Guest Blog: On The Road With The Cougars - Dec 28, 2006 | 15:42:33
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville basketball student-athlete Amy Austin recently spent a week in Orlando with her team.
Friday, December 15th
6:00 a.m.
Wake up call from a teammate! Although we are heading to Florida, I still can???t seem to fully awaken. Luckily, I packed everything the night before and rolled out of bed to head to the airport.
1:00 p.m.
Finally arrive! The sun is shining and we all opt for shorts and sandals to head to Subway for a quick bite to eat.
3:00 p.m.
A little meeting with Coach to set up workout times to get on the hotel equipment.
7:00 p.m.
Grocery shopping with some teammates and Coach. It is always an adventure when we go out???.
Saturday, December 16th
9:15 a.m.
Rise and shine for a team breakfast. Anything you wanted you got??? pancakes, bagels, yogurt, omelets, French toast, and the list goes on!
10:30 a.m.
Free time!!! Half the team heads to the mall (I opted out since I would only spend more money on things I didn???t need) while the others down to the beach. While it was raining, it was fun to walk around and go out to eat next to the ocean.
7:30 p.m.
Practice in a high school gym. The team was pretty energetic and ready to play. We haven???t played in a week which happened to be our first loss of the season. We didn???t expect to go undefeated for the season, but the loss still hurts. Hopefully everyone still has a sour taste in their mouths from it and will play with a little fire tomorrow.
Sunday, December 17th- GAME DAY!!
9:30 a.m.
Team breakfast and walk through in the hotel meeting room. With no basketball or basket, we had to use our imagination with a rolled up beach towel and a chair. A little hard to concentrate with everyone???s swimsuits on under their clothes and one thing on their minds???SUN! Hopefully everyone is ready to play though. I???m probably the most competitive person you will meet. I don???t care if I am playing a game of cards or a conference game???I want to win!!
10:30 a.m.
Split up again to do whatever we wanted. Some headed out with families, others to the beach. About five of us decided the pool would do since it was a little cloudy. Luckily, we got a couple of hours of sun time before heading to our rooms to eat a light lunch and rest up before leaving for our game.
7:00 p.m.
Game over. SIUE 69, Nova 68. We did a great job of attaining the lead, but after halftime it started to dwindle. It could have gone either way with a shot at the buzzer and luckily they missed. We did a lot of great things, but we just didn???t finish what we started. With so many good teams still left on our schedule we need to start learning to do that. If you are up by 10 you should want to be up by 20.
8:30 p.m.
Team dinner at Outback. I must say that I had a special fan in the stands for this game. My freshman year roommate decided to come back to Florida where she lived before and I hadn???t seen her moving day in May 2005. Her family drove up for the game and went out to eat with me. It was awesome having her there. Of course we talked about all the good times in the dorms???and there were a lot!
Monday, December 18th
9:30 a.m.
Team breakfast again with some film mixed in there. Again, we all split up afterwards and head out. Most of the team opted for the beach since the sun has been shining since early this morning. We have to be back at the hotel by 2 to eat a light lunch and rest before leaving for the last game of the trip.
8:00 p.m.
Don???t really know what to say after this game. We did not play with a lot of emotion and fire this time around and if you looked at the score you would have noticed. It???s a real disappointment when you know how good your team is and it doesn???t show on the court. Our record is 7-2 though, which is nothing to hang our heads about. I feel sorry for the next team that plays us though because I can guarantee we are going to be fired up to play!
10:00 p.m.
Still a little sour about the game but most of the team heads downtown to explore the city at night. Although it???s a Monday night, there are still a lot of things to do.
Tuesday, December 19th
Free day all day long! Again, I head to the beach to work on my tan. Spend most of the day there hanging out with teammates and trying to enjoy our last day here. Later in the night, five of us head downtown again to go to the movies and relax. We split up and some saw The Holiday and others The Pursuit of Happiness. After trying to hail a cab for 10 minutes we finally make it back to the hotel to start packing for home! Although I don???t want to leave the warm weather, I can???t wait to be home again.
Wednesday, December 20th
6:00 a.m.
Head to the airport to fly home! While the team is flying back to St. Louis, I opted to fly straight to Louisville to avoid any mishaps on the roadway. After flying from Hawaii to St. Louis my freshman year, I decided to drive the four hours back home although I was warned there was a snowstorm coming in. I thought I could make it but ended up getting stuck on the Interstate for over eight hours. Luckily, my brother and dad met me halfway and we stayed together in one car trying to stay warm. With my knee surgery for a torn ACL about a week away, it was definitely hard to maneuver around when you had to go the restroom. The only neat thing about the experience was being able to drive East on the Westbound lane for 40 miles to get through all the cars and snow that had been left.
1:30 p.m.
Home at last! Ready to relax a little and enjoy the holidays. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
