Hawks Win and Helms is MVP

Brittany is a member of a basketball team that plays in various AAU tournaments around the Dallas / Fort Worth area.  The team is a collection of girls from her middle school.  Her team struggled a little at the beginning of the season but has really started to improve.  

This weekend her team went 4 and 0 and won their first tournament!  The girls played well.  Brittany won the MVP of the tournament.  Brittany is now tied with her brother at one MVP trophy a piece. 

Last Day of School

As many of you know we homeschool our children – except for Brittany. Brittany started the 7th grade this year at Cain Middle School. Cain is a large middle school in Rockwall, Texas. Over 700 students started Cain in Brittany's 7th grade class. She was a little apprehensive about the new experience. See my blog entry about her first day of school.

Today is Brittany's last day of school. I believe this year was a (nearly) unqualified success. Brittany did great academically, athletically and socially. Below are some of her more noteworthy accomplishments:

• Received straight As in every class, on every report card
• Was "commended" for her TAKS score in all subjects (math, reading, and writing)
• Her lowest final grade was a 95
• Her average final grade for all classes was a 97
• Recognized as a "Cain Scholar"
• Had the highest grade in her class on numerous tests throughout the year
• Was selected for A-team in volleyball
• Was selected to the A-team in basketball
• Was the starting point guard on the basketball team
• Was the starting middle on the volleyball team
• Received the award for "Most Outstanding Basketball Player" (7th grade girls)
• One of 16 students selected for PALS
• One of 3 students to be awarded the Loan Star Leadership Award

I also think Brittany challenged some of her teachers' views of homeschooled students.

Here is Brittany with a group of her closet friends on the last day of school.

Great work Brittany! One year down.

Participating in Stuttering Study

I have stuttered since I was a little kid.  As long as I can remember, I have struggled to carry on basic conversations in public, at work and even (at times) at home.  Stuttering is somewhat unpredictable.  This week I had a client ask me if I had a hard time with only "t", "s" and "f"s.  Those are certainly some of the more difficulty consonant sounds, but others are hard as well.  For example, my legal practice is outsourcing and technology transactions.  I often have a hard time with the word "outsourcing."  Sometimes I even have a hard time saying my own name. Names that start with a "t" - like "Triniti" - are particularly difficult.  Annoying.

When I was a little kid it was much worse than it is today.  However, given the nature of my job (corporate attorney), I talk all the time and my ability to communicate is key to my effectiveness and career development.  Therefore, the importance of effective verbal communication is more important at this stage of my life than ever before.  

Last year I signed up to participate in a clinical research study to evaluate the safety and treatment effects of a drug called pagoclone on stuttering.   In March I was selected to participate in the study.  I have been participating for a little over a month.  I take several pills a day.  Because the study is a double-blind randomized study, I don't know if I am getting the actual drug or just a placebo.  Because my stuttering is not really bad and it changes based on various factors, it is difficult to evaluate if the drug (assuming I am taking it) is effective. 

I will let you know later in the study.

Dallas Thunder Videos

I have created a few highlight videos for all 2009 Dallas Thunder teams. You can find them by clicking here.

NCHBC Results

March 16th - March 21st our family attended the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships. It is an amazing event. This year it was held in Springfield, Missouri. Over 340 teams from all over the country participated.


Scouts from the following division 1 schools were in attendance: Georgetown, Tennessee, South Florida, Miami, Oral Roberts, Missouri State, Arkansas Little Rock and Alabama. Plus there were dozens of scouts and college coaches form other schools like Mid-America University, SE Missouri State, Crown Christian College, Barclay College, Pensacola, North Dakota, Pittsburg State, Drury College and SW LA.

Pictures from the week long tournament are posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/shawnhelms/NCHBC2009

As you know, Shawn plays for the Dallas Thunder.  His 12 and under team went into the tournament ranked #1 in the country.  They did not play great, but played well enough to get to the championship game.  In that game,  they played the Oklahoma Storm.  The OK Storm is historically the strongest homeschool basketball organization in the country. They have won a ton of national championships and have had some great players over the years. For example, Blake Griffin, a player for the Oklahoma Sooners, was homeschooled. Blake and his brother Taylor both played for the OK Storm. Blake Griffin is projected to be the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Not bad . . .

Shawn's team got killed in the championship game. The OK Storm was just too big and talented. Four (or maybe all five) of their starting 5 were actually 13 years old, but qualified for 12 and under because of their birthday was after the cutoff. Shawn's team is a smaller, jump shot team that beats other teams with their quickness and defense. In this game, the OK Storm was able to put pressure on our guards and just killed us down low. In one possession the Storm had something like 7 offensive rebounds. There is no beating that kind of dominance down low.



Shawn's team ended up getting second place. The boys were disappointed but understood that it would have been a very tall order to beat that team.

Shawn was one of 3 kids on the Thunder chosen for the 12U All American team.

Shawn also played for a 10 and under USA team.  USA teams are made up of players that simply show up at Nationals and play together. Often these are younger siblings of players on other teams. Shawn still qualifies to play 10 and under because is birthday is late in the year. Shawn had a conflict in the first game and was not able to get there until the 3rd period. By that time, his team was down by 20 points to, none other than, the OK Storm. (I know, it is crazy that our family played them in every age division). His team lost that game. The OK Storm went on to win the national championship.

Shawn's team went into the lower bracket (5A). Shawn was able to make every other game, leading his team to the championship in the lower, 5A bracket. Shawn totally dominated the 10 and under division.  It was funny to see him in that age group. He was one of the tallest and clearly the best player on the court. Shawn was selected as an All American in the 10 and under division.

Noelle played on a 10 and under USA girls team. Noelle's team was made up of girls from Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kansas and Texas.  They had a low ranking and had to play the Oklahoma Storm in the first round.

Noelle's team played great and took out the OK Storm in the first game. That knocked the Storm into the lower bracket and Noelle's team moved into the championship bracket (6A bracket). When the week was done, her team, with one loss, ended up getting 3rd place in the highest bracket. An amazing accomplishment for 7 girls that have never played together. Noelle and her friend Brittany made All American in girls 10 and under.