An East Side Youth Center Elite Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team recently won a Sixth-Grade national tournament title.

The team was made up of players from several different parts of the Lehigh Valley as well as Pottsville and Pottstown. Its tournament season began back in March.

On Saturday, July 12, the team won the 2014 Sixth Grade Division III East Coast National Championship, which was played from July 9-12 at the Boo Williams Sports Complex in Hampton, Virginia. There were 48 teams competing for the Division III East Coast national championship.

ESYC Elite defeated other AAU teams from Tennessee, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio to claim the title. The team won the Mid-Atlantic District championship in April and the New England Regional Championship in May to qualify for the East Coast national championship tournament.

Team members include (front row, left to right) DeShawn Scarboro (Pleasant Valley), Matthew Rauscher (Northwestern), Louie Baloh (St. Thomas More), Nick Filchner (Northampton), Christian Hudson (Parkland) and Jaylen Green (Catasauqua); (second row) head coach Marlon Thomas, Liam Garrett (Lower Macungie), Deven Bollinger (Northwestern), Trevor Wall (North Wales), Tyson Thomas (St. Thomas More), Julian Thomas (St. Thomas More), Isaac White (Pottstown) and coach Duane Filchner.