Local players on national AAU team
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Fairfield Elementary School student Grace Shope, along with East Clinton’s Victoria Fliehman, recently finished second in the nation in the 2011 AAU Fifth Grade Division II Girls Basketball National Championship.
The student-athletes played for the Lakota-based Cincinnati Heat Premier (CHP), coached by West Chester’s Scott Cannatelli.
After advancing to the national championship game on July 1, CHP lost to eventual champ Team Evolve (coached by Kevin Davis) from Suffolk, Va., 52-29, at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va.
“It was a great experience and very exciting,” Grace told The Highland County Press this week. “It was fun. And when we figured out we were going to the championship game, we all hugged with excitement.”
Grace said her mother, Mary Shope, told her the AAU tournament was a “very big commitment.”
“She told me I had to keep my grades up, and I got all A’s,” said Grace, who was invited to play on the select team by Coach Cannatelli.
Grace, who will be entering the sixth grade at Fairfield, has been playing competitive basketball for three years, her mother said.
“This was the first time they’d qualified for the nationals,” Mary Shope said. “The coach was so happy he cried when they reached the championship game. They beat teams from California, Georgia, New Jersey and North Carolina.”
All of the girls contributed, and Grace and Victoria made some outstanding plays for us," Coach Cannatelli told The Highland County Press. "It was a fun and exciting experience. I was quite happy with reaching the finals."
Coach Cannatelli, who's been coaching for seven seasons, admitted he would have been pleased with just one tournament victory. After reaching the AAU Div. II championship, his teams are now 13-1 in national AAU competition.
Cincinnati Heat Premier rolled through the tournament field until they ran into a buzz saw in Team Evolve. The Virginia squad went 6-0 in the AAU competition and won its games by an average margin of 22.2 points.
Team members from CHP included: Grace Shope, Victoria Fliehman, Ally Haar, Allie Cannatelli, Chandler Kirchner, Sarah Jones, Jahsalyn Robinson, Shayna Smith, Izzy Hensley and Reagan Anderson.[[In-content Ad]]
The student-athletes played for the Lakota-based Cincinnati Heat Premier (CHP), coached by West Chester’s Scott Cannatelli.
After advancing to the national championship game on July 1, CHP lost to eventual champ Team Evolve (coached by Kevin Davis) from Suffolk, Va., 52-29, at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va.
“It was a great experience and very exciting,” Grace told The Highland County Press this week. “It was fun. And when we figured out we were going to the championship game, we all hugged with excitement.”
Grace said her mother, Mary Shope, told her the AAU tournament was a “very big commitment.”
“She told me I had to keep my grades up, and I got all A’s,” said Grace, who was invited to play on the select team by Coach Cannatelli.
Grace, who will be entering the sixth grade at Fairfield, has been playing competitive basketball for three years, her mother said.
“This was the first time they’d qualified for the nationals,” Mary Shope said. “The coach was so happy he cried when they reached the championship game. They beat teams from California, Georgia, New Jersey and North Carolina.”
All of the girls contributed, and Grace and Victoria made some outstanding plays for us," Coach Cannatelli told The Highland County Press. "It was a fun and exciting experience. I was quite happy with reaching the finals."
Coach Cannatelli, who's been coaching for seven seasons, admitted he would have been pleased with just one tournament victory. After reaching the AAU Div. II championship, his teams are now 13-1 in national AAU competition.
Cincinnati Heat Premier rolled through the tournament field until they ran into a buzz saw in Team Evolve. The Virginia squad went 6-0 in the AAU competition and won its games by an average margin of 22.2 points.
Team members from CHP included: Grace Shope, Victoria Fliehman, Ally Haar, Allie Cannatelli, Chandler Kirchner, Sarah Jones, Jahsalyn Robinson, Shayna Smith, Izzy Hensley and Reagan Anderson.[[In-content Ad]]