The 2009 Edge Athletics basketball season concluded with seven teams traveling to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, to compete in the American Youth Basketball Tour (AYBT) East Coast National tournament. The tournament began Thursday, July 16, with all teams playing six games in a round robin format. On Saturday, each team kicked off the day with a single game elimination tournament. Although none of the Edge teams advanced to the finals in any age group, all of the teams had a great showing. “Not only did our teams compete with top level talent, they did so with a sense of pride and class,” commented Jim Santoro. Santoro is the Executive Director of Edge Athletics and also coached two teams this season. “The talent at shippensburg was the best I’ve seen since we started competing at the National level,” he added.
With the conclusion of the tournament also came the end of the Edge season for 2009. “It was a great season,” Santoro said. “All of our teams achieved the goals we set out at the beginning of the year…….and then some. It’s kinda of sad for it to end, but it’s now time for the kids to go off and work on their game on their own time,” Santoro said. With the conclusion of the season will also come evaluations from each coach. According to Santoro, the evaluations will be sent to each athlete for all teams 15u and under sometime in September.
Planning has already begun for the 2010 season. But keep an eye on the site for Fall events. “We are currently planning some skill development and other programs for this fall,” Santoro said. Those programs will include the very popular “Shooting Gallery,” skill development programs, and maybe even some “Fall Ball.” Programs for the fall will be anounced over the next week or so.