The 13&Under Claiborne Sparks Girls AAU Basketball Team descended upon Orlando, Florida via Southwest Airlines before heading to Cocoa Beach, Florida for the 13 Under AAU Nationals Tournament.

This was the first flying experience for many of the players on the team. Some were given wings by the helpful Southwest staff.

We arrived on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at the airport and received our rental vehicles. We then headed to Cocoa Beach, about sixty miles south of Orlando.

The team stayed at the Residence Inn-Marriott. Chaperones accompanied the team and a great big thanks to all of you who joined us on this journey. Special thanks to Ms. Delores Hampton, Ms. Michelle Williams, Ms. Christina Claiborne, Ms. Kim Davis, Ms. Irma Malbreaux, the Pickney family, Gauthier family and the Bradley family. Polly sure made some good gumbo on this trip! We had some great home-cooked meals during our stay thanks to Ms. Malbreaux, Ms. Hampton and Ms. Bradley.

Ms. Lavergne did not cook.

We had a scheduled practice that Friday at Viera High School. That was followed by team registration, team meeting, a party for the athletes and the opening ceremonies. The players registered and received lanyards, backpacks and national T-shirts. They also traded pins with the other 43 teams in attendance at the tournament. The Opening Ceremony was held at Bayside High School. The team marched in carrying a banner and a team sign. They were welcomed by fans and supporters of AAU. The ceremonies were live streamed through Space Coast Sports Productions. The players had a good time representing Opelousas and St. Landry Parish as well as the state of Louisiana.

It was time for business on Saturday as the Sparks took on the Staten Island Rebels of New York! The game waxed and waned for a time there, but we prevailed with a winning score of 40-36. The next game for us on Saturday was against the Central Texas Triple Threat. We were once again victorious and defeated the Texas Threat 60-55.

We treated ourselves with a visit to the beach! Thanks Jonas and LeDawn! Oh yeah, we were also treated to some old school dancing by Coach Claiborne and Ms. Malbreaux.

We started out again on Sunday at noon against the Potomac Valley Lady Tar Heels. We had a lead of 52-48 with two minutes to go in the game; alas foul trouble and a tied game and an official blows the whistle with 2.2 seconds left putting the Tar Heels on the line whereby they made both free throws and won the game 57-55. This was a great game where our players played hard and showed grit and determination. Good job Aaliyah and Bre'! They were our top scorers for all three pool games. The other players really stepped it up with Maya Richard rebounding really well; Carlie, Monique, Chloe, Maya M. along with Andrea, Alexis and Shanekque did their part as well. Thanks Girls. You sent us into the Championship Bracket of the Tournament!

We played our first Championship Bracket Game on Monday and they don't call it "Monday Morning Blues" for nothing! We just couldn't seem to get it together against the Maryland Flames. We took a lead against them before the half and they dropped a two at the buzzer to go up two points on us. The second half of the game went sour for the Sparks. We couldn't beg, buy or bribe the rims, we didn't score for the first seven minutes of the half. We couldn't get that ball to drop in for anything! It just didn't work out. We lost 51-38 for the final score.

 On Tuesday, our last championship game was played against the Maryland Shooting Stars. We hung in there with them and "Tweety" shot a beautiful three bringing the crowd to its feet. But we were too short at the end losing 58-53 to end our second showing at Nationals. Next year, who knows? One thing is for sure - the Claiborne Sparks will return to Nationals!

Coach Davis, you are one of the very best! You can do anything. Thank you for your guidance and direction on the court! Thanks for the great bbq on Sunday night.  It was some good!

Ms. Lavergne did not cook.

Coach Claiborne, once again you showed us true leadership by example and kept a cool head no matter the situation. Thanks for all that you do.

Thanks to Ms. Lavergne for organizing the team's travel and taking care of all of the administrative matters for the team.

The Claiborne Sparks 13 & Under team will head to Cocoa Beach for the 2009 AAU Girls 13 & Under National Championship.

The team departs Opelousas on Thursday flying out of New Orleans.  They will arrive in Cocoa Beach for Registration, Team Meetings, Opening Ceremony and Athletes Party.

The team starts bracket play first thing Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. against the  Staten Island Rebels of New York.   We then take on the Texas Triple Threat at 3:00 p.m. and we play the Lady Tar Heels of Virginia on Sunday at noon.

The team members will also get to experience the launch of the Space Shuttle on Saturday night.

Good Luck to Aaliyah, Alexis, Andrea, Breonna, Carlie, Chloe, Maya M., Maya R., Monique, Shanekque and Tashara. 

Thanks to Coach Claiborne, Coach Davis and Ms. Lavergne for all of their hard work.

Most of all, thanks to our great parents joining us on this journey; Polly and Rayfield, Ms. Irma,  Ms. Michelle, Ms. Delores, Ms. Christina and Ms. Bradley!

We know the work of a coach's wife is never done!  Thanks Ms. Kim.

Keep up with the team's progress at www.aaugirlsbasketball.org

Hi everyone,

The 13s and 14s will be competing in this weekend's Super Regional. 

We are scheduled to depart from the Claiborne Law Firm at 7 p.m. Friday evening for Monroe.

Saturday Schedule

12:00 p.m. - Slidell Magic vs. Claiborne Sparks (13s) @ West Monroe High

3:00 p.m.   - N.O. Dominos vs Claiborne Sparks (14s) @ ULM MPGym

4:30 p.m.   - Claiborne Sparks vs. N.O. Dominos (13s) @ West Monroe High

6:00 p.m.   - Claiborne Sparks vs. Greenwood Acres @ ULM MPGym

Bracket Play will be on Sunday determined by Pool Play Results.

Click on the Monroe Super Regional Handout below for the weekend's itinerary.

Good Luck Players!

The Sparks competed in the Acadiana Stars Invitational against the Mardi Gras Gators and the Ponchatoula Hurricanes.

 The Sparks had a long weekend as we came away without a victory, but found some heart and courage from those players who showed up.

 Our thanks to our supportive parents and players who traveled and gave their all to the effort.

Next up will be the Super Regional in Monroe for the 13s and the 14s.

The Sparks competed in the Ascension Warrior Invitational this past weekend.

 We played the  Tangi Titans and won 47-28.  Top scorer was Cierra with 15 while Kaylan poured in 13.

Next up were the Lakers from Bogalusa.  The younger girls played in this game.  Maya M. scored 11 as the top scorer and Jasmine M. added 7 points and Carli put in 5 points.

 A great thanks to all who came out and competed.

The Sparks  played a scrappy scrimmage against the Lafayette Shooters on Thursday evening.  It was quite a game as the Shooters were out to impress their home crowd.

The Sparks led a the half 25-24.

Breonna just lit up the court on offense and defense!

 Cierra, Carlie, Monique, Aaliyah and Magan were great contributors to the victorious final score of 50-44.

What a great effort from everyone.

Thanks to Ms. Guilbeaux for your assistance with travel for the team members.

Hi All,

The Sparks will compete in the 2009 Dominos Invitational this coming Saturday, April 24, 2009. All of our games will take place on Court 2 at Country Day High School located at 300 Park Road, Metairie, Louisiana.

All players will be combined to play in this tournament.

Lets get ready for some tough competition!

Hello Sparks,

We will compete in the Strawberry Classic and the Mardi Gras Gators Invitational this weekend on Saturday, April 19, 2009.

The 14s will compete in the Mardi Gras Gator Tournament  at Denham Springs Junior High School as follows:

8:00 a.m. Claiborne Sparks (H) vs. Kenner Angels

11:00 a.m. Lady Mystics (H) vs. Claiborne Sparks

The 13s will compete in the Strawberry Classic at Ponchatoula High School as follows:

4:35 p.m.  Northshore vs. Claiborne Sparks (H)

7:10 p.m.  Ponchatoula vs. Claiborne Sparks (H)

Thank you to all who have entered our tournament.  We have posted the schedule for the upcoming tournament.   Please see the attached handout to this article.

As always,  invitational schedules are subject to change.

 If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call us. 

Schedules revised on April 7, 2009

Subject to revision

The 2009 Easter Classic will be held April 10-11, 2009.

The Claiborne Sparks will host age divisions 8-13s in the Opelousas, Louisiana and St. Landry Parish area.

 Schedules will be posted on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

 Please check back  for updates.

Confirmed Participating teams include:

Acadiana Stars,  La. Rising Stars, Lafourche Lady Cajuns, Southern Mystics, Ponchatoula Hurricanes (9s, 10s, 11s Gold, 11s Blue and 12s), Livingston Ladies (11s and 13s), Tangi Titans, Ville Platte Angels, The Hustle, Southwest Hurricanes, Louisiana Nuggets, Lady Angels, Toledo Panthers, Lady Stingers and of course the Claiborne Sparks.

We are looking forward to another great tournament and can't wait to see everyone on the court!

The Claiborne Sparks held their 2008 Awards and Appreciation Banquet on Saturday, March 28, 2009. As players and parents arrived, they were greeted to the mellow jazz sounds of JB Saax.

They were also greeted by the smells of the wonderful catering of Bradley's Catering.

 The players were greeting by Monique as they were seated.

The banquet began with prayer led by Mrs. Guilbeaux.

Coach Claiborne introduced the speaker for the evening, Ms. Wanda Gallien.  Ms. Gallien is an assistant warden who addressed the players about the negative aspects of drug use and hanging with the wrong crowd. Ms. Gallien described the difficult and unhealthy life of one who is incarcerated to the audience. She encouraged the players to stay in school, get a good education, and to have a future!

Coach Claiborne then recapped the previous season by reminding the players of their accomplishments such as placing third in the State Tournament thereby qualifying for Nationals, Gold in the 13s Division of the 2008 Governor's Games for Girls, Silver in the 14s Division of the 2008 Governor's Games, Silver in the 10s Division of the 2008 Governor's Games for Girls, and the many tournament competitions where the 13s went undefeated.

Coach Claiborne thanked the parents for their support, loyalty and volunteerism during the last year.

He thanked Coach William Joseph Davis for that "spark" that he brought to the team and for taking us to Nationals! Coach Claiborne also recognized Ms. Lavergne for her services to the team.

All players and coaches received special recognition for their hard work for last season. Tiffany Augustine, Annelise Bonvillain, Monique Claiborne, Kaylan Demouchet, Cierra Fruge', Maya Guilbeaux, Jaelyn Hall, Jasmine King, N'Kendra Kimble, Kascity Martin, Breonna O'Conner and Aaliyah Pickney. Andrea Bradley and Shankque Sam received their player plaque as members of the 10-under team.

Special awards were presented to:

Aaliyah Pickney - Most Valuable Player

 Jasmine King - Outstanding Offensive Player

Kaylan Demouchet -Outstanding Defensive Player

Sixth Man Award - Breonna O'Conner

 Most Improved Player - Maya Guilbeaux

 Academic Achievement Award - Annelise Bonvillain

 Academic Achivement Award - Monique Claiborne

Coach Claiborne then recognized Walter and Ramona Augustine as the Most Valuable Parents for the season for their hard work last season. Ms. Delores Hampton was also recognized for her unwavering support and dedication to the organization.

The Louis Schaefer, Jr. award was presented to the Bonvillain family for their outstanding fundraising efforts of last season.

Souvenir books were also distributed.  Many thanks to those to contributed and to Ms. Lavergne for producing the book.

Congratulations to the Claiborne Sparks on a successful season!