To say youth basketball in Charlotte North Carolina is popular and competitive; is simply an under statement! 4 of the Top 5 AAU Teams in 7th Grade D1 & D2 come from North Carolina. Not to mention the tradition of some of the finest programs in America.

So its a sure fire test of your skills, guts, and competitive nature when you walk through the doors at the Carolina Courts in Charlotte, North Carolina. The best of the best are playing, the place is packed with spectators, and NCAA regional tournament (including Duke and North Carolina) are playing on the flat screens throughout this awesome facility. It wasn’t about traveling to different High School gyms playing locals, it was about playing clubs who traveled from all over the state, gathered in this awesome arena of multi-courts where all eyes were on you….and a ton of eyes at that.

This is the weekend and place we chose to start/kick-off our 2011 AAU 7th Grade season….The Charlotte AAU Super Regional Event! Everyone stared at the team from Florida who marched into this Division 1 contest with no knowledge about them, Brevard County, or what they were there for, but it was clear the mission was to win from the very first tip-off. As Elite faced its first team, they blew it open 17-4 before the top dogs from South Carolina (prior weekend’s regional champs in Tennessee) settled in and started to make a game of it. Our Elite team maintained a lead the entire game until a few small mistakes in the fourth quarter allowed the game to slip away to a very experienced nationals bound team.

Lesson learned (never let up), Elite blew out the next two quality clubs by 30+ points per game, leaving the crowd stunned. Therefore we ended up 2-1 for the weekend and missed the Championship Game by 7 points, but will never forget the experience gained for Nationals and the impression this weekend made on our players, coaches, parents….and the Charlotte fans.