The Red team, captained by senior Bryan DaCanal, took the third game of the Davidson baseball team’s best of seven Fall World Series at Wilson Field.
The Red Team got solid pitching performances from freshman Chad Moss, senior Michael Goldberg, sophomore Rob Bain and junior Jip Richards in the 8-3 win. Junior Forrest Brandt again had a big hit in for the Red team, delivering a bases clearing double that broke the game open.
The Red team leads the series 2-1 after the Black team won Game 2 4-0 behind a great outing from junior starting pitcher Daniel Mooney.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Red/Black Baseball Fall World Series
Coaches Report
The Red team, captained by senior Bryan DaCanal, took the opening game of the Davidson Baseball team’s best of seven Fall World Series at Wilson Field. The Red Team rode a great starting pitching performance by sophomore Clark Beeker and a 7th inning grand slam by junior Forrest Brandt to a 7-2 victory. Senior Michael Zeblo’s triple plated two runs, and Brandt’s blast capped the scoring for the Red team. The Black team, captained by senior Andrew Barna, received a good pitching performance from sophomore Ryan Lowe, and was led at the plate by freshman Sam Foy.
First pitch of Game 2 will be Friday at 3 PM and the first pitch for Game 3 will be at 1:30 on Sunday.
The Red team, captained by senior Bryan DaCanal, took the opening game of the Davidson Baseball team’s best of seven Fall World Series at Wilson Field. The Red Team rode a great starting pitching performance by sophomore Clark Beeker and a 7th inning grand slam by junior Forrest Brandt to a 7-2 victory. Senior Michael Zeblo’s triple plated two runs, and Brandt’s blast capped the scoring for the Red team. The Black team, captained by senior Andrew Barna, received a good pitching performance from sophomore Ryan Lowe, and was led at the plate by freshman Sam Foy.
First pitch of Game 2 will be Friday at 3 PM and the first pitch for Game 3 will be at 1:30 on Sunday.
Friday, October 12, 2012
The DCFH Family – Opening weekend and our Louisville adventure
| DCFH waiting on the side of the road for a new bus. |
The seniors on our team haven’t had an opening weekend at home since our freshmen year. While our first game was a rough one, there were plenty of positives that coincided with opening weekend. Our stands were packed with loyal fans, a collection of fellow students, professors, families, and community members came out in large numbers to support our team. Our first game was, what I consider, a trial by fire. With the majority of our starting positions going to players who have either seen limited previous playing time or have never experienced the collegiate game. I think that no matter who we played on our opening day, it was going to be an interesting learning opportunity for the team. As with every learning moment, the important thing is that we grow from the experience, which as our transition into our second gave proved, we grew in a big way. We looked like a mature, composed, and experienced team against Georgetown. We played team defense, attacked in numbers, and played using our speed. Coming out of opening weekend 1-1 was critical for a successful rest of the season. My favorite parts of opening weekend were the post-game tailgates (a big thank you to the junior parents, especially the McFaydens). After every game, regardless of location or weather, the DCFH parents provide us with elaborate tailgates. We have build your own tacos, southern cooked mac and cheese and pork, and many other delicious treats. DCFH eats in style.
After a weekend at home, we hit the road for an adventure to
Louisville and what an adventure that was. We started off on a high - Bill, one
of our favorite drivers was there to greet us early Friday morning. Bill always
welcomes us with a smiling face and warm bus. About two hours into our drive
and in the middle of nowhere, VA our bus broke down. We got off at an exit and
enjoyed ourselves in the sun for about two hours waiting for another bus to
come rescue us. Other teams might have complained or been miserable, but not
DCFH. We spent our time reading, creating exciting dance routines, and
frequenting the local gas station. My favorite part of us breaking down however
was the opportunity to go to Waffle House (this might be the first time my
coaches learn we did this…. Sorry!). I am a huge fan of WaHo, you can often
find me studying at their establishment on exit 28. Once our second bus
arrived, we hit the road again and watched some superb movies. Our team is
pretty strict about what movies get shown on the bus, as a senior captain, I
sent out this message before we left:
Hello All.
In preparation for our trip to Louisville, I
wanted to make it known that people are welcome to bring movies on the bus.
However, there are a couple of stipulations.
1. No Jennifer Lopez movies. Yes, the Wedding
Planner and Maid in Manhattan are decently good movies, but we can do better.
Does anyone else remember the horrors of The Back Up Plan or Gigli?
2. If Kristen Stewart is in it.... do yourself
a favor and set that movie on fire. Team RPat.
3. Ask yourself, is this a good bus movie?
Remember, the volume won't be great, you're watching it on a small screen, and
Finley will probably be braiding your hair. As much as I love musicals, they're
not great bus movies.
4. If your grandmother would like the movie,
it's probably not worth bringing.
5. No JLo movies (it's worth repeating).
6. Remember, while we are an open team and
accept all lifestyles, we will judge you for a poor movie selection.
7. If Will Ferrell or Zach Galifianakis are in
the movie, bring it.
8. If anyone owns Summer Heights High or Angry
Boys, you are my new best friend.... and bring them.
9. Review lines 1 and 5.
I think you all get the essence of this
message.
Thanks for reading.
Remember, every time a bad movie is watched, a
penguin dies.
-Fish
As you can tell, we take our movies seriously. Once we got
to Louisville, it was straight to the field for a solid pregame practice, then
back to the hotel for dinner and bed. Our Louisville game was a heartbreaker.
Losing by one goal never feels great, losing by one after we were making a
comeback only to have the game delayed by severe weather, was heartbreaking.
Nevertheless, we looked ahead to our next game (and our tailgate.) This time,
the Robinsons, parents of Gray Robinson, a DCFH alum, hosted the team at their
house for an amazing dinner. We had more food than one could dream of and Mrs.
English made us our favorite desert, derby pie (well, pies, I think I saw 10.)
One of the best things about our dinner was the number of DCFH alums that made
it. It’s always fun to see our family happy and healthy. The next day, we
claimed a 4-1 win over Ball State. Winning is always a plus, but winning before
a long trip home is a must.
- Fish
- Fish
| DCFH Alums, some of whom made it to the tailgate on our Louisville trip. |
Friday, September 21, 2012
Tindall's Take: Opportunity Knocks!
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| The Wildcats picked up some souvenirs in the Sunshine State! |
“Good, better, best;
never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.”
As the team heads towards the first
Southern Conference match against Furman this Friday night, we will take away
many lessons from our preseason tournaments.
For example, six out of our ten matches went to five sets, so we will be
prepared once we move into those final games in our Southern Conference matches. From 80’s night to the Wildcat classic, our
fans have commended our relentless pursuit on the court. This team continues to work hard and fight on
the court no matter what. We have talked
about seizing our opportunities in practice this week and executing every
chance we have on the court from the first pass to the last contact. Furman is our first opportunity this Friday
night and we will be ready!
First, let’s look back at the preseason matches:
We opened
up our first preseason tournament just up the road at Wake Forrest. Winthrop was our initial challenge, and we
bounced back from a 25-9 first set to win this five game match against Coach
Carr’s (Asst. Coach Emily Carrara) alma matter.
This match shows the hard work of our team and passion to win. Then, we lost a tough 17-15 fifth set to Wake
Forest but bounced back to finish off UNCW in four sets. After the Wake Forest tournament, we traveled
down to Jacksonville for the North Florida Invitational. The five set streak continued, but we worked
hard and got better every set. Although
we didn’t make it to the beach with the stormy weather, we ate at a fish camp
the first night and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at freshman Shannon
McPherson’s house. Her mom decorated the
house with personal blow up flamingos and filled us up with blueberry pancakes,
breakfast burritos, and coffee. We are
so thankful for the time that our families devote to our team!
This past
weekend we hosted the Wildcat Classic!
Many parents came to Davidson to watch our home tournament, and we had
over five hundred fans on Friday night versus High Point. Kids swarmed our team to get our autographs
after the match, and the smiles on their faces helped ease the tough loss. We beat NC Central on Saturday morning but
suffered another five game match loss to Green Bay that afternoon. After losing the first two games, we forced
them to a thrilling fifth game. It’s difficult
to find the positives of a loss, but will learn from these matches and use them
as a starting point to motive us every day in practice. Preseason matches are meant for regular
season preparation, and we will move forward from these five game matches
labeling them as distant failures and the point in our season that we got
better. Every girl on the team believes
that we will win the Southern Conference tournament on our home court this
year, so these little opportunities every day matter on and off the court!
Come to Furman and Wofford this weekend if you have the
chance! If not, we will be back in
action at home the last weekend of September versus the Citadel and the College
of Charleston! On September 30th
we have set a goal of 800 people at our game so come support us and help us
out!
Everyday is a great day to be a wildcat,
Tindall
Friday, August 24, 2012
Tindall's Take: Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Doesn't Work Hard
 |
| The Blockfest Club! |
By Tindall Sewell
Dear readers,
Whether you’re cruising through the Davidson Wildcats’ website or an avid volleyball fan, I hope you will enjoy hearing about the volleyball team’s season this fall. My name is Tindall Sewell, and I am a junior middle blocker for the wildcats. Besides volleyball, I serve on the Honor Council, help lead the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and am a member of Warner Hall eating house. I hope you laugh at a few stories or enjoy learning about what the team is up to on and off the court this fall!
During this past spring, we worked hard with individuals and competitive tournaments. This quote resonates with our commitment to the spring practices, “The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win.” Now, it’s time to prove it on the court. Molly Crenshaw, a senior libero and captain, came back from her spring abroad with the Davidson in Peru program ready to jump back onto the court. Six new freshmen will add depth to our team, and I can’t wait to see them experience Davidson for the first time. I can remember the excitement of meeting new people during orientation but also feeling cool for knowing all of the athletes beforehand. Also, our new assistant coach, Emily Carrara, brings contagious energy and pure volleyball knowledge to the court everyday. We are so blessed to have them as Davidson Wildcats.
Our team walked into this preseason with a mindset- ALL IN. We have spent various meetings discussing this team’s vision and goals for the season. On the court, we have maintained a productive mindset to improve one another with a competitive team atmosphere. During our free time, the team has starred in a few music video remakes, “Call me maybe” and “Wagon Wheel.” Be sure to like us on facebook or retweet it (social media plug)! We went to Crossfit twice for a mix up of our lifting schedule and competed against each other with a high intensity level. Ice baths are our best friends during preseason! As a break from the routine practices, we went to my family’s lake house on Lake Rabun, Georgia. This retreat allows our team to mentally take a break from the court but still have a blast getting to know each other on a deeper level.
The volleyball team kicks off our first match against Gardner Webb on Tuesday, August 28th at 7pm. The sports marketing crew decided to promote this game with an 80s night theme so look out for our workout video or movie posters like “Set Anything” or “The Blockfest Club.” We have bought into getting better ever day in practice throughout this preseason, so I can’t wait for our hard work to pay off on the court.
Cheers to the end of preseason and the beginning of classes!
All in,
Tindall
Preseason
| The five DCFH Seniors |
The DCFH family reunited on August 9 to move into our homes for the academic year, sit in on meetings about the Athletic Training room rules, how to not violate the many NCAA rules, and a meeting introducing the 9 DCFH freshmen to our team and to our values: Commitment. Opportunity. Heart.
After completing a 12 week workout packet filled with a combination of long distance runs, long and short sprints, cross training workouts, and agilities, as well as the charge to play as much field hockey as possible over the summer , we each came in committed to working hard, learning lots, and, most importantly, we are committed to each other.
After graduating 8 seniors last season, 7 starting positions have opened up. This gives our program the opportunity to rethink our starting formation, have players try new positions, and the opportunity to shock our competition. While having 9 freshmen is certainly not a walk in the park it gives every returning player the opportunity to step up as leaders and demonstrate their knowledge of the collegiate game, understanding of Davidson’s campus layout, and the best ways to utilize your limited free time.
After 3 seasons filled with many injuries, team movie nights, road trips, locker room parties, and final scores, the 5 DCFH seniors reflect the heart of the our team. Being a varsity athlete at a top notch college is not an easy task. Our determination, drive, and will to succeed come from the heart. We endure challenges because we love the game and we love our team.
This year we will open our season at home against Georgetown and William and Mary. We have two weeks to get our act together and mold our team into a winning squad. We have to make a great deal a progress in this short time span, but I know it can be done. Each of us can improve and each of us will improve. We have a superb coaching staff who expects excellence in all that we done, we have experienced players willing to increase their responsibilities, and we have new players who are eager to learn. We spend long days on the turf being as efficient as possible because we know our time is valuable.
We want to win the NorPacs, we want to reach our potential, and we are willing to do the work that it takes to make that happen.
I’ll be sure to keep you updated as the season progresses.
Until next time,
Fish
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Play Days
 |
| Our five freshman who have greatly benefited from the opportunities the spring provides |
I apologize for my lack of blogging recently, I’m sure you all have been anxiously awaiting an update from me (only joking). The 80 degree weather, lake campus, Bosom Buddies, and, of course, school and field hockey have kept me away from my blogging responsibilities. Spring fever has spread throughout the entire campus, Davidson is a pretty fun place to be at this time of year.
This spring has certainly been an interesting one for DCFH. Early on we had some difficulties on the field, the realization that we have graduated 8 strong senior players hit us pretty hard. With 10 of our 12 players being underclassmen, the emphasis this spring has been on developing our team and improving individual skills. We’ve spent many a drill working on receptions, playing 2-touch hockey, and getting on the right side of our defensive marks.
 |
| Finley Amato - the only other upperclassman |
Those film sessions set us up for a great two weeks of practice leading up to our home play day. This day went a whole lot better for us. It felt great to see the changes we have been working so hard on to make, come to fruition and actually help us win. Everyone’s confidence levels were at an all-time high this spring and as individuals we stepped up in order to play better as a team. At this play day, we played to full field 25 minute games and multiple small field, 7 v 7 games. Liberty, Limestone, App State, Radford, and a Charlotte area club team made the trip to us.
While we have a lot to still work on before the fall, we are making progress and I am confident we will get to that point. Daily practice and touches on the ball is what it will take to make us a threat and this spring has set us up to continue this hard work ethic over the summer.
Until Next Time,
Fish
Monday, March 19, 2012
Happy Endings
By Amanda Ottaway
Dear Everyone,
I think I have to write a conclusion now. But how do you approach the end of something when that something has taken ninety percent of your energies for over a decade? How do you write about people who have so profoundly impacted your existence that you’re not sure you would have made it through college without them? How do you put into words an experience that will shape the rest of your life?
For starters, I guess I could explain the circumstances. We traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia last Wednesday for our first-round WNIT game Thursday at James Madison. For those concerned by my Facebook status Wednesday night: Yes, the hotel elevator broke while all 14 of us were on it after a nighttime film session. Yes, the the limit is five people, although we were unaware of this at the time. Yes, some of us panicked (cough – Shneeka). Yes, we took the dire step of instructing each other to stop talking in order to conserve oxygen. Yes, we were stuck for approximately seven minutes.
Unlike the elevator story, which ends with survival, the story of our game concluded unhappily. JMU has a good team, but I’ll be the first to say that they were beatable. We stayed with them almost the whole game. Eventually, though, we hit a drought and couldn’t score, and they capitalized on their home-court advantage. The final was 64-49, which sounds worse than it was.
Not many teams get to end their seasons on a win, and I am still so proud of everything we’ve accomplished this year. Being the first regular-season champions in school history is nothing to moan about. Plus, we had fun. Even when things were tough – which they often were; I can’t sugarcoat everything and the life of any Division I athlete poses its share of problems – the team made the most of it. That’s what teams are for. So that’s what I take from my experience here. Twenty years from now, I won’t remember who beat us. I definitely won’t remember our record. I might not even remember that we hung a banner. I’ll have long forgotten the hours in the training room and running sprints on the football field and doing homework on the bus. But I will be able to call up Kat, Shannon, Shneeka, Laura, KJ, Barb, Hannah, Mason, Sarah, Hannah, Jazz, Soph, or Mel, and tell them Aunt Otto wants to baby-sit. I’ll take their kids out to the driveway and pit them against my kids in a healthy game of Horse. Then we’ll sit around and drink lemonade and laugh about the time the Wildcats got stuck in the elevator at the Holiday Inn. And they’ll say, “Mom, you’re silly. That doesn’t sound fun at all!” And I’ll assure them that it was the best time of my life.
Peace, love, and happy endings –
Otto
Dear Everyone,
I think I have to write a conclusion now. But how do you approach the end of something when that something has taken ninety percent of your energies for over a decade? How do you write about people who have so profoundly impacted your existence that you’re not sure you would have made it through college without them? How do you put into words an experience that will shape the rest of your life?
For starters, I guess I could explain the circumstances. We traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia last Wednesday for our first-round WNIT game Thursday at James Madison. For those concerned by my Facebook status Wednesday night: Yes, the hotel elevator broke while all 14 of us were on it after a nighttime film session. Yes, the the limit is five people, although we were unaware of this at the time. Yes, some of us panicked (cough – Shneeka). Yes, we took the dire step of instructing each other to stop talking in order to conserve oxygen. Yes, we were stuck for approximately seven minutes.
Unlike the elevator story, which ends with survival, the story of our game concluded unhappily. JMU has a good team, but I’ll be the first to say that they were beatable. We stayed with them almost the whole game. Eventually, though, we hit a drought and couldn’t score, and they capitalized on their home-court advantage. The final was 64-49, which sounds worse than it was.
Not many teams get to end their seasons on a win, and I am still so proud of everything we’ve accomplished this year. Being the first regular-season champions in school history is nothing to moan about. Plus, we had fun. Even when things were tough – which they often were; I can’t sugarcoat everything and the life of any Division I athlete poses its share of problems – the team made the most of it. That’s what teams are for. So that’s what I take from my experience here. Twenty years from now, I won’t remember who beat us. I definitely won’t remember our record. I might not even remember that we hung a banner. I’ll have long forgotten the hours in the training room and running sprints on the football field and doing homework on the bus. But I will be able to call up Kat, Shannon, Shneeka, Laura, KJ, Barb, Hannah, Mason, Sarah, Hannah, Jazz, Soph, or Mel, and tell them Aunt Otto wants to baby-sit. I’ll take their kids out to the driveway and pit them against my kids in a healthy game of Horse. Then we’ll sit around and drink lemonade and laugh about the time the Wildcats got stuck in the elevator at the Holiday Inn. And they’ll say, “Mom, you’re silly. That doesn’t sound fun at all!” And I’ll assure them that it was the best time of my life.
Peace, love, and happy endings –
Otto
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Looking Ahead to the WNIT
By Amanda Ottaway
Thursday, March 8, 2012
It was rough going for a couple of days after we lost to Samford in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament. We spent the night in Asheville, so we were able to spend time with our families and watch our men’s semifinal game Sunday night. Our elimination was pretty upsetting, but Samford is an extremely solid, well-coached team. They ended up winning the tournament. So it’s time for us to move on…
Although we didn’t win the conference championship and get an NCAA tournament bid, we do have a place in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), thanks to our regular season championship. So you haven’t seen the last of us yet! The first round starts next week – we’ll either play the 14th, the 15th, or the 16th. But we won’t know our opponent (or the location or date or time) of the game until late, late Monday night the 12th, after the women’s NCAA tournament pairings are announced. We’re confident, though. We know that we underperformed at the SoCon tournament, and that we can get back on track and do well in the WNIT. We’re excited for postseason play!
We had Monday and Tuesday off, and then came back to practice yesterday. Today we practiced and then lifted with Coach Rowan (strength and conditioning coach). We’ll do the same tomorrow. It’s spring break, so there aren’t many people on campus, which is fine with us; we entertain each other pretty well. The highlights of the week have been a trip to Our Town Cinemas, some good Indian food, a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie night, a little shopping, and Shneeka’s flat tire. Sounds like a good spring break to me.
Keep checking for updates about the WNIT! And, of course, send the men’s team your best wishes in the NCAA tournament! Go ‘Cats!!
Peace, perseverance, and March Madness –
Otto
Thursday, March 8, 2012
It was rough going for a couple of days after we lost to Samford in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament. We spent the night in Asheville, so we were able to spend time with our families and watch our men’s semifinal game Sunday night. Our elimination was pretty upsetting, but Samford is an extremely solid, well-coached team. They ended up winning the tournament. So it’s time for us to move on…
Although we didn’t win the conference championship and get an NCAA tournament bid, we do have a place in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), thanks to our regular season championship. So you haven’t seen the last of us yet! The first round starts next week – we’ll either play the 14th, the 15th, or the 16th. But we won’t know our opponent (or the location or date or time) of the game until late, late Monday night the 12th, after the women’s NCAA tournament pairings are announced. We’re confident, though. We know that we underperformed at the SoCon tournament, and that we can get back on track and do well in the WNIT. We’re excited for postseason play!
We had Monday and Tuesday off, and then came back to practice yesterday. Today we practiced and then lifted with Coach Rowan (strength and conditioning coach). We’ll do the same tomorrow. It’s spring break, so there aren’t many people on campus, which is fine with us; we entertain each other pretty well. The highlights of the week have been a trip to Our Town Cinemas, some good Indian food, a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie night, a little shopping, and Shneeka’s flat tire. Sounds like a good spring break to me.
Keep checking for updates about the WNIT! And, of course, send the men’s team your best wishes in the NCAA tournament! Go ‘Cats!!
Peace, perseverance, and March Madness –
Otto
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A Great Day to Be a Wildcat
By Amanda Ottaway
February 27
Well, in case you haven’t heard, today was a great day to be a Wildcat.
It was an incredible weekend for Wildcat basketball, actually – the men clinched the regular-season title with their win at Georgia Southern on Saturday. Congratulations, boys – here’s carrying the momentum to the weekend in Asheville! Go ‘Cats!!
The women lost a tough one at Chattanooga Saturday, but we recuperated and drove to Birmingham Sunday morning to prepare for tonight’s game at Samford, who beat us in Belk Arena in January. It was a low-scoring first half tonight – the score was 19-19 at the break. I’m frankly surprised all the fans didn’t leave for the lack of offensive displays! But, Samford is an insanely well-disciplined team with solid sets and fundamental defensive skills. Fittingly, then, the game eventually came down to a grinding battle of the defenses, which is good because that’s what we’d been focusing on in practice and shoot-around. We hit some huge buckets and managed to keep them at 22% shooting in the second half.
Chattanooga and Appalachian State, the other two teams in the top four, played each other tonight. Because we were on Alabama Central Time, the Chatt-App game (Eastern Time) ended before ours did. We knew all of the following going in: that if we beat Samford tonight, AND Chatt beat App, we’d win the regular season title because we beat App twice. But if App won, they’d be regular-season champs, regardless of whether or not we beat Samford. And if we let Samford beat us, we definitely wouldn’t get the title. (Hopefully you could follow that.) So both matchups were crucial games. We didn’t know the score of Chatt-App while our game was going on. At least, us players didn’t know. But with about ten seconds to go in our game, we had things in hand and Coach Kira (Mowen) turned to the bench and said, “We won!” We knew right away what that meant, and just went absolutely nuts. Turned out Chatt had beaten App. St., which put us in first place! (Some say we’re co-champions with App. Just to be diplomatic, I’ll put that in here, but as far as we’re concerned, we beat them head-to-head.)
This is the first time in school history that the Davidson women’s basketball team has won a regular-season championship. So naturally, we are some happy campers right now. We’re gonna hang a banner!!!!! Now I’m writing from the bus (what else is new?). We’ve got a long drive home and should arrive back on campus somewhere in the area of 6 A.M. – any of you readers own a private jet, for future trips, by any chance? But boy, is this the sweetest bus ride we’ve ever taken! In true social-media-generation fashion, we promptly held a postgame Facebook battle. After launching confetti all over the locker room (and spending half an hour cleaning it up), we loaded up the bus and proceeded to update all our Facebook and Twitter statuses. (Is there such a thing as a Twitter status?) We were competing to see who could get the most “likes.” You’ll have to check out the winner for yourself. :)
Tomorrow is an off day. We’re leaving for Asheville for the Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday evening after practice. We have a bye during the Friday tournament games, but we’ll be there to watch (we play the winner of Wofford vs. College of Charleston), plus it’ll be good to get a quick practice in on the court. This regular-season championship is only our first. We have a tough road ahead this weekend, but we’re confident and so excited! For now, it’s bedtime – we’ve got class tomorrow. Yikes. Gotta get some sleep. I’m about to put my computer away and squeeze onto the floor with my pillow. But you know what, we can’t even complain. Life’s pretty good right now.
Peace, love, and championship #1,
Otto
February 27
Well, in case you haven’t heard, today was a great day to be a Wildcat.
It was an incredible weekend for Wildcat basketball, actually – the men clinched the regular-season title with their win at Georgia Southern on Saturday. Congratulations, boys – here’s carrying the momentum to the weekend in Asheville! Go ‘Cats!!
The women lost a tough one at Chattanooga Saturday, but we recuperated and drove to Birmingham Sunday morning to prepare for tonight’s game at Samford, who beat us in Belk Arena in January. It was a low-scoring first half tonight – the score was 19-19 at the break. I’m frankly surprised all the fans didn’t leave for the lack of offensive displays! But, Samford is an insanely well-disciplined team with solid sets and fundamental defensive skills. Fittingly, then, the game eventually came down to a grinding battle of the defenses, which is good because that’s what we’d been focusing on in practice and shoot-around. We hit some huge buckets and managed to keep them at 22% shooting in the second half.
Chattanooga and Appalachian State, the other two teams in the top four, played each other tonight. Because we were on Alabama Central Time, the Chatt-App game (Eastern Time) ended before ours did. We knew all of the following going in: that if we beat Samford tonight, AND Chatt beat App, we’d win the regular season title because we beat App twice. But if App won, they’d be regular-season champs, regardless of whether or not we beat Samford. And if we let Samford beat us, we definitely wouldn’t get the title. (Hopefully you could follow that.) So both matchups were crucial games. We didn’t know the score of Chatt-App while our game was going on. At least, us players didn’t know. But with about ten seconds to go in our game, we had things in hand and Coach Kira (Mowen) turned to the bench and said, “We won!” We knew right away what that meant, and just went absolutely nuts. Turned out Chatt had beaten App. St., which put us in first place! (Some say we’re co-champions with App. Just to be diplomatic, I’ll put that in here, but as far as we’re concerned, we beat them head-to-head.)
This is the first time in school history that the Davidson women’s basketball team has won a regular-season championship. So naturally, we are some happy campers right now. We’re gonna hang a banner!!!!! Now I’m writing from the bus (what else is new?). We’ve got a long drive home and should arrive back on campus somewhere in the area of 6 A.M. – any of you readers own a private jet, for future trips, by any chance? But boy, is this the sweetest bus ride we’ve ever taken! In true social-media-generation fashion, we promptly held a postgame Facebook battle. After launching confetti all over the locker room (and spending half an hour cleaning it up), we loaded up the bus and proceeded to update all our Facebook and Twitter statuses. (Is there such a thing as a Twitter status?) We were competing to see who could get the most “likes.” You’ll have to check out the winner for yourself. :)
Tomorrow is an off day. We’re leaving for Asheville for the Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday evening after practice. We have a bye during the Friday tournament games, but we’ll be there to watch (we play the winner of Wofford vs. College of Charleston), plus it’ll be good to get a quick practice in on the court. This regular-season championship is only our first. We have a tough road ahead this weekend, but we’re confident and so excited! For now, it’s bedtime – we’ve got class tomorrow. Yikes. Gotta get some sleep. I’m about to put my computer away and squeeze onto the floor with my pillow. But you know what, we can’t even complain. Life’s pretty good right now.
Peace, love, and championship #1,
Otto
Friday, February 24, 2012
Senior Night and Hitting the Road
By Amanda Ottawa
February 20, 2012
Just wanted to thank everyone who came out on Saturday for our game against Appalachian State. It was the most fun I’ve had playing in Belk Arena probably in my whole career. The men had a great atmosphere for their game vs. #24 Wichita State, and more fans than we expected stuck around for our half of the doubleheader. It was a competitive game in front of an awesome crowd, and with the win, we moved into first place in the Southern Conference!
Tonight was Senior Night. We played Wofford, which beat us in January, so we were eager for revenge. The fire worked in our favor as we pulled out the win, 63-39. Before the game, our freshmen decorated the locker room for KJ (Kristen Johnsen) and me, and I’m convinced that they should all go into careers in interior design. It looked SO good! They got tons of red balloons, black and white streamers, and made us posters. After all that, how could we not play well? Postgame, we had a little reception in the Hall of Fame room for our families, friends, and loyal fans from The Pines retirement community. President Quillen, Jim Murphy, and Katy McNay were there, and so was almost everyone who has taken care of us these four years. There was also cake. Lots and lots of cake – my roommates and I have been eating it all week…
Neither KJ nor I did very much crying that night. Okay, okay – KJ didn’t cry at all. (I may or may not have burst into tears when my teammates gave me their present, pictures in a frame with the “I Will Always Love You” lyrics printed on top.) Both of us feel the same way – mostly, it simply hasn’t hit us yet that this was our last game in Belk Arena. We’ve been playing there for so long; why should we expect it to end now? “It’s very surreal,” says KJ. “I can’t believe I’m a senior!” Also, we both figure that our season is far from over at this point. We want to go deep into postseason play; KJ says she thinks we’ll be playing for a long time. “I’m excited to see where that takes us.”
All in all, it was a very special night. Thank you to everyone who made it so wonderful! We’re traveling this weekend, so we’ll spend the week preparing for Chattanooga and Samford, our last two regular-season games. More later!
February 24, 2012
It’s 1:21 PM Friday. We’re on the bus to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Just drove through Asheville, where we stopped for lunch at a Texas Roadhouse – and where we’ll be in a week for the SoCon tournament!!!!! We can’t wait – but we’ve got a couple things to take care of before we go: UT-Chattanooga, at 5 pm ET Saturday, and Samford (Birmingham, Ala.), at 8 pm ET Monday. Both games are on the road. Both are huge in terms of seeding for the tournament. If we win both, we’ll get the #1 seed. If we don’t win both – and depending on how a couple other top teams do this weekend – we could get a #2, behind Appalachian State. Obviously we want the top seed, because that would make us regular-season conference champions. Also, if we get a 2 seed, we’ll play at the same time as the men in our first game of the tournament – no fun for anyone if we have to split the fans!
Because it’s a long drive to Tennessee (5 hours and 33 minutes, according to our itinerary), and because we wanted to practice on Chatt’s court today, we missed classes and left at 10 am. We’ll miss class on Monday, too. Most of our professors are really accommodating when this happens. Our administrative assistant, Terry Gilliland, gives us letters to hand them at the beginning of the semester, specifying which class days we’ll be out of town. As long as we hand in our assignments ahead of time or e-mail them from the road, we can usually stay on top of things. Plus, my teammates are all such good students that everyone plans ahead and gets all their work done. J Lots of people are working on the bus. Some are playing games on their phones – everyone’s really into “Scramble with Friends” right now. Others are napping or watching Moneyball, which someone must have brought. I’ve never seen it, and I’ve got headphones in, but it’s been enjoyable just watching Brad Pitt move around the screen.
Speaking of staying on top of homework, I’d better do that. Wish us luck this weekend! I’ll update again next week.
Peace, Whitney Houston, and the beginning of a good road trip –
Otto
February 20, 2012
Just wanted to thank everyone who came out on Saturday for our game against Appalachian State. It was the most fun I’ve had playing in Belk Arena probably in my whole career. The men had a great atmosphere for their game vs. #24 Wichita State, and more fans than we expected stuck around for our half of the doubleheader. It was a competitive game in front of an awesome crowd, and with the win, we moved into first place in the Southern Conference!
Tonight was Senior Night. We played Wofford, which beat us in January, so we were eager for revenge. The fire worked in our favor as we pulled out the win, 63-39. Before the game, our freshmen decorated the locker room for KJ (Kristen Johnsen) and me, and I’m convinced that they should all go into careers in interior design. It looked SO good! They got tons of red balloons, black and white streamers, and made us posters. After all that, how could we not play well? Postgame, we had a little reception in the Hall of Fame room for our families, friends, and loyal fans from The Pines retirement community. President Quillen, Jim Murphy, and Katy McNay were there, and so was almost everyone who has taken care of us these four years. There was also cake. Lots and lots of cake – my roommates and I have been eating it all week…
Neither KJ nor I did very much crying that night. Okay, okay – KJ didn’t cry at all. (I may or may not have burst into tears when my teammates gave me their present, pictures in a frame with the “I Will Always Love You” lyrics printed on top.) Both of us feel the same way – mostly, it simply hasn’t hit us yet that this was our last game in Belk Arena. We’ve been playing there for so long; why should we expect it to end now? “It’s very surreal,” says KJ. “I can’t believe I’m a senior!” Also, we both figure that our season is far from over at this point. We want to go deep into postseason play; KJ says she thinks we’ll be playing for a long time. “I’m excited to see where that takes us.”
All in all, it was a very special night. Thank you to everyone who made it so wonderful! We’re traveling this weekend, so we’ll spend the week preparing for Chattanooga and Samford, our last two regular-season games. More later!
February 24, 2012
It’s 1:21 PM Friday. We’re on the bus to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Just drove through Asheville, where we stopped for lunch at a Texas Roadhouse – and where we’ll be in a week for the SoCon tournament!!!!! We can’t wait – but we’ve got a couple things to take care of before we go: UT-Chattanooga, at 5 pm ET Saturday, and Samford (Birmingham, Ala.), at 8 pm ET Monday. Both games are on the road. Both are huge in terms of seeding for the tournament. If we win both, we’ll get the #1 seed. If we don’t win both – and depending on how a couple other top teams do this weekend – we could get a #2, behind Appalachian State. Obviously we want the top seed, because that would make us regular-season conference champions. Also, if we get a 2 seed, we’ll play at the same time as the men in our first game of the tournament – no fun for anyone if we have to split the fans!
Because it’s a long drive to Tennessee (5 hours and 33 minutes, according to our itinerary), and because we wanted to practice on Chatt’s court today, we missed classes and left at 10 am. We’ll miss class on Monday, too. Most of our professors are really accommodating when this happens. Our administrative assistant, Terry Gilliland, gives us letters to hand them at the beginning of the semester, specifying which class days we’ll be out of town. As long as we hand in our assignments ahead of time or e-mail them from the road, we can usually stay on top of things. Plus, my teammates are all such good students that everyone plans ahead and gets all their work done. J Lots of people are working on the bus. Some are playing games on their phones – everyone’s really into “Scramble with Friends” right now. Others are napping or watching Moneyball, which someone must have brought. I’ve never seen it, and I’ve got headphones in, but it’s been enjoyable just watching Brad Pitt move around the screen.
Speaking of staying on top of homework, I’d better do that. Wish us luck this weekend! I’ll update again next week.
Peace, Whitney Houston, and the beginning of a good road trip –
Otto
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Individual
By Sarah Fisher
Before diving into my blog entry, I’d first like to congratulate both the women’s and men’s basketball teams for their enormously successful seasons thus far and I can’t wait to see they do next. For those that can attend, the women have their senior night tonight (2/20) and the men play at home on Thursday (2/23), I’ll be there if you want a watching companion. Congratulations to our men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams as well for their success at CCSA’s last week.
Now about individuals…
One of my favorite things about spring is the opportunity to have one-on-one time with our coaches. Ginny and Catherine, for those of you who don’t know, are not only knowledgeable, caring, and intense coaches; they are also incredibly talented field hockey players. Catherine was voted both a captain and team MVP her senior season at Villanova and Ginny was a captain her senior season at William and Mary and selected to the NFHCA Division I North/South Senior All-Star Team. To no one’s surprise, they haven’t lost their athletic abilities. Ginny is currently training for a marathon, so she heads up our long distance runs and Catherine loves to coordinate sprint drills (ever heard of a football 200s? We hadn’t until Catherine came along). In addition to their excellent physical strength, agility, and speed, they haven’t lost their touch on the ball. There is some satisfaction that coincides with the understanding that when Ginny or Catherine sets up a stick work drill or shooting pattern, they can first demonstrate it or when they tell me or Carolyn (my fellow goalie partner in crime) that they are going to aim for the upper 90s of the cage, they can in fact hit the top corners with power and accuracy.
Individuals have been running for three weeks now and I think each DCFH member has been benefiting from them. Carolyn and I have been conquering footwork drills, mastering the angles of the cage, and saving lots and lots of shots (which is why I personally love individuals). The field players have been perfecting passing and receiving, improving their hitting form, and tweaking their defensive stances. Individuals might be most beneficial for the DCFH freshmen. Since we are a fall sport, our freshmen are taken for a wild ride and thrown into the mix of the team. In the spring, they have the time to improve as individual players and truly get used to the stylistic differences between Division I field hockey and their previous high school experience. Every player gets better as an individual player in the spring which contributes to the team as a whole getting better.
This past Wednesday was our first team practice out on the turf together. While it wasn’t the prettiest hockey we’ve ever played, we can only go up from here. With every mistake made we have the time to stop, reflect on it, and correct it. With every excellent pull, shot, or save, we have the time to stop, praise it, and explain why it was so good. We each get the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the team what we’ve been working on individually with Ginny and Catherine and then see how it fits in with the rest of the team.
I’m not too sure what’s up next, but I’ll make it a good one.
Until then, I hope to see you at a basketball game.
-Fish
 |
| DCFH with some all-star swimmers and divers, who are by far the best ball boys any field hockey program could have. Thanks again guys! |
Now about individuals…
One of my favorite things about spring is the opportunity to have one-on-one time with our coaches. Ginny and Catherine, for those of you who don’t know, are not only knowledgeable, caring, and intense coaches; they are also incredibly talented field hockey players. Catherine was voted both a captain and team MVP her senior season at Villanova and Ginny was a captain her senior season at William and Mary and selected to the NFHCA Division I North/South Senior All-Star Team. To no one’s surprise, they haven’t lost their athletic abilities. Ginny is currently training for a marathon, so she heads up our long distance runs and Catherine loves to coordinate sprint drills (ever heard of a football 200s? We hadn’t until Catherine came along). In addition to their excellent physical strength, agility, and speed, they haven’t lost their touch on the ball. There is some satisfaction that coincides with the understanding that when Ginny or Catherine sets up a stick work drill or shooting pattern, they can first demonstrate it or when they tell me or Carolyn (my fellow goalie partner in crime) that they are going to aim for the upper 90s of the cage, they can in fact hit the top corners with power and accuracy.
 |
| This photo is from our Halloween practice this past fall. We have a tradition of dressing up for practice every Halloween and we really take it seriously. From left to right, we have Catherine, Pam (our fabulous athletic trainer), and Ginny. They were cast members of the Jersey Shore. |
Individuals have been running for three weeks now and I think each DCFH member has been benefiting from them. Carolyn and I have been conquering footwork drills, mastering the angles of the cage, and saving lots and lots of shots (which is why I personally love individuals). The field players have been perfecting passing and receiving, improving their hitting form, and tweaking their defensive stances. Individuals might be most beneficial for the DCFH freshmen. Since we are a fall sport, our freshmen are taken for a wild ride and thrown into the mix of the team. In the spring, they have the time to improve as individual players and truly get used to the stylistic differences between Division I field hockey and their previous high school experience. Every player gets better as an individual player in the spring which contributes to the team as a whole getting better.
This past Wednesday was our first team practice out on the turf together. While it wasn’t the prettiest hockey we’ve ever played, we can only go up from here. With every mistake made we have the time to stop, reflect on it, and correct it. With every excellent pull, shot, or save, we have the time to stop, praise it, and explain why it was so good. We each get the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the team what we’ve been working on individually with Ginny and Catherine and then see how it fits in with the rest of the team.
I’m not too sure what’s up next, but I’ll make it a good one.
Until then, I hope to see you at a basketball game.
-Fish
 |
| The current DCFH juniors dressed up as the starting 5 basketball players for Halloween two years ago. My dad was a stand in Coach McKillop (though no one could ever stand in for him) and this photo was a part of our skit where coach was giving us a motivational pep talk. A big thank you to the basketball team for lending us their shoes, shorts and jerseys for the day! |
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Big Games Ahead
By Amanda Ottaway
February 15, 2012
Hey people!
So sorry I’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately – things are crazy around here! We just finished a stretch where we had five games in ten days, and we’ve been busy scouting and playing, traveling, rehabbing, eating, scouting, and playing. Oh, and going to class and doing our homework, of course. ;)
I wanted to shoot y’all a quick update before our busy weekend. Last night, I went on a wonderful Valentine’s date. My thirteen Valentines made it a very special evening! We worked out together, got the endorphins going, had some fun, and then ate pizza and watched TV. (Translation: We played at UNCG, won, then ate postgame meal on the bus ride home.) Special report: we got to see Alex Thompson ’10 (A.T.), who is in grad school at Greensboro and managed to make it to our game. It was such a treat to catch up a little with her and hear about her life beyond basketball – she’s doing wonderfully, and we miss her very much!
So today was a relaxing off day before tough games on Saturday and Monday. In other news, we only have FOUR GAMES left in the regular season! Where did February go?!...
These four are big games, though. All of them will be tough – we’ve got App State and Wofford (conference loss #1) at home, then Chatt and Samford (conference loss #2) on the road. I just got back from a film session in the Union with a couple of teammates. We watched the film of the first time we played the Mountaineers, in Boone. At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, we’ll battle App. here in Davidson for first place in the SoCon. We’re their only conference loss this season – they’re first in the league and we’re second – so it’s definitely going to be an EXCELLENT game. Saturday’s shaping up to be a pretty fun day in Belk Arena, actually – at noon, the men play #24 Wichita State on ESPN2 in their BracketBuster game, and then we follow with our one-two matchup! We’d better see you at both; it doesn’t get any better than that, folks!!
Monday, Wofford, is (gosh) Senior Night. I’m not going to comment on that right now, because I’m still in denial that it’s actually gonna happen. In my head, KJ and I are still freshmen. More to come on the aging crisis later.
OK, well, I have to go now. My roommates keep piling Valentine candy on my lap and I’m finding it difficult to type. Also, there’s that whole chocolate-fingerprints-on-the-keyboard thing going on. Also, we have weights at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning with Coach Rowan, so it’s almost bedtime. I promise I shall write again soon, my friends!
To doubleheaders, pizza, and free iPads (come to our game Saturday and you can win one!) –
-Otto
February 15, 2012
Hey people!
So sorry I’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately – things are crazy around here! We just finished a stretch where we had five games in ten days, and we’ve been busy scouting and playing, traveling, rehabbing, eating, scouting, and playing. Oh, and going to class and doing our homework, of course. ;)
I wanted to shoot y’all a quick update before our busy weekend. Last night, I went on a wonderful Valentine’s date. My thirteen Valentines made it a very special evening! We worked out together, got the endorphins going, had some fun, and then ate pizza and watched TV. (Translation: We played at UNCG, won, then ate postgame meal on the bus ride home.) Special report: we got to see Alex Thompson ’10 (A.T.), who is in grad school at Greensboro and managed to make it to our game. It was such a treat to catch up a little with her and hear about her life beyond basketball – she’s doing wonderfully, and we miss her very much!
So today was a relaxing off day before tough games on Saturday and Monday. In other news, we only have FOUR GAMES left in the regular season! Where did February go?!...
These four are big games, though. All of them will be tough – we’ve got App State and Wofford (conference loss #1) at home, then Chatt and Samford (conference loss #2) on the road. I just got back from a film session in the Union with a couple of teammates. We watched the film of the first time we played the Mountaineers, in Boone. At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, we’ll battle App. here in Davidson for first place in the SoCon. We’re their only conference loss this season – they’re first in the league and we’re second – so it’s definitely going to be an EXCELLENT game. Saturday’s shaping up to be a pretty fun day in Belk Arena, actually – at noon, the men play #24 Wichita State on ESPN2 in their BracketBuster game, and then we follow with our one-two matchup! We’d better see you at both; it doesn’t get any better than that, folks!!
Monday, Wofford, is (gosh) Senior Night. I’m not going to comment on that right now, because I’m still in denial that it’s actually gonna happen. In my head, KJ and I are still freshmen. More to come on the aging crisis later.
OK, well, I have to go now. My roommates keep piling Valentine candy on my lap and I’m finding it difficult to type. Also, there’s that whole chocolate-fingerprints-on-the-keyboard thing going on. Also, we have weights at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning with Coach Rowan, so it’s almost bedtime. I promise I shall write again soon, my friends!
To doubleheaders, pizza, and free iPads (come to our game Saturday and you can win one!) –
-Otto
Monday, February 6, 2012
Music is My Teammate
By Sarah Fisher
Something DCFH is never without is good music. We are big fans of locker room dance parties, weekend night dance parties, victory dances, and workout dances. I’m pretty sure our team could out dance any group on campus; we have had break dancers, Irish jig-ers, ballerinas, and just your average I-like-to-think-I-dancers. Since we are currently persevering through the many miles that are our Monday long runs, Tuesday spin sessions, and Friday boot camps, we each have created a custom playlist of running music to get us to the finish line as fast as we can get there.
Personally, I enjoy showering, humming, and yes, even running to show tunes. I am madly in love with musical theatre. I’m slowly convincing the rest of DCFH that there is nothing better than the tunes of Anything Goes, Oklahoma!, or Les Miserables. When show tunes aren’t giving me the push I need, I turn to the modern, real-life prima donna that is the phenomenon of Adele. I love her. DCFH loves her. The world loves her.
However, I do understand, that my particular musical preferences are rather odd and aren’t what the vast majority of my team would choose to listen to. One of my goals for the DCFH blog is to make it less of an individualized perspective and get the team involved. So, for this blog post, I asked the team to submit some of their favorite pump up running songs and here’s what I got:
Better Than Her - (Matisse ft Akon)
Good Feelin - Avicii remix
Without You - David Guetta
Stronger - Kanye West
My Body - Young the Giant
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
Fade Into Darkness - Avicii
I Like How it Feels - Enrique Iglesias
White Panda
Anything - Rihanna
She Ain't You - Chris Brown
Not Over You - Gavin Degraw
Black or White - Michael Jackson
I'll Be Waiting - Adele
Chris Mann - L.O.V.E.
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - Skrillex
Avicii - Levels
For You - Time Flies
Hair - Lady Gaga
Along with her song submission, our head coach, Ginny Turner, sent in a blurb about her running playlist:
As Ginny highlighted, our field hockey careers have been surrounded by music and underscores some major team events. It gets us through workouts, multi-hour bus rides, and is an ingredient of a great time.
That’s all for now. Next up, “The Individual.”
Until then enjoy listening to your own playlist,
Fish
 |
Some of DCFH dancing the night away at our coach’s
summer wedding.
|
Something DCFH is never without is good music. We are big fans of locker room dance parties, weekend night dance parties, victory dances, and workout dances. I’m pretty sure our team could out dance any group on campus; we have had break dancers, Irish jig-ers, ballerinas, and just your average I-like-to-think-I-dancers. Since we are currently persevering through the many miles that are our Monday long runs, Tuesday spin sessions, and Friday boot camps, we each have created a custom playlist of running music to get us to the finish line as fast as we can get there.
 |
DCFH’s Tuesday spin session in Baker Sports Complex.
|
Personally, I enjoy showering, humming, and yes, even running to show tunes. I am madly in love with musical theatre. I’m slowly convincing the rest of DCFH that there is nothing better than the tunes of Anything Goes, Oklahoma!, or Les Miserables. When show tunes aren’t giving me the push I need, I turn to the modern, real-life prima donna that is the phenomenon of Adele. I love her. DCFH loves her. The world loves her.
However, I do understand, that my particular musical preferences are rather odd and aren’t what the vast majority of my team would choose to listen to. One of my goals for the DCFH blog is to make it less of an individualized perspective and get the team involved. So, for this blog post, I asked the team to submit some of their favorite pump up running songs and here’s what I got:
Better Than Her - (Matisse ft Akon)
Good Feelin - Avicii remix
Without You - David Guetta
Stronger - Kanye West
My Body - Young the Giant
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
Fade Into Darkness - Avicii
I Like How it Feels - Enrique Iglesias
White Panda
Anything - Rihanna
She Ain't You - Chris Brown
Not Over You - Gavin Degraw
Black or White - Michael Jackson
I'll Be Waiting - Adele
Chris Mann - L.O.V.E.
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - Skrillex
Avicii - Levels
For You - Time Flies
Hair - Lady Gaga
Along with her song submission, our head coach, Ginny Turner, sent in a blurb about her running playlist:
I had a hard time choosing two songs. I would say about 90% of my running play list (everything on my shuffle right now) has at one time or another been on a DCFH warm-up mix, been on repeat in a van, used in a end of the year video or blared out of the locker room for months at a time. Every song reminds me of a certain season, a crazy away trip or really just the excitement that builds before every game. It is awesome to be running and all of a sudden reminded of something that happened 5 years ago on the team and then with the next song remember the spin we had last week where people were trying to sing and spin at the same time (never a good idea). I always pick up the pace and get a little rush of energy when I think about this team and the awesome things we have and we will accomplish. So with that said it’s hard to pick two songs, but they are:
1. Marchin On (feat. OneRepublic) by Timbaland
2. Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap
As Ginny highlighted, our field hockey careers have been surrounded by music and underscores some major team events. It gets us through workouts, multi-hour bus rides, and is an ingredient of a great time.
That’s all for now. Next up, “The Individual.”
Until then enjoy listening to your own playlist,
Fish
Friday, February 3, 2012
As Promised: Training Room Day!
 |
| Brian Wheeler keeps the 'Cats on the court. |
Wednesday, February 1
It’s 3 p.m., and the training room is PACKED. Division of the day starts at 4:30, so athletes from all sports are in getting their pre-practice treatment and rehabbing every injury from torn ACLs to ingrown toenails to dislocated fingers. Our practice time is scheduled for 4 today, and about half of us arrive an hour ahead of time to get ready. P.S. – Are you a Davidson outsider and perhaps unfamiliar with this “Division of the Day” lingo? Luckily for you, Davidson people like to explain things: In order to maximize both student and athlete potential, official class hours run from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is when we (student-athletes) belong to our professors. Before (eek!) and after those hours, we belong to our coaches. When everybody respects division of the day, you don’t get as many student-athletes missing class for practice and vice versa, and coaches and professors don’t get into any fistfights. Time conflicts still happen on occasion, but overall it’s an effective policy. (And I was just kidding about the fistfights. But the professors would totally win.)
Anyways, so everybody who doesn’t have class at 3 p.m. is in the training room. Like, everybody. Football, lacrosse, field hockey, cross-country, basketball, soccer. Every table has an athlete on top of it. The big great new hot and cold tubs are splashing with chattering lacrosse players and runners. Davidson athletic trainers Gerry, Beth, and Brian (our guy), and several UNC-Charlotte students (athletic trainers in training) are bustling around stretching people, teaching them exercises, and applying ultrasound and ice-compression and electric stim treatments.
Hannah is doing some rehab exercises in the backroom to strengthen the leg muscles around her knee. Soph comes in to fill up her water bottle. I begin my own rehab exercises. By 3:30, things have calmed down a bit. Shannon (Eriksson, freshman guard) crutches in. She had surgery right before Christmas. She says she’s “feelin’ good” today, because she might get to put 50% of her weight on her injured leg for the first time! Barb, who took a knee to the thigh in the Furman game, gimps to a table. She said she’s feeling a lot better, too, and she seems to be thoroughly enjoying her “limp swag.” Jess, Brian’s student-assistant, applies stim and heat to what she calls the “contusion” on B’s leg (some medical jargon for you). Kat is sprawled on another table with a heating pad. Laura naps on a table with heat. Peaches (who’s actually Sarah, in case you forgot) comes strolling in, and B calls her out – “Peaches looks like she just woke up!” Sarah scowls and shoots back, “I’m coming from class!” (Peaches is a great student. We promise.) She heads for the warm bath to heat her foot.
“Aw man, why can’t I go in the hot tub?” whines Barb.
Jess laughs. “Uh, because you have electricity on you.”
“If you went into the hot tub right now you’d light up like a Christmas tree!” Soph adds, helpfully.
Lillian, who’s in here filling up her water bottle, goes up to Brian. “I just wanted to apologize for saying I hated you while I was in the ice tub last week,” she tells him earnestly, because Lil is a very earnest sort of person. “I don’t actually hate you.”
Brian knows this. He’s well aware of the ice-bath phenomenon that makes the cheerfulness of his athletes drop accordingly with their body temperatures. He laughs.
Mel (Giegerich, freshman forward) brings her water bottle to the sink. “Kat, let’s chat,” she says. “How was your day?” Kat launches into a story about her bike. The chain had broken that morning, and Kat left the bike outside Chambers while she was in class, planning to walk it to the bike shop on Main Street afterwards. But when she came out, the chain was magically fixed! One of the more beautiful parts of Davidson – the mysterious bike-fixing fairies. (She’d like to say thank you, if you’re reading this, bike fairy.) Mel braids her hair. She calls this process “taming the mane.” Why? Ask Brian. “’Cause she’s got the hair of a lion,” he informs us.
On that ferocious note, we’re all about to head up to the court. This is as healthy as we’re gonna get (knock on wood), and the practice players are coming at 4 p.m.. We’ve got a big road trip coming up this weekend – College of Charleston Saturday, and Georgia Southern on Monday. Bus pulls out Friday evening at 5:30 – I’ll be sure to keep you updated! Go ‘Cats!!
Love, ice baths, road trips, and Super Bowls,
Otto
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