The Division I AAU 2006 National Round up for the Maryland Flames

This year’s effort at the AAU Nationals (2006) put the Maryland Flames in the company of some of the top elite AAU Girls organizations in the country. The Maryland Flames are one of only five organizations Nationwide to place two teams in the top 7 in the Nation. Our 13-U team placed 3rd in Overland Park, Kansas and our 11-U finished in 7th place in Springfield, Missouri. The previous year these two teams accomplished similar success both finishing 9th in their respective age groups overall. The back to back top 10 finish by these teams was only equaled by three other organizations nationally over the past two years. After only 9 years in existence the Maryland Flames winning trend is in place and we are poised and dedicated to continue the tradition.

The following information is a snapshot of the 2006 National AAU season for a select number of our Division I National teams. Of course without the powerful feeder system of developmental teams and the dedication of the many coaches and parents who participate in our program, none of this would be possible. Many of our National Division I players have come up through the trenches through hard work and dedication. Keep up the good hard work and thank you for making us one of the most successful Girls programs in the U.S.

13-U
Congratulations to our 1992 13-U girls, their Head Coach Herb Krusen and his Assistant Sue Haley for placing 3rd in the Nation. They made it to the finals and lost to the eventual champion in O.T. This is the highest finish ever for a D-I National team in the Flames organization. All the players came out of Montgomery County, Maryland except for a single player from Fairfax, Virginia. Our Flames team had beaten the eventual National Champs two weeks prior to the AAU Nationals so going into the winners’ bracket championship game they felt like they had a shot to win it all in Kansas. They fell just short.

11-U
Congratulations go out to our 1994 11-U girls, Coach Alan Wang and his Assistant Kathy Gillespie for placing 7th in the Nation in Springfield, Missouri. They swept their pool outright and went deep in the tournament before bowing out to this years 4th place team. At the time 7th was the highest finish ever for a Flames D-I team. That record stood for two weeks until our 13-U took the honor mentioned above. A great accomplishment as this team finished 9th last year at Disney World. With this in mind our thinking is this team has many great years ahead to shoot for the National title.  Maybe it’s not far off.....

A great job to everyone this past season as many of our teams did extremely well locally in both D-I and D-II as indicated by the many Medals collected in the Potomac Valley AAU Regional Tournaments.

Bill and Mike wish to thank all our many Coaches, Players and Parent volunteers for making the Maryland Flames one of the best run AAU organization locally and now on the National scene. The name

Maryland Flames brings a level of respect when our teams walk into a gym because of your tireless efforts.

THANK YOU!!!