Hey Black Club Family! We had another big week in the Esface Family. Take a look at what's been happening and what's coming up!

Recap Last Tournament

We had another big week at Team Esface! "The Grind Don't Stop" was our highest level of competition for the Spring Season so far, with programs like Team Lillard, Oakland Rebels, Arsenal, and WHPH. It provided an excellent opportunity for our athletes to be exposed to other top-tier programs and athletes. As always, our team's focus wasn't on winning, but on competing hard, and that's precisely what they did.

We'd like to give a special shoutout to our 8th-grade team, who persevered through a frustrating day of travel and opponents not showing up. Despite this, they went 2-0 and won the tournament with a dramatic win against the host team "Work Hard Play Hard." We couldn't be prouder of their hard work and dedication.

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A few quick highlights...

• We faced some logistic difficulties and hiccups, but a HUGE extra thank you to all the families and coaches who worked extra hard to make sure it was still a great experience for all. Shoutout to both the 3rd Grade and 6th Grade Hitter teams/families, who successfully managed to avoid forfeits despite being on different locations.

• Both our 5th Goers and Hitters showed tenacious grit, anti-softness, and a palms down mentality when trying to recover from mistakes and deficits. Those athletes, coaches Nate, Derriq, and Dario are doing something right! Keep it up! 

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College Prep Update

As your athlete continues to work hard and develop their skills, it's important to keep in mind that our goal at Team Esface is not about winning games at an early age, but developing high-performing varsity players. The skills and strategies you learn and refine during your early years will help prepare you for the next level of competition. As a testament to what can be achieved with long-term growth and development, our 17U program won the top bracket of the 17U division and have now won 7 consecutive games this season. They leave for Arizona this weekend to play in the first NCAA live period this Spring and many will have opportunities to play beyond their high school careers. Keep pushing yourselves, stay focused on your goals, and trust in the process of your growth and development. With time and effort, you can achieve great things and become high-performing varsity players!

What's coming up

This weekend will be a practice weekend with no tournament. Our next tournament will be the always-anticipated Esface-hosted Hustle UP. Team registrations are almost full, and the teams are looking good! We may be reaching out later this week for some volunteer options, so hopefully, you can keep Saturday, April 29th, free on your calendar.

Last thing to make sure is on your Calendar is season finales National Tournament in Coca-Cola Classic in Anaheim; June 16th-18th. We'll be sending out availability surveys in the next week or so to make sure we are getting early numbers on our attendance. 

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Thanks again for all the support so far. Looking forward to the next one!

Coach Sam and the Esface Family