Our first day!

So were here! In FLORIDA! And despite the predicted storm we ended up having semi-great weather! As any college athlete should, we started our day of with a delicious and nutritious breakfast that consisted of cinnamon raisin bagels and hard-boiled eggs. We can’t forget about the iced coffee! After 8 cups of coffee to get us going we ventured to the fields for our first game! (just kidding, but if count everyone it was 8 cups so technically I’m not lying J ) 

In the first game we showed all our hard work during the offseason with nearly flawless defense. Shout to my home girl X (Christina Mulcahy) on getting us on the board with a two run homerun! WHOOP WHOOP! Also to HAM (Emily Cunningham) for receive the first MVP award. We give out the MVP award to the player that we as a team believed fulfilled our team standards that we set at the beginning of pre-season. HAM struck out her first at bat, but came back strong her second at bat with a lead off single which allowed X to get a two run homerun. 

In the second game we improved a lot from the first game by cutting down the number of times we struck out. Although the score did not end in our favor, we took a lot of great things away from the game. Tor (Victoria Luongo) did an awesome job behind the plate and threw out a runner stealing second. So of course she was awarded the MVP award for the game. Yay Tor! 

And we came back to the houses to cook some din din. Yummy chicken patties to be exact. Thanks Mama Ari! Of course we had to prank Coach Atlee by leaving her favorite fruit (BANANAS) in the cup holder. FYI, Atlee has a phobia of bananas!

For those of you who don’t know the team split up into two separate houses, so 8 of us are in one, and 8 of us are in the other. After a long day we wrapped it up with a group meeting summing up today’s games and what we want to accomplish tomorrow of course not after Jen took a fall off the couch and gave us all a good laugh!

We took a lot of positive things away from today…besides our sun burnt faces:

  Like our friend Tor!

Well ta ta for now its time to go dance to Call Me Maybe (team song) before bed time!

Night Night! Love Ya!

Jess Uschmann (Freshman) and Ari King (Junior)

About to warm up for game 1

A Post from our Seniors

For the past four years, the day before our spring break trip to Florida started, I spent my time… actually, I really don’t remember what I did.  Old age is definitely setting in! Where was I? Oh, right. This year, my day before Florida was pretty normal. I woke up, ate some breakfast, caught the bus to the gym where I work, and then sat down at the front desk and “worked” as some would call it.  I got all of my laundry done, one of the many perks of my job, and surfed the web and got some pharmacology studying in.  Ok, who am I kidding? I started my spring break officially Thursday afternoon. There was no way I was going to sit with my 4” thick book in front of me and actually absorb what I was reading. But I pretended, and it’s the thought that counts after all, isn’t it?

My shift ended, and as a team we went to the gym to pack up the equipment. Helmets were put into bags, balls separated out into buckets, bats checked for legality, and cleats fit in wherever possible.  We had an entire team meeting where we discussed our individual goals for our week in Florida and then all went our separate ways.  Some went back to their rooms, some went out to dinner for Amanda Cordeiro’s birthday, and I hopped on the bus back to Brighton to unpack my laundry and then basically repack it all into my suitcase. I wish I had taken a picture of what my bed looked like… 

Well, it looked very similar to what Hodg’s still looks like now, at 10:30 pm. I got my suitcase jam packed, put my uniform, glove and computer in my backpack and then loaded my travel pillow, a few snacks and a book from the Simmons library into my purse and off I went.  Now some of you may have your jaws on the floor but yes, I do go to the library and yes I do use my resources and take out books.  I arrived at Hodg’s and am greeted by this: 

This is my fellow senior / captain Samantha Hodgkins.  For those of you who aren’t in the loop, someone had a little sliding accident on Monday at practice.  Let’s just say 2^nd base won the battle, but don’t worry Sami definitely will win the war.  This minor setback has left my friend in a boot and on a crutch, but most importantly has changed her title from captain to honorary assistant coach. 

To keep the crip and myself busy, we created a mini arts and crafts project.  We thought it would be a great idea to do something stress-free.  We must have been delirious or something because a little fun arts and crafts turned into sparkly beads all over the floor, permanent marker all over our fingers and sore butts from sitting in these chairs for so long! Here’s Hodg working on a card:

 

What we did was pick out 16 inspirational quotes and picked which teammate we felt best fit the quote and then made little cards with the quotes and people’s names and numbers on them.  A little inspirational gift from their captains. We may or may not have also included a picture of us on it, just so people don’t forget us once we graduate.

 

Here’s one side of our final product. 

So now that we’ve eaten, packed our bags (I’m only speaking for myself but Hodg will be packed soon or we will be sleeping on top of her suitcase on her bed), made our arts and crafts we just have to clean up this mess and get to bed!  Only one more sleep until Florida everyone!

Check back on the blog for more updates from the team and follow us through our entire season! I can’t wait to meet and see everyone’s families in Florida but I’ve got to give a shout  out to my 2 favorite fans, my Q-Tips, Mema and Gramps.   

See everyone soon! And if we don’t see you in Florida, we’re looking forward to seeing you once we get back in New England and we promise to do our best to bring the sunshine and warmth back with us!

-Amanda (Moe), #12 Senior, Outfield, Nursing Major

We made it!

Almost time for Florida, and just in time!

Yes, that is what it looks like. We’ve been spoiled this winter with the lack of snow …. It is pretty though, isn’t it? It helps to accept the snow knowing that we head down to Florida in two days. Hopefully it will be gone by the time we come home, but in the meantime we’ll take advantage and have a snowball fight at practice!

"Monday, February 27 – 4 more practices until the season begins!


"This is the first time we've had a mild winter in New England since I've been at Simmons, so the team is taking full advantage and practicing outside on the turf! As an outfielder, I'm having a blast tracking down fly balls (and not having them hit the gym ceiling).  The team has been working extremely hard for the past 5 weeks and we are so excited to show off all of our hard work. This is our last week of practice before heading to Clermont, Florida and kicking off the 2012 season.


"Here we are doing our Dynamic Warm-Up at the beginning of practice:

"Four of the first years are all smiles – they’re ready to see what college softball games are all about!

"We will certainly miss the city (those are the hospitals in the background ( as a Nursing major it’s so great to be so close to some of the best hospitals in the country), but we are looking forward to going to Florida for a week and this is why:

"Okay, senior Captain Amanda is exaggerating just a little with the winter coat (freshman Danielle in the background is tough and doesn’t need a winter coat!), but we are definitely looking forward to the 80degree weather, the warm Florida sun and great competition from DIII schools from all over the country!

"This is our team’s motto this year.  We’re all quite competitive and when you put us together we’re constantly trying to push each other to get better and to get better as a TEAM!  It keeps practices fun when we turn even the most mundane drills into a competition.  We are looking forward to putting this into action down in Florida.  Watch out Clermont … I heard there were sightings of a SHARK ATTACK!

"And to put into perspective just how hard we have been working, look at freshman pitcher Lauren’s shoe:

"Good thing we can break out the cleats in Florida!  Hopefully we’ll fit in a trip to the outlets to pick up Lauren some new sneakers!"

~Ari King, Junior, Nursing Major, Westford, Mass

Countdown to Simmons Softball Spring Break: 5 Days!