HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Championship Tournament 2014 = a.k.a "LIBERTY!!!"

Just returned from our 8th year at the HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Tournament with the Lighthouse Eagles! This post-season tournament is the highlight of the year for our varsity and JV players, and win or lose, we always have a great time! This year did not disappoint, with over 80 homeschool basketball teams from NC, SC, GA, VA, TN, KY, MD, NJ, and NY in attendance!

Chris Davis, the tournament director, and his staff does a phenomenal job! And Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA is a fanstastic, family-friendly location with their wonderful sports facilites ( LaHaye Center, Vines Center, and LCA ), pretty campus, and friendly community.

This season, Jason was the starting point guard for our JV Boys team, but also played up on Varsity for non-league games. So at Liberty, he played both! Ten games in 4 days - 1 on Wednesday night, 4 on Thursday, 4 on Friday, and 1 on Saturday. The 3-point contest was held on Thursday night after games ended, and Jason's turn didn't come until about 10:30pm! But apparently he shoots well after playing 5 games in 24 hours, and shot 18 3's in 60 seconds to come in 2nd for the JV Boys!

To help him stay strong and energized, I packed a cooler of protein shakes, protein bars, string cheese and crackers, trail mix, water bottles and powdered Gatorade. Cracker Barrel has a great breakfast menu - pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, a banana, and milk is a great start to a long day of basketball! I brought Epsom salts and had him soak in a hot bath before bed. We got home from the gym pretty late, but part of the fun of tournament is hanging out with teammates at the hotel - at least for a little while; and a late night Cook-Out run is apparently a tradition!

There is a lot of team bonding that occurs during a tournament. The JV portion of the tournament ended on Friday, and our Eagles won the 1A Divison championship. Varsity championships were held on Saturday. Our Varsity boys won the 3A Division championship and our Varsity girls finished 4th in the 2A Division.

 I am proud to be part of the Lighthouse organization and proud of our kids, for competing with heart, courage, conviction, and honor. These are the intangibles that high school athletics should impart.

Liberty Homeschool Basketball Tourney 2012

Last week was one of our favorite weeks of the year - the HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball  Tournament at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, VA..  This year the tournament attracted 82 homeschool teams from VA, NC, SC, GA, TN, NJ, MD, KY, and IA, and is hoping to expand even more next year.  We have gone with our Lighthouse varsity teams every year since the tournament began in 2007, and just last year started bringing our JV teams as well.  This year, Mark was coaching our Varsity Boys team and Jason, although he was a Middle School player all season, came along as a backup player for JV.  He actually got a fair amount of time on the court, PLUS he entered and won the Middle School Boys 3-point contest, with 14 swishes in 60 seconds!

We stayed at the Kirkley Hotel in Lynchburg, and I have to say it was the most pleasant hotel experience we've had yet!  I know having a bunch of families with middle school/high school age kids descend on your business can be a little nerve-wracking.  Kudos to the staff for making the teams feel welcome and for providing great service, as well as having a very well-kept and CLEAN hotel.  We'll definitely go back.

Also, Liberty University really goes above and beyond to accomodate this tournament during their Spring Break every year, providing access to all of its courts and recreation facilities.  We are always very impressed, and appreciate the hospitality that is extended to homeschool families from across the eastern US.  I'm sure it is good for their institution, as they are making an impression on potential future students.

 I didn't take any pictures, but thankfully some of my friends did. And my daughters did, although I have not seen those pics yet. ( hint hint )

Jason

3-pointer

JV teams congratulating after a game

 Middle School 3-point contest

Varsity Boys

 

A school banner that echoes are purpose.

Varsity won 3rd place in the 5A bracket - to place 15th out of 32 teams. We were pretty happy with that.

Our Own Kind of March Madness

I can't believe I haven't posted here in a whole month! I didn't plan to be absent so long. I've just been chained to my Kitchen Aid, baking cupcakes all month!!!!

hahaha

No, really.

Truth be told, the Cupcakes on a Mission fundraiser is going quite well! We have baked well over 1000 cupcakes so far, with 2 weeks to go. My trusty Kitchen Aid mixer and my stove have gotten a good workout. I have found some great recipes, learned some tricks and tips to being a better baker, and thrown a few trays of cupcakes in the trash. Between cupcake money and other donations, Amanda has about 3/4 of the money she needs for her trip to Uganda in August. EXCITING! Thank you so much to everyone who has eaten too much sugar these past few weeks. It is for a good cause!
If you are interested, she is going to Uganda with our friends, the Wrights, and Ten Eighteen.

 Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cupcakes

So what else has been going on during the month of March? ( okay, Feb. too) Let's see.

Lighthouse Family Square Dance

We rented a school gym on a Sunday afternoon and had a great turnout at this event, and a wonderful caller made it fun for everyone, young and old alike! 

NCHEAC Regional & State Basketball Tournaments

In addition to coaching the Lighthouse Middle School Boys team, Mark is Tournament Director for the NCHEAC ( North Carolina Home Educators Athletic Conference) East Regional Basketball Tournament, held at SEBTS in Wake Forest. Things are busy in our household in the week or two leading up to that. Amanda's team advanced to the state tournament, which was the following weekend, but Jason's team finished early.  Amanda was chosen for the Varsity Girls All Conference Team and will play in the All Star Game in Winston-Salem during the Homeschool Conference weekend in May.  Jason was chosen to the All-Tournament team.

Oh, and the Lighthouse Eagles Varsity Girls Basketball Team went undefeated in pre-season, season, and tournament play, winning the NCHEAC championship trophy! 

Lighthouse Basketball Awards Night 

At the end of every sports season, the Lighthouse teams gather for a pot luck meal and awards presentations. Volunteers are recognized. All players receive a certificate and seniors receive special Senior Plaques. Coaches call up each player and give words of praise and encouragement.  And sometimes the players get in a word or two as well. ;-)

HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Tournament at Liberty U.

Our favorite basketball week of the year!  The Liberty Tournament has become a much-anticipated week of fun and competition at the end of each basketball season for our varsity teams, and this year, our 2 JV teams entered for the first time, as well. The tournament features 80 homeschool basketball teams from all over the East - NC, SC, VA, GA, TN, OH, MD, NY.   All the Lighthouse teams did well, but our Varsity Girls really shined, earning top seed in the Championship game out of 20 girls teams, and losing to Charleston's Low Country Wildcats by 6 points in the final game. It was a heartbreaker, but the tears flowed freely afterwards mainly due to the fact that Amanda's entire team was made up of seniors - and now it was over.  Sadness.

 

Jason made it to the finals in the 13 & under 3-point contest, and competed against his friend, Chris.  They had to shoot 10 balls in 30 seconds, from points around the arc. They tied 3 times before Chris beat him by 1 basket. 

Lighthouse Geography Bee

I helped plan a Geography Bee for our homeschool group, and of course made my son participate.  He had fun, despite himself. :-)  We divided the kids by age group, and did Geography Games in addition to the Bee. Younger kids ( K-5th) competed first, while older kids ( 6th-12th) played games. Then they switched.  The whole thing took a LOT longer than we planned, but everyone had fun, and we moms learned a few things that we'll change for next time.

Basketball and Baking

Busy, busy, busy.  We've been baking up a storm around here for Cupcakes on a Mission, our fundraiser for Amanda's summer missions trip to Uganda.  Last week she and I made 14 dozen Chocolate Mint cupcakes, and tonight we are finishing off the 11 dozen Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes baked this week.  I should buy a cow for all the butter and cream we are going through!  And eggs, vanilla, sugar, cocoa ....  Our friends have been enjoying their treats, and between the cupcakes and the support checks that have come in, Amanda has raised half the amount she needs!  yay!

 

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

based on Martha Stewart's Devil's Food recipe

3/4 c. Hershey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. instant coffee

3/4 c. boiling water

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup ( 2 sticks) butter, melted

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 1/4 c. sugar

4 lg. eggs, room temperature

4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 c. sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Whisk together cocoa, coffee, and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

4. Place melted butter, oil, and sugar in mixing bowl. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat until mixture is cooled, about 5 minutes.  

5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. 

6. Add vanilla and cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. 

7. With mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix until combined. Then add half the sour cream, mixing until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl, and repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. 

8. Divide batter between the 24 lined cups.  Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean - about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cupcakes and place on wire racks and cool completely.

Tomorrow we head to Greensboro for the state homeschool basketball tournament - Amanda's final time, since she's a senior.  :-(    Jason's middle school team got knocked out in the regional tourney last weekend, so he gets to be a spectator this weekend. Amanda's varsity girls team is undefeated this season, and is hoping to continue that streak through this weekend and claim the state championship.  Here's hoping!  It still isn't all over, though, until after "Liberty" in mid-March!  "Liberty" is the HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Championships, an open tournament for homeschool teams from all over the eastern US, held at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.  

Amanda was chosen to the All-Conference All Star Team!

Jason won an All-Tournament Award for his great play during the tournament

March Madness

After returning from Liberty last weekend, Amanda ended up being sick for a couple of days and I was under the weather, but not actually sick. Good thing - there is no TIME for Mama to be sick.

Jason's town rec league basketball team had their tournament this week, and Jason's team won their first game on Monday, and then fought a tough battle against the 1st place team on Wednesday, actually leading at the half, falling behind by 10 points in the 3rd quarter, and then making a surge to come within 2 points at the end. So now basketball season IS over - well, after the MS Boys team party this afternoon, and the JV Girls team party on Tuesday.... oh, and packing away 100 uniforms and all the equipment in my garage...did I say over? Never mind certain members of my family are glued to the TV watching NCAA college basketball tournament games and checking their brackets daily ( hourly ) - can you say "MARCH MADNESS"?

Go Duke!