6/30/18
We spent all day at MCU Park for the National Summer Spike Tournament 2018! Ben and Houston played in the intermediate division with 64 other teams. The morning was for pool play: 12 groups of 6 teams each. The 6 teams all have to play each other in single games to 15 points, and report their score to determine their seed placement for the bracket.
The bracket was released after a short lunch break, and we quickly realized that although Ben and Houston had gone undefeated and won all 5 games during pool play, with a 27 point differential, they were #18 on the bracket. They asked the staff people who realized they had made a serious mistake and entered a score incorrectly, therefore ruining the entire bracket. However, by the time this discovery had been made, it was too late to change it so they continued with the original schedule (which was so unfair). The boys always play barefoot, and were doing the same except the plastic turf field was heating to an unreasonably hot temperature, and literally burning the skin off their feet as they played. Ben had to visit the medic to get his bloody feet bandaged before continuing to play in big clunky Chacos, the only shoes they had brought along. The field offered no shade, and the heat was relentless at about 90 degrees. The boys were getting dehydrated and sunburned quickly, but continued to play!
The bracket play was best 2/3, playing to 21 points. There were two brackets, the top 32 teams and a losers bracket. Ben and Houston were in the top teams, and began playing their opponents. The bracket had some upsets, the #1 team lost to the #32 team and the #2 team lost to the #31 team! Ben and Houston were undefeated though and continued until the final 4! They won a game and lost a game by just 2 points, and then finally met defeat after 8 hours of exhausting play. They ended up taking home the 3rd place overall medals, and each got a $50 gift card to Dicks sporting goods!
We are so proud of them for enduring such a long and hot tournament, and for doing so well! They had played the team who got 1st in Central Park the day before, and beat them twice, so in my opinion, they’re still the best in the division, especially with all the set backs they experienced!
We grabbed a quick dinner with my moms longtime friend and New Jersey resident, Linda, on the boardwalk in Coney Island, before heading back to our little Air BnB for a much needed rest!
What a fun weekend!
