Some softball related photos

Hi all,

After my Hawaiian experience pictures, I thought I'd add some softball specific photos, seeing that is what I am here for :-)

This first picture is a pic of our home stadium.

This pic is of the home run fence of our baseball field, right next door.

This is a pic of the TV field at Disney.  In the background is the main baseball field where the Atalanta Braves have their Spring Training this year.  They were playing there whilst we were there.

This is when we were playing at the University of Virginia.  They have about 35,000 students.  We have 4,100.  Their school is famous for many doctors and lawyers graduating and going on to great careers.  We clean sweeped them in two games.  YET, they managed to be ranked higher than us in the most recent rankings.

A photo of the scoreboard out in Hawaii prior to our game against University of Miami, Ohio.  The player is our second baseman Maggi Margadonna.  A true NJ name if I ever heard one :-)

For those who may be reading from softball Australia or NSW.  You may recognise the pitcher as Kaia Parnaby.  It looks like she is throwing a riseball in this picture.  She pitched really well against us.

I hope you all enjoyed.  As I get more softball related pictures, I will post as I go.

D

My Hawaiian Experience

Hi everyone,

Having just returned I thought I would share some photos of the experience.  It was quite the adventure coming home.  Firstly my flight was delayed 3 hours in Honolulu.  That then put me into Dallas/ Fort Worth 20mins before my flight and therefore missed my connecting flight to Richmond VA.  So rather than waiting 4 hours for the next flight and getting in so late, I took a connecting flight to Chicago and then to Richmond, whilst hoping people were getting my messages for the arrangements of getting someone to come get me on time!  So I eventually got into Richmond, my lift, Coaches sister and mum were hit from behind entering the airport (Nobody hurt) and after all that, American Airlines, lost my bag..GREAT!  But the guy who helped me was fantastic.  And I eventually received my bags at 1110pm last night.  I had fallen asleep by 10pm and eventually when I woke up this morning, it was 1130am!!!!  WOW way to use my first day off effectively!!!!  I was so tired.  So that was 10 flights, 8 beds, 8 states and about 15 games in the 2.5 weeks I have been here!

Anyway I hope you enjoy the pics.

This one is me with the team at the Luau on Tuesday night.  The Luau was at Paradise Cove.

This pic was taken off the beach at Paradise Cove.

This was a pic taken of one of our team on the stage during the Luau trying to do the Hula.  Just for J of Sydney, a Hula girl can be seen in the bottom right hand corner.

This is a photo from my table during lunch on Tuesday afternoon.  The beach is the world famous Waikiki.

This is the first of my photos from Pearl Harbour.  The ship in this pic is of the mighty USS Missouri.  This is the ship on whose deck the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender to the allies at the end of WWII.  I did not tour the ship as we did not have enough time.

This mighty ship is the USS Abraham Lincoln.  She was heading out to sea as we were arriving and heading out to the USS Arizona memorial.

This bloke is a Brigadier General of the US Army.  He has written 5 expert books on the pacific war.  I bought the one with the most written on Australia, including where my grand father fought in the war.  He was nice enough to sign my book, thanking me for 18 year career to date.  He also pointed out that the picture of one of the Pearl Harbour survivors was in the book and he was actually at Pearl Harbour that day.  So I tracked him down and he signed the book under his name also.

This picture is taken from the USS Arizona memorial.  This is the 2nd gun turrant from the front of the ship.  The bouy you can see in the back ground represents the actual bow of the ship which is under water.  Of the 21 ships sunk in the harbour by the Japanese, all but 3 were repaired and raised from the ocean floor to return to duty during the war! Amazing.  However the Arizona was cut in half by a devastating explosion and unable to be repaired.  The forward ammunition magazine suffered a direct hit from a Japanese bomb and exploded instantly.  The explosion was so hot it mostly killed 1000 men instantly, it also fused the steel of entire forward section of the ship.  Very few men were found afterwards having been incinerated.  This included the entire ships band who the previous night had finished second in a competition.  The captain was so proud he allowed them to sleep in an extra hour.  Speaking of the captain, all that was found of him was his graduation ring.  The ship continues to seep oil everyday.  They say about a gallon a day and that there is approximately 5000 gallons still within the ship.  It will not be removed unless it becomes unsafe as the ship is considered a sacred site.  I have photos of oil actually sitting on top of the water coming out of the ship.  There were approximately 100 survivors from the Arizona.  Those men have the option to be entombed in the ship after they have been cremated.  What happens is that their urn is placed on a shelf within the hull of the ship and closed.  Many men are still entombed in the ship, never having been recovered.  There are 20 men still alive who survived the Arizona explosion.

This is a photo of the memorial as we approached it on the boat.

This is a photo out the back door window of the house I stayed in in Hawaii. :-)

By the way the Hawaiian's actually say Hawai'i (hawai - ee).

I hope you enjoyed the photos and little history lesson.

D

Food in the USA

Hi all,

I seem to have one avid follower - J from Knowheresville, Sydney Australia.  J writes "whats the food like in the USA?"  I've travelled through 7 USA states so far, played 15 softball games, beaten two teams in the top 20, been to Pearl Harbour, SURVIVED a tsunami and he wants to know about the food here!

O.K J.  The food is really quite unhealthy to be honest. I am actually quite struggling to eat well.  Which is to say that those who don't have to watch their food would most likely be O.K but for someone who has to eat low GI, it is quite hard.  Especially when traveling.  I have tried my best to eat the best I can however two salads I have ordered, as healthy as they appeared, had taco strips in amongst the salad.  I ate it.  The best healthy option the majority of the time is salad.

Most resturants will substitute a salad for the fries, however some, like today at lunch, wouldn't.  Pastas are the other healthy choice as it turns out.  I expect most in Australia would have the opinion that meals here are served large and I would say for the most part they are.  I find myself asking if the salads are large and WOW yes they are.  Ever had a salad you didn't think you'd be able to finish?

And here's a strange one.  When you go to Subway, in Australia or the USA, you can order a 6inch or a footlong.  I am telling you right now, a foot, in the old scale, is apparently longer in the USA than Australia...yet we pay so much more at home than here in the USA.  Everything is cheaper here.  It is difficult to see how things have such disparity between the two countries.  Ridiculous actually.

But, I will say out here in Hawaii, prices are in fact closer to what we would find in Australia.  I don't blink, however my USA team mates almost fall off of their chairs!!!!  E.g., we hit an Outback Steak House in Florida, you know full dinner with steak etc, it was less than $400 for 21 people.  We hit an Ihop here in Honolulu and it cost $500 for breakfast!!!!!  Coach lost her chewy over that ha ha.

However we did go to a Luau last night which was amazing.  Traditional Hawaiian singing and dancing, pork cooked in the ground, fire stick, traditional stories etc.  It was fun, particularly the Hula girls!  A couple of our girls got to dance with some of the blokes and let me tell you, I almost feel less of a man for seeing them with their shirts off!  And the back drop to all of this was a traditional, fair dinkum Hawaiian sunset.  I have photos which I will post however have not had time to download them from my camera as yet.

I must go now as my internet will run out shortly.  I am waiting for my flight back to Virginia and it has been delayed 3 hours, nothing new about that with the USA airline industry.

I hope that somewhat settles your curiosity J :-)

Speak soon

D

A few photos of the trip so far

Hi all,

Below are just 3 photos of the trip so far.

The first photo is the scene I woke up to yesterday morning.  Literally off the back balcony of the house.

The second photo is of the pitching mound of one of the diamonds at Disney.  For those who don't know, a pitching circle is usually, just the big circle.  The little ones obviously added for interest as we were at Disney...pretty cute.  For those that are in the know, the tram lines represent the width of the pitching plate and pitchers aren't allowed to land outside of those lines.

The third photo is little old me holding our flag down in Florida.

Speak soon

D

I Survived a Tsunami!

Hi all,

For those who don't know, I am currently in Hawaii.  We arrived here at about 7pm on Wednesday evening after travelling for over 24 hours from Farmville.  We are staying in Honolulu for a softball tournament.  We play our first game tonight and then 6 more games over the next 3 days.

So about 9.30pm last night, we returned from scouting a game between University of Hawaii and a Japanese College team and turned on the TV.  Right there in front of us was the devastation occurring in Japan.  The horror...this summer has seen so much horror across Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  It is difficult not to become overwhelmed by the horror of it all.  Such a reminder of the awesome power of this planet and mother nature.  All the technology we have and we are still at her mercy.

It did all seem a little surreal when the news began to report that Hawaii was under threat from a possible Tsunami as a result of the 8.9 earthquake in Japan.  The news began to report that residents in evacuation zones should now think about evacuating and then there was an actual civil defense siren that rung out across the city.  Now that was errie!  Not to sound overly dramatic but it did make me stop and think about what it must have been like around here on 7 December 1941.

As a budding psychologist it was interesting to observe the reactions to the unfolding drama of those around me.  Some calm, some truly upset, some non-plused.  I was asked what I thought and honestly after having slept in 6 beds in 12 days, I was honestly irritated that I'd have to move again without getting to sleep in a nice comfy bed with the probability of having to sleep on the floor again for two nights in a row.  But I also said that having been in the emergency services business for almost 18 years, I had rarely seen a true warning actually turn out to occur and I felt that everything would be fine.

As per usual, the news media were falling over themselves for a story and were once again making an absolute fool of themselves in the complete over the top and dangerous reporting that they spewed onto the TV.  They are seriously in danger of creating the 'boy who cried wolf' syndrome for future generations.  But for now they simply create panic, where panic is not necessary as well as providing 'entertainment' out of the misery of others. 

Simply though, it is a good idea to look for those actually in the know in these matters and ignore those who put themselves out there as experts or wish to popularise themselves through the panic and misery of others.  So when an actual civil defense warning sounds, it is a good idea to take notice.  When the town Mayor comes on TV and says, we would like anybody in an evacuation zone, and is not at least three stories up, to evacuate now, I consider that time to listen.  He also advised that he did not feel there would actually be a tsunami in Hawaii, however it was better to be safe than sorry.  This is great leadership.

You also need to read between the lines.  There are some significant Islands and shipping between Japan and Hawaii, so it would make sense that they would experience any issues first.  This was one good piece of reporting by the news.

But heeding the advice of the city Mayor, we as a team decided to leave our houses and head for safer ground as our houses are right on the ocean.  So our 6 seniors, our softball director, trainer and myself headed back to our house, packed a bag and headed for the house at high ground where some of the parents were staying.  The rest of the team headed down town to an evacuation center at a hotel and slept in the ballroom.  I think we had it much better than they did.  The girls mums did an awesome job of organising beds and made sure we were all comfortable.  The team staff did a great job of remaining calm and making the decision to move as directed by the Mayor.  The seniors also showed great leadership by remaining calm and following the direction of the coaches.  Well done everyone!

At our new accommodation we were well above sea level.  However a fire truck came by with its lights flashing and loud haler telling us to evacuate from there...now that was interesting, but it turned out we weren't actually required to move.  Everyone was pretty tired so it was time for bed.  Before sleep I made an attempt to email family and close friends to let them know I was O.K and that seemed to be appreciated.

So on waking up this morning, no tsunami had devastated Hawaii and of course we and I were grateful for that.  We turned on the news and internet devices and learnt that although we were O.K, civil defense wanted us to continue to stay home for the time being.  We stayed, there was no food but there was coffee YAY.  We did however watch in horror over the devastation in Japan and also the developing fear of nuclear disaster as the temperature at the core of one of Japan's reactors reached high levels.  We also saw vision of time lapse videos where the sea levels had in fact risen significantly in Honolulu and had just broken the sea barriers to cause minor flooding at the sea front.  The direction then came that we could return home.  And on the way, like nothing had happened I saw people walking dogs and a gardening crew doing someones lawn.  Weird but most likely a wonderful example that we must get back to our routine after such an event as ruminating over such an incident can lead to issues down the track.  Tonight we hopefully return to the diamond, the very reason we are here.

On returning home, it was great to eat something and as I looked at the water front in the front of our house, it was clear that the water had got somewhat high up the wall, at least 6 feet.  Then as we sat and ate breakfast we could actually see the next small surge come towards us!  Only something like 3 or 4 inches high but it was fascinating to watch.  Seeing how only 3 or 4 inches moved and made a sound, makes you only wonder how bad it must be at 20 feet and moving at 500mh!!!!!

So that seems to be it for the tsunami for Hawaii.  We are pretty much in a holding pattern now.  No team activities as we wait for our 1800hrs game against Hawaii.  The university is closed today but all evening activities are still open.  All schools across the island are also closed.

So the learning lessons from the experience?  Part of PTSD is about the control people feel they've lost in the face of a traumatic experience.  The hopelessness and helplessness of it all.  So in such situations it would appear a healthy move to feel somewhat in control of the situation.  However we can't simply stand there like Moses and part the sea.  We can however, turn on the TV or radio and follow the well considered advice of those who are in the know.  We can stay put until told to move.  We can pack a small bag of a couple of days clothes and supplies and we can move when advised.  We can also comfort those around us and help those possibly frozen by the fear of the situation. We can also talk amongst ourselves about how we feel about what we are experiencing. Through mindfulness we can also control our own emotions or at least how we react to those emotions.  All of these things are matters under our own direct control and make us feel, quite rightly, that we are in control of a situation seemingly out of control.  What we are actually in control of is how we deal with the situation within ourselves, the only true thing we can control in this world.  It is also clear to say that we 'survived' the situation.  It is clear that in the end we were in no real danger, however through the actions taken, if we were in danger, we would most certainly have survived by taking the advice of well informed individuals, solid leadership and conducting ourselves in a calm and collected manner.

We were also and of course lucky enough to have time to consider our options and take action whereas there are now people across Japan who were not so lucky to have such time and options for survival.  People lost and people missing.  It is also those who have perished that we must give thought to as a motivation to live and work hard towards our wishes, values and goals.  To unwaiveringly chaise our dreams, and live.  We have the freedom to make such a choice.

I now think I have sorted out the comments issue, so you should all now be free to comment if you wish.

I look forward to next time.

D

Lesson's learned

Well here I am here in Orlando Florida, Home of Disney!

We are actually playing right on the Disney property at the Disney, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  The Atlanta Braves are even training down here for Spring training.  The place is simply amazing.  The softball diamonds even have 2 little extra circles at the back of them so that the pitching circle looks like Mickey Mouses head :-)  So cute.  I took photos and will post when I can.  ESPN is evening taping most of the games and they will be shown on TV over the coming days.  They didn't film our games though.

So on day one down here we played Notre Dame first and then Long Island 2nd.  We were really up for the Notre Dame game and won 2-0.  Our pitcher threw one hell of a game.  I think most viewers didn't give us much of a chance but we showed them.  Then we played Long Island who are a developing squad and beat them pretty good by the 8 run rule.  So we were all pretty happy last night and celebrated with a great dinner at Outback :-)

Today was not so good at all.  We came up against Maryland and lost 16-0.  That was a a school record for a loss.  Then we faced Illinois University and lost 7-5.  We were down by 7-1 most of the game and got 4 in the last inning.  So we were all pretty down hearted about today's outcome.  So what do you learn from such an outcome?  Not much.  I am serious.  Sometimes you have a bad game, things don't go your way or the other team is just better!  A lot of the time we try to analyse these things and you could drive yourself mad thinking you can work out what went wrong.  "we coulda swung the bat like this or that" but honestly, a great hitter in this game gets a hit only 33% of the time! Outside of todays results I would have said 3 or 4 runs is a high score.  It is a tough game, it is a game dominated by good pitching.  Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to the opposition and say "hey, well done".

I am loath to put anyone down here but I am going to make special mention of Maryland University.  When they were 8 runs up, they were still bunting and still stealing.  This is completely of no class what-so-ever and anybody who knows the game knows you just don't do this and anyone who does will forever be remembered as a team with no class.  In Baseball or mens softball, the next hitter to stand in the box after stealing or bunting, would get a 130km/hr riseball right in the ear!  Its been 12 hours since that game and thinking about this still gets my blood boiling.

So what positive things did come out of today?  As much as you do hate to lose, sometimes it reminds you that it isn't an easy game and it reminds you to keep working hard every day to get better.  Next we have young pitcher on our team who has been going through some adversity and has just come back from an injury.  We have been working pretty hard on a number of things this week and when she got the chance to go in today she threw 2 great innings.  I was so proud of her.  She worked on her routine and some of the technical things we've worked on.  Also we clocked her at 60mph this week and I think it has been a great surprise for her to see that she throws just as hard as some of the best girls here this weekend.  I think she can throw a LOT harder as well, who knows how hard.

Next comes the word intensity.  I watch a lot of sports, especially of teams I have spent a lot of time supporting.  When I watch them lose I sometimes wonder what it was, what was missing, and ultimately something I feel often, "Why didn't they seem to try?"  It is no doubt a lack of intensity.  What causes it? traveling long distances? fatigue? intimidation?  Some or all?  Well there is no doubt that intensity was missing from our second game today.  I don't think it was anything I listed here but a lack of intensity is like an infectious bug.  It goes through you and a team like a bad virus.  I think under such circumstances we sit around waiting for someone else to 'do it', to inspire us into action.

But intensity has to come from within and if everyone brings their own intensity to a team situation then that team will enter the field of battle as one dynamic force.  Not necessarily unbeatable, but in a head space where when you walk off of the field, you know you gave it everything you had.  Under such circumstances, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it matters whether u gave it everything.  The result will then take care of its self.

When we did start hitting today, the temperature rose in our dug out and if we had one more inning, I am sure we would have run that team down.  The intensity was back.  But where had it gone for 6 innings?  It is very hard to say, but it was such a reminder that it has to start from the beginning of the game.  We cannot wait for someone else to inspire us, we must find it from within.  We must be the person who is going to inspire others on our team.  Then perhaps we can inspire each other.

On a lighter note.  All Australian's know how expensive clothes are in Australia.  I hit the Outlets last night and bought 7 items from the Ralph Lauren store.  I can tell you that I know for a fact 3 of those items combined in Myer or David Jones would have been more than all 7 combined!  Australia really does need to get its act together.  We have some of the most sought after natural resources on the planet, yet we insist on paying so much for items coming back in.  But I do know why we pay so much taxes.  Our health care system, does leave the USA for dead.

I will leave it there for now.  Very early start in the morning and a long day.  One game against Illinois State University and then 7 hours till our flight, so it might be back to the outlets :-)

Speak soon.

Damien

26,000 Feet

Hi all,

So what are you up to right now?  I am writing this blog from 26,000 feet above the Earth.  This is one of the things I love about the USA, the convenience and ease of things!  I mean why wouldn't you have internet on a plane?  Most people are traveling for business anyway!  It only cost $9.95 and I probably didn't need to have internet, but what a novelty! 

A few years ago, well a lot of years ago, 1996, I went the Ben Franklin Museum in Philadelphia on 4th of July.  It has the only operating post office in the USA on 4 July.  So I madly wrote out a bunch of post cards, had them stamped 4 July and sent them home.  That was fun :-)  This kinda feels the same.  I think most Australians would recognise this has a pure novelty....to be able to write a blog or email from a plane.

So we are on the way to Florida to play the Disney Classic.  Yes we will actually be playing on the grounds of Disney.  We play 5 games including one against Notre Dame.  They are a big school and that should prove to be a tough game. We look forward to the challenge.  Then we are back to Farmville at 2am Tuesday morning and then have a game in the afternoon and then off to Hawaii on Wednesday for 8 games.  Whilst in Hawaii I will get to go to Pearl Harbour which I am absolutely thrilled about.  Apparently most of the girls want to go to the beach instead, so the trainer Jenna, Director of softball Amy and I will most likely go.

We play a couple of interesting games in Hawaii.  Playing Hawaii itself will be interesting as they have a girl from NSW pitching for them.  I saw her in our summer at home.  She is very good and left handed.  Speaking of which we have 4 pitchers and 3 are lefties...it is rare to see a lefty all season normally so to have 3 on a team is pretty rare and special.  The other team we play is a school team from Japan.  So that will be fun :-)

So our schedule for this week has been very busy.  Sunday we played 2 games and won both so the team currently has a record of 8-0.  Then Monday we trained for about 9 hours.  Coach Riley scheduled each hitter in 1 hr slots from 0730 until 3 and then we worked with the pitchers from 3 until 5.  It rained so we had to pitch indoors on the basketball court.  I was throwing riseballs and broke some panel off the wall...opps.  Then Tuesday we had off, but the school put on a lovely lunch for the international scholars (includes me) and an intern from France.  The scholars include a Psychologist from Ireland, a Chinese teacher from China, an accounting teacher from China, and another lecturer from Turkey.  The lunch was with the President and Vice president of the school as well as the two members of the international studies office...All great people.  I was disappointed the lunch finished so early as I was thoroughly enjoying the conversation.  But a couple of us traded information and will be catching up again in our spare time which will be nice.  The yesterday we practiced all day again...same deal with the hitting and then the pitching again.

So a word on the set up for student athletes.  This is how we refer to them.  Not athletes but student athletes with the emphasis on 'student'.  There has been a lot of shinanigans in the past with athletes being paid and having others do their work for them etc, so a lot of rules have been put in place.  The NCAA rule book is in fact a couple of hundred pages long!  I have to do the recruiting test so that I am qualified to recruit if necessary. Lots of rules there about when you can approach players etc.  As we are traveling, some of the girls will miss classes and it is actually up to Coach Riley to approach the lecturers and get clearances for the girls.  The girls also have to study whilst traveling as well as take tests prior to traveling if there is one scheduled while away.  They also must have study time while away and this must be supervised by a coach, its called study hall.  Whilst in Hawaii, one of the girls must find 8 hours of supervised study hall as dictated by one of her lecturers as an example.  There are also rules about not playing if your GPA (grade point avaerage) is not high enough etc etc.  Each school employs one person just to keep ahead of the NCAA compliance for student athletes as well as employing a 'counsellor' to ensure the kids are studying and staying ahead as well as teaching life skills and helping them with any problems they may have.

Lastly, I now have a bunch of Longwood Lancers athletic apparel. It is all Adidas gear so I am very happy about that.  Traveling as we are is all very professional.  We all wear team gear so we are recognised as being from Longwood.

Anyway I feel the plane beginning its decent so I must sign off.

I look forward to getting back to you again soon.

D