2016 H1 Thunder Travel

Simple in or out is all I need to hear from all our Thunder players and parents. I'm planning on us starting fundraisers soon. At roughly $1,500 per player for a 10-11 day trip in early July to Las Vegas and Anaheim (plans can change, but that's what I have pencilled in), and another $550 to return to the Maui Classic in late July, we can get ahead of the 8-ball by attacking the challenge this fall and early winter.

(NOTE: If $1,500 sounds like a lot of fundraising, yes, it is. And a few of our younger players raised half of that and more in just one month of fundraising this summer. Just takes commitment and follow-through. Most of our Intermediate guys — and Mosi — who went on the trip raised $300-$400 in that short period of time.)

Then we can resume fundraising hard after the high school season. We may have a fundraiser during the winter for the families that are willing to do so rather than sit out from raising money for 2-3 months. NOTE: We will be playing in Intermediate (and younger age-group) winter leagues just like the past year if we have the numbers.

Check out the basics below and please respond to me by Labor Day (Sept. 7) with a YES or NO for the mainland trip, and YES or NO for the Maui trip.

Early-Mid July
Las Vegas Live or Adidas Super 48
Swoosh SoCal Showcase (Anaheim)
> Disneyland
This would include 16U, 15U and/or 14U teams.

Late July
Maui Summer Classic
They go by Varsity (outgoing seniors are eligible), JV and Intermediate divisions.

Text or call me at 551-1054.
Mahalo!

Re-post: Travel plans?

I posted this on April 7 and I'm doing it again now. Please examine and provide your feedback if you want to travel this summer to play mainland competition. If not, no worries. We just need 8 players to travel and compete in a 14U, 15U or even 16U tourney, BUT YOU MUST TELL ME IF YOU ARE IN OR NOT. And if you're in, you must 1) pay for the cost (roughly $1,000) or 2) do the fundraisers such as FT Challenge. (Note: Air fare might be up to $700 by now, but I'll shop around.)

If you can't hustle to find sponsors, then you're not really hustling. Make it work, Thunder smile emoticon

Note #2 - Several guys have summer school, which ends around July 7 to 13 from what I see online. So our best travel time is mid-July. But again, we just need 8 players for each age division.

CITIES
LAS VEGAS
July 11-12 Swoosh
July 15-19 Bigfoot Las Vegas Live

July 23-26 Fab 48 (15U) http://www.lasvegasfab48.com/welcome.html
July 27-30 Jr. Fab 48 (grade 8)http://www.lasvegasfab48.com/welcome.html

July 23-26 Adias Super 64 (closed)

Los Angeles/Anaheim
June 6-7, 2015...Swoosh Summer Slam in OC Swoosh 2015 Tournament Schedule
June 12-14 Coca Cola National Classic in Garden Grove Coca Cola National Classic - Jun 12-14, 2015 - Garden Grove, CA
June 13-14, 2015...Swoosh Summer Spectacular in OC

June 20-21, 2015 (Father's Day)...Swoosh Summer Splash at Next Level Sports Complex (Garden Grove)

June 27-28, 2015...Swoosh Summer Classic at AIM Sportsplex (Seal Beach)

June 27-28 Above the Rim Classic, Anaheim 3rd Annual Above The Rim Classic Tournament - Jun 27-28, 2015 - Anaheim, CA
June 27-28, 2015...June Heat Tournament in San Luis Obispo (Hosted by Cal Swoosh)
July 4-5, 2015...Swoosh Independence Day Classic at The Map Sports Facility (Garden Grove)

July 11-12, 2015...Swoosh National Championship in Las Vegas

July 11-12, 2015...Swoosh National Championship at AIM Sportsplex (Seal Beach)

July 18-19, 2015...Swoosh Ultimate Showcase at Next Level Sports Complex (Garden Grove)

July 25-26, 2015...Swoosh World Championship at Next Level Sports Complex (Garden Grove)

BAY AREA
June 20-21 June Jamboree Series, Livermore June Jamboree Series 2 - Jun 20-21, 2015 - Livermore, CA
3 games guaranteed

SAN DIEGO
June 27-28 Summer Sensational Summer Sensational - Jun 27-28, 2015 - San Diego, CA
4 gm guaranteed

July 5 Independence Shootout Independence Shootout - Jul 5, 2015 - San Diego, CA
3 gm guaranteed (one-day tourney)

#############

GLITZ: 2 TOURNAMENTS, LAS VEGAS
1. July 11-12 Swoosh Natl Champ (LV) + July 15-19 Bigfoot Las Vegas Live.

Air: Allegiant (as of 4/7/15) $210 HNL to LV, 7/7/15 and 7/9/15. Return 7/20/15 $297.
Total: $507 round trip.
Allegiant Search | Allegiant Air

More info:
General info
http://www.bigfoothoops.com/tournaments/lvl/lvl
Age/grade rules
http://www.bigfoothoops.com/tournaments/lvl/rules

LAID BACK: 2 TOURNAMENTS IN CALI
1. June 20-21 June Jamboree, Livermore (Bay Area)
2. June 23 or 24 - Disneyland (Anaheim)
3. June 27-28 - Summer Sensational (San Diego)

Air: HNL to SF $674 (kayak.com), round trip
HNL to SF $362 (kayak.com/Alaska Air), one-way w/stopover
Return: SD to HNL $288 (kayak/United), one way w/stopover
Total: $650 round trip.

LAID BACK: 2 TOURNAMENTS IN LA ONLY
1. June 27-28 Above the Rim Classic, Anaheim 3rd Annual Above The Rim Classic Tournament - Jun 27-28, 2015 - Anaheim, CA
2. Disneyland June 30 or July 1.
3. July 4-5, 2015...Swoosh Indepedence Day Classic at The Map Sports Facility (Garden Grove)
Air: Allegiant HNL to LA $196 (nonstop)
Return: LA to HNL $232 (nonstop)
Total: $428 round trip.

Throwback 2013: 13U in Anaheim, Vegas

The H1 Thunder 13U team went 4-1 in Las Vegas and 4-0 in Anaheim. Lost only to the Swoosh 13U champions, LA Valley Hoops, in Vegas. I still think we would've beat them in a rematch because we were jet-lagged that first night. No question about Anaheim, beating teams with 6-4, 6-3 centers en route to the Swoosh SoCal championship. Fun times on the road!

Where are they now: Josh M DE Jesus - playing for Kalakaua Middle School Jared Elwin - freshman on Roosevelt varsity, Javan Montiho - guard/forward for H1 Thunder 13U, Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain - guard for Kalakaua Middle School and H1 Thunder 13U, Ryan Higashionna - guard/forward for Kaimuki Middle School and co-captain for H1 Thunder 13U. (back) Kyle Moraga - guard for McKinley varsity, Tanielu Mosi Afe - guard for Farrington JV, Kali'a Mielke - forward/center for Kalani JV, Manoa Kualii-Moe, guard for Maryknoll JV, Chris Afe, forward/center for H1 Thunder 13U/15U and QB/WR for Solid Rock (Big Boyz) football, Tanoa Bowl All-Star.

2015 and beyond

Quick note: Not going on a mainland trip this summer is probably the worst news for me in a long time. In other words, life could be worse, really. But I do want to take precautions and prepare well in advance for next year. So here, for everybody who wants to plan early...

• Mid-July: Under One Roof (Las Vegas Convention Center) and Bigfoot Las Vegas Live. Bigfoot has the more prestigious tourney. College scouts watching the older teams. There's also the Swoosh So Cal Ultimate Showcase in Anaheim we played in last year. Some guys said they want to go to Disneyland again. That's surprising, but we can make that happen.

• Late July: We could stay in LV a few days longer for the Bigfoot Las Vegas Classic. The difference between the Bigfoot Live and Classic tournaments: Live has about 40 teams each in the 14U and 15U divisions. Classic has double that number. Also in late July, Fab 48, run by the guys who do the Fab 64. DC Assault won the 17U title in 2013. Fab 48 has a slightly lower entry fee (around $450).

• Also late July: WYBT Hawaii Invitational 14U. We're going to this for the first time this year. If it goes well and we have surplus funds, maybe a return visit in '15? The varsity tourney run by Big West Conference/HISOA is also a first in 2014 and if it returns next year, maybe we play in both again. But I don't really think the BWC will have its officials clinic (and the varsity tourney) in Hawaii every year. I could be wrong, of course.

There are other travel opportunities (Kauai's Merv Lopes tourney, Kona Stingrays tourney in March) for 14U teams. There are also tournaments in the Bay Area, Seattle, and all across the Southwest, Midwest, etc. The time to set a plan is now. I don't want to sit home ever again. Kona will probably be two great tournaments and we'll face two mainland teams. But we'll plan and fundraise for 2015 now.

Travel Update 7/3

This is not a long shot anymore, but it will take some doing.

1. Fundraiser (car wash) monies will go directly toward the Kona trip (July 25-29). Expenses for the Kona trip, not including food (players will bring their own food money), add up to $4,200 (2 varsity players, 6 14U players, 2 adults). That includes air fare, hotel/condo, auto rental, 14U tourney entry fee. Flight reservations are still available for the early morning of July 25 (Friday), but they're going fast and we really need parents to chip in to pay for that and auto ASAP.

Add two or three more 14U players (and it looks like that's going to happen), and that's another $175 each (round trip) to the total cost.

2. Travel agent (Danny Chiu of Royal Adventure) quoted a price of $615 round trip to Las Vegas in mid-July. That helps a lot if we send a team there for the Bigfoot Las Vegas Live tourney July 16-20. A tournament official I talked to this morning said we could actually start on the second day (Thursday, July 17) and save hotel cost since we would be traveling a long way. Cost for a LV trip (July 16-20), not including food (players pay for their own) would be $7,750. That's an estimate that would fluctuate depending on auto rental cost.

The cost of the Las Vegas trip will be covered by me (via the loan I recently obtained). This week's car wash fundraiser money will not go toward this expense since there's a limited number of players who can go.

3. So you're reading this right. I want us to be at two tournaments. Obviously, we can only take 8 players to the Vegas tourney due to costs, but the Kona trip is open to everybody who wants to go, as long as the cost is under control. Right now, we have two committed players for the varsity tourney and eight committed players for the 14U and varsity tournaments.

There are a lot of moving parts to all this, so don't be surprised if we can't square up on some things and the Vegas trip doesn't happen. That would be fine, too. We could just focus on Kona. But I want our best to be tested by the best every year. It's worth the attempt.

Travel plans, chapter 2

Time is of the essence when it comes to summer travel. But I haven't stopped dreaming. The best scenario is probably Las Vegas and playing two tourneys within one week. The two best organizations are Bigfoot Hoops (Hal Pastner) and Under One Roof.

Bigfoot's high school tournaments are designed to draw college recruiters. They are actually working together with Swoosh, the guys who ran the tournaments we played in last year (LV, Anaheim), to run their two biggest tournaments in mid-July, both in Vegas. Their 13U Division had 24 teams last year from across the country. Their 14U Division had 70 teams. Massive.

Bigfoot has been around for more than 20 years and you can actually find scores of all their past tournaments on their website (bigfoothoops.com). That's being organized. Fee per team is $595.

Then there's Under One Roof, which a lot of Hawaii teams play in. (Nothing against Hawaii teams, but we play them 9 months out of the year already.) They don't draw as many teams as Bigfoot, but all the games are played in one site: Las Vegas Convention Center. The good thing about that is ease of commuting. Bad thing (to me) is that most of the courts are made of plastic (TerraFlex), the same stuff you see college volleyball teams play on. Only the center courts are normal hardwood.

UOR has been around for eight years and their biggest tourneys are in mid to late July.

The biggest difference between the two organizations is that Bigfoot games are high-school regulation time. The clock stops on all whistles, which means a longer game.

If you look at the dates below, it's possible we could play in one Bigfoot tourney and one UOR tourney. That way, we get to experience both worlds in a span of just one week. Playing in two UOR tournaments in the same week (instead of a Bigfoot tourney) means we'd probably play a lot of the same teams again, maybe three times. No need for that.

I suggest this:
July 16-20 - Bigfoot Hoops Las Vegas Live
July 22-24 - Under One Roof/Jam On It Las Vegas Classic

This way, we're on the road for roughly one week in two tourneys. I'd love for us to play in Bigfoot's biggest tourney, also called the Las Vegas Classic (the original Classic), but that isn't until July 23-27.

* * *

Here is what I zoned in on as the best possible tourneys for us. 

Bigfoot Hoops (Hal Pastner) 

2013 Las Vegas Live: 14U had 24 teams from across the country
2013 Las Vegas Classic: 14U had 70 teams from across the country

$595
2014 Las Vegas Live - July 16-20 (w/ Swoosh)
2014 Las Vegas Classic - July 22-24 (w/ Swoosh)

Note: Game is high school regulation time (stop clock on dead balls).

Under One Roof (Jam On it) $600
2014 AAU West Coast National Championship - July 17-20
2014 Las Vegas Classic - July 22-24
2014 Jam On It Grand Finale - July 25-27

Notes: Teams must register with AAU ($125). Games are at LV Convention Center.

* * *

Note: I still have an affinity for the MAYB (Mid-America Youth Basketball) organization, which hosts dozens of tournaments across the country every weekend during summer. Most of them are in smaller towns like Sioux Falls, North Dakota or Evansville, Indiana or Colorado Springs, Colo. But they've got a few in Houston and Chicago, too.

I'd love for us to play in a different state and town each year. Or overseas. But it does cost more to travel beyond LA and Vegas (air fare).

And if the dream doesn't happen this summer . . .

• We're busy in June with Maryknoll JV League, Kalani Varsity League, CAL 13U/15U/17U

• We have the Aiea tournament in June (8th Grade Division), wait list for 10th Grade Division.

• We could also play in the NJB Summer Classic in July.

• We could plan to travel next summer with a similar itinerary.

But I'd rather go this year if possible before everyone gets older and busier. We had a special group of Thunder last year in 13U with great chemistry (when we were 4-1 in Vegas and 4-0 in Anaheim to win the Swoosh Ultimate Showcase). I think it's still the same now, if not better — when everybody is there. Last year's 12U guys have really developed nicely and our new additions are great guys and players.

Feedback - let me know what you think.

Video: Thunder 13U vs Vegas Elite Gold

H1 Thunder vs. Vegas Elite Gold, exhibition, Sunday, July 14, 2013, Heinrich YMCA Community Center.

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Part 3


Part 4


Boxscore added 1/15/14
This game was pretty close until the second half. Both teams had been really busy with the tournament and their coach was generous enough to schedule us to this exhibition game. He was even willing to pay for the referees. Including this game, we finished the weekend in Las Vegas with a 4-1 record.

H1 Thunder at Las Vegas Elite Gold (NV) [exhibition]
Jul 14, 2014	1ST	2ND	SCORE
H1 Thunder (4-1)	30	22	52
Las Vegas Elite Gold (NV) [exhibition] ()	20	9	29

H1 Thunder
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
#3 Kyle Moraga	1	7-10	0-1	0-0	6-1	1	3	0	1	14
#5 Jared Elwin	1	1-4	0-0	0-0	2-2	3	2	0	1	2
#7 Joshua de Jesus	1	2-8	1-5	0-0	4-4	2	2	0	0	5
#23 Chris Afe	1	4-7	0-0	1-1	9-2	0	0	1	0	9
#24 Tanielu Afe	1	2-7	0-2	4-4	4-3	4	0	0	1	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
#1 Felcris Ahadain	1	0-2	0-1	0-0	4-1	0	0	0	2	0
#9 Manoa Kualii-Moe	1	1-2	0-0	1-2	1-1	0	1	0	3	3
#11 Javan Montiho	1	0-5	0-1	0-0	4-2	0	1	0	1	0
#12 Kalai Kuia	1	0-4	0-1	0-0	3-2	1	0	1	1	0
#33 Kali‘a Mielke	1	3-5	1-1	0-0	6-4	0	1	0	0	7
team	1	0-1								4
TEAM TOTALS		20-54 (.370)	2-13 (.154)	6-7 (.857)	43-22	11	10	2	10	52

Las Vegas Elite Gold (NV) [exhibition]
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
#1	1	1-2	0-0	0-0	2-1	0	0	0	3	2
#3	1	0-6	0-4	0-2	4-2	0	1	1	1	0
#5	1	1-2	1-1	0-0	3-1	1	1	0	3	3
#31	1	2-8	0-4	0-0	4-0	2	2	1	2	4
#35	1	4-10	1-5	0-0	2-2	1	1	1	2	9
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
#0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	1	0
#15	1	1-6	1-5	2-2	0-0	0	0	2	1	5
#30	1	1-5	0-1	1-2	4-3	0	0	0	1	3
#45	1	0-4	0-1	0-2	2-2	1	0	0	1	0
#54	1	1-2	0-0	0-0	1-1	0	1	0	0	2
team	1									1
TEAM TOTALS		11-45 (.244)	3-19 (.158)	3-8 (.375)	22-12	6	7	5	15	29

Video: Thunder 13U vs Imperial Valley

H1 Thunder vs. Imperial Valley All-Stars (Calif.), Swoosh Las Vegas National Championships, Heinrich YMCA Community Center, Saturday, July 13, 2013.

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Part 2


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Part 4

Video: Thunder 13U vs South Coast

Pool play, H1 Thunder vs. South Coast (Calif.), Swoosh Las Vegas National Championships (Silver Division), Dula Gynasium, Saturday, July 14, 2013.

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Part 5

Video: 13U vs LA Valley Hoops

H1 Thunder vs. LA Valley Hoops, Swoosh Las Vegas National Championships (Silver Division), Centennial YMCA Community Center, Friday, July 12, 2013. One day, maybe we get another shot at this team. We led by 7 with 6 minutes left and let it slip away. Playing 24 hours after a flight from Honolulu, with a 5-hour delay, a connecting flight from LA ... there are no excuses, but next time, we're not doing that. Not enough time to recover from jet lag.

Players win games. Coaches lose games. Next time, we arrive at least 48 hours early. Even with the loss, we won our next game and qualified for the championship bracket... then the tournament changed the rules and moved us into a lower bracket. We never got a chance to play for the title in Las Vegas.

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Part 2


Part 3

Road Trip gallery 7/16

Tuesday was a different day with three of our Thunder traveling home (Kalai, Javan and Carl) early in the morning. We bid farewell to Sam's Town - that place was awesome - then drove from Las Vegas to Anaheim. The drive wasn't as long as I imagined. Coach Roy and Coach Rob were at the wheels with their trusty navigatorsKyle Moraga, Auntie Chit, Kali'a Mielke. We stopped by an outlet mall in Barstow, almost bought gray shorts on sale, but the kids decided to pass on that and save some money. Smart!

We had lunch from In & Out. Yes, their burgers are as good as everyone says! We arrived in Anaheim around 6:30 or 7:00, as planned, and didn't catch much traffic at all. After we settled in, we found a local park on Chapman St. and loosened up, did a little conditioning, shot baskets, basic drills for about an hour. It was the first time we were in sub 95-degree weather since we flew to the continent. It was around 70-75 degrees.

Today is a free day. We might hit Venice Beach if traffic allows. In the afternoon, we might see one of our old Thunder ballers, Keanu Vela, play for his Colorado Elite team in a tournament at the ASC (5:00 pm). After dinner, we'll practice at a gym in Industry (30-minute drive) thanks to Coach Jimmy Miyasaka, who coaches kids there. It's a blessing to have gym access here. We'll get a lot of shooting done.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is visit-the-mouse day. Then the tournament begins on Friday. The game schedule will be released tonight. WE LUB THIS GAME!

Goodbye, Las Vegas. Hello, Anaheim. Stanton, to be exact.

Felcris caught the free toy ball during the timeout promotion.

The view from our room. 

Downstairs at Sam's Town.

Kyle as a pillow for his mom, Chit. They are

excellent GPS navigators! 

Desolation of the desert.

The Nike outlet in Barstow.

Road Trip gallery 7/15

NBA Summer League! 'Nuff said. 

13U Road Trip: photos

Photos from the first few days of our stay in Las Vegas.