DVD Update

Quick Update

We had a slight delay in getting the DVDs reproduced as we had to get a copyright release from Media Com. We got the release last Thursday and sent the 3 DVDs to be duplicated on Friday. We should have final copies and shipped in two weeks.
We will send out a notice when they are shipped. If you still would like to order you can do so on the website http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/complete-dvd-collection
We also are working on clearing up a couple of other details this week, if you have something that you are waiting for please e-mail Kurt Talbott at k3t3@netzero.com as he is overseeing tying up the final details so we can change our efforts to next fall.

Changes for 2010

Wow, it is hard to believe Nationals is over and next year is only 354 days away. My family has headed up the National Tournament for the last nine years. That is exactly half of the eighteen years the National Tournament has been in existence. To be honest I am not sure how we have made it this long, in the first nine years there were three different directors each holding the post for three years. This year we got a little glimpse of why directors where ready to pass the torch after three years.

On the way home Cheryl and I talked at length about the challenges and the extra stress of running the tournament in a new city. Obviously everything that had become routine in the last few years had to be reinvented. Working with 35 new facilities, new officiating groups, new convention center, new showcase and final facility, new media, new Convention and Visitors Bureau, new hotels and new local sponsors. Add to that, we had our most significant growth of HomeSchool teams in six years, added the Christian Educated Tournament and television coverage. All that to say it was a year that I found myself in a high D mode all week to make sure the end product was as good as expected.
The reviews on Springfield have been 100% positive (I mean 100%) and we are thrilled because there was a lot of prayer, blood, sweat and tears that went into that decision.

I know I am biased but I think the National Christian HomeSchool Tournament is the most amazing sporting event in the world. I am truly blessed that the programs and teams that have come for years have put their trust into my family's hands over the last nine years. I also am truly blessed to have a family that loves to serve the HomeSchool community. We have spent most of the time we have been awake since the tournament ended reviewing, discussing and planning for 2010. I want you to know that one of the things that makes the National Championship so awesome is the fact that so many of you share your ideas. We love to sit back with our planning boards and take your ideas and see how they fit into the big picture. I can promise you we truly listen and your ideas make a difference. I am not saying that we can implement them all, as many of the ideas reflect one team or programs perspective. That is fine the feedback still helps.

With the above in mind I need to announce a significant change in the 2010 Regional Tournaments. We will be moving a tournament and making a realignment of the southern regional tournaments. The Shreveport Regional will move to Houston, Texas (Feb 4-6). The realignment will be as follows:
Dallas/Ft Worth North Texas -- OKC
San Antonio, Austin, San Marcos - Houston
Louisiana -- Houston
Tennessee - Atlanta
Arkansas - OKC

This schedule should work well with the Texas State Tournament travel schedules and better balance the regions. We will be bring the regional pages on the website up to date over the next couple of days. Kurt Talbott will be overseeing the Regional Tournaments again in 2010 so if you have questions please feel free to contact him directly.

In the next few weeks as I travel I hope to be able to write to you concerning a number of issues that many of you have been asked about. Everything from the long range plans for the showcase, the program fundraising, the fall National Tournament weekend, to how the Christian Educated Championships fit it.



Championship and All-American Rings

Ring Fliers and Order Form is at www.homeschoolbasketball.com

Hooded Sweatshirts -- Sold Out (Med and XL)

We are now Sold Out of Adult Medium and Adult XL Hooded Sweatshirts. We have limited quantities of the other sizes and expect to sell out by this weekend. Soon we will have a huge t-shirt sale, so keep an eye on future e-mails.

Good Afternoon

We are working hard to respond quickly to the many requests we are getting. We have a list of 15-20 items and we are assuming that if we get a question more than once that there are probably dozens of people who have the question. Therefore we are trying to set up systems and answer the questions in e-mails and on the blog so that everyone will have the info they need.

Coming soon (hopefully tomorrow) information on pictures from the award ceremony and showcase, Springfield Web TV, collecting medals and trophies.

Next year’s date – Is now on the home page of the website – March 15-20, 2010

Hotel Reservation – some of you loved your hotel and want to lock it up for next year before next November. Just fill out form on website and I am going to meet with the Springfield CVB and work something out.

Blog for comments about 2009 is now on line (link on home page). We welcome all comments we want to get better and value the input.

All-American Game DVD Sales – We now have on line DVD sales. I would like to see every family own a set of these DVD for two very important reasons:
1. This is a great item for memories and motivation. Everyone who was at the 2009 Nationals will at some point be disappointed if they don’t get one or more of these dvds.
2. It is a great way to support the showcase. The showcase cost almost $25,000 to put on. It truly is the highlight of the week and a great way to display the talent for fans, players and college coaches. This year we had scouts at Nationals from the following division 1 schools: Georgetown, Tennessee, South Florida, Miami, Oral Roberts, Missouri State, Arkansas Little Rock and Alabama. Plus there were dozens of scouts and college coaches form schools like Mid-America University, SE Missouri State, Crown Christian College, Barclay College, Pensacola, North Dakota, Pittsburg State, Drury College and SW LA. The showcase is a big part of getting the coaches to come to Nationals. If you like the Showcase and/or you like the fact that more college scouts watched more HomeSchool players play basketball than ever before, then support the Showcase by buying a DVD or the whole collection. www.homeschoolbasketball.com/online-store

Hooded Sweatshirt Blow Out – We get more requests from players and families that did not get a chance to buy their hooded sweatshirt than any other item. So this morning we separated out remaining hooded sweatshirts and have put them into a package so we can get rid of them all before we put them away until next year. We have limited quantities so if you want a sweat shirt don’t delay.
www.homeschoolbasketball.com/online-store

In the Books

Dear Friends,

I want to get a quick note out to say thank your participation in what was seemed to be the most successful tournament so far. I do plan to write a series of letters reviewing things from this year and seeking input for next year. I hope to start those letters next week as we review one area each week for the next 6-8 weeks. In the meantime I will be responding to a couple of items that I am getting question about.

One quick comment on the t-shirt - there was some concern that we left the "Christian" off the shirt. We did have a cross and a Bible, so there was no intention to leave "Christian" out even though we didn't have the word Christian on the shirt.

2010 Hotel Reservations - the hotels are all blocked for 2010 as they were this year. However, the hotel association decided that in order for teams to be able to be accurate in blocking the right amount of rooms they are going to begin accepting reservations until mid November. We will notify you when the block is available to register.

T-shirts - If you failed to pick-up your prepaid t-shirts let me know so that we can pull them aside for you. We will have a huge t-shirt sale later this week before we put the left overs in storage.

Final Brackets should be updated in the next 24-48 hours.

A Family Matter - we have a blog on the website that we allowed comments on. I do not have the ability to edit comments (you will notice in my post numerous spelling errors that I can't fix), there have been some comments are unnecessary, if they continue I will have to just close the blog down so please be careful what you write.

I think that covers all the ones that I have had more than 5 questions about.

Brackets, Registration and Weather

Registration links are set up please go to web page and read through the registration process. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/registration

Weather Report
M-Thur mid 70’s
Fr-Sat mid 60’s

Team USAs have been formed. That information will be available at registration. The following ages are full B16, B18, B14 (we will start a waiting list in case someone doesn’t show up) -- We desperately need G12 and have openings in the rest. If you’re coming to town and not playing on a team, why not play, will have a great time.

Brackets are being posted tonight hopefully all done before we go to bed. Link on the home page at top of page 2009 brackets.

Latest Information

Just arrived in Springfield, here is a quick update.

The Oasis is now called Ramada – there has been a name change of the host property, so look for the Ramada sign on Glenstone.

With the move to Springfield we are looking to replace some volunteers. The last few years we had a number of families whose kids had graduate continue to help. Obviously they will not travel to Springfield without kids playing. We have had a good response from Springfield families but the many hands make light work. Here is what we need:

1. Two to help with Coaches’ Registration from 10:00-2:30 and 2 from 4:00-9:00
2. One for Team USA Registration (same hours as above).
3. Two to help set up All-American Award Ceremony Noon-2:00
4. Two or three to help with data input for the awards ceremony.

Change -- This year we will have all the seniors march in behind their team banner. Great idea -- a special thank you to Maria Morrow from SATCH.

So many exciting things happening here, I would love to take time to tell you about but I have to get up early and to go to radio station for an interview (I will be talking about you)and I am behind schedule. If you’re waiting for the following:

1. T-shirt Posting
2. Team USA Rosters
3. Final Main Brackets
4. A response about be a Nationals Blogger

Hang in there we will get them done.

Almost Final Brackets

Almost Final Seeding Brackets are now posted. Let me explain what we mean by almost final, we have made all the changes that we plan to make. Of course this is assuming that we didn’t make a mistake when we made the last 57 changes that we just posted. We made changes were we had two boys and girls varsity teams playing at the same time Monday, where we had incomplete seeding information or if we just plain messed up. At this point the only changes we will make are if we made an error when made the changes. If you see an error please contact us. When we get to Springfield tomorrow night we will double check all the game times against the master gym schedule and if it is all good we will mark the seeding brackets final.

Main Brackets are done but I need to go through them one more time before we post them.

Blogging plans – I really want to find 5-10 people that will be in Springfield watching games that would be willing to blog about the different games the watch. I really think this would be very cool and add a lot and the kids will eat it up. I have proven that grammatical standards are not crucial and I will hold you to the same low standard that I am held to. Contact me let’s do it.

Team USA – We will have teams divided by the time registration opens and yes if you requested to be on a team with another player you will be and if you requested to coach you will be.

Information Center - I have started updating the website on the front page we have a section that says key links. So far I have:
1) Gym and Hotel Maps
2) Seeding Brackets
3) Schedule (the Saturday Schedule was revised slightly)
4) Hopefully we will have a tournament blog link.
5) If you can think of something everyone needs to have easy access to send me an e-mail.

http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com

T-shirts are in – They look GREAT. We will have a lot more information on t-shirts and pick up soon.

Practice gyms for Monday -- The Courts E-Zone will be open on Monday for practice time. You will need to schedule your time and pay them directly. The contact is Chris or Shane their number is 417-831-3333

That’s all for now,

Updates

Seeding Brackets – All of the seeding brackets are posted, only the B10, G10, B12, G12, B18D-1 and G18D-1 are close to final we hope to make them final with 24 hours (we will make an official announcement when they are final). The other divisions are still wide open and there are a lot of changes being made. Save a tree, don’t print them yet. Click Here To See Brackets

Note to Coaches – please feel free to make requests for changes, we do what we can. Keep in mind we do random brackets, so we don’t check to see of you have your boys varsity and girls varsity playing at the same time on Monday – if we do will change it if you let us know. We cannot do the same for Tuesday’s games as there are only so many time slots and programs with a four or more time slots will overlap.

Notes to parents – we know many of you have numerous children playing in the tournament. Our goal is to make sure the varsity teams do not overlap with your other teams before Friday. If you have a lot of kids in the 10-16 age groups, you will have a conflict that is just the fact. One positive note is when I was doing it with four boys in those ages we were driving around San Antonio for Nationals and that was often forty-five minutes of traffic and driving between games, Springfield is a much friendlier town to get around.

Players Names Missing – We have had a couple of dozen players who have registered not appear on the post on the website, we are sorry about that and not really sure what happened. If you were on the first posting but not the second or if you have a receipt and are not on the list – don’t panic you are all set.
What to bring to Nationals – we recommend that you bring your confirmation for your t-shirts or player registration fee if you have them.

Water bottles – We received a phone call today from the company we ordered the water bottles from. They informed us that our guaranteed delivery date (tomorrow) would not be met and that we would not have the water bottles until after Nationals. Needless to say we canceled the order and we will not have water bottles. If you purchased a water bottle we will give you a refund. If you were to receive a free water bottle please accept our sincere apology as this was beyond our control. If you are really upset about this I would like to make a suggestion:
Do – please send me a letter
Do NOT – give our volunteer staff a piece of your mind because:
1. They are not responsible for this error
2. They cannot help you (none of them make water bottles)
3. It is a long week and you might need that piece of mind later in the week

Team USA 16U Players need to be at the Team USA Meeting at 4:45 on Monday.

Brackets and Updates

We are ahead of the schedule I announced last night, all D1 seeding brackets are posted, we should get D2 done tomorrow. The main brackets have been finished and have to be checked one more time but could be up by tomorrow as well.
Please check the brackets and make sure we haven’t matched you up with someone you have played four times this year. We will keep making adjustments for the next few days and then go final. Click Here

T-shirt Pick and Voucher Up
If you paid for a t-shirt or player registration on line, you received a notice from Google Checkout that said your item is being shipped. This is a standard form that goes out, we do not ship anything. When you arrive at Nationals you will go to one of five stations:
1. T-shirt Pick Up – this means that you paid for your player registration, ordered you t-shirt on line and either your voucher covered the cost of your t-shirt or you upgraded and paid the balance.
2. T-shirt Pick Up with balance due – this is the same as number one except you didn’t pay the balance for the t-shirts.
3. Voucher Pick Up – this is for players that paid player registration fee but did not order t-shirts (this prevents people from leaving vouchers at home).
4. Player Registration – this is for players that have not played for their player registration.
5. Station 5 – two days ago I had a station but right now I can’t remember it but I am sure it will come back to me and I will post it later.

The plan is to post on line the names of players that will go to each station on Saturday that way you will know where to go and if we have you in the wrong category we can try to clear it up before via e-mail before you arrive.

7 Days and Counting

Just seven days left until the 18th Annual National Christian Homeschool Basketball Tournament tips off. We are really excited about the opening day activities.
In this email I am going to release the preliminary first round
match-ups but first I would like to point out what is sure to be a
very exciting opening day. Here is what will be taking place Monday
March 16th at Baptist Bible College (Gym)*

2:15 pm All-American Award Ceremony

We will be handing out 1st 2nd and 3rd Team All-American Awards

3:00 pm Girl's Tip-off /Ceremony at Baptist Bible College (Gym)

The Mayor of Springfield and virtually the entire Springfield news
media will be there as Tabar Spani leads the 2009 Omaha Regional
Champion Kansas City Metro Mavs against the San Antonio FEAST
Patriots. Tabar was just selected as a McDonald’s All-American, she
is the first HomeSchool player to ever receive this honor which is
awarded to the top 24 high school seniors each year.

4:30 pm Boy's Tip-off at Baptist Bible College (Gym)

John Caleb Sanders last year’s Maravich award winner will lead HCYA
Warriors; the two time defending National Champions against the
Cincinnati Landmark Eagles. In a very unusual twist this is a first
round match-up of last year’s National Championship game. Landmark
graduated all of their contributors and looked to have a rebuilding
year, but Coach Tom Head led the team to a 7th place Cincinnati
Regional finish and set up this compelling match up.

5:50 Game features the 2008 National Champions and 2009 OKC Regional
Champion THEASA Riders feature 2008 1st team All-American Anna Parish
as well as one of the top freshman High School players in the country.
Be ready to see some jaw dropping moves by Moriah Jefferson. As THESA
draws the Manhattan CHIEF in their first round match-up.

7:00 Game features the 2009 OKC Regional Champion when the Oklahoma City Storm takes on California’s Christian Heritage Academy. The Storm has
spent the entire year in the top three of the MaxPreps rankings and
returns four All-American from the 2008 3rd place finisher.

8:15 Game features the Cincinnati Regional Champions when Indianapolis Wildcats make their first appearance at Nationals. Indy has been in
the top 4 of the MaxPreps all season. All-American Adrian Hood will
lead the Wildcats against sharp shooter Ben Mies and the Memphis FCA
Nighthawks.

9:30 Game features NCEBC #1 Seed Central Park Christian School from
Birmingham, Alabama. If you want to see some top level basketball,
don’t miss this game. They have it all: They have size (if you
consider 7 guys from 6 8’ to 7 foot big). Athleticism – last time I
coached against them five years ago they had 14 dunks but I think that
is overrated because Marco Killingworth had 8 of them. This year they
feature 6’6 swingman and Alabama Signee Tony Mitchell and 6’10
wing/post Will Neighbour who has signed with the University of
Arkansas/Little Rock. This year they are relatively young.

For more schedule details go to
http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/seeding-brackets

Team USA – we have a record number of Team USA players this year. We still have openings in all age groups but we really need 3-4 more Boys
10 and Boys 12 to fill up those teams.

Did you see the All-American List

We added three more gyms to make the schedule a little more manageable, we have posted the new map on the home page of the web site http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com

Team Hotel we have a great hotel at $89.00 per night with a $20 rebate so a net of $69.00 that we would like to put a team in to fill that hotel up. Contact me if you are interested.

Updated Player Registration

I would guess we have about 250 players that have not registered; coaches keep checking the list as it is your responsibility to make sure all your players have registered before they arrive in Springfield. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/registered-players

T-Shirt Pre-orders are over. We have listed everyone that we have received an order from so you can double check if you did not get an e-mail confirmation. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/t-shirts

All-Americans --- we just completed compiling the All-American ballots from the four completed regional tournaments and the winners are ……… Http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/AA

Top Ten Things You Need to Know

…… To make sure that your Nationals Experience is awesome.

1. Banners – During the opening ceremony each program is permitted to participate in the flag march. Each state flag will enter the arena and two representatives from each program will follow carrying a program/team banner. Please make sure you have a nice banner.

2. Seeding – check out the seeding information to see where your team is fitting in -- we still have to seed Christian Educated and division 2 for boys and girls varsity. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/seeding-process

3. T-shirt Pre-Order – Two more days to pre-order the t-shirts. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/t-shirts

4. Anonymous e-mails – If you have a complaint about another team or about something with Nationals, please feel free to send us an e-mail we are very interested in different perspectives. However, please be advised that we discard anonymous e-mails. The Nationals policy is simple if the complaint isn’t important enough for you to put your name on it, it isn’t important enough for our staff to read.


5. Hotel Rooms Available – we have a couple of hotels that we need to filled up. We have a special rate if you’re looking for a room, send me an e-mail.

To be continued ………

Seeding, Teams and Player Registration

We have posted a lot of new information to the website here is an overview:

Teams - please double check and make sure your team is listed - we have had to adjusted for 10-12 cancellations and some new teams coming in and we want to make sure it is accurate, you are our best check and balance. http://homeschoolbasketball.com/registered-teams

Player Registration - we are at 2600 so still 400-600 stragglers to get in within the next week, please double check and make sure all your team mates are registered. http://homeschoolbasketball.com/registered-players

Seeding - each year we go through an agonizing process called seeding, there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Trust me Washington lobbyist have nothing on some of our coaches. It is all good our seeding committee has thick skin and plus they are really good at what they do.

Last year they seeded the boy's varsity 1-4 in the order they finished and the girl's varsity 1-5 in order, very impressive. Any way we are going to actually post the process on line to make it easier for coaches, players this area is not for you unless of course your curious than go ahead and look but please leave all the complaining to the coaches that is what they get paid the big money to do.

http://homeschoolbasketball.com/seeding-process

Three Updates On March 1st

Team USA
We will have a record number of Team USAs this year if you are attending Nationals with a brother or sister and your team is not coming, check out Team USA it is awesome. Click Here

Win a Full Year College Scholarship at Nationals

I am happy to announce an exciting promotion at nationals this year sponsored by The Homeschool Nation. During halftime of the boys 18 and under championship game, 1 contestant will win the chance to shoot a half-court shot for 1 full year’s tuition to any college profiled on HSNATION.com . To be entered, just fill out the registration form at this link - www.HSNATION.com/nchbc -

Everyone who registers will also receive a free copy of the 2009 HSNATION.com college preparation book for homeschoolers. Register today and GOOD LUCK!!

If you have any questions about the contest, contact Luke McDonald by phone or email.

(405) 701-4008

LUKE@LMPPUBLISHING.com



T-shirts


We are planning to take t-shirt orders until March 5th. I hope that you will all take time to pre-order your t-shirts even if you plan to pay when you arrive. Here are a few questions that we are getting about t-shirts.

Question: I registered my two kids but have not received my vouchers what do I need to do? 1. You can pre-order your t-shirts and program on line by giving the name of the player you want to redeem the vouchers.
2. You can pick up vouchers at Nationals.
This year we are not mailing vouchers, this way no one will forget them at home this year.

Question: I tried to order t-shirts - I think my order went through, but it did not give me the opportunity to pay for the 2 extra shirts what should I do?
You will be sent a Google invoice and that is when you pay if you have not received your Invoice by 3/7 please e-mail us.

Question: Does the t-shirt come with the $30 registration (which I did online already) or is it another $15.00?
Each player gets a program and a $15.00 voucher which can be used toward any item. If you choose a t-shirt then it is paid in full.

Question: When do we pick up t-shirts?
All t-shirts and programs must be picked up by noon on Tuesday (no exceptions).

Important T-Shirt Information

T-Shirt Pre-Orders

I would like to emphasis the importance of preordering your t-shirts, long sleeve Ts, and hooded sweat shirts. On a scale of 1-10, this is a 9+ only making sure every player is registered is more important (BTW on Monday we will list a new player registered list). Trust me, Regionals start tomorrow and I have an early morning meeting if this wasn’t really, really important I wouldn’t be writing to you at 3:00 AM

This year we have two major changes in our t-shirt sales:
1) There will be no reorders – when we run out of a size, we are out.
2) Due to some regulations at Missouri State we will not be selling items on Wednesday night or Saturday. As a result we will be ordering less to make sure we do not have left over items.

I want to ask everyone to please order their items on line ASAP. I have already placed our order for the t-shirts and anticipate selling out of a number of sizes and colors before we open for business on the 16th. The most important items to order in advance are:

Hooded Sweatshirts and the ¾ sleeve baseball shirts as these are the smallest quantities.

If you placed an order and are waiting to be build send me an e-mail as we will be working on catching these up next week.

Remember even if you are just using a voucher for a t-shirt and no money is due; please order we will run out of some sizes and colors.

http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/t-shirts

National's Update 2-23-09

Hang on; the updates will be coming fast and furious. Let’s make a deal, I will promise not to write things that are not crucial to you enjoying the National’s experience and you agree to read whatever I write, sound reasonable?

Teams
We have updated the Master Team list – it looks like we are going to have more teams then we thought (yes we are scrambling to get enough gym space) It looks like 356 teams. Please check out the list and make sure your team is listed. http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/registered-teams

New Teams
We have the following openings:
Girls 10U, Boys 14U, G16u, B16U, G18U, and B18U have 1-2 openings each. We have a waiting list on the other age divisions please call Kurt Talbott if you would like to add a team 1-417-880-4875.

Monday Schedule Released
Click Here

Player List Posted
Every player must register by 3/1 we have posted a list of all players registered please check and make sure you and all your teammates are registered.
http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com /registered-players

Brackets
Will be published sometime on 3/12

Regional Results from Atlanta http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/atlanta-ga

Team USA
We will accept all Team USA registrations until March 1st and then it will start closing off age groups as they fill up.

Latest Nationals Update

Rosters – we have almost 250 of the rosters submitted – we really need the rest players and parents please see if your team roster and photos are done. If not please talk with your coach, no one will like it if they are left out. See if your team is listed


Player Registration – we have almost 2500 players registered – 600-800 to go. We are hoping to pick up half of those this week, and then we will post a list of registered players on Feb 20th for all of you to double check.

T-shirts - design is now posted on line. Remember orders placed and paid for by 2/20 receive a free “2009 Basketball Nationals” water bottle. Design

Regional T-shirts – Teams need to place orders by Tuesday 2/17/09 (accept Atlanta we need those orders today). To Order

Team Registration – we have had an overwhelming response since we announced the cutoff of team registration. So we are going to leave open registration for teams until 2/21 and then we will start filling up age divisions and cutting off registration. Look at the new registration just since 2/8 Click Here

Dunk/3 Point Contest – we are still working on the details for this year’s 3 point shooting and slam dunk contest. Details will be announced in early March. Registration for tryouts will be at Nationals.

33 Days to Go

Important Update

Feb 13th deadline on hotel online reservations –

Team Registration -- This year we are planning on 342 teams for the National Tournament. If we hit that number it will be a significant increase over last year’s record 304 teams. We are very careful to make sure that we take the right amount of teams in each age group for bracketing purposes. Below is a current list of openings:

Girls 10U – Full waiting list –
Boys 10U – 4 openings
Girls 12U – 2 openings
Boys 12U – 2 openings
Girls 14U – 2 openings
Boys 14U – 6 openings
Girls 16U – 1 opening
Boys 16U – 1 opening
Girls 18U – 3 openings
Boys 18U – 9 openings

Note we had 10 teams register yesterday and the above list and website do not reflect those registrations. Complete team list

URGENT

Will your team have your roster and picture in the program? Check out the the list of teams that have turned in their rosters and pictures – any team that has their information in by 2/16 is guaranteed to be in the program -- Check Here

Player Registration Reminder – All players must register on line this year (the registration fee may be paid when you arrive at Nationals but you must register on line). Click Here

Results from Region Tournament held in Cincinnati Ohio last weekend

Deadlines and Information

As I have mentioned in the past the Nationals operating budget runs at a $30,000 deficit after team and player registration fees. The difference is made up by our sponsors. We truly appreciate our sponsors and plan to highlight each from time to time.

Fund-It has a unique opportunity for HomeSchool families' that I would like to recommend all of you take a minute to check out. Click Here

Major Sponsors

National Tournament - Springfield Sports Commission
The Show Case - Incredible Pizza
Television -- Fund-It
Championship Saturday -- sponsor will be announced next week


Rosters and Team Pictures for the program are due Feb 16th
Here is where you submit photos, roster and or check your teams status.
Click Here

New Team List -- Click Here
Please check it out and make sure your team is listed properly.

Rankings - We have expanded the boys power rankings to 16 teams on the boys side Click Here to View

Hotel deadline approaching - The hotel rates are guaranteed through the middle of February after that date the hotels have the right to increase room fees on all rooms that have not been booked. Please make your reservation immediately if you have not already done so. Click Here for Link

Latest News From Nationals

The Regional and National Tournaments are quickly approaching. There are a number of things that I would like bring to your attention:

1) New Registered Team List for Nationals is posted – all I will say is WOW. www.homeschoolbasketball.com/registered-teams

2) Regional T-shirt Preorder From On-Line –logo on line www.homeschoolbasketball.com/regional-t-shirts

3) Nationals T-Shirt order From On-Line – We need everyone to place order on ASAP. We are behind in processing but we will get caught up soon. We are currently on our fourth revision of the artwork and should post it final artwork by the end of the week. www.homeschoolbasketball.com/T-shirts

4) Look a new number one in boy’s rankings www.homeschoolbasketball.com/rankings-boys-power-poll -- Girls updated as well.

5) Schedule for Nationals:
Varsity start Monday must be in town by 2:30
Everyone else starts Tuesday Morning
Coaches Meeting are Mandatory and will be at Monday 2:30 Varsity, 9:00 PM all others.

Nominations, Rosters and Regionals

Regional Tournaments

The 5 NCHBC Regional Tournaments are beginning to fill up. Here are the openings:
Region 2 (Shreveport) Openings:
Varsity Boys: 2 openings
Varsity Girls: 1 opening
Regions 3 (Oklahoma City) Openings:
Varsity Boys: Full with Waiting List
Varsity Girls: 2 openings
Region 4 (Omaha) Openings:
Varsity Boys: Full with Waiting List
Varsity Girls: 3 openings
Region 5 (Atlanta) Openings:
Varsity Boys: 2 openings
Varsity Girls: 3 openings

If you have not paid yet you have until January 31st 2009 for us to have received your payment. After January 31st if your payment has not been received then we will no longer hold your teams spot. Please mail payments to Kurt Talbott 9777 N. Council Road Apt 4111, Oklahoma City, OK 73162. Checks made payable to NCHBC.


All-American and All-Region Nominations
All Varsity Coaches will need to complete the end of the year All Region and All American Nominations by 1/31. The forms are on line at http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/all-region-nomination-form The password is on the coaches blog

Rosters and Photos
We are now accepting team pictures and rosters – go to http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/team-rosters-and-photos for more information

Up Date Power Polls and T-shirts

T-shirts

You may begin placing orders for Nationals T-shirts on line. There are two reasons for pre-ordering:
1. This will guarantee size and color you want (this year we will order very close to the preorder number and if you don’t preorder it is likely you will not be able to get your first choice).
2. FREE water bottle – preorders will receive a Nationals 2009 water bottle (details on website).
www.homeschoolbasketball.com/t-shirts

Girl's Power Rankings

We know that there are teams that are not current in the system (like Metro Academy) but we are going to publish what is there each week and encourage all teams to get current. For girl's rankings as of 1/8/09 click here http://www.homeschoolbasketball.com/rankings-girls-power-poll




MaxPrep Boys Rankings Released

With victories over two top 20 6A public schools last weekend OKC Storm moved into the top 20 in Oklahoma and to the number 1 homeschool spot on MaxPrep.
North Atlanta debuts at #3. Tulsa NOAH, OKC Knights, Memphis Eagles and Austin Royals make their first appearance in the top ten.

www.homeschoolbasketball.com/rankings-boys-power-poll


If your team was overlooked or you have recently updated your MaxPrep info and it moves you up please send a message to us through the Contact Us form on the website.

48 Hours, 78 Days

It is hard to believe Nationals is just 78 days away, we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Springfield. If you haven't already completed your player registration you have 48 hours to get the early registration discount. Please make sure to spread the word at practice Monday. Here is the link to register

Family Fundraising

We have posted the family fundraising program on line. This is really a very easy and profitable program. Our goal is to help 100 families raise $60,000-$100,000 to help them attend Nationals this year. For more information