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Monday, November 23, 2009 -- Return To Campus
Today was our final day in Colorado, and we were up before it was even light outside. We got to see a very pretty sunrise glowing across from the Rocky Mountains before we finally ran into some falling snow. Just outside of Colorado Springs, we drove through a snow storm for about 20 minutes, so we got to play in the snow on this trip and see it falling. Mandy and I were discussing whether the bizarre multi- tent like appearance of the Denver airport represented the Rocky Mountains or as Mandy commented “utters”. We decided on the first answer. We all got through security and out to our gate with plenty of time, only to find our flight was delayed 30 minutes. Normally this would be a bigger deal but after our troubles on Thursday, we were just glad that was all. It was a long flight home and we finally got all our baggage and headed home on the Piedmont bus. Everyone had a fun time, but we all agree it’s nice to be home. Not looking forward to 7:00 AM practice tomorrow however…
In retrospect, the trip was an amazing experience. It was fun to go somewhere completely different with the team, for many of the girls it was their first trip out to the Rockies. We got to do some truly spectacular and unique sightseeing, such as the Garden of the Gods and riding the snowmobiles up to the top of the Continental Divide. I’ve seen the latter in the summer, but it was even more breathtaking seeing the mountains capped with snow in the winter. The weather conditions that day couldn’t have been anymore perfect. It was a shame that our time in Colorado on Thursday was lost because of the airport issues, it would have been nice to see some more sights, but I’m thankful for what we got.
The games didn’t go the way we wanted, but it was still a good experience for the team and it’s only the beginning of the season. There is plenty of room to improve and our outlook is good. Everyone played well over the weekend, but two noteworthy players were of course Amber Satterfield and Alyssa Jones. We’re also very proud of Alyssa for being named to the All-Tournament team, especially only being a freshman in her college debut games, way to go girl! Lindsey Wiley got a concussion in the first game from trying to take a charge. She’s ok but did not play in the second game. It’s a mild concussion so hopefully she’ll be back very soon. I’m hoping to get back in the action soon, possibly this weekend when we go to Virginia, but it’s still up in the air at this point. There were a few more bumps and bruises among the team, but everyone else is healthy enough to play. I’d also like to thank the parents that made it out to Colorado as I know the team really appreciated having some familiar faces in the crowd.
So I guess this is the end of the blogs, I hope you guys have enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve had fun writing them. Keep following our progress all season and keep cheering us on!
Sunday, November 22, 2009 -- Game vs. Colorado College
We finished out our tournament time here in Colorado with another hard fought game, sadly ending in a loss. Colorado College won 88-74 thanks to quick transitions in offense and lights out shooting from the outside. Our girls played tough but we just couldn’t chip at the lead enough to overcome the deficit. There are still many areas for the team to improve and we’re going to work on our weaknesses when we get back home. Our next games are next weekend in Danville, VA. Congratulations go to Alyssa for being named to the All-tournament Team…she got a very lovely paper certificate for her exploits on the court. I’m sure she will frame it and keep it forever…haha.
Overall it has been an amazing experience out here that I’m glad I could be a part of. Granted it would have been even more fun if I could have actually gotten to play, but I still had a good time, especially writing these blogs for all of our fans to read! Tomorrow we’re heading home, hopefully with more luck in the airport than when we came out here. Pray for a safe trip!
I’ll write one more blog tomorrow to let everyone know about our return journey home and to give a final word on the whole experience. If anyone has any responses to the blogs or any questions about the team or our trip, send me an email and I’ll answer it n the final blog. Thanks for staying with us and keep cheering for us all season long!
Sunday, November 22, 2009 -- Preparing For Second Game
It’s a bit colder today, feels like it may snow. We woke up this morning and had breakfast at the hotel around 9:00. We aren’t doing any sightseeing today because our game is two hours earlier than it was yesterday, so we’re trying to stay focused on the task at hand.
Right now we’re over at the gym for shoot around. Coach Purdy spent probably the first 15 minutes or so going over the game last night and what we can improve on today. A few of the things she mentioned were when you get to the gym and lace up your shoes you need to be focused. It’s game time and you need to have the right mentality going into it. She was also stressing that we all have to be on the same page and that we’re a team, no one has to try and do everything all by herself. We also went over a few of the key players for Colorado College and the importance of this game. Winning this game would give us some extra insurance for the post season if we could manage a win. Augustana is not a South Region team, so last night’s game won’t affect our region record except for our overall season record.
Regardless of whether it would help us or not, I know the team really wants to get a victory! After shoot around, we’re going to go eat at Quizno’s and then headed back to the hotel to rest for a while before heading back over here for the game. Tip-off is at 4:00 local time. Check back later for my view on the game. Don’t forget to send me an email response, I’ve gotten a few so far keep them coming! Go Lady Lions!
Saturday, November 21, 2009 -- Game vs. Augustana College
Tonight I got to play a new role on the team as water girl and first aid guru because I’m still sidelined from an injury, but it gave me a new perspective on our game. Definitely looking forward to being able to get back out there though, I’ll leave those other duties for Jocelyn and Matt, wouldn’t want them to think I was taking their jobs!
Our first game didn’t turn out exactly like we wanted it to. We lost to Augustana College 68-65. It was a very hard fought game by our girls but we just couldn’t pull it out in the end.
The team was very excited in warm-ups and ready to take on our opponent. They played the #1 ranked Washington U. last week and lost by about 30 and they played Colorado yesterday and lost by 20. Don’t let the numbers fool you though, they were still good, jumping out to an early lead against us. Part of our problem starting out was nerves and finding our rhythm. Our biggest deficit of the game came when they were up by 19 against us, but Amber started to get hot. She was 4-6 from the 3-point line, finishing the game with 20, and the spark got us rolling into a comeback. We rallied as a team to take the lead going into half time at 34-33.
We fought back and forth for the remainder of the match, losing the lead with only a few minutes left in the game. Augustana managed to hold us off with a couple of clutch free throws when we were forced to foul them to stop the clock. We made a three and called a timeout with one second left on the clock, but they managed to get the ball in afterwards and the game was over.
I’m very proud of the effort our team displayed tonight. Sure there were some mistakes, but that’s to be expected this early in the season. If we continue to play with intensity and get better each day I know we’ll have a successful season.
Not completely sure what we’re up to tomorrow, there was talk of maybe visiting the Olympic Training center in the morning. We play Colorado College at 4:00 local time. Keep checking back for updates! I’d love to hear some responses from you guys, don’t be afraid to send me an email!
Saturday, November 21, 2009 -- Garden Of The Gods
This morning we got up and headed to a local Denny’s for breakfast. I think just about everyone got the build your own Grand Slam, but sadly the grits just don’t taste the same as they do in Georgia. The same is true with the sweet tea. The first time someone ordered a sweet tea, what they got was nothing like what we are use to.
After breakfast we headed over to the Garden of the Gods which is a public park filled with beautiful rock formations. The 100 million year old red rock arches and boulders look like they should be found in the middle of the desert, not in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. We first went to the visitor center to get some information about the geological wonders. I wanted to learn a little bit about the history of it but we were on a schedule with shoot around at noon so we skipped the 12 minute movie offered. But that didn’t stop us from first hitting up the gift shop. Some of the really iconic geological formations like the “Siamese Twins” can only be reached by hiking out to them, and if we had more time we probably would have, but we stuck to the road. At one point we pulled over in the “disabled parking only” area to take a few quick panorama shot of the rocks against the mountains and we saw a guy proposing to his girlfriend, so sweet! We kept driving along the road and we saw some more mule deer and some people taking a horseback riding tour. Now that would be a cool way to see everything.
Our final stop before leaving the park was at “Balance Rock”. This rock is over 700 tons, and it is sitting on a tiny pedestal that is probably only about 2x2 meters around! The sign by it said the rock had stayed that way for probably thousands of years. So naturally, once again the cameras had to be broken out. We got several really nice shots of the team next to Balance Rock and we also took a few with the mountains in the background. It was a very cool thing to see.
After we finished with the pictures we got in the vans and headed over to the college for shoot around. Tonight we’re playing Augustana College at 6:00pm local time. The team is very excited that we’re finally getting to play our first game. It will be an interesting preview for this season, hopefully we will come out on top.
After shoot around we are going to go get some lunch and head back to the hotel. No more sightseeing today, it’s all business. Check back later to see how our first game goes!
Friday, November 20, 2009 -- Snowmobiling Experience
After practice this morning we all piled in our rental vans and headed off for Buena Vista, CO for some snowmobile action! It’s about a two hour drive, but the scenery and views were amazing. We went straight through the mountains, each time we came around a corner there would be an even more amazing view. One time we came around the side of a mountain and it emptied off into a valley, with the valley being completely framed by snow covered mountains, everyone in the van said “wow”. The other girls were making fun of me because I kept taking pictures every five minutes of everything but I can’t help it I was so excited, I don’t want to miss anything!
When we finally got to the town, everyone was commenting on how isolated and deserted it was. Someone said it made Demorest, GA look urban, there was no WalMart anywhere. Definitely the definition of a small country town! We went to the shop where the snowmobile tours office was right off Main Street and they had us all sign and initial a waiver, so if we were terrible drivers and drove off the side of the mountain, we couldn’t sue them. Then we got outfitted with all of our gear which included: big rubber boots, snow bib pants, gloves, helmets, and jackets. Some of the jackets’ designs looked like they had been left around since the 80s, very retro! The lady told Holly she looked like she had a thick head so she better try a bigger sized helmet. Regardless, we were very thankful for all of our gear that kept us warm during the snowmobile rides. Once everyone was all geared up we hopped in the vans and headed up the mountain to where the snowmobiles were.
There wasn’t really any snow in the valley, but after about ten minutes of driving up into the mountains we found it. They had nine two-person snowmobiles all set up for us to ride. We had two guides with us, and they spent about ten minutes (yeah that’s all) going over how to drive and then we were off! Coach Purdy is of course pregnant so she sadly did not get to go. Some people drove the whole time like I did because my partner didn’t want to drive, but some people alternated. I would compare driving the snowmobile to driving a jet-ski, they are very similar except that a jet-ski is easier to turn and if you flip off it you’ll just land in the water.
The drive up there was absolutely beautiful! It was probably around 2:00 when we started so the sun was shining, no clouds anywhere. We ran in a single file line with one guide in the front and one in the very back. Some people drove slower and some drove faster so we would get spaced out and every so often we would stop to let everyone catch up. Or we were waiting because someone crashed. Lisa and Emily’s snowmobile, no matter how hard they pushed it, just wouldn’t go very fast up the mountain. There was one section where the road switched back a few times so you could see where everyone was along the road. At the top of the mountain, we were on the Continental Divide! Basically to one side of the mountain the elevation is all down hill to the Pacific Ocean and down the other is all down hill to the Atlantic. Absolutely beautiful! You could see seven peaks that were all over 14,000 feet high and just beyond that you would be in Aspen. We probably spent 20 minutes up there taking group pictures, individual pictures, goofy pictures you name it! After our photo shoot with the guides, who claimed to be professional vacation photographers, we turned around and headed back down the road. The thing about snowmobiles is as long as there’s snow you can go just about anywhere. We got to go off on a side trail on our way down back the mountains.
Perhaps the funniest part of the entire trip came when we were in the last stretch of the road. By this time, we’ve been going for about two hours, so everyone pretty much has the hang of driving by now and can be a little more aggressive with some of the turns and speed. Mandy was quote “driving like a grandma”. Karena who was driving with Kiki riding decided they were going to show them up by passing Mandy and Coach Middleton. The time they chose to pass however was not the best. As soon as they flew past them there was a sharp turn in the road and they couldn’t control the snowmobile enough to make the turn. They were flying towards a sign and at the last second both bailed off the snowmobile. The sign is now flat on the ground and everyone who saw what happen is rolling on the floor laughing.
The rest of the trip went without a hitch back down to the vans. We headed back to town and turned in all our gear. Along the way, we kept seeing mule deer in people’s backyards. Mule deer look like “regular” deer except they’re bigger and some have darker coats. After turning everything back in we rode back to Colorado Springs, had dinner and headed back to the hotel for the evening. Some of us hung out by the pool and hot tub for a while before calling it a night.
Tomorrow morning we’re going out to the Garden of the Gods and then going to shoot around. First game is tomorrow at 6:00 local time against Augustana College out of Illinois! I’ll keep you updated on all the details.
Friday, November 20, 2009 -- Practicing In The Altitude
One of the slight advantages of our flight being delayed yesterday is that we got to miss our practice we were suppose to have scheduled for 5:00. Everyone was all excited that we would get out of it, but of course Coach Purdy would never allow us to skip out on that. So this morning we are having our practice over at Colorado College.
The campus is only about ten minutes from the hotel so it’s not too bad, our turn arounds and detours made it slightly longer. This morning was the first time we got to see the mountains because it was so dark last night. It is absolutely beautiful! The weather is cold but still nice and the sun has been shining. We were told that Colorado Springs was ranked as the number one place to live in America last year, and it’s not hard to see why. We haven’t had any snow fall yet, but there is still some on the ground in places and there is plenty up on the mountain tops.
As the team is practicing, I can’t help but notice a sign Colorado College has painted up on the wall under the score board that reads “
Altitude 6,200 ft. Breathe Deeply”. I asked the girls if they were feeling the lack of oxygen during the sprints and I got some mixed responses. Some said it was bad some said they couldn’t tell a difference. But I see some people bending over more than they would normally, I know I would be gasping for breath if I was out there! No one has gotten altitude sickness (knock on wood) yet, and the coaches are trying to make sure everyone stays hydrated to avoid anything like that. Our first game isn’t until tomorrow so we still have a little more time to get acclimated.
This afternoon we are suppose to go ride snowmobiles. We’re leaving straight from the gym to go so everyone brought along their thermal underwear and extra clothes. The temperature is projected to be in the 50's today so hopefully we won’t be too cold.
That’s all for now, check back later to see how the afternoon goes for us!
Thursday, November 19, 2009 -- Airport Computer Trouble On Travel Day
Hey everyone! I’m going to try and keep a thorough, and hopefully entertaining account, of our trip to Colorado! I totally bummed that I can’t play this weekend, I partially tore my plantar fascia in my foot a few weeks ago, normally an injury reserved for people in their fifties, and our lovable athletic training staff has had the joy of spending so much time with me in my rehab process. Luckily everyone else on the team is healthy enough to play and we are ready to take on these two teams and start our season off with a couple of wins!
The team has been really looking forward to this trip since Coach Purdy first told us the idea of going to Colorado for our opening tournament last spring. It’s obviously not a cheap trip so we had to do some extra fundraising over the summer to make up for the extra expenses, most notably working at the Georgia Dome on a number of occasions. All our efforts paid off and we are getting to spend five days out in the Rockies.
We left campus at 6:00 AM this morning, hoping to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our 10:00 am flight. Little did we know after the struggle of getting through checking our bags, making it through security (at least one person got frisked, a word to the wise is to not wear a bra with any wire in it), being told by the security that you can’t take pictures in the screening area, having to lose some $12 lotion to the rules, but finally making it out to our gate with plenty of time to spare. Of course we had no idea that the computer system for entering flight plans had gone down that morning. We all fanned out to find something to eat when we started getting some texts from Coach Purdy. First our departure was moved to another gate further down the terminal, then we found out ten minutes later that our flight was canceled completely. So what were we suppose to do now? Our flight was rescheduled to leave at 10:00 pm that night. We were going to have to spend 12+hours in the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Luckily Coach Purdy worked some magic and with some persistence got us on an earlier flight for 4:00 PM, which is quite impressive with a group of our size. It was still a very long day forcing us to become very creative to pass the time. Some activities we participated in included: sleeping, people watching, drawing and coloring, playing Go Fish and War, watching a Beyoncé DVD, and of course wandering up and down the terminal. Thankfully our flight time finally arrived and we boarded the plane ready to finally make it to Colorado.
Denver is two hours behind Georgia time, so even though we left at 4:00 and we had a three hour flight, we arrived at 5:30. Almost feels like time travel or something to me! It was a very smooth flight, only a few people on the team were overly anxious about flying, and Emily made a new friend in an eight year old girl she was sitting next to who was flying without her parents for the first time. Her grandmother thanked her for looking after her on the flight when we got to Denver. None of our luggage was lost which is amazing in itself in all the confusion!
We made it to Colorado Springs without any problems and we checked into our hotel, ate dinner, and everyone headed off for their rooms. We’ve leaving for practice tomorrow at 8:15 local time and then hopefully going on a snowmobiling adventure tomorrow! Aside from our flight issues today the only downside of the trip so far is that we can’t go to the midnight premier of “New Moon” tonight, but we will carry on somehow.
I’ll try and keep you updated more frequently tomorrow, as I received word from some of the PC followers that they wanted some more up to the minute information on our exciting adventure!
