NACRA Championships Day 2

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times........

Our practice field is a five minute walk from the hotel and is this big open space in front of Fort Charlotte and just across the road from the beach.

Morning practice was a challenge as the players struggled with some basic skills. Poor body position in contact, poor passing and so much spilled ball that the coaches were frustrated beyond words. The session ended on a good note as the players took to the new offensive pattern and started to put together some nice passages of play.

Second session was later than usual to avoid the heat in the middle of the day. Bui Baravilala’s arrival seemed to bring a new confidence to the backs and the dropped balls of the morning went away. The forwards looked good in their line out practice and the whole squad looked to be hitting stride when injury struck. In a routine contact situation Mileka Grager heard a snap in her hand, Nicole took a look at it and decided that a trip to the hospital was needed. X-rays confirmed Nicole’s fears of a broken bone (actually a spiral fracture) and Leka came back with the hand in a cast that will sadly reduce her role to water girl.

Dinner tonight was at the Twin Brothers Restaurant and the players were adventurous in their food selections. There was plenty of sharing of cracked conch, lobster, grouper, shrimp with sides of beans and rice, plantains, conch salad and baked macaroni. All the food was delicious and there was plenty of it. An enormous cockroach paid a visit through an open window and sidled up to Assistant Coach Danielle Miller. The sight of the ex World Cup front row player desperately trying to climb over anyone in her way provided the entertainment for the evening.

We ended the evening with the Jersey Ceremony

USA U20 Team for the game against Cayman

1 Kelly Sager Penn State
2 Rachel Ryan U of Wyoming
3 Andee Samborski Livingstone, MI
4 Alycia Washington U Conn
5 Brittany Rose Unattached
6 McKenzie Lewis Mesa State
7 Katie Johnson Hopkins, MN
8 Candace Barley Lee University
9 Hailey Anderson Summit, CO
10 Hannah Lockwood Oregon State
11 Holly Zoeller U of North Carolina
12 Bui Baravilala Aliamanu, Hawaii
13 Kiki McNight U of Central Florida
14 Anne Marie Bowlus U of California - Santa Cruz
15 Chelsea Garber Brown

16 Mileka Grager (injured) Washington State
17 Wendy Sherman Colorado State
18 Katie Hathaway Norwich
19 Katie Humphreys Kent, WA
20 Amee Svatos Canby, OR
21 Brittany O’Brien U of Rhode Island
22 Jozy Gesssner Colorado State.