Aug. 29, 2009

DAYTON, Ohio - So the last day of preseason camp has finally come and gone. For the 10 of us seniors that will be graduating in May, our days of practicing three times a day for nearly two weeks straight are over...great success!

Compared to the previous nine days of training, our last day was not quite as physically demanding but was intense nonetheless with the pressure provided by the close point spread among the top six or seven guys in the chase for the Red Jersey. Having already proven our fitness after completing five fitness tests, this final day was dedicated to competition in the numerous games that we played in an effort to rack up as many of the remaining points as possible.

Coach gave us the 7:00 a.m. morning session off to rest up and catch our legs before starting our day with breakfast at Kennedy Union, and then it was out to the practice fields for the first round of games at 11:00 a.m. The first game for points involved dribbling a ball while avoiding predators and trying to knock someone else's ball out of the grid until only one was left standing. Jeff Popella prevailed in the end after a crushing tackle that nearly broke Tommy Watkins's hip.

Next up was an 8-hole round of soccer golf. John Sobey, aka Sobey Wan Kanobi, gave his best effort but ultimately a golf cart that was mysteriously placed between his ball and the pin, which may or may not have been driven by Tommy Watkins, provided Zach Weiss a clear path to the win.

After lunch and a short meeting, back out to the stomping grounds we went for the day's final games. Soccer volleyball was the first competition up, and the spoils went to the team of Tyler Picard, Jonny Phipps, Johnny Daniels, Tommy Watkins, and myself. Next, Ryan Handbury's team won soccer tennis which tightened the gap between me and him in the Red Jersey hunt.

Handbury also posted an impressive 45 points in a passing game where we had to knock the balls off of scattered cones. Ryan Bauer matched him in the opening round, but was out-done by Handbury in the final which propelled him one point ahead of me with only one competition left.

One v. Ones...... I needed to win the one v. one competition to overtake Handbury, whereas he could lose and still claim the Red Jersey if I didn't win. After many rounds of fierce battle, the door creaked open for me as Isaac Kissi defeated Handbury. I proceeded to beat Kissi, and then the stage was set for a showdown of me vs. Herman Trophy candidate and all-around good guy Alex Torda in the final.

I got the ball first, and after one step-over too many Torda took the ball off my foot. He cut back across the middle, and with one swift strike of his trusty right boot put a nail in the coffin and stitched Handbury's name onto the back of the Red Jersey for the second year in a row.

What an exciting story-book ending to a great preseason that will help us claim a second consecutive A-10 title. We ended preseason officially with dinner at Noodles & Co. at The Greene after practice. Handbury was presented the coveted Red Jersey for his valiant efforts, and in that British accent that we've all grown accustomed to, said, "Fank You," and proceeded with some closing remarks to a preseason well-done. Congrats to Hanners and all the boys for a great start to the 2009 season!