by just play » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:28 pm
Was there last year for 14's. Thunderstorms when we arrived, huge thunderstorm to cancel our 2nd practice game, lightning storm caused umpires to ditch the metal folding chairs and made a shambles out of the Opening Cermonies. Forget the dry heat, the humidity was pretty high.
NuNu's Dad was right on, regarding game times and exactly right about the 7am game time, we actually got it 4 times!!! 3 complexes used, but we played on only 2 of them. As for sightseeing, depends on what you wanna see. I guess visiting the ASU campus and a drive out to Tucson to vist U of A can be done. Girls wanted to see the Grand Canyon but the drive was too long and we barely had any time to go out for anything.
Hotels... Decided not to stay at the host hotel and was a good decision as it seemed crowded. We stayed a couple miles up the freeway at Embassy Suites where they had a free breakfast, and a Manager's Reception every night, though with our game times, we were lucky to catch it. It's an open courtyard type so you didn't feel closed in and the kids had room to roam. There were a few other teams as well, but did not make it too crowded. Did I mention the free Manager's Reception?!
Again as NuNu's Dad mentioned, you wanna stay in that Winner's Bracket. DD's team lost their 2nd game in bracket play, and had to play 3 games Friday and 4 on Saturday (2nd game lasted 2:45 with the Intl tie break), losing the last game that evening. Still in amazement as to how the girls managed to keep standing...
Be careful where you park and what is visible. One team had all their equipment stolen from the coach's truck and later found out from locals that this has been a problem at those parks.
