by Alex Schwartz

Although the field at the 2011 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions is smaller than usual, a trio of New York teams still made their way into the field. The Westchester Hawks had a team in the U16 division, while the Long Island Lightning had teams in both the U15 and U16 age groups.

On Friday, the first night of the tournament, NYChoops.net, had the opportunity to watch both of the U16 teams from the Empire State in action. Both the Hawks and Lightning produced some standout performers despite lopsided final scores in both games.

In the very first set of games at the event, the Westchester Hawks took on one of the top U16 teams in the nation, Garner Road out of North Carolina. The Hawks were shorthanded due to flight delays and had to play without four key players, making the already difficult task even tougher.

To read the rest of this article I wrote for NYChoops.net, click Here.