Moms with March Madness

The college basketball season is official over and congrats to UNC on claiming the title (insert shady emoji here) for 2017!  It was a horribly long and ref whistling induced game but if you are a fan of the game like my Momager friends you watched to the bitter end.  My #BlueDevils suffered an early exit from the brackets but there's always next year right?

Speaking of brackets I'll have to give kudos to Ashley Willis, a mom that knows how to pick em!  Ashley had UNC as her fav to win the tourney.  Out of my 4 bball mama friends she was the only one To Go All The Way [said in my Dick Vitale voice].  Trust me it's not easy picking a winner when it comes to bracketology, for myself my bracket was busted the first round BUT I was a 50%er when it came to the Final Four.  Unlike some of my fellow bracket playing mamas I don't use a system to figure out who's going to win.  I normally go with seeding and team likeability and mostly geographic location.  As an example Laura Fantroy roots hard for the Spartans because she's a Michigander while Christa Miller is a die hard LA girl and picked UCLA to take the crown.  I'm sure Lavar Ball was happy about that one.  If you don't get that reference then you need to up your game girl and hang with my Mommie Fab Four.

Take for example Cristina Aruta, mom of Whittier PG Jacob Aruta.  She gets so deep in bracket play that her knowledge gained her a winning of $500 in an office pool one year.  Her other reward was being shunned by the men in the office from future play.  Where they do that at?  When can the ladies get some RESPEK on their names? 

After talking with my Fab Four here are some stats that stood out to me about bracket play:

• 100% of the moms use a formalized system to choose brackets.  You name it NCAA, CBS, ESPN and the USA Today systems were used.  Electronic systems are favored.

• There really is no formula for selecting winners.  Mom Ashley fell into it because she had no other option but to watch so she joined in on the fun and now makes sure she watches till the final game. 

• Why we play.....It's a bonding experience for moms with their mates and other family members. 

• Biggest upsets this year were Duke and Villanova.  

• Most of us don't know what conference our favorite team is in.

• We all watch a variety of sports BUT college is by far our favorite.

• Let's just say trash talking isn't just for the fellas.

No matter if we picked a winner or not, it's uber fun participating in one of the most loved sports activities of the year.  I'm certain that next year each of my Fab Four as well as myself will once again take on the challenge and gain bragging rights for our favorite teams win or lose.  It's March and the Madness isn't just for the guys, us moms are gaining our rightful spot as bracket masters and we won't be denied.  See ya in 2018 and Go Blue Devils!!!!

Curvy Momagers' Court | Sports Report 6/30/15

Check me out on Instagram for this week's sport report.  Handle name @curvymomager

Izzo, 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend and a cool bball camp alert!

The Phenom | The MSU Experience

First I'm going to say in no way am I an expert in the field of what to do as you travel to the road of D1 or any other college experience for your student athlete.  I'm just a mom that loves my kid and wants to make sure his dreams become reality.  I also want to share what I'm learning so that if you have a kid with the same desires they can begin to reach their goals.

Lots of people have asked, "How did your son get to attend a camp at one of the top colleges in the land?"  That's the subject we'll tackle today.

Fortunately for me I have friends that know and love that my kid has this desire to play D1 basketball.  I received a Facebook inbox message from a friend that attended Michigan State informing me that another friend's son attended a basketball camp there the previous year. Knowing that MSU is one of Kyle's top selection of schools I immediately contacted my other friend to get the low low.  The process was very simple, wait for the information to be posted on the website and register.  That's it, simple huh?

Photo Cred: m.trendspig.com

Now if your son has ever been to a camp and they headlined several high profile athletes or coaches to attend you might have been let down.  Some camps definitely don't deliver on their promises but I found out that this was not the case at the MSU camp.  Not only did my son get to meet Coach Izzo but received instruction from Spartan players and other coaches on the Michigan State University coaching staff.  It was a great experience.  So much so that I recommend all my Momagers explore it as an option when you have determined which schools are on your players "wish list".   Kyle made his wish list out 1/2 way through Freshman year and I told him that I would try to get him on each of the campuses for a camp so he could see what type of program each offers.

So far we haven't gotten any recruiting information from MSU but he had a solid camp performance. He earned the Hardest Working camper award presented to him by Coach Izzo and Travis Trice.  His travel club coach has also mentioned that he sees some improvement from the camp on his jump shot. More than anything I think his confidence soared.  Mentality is 90% of this game, without it you are going to struggle.

There are tons of camps out there for your player but you have got to do the research.  Find out what is going to work for you economically and most importantly for your players development.  If they aren't ready for some of the larger camps look for camps hosted by NBA players, former and retired. They tend to be some of the smaller ones due to popularity and costs aren't necessarily as high as you think.  Unless you are KD....his camp was like $5,000???  Sorry I pay enough for his shoes.  You can also talk with your players coach and find out about invitational camps.  Camps aren't required but they are essential in my personal opinion to let players experience something they wouldn't get by playing in tournaments with travel and school teams.  Do you need to send your player to 5 camps a year...no! One it's expensive and two I think they will get worn out.  Pick 1 maybe 2, trust me they will get what they need.

Boogie has told me that he wants to return to the MSU camp next year and I plan on letting him go

again.  I did emphasize that he needs to attend one of the other schools from his list as well.  MSU is definitely his top pick but putting all your basketballs in one basket (if you will) isn't necessary smart.  Besides the Momager has done a little research and found out that they are interested and potentially signed a PG for 2016.  Depending on who is still on the current roster MSU might not need another guard but time will tell.  Camp won't hurt though because if they saw something great in him this year it's a given if he keeps at it they will only see more.

Good luck finding a camp for your baller.  It can be difficult with the amount of selections but just pace yourself, do the research and don't overspend!  Remember we still need those Single Mama Dollas for new kicks!




The Curvy Momager