January 5th 2018
Dear World …
Tatum’ s room’s post.
“The first day of the team trip had an exciting start. Our flight having been delayed four hours, we got a more restful than anticipated night of sleep and then boarded a coach bus to JFK. After dealing with some confusion involving boarding passes, as well as long security lines, we all boarded the flight to San Francisco by the skin of our teeth! Miraculously, our flight was not cancelled– even though the flights before and after ours had been! We settled in at the Sheraton in Palo Alto and then had an efficient team meeting so we could head off to dinner downtown. The team atmosphere is especially full of energy this year given that this is the first team trip for many! Looking forward to this week’s adventures.”
Follow @wesleyansquash on Instagram for updates.
Max and Yahya’s room ..
Today’s journey began with a bright and early departure from the tundra of Wesleyan University. We met up with other members of the team at JFK, and navigated the busy lines of travelers who had been stranded for days due to the bomb cyclone sweeping the eastern seaboard. The heroes of the day were Freshman Natasha Feenstra, Vice-Captain Josh Lane, and Captain Tatum Leclair, who demonstrated exemplary patience and assertiveness in the kiosk assistance line. They secured the boarding passes for the whole team as we sprinted to security, where our squad was separated and forced to literally hop boundaries to stay together. The airplane featured spirited rounds of Texas Hold’em and a mass consumption of cheese and grapes. 6 hours later we touched down in balmy San Francisco and after narrowly avoiding a cataclysmic baggage situation, we boarded the vans commanded by our fearless leaders, Men’s and Women’s Head Coach Shona Kerr and Assistant Coach Ben Shapiro.
Upon arriving at the luxurious Palo Alto Sheraton Hotel, we checked into our rooms and met downstairs for a tone setting meeting with Coach Kerr. From there, we departed to dinner in downtown Palo Alto and discovered a sliders grill with iPads for menus. Delicious.
After stopping by Walgreens to pick some forgotten supplies, we returned back to the hotel for some late-night bonding over the classic board gameSettlers of Catan. Sophomore Premchai Bunsermvicha earned a decisive victory by monopolizing the brick industry and forming an alliance with Sophomore Alex Dreyfus to gain access to his timber port at the indignation of Captain Yahya Ladiwala, who promised to rain fire and fury upon any perpetrators of such brazen collusion. Exhausted, they returned to the rooms for some well-earned rest. Practice is at 8:30 tomorrow morning. See you there.
January 6th
(thank you Sofie’s room)
Friends, Family, Loyal Fans,
Today, we exercised. A lot.
After an early wake-up call and lively team breakfast in the hotel, with full hearts (and full stomachs) we laced up our running shoes and started the mile run to the Stanford squash facility for our first practice of the day.
We were one captain down at the time, with Laila on the last leg of her epic trip to San Francisco. But, fear not! Tatum led us through our first warm-up since mid-December. Coach got us set up with some quality drills for practice, and by the end of the two hours we had gone from rusty potential to sparkling possibility. We walked out of the facility into a perfect day: 58° and bright, warm sun.
Our valiant teammates Laila and Sean finally arrived at the hotel after two days of arduous traveling, and quickly (and understandably took to their beds while the rest of us took to the pool for lunchtime. We spent time soaking up some rays with high hopes of making up for the dark, cold days that we’ve been enduring on the East Coast lately. We ate, we laughed, we swam, some slept. And then, we gathered up as a women’s team to talk goals. We discussed our interpersonal team goals, training and competing goals, lifestyle goals, goals for how we are viewed as a team by others, and goals for the results of our play. It may sound simple, but we the discussion was long and we came up with ideas that will no doubt contribute to the success of our team both competitively and holistically.
The teams then took to the courts for practice number two of the day. While we may have been a little tired, our aforementioned goals for practices were still fresh in our minds. We stepped on court, focused from the very start of our warm-up, and worked hard playing condition games throughout practice. Our heads and hearts were in it – showing, once again, that mental strength is an essential component of training and competing in the Game of Squash.
We are so grateful to have the opportunity to train here in (above freezing) Palo Alto. Thank you to all who helped make it happen, thank you to Coaches Shona Kerr and Ben Shapiro for continuing to make it happen, and thank you for reading.
With Love,
The Wesleyan Women’s Squash Team
P.S. Get regular updates of both teams by following @wesleyansquash on Instagram!
Friends, Family, Loyal Fans,
Today, we exercised. A lot.
After an early wake-up call and lively team breakfast in the hotel, with full hearts (and full stomachs) we laced up our running shoes and started the mile run to the Stanford squash facility for our first practice of the day.
We were one captain down at the time, with Laila on the last leg of her epic trip to San Francisco. But, fear not! Tatum led us through our first warm-up since mid-December. Coach got us set up with some quality drills for practice, and by the end of the two hours we had gone from rusty potential to sparkling possibility. We walked out of the facility into a perfect day: 58° and bright, warm sun.
Our valiant teammates Laila and Sean finally arrived at the hotel after two days of arduous traveling, and quickly (and understandably took to their beds while the rest of us took to the pool for lunchtime. We spent time soaking up some rays with high hopes of making up for the dark, cold days that we’ve been enduring on the East Coast lately. We ate, we laughed, we swam, some slept. And then, we gathered up as a women’s team to talk goals. We discussed our interpersonal team goals, training and competing goals, lifestyle goals, goals for how we are viewed as a team by others, and goals for the results of our play. It may sound simple, but we the discussion was long and we came up with ideas that will no doubt contribute to the success of our team both competitively and holistically.
The teams then took to the courts for practice number two of the day. While we may have been a little tired, our aforementioned goals for practices were still fresh in our minds. We stepped on court, focused from the very start of our warm-up, and worked hard playing condition games throughout practice. Our heads and hearts were in it – showing, once again, that mental strength is an essential component of training and competing in the Game of Squash.
We are so grateful to have the opportunity to train here in (above freezing) Palo Alto. Thank you to all who helped make it happen, thank you to Coaches Shona Kerr and Ben Shapiro for continuing to make it happen, and thank you for reading.
With Love,
The Wesleyan Women’s Squash Team
P.S. Get regular updates of both teams by following @wesleyansquash on Instagram!
From Josh, Sean and Johnny,
Friends, Family, Loyal Fans,
Today, we exercised. A lot.
After an early wake-up call and lively team breakfast in the hotel, with full hearts (and full stomachs) we laced up our running shoes and started the mile run to the Stanford squash facility for our first practice of the day.
We were one captain down at the time, with Laila on the last leg of her epic trip to San Francisco. But, fear not! Tatum led us through our first warm-up since mid-December. Coach got us set up with some quality drills for practice, and by the end of the two hours we had gone from rusty potential to sparkling possibility. We walked out of the facility into a perfect day: 58° and bright, warm sun.
Our valiant teammates Laila and Sean finally arrived at the hotel after two days of arduous traveling, and quickly (and understandably took to their beds while the rest of us took to the pool for lunchtime. We spent time soaking up some rays with high hopes of making up for the dark, cold days that we’ve been enduring on the East Coast lately. We ate, we laughed, we swam, some slept. And then, we gathered up as a women’s team to talk goals. We discussed our interpersonal team goals, training and competing goals, lifestyle goals, goals for how we are viewed as a team by others, and goals for the results of our play. It may sound simple, but we the discussion was long and we came up with ideas that will no doubt contribute to the success of our team both competitively and holistically.
The teams then took to the courts for practice number two of the day. While we may have been a little tired, our aforementioned goals for practices were still fresh in our minds. We stepped on court, focused from the very start of our warm-up, and worked hard playing condition games throughout practice. Our heads and hearts were in it – showing, once again, that mental strength is an essential component of training and competing in the Game of Squash.
We are so grateful to have the opportunity to train here in (above freezing) Palo Alto. Thank you to all who helped make it happen, thank you to Coaches Shona Kerr and Ben Shapiro for continuing to make it happen, and thank you for reading.
With Love,
The Wesleyan Women’s Squash Team
P.S. Get regular updates of both teams by following @wesleyansquash on Instagram!
Another day is coming to a close, and all of us are tired from a hard day of practice. Although our muscles ache, we were all happy to return to the squash courts and do what we do best: work hard.
The day began with a good breakfast and a better run to the courts, which are a little over a mile from our hotel. By 8:30 we were warmed up and raring to go.
Lunch was spent lounging by the pool and soaking up the sun while we could. 58 degrees feels like eighty after narrowly escaping the clutches of a snowstorm. We are all incredibly thankful, to say the least.
After a quick nap, the men’s team met with our assistant coach Ben to set some goals for the rest of the season. Generally, this is seen as sort of a necessary evil of being on a varsity team. Something about this session was different though. Perhaps it was Ben’s approach to the subject or the California sunshine, but the conversation was involved and productive. To be brief: we are hoping to grow together as a team and support each other in every aspect of life at Wesleyan. If we can do that, victory will soon follow.
The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to another hour and a half of practice. This was topped off by a three minute wall sit, a challenge we all took on together. We didn’t grunt and moan for three minutes, however. Instead, we told jokes and stories and kept each other going. It took our minds off the pain, sure, but it really spoke to the dynamic we are trying to develop. At the end of the day, squash is something we share and we love. If we can’t find joy in that then there is something wrong.
Even as I write this we are all chatting and singing and enjoying each other’s company. This is much more than a simple trip to a warmer place. It’s an experience, one colored by laughter, sweat, and a healthy dose of sunshine.
If you’d like to follow our trip in different ways, please check us out on social media! It is run by some of our athletes.
Instagram: @wesleyansquash
Twitter: @wessquash
Wesleyansquash's Weblog 