Out of state tournaments

Everyone dreads the long hours that you spend in the car in order to get to the tournament. Even our parents hate it but it’s worth it if you really enjoy the sport. I believe it is better to travel with a friend because it gives you quality time to get to know that person better or just to come out of your box more and show your crazy side. There are many games that you can play on the way to the tournament. You can play I-Spy, make funny faces at the people you pass by, yell out the windows, dance party in the car, sing at the top of your lungs, and many more. You can even watch a movie but that is not as fun as those games I just listed above. Time really does pass when you’re having fun. 

Then you get to the hotel. The worst part of the whole trip is getting your luggage out of the trunk, finding a cart, loading the cart, checking in, then unpacking your luggage in your room. It is the most boring and waste of your time the whole trip, but the fun part comes next. Usually the next thing to do on your list is to go get something to eat at a local restaurant. You don't know anyone in the state you are at, so when I go out at tournaments I usually come way out of my box and have fun while it lasts. You can't really do anything weird in the restaurant but when we are done eating the fun begins outside the restaurant. Some things you can do are posing for cars that are passing by, you can sing and dance to passing cars. One of my favorite things to do is act like a cheerleader and perform cheers to passing cars. My teammates and I usually walk behind people and try to guess their names, if they turn around we usually look the opposite way. Those are just some of the things we do to make this a fun experience for everyone, even the people we do this stuff too. Eventually the fun ends at the restaurant but it can be continued at the hotel.

At the hotel we usually try to get to know the staff and have some fun with them. We call them by name and we tell them our names and throughout the whole weekend we call each other by name. One tournament my teammate and I ran around the hotel with napkins on our faces and acted like ninjas. Usually you think people would get annoyed but they all enjoyed our company. If no one knows who you are it makes it all the better.

The games come and you know it is time to be serious. You play your hardest and leave it all on the field to make you fellow teammates and coaches proud. Win or lose just make sure that you have fun.

This last weekend we were at a tournament in Missouri. Out first game we won 3-1, the second game we lost 2-1, and the third game we won 5-1. We should have won all three games but we just didn't finish our opportunities in front of the goal. We left with the title of 2nd place in our bracket and let me tell you that it is way better than last place but not as good as first would have been. We have an upcoming game this Sunday and I will be sure to fill you in on that by next week.