Day 7 – Final training and play in Arizona
By John and Cagefree:
After our usual 7:15 am breakfast and 8:15 run, we began the final day of training in Arizona. We split up into two groups, the guys focusing on strategy and coaching in match play, while the girls did the last Patti’s fitness session of the trip. After a tearful farewell to Patti (who flew back to Philadelphia today to receive an award!), we switched groups and the men were dismayed at the instructions left to them, intended to produce knee breaking pain. After lunch, a group of students went to the Hohokam Museum in Phoenix, while the rest relaxed and prepared for the evening matches. At 4:00 we all met back at the courts for our final bout with the locals. Although the official score remains a mystery, we all came out as winners. As the last matches were finishing up, the players enjoyed a pizza feast, graciously provided by the Lifetime fitness members. With a few final goodbyes, good luck wishes from Gary and Tina, and Sneed and Lako’s loving embrace, we rode our squash racquets into the setting sun, preparing for our Journey to the East.
Day 6 – Training, culture and relaxation
By Mary and Kar-Anne:
We began the day with another long long run along the narrow roads of Guadalupe. Many women chose to go to the club to pursue other activities, such as biking, using the elliptical or the treadmill.
The world seemed much too tough after many arduous training sessions. But then, Patti (our saviour) proposed a wonderfully therapeutic water workout. We hopped and bopped across the pool, drawing many stares from onlookers. We had a blast. We also played some squash.
After lunch, we split up into two groups. The first group delivered some rather fetching toy boats to the Head Start program. Raheem bonded with the children, and soon the air was filled with laughter as both Wesleyan students and Head Start children chuckled away.
The second group went to the Pueblo Grande museum in Phoenix where we explored the Hohokam civilization. They seemed very advanced; there was a ball court! The weather was lovely.
By Cam and Ethan:
We started off the morning with our usual run to the squash courts. The men first worked with Patti doing a relaxing pool workout, and then drilled with Shona until lunch time. The team ate lunch outside of the club, and then split into 2 groups — one headed to the Pueblo Grande Museum and the other to help with the Headstart program. Due to a mixup (which took us on a tour through downtown Phoenix), we were only able to drop off toys for the kids at the headstart program. The team then headed back to the hotel for some tanning and pool time, before splitting up and heading to the movies. Cool! After the movie, each room cooked before hanging out in the 3-2-1. We watched some TV before everyone headed off for bed, getting ready for our last day of squash in AZ. Double cool.
Day 5 – Training and rematch with Arizona’s finest
By Nell and Rosa:
The women’s team started off the morning with the 2.7 mile run to the club. Liza and Danielle made it there in record time, whilst others took their time. Nevertheless, the team persevered.
In the morning, we learned the not-so-ancient but very grueling art of Tabata, a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout, under the warm-ish Arizona sun with Patti. Tabata consists of repeated intervals comprising 20 seconds of high-intensity strength or aerobic exercises followed by 10 seconds of rest. The tennis court was soaked in our sweat. After our conditioning training, we headed inside to perfect our high cross-courts and dying length.
In the afternoon, Christina and some of the men’s team went on a tour of the Arizona State University Art Museum, which is famous for its ceramics holdings and research center, as well as its collection of contemporary, mixed media, and regional art. Others (including your scribes) took long, well-deserved naps.
In the evening, both teams returned to the club to play matches against club members. It was an exciting day. Highlights include Nell v. Bill, Ethan v. Garry, and Mary v. Ruben. In between refereeing and playing, team members enjoyed the many amenities the club has to offer. After the matches ended, the inhabitants of room 140 returned to the hotel and cooked French toast, which was delicious. Then we went to bed.
By Ethan:
Today, we woke up for our usual 3 mile run to the club at 8:30. The men’s team worked with Shona first today (joined by team favorite, Gordo), working on length and cross-court drills. We then went out to the tennis courts where Patti took us through a grueling cross-fit workout, draining everyone before coming back to the hotel for lunch.
A small group of us headed to the ASU Art Museum for a bit of culture. This museum had a variety of exhibits, including post-modern work, mixed media, and ceramics. The other group, meanwhile, hung out at the hotel pool to get their tan on, and headed over early for some afternoon matches with the club players. The museum group then joined in on the match play, facing up against club members. The highlight match included a battle between John and Guy, two wesquash titans. The team then headed home for dinner and some much-needed sleep.
By Dan:
Today we ran approximately 3 miles to the squash courts; to be honest, after one day of intense fitness, I already feel some improvement. I had some hard fought matches against my teammates, which are always tough, but in the end, we realize that our team improvement is most important. I watched as John won both of his matches today by imposing his style of play on his opponents. He is an exciting player to watch, and I know my squash game will benefit with his presence.
After a long day, we went to Walmart to stock up on supplies for the week. My roommates (Guy and Blair) and I have placed a lot of faith in Jason’s cooking abilities for a good meal by buying a lot of his needed food supplies. If my stomach is quivering tomorrow, I am blaming him. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. Boy, I love Arizona.
Day 4 – Training, the 6 S’s, frigid water, hike and family dinner
By Mike:
After a refreshing team run to the squash courts this morning, the men
met with club pro Gary to hear his squash philosophies. Although he
covered the physical and tactical aspects of the game thoroughly, his
mental approaches seemed to resonate most with the men. The depth of
his thought, which included various methods of psyching out or
intimidating opponents, as well as pre-match thoughts, helped the men
better understand the significance of the mental component in squash.
When finished with Gary, they had a hard squash session and pool
recovery swim, and then headed back to the hotel for lunch to prepare
for the afternoon hike. Led by the hilarious and popular club hero
Francis, the men challenged themselves to finish the hike quickly, and
the seemingly invincible freshman phenom Guy’s fear of heights served
as a humorous talking point. The teams ended the day with a long team
dinner accompanied by a Wesleyan alumnus and a squash friend from
Tufts. After a relatively relaxed day, the teams will be waking up
tomorrow excited for a full day of squash.
By Claire:
This morning’s run to the club was lacking in participants (likely due to the intensity of Coach Patti’s workout yesterday). The team made it to the courts by 9am, at which point we drilled and received coaching from the club’s Pro, Garry John. He focused on the six “S”’s: Speed, Strength, Stamina, Skill, Strategy, and Spirit.
After squash, we powered through Patti’s infamous abdominal workout without complaining (we had been promised Jacuzzi time upon completion). However, the Jacuzzi alone wasn’t sufficient to soothe our sore muscles, so we alternated between the freezing outdoor pool and the hot tub. Mary was an inspiration to everyone, neck-deep in the freezing pool. A few others followed suit.
We ate a quick lunch before heading to Phoenix to climb Squaw Peak (a 1,175 foot climb over 1.2 miles). “Remember, you have to make it all the way to the top, Francis, our trail guide (and squash player) had warned us. It wasn’t until I was half way up the mountain that I began reciting some of Garry’s stamina tips aloud to myself. Rosa and most of the men’s team set a fast pace; the rest of us scrambled to keep up. At the top we were able to rest a bit and take in the beautiful, 360-degree view of Arizona.
We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, where we were joined by a couple of squash players and the Wesleyan Alum representative for Arizona. We all somehow managed to fit around a giant table; it truly felt like a family dinner.
Day 3 – Training and some team bonding
By Guy:
Sunday morning brought chilly weather and sore legs to the Wesleyan squash team. As always, the day started with breakfast at the hotel and a 2.7-mile run to the club. However, this morning the men’s and women’s teams split up and did team Indian runs (the person in back sprints to the front). As painful as this was for many of us, it was a great warm up for a very difficult day. At the club, the men’s team got on court first, splitting up into groups of three and drilling for about an hour and a half. After this, we all thought out legs were dead. A long workout led by coach Patti showed us what dead legs really felt like. Exhausted, our team retreated to the hotel to eat lunch outside, and let our legs recover while watching some playoff football. Some players returned to the club and enjoyed the pool (and water slide), before the big event of the afternoon – the Phoenix Suns game. Both of our teams piled into the vans and departed to watch the Grizzlies pound the Suns.
Back at the hotel, Jason once again came through and made a great dinner that hopefully will help fuel us for another tough but fun-filled day tomorrow.
Lunch at the hotel after a productive morning
Two-sport standout, Mike, gets some pitching practice in over lunch with women’s captain, Grace.
Day 2 – Tournament Continues, sun is shining and food to be prepared
By Raheem:
Today we ran approximately 3 miles to the squash courts; to be honest, after one day of intense fitness, I already feel some improvement. I had some hard fought matches against my teammates, which are always tough, but in the end, we realize that our team improvement is most important. I watched as John won both of his matches today by imposing his style of play on his opponents. He is an exciting player to watch, and I know my squash game will benefit with his presence.
After a long day, we went to Walmart to stock up on supplies for the week. My roommates (Guy and Blair) and I have placed a lot of faith in Jason’s cooking abilities for a good meal by buying a lot of his needed food supplies. If my stomach is quivering tomorrow, I am blaming him. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. Boy, I love Arizona.
Team Zumba workout: Danielle, John and Patti lead the way
By Danielle, Annie and Liza:
We started the day off with the 2.7 mile run to the club from the hotel. At the courts, we resumed the tournament against club members which began yesterday. There were multiple tough five-game matches for teammates and other club members to watch and cheer on. In between matches, we all got a chance to do other small workouts, and relax in the club’s pools and saunas. A few of our teammates even took a dip in the outdoor pool which could not have been much warmer than 40 degrees. The ice bath was much appreciated by our sore muscles and much to the bemusement of any and all Arizona residents and Lifetime Fitness members who walked by. Being from New England, it seems, makes [some of] us much tougher.
Day 1 – Travel and Start of Mini Tournament
By Jason: The Wesleyan Squash team awoke before the break of dawn to begin our training trip to Arizona. The team navigated through the airport excited to start our trip off right. As a Freshman this is my first time coming on the Arizona training trip, and after a winter break away from the team I am ready to start training with them again. Before we knew it we were pulling up to our hotel in Arizona. The pleasant weather was a welcome change from the bracing cold back on campus. An hour later we were preparing to go on our daily run from the hotel to the squash courts. We were told that the run was 2.6 miles, the team was apprehensive but ready to shake out our muscles after a long day of traveling. Upon finishing our run we entered the expansive squash facility, walking past the pool, health café, hot tub, gym, and finally the courts. We were met by a friendly group of local squash players excited to see the returning players and to see what us new players could do. We started the first day of our tournament with the local players and our team playing some hard fought games. It was an eventful start to a week of training. By Hannah, Grace and Bridget: We woke up this morning at 3:30 am to begin our trip to Arizona. Everyone made it, including Jenkins. After a bus, two flights, and a car ride we all arrived in Arizona safe and sound (minus Claire’s bag, which is very unfortunate). The travel itself was very uninteresting, everyone fell asleep. Alessio accidentally dropped his tickets through the crack between our first airplane and the terminal, which impressed everyone (the crack was very small). Upon arriving in Arizona Danielle and Hannah eagerly ran outside to start tanning their faces.
Guy v Club Pro, Gary
Bridget fights hard in her first match
After checking into our hotel, the group ran the 2.5/3 miles to the sports club. We all spent the rest of the afternoon playing our first matches in a tournament against the members. Guy had a fantastic 3-2 win against the club pro, Gary, and Danielle had a great five game match. Claire pulled out the “W” in the fifth, proving that equipment doesn’t make the player. Kar-Anne did a bang-up job in her match as well. Now, properly exhausted, we’re hitting the hay and looking forward to tomorrow.
Shona finds new workout for the team tomorrow 
I
Oh, how I miss the team! This look amazing guys. I’m wicked jealous that you guys have Zumba for workouts….Patti, work it!!
Hey Jenny – you’d be proud of your team!
It sounds like another great January in AZ! I wish I could join you, although I don’t miss the van driving. Best wishes for a successful spring. Sincerely, Joe Bruno
Joe – We miss you here! Ana is doing a fabulous job and is also disliking driving the vans
. Many of the Arizona squash players have been asking of you. The teams are training very hard and the leadership quality has been outstanding. We hope to all catch up with you soon.