Dayton Flyers

Aug. 20, 2009

Our fifth day of preseason begins and I start to feel that I am used to waking up at 6 a.m. in the morning. This is sad.

Unfortunately we do not get to run a fitness test this morning, this also makes me sad. Instead, we go on a long jog to the Woodland Cemetery for approximately 25 minutes. This is a much needed break from Mark Thobe's challenging conditioning sessions.

After a hot shower, it is time for the red group to go for a pool workout. In an attempt to catch up with Ryan Hartman in the point race for the Red Jersey, I devise a plan sure to impress Coach Currier. I step up to the diving board making sure that I have Coach Currier's undivided attention. I perform a fan favorite, Salmon dive gracefully through the air. Coach Currier is impressed. I receive 1 point for my efforts.....success.

We then proceed to tread water for ten minutes which proves to be a difficult task for Ben Murray. Born with only one lung, Ben is at major disadvantage during the pool workouts. (Joking) We then finish up at the pool with a relay race for additional points. My team also wins this event.....this is going to be a good day.

After the pool we all commute to KU for a delicious breakfast. At 11 a.m. we begin another technical session where we work on passing and receiving drills. The session is short but proves to be tiring in the August heat.

Lunch at VWK is the next event on our schedule followed by team pictures on Baujan Field. We all get a chance to try on our new white game jerseys. Putting on the jerseys was a small reminder of the reward for all of the hard work that goes into preseason training.

Just when it seems like the day is finally over, we realize that we still have one more training session left.

This session is especially important because we get to work on some of the problems that we had in our scrimmage the day before. After practice coach announces the winner of the Red Jersey for the day. I am pleased to hear that I am the winner of the Red Jersey for the second day in a row.

Coach Currier admits that the Salmon dive was the deciding factor in the win. There are mixed reactions from my teammates. Only 475,392 more points to catch up to Hartman.