Bowling Green State University Athletics
A man sells Costa Rican flags and jerseys by the side of the road Wednesday. The women's basketball Falcons will watch Costa Rica's World Cup qualifier as a team Wednesday night
Costa Rica: Day 1
August 12, 2009 | Women's Basketball
A rambling diary of the Falcons' trip to Central America
Hello, Mike Cihon here from the BGSU athletics department, filing a report from Costa Rica, where the women's basketball team is on the first foreign tour in program history. Internet access permitting, we will attempt to file periodic updates on the team's trip to Central America.
The bus pulled out from Anderson Arena at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Aug. 12). Some members of the traveling party tried to catch a few hours of sleep before meeting the bus, while others attempted to pull all-nighters. No matter the method of preparation, the 20 members of the group embarked for Detroit hours before the sun came up.
PHOTO GALLERY - Wednesday, August 12
For the most part, the ride was a quiet one, although the members of the coaching staff conversed in the front of the bus. I'm guessing most, if not all, of the staff pulled all-nighters. I doubt there is a coaching staff anywhere in the world that works harder than Curt Miller, Jennifer Roos, Brandi Poole, Kevin Eckert and Monique Rosati. After a hectic-as-always recruiting period, and 10 days of practices (mostly held in a sweltering Anderson Arena in early August), no one deserves a pleasant trip more than that fivesome.
There are 12 student-athletes on the trip – 10 returnees and two transfers. The rest of the traveling party is happy to have those two transfers, Maggie Hennegan and Tamika Nurse, along for the fun. The two players sat out the 2008-09 season at BGSU due to NCAA transfer rules. They were allowed to practice with the team last year, but were not permitted to travel with the team to road games. More often than not, however, they would make the trips on their own, at their own expense, driving to and from the sites on the day of the games. Finally, Hennegan and Nurse are able to board the bus/plane with their teammates and participate in actual games.
Everyone seemed surprisingly awake and chipper as the Falcons checked in at Detroit Metro at approximately 5:00 a.m. The flights were uneventful, and the trip from Detroit to San Jose went smoothly. The team checked into the hotel at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. BGSU time), and soon after crossed an incredibly busy street to have lunch in the food court at a mall. Several players and coaches had food from places with exotic names, like Subway. But, others actually ventured out of their comfort zones and sampled some of the local fare.
Shortly thereafter, it was time to head off to practice at a local gym. The building, at Liceo, a local high school, was a departure from the venues where the team normally practices. It might be slightly lacking in terms of amenities, but is oozing with culture and charm. Several of the coaches mentioned that it was the coolest place they had ever played.
I spent part of practice shooting some videos with Brandi Poole's camera; videos, by the way, that are sure to go viral within minutes. If any of the videos turned out to have any redeeming qualities whatsoever, Brandi just might eventually put them on the team's uber-cool blog page. The coaches plan to update their site whenever they get the opportunity, although internet access can be sporadic here.
On Wednesday night, the team is scheduled to head to dinner at a restaurant where the atmosphere should be festive, to say the very least. The entire nation is expected to virtually shut down as Costa Rica plays at Honduras in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. Whether one loves futbol, hates futbol or is ambivalent about futbol, it should be an entertaining evening and an interesting cultural experience. Then it'll be back to the hotel for a good night's sleep, as the team's first game of the trip is scheduled for Thursday. Talk to you soon, hopefully.
UPDATE: After some technical difficulties, a photo gallery has been posted. Also, the futbol experience was not quite what anyone had hoped for. The restaurant was not very crowded (although many nearby restaurants appeared to be packed), and Costa Rica lost by a four-nil final.
The bus pulled out from Anderson Arena at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Aug. 12). Some members of the traveling party tried to catch a few hours of sleep before meeting the bus, while others attempted to pull all-nighters. No matter the method of preparation, the 20 members of the group embarked for Detroit hours before the sun came up.
PHOTO GALLERY - Wednesday, August 12
For the most part, the ride was a quiet one, although the members of the coaching staff conversed in the front of the bus. I'm guessing most, if not all, of the staff pulled all-nighters. I doubt there is a coaching staff anywhere in the world that works harder than Curt Miller, Jennifer Roos, Brandi Poole, Kevin Eckert and Monique Rosati. After a hectic-as-always recruiting period, and 10 days of practices (mostly held in a sweltering Anderson Arena in early August), no one deserves a pleasant trip more than that fivesome.
There are 12 student-athletes on the trip – 10 returnees and two transfers. The rest of the traveling party is happy to have those two transfers, Maggie Hennegan and Tamika Nurse, along for the fun. The two players sat out the 2008-09 season at BGSU due to NCAA transfer rules. They were allowed to practice with the team last year, but were not permitted to travel with the team to road games. More often than not, however, they would make the trips on their own, at their own expense, driving to and from the sites on the day of the games. Finally, Hennegan and Nurse are able to board the bus/plane with their teammates and participate in actual games.
Everyone seemed surprisingly awake and chipper as the Falcons checked in at Detroit Metro at approximately 5:00 a.m. The flights were uneventful, and the trip from Detroit to San Jose went smoothly. The team checked into the hotel at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. BGSU time), and soon after crossed an incredibly busy street to have lunch in the food court at a mall. Several players and coaches had food from places with exotic names, like Subway. But, others actually ventured out of their comfort zones and sampled some of the local fare.
Shortly thereafter, it was time to head off to practice at a local gym. The building, at Liceo, a local high school, was a departure from the venues where the team normally practices. It might be slightly lacking in terms of amenities, but is oozing with culture and charm. Several of the coaches mentioned that it was the coolest place they had ever played.
I spent part of practice shooting some videos with Brandi Poole's camera; videos, by the way, that are sure to go viral within minutes. If any of the videos turned out to have any redeeming qualities whatsoever, Brandi just might eventually put them on the team's uber-cool blog page. The coaches plan to update their site whenever they get the opportunity, although internet access can be sporadic here.
On Wednesday night, the team is scheduled to head to dinner at a restaurant where the atmosphere should be festive, to say the very least. The entire nation is expected to virtually shut down as Costa Rica plays at Honduras in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. Whether one loves futbol, hates futbol or is ambivalent about futbol, it should be an entertaining evening and an interesting cultural experience. Then it'll be back to the hotel for a good night's sleep, as the team's first game of the trip is scheduled for Thursday. Talk to you soon, hopefully.
UPDATE: After some technical difficulties, a photo gallery has been posted. Also, the futbol experience was not quite what anyone had hoped for. The restaurant was not very crowded (although many nearby restaurants appeared to be packed), and Costa Rica lost by a four-nil final.
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