February News

We were very pleased with the scrimmage today - it was a great way to get tournament experience without the cost and losing a whole day to traveling basketball! Sounds like the girls had fun too. We hope to get a date lined up soon with UH/NCE, but we plan to make use of our Sunday practice time again. There are some dates of note coming up, so please keep an eye on the blog and calendar (see list below). Also, I'm finally getting caught up entering all the expenses, so if you have anything due still, I'll be sending out a separate email with that amount. Thanks again for being so supportive in getting your girls to practice and games, you can really see the difference in the girls from the beginning of the year, and having a supportive group of parents makes the experience for the players (and coaches) so much more enjoyable!

• Monday, Feb. 17, 7-8:30pm - Practice with Coach Gottenborg (HS Gym)
• Sunday, Feb. 23, 1:30-3pm - Practice (Elem Gym)
• Tuesday, Feb. 25, 5:35-8:30pm - Autograph Night (HS Gym)
• Monday, Feb. 24, 7-8:30pm - Practice with Coach Gottenborg (HS Gym)
• Sunday, Mar. 2, 1:30-3pm - Practice and Team Photos (Elem Gym)
• Monday, Mar. 3, Practice with Coach Gottenborg (HS Gym)
• ( More practices in between here but we will be probably go to one/week )
• Saturday, Mar. 29, TBD - Hawley HotShot Tourney

Scrimmage Sunday with Barnesville

Update to our tourney plans: after I sent out an interest email, both the Barnesville and UH Coaches contacted me about getting together to scrimmage. The coaches decided there was no reason to spend money on a tourney when we have two free opportunities. We are still lining up the UH date, but plan to use our Sunday practice time.

THIS SUNDAY: instead of practice, we will scrimmage against Barnesville in the Elementary Gym 1:30pm - 3pm. Please arrive on time so that we can make use of the time. Also, remember to wear your jerseys! Parents are welcome to stay and watch, but it's not necessary. We should be able to figure out how to pull out the bleachers.

Titan Tourney (NCE/UH)

Good morning! We received our tourney information for the NCE/UH Tourney on Saturday. We were waiting for some reclarification, but have it now. We play in Twin Valley and our first game is at 9:00 vs. NCE/UH. This tourney is Bracket Style vs. Round Robin, so depending on if we win or lose, dictates when we play next and in which facility. If you cannot attend, it is not a big deal, but please let us know so we can pre-plan substitutions. See reminders below:

• Please bring your own ball for warmup (make sure it has your name on it)
• Concessions will be available at both locations, but please have a marked water-bottle for your player for at the bench
• Please remind the girls to fill their water bottles and to use the restroom before each game - if they are gone during the substituion it is really hard to get them back in mid-rotation
• There are two locations: Ulen and Twin Valley (we start in Twin Valley)
• Uniforms are required - please have your player wear the blue side
• We need to be in the gym and ready to warm up 15 minutes prior to the game time

Reminder: there is practice tonight in the high school!

Monday Night & Hawley Tourney

1) No practice tonight. We are not allowed to practice on days when school is canceled, even if the weather does a 180.We will see you on Sunday instead.

2) There is room for additional 4th grade teams at the Hawley Hot Shot Tourney in March - is there interest in submitting two teams so the girls get more playing time? There would be an additional cost of $8.35/player if we entered as two teams.

Sunday Practice [ optional ]

Due to the weather, tomorrow's practice is "come if you can" ~ parents are welcome to stay and burn off some energy as well! Great job tonight Hoopsters!

Caring for Uniform

• Wash in warm water (hand wash or washing machine)
• Wash inside out - this is a bit tricky as they are two sided, but you should be able to  flip them so that they are inside out completely, but it takes some work
• Wash with similar items (avoid heavy clothing such as jeans)
• Do not twist to dry (light rinse cycle is recommended)
• Air drying is best - you can flip the jerseys back so that the logos are on the outside (keep out of direct sunlight as the blue screen could fade)
• Dryers will also work on the permanent press or light air dry cycles (make sure the jersey is still inside out) - but remove immediately when the dryer is done as the screens can stick to each other and could cause it to peel apart
• Make sure to use mild/standard detergent - avoid bleach and any other stronger chemical soaps

Busy Weeks Ahead of Us...

The girls learned a lot at the tourney today and we while we always hope for a win or two, we were happy to see that things started "clicking" by the third game - they made huge strides today and have a lot to be proud of! They have a busy week ahead of them this week as well, so they can showcase their newfound skills:

• [ practice ] Sunday, Jan.19th, 1:30-3:00pm - Elementary Gym
• [ practice ] Monday, Jan. 20th, 7:00-8:30pm - High School Gym
• [ scrimmage ] Thursday, Jan. 23rd, 5:30pm - High School Gym during JV Halftime
• [ tourney ] Saturday, Jan. 25th, 4:45pm - Audubon Elementary School
• [ practice ] Sunday, Jan. 26th 1:30pm - 3:00pm - Elementary Gym
• [ practice ] Monday, Jan. 27th, 7:00-8:30pm - High School Gym
• [ tourney ] Saturday, Feb. 8th, TBD - UlenHitterdal TBD
• [ no practice ] Sunday, Feb. 9th - due to boys hot shot tourney

We have posted a picture from the tourney on the pictures section of the blog as well...