Below, Eric shares his experience of coming back to SC!!!
Seven or eight years ago my family and I, together, made the two-hour drive up to Middletown from DC. For the past two years, I have been making the drive myself. Although the drive has changed a little, (Middletown now has a Wal-Mart, etc.) the one constant that remains is the nervous energy that builds in my stomach as I turn onto Silver Lake road just a mile away or so from the St. Andrews.
I arrive a little after lunch Friday afternoon and although it’s siesta time, the SC student-athletes can be seen practicing dance moves for the grand finale of color wars later that evening. The white team, led by coaches L. Caldwell, Hartheimer, Weinfield, Polykoff, Griffith, McGarvey, Garcia, Hare, Barrera and Garcia appear to be in organized chaos. As Coach Polykoff shows off his impressive moves from “Thriller”, a handful of people are gathered doing the Soulja Boy and student-athletes Sean Brown and Malcolm Williams practice singing their duet for Coach Koster, a judge for the performance.
Shortly before 3 p.m. the teams break up for an intensive two and a half hour afternoon of Athletics. As I enter the gym to begin my volunteer task of taking pics, I find myself immediately wanting to jump in with the girls program for a game of dribble tag but have to remind myself to keep my lens focused. The girls work on their shooting form in small groups as Coaches Drury, Griffith, Carden, Garcia, JP and Gomez walk around to critique and encourage.
After satisfying my basketball fix, I make my way out to the pitch. The boys soccer program immediately catches my attention as soccer balls fly from side to side across the row of tennis courts as part of a “soccer tennis” tournament set up by Coaches Dean, Gonzalez, Weinfield, Nolan, Barrera, A. Galvan and C. Galvan. Directly adjacent to them, the girls are running around playing a game called “haveit” where the object of the game is to literally try and run circles around your teammates, accruing points for each lap, while the other team passes the ball between their legs and over their heads as quickly as possible. Coaches Gibson, Roberts, Arenberg, Caldwell, Hare and Holle look on, encourage and keep tally while Coach Schirmeister runs full speed with one of the teams all the while encouraging at the top of her lungs.
The sun sets as the student-athletes filter into the cafeteria for some suppertime nourishment and last minute preparations for SportsChallenge’s version of America’s Best Dance Crew. By 8:05 the auditorium is overflowing with energy and excitement as the performances begin. A Journey remake, drag queen Lady GaGa, break dancing, and three incredible a capella performances highlight the night as the white team and their MJ moves take home the gold. After the show, it’s off to bed, for some much needed sleep before another long day.
By seven a.m. the student-athletes have lined the court for morning an agility, strength and conditioning workout aptly named “Vitamins” for the SC athlete. They fly through it with quickness and determination and carry the energy straight into two Athletic sessions and leadership class for the day.
In the afternoon, I make way to the basketball courts where coaches McGarvey, Roach, Shay, Grell, Deasey, Hyde and Polykoff are leading the boys program through a couple drills before their playoff tournament to decide who will be crowned the 2010 SC champion. Each game is intense and well fought but Team Paparazi led by Coach Deasey rises to the occasion to claim victory in the Championship game. Tired and exhausted after a second long day, I try to relax before waking up to say goodbye to one more summer at SC.
The quality of learning, character building, athletic training, and fun that I experienced over the past two days has been a constant fixture over the eight years I have known SC. It is as constant as the nervous energy I will get next year when I make the drive again.
-Eric Schlein
No comments:
Post a Comment