Blake Griffin...Wow!!!

The last post. Yesterday we went right to the Mexican border to spend those last few US dollars. The conversion has been amazing and damaging at the same time. After a few hours at the San Diego shops we then left to go to the Staples Centre for the last time. We saw the LA Clippers v Minessotta Timberwolves. Blake Griffin's dunking was a sight to behold. They won easily 111 to 90. Today we depart our last hotel at 9.30am and have one last look at LA by seeing Beverley Hills and Hollywood Boulevard. Then we make our way to the airport for the long flight back. Thanks again to everyone for their support and I can assur you that everyone is looking forward to returning to see their loved ones. Bye for now y'all.

It's Nearly Over

Yesterday was a day in the bus so nothing exciting to write about. We are back in LA and are making our way down to San Diego today to check out the shops and surf for the last time. Tonight we will experience our last taste of USA Basketball when we venture to the Staples Centre to see the LA Clippers and Minessota Timberwolves. It seems such a long time ago when we made our way out there to see the LA Lakers. Then we make our way home tomorrow afternoon. What a trip, what an experience, what great memories. Thanks to everyone for their support over the last two weeks.

Two out of Three Ain't bad...again

Well, the last of our basketball games was played today and there was mixed results. The SV boys were up first and hungry for their first win of the tour. They didn't disappoint winning 42-40 with what shouldn't have been that close a game seeing they were leading by around 10 points for most of the game. Then the Freshman and JV teams headed to Burlingame for their last practice games. The Freshman team remained undefeated for the tour and won 40-30 while the JV team were outclassed by a stronger more skilled opponent. We lost the scoresheet deliberately on this one. Then we all had dinner with the Piedmont team and their families which was great. They boys shared jokes and stories over lasagne and caesar salad aptly prepared and greatly appreciated by the Piedmont community. Tomorrow we leave San Francisco for the last time and head to LA for our last couple of days of the tour and a few last minute presents for those wonderful parents who helped paid for their sons to enjoy such a wonderful trip.

One Win and One Loss!

The morning started with a bit more shopping - what else is there to do in downtown San Francisco. Then we went to Piedmont High where the Freshman team beat their Freshman team quite convincingly. The score was 57 to 21 with James Drago carving up the court. Then we went to Walnut Creek between games for some food, and more shopping. Macy's is so cheap it feels quite bad buying things for next to nothing. Upon our return to Piedmont the SV team started off very well indeed and took an early lead 16 to 8. Unfortunately that is where it ended with the end score being 61 to 28. A good dinner on the way home fixed all the problems though and with one game to play tomorrow the SV team are keen for their first win of the tour.

Another Tournament Starts

After a well deserved sleep in the boys were keen to play again after a couple of days off the courts. We left the hotel and made our way to St Mary's University - the home of several Australian basketball players (most notably Patrick Mills in the past) - and watched then team practice. We also improved their December sales in the gift shop as well. Then a short drive to Almeda High School for the Junior Varsity team to play. Almeda thought the game was to start at 5.30pm but we had 4pm so we still played but without referees. It was the toughest game of the tour for the JV boys as it was like street ball in what was a very run down gymnasium. We lost the game by roughly 20 points but the boys never backed down which was great to see. Then we went to Piedmont High School for the SV tournament. The boys started off well and only trailed by 12 points at half time. That all changed in the second half and things started to go the wrong way - on the scoreboard - and we ended up losing by 35 points, 36 to 71. They played very well but were just out-muscled. Tomorrow we have two more games and are looking for a couple of wins.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Stanford University

This morning we made our way back to Pier 39 and then broke off in to groups. Half of the group wanted to shop while the other half wanted to tour. The shoppers headed for Macy's and Bloomingdales while the tourists headed for the Golden Gate Bridge and several other interesting sights around San Francisco - including seeing the house from Full House (the TV Show). The tourists also had Igor, the Russian bus driver, enthralling them with his wit and good sense of humour on their way around the bay. After the tour there was a ride on the cable cars in to town and a look at the most crooked street in the world. Once we had all returned from our shopping and touring we departed for Stanford University to see Stanford play North Carolina. Stanford won easy but the highlight was the group dancing on the big screen to the sounds of the Stanford school band. They were ably led by Andrew Parker and Callan Blackley and managed to even get on twice after a chant of Aussie Aussie Aussie. Tomorrow we are back in to the games and the SV team starts their final tournament. Enjoy a couple of shots of the San Francisco area.

Alcatraz and the Warriors!

An early morning trip to Alcatraz was just timed to perfection. The rain held off just until we had finished our tour. It was a short boat ride form Pier 39 over to Alcatraz Island. Then we all had a self guided tour of the facility with some interesting stories about the attempted escapes from the prison and Al Capone. We then headed back to Pier 39 for some lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp - famous from the Forrest Gump movie. The highlight being the deep fried shrimp everyone had as well as the Forrest Gump trivia contest. Then the students had a look around Pier 39 which is a hub for tourist activity, coffee and games. Then we departed - well stood still in bumper to bumper traffic for 2 hours - for Oracle Arena to view the Golden State Warriors v Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors ran out comfortable winners 108 to 99 with the highlight being some interesting dancing from Kaighin Johnson, Callan Blackley and Matt Thorn. Tomorrow we are going back in to the city to have a ride on the Cable Cars and a closer look of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then off to the Stanford Uni v North Carolina game at Stanford. Enjoy the pictures.

Maxed out and Defeated.

Today started off with a trip to the cheap shopping outlets at Vaccuville. Nike, Gucci, Polo Ralph Lauren etc. were offering very cheap items that several members of the group felt the need to take of their hands. After four hours of shopping we then headed to Maria Carillo High School in the Napa Valley. The Freshman team played a practice game against their Freshman team and won comfortably by 10 points. Then it was up to the JV and SV teams who had scheduled matches. Both team were outplayed by a very impressive outfit from Maria Carillo. Their indoor basketball court had no less than 15 basketball rings which was impressive as was their matchplay. Tomorrow we are off to Alcatraz and the Warriors v Timberwolves NBA game. I will report again late tomorrow.

We have arrived in San Francisco!

We have arrived after too many hours on the bus to count. To break up the bus ride we stopped at Cal Berkley for some shopping and to look at the game between Cal and Southern Mississippi. The home team should have won but lost in the last minute 80 to 78. Everyone had a great time though and bought heaps off Cal gear and ate heaps of hot dogs...again.

We also found the link from our television interview. It is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMkMdqVe1X4

That is Part 2 which features Stephen, Andrew and myself. Part 1 is available when viewing this link and that features Stephen and Coach Powers (College of Siskiyous Head Coach).

Enjoy and have a laugh.

CGS in a close one.

Today, Saturday, started off at 8am with a scratch match at the College of Siskiyous Basketball Stadium. The match pitted several ex students and even the Head Basketball Coach, Tom Powers, who had coached Stephen Blackley in the early 80's. Stephen and our other coach Andrew went on one team, while I went on the other team with Tom Powers. Tom's team didn't fire early and lost the first three games to 15 against Stephen and Andrew's team. Then we started to turn it on and fought our way back to 3 games all. The last game was to 7 points and a late steal from the Director of Sport with the subsequent lay up gave Tom's team the overall victory, 4 games to 3.

Then it was the student's turn with the SV (Senior Varsity) team playing Durham High School for 7th place. Unfortunately the boys were tired from the dance the night before and two games on the previous two days and went down 57 to 44. They played very well again with the stand out player of the tournament being Kaighin Johnson.

Then we travelled to Etna again and the JV (Junior Varsity) team played Weed high school for 3rd place. Yes that's right Weed High School. The even wear 'I Love Weed' t-shirts. Anyway, back to the game and the boys started off very well. They had a 10 point lead right up until 3 quarter time and then Weed fought back to level the scores with only minutes remaining. Then CGS put up couple of foul shots to take back the lead by one point with only seconds on the clock. Weed had the ball put coughed it up and CGS held on to the ball for a stunning 1 point victory and 3rd place in the JV tournament at Etna. Player of the tournament was Jesse Zhao who displayed some exceptional skills throughout the tournament.

Then we came back and dropped the students off to have one last night with their billet families. The adults then went to the Black Bear Diner for a huge steak and fries meal. An early night tonight followed by a five hour bus trip awaits the group. What also awaits is the NCAA championship game between Cal Berkley and Southern Mississippi at Berkley tomorrow afternoon.

Some Game Photos

So Close Yet So Far.

Two very close games today with both going down to the last shot. During the morning, Stephen, Andrew and myself headed to the College TV Station to shoot a 1/2 hour segment on basketball and in particular our tour to the USA. The segment was called Basketball Downunder and will be available on utube soon. when I have the link I will post it for you. Graham Vienet has also been doing some handy work from back their in the Land of Oz and has fond the following links on some of the games so far:

http://www.mtshastanews.com/sports/x1757255462/Thursdays-Holiday-Tournament-results-and-Friday-schedule

http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/sports/x1714276013/Basketball-Mount-Shasta-Bears-beat-Australian-team?photo=0


http://www.siskiyouyouth.com/category/mtshasta/


http://www.mtshastanews.com/sports/x1757255462/Thursdays-Holiday-Tournament-results-and-Friday-schedule

http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/sports/x1714276013/Basketball-Mount-Shasta-Bears-beat-Australian-team

http://www.siskiyouyouth.com/mt-shasta-holiday-tourney-day-1-2/


The JV team made their way to Etna again, which is a one hour drive from Mount Shasta, to play Mount Shasta in the semi-final. The boys played very well with the SV students as well as the locals chanting Aussie Aussie Aussie throughout the match. It came down to the last shot with CGS needing a three pointer to send the game in to overtime. Unfortunately though the shot lipped out and we lost 47-44. We then made our way back to Mount Shasta for the SV game against Wyreka. Once again the stadium was packed with several hundred people, broadcast on local radio and played to the chants of Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi. Once again it came down to the last shot with an inbound pass for CGS with 2 seconds left on the clock. The shot went up, rolled around the rim, and lipped out again. we lost the game 49-48. All players contributed well.

We then made our way to the local high school dance and all went well. The boys met several nice locals and danced with the players they had been playing against for the last few days. Once again the chants of Aussie Aussie Aussie filled the room, with P Diddy playing in the background of course. Tomorrow is our last day in Mount Shasta with the JV boys playing off for 3rd and the SV boys playing for 7th. Enjoy the photos attached from the last week on tour.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

We have played ourt first games of the tour with a 2 from 3 winning ratio. Early this morning the tour party made their way to the College of Syskiyou - the college in which our Head Coach, Stephen Blackley, attended for two years - for a one hour training session. The boys enjoyed themselves with the use of the gymnasium and a full tour of the college after their training session being the highlight. We also had a trip to the college shop for some memorabilia. Then the students went back to the hotel to pack for their games. The Junior Varsity team went to Etna High School for their tournament and ended up beating Wyeda 54 points to 29. The home ground were stunned and this now puts the team in to the semi-final with tomorrow. The Freshman team then played their game and they beat Dunsmuir, after being down by 4 points with a minute to go, by 2 points, 47 to 45. Then it was up to the Senior Varsity boys to make a clean sweep of the day's games but unfortunately they lost to the local Mount Shasta boys, 44 to 57. The local tv station and newspaper were there to record all the action. I will send the link through in the coming days for you to have a look at. Then  after the game the students were billeted out to their host families. 2 boys went with each host family and the boys were very excited after making several close friends throughout the day when they visited some classes between games at Mount Shasta High. Tomorrow will be another set of games and I will update you as they scores come to hand.

We have arrived in Mount Shasta

We have finally arrived in Mount Shasta after a 10 hour bus drive which included some interesting truck stops along the way. It also included our first visit to a bargain shopping district where the boys spent lots of money on their mums - so they told me. Our driver did a fantastic job - his name is Kit - and he will be our driver for the next two weeks. The hotel is lovely and has free internet so I will be able to post some long awaited photos up tomorrow. The boys were finally happy to have a nice meal at the hotel after several subway lunches. The hotel is lovely and looks exactly like the hotel from Twin Peaks - for those of you American tv tragics. The boys will be training tomorrow morning and then starting their first tournament off tomorrow afternoon. They are all looking forward to the games as well as the dance Friday night. Off to bed now and to check on the boys as it is just gone past 11pm.

Lakers Win

Last night was amazing. The Staples Centre was fantastic with the LA Lakers beating the Washington Wizards 115 to 108. plenty of hot dogs, coke and memorabilia were bought and enjoyed. An early morning start now with a 10 hour bus ride to Mount Shasta.

The group enjoying a photo with Brother Bear

Disneyland!

Well what a day. 12 hours of rides, hot dogs, fairy floss, mickey photos and american accents. After waking early for a breakfast at Denny's (everyone's favourite restaurant) - with $4 all you can eat pancakes - we headed off to Disneyland. We split up in to groups of about 6 students and a couple of adults accompanied each group. Rides included Spaceship Mountain, Indiana Jones, The Big Splash and Buzz Lightyear. The hit was Spaceship Mountain as it was an indoor roller coaster ride in pitch black darkness. After a subway lunch - eating healthy again - we went to California Adventure Park - right next door to Disneyland. Rides included the California Flyer, Roller Coaster and Hotel of Death. The favourite was the roller coaster with some groups going on the ride no less than 8 times. The queues for the rides have only been about 20 minutes long which has been good. Later that night we did some shopping, more rides and then watched the fireworks over the famous Disneyland Castle. Then we departed for home and some long deserved rest ready for another assault on the theme parks tomorrow. Thanks to those family members who tried the phone - it works.

We Have Arrived

We have arrived in the mightly land of the USA. Everyone is so excited and we all got through customs ok except for one of coaches Andrew Harms. They thought he had escaped the USA from his college days five years ago. It all worked out in the end and we arrived safely at our hotel in Anaheim directly opposite Disneyland. The students enjoyed their first meal of McDonalds for dinner with plenty of free refills. We are now off to Denny's for breakfast and then to Disneyland for the day. My phone number for the two weeks is listed below. Have a try to see if it works as I am unsure of the network here. Bye for now.

Jamie Watson
+17142621995

Camberwell Grammar & the Mount Shasta News

Camberwell Grammar Basketball has taken on an international flavour before the tour has departed Melbourne. The Mount Shasta Newspaper has published an article about the upcoming tournament in which Camberwell Grammar will play a part. Look at the link below to view the article.

http://www.mtshastanews.com/sports/x1996680374/Former-Eagle-bringing-Australian-team-to-Holiday-Tournament

It's Time to Depart for the USA

Sunday is nearly here with students, parents, teachers and coaches all ready to depart for the USA.