Wew! Friday was a hot one.
The championship games started promptly at 9am with semi-final matches on the Hockey floor and the Soccer field. Texas vs. USC in soccer was a great defensive game right up until the end. Texas was victorious at 2-1 when it was all over. Texas went on to play, you guessed it, Penn State in the championship game that afternoon.
Florida took on UNC in the Floor Hockey semi-final. What a game this turned out to be. Overtime! Both teams wanted this win badly. They were running, shooting, yelling, screaming... the Barbee Center was rockin'. In the end though, it was the Tarheels of UNC that pulled off the win. They will play Texas in Saturday's championship game at 9:30am.
At 11:20am UNC took on Texas in Lacrosse for their semi-final match up. Texas had a real big day playing in soccer, floor hockey and now Lacrosse. UNC was too much for them in the LAX match, they fell 8-0 to the Tarheels. UNC played Notre Dame in the afternoon championship. At the same time as the LAX semi, the softball Championship was being played. The Michigan Wolverines took on the Duke Blue Devils. It was Hail to the Victors as Michigan beat out Duke 3-1 in this game which was scoreless until the latter innings. Good job guys!
If teams weren't playing in games this morning, they were taking part in other fun activities like, room clean up (they're favorite), softball, core training and today we introduced rock climbing. Mrs. Hemming took several groups during the course of the day to the inside rock wall. We are so blessed here at WFS to have an opportunity to explore new things! The wall is challenging and each group was very serious about accomplishing the goals that Mrs. Hemming set up.
After lunch it was to the outdoor pool and if you weren't doing that, you were finishing up the individual tournaments. We finally have our winners. The guys worked hard to achieve their place in these tournaments. We'll find out the winners on Saturday.
The Soccer Championship was played at 3pm. Texas and Penn State played a great game. It was so hot.. hydrate, hydrate, hydrate is what you heard from the coaches for the entire hour. In the end it was Texas over Penn State 4-3. Way to go Longhorns. They had such a challenging day and finally, a pay off.
Soon after the soccer game, we turned to the Lacrosse field where it was UNC and Notre Dame. The fighting Irish had trouble early against UNC. Their team of experienced LAX players was just too much. UNC went on to beat ND 6-2. Way to go Tarheels!
The much anticipated Staff Softball game was played after dinner. The campers gathered on the stands and around the field to watch the game. There were large cheers from the crowd as their favorite counselors came up to bat. As Sonny Close came up to the plate I heard, "we love pirates, we love pirates"... not sure about that one, have to ask the guys! Every one's favorite Ade Oyalowo received "Ade, Kumbaya, Ade Kumbaya".. Ade, now dubbed, strongest man alive, hit one out of the park, but was ruled a foul. Later, he showed off the "guns" to the boys that crowded around him. Some of our counselors have never even played baseball or softball. That was a sight to see. When big Duke arrived at the plate, the kids yelled Doooooke, Dooooooke! Waiting for a big hit, Duke, who hadn't really ever swung a bat, accidentally let go as he did... Too much power. Stick to the shot put and Discus Duke!!!! What a show! This game was fun and these boys can hit hard and throw hard.
We headed on down to the last campfire right after the softball game. It was long one tonight with so many awards to hand out. We watched four skits tonight. Again, a talented bunch of kids performed.. My personal favorite from LSU, the famous bar scene from Top Gun, "you've lost that lovin' feeling".... LSU went on to win the contest and went back to dorm where a pizza party was awaiting them. The Tiger Awards, MVP of sport Awards and the Honor Camper Awards were given out tonight as well. There were cheers from all the campers as these achievements were acknowledged. The entire camp voted on the MVP for the five sports, the Tiger and Honor Camper Awards were decided by the coaches. Last, but certainly not least.. one of the most important was awarded at the end, cleanest rooms for the week... given to Oklahoma! Great job guys. They also had a pizza party waiting for them.
Coach Alexander said a few closing words and for the last time this summer, it was back up the hill, showers, huddle meetings and lights out. As the kids spend their last night on dorm, we prepare for a final championship game and closing ceremony, dreading the silence that will fall on campus late Saturday afternoon. Sleeping in on Sunday will be a luxury only to wake up and find that those faces so cute and filled with joy have gone home to their parents. Coach said, and I have to agree with him, this summer's camp has been the best since we've been here. Enjoy the rest of your summer and safe travels home!
