Spingtime Basketball Tournament (04/26/12)

Hello Folks,

I was going to head out and fish yesterday with my good fishing buddy, Josh (smallieman) Kreider, but I woke up in severe pain with my left knee. I had been shoveling stone to shore up the eroded spots along our backyard fence and I guess I overdid it a bit and paid the price. :(

It feels like my knee is bruised from the inside out. It's a strange feeling, for sure. When I touch it around the "bony" areas, it just hurts like all get out.

So, I gave Josh a call around 6:00 am yesterday morning and told him to sleep in because I wasn't coming up to his place to meet at 7:00 am. I think he was glad to have the day off. I called him a few hours later and he had a ton of work done around his house and had been to the grocery store... At least the boy can eat now... LOL!

Starting tomorrow, I will be coaching both the 7th and 9th grade teams for the Penn Manor School District at the "Athletes For Better Education" (AFBE) Tournament held in the Penn Manor High School Gymnasiums. Penn Manor School District will have five levels of boys playing - Grades 6th (12 and under), 7th (13 and under), 8th (14 and under), 9th (15 and under), and High School (JV and Varsity, 18 and under).

There is also a girls division in the AFBE Tournament, but Penn Manor doesn't have a team playing this year.

The games are 40 minutes long with two 20 min, halves. We have three courts at the new gymnasium and one court running at the old gym. All of my games will be held at the new gym which saves me from walking b/w gyms

Each team gets to play four games in the tournament. This will be the first ABFE Tournament for the 9th grade team this season, but our 7th grade team has played in two prior tournaments to this one being held by our very own Penn Manor Basketball Booster Club (Parents).

I only have one conflict in my schedule between the 7th and 9th grade squads. Our 8th grade coach will cover for me on Friday night at 6:00 pm when both the 7th and 9th grade teams have scheduled games. After that game, I will be able to coach both team throughout the weekend.

I have three games Friday and Saturday and one game on Sunday.... I'll be on basketball overload by Sunday evening. LOL!

Jeff (CHRGD) sent me a few pics that he took on Wednesday. I'll be posting some once I get a chance to download them to Photobucket. We have been discussing the fantastic April 2012 we've been having on the river. What a great Spring for Jeff and Penny. If one counts 19 to 20 inch smallies as Pa. citation bass, between Jeff and Penny, they have caught 13 in the month of April!! :)

That is just fantastic for two folks who are not out everyday on the water or guiding on the river with clients.

I know that I have mentioned before that I am concerned about the possible decline in size and numbers as these more mature and bigger fish pass on. We have had such terrible spawn reports from the PFBC over the past decade or so. We have caught smaller smallmoutgh bass this Spring, but not a ton of them. But right now, we are having high quality bass being caught from the lower Susquehanna River all the way north to the West and North Branches. Let's hope this continues for a few more years to come!

I will be back out on the river after this busy weekend of basketball is over. Please continue to visit and look for new and exciting adventures from one of the best smallmouth rivers in Eastern USA - The Susquehanna River!

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad