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What is a “Floating Bracket” at Penn State Bluechip?
The floating bracket simply means that the brackets are already established for the tourney, however, after your first game of the tourney, teams float, or determine their own next game, based on wins/losses; thus, the Floating Bracket.
While most AAU tourneys are two games Sat., two on Sun., some tourneys play pool play, some play floating bracket play… The Penn State Bluechip is what is called a floating bracket tourney.
This is how the floating bracket works…..
· Everyone knows when and where their first game is. If you win that game, your next game is against another team that won their first game. · If you lose your first game, then you will play another team that lost their first game. · Either way, after your first game, you will play a team with your same record, either 1-0 or 0-1. · Now, if you win your second game, you will then play a team that won their second game. If you lose, then you play a team that also lost. · To determine when, where and who you play next, you simply plug your team into winner or loser bracket for the game you just played. IE: if you just won game #110, then you find where the winner for game #110 plays and plug your team in there. If you lose, game #225, you simply find where the loser from game #225 plays and you plug your team into that bracket position. · Your position in the bracket is floating based on your wins and losses.
If you take this thru all 6 games, then you can see how we come up with the term, floating bracket play. The key is to keep winning so that you always play better competition, correct? That seems true in the beginning but if you win 3 in a row, then lose one, your next game will be against another team that won 3 in a row and then lost one. So, any way you look at it, your games should be pretty competitive based on your win/loss record throughout the entire week.
If, however, you get to Friday and you are 5-0, 4-1 or maybe even 3-2, you may get into Championship Play. That is unknown until we see the floating brackets and where wins and losses take you. The brackets can be intimidating at first but if you just look at your own team and follow the bracket for winners and losers, then you will always be in the right place and time. Coach Petruny will always have a bracket on hand.
At Penn State Bluechip, the object is to play well in front of college coaches. We never know where they will be or when they will walk by and watch. College scouts are segregated from the general public so picking their brains, is strictly forbidden!
How does this differ from Gym Rats in Albany, NY? Not sure how the Gym Rats tourney is run. From what I’ve been told, however, they run a pool play and Championship round based on pool standings. I believe if you win your pool, you are in. If you do not win the pool, then you need a Wildcard Place, similar to USJN tourneys in Hershey and Washington DC… (Which we will see next year)
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