The 304 Elite, 7th grade team recently concluded their Spring/Summer travel season by being crowned Tournament Champs at the AC Summer Hoop Jam on June 22. The team went undefeated on the day and faced three quality middle school opponents – the Alleghany Bandits, the Lexington Trojans, and the Covington Wizards. All three of the opponents are surrounding middle school teams that have great basketball programs in place with first-class coaches. The team had great success during the tournament season as they competed in seven tournaments, winning four tournaments, finishing second in one, and third in the other two. The team’s 2013 travel record was 17 wins and 5 losses.
While the teams overall record and tournament awards are fantastic, that is not the most amazing aspect of the 304 Elite. The team’s greatest attribute is their combined belief in Jesus Christ.
At the start of the season the team conducted a vote to select a slogan or quote to use as inspiration throughout the season, the team unanimously voted to use Bible Scriptures. The scriptures selected were “If God is for us, who can be against us?” —Romans 8:31 and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. “ —Philippians 4:13 The scripture was incorporated in the team’s logo and used in the their T-shirt design. This group of young men who are all under the age of thirteen inspired numerous people of all ages this summer by openly recognizing their Lord and Savior. Their development as young Christian men off the court far exceeded the huge strides they made as basketball players on the court.
The 304 Elite organization has three boys teams competing, a 6th grade team, a 7th grade team, and a 10th grade team. The main purpose is to promote organized athletics where good sportsmanship and fair play will be practiced at all times. We advocate that hard work equals success, and we want each player to learn the skills needed to work hard at everything they do and to make good decisions both on the court and off. We believe our organization offers our youth a positive experience with an opportunity to travel outside of their locality and compete against a high level of competition.
The 304 Elite is comprised of students attending Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and participated in multiple tournaments this spring and summer throughout Virginia and West Virginia. The numerous games played will provide valuable experience as they played against some of the top teams in the Region.