Winter Circuit 2020 - Session # 3
Kymani Jordan Merraro
Feb.14, 2020
My experience on made hoops were great memories from the bus ride, to the hotel and of course the competitive games. Having the coaches from different teams and states watching and judging us, it seems intimidating but it’s a trip I wouldn’t dream of missing.
The bus drive was the best! The 14 hours on the bus was nothing, because I was with my teammates cracking jokes and playing around. One part I really enjoyed was the coaches telling us stories of when it was their time playing ball.
The hotel we stayed in was good, but not better than the food down in the states!
Our games were always competitive, and definitely gave us a run for our money! Very similar to the last time we went down to Virginia, we went into triple overtime and us getting the win by the end of it. Our coaches always make sure we have time for homework so we don’t fall behind, and sometimes coaches will add something fun like going to the Washington monument and the history of black museum, making sure we understand our roots. It’s also a great bonding time with your teammates.
I am really blessed that I was able to experience this trip with my teammates and my coaches! This is a trip that adds to my game and my growth as an athlete.
Ballin’ and Black History
Durham City United’s third session in the Made Hoops league was held on the weekend of February 11, 2020 in Washington DC. It was a long and slow bus trip due to the weather and traffic however, we got there excited to play.
We arrived later than expected, so we had to go to sleep because we had an important game to win in the morning. To start the day, we ate a healthy breakfast and prepared for our game mentally and physically. As a team, we went into the game with star like chemistry, this means throughout the game we picked each other up, stayed focused and kept our plays sharp. We were all feeling good! Our warm-up was clean, we were hitting our shots and had great communication on the court and on the bench. We went into the game ready to win and we did!
While off the court, we went sightseeing in the Capital. My favorite place was the African American Museum because we got to see many influential black people and how they overcame adversity when times were tough. We also visited the National Mall, it was inspiring to think that history was made there and I was now part of it. At the end of the day, our team had lunch at the Food trucks, the choices were different but the food definitely lived up to our expectations. Travelling with the grade 8’s and 9’s was good because it helped us to be more mature and show more toughness on and off the court. It’s an experience I will never forget! Here we come Made Hoops King of Prussia!
Jacob McGregor
DC United at Nike Made Hoops 2019-20
by: Alex Greszczuk
Our last session for Made Hoops was in District Heights, Maryland. The DC United U13, U14 and U15 teams shared a bus to get there. The bus left early Friday morning (5:30am!) and got to our hotel in Maryland later that day. Riding on buses to these sessions with my teammates was a lot fun. I brought my Nintendo Switch and some of the other guys brought tablets and phones to play games and watch movies. The rides were long but were better hanging out with my teammates and listening to the Coaches talk basketball.
On Saturday, we had some time between games so we all took the bus and visited the National Mall in Washington, DC. We saw the White House, Washington Monument, War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and some of the Smithsonian museums. It was a lot of fun to see things that we have only seen on TV or in movies before.
The basketball level was competitive at all of the sessions and I think we learned a lot playing against some really good teams. The games were fast paced and every team played hard to the end, no matter what the score was. It was a great experience going to Made Hoops.
