ESYC Elite 11u head to 2013 AAU Nationals!

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a Valley to train Champions. Meet the ESYC Elite 11u “610ers”: they come from Allentown, Bethlehem, Lower Macungie, and different parts of the Lehigh Valley. Can you name them individually? They are OUR Lehigh Valley boys, and they’ve made the statement clear throughout the Northeast coast, that THE LEHIGH VALLEY CAN BALL.

Director & Coach Marlon Thomas and the ESYC Elite 11u

THE ESYC SLITE 11u “610ers” ARE OUR FLAGSHIP TEAM THIS YEAR. This year our 11u Team placed 3rd in the AAU Mid-Atlantic District.  Essentially, the District consists of all of Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Northern Maryland, and  Delaware! OUR LEHIGH VALLEY BOYS SURMOUNTED THE ODDS, and are headed to the AAU Nationals in Hampton, VA representing not only the Lehigh Valley, but the Mid-Atlantic United States!

The road to being among the top 3 in our Mid-Atlantic District took grind, and paid off along the way. The 11u have made it to the finals or the semi-finals in every tournament they’ve entered this year, often, “playing-up” against older-aged teams. The list of successes include:

• Competitive Edge Winter AAU league Champions
• Dakota Galusha Champions
• Desales one day Shootout Champions
• Hoop Group Philadelphia JamFest Champions
• Jay Radio Invitational Champions
• Hoop Group Tournament of Champions: lost in the finals to King Street Kings
• Basketball Spotlight’s Atlantic City Showcase: record, 3-1 lost in the semi-final to NBA Basketball Academy
•  Earned the 3rd Seed at the Mid-Atlantic Super Regional tournament, with a 75-35 victory over the Philadelphia Legends

Three of our Lehigh Valley ESYC Elite players, (Nick Filchner, Julian Thomas, and Shane Dezonie) received recognition from Basketball Spotlight, a notable rankings site for AAU Ballers.

Medals awarded to ESYC Elite 11u

OUR 11U TEAM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

As mentioned, the 11u team will be competing in the AAU Basketball National Tournament next month in Hampton, Virginia.  They qualified for this National tournament by placing in the Top 4 of a Super Regional Tournament, thereby representing the Lehigh Valley at AAU Nationals!

If you like what ESYC Elite is doing for its community, help these boys travel to Hampton, VA, as well as further this AAU program with your online donation.

The ESYC Elite and overall ESYC Basketball Program is affecting young lives throughout the Lehigh Valley. Help them make a statement for the Lehigh Valley. Help forever change lives. Make a donation today.

What is the AAU?

Founded in 1888, the AAU (Amateur AThletic Union) was a leader in international sport representing the U.S. and worked closely to prepare Olymipic athletes. Today, the AAU represents 29 sports programs and has 33 national committees organizing the activities of these various sports. Over 125,000 athletes ranging from under age 9 through age 18 compete against some of the most skilled players in the country.”IN BASKETBALL, AAU teams have risen to great prominence as powerhouse programs in big cities — attracting rosters full of blue-chip NCAA recruits. Performance in AAU play may be more important to those recruits than their own high school careers.” Many AAU players go on to have successful careers in College and various aspects of Sports Entertainment — including the NBA.-Sources: Wikipedia.org , http://basketball.about.com/od/collegebasketballglossary/g/AAU.htm, http://www.statsdad.com/2011/04/youth-basketball-climb-to-aau-national.html

2013 Best of the Best Tournament

 Jun 29-30, 2013

BOYS & GIRLS 10U TO 15U, featuring teams from across the East Coast. Elite, AAU, and Travel A/B Pools offered.

Team Registration And Payment ($299 per team): Complete Online

Contact information:
Boys & Girls 10u – 12u: Marlon Thomas – 610-842-1606
Boys & Girls 13u – 15u: Jason Boggs – 484-547-1141
Email: esychoops@gmail.com

Game location: Cedar Beach Park at Hamilton & Ott Streets, Allentown, PA

Get additional information via online form

Tournament MVPs will be given scholarship awards on behalf of the Hoop Group for Summer Basketball Camps administered by the Hoop Group Skills Camps.

2013 Summer Basketball League Sign-ups

Tags

Allentown Summer Basketball, Allentown Youth Basketball, Basketball signups, ESYC Elite, ESYC Summer, Lehigh Valley Summer Basketball, Summer Basketball

WHEN:

• Sign-ups online ONLY throughout May
• TRYOUTS on Saturday, May 18 & Sunday, May 19 (Pick a time slot to attend; save time & register online):
  3/4 Grade Boys: Sat & Sun, 12pm to 1:15pm
  5/6 Grade Boys: Sat & Sun 1:15pm to 2:30pm
  3-6 Grade Girls: Sun, 2:30pm to 3:45pm

  Sign-ups online ONLY throughout May

WHO:

• Boys and Girls Age 9 – 14
• 8-year olds may apply per ESYC skill evaluation and approval
• Teams are tryout-based; all money refunded for those who do not make a team

WHAT’S NEEDED:

• A Winning Attitude
• $35 Registration + $15 T-shirt fees = $50. ($53 if paid online)
• Copy of player birth certificate,  and last 4-digits of the social security #

WHERE:

• Location:  East Side Youth Center, 1140 E. Claire St, Allentown, PA
  ESYC Elite AAU Basketball Headquarters, and Home of the Little Huskies

SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Early 2013 Championship for ESYC Elite

We started with 4 teams, and now… we’re here: 10 Teams = 100 Elite Players, with that many medals to win — in over 10 weekends.

This past weekend our 14u ESYC Elite (Grey) played their first weekend tournament — hopeful that hard work would pay off. Led by Coaches Al Blount & Bob Zeky, our 14u ESYC Elite (Grey) snatched the Championship win in the Competitive Edge Sports Spring Tip-Off — bringing home one of many “chips” anticipated this year. The successes won’t stop with this 14u team…

“We’ve 2 more additional 14u teams, and that’s not all. Making up our Elite 100 is one 10u team, 2 -11u teams, 1 -12u team, 2 -13u teams, 3 -14u teams, and a 15u team”, cited Director, Marlon Thomas.

This past weekend a number of the other ESYC Elite teams made a grand statement in their AAU openers. Our 13u met the Central Jersey Hawks in the Championship round. Our 14u National team met Team Izod in the Championship round. Our 11u team met the King Street Kings in the Championship round. Our 14u (Grey) brought home the medals, but for ESYC Elite, the entire weekend was a win — with Championship bids for ALL teams. Lessons were learned, and the ESYC Elite are back in the lab looking for the next opportunity to bring those championship medals home. By season end, the ESYC Elite will say:

“We started with 4 teams, and now… we’re here: 10 Teams = 100 Elite Players, with multiple Championships under our wing.”

ESYC/VAST Spring Development League – Rosters/Schedule

BASKETBALL NEVER STOPS! The VAST Spring Youth Developmental Basketball League games continue: May 24 Gonzaga [blue] v Louisville [green] @6pm, (Duke [red] v Hoosiers [blue]  @ 7pm).

• MAY 24 will be a 1-day Tournament. Winners advance until the top 2 teams reach the 8PM Championship game.
• Game rules may be downloaded here.
• Arrive 10 minutes early to review strategies with Coaches, and to sign the attendance sheets

Below are team roster assignments (as of April 9, 9:07am). Note changes by asterisks (* – traded, ** – added, *** – conditional):

Duke Blue Devils	A. Aguilar A. Cercado N. Chimelis F. Galan L. Johnson N. Miranda J. Naylor M. Pearsall M. Rodriguez J. Turley
Gonzaga Bulldogs	A. Hanna M. Lisicky D. Marx E. Matos B. Nunez D. Phillips J. Phillips C. Ray* N. Rex L. Rivera
Indiana Hoosiers	M. Ali J. Alicia J. Espinosa J. Medina J. Nunez Z. Perkins J. Perez J. Thomas F. Vasquez K. Wright Sameer
Louisville Falcons	M. Bermudez N. Cepeda R. DeJohn E. Morales A. Oyola Y. Oyola M. Olmo R. Overbeck S. Trotter A. Uthuppan I. Uthuppan M. Williams

Spring League Phone Contact: Craig Luska, 610-739-9027, vastbrandcc@gmail.com or Marlon Thomas, 610-842-1606, esychoops@gmail.com

2013 Jay Radio Invitational Champions

Grades 4 thru 11 will brawled it out on the floor.

SEE 2013 CHAMPIONS BELOW

:

1st place teams received a team trophy, and player medals.  2nd place will received player medals.  Tournament MVPs were given scholarship awards on behalf of the Hoop Group for Summer Basketball Camps administered by the Hoop Group Skills Camp located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

CHECK OUT PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS:

“Like” our page at http://www.facebook.com/esychoops , and get plugged in!

Now is the time to register for UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS at our registration/payment site!

2012-13 Season Winners!

Over 130 medals were distributed to ESYC Ballers for the (Winter) 2012-13 Season … and we’ve yet to begin our Spring & Summer games! How about an AAU count? So far… 10 medals!

ESYC Elite 14u (Grey) with Coaches Al Blount & Bob Zeky, Champs of the 2013 Competitive Edge Sports Spring Tip-Off

2012-2013 East Penn League 2nd Place

2012-2013 East Penn League Champs

East Side Ballerz Julian Thomas & Carrington Smith win MVP honors at the 2013 5th Annual Dakota Galusha Tournament! Go East Side!!!

East Side Ballerz SWEEP the 2013 5th Annual Dakota Galusha Tournament 7th Grade Champions, joining the 5th/6th & 8th Grade teams in their Chip wins for the SAME Tourny!

East Side Ballerz SWEEP the 2013 5th Annual Dakota Galusha Tournament 8th Grade Champions joining the 5th/6th & 7th Grade teams in their Chip wins for the SAME Tourny!

East Side Ballerz SWEEP the 2013 5th Annual Dakota Galusha Tournament 5th/6th Grade Champions (with 4th Graders “playing up”!) joining the 7th & 8th Grade teams in their Chip wins for the SAME Tourny!

3/4 Grade LVJV 1st Place Pool Play

East Penn League All-Star Game Winners (5th/6th Grade)

11u Winter League Champs

Lehigh Valley JV Champs: 5th6th Grade

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

3/4 Grade City Champs

Warke Tournament Champs (3rd/4th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (3rd/4th Grade)

3/4 Grade City Champs

3/4 Grade City Champs

3/4 Grade City Champs

3/4 Grade City Champs

3/4 Grade City Champs

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

MVP: Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (5th/6th Grade)

Lehigh Valley JV Champs: 5th6th Grade

Warke Tournament Champs (3rd/4th Grade)

Warke Tournament Champs (3rd/4th Grade)

ESYC Calendar Events

2012-2013 SEASON

PLEASE NOTE: All ESYC participants (parents, players, coaches, officials & spectators) are to adhere to our Zero Tolerance Policy.

Every Friday!!! (except for March 29). FRIDAY NIGHT Workout OFFERED TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE (pay on site: $15 for non-ESYC athletes, $10 for ESYC & Vast League players per session), Intermediate level from 6:15pm-7:30pm, Advanced level, 7:30pm to 8:45pm

GENERAL SCHEDULE:

Fridays in April:

• VAST Spring League Friday night games (game times: 6pm, 7pm) *No games scheduled on March 29.
• FRIDAY NIGHT Workout*No workouts scheduled on March 29.

March 17, 20, 24, 27:   I’m Possible Training  (Sundays at 4pm, Wednesdays at 6pm) NO TRAINING ON EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 31)

Weekends in April:

March: ESYC Elite on the Road Tournaments<  

May 3-5: 2nd Annual Jay Radio Invitational Basketball Tournament, hosted by ESYC Elite

Remember, parent participation is VITAL to the program’s success. Parents are encouraged to to choose their PREFERRED participation tasks.

To see photos and/or videos of player action get plugged in through our FACEBOOK PAGE at: http://www.facebook.com/esychoops

2nd Annual Jay Radio Invitational

 May 3-5, 2013

AAU Division III, Boys 3rd – 11th Grade, featuring teams from across the East Coast. Elite, AAU, and Travel A/B Pools offered.

Team Registration And Payment: Complete Online

Contact information:
Boys 3rd-7th grade: Marlon Thomas – 610-842-1606
Boys 8th -11th Grade: Jason Boggs – 484-547-1141
Email: esychoops@gmail.com

Get directions & additional information via online form

Tournament MVPs will be given scholarship awards on behalf of the Hoop Group for Summer Basketball Camps administered by the Hoop Group Skills Camps.

This event is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union of the U. S., Inc. All participants must have a current AAU membership. AAU membership may not be included as part of the entry fee to the event. AAU Youth Athlete membership must be obtained before the competition begins except where the event operator has a laptop available with an internet connection.

Be Prepared: Adult and Non Athlete memberships are no longer instant and cannot be applied for an event. Please allow 10 days for membership to be processed. Participants are encouraged to visit the AAU web site http://www.aausports.org to obtain their membership.

Lehigh Valley Pickup for Youth Ballers

Tags

Lehigh Valley Pickup Basketball

Join this FACEBOOK GROUP and find pickup games for YOUNG BALLERS!

Youth Basketball Pickup In The Lehigh Valley

This group serves as a means to reach out to other parents and youth players and arrange pickup games/play dates at our local parks and open gyms. No refs, no fees, no whistles… just old- fashioned street ball to heighten the senses & reflexes of the game!

1) Request to be added to this Facebook Group in order to post or receive automatic notifications.

2) Thereafter, you can post when you will be heading to a park or gym, and want others to join you.

When posting, be clear regarding the age of players, and location of play. It’s as simple as that! Youth players can combine their streetball play, and structured game play & training to become great players.

Combine streetball play with
ESYC BASKETBALL TRAINING & YEAR-ROUND LEAGUE PLAY
and your baller can be unstoppable.

ADD YOUR FRIENDS TO THIS GROUP! One of the hardest things to find in the Lehigh Valley are youth basketball players to play with — especially when that player is a younger baller (pre-teen), or female.

*You must have a Facebook account and be logged in to access the group.

You can also follow @esychoops on Twitter for live notifications of pickup games, open gyms, etc, however, the best source is the Facebook group, Youth Basketball Pickup In The Lehigh Valley.