Atlanta Here We Come: NCAA Softball Blog #1
* By Shelley Deadmond (Sr., Outfielder, Chico, Calif.)
We made it! The Ducks softball team reached Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday afternoon after a long travel day that started with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call from our hotel in Portland.
We had bused up Tuesday evening to avoid leaving Eugene in the middle of the night, (I know what you’re thinking, ‘Since when is 3:30 NOT the middle of the night?!) But anyway, the bus was electric with excitement and everyone was even in good spirits (if a little groggy) when the airport shuttle came to get us at 4:15.
It was a different sort of travel day for us though, seeing as how the team was split up onto two different flights; I guess that’s what happens when you plan travel for 26 people 2 days in advance! So half the girls and staff got to Atlanta around 1:30p.m. while the other half of us had a quick layover in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It worked out well for those of us who were in need of a friendly Starbucks pick-me-up, and we got to see the Salt Lake out of the airplane window to boot! When we were all reunited in the same time zone it was good to see that everyone was safe after rumors of an electrical fire on one of the Atlanta airport trams that very morning!
The Ducks proceeded to settle in here at the Renaissance hotel, a 25-floor marvel that has not spared any effort in its execution of a blend of classic architecture with contemporary design. I thought to myself how you don’t really see this kind of place on the West coast.
Next up was a quick workout in the hotel’s ballroom led by our strength and conditioning coach, Mark Dillon. Let’s just say we worked up our appetites!
Dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen was lovely; it seemed we were all ready for a sit-down meal. It was also the perfect time to sing to freshman outfielder Allie Burger for her 19th birthday and also to take advantage of the rare opportunity to order dessert after a few of the girls were given permission because they won a competitive intra-squad challenge at practice Tuesday.
Luckily for the rest of us, the girls were in the sharing mood!
So now as we prepare for practice on the field-of-play today we know its time to get down to business. We are given a small allotted period of time on the field and will need to use it to become familiar with its nuances and tendencies as well as fine-tune the small details of our individual games so that we come out tomorrow night feeling confident and prepared; two things that have proven essential to our teams’ success.
Thank you for joining us on this journey by checking in, we’ll look forward to keeping you updated on the happenings of the upcoming weekend and we appreciate your support. GO DUCKS!
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