Sierra Willis

This is Lachie’s AAU team, The Academy. They are a close-knit group of boys from Ann Arbor and Saline who have stuck together with their same coaches for three years. This past weekend they played a big tournament in Grand Rapids where they took 2nd. They battled in the championship game against a super team comprised of the state’s top “ranked” players, from different teams. The 6th grade center of the opposing team was dunking!

Our coaches haven’t taken shortcuts to winning. They are focused on long-term development—teaching man defensive principles when most teams full court press and play zone, which can be cheat codes at the youth level.

They are now a top 5 team in the state, but they didn’t start that way. Every year they’ve improved, we’re really proud of Lachie and how hard he’s worked and how much this group pushes each other. The boys all have big goals in the sport — and fun fact: 9 of the players have parents who played college/professional sports, so the competitive spirit definitely runs deep.

The boys are running a March Madness Squares fundraiser to help cover tournament cost for their next season, and they’d love your support.

How it works:
▪️ 100 squares available
▪️ $25 per square
▪️ Numbers are randomly assigned after the board fills
▪️ Winners are determined by the last digit of each team’s score
▪️ $1,200 paid out during the tournament
▪️ $1,300 goes to support the team

📄 The completed square board will be shared two days before each round so everyone can track their squares.

If you’d like to support the boys, grab a square (or a few) by sending $25 per square via Venmo to @o3sportstraining and include “6th Grade Academy” in the notes.

Thanks for supporting this great group of boys — and hopefully you’ll have a winning square during March Madness!