Monday, June 8, 2015

USA D3 Volleyball - Coming together and heading south!


It has been a great first 24 hours getting to know these players and figuring out how we are going to come together to represent our schools and country in the coming week!  Here is Hannah Kate's insight on the first day.  Enjoy!

"Our first practice was a bit rough, but what first practice isn't?  It was obvious that this group of girls is full of talent and we just needed to break some ice, which is exactly what we did when we got back to the hotel! Coach Mika had us write down 3 facts no one else would know about us and then crumple up the piece of paper. Coach passed them back out for other people to read and we had to guess who wrote the 3 facts. Through this extremely entertaining ice breaker game, I learned that 3 girls on the team have a twin, Coach Caitlyn used to live next door to a prison, and Coach Mika used to have a pet raccoon.  I mean who knew our Harvard graduate coach grew up on a dairy farm with a pet raccoon? I definitely didn't. By 11:30 we were exhausted and ready for bed, all of us looking forward to our second practice and flight to Brazil the next day. 

     After waking up at 6:30 AM on Day 2, the team met for breakfast in the lobby. We were then squished into a van to be taken to our second practice together. Considering we had known each other less than 24 hours, I would say practice went really well!  We were then squished back into our box-like van to go back to the hotel for some much needed showers. The van smelled pretty bad, but I have to say, the elevator ride with some of the guys from the men's team was way worse.
     After eating a quick lunch we loaded up the vans and headed off to the Orlando airport to catch a flight to Atlanta. On our way to the gate we spotted a large TV that was playing "How to Train Your Dragon 2". Apparently, you are never too old for an animated movie because a random forty-something year old man decided to join our childish indulgence. Four hours later, the plane is boarded and we are ready for take off! I'm literally typing this as we leave the ground. After this short flight, the only thing standing between Team USA and Brazil is a long 10 hour overnight flight. I have absolutely no idea how I will sleep. But no worries, our team has loads of Tylenol PM, Advil PM, melatonin, etc. I'm honestly surprised we got through security with the amount of (legal) drugs we have in our carry ons.
     Regardless of the long flight, I cannot wait to be competing in Brazil with this amazing team! Peace out America." 



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