1.0 Rebs

Jordyn 2.6 Pts 1.3 Asts 0.5 Rebs

LasChicas

Tyler 10.0 Pts 2.6 Asts 2.5 Rebs

Jordyn 15.6 Pts 1.3 Asts 4.0 Rebs

Brisa 1.0 Pts 1.3 Asts 4.0 Rebs

Brittney 2.3 Pts 0.0 Asts 6.5 Rebs

Bookie 2.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 4.5 Rebs

Kara 0.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 0.5 Rebs

Melody 0.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 0.5 Rebs

Jasmine 0.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 0.0 Rebs

Imani 0.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 0.0 Rebs

J. Drama 0.0 Pts 0.0 Asts 3.0 Rebs

Feliz Cumpleanos Tyler

2008-07-30T09:22:00.002-04:00

A very special Happy Birthday to Tyler

who is celebrating her 15th birthday with Hoops Sagrado.

Chichicastenango

2008-07-29T10:37:00.003-04:00

After a week of classes and the first tests--with grades averaging in the high 80s--and the first week of camps in the books, the Knights boarded a "chartered" chicken bus for the ride to Chichicastenango.

For those familiar with our experience in Chichi last year, there was no vegetable goop to clean up before we could play, but there was still plenty of caca served up by the refs.

Never ones to be disuaded by bad calls and non-calls, the Knights were 3-0 on the night.

Las Chicas were first up and the starting five--Jordyn (17p/1a/4r); Tyler (14p/3a/3r); Breezy (1a/1r); Brittany (2p/8r); and Melody (1r) showed that they are really starting to gel with their 37-29 victory. Everyone had a hand in the win including Bookie (4p/3r); Kara (1r); and Akasha (3r). Imani and Jasmine pitched in as well.

With Jeff sadly on his way back to D.C., the Young Gunys may have been down a man, but they gained two women in their decisive 54-36 victory. Everyone made the stat sheet for the Knights including: Brandon (20p/6a/3r); Johari (8p/8a/2r); Connor (5p/5a); Ronald (14p/6r); Lexus (5r); Tyler (3p); and Jordyn (4p/2a).

The night really got interesting when the Old Heads took the court--imagine that. With a final score line of 61-47 (although stat girl swears it was 62), the Knights defied the odds and the refs and avenged last year's dirty-call loss.

Perhaps it was the palm wine, but MVP honors to to Stan (21p/5a/10r). And even though the clean floors didn't make the ref's calls any less dirty, everyone had a hand in the final victory of the night: Bryan (9p/3a/4r); Aniekan--before he fouled out and exited the court in a single-finger blaze of glory ("we're #1"?) (7p/4a/6r); Jerrod (18p/2a/8r); Brandon (4p/1a); and Johari (3p/2a).

The evening ended with a moonlit ride back to Xela with just enough time for everyone to catch a bit of shut-eye before heading to San Cristobal on Saturday.

An Unfortunate Farewell

2008-07-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

People always ask us before we leave if we ever send any kids home because of problems. Our answer is always an emphatic yes. Unfortunately though, there are times when we have to send students home because of circumstances beyond our control.

Such was the case on Friday when Shaq and Jeff learned of the unexpected passing of their 33-year old aunt.

As much a sister and a mother as she was an aunt, both Owens boys felt their place was at home to say a proper good-bye. So even though they wanted to stay for just one more game, they left Xela Friday afternoon for a Saturday morning flight home.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with Shaq, Jeff and the whole Owens family and we ask that you extend yours as well.

The Consequences of Being Late

2008-07-24T11:01:00.002-04:00

We look at a Hoops Sagrado as a team effort, more of a family really. We share everything--the good times and the bad times.

That's why, when one--or in this instance two--members of the family were more than 20 minutes late for class on Wednesday, everyone--and I do mean everyone--was required to show up at the school at 5:30 a.m. for pre-class basketball practice.

Fortunately, everyone was on time for practice and the group made it's way in the pre-dawn fog and cold to the complejo for some much needed practice and a bit of a lesson on team work.

Let's hope for everyone's sake, that the necessary lessons were learned and practice can be at a more reasonable hour in the future.

Abaj Takalik, Mazatenango and San Cristobal

2008-07-23T10:47:00.000-04:00

Before heading to the coastal town at Mazatenango (Mazate), we made a slight detour to visit the ruins at Abaj Takalik.

Abaj Takalik is ancient Mayan ruins set on land now occupied by coffee, rubber and sugarcane plantations. Only 5 percent of the city — which was an important trading center in the late Preclassic era before AD 250 — has been excavated. Although the remaining 95 percent has been mapped, it remains on private land.

The site, which is about 6.5 sq km, is made up of nine natural terraces and filled with temple mounds, ball courts and flights of steps paved with rounded river stones. The site is still being excavated today and recent discoveries include an ancient aqueduct.

We had an awesome tour guide who knew just enough English that when our translator Ronald got a bit stuck on certain words, was able to help ease the way. Everyone seemed quite interested and did a pretty good job of paying attention throughout most of the tour. Hopefully they learned a lot because there will be a quiz later!

Although Lonely Planet says that travelers should “keep on keeping on” instead of stopping in Mazate, one-third of the Knights are fairly glad we stopped as we are now at 2-0-1 overall (old heads, young guns, chicas).

The Hoops women’s team was first up and although they didn’t quite recapture the glory of Friday’s game in Reu, they still put on a good show in their 45-30 loss. Suiting up for the ladies in Mazate were Jordyn, Tyler, Breezy, Brittany, Bookie, Kara, Melody, Imani and Akasha (Jasmine played the role of head cheerleader). As the buzzer sounded Jordyn had 19 points and 1 assist; Tyler had 11 points and 1 assist and Breezy had 3 assists. Both Jordyn and Tyler probably had a few more points than they were awarded because of some questionable 3-point calls.

The starting five for the Young Guns were Brandon, Johari, Connor, Jeffrey and Ronald, with Lexus filling in as a solid 6th man. Despite outstanding performances by Brandon (19 points, one assist), Johari (9 points, 3 assists) and Connor (10 points, 3 assists), the Young Guns fell to the Mazate youth team by a score of 47-38.

Aided by an Academy Award-winning performance by Shaq, changing Hoops Sagrado into Hoops Stuntgrado, the Old Heads beat the Sate of Suchitepequez selection team by a score of 59 to 49. Poor sportsmanship abounded, as classic Suchi dirty play and hard fouls came out down the stretch but in the true tradition of the Knights cultural exchange program players were able to say in Spanish “Shut your mouth, and play!” In the immortal words of Sam Levy “F… Suchi”

The stat-line shows a very well-balanced game that featured Bryan (11 points, 6 assists), Aniekan (10 points); Stan (6 points, 3 assists); Jerrod (11 points); Brandon (2 points, 1 assist); Johari (3 points, 3 assists); and before being felled by a mysterious knee injury (quick, get the magic spray) Shaq had 16 points and 1 assist.

Stat-girl hopes to keep rebounds next game, although the assists are proving to be more of a challenge than one would imagine.

On Sunday, after giving everyone a chance to sleep in, call home, explore Xela, we headed to San Cristobal to participate in the annual tournament. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas about our participation. And even though some of the group enjoyed spending an hour or so playing a pick-up game in the rain, most everyone hovered in a nearby washing area and closet in hopes that the rain would stop.

Unfortunately the rain never stopped and we headed to a closed gas station to wait out the rain and wait for our bus. While waiting, folks entertained themselves in a variety of ways including a dance-off between Team Johari-Stan and team Aniekan-Melody.

Next up is Chichicastenango on Friday night…fortunately for those who remember, Friday is not a market day in Chichi. Yeah!!! No shoveling fruit goop, and horse caca from the court before the game.

And in an action of futility we’re going to give the San Cristobal tournament another try on Saturday…this time in the morning when it’s less likely to rain. Psych!!

First Day of Classes and Camps

2008-07-22T10:35:00.002-04:00

Although we've got some Saturday and Sunday basketball still to report, for now, we'll just give you a brief update on the first day of classes.

In a move that left some of us stunned, everyone showed up for class on time at 8 a.m. on Monday. All the students were assigned a teacher. It's a mix of two and one student per person. The school was filled with nothing but Spanish language, so that means people may actually be studying...always a good thing.

After lunch, the directors from all the schools arrived to take the students to the camps. This year's camps are:

Chirijquiac--Stan, Brandon, Rondald, Akasha and Jasmine
Chuisuic--Aniekan, Johar, Brittany, Melody, and eventually Alex
Xejuyup--Breezy, Shaq, Tyler, Kara, Lexus and evenutally Nadia
Pachaj--Jordyn, Jerrod, Connor, Jeffrey, Imani, and Bookie

Although everyone is still learning how to say the names of their villages (and some of us are still working on the spelling) the reports from the field are that everyone had a great afternoon getting to know the kids and learn their way to and from the villages.

Tonight is movie and pizza night at the school. We'll be back in touch, hopefully later today or tomorrow with more gameday reports and an update on school and camps.

2 and 1 in Cougar Country

2008-07-19T10:55:00.002-04:00

The Hoops Sagrado Knights are 2 and 1 after three games in the coastal city of Reu on Friday.

But before we get to that, let’s talk a bit about our last night in Antigua. While shopping in the market to replace missing basketball shoes and underwear from luggage that American Airlines claims is somewhere (where, none of us are really sure) we saw a most wondrous sight in the distance…a fair.

For those of you familiar with Guatemala or our adventures here, you’ll be well aware of what wonderment the local fairs are. This one proved no different.

After a meal a Pollo Campero a group of us headed to the fair and partook in all it had to offer including the Tornado, the Ring of Fire, the Octopus, and in a site that really seemed to amuse the on-looking locals about 12 of us at once took over the bumper cars. A good time was had by all and there was only one close-call with puking after the Ring of Fire.

On Friday we boarded the bus for the trip to Reu. This year, the autograph sessions started before one shot was even taken. Clearly our reputation proceeded us.

First out of the box were the Knights women. The starting five of Jordyn, Tyler, Breezy, Bookie and Brittany had an outstanding game, but all the ladies--Melody, Jasmine, Imani and Kara--had an opportunity to participate in the 39-26 victory. It was a great effort by all and we're really looking forward to big things as the girls have a chance to gel as a group.

Next up were the Hoops Sagrado young guns (Brandon, Johari, Connor, Lexus, Jeffry and Ronald) and while they had a considerable half-time lead, the team from Reu ultimately prevailed by a score of 24 to 21.

To top the morning of basketball off, the “old heads” (Bryan, Aniekan, Brian F., Jerrod, Shaq, Stan, Johari, Brandon, and Ronald) ran the show with a 58-37 victory. Man of the Match honors go to our fearless leader Bryan who had an incredible 23 points…we’ll credit that to the elusive “cougar factor”.

On the way to Xela, we stopped at Albaramar, had some food, took a swim and boarded the bus to meet the families.

Everyone is now with their families and I'm sure there will be plenty of stories this morning about tepid showers and cereal with warm milk.

Today we're off to visit some ruins and then on to another coastal town for three more games.

We're Here!

2008-07-17T11:33:00.002-04:00

We've arrived in Guatemala last night and immediately headed for Antigua. All is well minus a couple of pieces of luggage, but hopefully those will show up this morning.

Everyone seems to be doing really well and the group seems to be getting along great.

Today we'll do a bit of orientating and then, of course, some basektball. Tomorrow we head to a school at the coast for a game and then Xela in the evening. Saturday we head back to the coast for another game and Sunday it's off to the San Cristobal tournament.

If there's WiFi at the coast, you'll hear from us tomorrow, but if not, we'll be back online as soon as possible.

Meet the 2008 Hoops Sagrado Participants

2008-07-16T08:09:00.003-04:00

We're all set (and hopefully packed) and ready to leave today Wednesday July 16. We've got much better Internet access this year so we hope to do a lot more blogging, so please check back often. In the meantime, please meet the 2008 Hoops Sagrado Participants....

Akasha is a 2-time Hoops participant, will be a sophmore at Georgetown Day School in the fall and can usually be found on most weekends working with her mom at Eastern Market.

Alex will be joining Hoops for part of the trip for the fourth time. He'll be a senior at The Field School in the fall and was named MVP of the Potomac Valley Championship basketball game this year.

Bookie is a first-time Hoops participant and a rising senior at Cesar Chavez. Bookie came to our program by a stroke of luck and let's hope she bring some luck to the ladies' basketball team!

Brandon is a three time Hoops participant and will be a senior at The Field School in the fall. In addition to being one of our star players, Brandon will also be working with local potters in Guatemala to prepare for his AP ceramics class in the fall.

Brittany is June graduate of Hydy Leadership Public Charter School. She plays rugby and basketball and will be participating in City Year when we get back to D.C. in August.

Breezy is a first-time Hoops participant and graduate of Winona State. Breezy would like find a career helping children in foreign countries, lets hope she survives the kids from D.C.!

Connor is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at DeMatha in the fall. Connor is a Hoops "legacy" as his brother went with us in 2002 (but Connor insists he's much better at basketball).

Damien (Baby Shaq) is a 2-time Hoops participant. Shaq is back with Hoops for the 10th Anniversary after taking a couple of years off to finish school and work.

Imani is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a sophmore at Montgomery Blair in the fall. Although not a baller, Imani said she's game for trying to round out the girls team.

Jasmine is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy in the fall. Jasmine has a great volunteer spirit and has put that to good use on a variety of projects including in New Orleans.

Jeffrey is a first-time Hoops participant and Hoops legacy. His counsin Shaq was a 2003 Hoops volunteer and will be with us this year. Jeffrey will be a junior at Maya Angelou Public Charter school in the fall.

Jerrod is a first-time Hoops participant and graduate of MM Washington. Instead of working at Harris Teeter like just about everyone else, Jerrod decided to come to Guate with us, for which we are very excited.

Johari is a 3-time participant in Hoops Sagrado and will be a junior at School Without Walls in the fall. Johari is working on getting his pilot's license (how cool is that?!).

Jordyn is a 2-time Hoops participant and will be a sophmore at Paul VI in the fall. According to Jordyn, if she hadn't been able to come back to Guatemala this year, she would have spent the summer crying.

Kara is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a senior at Cesar Chavez School of Public Policy in the fall. She's studied Guatemala quite a bit in school and is anxious to see it for herself.

Lexus is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Maya Angelou Public Charter School in the fall. Lexus is not only a ball player, but also a bit of an artist so we're looking forward to seeing what he and our resident artist Aniekan can come up with.

Melody is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy in the fall. Melody loves to dance so we're looking forward to her putting those skills to work as part of the Hoops Sagrado Knights cheering squad.

Nadia is a 2-time Hoops participant and a recent graduate of Cesar Chavez School of Public Policy. Nadia's not sure what's on her agenda for next year, but we're just glad she's back with us for at least part of another summer.

Ronald is a 2-time Hoops participant and will be a senior at The Field School in the fall. Ronald will be teaching English in one of the village schools this year.

Stan is a 4-time Hoops participant and recent graduate of Michigan State University. Stan is currently interning at the Pew Charitable Trusts but was able to get time off to go to Guate.

Tyler will be a 10th grader at Elizabeth Seaton in the fall. She's passionate about basketball and is looking forward to improving her Spanish-language skills.

This year's "adults" are:
Aniekan is a 6-time Hoops participant and glad that he's able to renew his Zoloft prescription while in Guate...he'll be painting a mural again this year.

Bryan is a 10-time Hoops participant and after much consideration, the Hoops selection committee decided to allow him to join us for the 10th Anniversary.

Mindy is a 5-time Hoops participant and extremely glad that she'll be able to "work from Guatemala" during this busy election year.

10 Days to go....

2008-07-06T19:02:00.002-04:00

Ten days to go and everyone has a passport! What a difference a year makes!

All that's left to do is pack our bags and get to the airport on the 16th.

Thank You!

2008-06-12T09:57:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much to our supporters (especially the basketball folks) who have been so very generous to Hoops Sagrado this year. None of our success would ever be possible without your support. Gracias!

Final preparations

2008-06-11T13:27:00.002-04:00

With a little over a month to go till we depart for Guatemala (July 16 out of National) we are busy making our final plans for this summer's trip.

Once we have a complete list of participants we'll post those here so you can meet this year's group.

16 down...how many more to go....

2008-05-16T15:03:00.001-04:00

So far we're at 16 people for our 2008 trip. We hope to have the numbers finalized by the beginning of the week so we can start purchasing plane tickets...before they get too expensive.

Count Down to 2008

2008-03-14T15:59:00.002-04:00

Four months and one and a half days till Hoops Sagrado 2008 takes flight for Guatemala!

2008 marks our 10th Anniversary and we are busy making plans for the upcoming summer. Bryan and Mindy were just in Guatemala to set things up and the calendar for this summer's trip is already jam-packed.

Get those applications and letters of commitments in because July 17 will be here before you know it!

Pachaj

2007-08-08T15:13:00.000-04:00

This is a second in an occasional series of posts by students about the work they do in the basketball camps each day.

Guatemla is a beautiful country and I am very much enjoying working at the camps. Our camp is in it´s first year with Hoops Sagrado . It´s the camp at Pachaj. The first day we got their they had a nice little ceremony planned for us. We got speeches of appreciation and a native dance. It was amazing. I think I heard more than 15 times about how excited they were to have us there. It felt like we were actually accomplishing something.

We have now been at Pachaj for two and a half weeks. Time flies by. The children are just so exited to be a part of this. It sounds cheesy, I know. But their faces tell a lot.

There are a total of five of us working at the camps. There´s Kendra, Ernest, Jordyn, Jerren, and myself. We ride one microbus, a regular chicken bus, we hike up a very steep hill and then we walk some more to get up to the school. But it´s all worth it because just seeing the smiles on their faces and just loooking forward to working with us makes it all worth it.

Each day they start with stretches and warm ups. Ernest and Kendra work with the girls (who are a hyper bunch) and Jordyn and Jerren work with the boys.They all seem to work well together. But you can´t forget about me either I like to consider myself as the bridge. I translate most of what they can´t figure out but want the children to understand. I missed camp once because I got sick. Let´s just say they were very happy to have me back the next day.

We´ve started to work on plays and practicing more drills. They´re really into it along with the kids because, of course, we want to win. After a couple of weeks you can say we´ve all bonded really well with each other. Working with the boys and girls in the camps has pretty much made each of us appreciate the life we live back home. Most of these children don´t get to experience childhood the way we do back in the states, so just us taking the time to teach them about basketball and spending time with them, it makes a difference.

Sandra is a recent graduate from the Youth Build program and will begin classes at Montgomery College in the fall. Sandra's parents came to the United States from Guatemala shortly before her birth. This is only the second time she has been back to Guatemala and the first time leaving the capital.

A Day at the Beach

2007-08-05T22:16:00.000-04:00

Perhaps it was being at sea level after two weeks in the mountains, or perhaps it was the heat and humidity that reminded everyone of home, or perhaps even (probably) it was a Friday with no Spanish classes, but whatever it was, Hoops Sagrado went 2 for 3 on their Friday visit to the costal city of Reutalueh.

With music blaring from ginormous speakers and dozens of students milling about the outdoor court with a covered roof (definitely one of the nicer courts we've come across in our travels, especially after the game in Chichi), the morning didn't start out on a high note when the Hoops women lost to the Collegio D'Antoni 18-14.

The one highlight of the game was Jackie, a Hoops student and first-time baller who gave it her all in an effort to keep it close. A special thanks too to the student from D'Antoni who played with the Knights and probably played with the most heart winning her a Hoops Sagrado jersey.

But things quickly turned around when the varsity Knights team provided a basketball clinic for the local professional selection team from Reutalueh beating them 51-31. The game featured everything from break away slamdunks, to backdoor passing, to an Ossie Schectman two-handed, underhanded layup, and buzzer-beater 3-pointers (¿tienes cable?)

The younger guns got their chance too beating the D'Antoni team 20-2. For them the victory was bittersweet. After going up 18-0 in the first 15 minute half, the ref (Athletic Director of the school) decided to go with the mercy rule and allowed for only a 5 minute second half. With the taste of victory at hand, the younger Knights substituted frequently in the last five minutes giving everyone a chance to play. The D'Antoni team only got on the board because of an unfortunate foul with less than 10 seconds to go.

Immediately following the game, the scene resembled a Tiger Beat magazine signing party as all the young D'Antoni girls crowded around seeking autographs and photos of the entire Hoops team...players or not. While the D'Antoni moms in the crowd (can anyone say cougar?) didn't participate in the post-game adulation they did seem to sit awfully close to the one casi middle-aged Knights player.

All-in-all a good morning in Reutalueh, if you don't factor in the fact that we were in the coffee growing region of Guatemala and the Hoops scorekeeper couldn't find a cup of coffee anywhere....

After the games we boarded the bus once more for the quick ride to the nearby port town of Champerica where the beach is lined with small outdoor restaurants. We quickly staked our claim to a restaurant all to ourselves and everyone suited up and headed for the warm waters of the Pacific.

Once everyone had gotten their fill of swimming and fresher than fresh seafood, we headed back to the cool mountain nights of Xela. Somehow sparing life and limb, our chartered chicken bus seemed to make the return trip to Xela in record time with barely a chance for folks to sleep off the effects of an afternoon at the beach.

Chirijiquiac

2007-08-02T12:10:00.001-04:00

This is the first in an occasional series of posts by students in the Hoops Sagrado program describing their time in Guatemala:

Most people will think going to a camp in Guatemala is like survival of the fittest...not even.

Being in Guatemala is like nothing I've ever done before. Chirijiquiac is the furthest camp from the school and riding with my teammates and the looks on their faces told me this was going to take forever--with the smell of diesel smoke buffering out.

When it was our stop, we got off and immediatly the kids rushed over and hugged whoever they could put there hands around except me because it was my first time at the camp. I walked over and saw that we had only one court and there are 48 kids--boys and girls. I said to myself “How is this going to work? It looks impossible for it to happen.” Especially since I'm so used to full court and about 15 players to a court at the basketball camps.

Then I heard “chicas y chicos liñes.” And I said “what cheetos?” I was in the middle of the court and boys and girls rushed to get to their side. The camp began and I was like “Ohhh thats how it works.”

Now, this is my second time in Guatemala. Two years ago I was about 5´2 and now I´m 5´7 and taller than the kids!

Since we're at a different school [Spanish school in Xela] we didn't know how to get to Chirijquiac that first day so Stan, a Hoops Sagrado vet said “All we have to do is get to the rotunda.” So we walked to catch a micro bus that had a guy yelling out the side of the bus saying “Rotunda…Rotunda…Rotunda…. Si” We got to the rotunda and millions of buses went past.

I remembered to same smell of the diesal fuel smoke amd it was like smelling Mindy´s homemade cookies, which are better than Chips-a-Hoy, and when our bus finally came, I said it it brought back memeries. The bumpy roads were heavenly to the rump.

Our stop came and we got off the bus that left us in a cloud of smoke as it pulled off. We walked through the smoke and saw the kids playing basketball and when they saw us, they stopped and rushed over and hugged everybody. A few girls rushed and took my hand and said “¿Tu novia?”

When we began the camps I looked over and saw a smile so familiar. She asked me what was my name and I said "Brandon. Y tu?" And she said Juana and I remembered her from two years ago when we won the champingship. All the kids in the camp are bigger than they were two years ago. We did shooting drills and a girl named Santa had destiny in her eyes and made every shot when I asked her to "repeat."

The days have been going great and cuts are coming up. No doubt about it will be hard to let good players go.

Written by Brandon. Brandon will be a 16 year-old junior at The Field School in the fall. This is his second visit to Guatemala with Hoops, but the first summer he will be here for the whole month.

The Guatemala Home Court Advantage

2007-07-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

With all do respect to the marvels of modern architecture American basketball`s march into the 21st century, it seems as though there's a sterility and sameness to all of these state-of-the-art arenas that have been popping up across the North American landscape.

Thank God for Guatemala!!!!!!

Most basketball players can tell you of legendary teams that could use the advantage of their home court take a slight edge over their opponents.

Examples:

Duke has the Cameron Crazies and all of their obnoxious, sly, wit. (sorry Maria)

In 1986, Larry Bird and Friends were 50-1 at the "Gah-den" during the regular season and playoffs using several infamous design flaws to their advantage, such as knowing where the dead spots were in the parquet floor, and that the visitors a locker room was the size of a shoebox and hotter than the Puerto Barrios.

Well, Hoops Sagrado teams have been the victims of some amazing home court advantages over the years.

In 2002, we played in the Xela Military base against a military team. At halftime Hoops was up by 7 when armed soldiers were placed at each of the corners of the court. (We won by 2 and got out of their in a hurry)

In 2003, San Mateo Ixtantan 800 hundred fans came out to support the local team many of them sat on top of the 500 year old church and rained bricks of firecrackers on the court and on us during the game.

In 2004, the Hoops Sagrado Knights played at the gym in Salcaja against our arch-rivals Xela in a game that featured a halftime show of an Evangelical Karate team that smashed boards that were on fire (the power of Christ compels you!!) and a mid game replacement of the ball after we hit 5 straight three pointers. Not a big deal….. other than the new ball was one of rubber ones you get for ordering the large pizza during the NCAA tournament from Pizza Hut.

In 2005, at the Cantel Tournament (which should be our home court) Team Molar from the Pacific Coast had their fans and wives sit on our bench and yelled at us the entire game. Things those nice young ladies and their children shouldn’t say in any language……and again this was on our bench!!! When we brought it to the ref’s attention he just laughed.

Last year after a 4 hour flight and 5 hour bus ride across the country to Huehuetenango we were forced to play against the hometown team at 1am in an international tournament. Hoops took an early lead when suddenly the power went out. When the game resumed a Mam (Mayan language group) radio station embedded themselves behind our bench like Michael Ware in Iraq. The reporters continually asked us questions in broken Spanish about our plan of attack against the unbeatable heroes of the State of Huehue…..all HAIL!!!

So far this year the best Home Court Advantage we have seen is the gym in Chichicastenango, or should I say the indoor farmer’s market that at night functions as the Pro-team’s gym. Hoops Sagrado players packed up stands, shoveled up fruit goop (I hope it was fruit) from the floor, and swept up some sort of seeds before the game tipped-off.

A giant metal box straight out of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Get Smart was brought out of storage and set up to a elaborate electric scoreboard system that hung up high in the rafters. The scoreboard kept track of points and team fouls, but it had no clock so the time was kept on an old school Timex thus keeping both teams in the dark as to the time left in the game. Three minutes at the end of the game seem to be more like 45 seconds and the possession arrow was a roll of masking tape that was moved from one side of the giant box to the other.

At one end of the floor the backboard was fixed to the wall, making fast break lay-ups a thing of beauty --- like a human crash up derby. At the other end was a curb that shadowed the baseline. That rolled ankle will teach you to step out of bounds, gringo.

Chichi used the missed portions of goop on as off the ball picks sending Hoops players to the floor like Jeff McGuiness in the 1995 ACC Tournament.

Ouch Kendra!!!!

Top that with some of the most original referees in the history of basketball that gave the Hoops Sagrado Knights 3 technical fouls.

First, for having players on the floor during a timeout. ¿Que? And that Tech was called by the scorekeeper. Who knew the scorekeeper could do that?

Second, for throwing an elbow while alone in the back-court (Aniekan). ¿En serio?

And finally, for rolling your eyes (Victor) at a foul call.

When asked about the calls the Chichi referee keep telling us Este no es la NBA, gringo.

Bienvenidos a Basketball de Guatemala!!!!!

Cakchiquel...Catch a what?

2007-07-23T22:35:00.000-04:00

In another Hoops Sagrado first, Monday dawned with everyone arriving on time at the school at 8 a.m. for the start of classes. After being assigned their teachers everyone seemed to quickly settle in to their studies and for the first time since leaving D.C. the only words that could be heard were Spanish(ish).

The students had lunch and home and then met up at the school around 2 p.m. to head to the villages for their first day of camps. The four camps are Xejuyup (Sam, Victor, Jonathan, Trell and Nadia), Chuisuc (Aniekan, Jackie, Johari, Bibi, Arsenio), Chirijquac (Stan, Brittney, Akasha, Ronald, Brandon) and Pachaj (Kendra, Ernest, Jordyn, Sandra and Jerren)

Internet cafe closing....more in morning

Emerging Stars

2007-07-23T22:03:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, the Knights looked to recover from their loss at San Cristobal with a game against a team from Colonial San Antiono, a neighborhood in Xela (the Barry Farms of Xela).

The Knights young guns clearly had recovered from their lackluster play and hot dog with cabbage coma on Saturday because they quickly went up 12 to 0. San Antonio started off the game 0 for 6 from the foul line courtesy of some questionable calls from the refs (Bryan, Stan and Ernest).

Under the vocal coaching style of Sam, several stars emerged during the game. Jordyn proved that she could give as good as she got as she was repeatedly fouled by the SA henchmen and never once backed down. Kendra had a breakout game from the outside post knocking down four quick buckets. Johari, Trell, Bibi and Jerren played lock down defense that turned into several unanswered fast break buckets.

Of the emerging stars, two stood out brighter than the others in a classic blue collar vs. superstar show down.

The superstar, Brandon, quickly became a fan favorite of the 12 and under female San Antonio fans. The San Antonio fans were so enamoured with Brandon and his boyish good looks that they learned English on the spot in order to scream out You can do it 13. In a series of half time photos that would impress even former boy bander Justin Timberlake, Brandon solidified his status as the Joaquim Noah of the Hoops Sagrado Knights. Oh and by the way, he played really well too.

The working class hero of the game and team favorite was Jonathan. Jonathan, who had not really seemed all that interested in playing decided that Sunday was his day to prove what a fraud he is because he dusted off the 00 uniform and came in off the bench and immediately scored on put back bucket that produced a grin big enough to be seen in Washington. He followed that up with two more buckets and six rebounds and a block. Not bad for a guy who had been practicing his magic tricks more than his jump shots. Look out Suchi.

Final score 99 to 81.

San Cristobal Tour

2007-07-22T18:21:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning arrived and we all loaded into a mini-bus driven by one of the teachers at the school (and a heistbox player for the rival team) and headed to San Cristobal, a small town about 30 minutes away for their basketball tournament.

The Hoops Sagrado Knights reign as the 3-time defending champions of the San Cristobal tournament came an anticlimatic end, when, after winning their first game in a nail-biter 60-59, they fell to a team from Suchitepequez/Mazatenango that reached the finals of the tournament under dubious circumstance (it started to rain and the team they were playing--Hoops Sagrado archrival team Xela--ran off with more than a quarter to go...slum).

The 30-minute rain delay and hot dog and Doroito lunch (courtesy of the host city) provided some sluggish play from Hoops Sagrado early on in the "championship" game. After cutting a 20 point deficit to 6 on the geriatric backs of their coach and counselors, the Knights ultimately fell to Suchi (slum). A rematch is in the works for later in the trip.

Xela will get a taste in the Cantel tournament on August 12 (weather permitting). Slum.

After the games were over, everyone headed to the fair where they sampled some of the local delicacies (corn on a stick with mayonaise, ketchup and picante), threw water bags at a guy in a wrestling mask and rode a ferris wheel in the rain. All lived to tell about the ferris wheel ride, although their stomaches may have had other ideas.

The bus ride back to Xela was referred to by one student as "the best bus ride ever." After the group ran out of rap songs to sing (and the oldsters on the trip couldn't convince them to sing some old-school rap), Hoops Sagrado reached an all-time program low when someone started (and sadly everyone joined in) a pathetic version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." (If any of you would like to feel old, have a 14-year old sing you "Lip Gloss" and show you the dance that goes with it. Now we have a sense of what our parents must have thought about The Cabbagepatch.)

Iximché and Arrival in Xela

2007-07-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

Over the years of Hoops Sagrado we've kept a list of dubious quotes that students (and founders of the program) have dropped on occasion. Within minutes of arriving in Antigua at our 200 year old hotel, a new comment was added to the list: "Does this hotel have an elevator?"

The second comment came on Friday when we made our way from Antigua to Xela stopping at the Mayan ruins named Iximché. At the entrance to the ruins, one student stopped to read a sign and noted with some disbelief "This sign is in Spanish."

After several arguements about whether or not Lil'Wayne is the best rap artist ever and after some colorful language was used to tell a story, all while sitting on the steps of a 2,000 year old Mayan shrine, we had about an hour-long discussion about why people hate Americans.

It was actually a pretty enlightening discussion and everyone had something to contribute and pledges were made to keep open hearts and open minds and not be the "ugly American" during our stay in Guatemala.

By the way, some of you may actually be familiar with these ruins because this is where President Bush spoke when he visited Guatemala and then as soon as he left, Mayan priests had a cleansing ceremony.

We arrived at the school in Xela just before dark and everyone soon met their new families and began the process of learning their way around the new hometown.

We are here!

2007-07-19T18:10:00.000-04:00

After a 3:50 a.m. departure from Dulles we arrived in Guatemala City not on time, but early! The flight down was uneventful and our handful of first time fliers and those who aren´t overly thrilled with the idea did great (despite the horrible movie offered by TACA, there were no revolts on the plane). Not sure how much everyone slept during the flight.

As an added bonus to our uneventful flight, all the baggage arrived and everyone picked up their proper luggage (a big improvement from last year).

Tito picked us up in a "chicken bus" and we headed to Antigua. We got settled into two different hotels pretty quickly and then, this being a basketball thing a group of folks headed to a tucked away little court for some afternoon basketball. Others took that time to explore this beautiful city a bit. We met up around 2:30 and had a meal together at one of the many area restaurants.

Now, everyone is off on their own exploring the city some more, or, I´m going to guess, napping and showering.

Everyone seems to be getting along great and making fast friends. We´re meeting up at 6:30 p.m. to go over some of the basics of living in a foreign country for 32 days and then I would imagine, most folks will make it a very early evening.

Tomorrow is going to be a jam packed day. We´ll visit some ruins, explore the city a bit more and then hit the road for the three hour bus trip to Xela where the students will meet their ¨new families¨.

Meet the 2007 Hoops Sagrado Participants!

2007-07-17T15:54:00.001-04:00

Brittney is making her second trip to Guatemala with Hoops. Brittney graduated from Lackey High School in Maryland (before that she had been at Thurgood Marshall Academy in D.C.) and will be attending Trinity University in the District in the fall.

Jonathan Marc learned about Hoops through his Spanish teacher at McKinley Tech where he will be a junior in the fall. He is currently training to become a tour guide at the U.S. Holcaust Museum. This will be Jonathan's first trip outside of the U.S.

Bibi is returning to Guatemala for a second time with Hoops Sagrado. Bibi is an Adams Morgan kid and member of the Teen Learning Center. He'll be a sophormore at DeMatha Senior High School in the fall.

Dontrell is making his second trip to Guatemala with Hoops after taking the 2006 summer off. Trell (as we like to call him) will be a junior at Wilson Senior High School in the fall and is a longtime participant in the Teen Learning Center in Adams Morgan.

Arsenio is making his first trip out of the country with Hoops Sagrado. Arsenio will be a senior at the Maya Angelou Public Charter school in the fall.

Kendra is making her second trip to Guatemala with Hoops. She will be a senior at Ursinus College in the fall and is serving as a counselor on this year's trip.

Nadia will be a senior at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School of Public Policy in the fall and found out about Hoops through the Latin American Youth Center. Nadia applied for the program because she believes visiting Guatemala will help her understand more about who she is.

Jordyn is obsessed with basketball. "Basketball is my life, my passion and my heart," is a line from her application essay. Jordyn will be a freshman at Paul VI in the fall.

Brandon is making his second trip to Guatemala with Hoops, but this will be his first time with us for the full month. Brandon will be a junior at The Field School and recently recieved honors from the Field JV Basketball team.

Odinga is an amazing photographer who is looking forward to turning his talents toward Guatemala. He is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a senior at Coolidge Senior High in the fall. Odinga is part of the Latin American Youth Center in Columbia Heights.

Mindy is making the summer trip to Guatemala for the fourth time and serves at the unofficial team mom (she always has band-aides).

Sam is making his fifth trip to Guatemala with Hoops Sagrado. A junior at the University of Massachusetts, Sam will serve as one of our counselors.

Ernest will be a senior at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania in the fall. This will be Ernest's second trip to Guatemala with Hoops and his first serving as a counselor.

Sandra was born in the U.S. to Guatemalan parents. This will be her second trip back to Guatemala, but her first time leaving the capital. Sandra said she applied for the program because she wants to learn more about her Mayan heritage.

Victor will be a junior at McKinley Tech in the fall. He has a life-long passion for basketball and has done a lot of volunteer work with children in D.C. This is his first time out of the country.

Akasha was on her school basketball team and played in the Jelleff League. This will be her first trip out of the country. Akasha will be a ninth grader at Georgetown Day School next year.

Jackie will be a senior at Cesar Chavez School of Public Policy in the fall. Jackie lived in El Salvador until she was six and will spend her mornings in one of the villages teaching English. Jackie hopes to be an immigration lawyer some day.

Ronald comes to Hoops through the Teen Learning Center in Adams Morgan. This will be his first trip outside of the country. He will be a junior at The Field School in the fall.

Johari is back with Hoops for a second summer. He just turned 15 and will be starting 10th grade at School Without Walls in the fall.

Stan is making his third trip to Guatemala with Hoops. Stan is graduating from Michigan State University in December and will serve as one of our conselors.

Aniekan is a mural artist in Washington, D.C. This will be Aniekan's fifth trip to Guatemala as an adult leader. In addition to working in one of the camps, Aniekan will paint a mural at one of the schools. Last year he painted a mural in Xejuyup.

Jerren is an Adams Morgan resident making his first trip out of the country with Hoops. Jerren is 16 and will be a junior at Bell Multicultural High School in the fall.

Bryan is the founder of Hoops Sagrado. Bryan founded Hoops in 1999 as a way to combine his passion for basketball, with his love of children, Guatemala and the Mayan culture. In addition to Hoops, Bryan is an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Adams Morgan, rabid Portland Trailblazers fan, a husband and a dad the two greatest kids ever!

Three more down and one more to go

2007-07-16T16:39:00.000-04:00

After a day at the passport office, three of the students without passports finally got the coveted little blue books. According to officials at the D.C. office, the last remaining passport was FedExed from the Charleston, S.C. office today for an arrival by 10:30 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. We're not completely in the clear until we get that phone call tomorrow morning confirming that the passport is in-hand, but things are looking up.

Another one down, four to go...

2007-07-16T11:12:00.001-04:00

One of the five "missing" passports arrived in the mail on Friday and the remaining four students are all down at the passport office today. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

Four Down, Five to Go

2007-07-11T12:52:00.001-04:00

We picked up four of the nine "missing" passports yesterday so now we just wait for our letters from Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's office and then off to the passport office. Keep your fingers crossed and send us your good travel karama.

10 Days to go and Still Waiting for Passports

2007-07-09T13:09:00.000-04:00

With less than 10 days to go till our trip, we're getting excited and a little bit nervous. As always, there are tons of things to do prior to the trip, but this year, we've got a slightly different situation.

We are still "missing" nine passports. We're scheduled to pick up four of them tomorrow from the passport agency but five are stil in the pipeline and we've had to enlist the help of our Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Hopefully her staff will be able to help us get the ball rolling so everyone who is scheduled to head to Guatemala with us, can actually head to Guatemala with us.

We'll keep you posted.

Meeting for 2007 Hoops Participants

2007-06-01T13:09:00.000-04:00

We're having a meeting for the 2007 Hoops youth volunteers this Sunday at noon at El Paraiso on 14th Street. This is a mandatory meeting for everyone traveling with us to Guatemala. Lots of important information will be distributed including what/what not to bring, flight information, code of conduct info. and more.

Final decisions still pending

2007-05-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

We leave for Guatemala in less than two months...yeah! We've been in touch with the airlines and are working on nailing down prices and exact dates, but we've got our fingers crossed for July 19 to August 21.

We're still in the process of making our final, final decisions for 2007. We're officially at 17 students and counselors. The question now becomes do we add three more to make it 22 (including Bryan and Mindy) or do we add more than that? It's a tough call. Hopefully we'll have something decided before the end of the Memorial Day Weekend....

Our plan is to meet with all the new and returning students and their parents on Sunday, June 3.

Bryan is working on securing the gym at American University for team practices in the weeks leading up to our departure and we're also planning several other meetings/outings between now and July 19.

Hoops Sagrado 2007

2007-05-14T15:09:00.000-04:00

We had our last round of Hoops interviews on Saturday the 12th and are busy making our final decisions about Hoops Sagrado 2007.

In addition to our four "counselors" we've already selected 10 students to join us this year and will be choosing six more. As soon as we get everyone selected and confirm that they will be joining us, we'll post a bit of information about who they are.

With only three returning students (minus the counselors of course) and a group that will be close to half boys and half girls, it's going to be an interesting summer in Guatemala and we really hope this blog will help you stay in touch with us.