Friday March 6, 2015 (Asst. Coach Sweeney)
1:45pm - Snow has been on the ground for weeks, falling as recently as last night, and we are getting ready to start our "Spring" Break travel of the 2015 season. This year we will be loading up the Men on a coach bus for an old school road trip to play games in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. Before we kick off the first leg, we have a quick practice on the friendly confines of Katz Field to tighten up a few screws.
3:45pm – After a very successful practice to get the week off on the right foot, the guys are scurrying to get the last of their bags packed and loaded onto the bus. The debate over which movie to watch first is already starting. It looks like a war movie will be first up, final vote is between Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart. The guys have good taste in movies!
8:00pm – We have reached the first pit stop: dinner at Bertucci's in Danbury, CT. The guys are excited for "all you can eat" pizza, pasta, and salad. Little did the kitchen staff know, our Men can eat! The pasta bowls lasted 15 seconds after they were put down at the tables, and the pizzas had no chance. Just as everyone was finishing up, we had our first "birthday surprise" of the week as the great staff at Bertucci's brought out cake and a candle to sing Happy Birthday to senior Dan Martin (his actual birthday is 11/30).
10:00pm – Everyone full, and loaded back on the bus for the final stretch to Scranton, PA. Next movie up is Caddy Shack. After 20 minutes, the laughter turns to snoring as most of the guys are feeling the effects of a calorie overload.
12:30am (Saturday) - We arrived at the hotel just after midnight, and everyone has settled into their rooms and is quickly winding down after a successful start to the trip. A late breakfast is scheduled for tomorrow, and the attitude will change as we ready ourselves for the first bit of business to take care of: Keystone College. Game time is 6pm at the University of Scranton.
Saturday March 7, 2015 (Freshman Defenseman, Jack Boillotat)
Today is the first day of actual lacrosse on our trip and it was great to have all the boys get up and ready for the game.
10:00am – Once all the boys got up for breakfast, we met in the hotel meeting room for what we call "breaky with the boys". Our hotel served a great meal for us including eggs, sausage, and hash browns to assure that we had the energy we need to play at our best. After breakfast all of the boys were able to relax for a little bit which was much needed after arriving late last night.
2:00pm – After hanging with the boys it was time to get serious and start thinking about our game and what we need to do in order get a W against Keystone College later in the day. In order to work on our weaknesses we gathered in the hotel meeting room to go over film of our previous game against Johnson and Wales University. This was much needed film to go over because there were many "little mistakes" that the team needed to work on. We went over everything from our slide packages to man-up and man-down. After film we were treated to lunch: delicious subs from a local sandwich shop. Even though they had vegetables, which I highly dislike, they were essential for our gameplay later in the day. Once finishing film and lunch all the boys were sent to our rooms to get dressed and ready for the game in our all black swag daddy uniforms.
6:00pm – Our game started at a great time because it was as if the "lax gods where looking down on us" according to Junior midfielder Tim McNair. The sun was just setting, making it the perfect background for a lacrosse game. There is no better way to say it, our start was terrible. But we turned it around real quick after recuperating with Coach Murphy during a couple early time outs. Once we got into the groove of the game all of us really came together and managed to pull ahead from Keystone's two goal lead to finish with a 13-2 win. This was only our second game, but I really noticed today that once we work together as a team we can overcome adversity.
8:30pm – Upon arriving back at the hotel all the boys got to relax by going for a swim and a dip in the hot tub, followed by Domino's pizza which was much needed. We are through our first full day on our 2015 Spring Break trip and we are already coming together as a team. Playing together and being around each other for 24 hours is starting to bring out the strengths in our program.
10:45pm – Bed checks and blogging. Day one finished, and a W in our first game. I know that if our team keeps our heads in it, this Spring Break will only show what Curry College Men's Lacrosse can do.
