Pictures taken this entire year are now posted on our new photo website by CrossCourt Images
Another good day at the AAU National Tournament. The 15-1's
and 18-1's have both made it into the Gold Championship Brackets. They will be
playing for the National Championship Title on Tuesday.
15-1: By the lovely Elizabeth Mohr (aka elmo) & Janae
Neuenschwander: This morning we woke up very early for a
morning wave. It was still pouring like the day before. We got into the
convention center and to our court before realizing we had forgotten the
volleyballs. After this minor setback, we were ready to play our first match of
the day. We played Celtic Force and beat them in two games. We were then on to
our next game against Skyline for the second time in the tournament, we won
again in two games. For our last game of the day we played Woodlands Wave. The
first game we won by a lot, but the second game was closer. But we pulled it
out 25-23. Tonight we are going to have Olive Garden with root beer floats, and
watching movies! Tomorrow we will get to wake up early again to play in the
gold bracket.
16-1: By Hannah Weidner: Today we got to sleep in until 9:30!!!!!!!!!!!!
We started off the day by enjoying the lovely breakfast prepared by our
chaperones. They also made AMAZING tacos that really hit the spot! There was
traffic today but not as bad as yesterday! Thank God!!
Today we played Absolute, Metro-American, and the Saints and went 3-0!! That is
6-0 for the tournament so far!! On our way home our car had a really fun dance
party with Sean and Lynne! I really loved watching Lynne embrace her inner
swag. We also helped ourselves to multiple cheeseburgers and leftover pasta.
So all in all it was a very fun and successful day!!
16-2's (also known as Unibreasts Team...just ask Sami): It was
such an early morning today, we don't remember what we had for breakfast.
We're sure it was good, though. We packed lunches and we got to Wide World of
Sports drenched. It was Hurricane Debbie Downer that caused the downpour.
Our first match was with Net Force and it started slow...but we suddenly
took off, beating them in the first set 25-16 and then the second set 25-10.
There were lots of good digs, and even though we were down one middle to an
injury, the blocking and hitting were top-notch.
We then took on New Wave Hurricane ( NOT
Debbie!) and took the twist right out of their cyclone. 25-19 and 25-14.
We were pretty tired by the time we faced Fusion
Orange, but still came out on top after two sets: 25-17 and 25-21. We
stopped and got lots of ice, and then headed home. Emotions were running
high...so we had a team meeting just to help us all catch our breath.
Then Curt came over for our team meeting and we had PLENTY to say about our
coaches. (We love you, Ganser and Brian!)
Then we had our families over for dinner...pulled pork
sandwiches and a bunch of veggies and fruit. Yum yum. Mrs. Sobasky made
homemade cookies (*) and they were still warm when we ate them. We also had
rice krispy bars from Mrs. Madison. Thank goodness we worked it off
today. We needed a good cry so we watched "The Notebook" as we
folded clothes. As soon as Ganser finishes clipping his toenails, we are going
to go to bed.
* Publix organic batter from the freezer section
16-Black: By Renee Johnston Today was the second day of tournament play.
We woke up and got ready and headed to the ESPN Wide World of Sports. We were A
seed in our pool. First we played Tribe and won in two games. Then we played
Tampa Elite and won in two games as well. Then our last match, we played
Michigan Volleyball Academy, and lost in a really close two games. Then. After
we finished playing, we headed home and had our meeting with Curt! After that
pizza and sundaes... :)
16-Red: Lauren Miller: We went 3-0 today against some pretty good
teams. We woke up early and watched some Kardashians & played some pool.
After our pleasant chat with you, we ate lunch & got out the door
quickly. We were so pumped to play!! Our first game was against Capitol which
we won in two. We had played them before and they had improved so it was good
competition. Our next game was against Instant Replay. That game didn't go as
well because we had a mental breakdown in the second game, so it went to three
but we pulled out a win in the end.
Our last match was against our toughest competition, Adversity. We won in 2 and
were really aggressive on offense & defense. Basically we shut them down,
and it was awesome. Tomorrow we are getting up really early so we have to go to
bed now. We're super excited & can't wait for day 3 of the tournament.
16-White: Today we played in the afternoon and got to sleep in. This morning we all hung out as a team and did each others hair. We had a potato bar for lunch made by the best chaperones ever! During lunch Curt stopped by and had a talk with us in our theatre room about our wonderful year. We had to leave at 12:30 for the convention center and played our first game at 2:30. We won all of our matches today in 2 games each. We were on fire! Now we are all showering and settling down for bed and getting mentally tough for tomorrow
17-1: By Barb and Amy
A day in the life of a chaperone for AAU Nationals:
Alarm goes off at 4 a.m.
The smell of rich dark coffee soon fills the kitchen as we make an attempt to
appear bright-eyed for the 5:30 team wake up. Soon, hearty oatmeal and berry
yogurt parfaits are prepared, gobs of fruit-cut for the cooler, snack bags by
the dozens are set out and lunch fixings ready for the girls to descend
sleepily upon the kitchen.
At the 6:15 mark, 10 players, coaches and chaperones make chase to the cars
through the pouring rain, thanks to tropical storm Debbie. Though the
rain persisted, the moods are bright and the spirits high as the girls make
their way through 3 matches without dropping a set. A few delays on the court
gives them some time to play some team-bonding games that have everyone on the
sidelines laughing, themselves included.
A smooth day on the court, a rainy afternoon and a planned
dinner out, affords the 4 a.m. gals the perfect opportunity for a 30 minute
snooze.
After a really fun time at Applebees (yes it was really fun!), we opt out of
downtown Disney...thanks again to Debbie, and the coaches surprise the girls by
showing up at the house with a game and a new fresh batch of veggies (aka four
flavors of ALL NATURAL pure ice cream :).
So....while the chaperones cheerfully prepare
tomorrow's egg bake, chop more fruit and fill plentiful baggies, we get to
enjoy watching the girls and their coaches in side-splitting laughter, loud
game-playing antics and a recounting of many fun times together not only today,
but throughout their season.
This rare and privileged experience, to catch a
glimpse of the breadth and depth of the relationships these girls have with
each other and their coaches, their love for the game on and off the court and
the opportunity they are being afforded by playing for Northern Lights, is one
we feel blessed to have...
Signing off in great expectation of another thrilling day tomorrow,
17-2: By Lauren and Carlee On this dreary Monday morning we woke up to a
scrumptious breakfast provided by our delightful chaperons Mr. and Mrs. Carter
Reese. As we hovered over our mouth-watering sausages and eggs, we visualized
winning the three matches preceding us. The vehemence in the house was
confident as we packed up and headed for the convention center. We came out
strong from the beginning and continued to prevail throughout the day. We are
currently 6-0! Our battle cry had been heard throughout the convention
center(even the bird joined in). The team was excited for tomorrows festivities
and also intimidated the other teams present. We are twelve individuals working
towards a common goal. After today, we are one step closer to the national
title. The pride of Northern Lights lay in the hands of the 17-2's. We will win
or die trying. Now were just chillin at home watching TV and eating.
17-Black: By Bella Nelson and Maggie Perrel On Monday we had to wake up very early again around 5 am to get ready to play! And we went 3-0 again that day. we had many ups and downs but we pulled out the wins as a team! After a long day of playing, we returned back to our house to get ready for a dinner with our parents. Once all the parents were at the house, we sat down to a huge pot-luck dinner. Once all of us players were done eating, we went for a swim inn the pool while it was raining! Great team bonding!:-) when all the parents had left, we all decided to watch the movie Miracle for a little inspiration! Overall it was a good day!
17-Red: By Erin Schwarz: Today we got to sleep in!!! Woohoo! We awoke to the glorious smell of fresh pancakes, maple syrup and strawberry sauce. It was delicious!!! After we hung out until we had our end of the year meeting with Curt which went really well. After Curt left we all got ready to leave because we had to leave extra early because of traffic :( . Our lunch consisted of left over fruit and veggie pizza, it was nothing less than superb! Then we headed over to the convention center and played! We won all three of our matches, the last one was by far the most intense, it went to three games and we killed in the third and won 15-4!!! Yeah.... sooo that was pretty much our day!
17-White: Callie Sinclair and Alannah Baker:
18-1: By ??? not submitted yet
18-2: By ??? not submitted yet
18-Black: By Ashley Peper and Steph Little: Today we got to wake up
at 9 because we played in the afternoon. We had eggs, fruit and something else.
Then we all watched criminal minds in our theater! It was intense. Then some of
us went swimming during the hiatus in the rain. We had lunch at 11:30 - Mac and
cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. We left for the convention center at
12:15 ! Then we watched some lights teams played and started our warm up. We
played diamond elite, a2 and juggernaut. We had fun playing but if you want the
outcomes of the games you can look online (if you catch my hint). Now we are
riding back home and getting a lot of ice for tonight. We will have dinner and
ice baths once we get home! We play in the afternoon tomorrow.