On Thursday the campers began their day with a hot breakfast and then morning meeting. Coach Alexander took some time to speak about attitude and staying positive. He discussed seeing the "glass half full" and how verbalizing that you see it half empty can bring others around you down. Through his talk, Coach helped the group to see what an amazing accomplishment it was for them to complete the Old Rag hike and how they should all take pride in what they did. This carried over into a discussion about the prior evening's value meeting topic, Teamwork and Love. By now, the teams know each other pretty well and hopefully have developed a relationship where they care about and look after one another. These qualities will become evident in the days ahead as the competions heat up.
Thursday was filled with a whole set of games starting at 9am. Afterwards the camp divided into their age groups for individual instruction which included football, golf, swimming, lacrosse, soccer, strength training, wrestling, basketball, baseball and tennis. Then it was time to hit the showers and head up the hill for lunch and rest period.
The Western Conference enjoyed the outdoor pool in the afternoon. It was a little warmer on campus today, so I'm sure the pool felt great. Today is supposed to be a duplicate of yesterday, as far as the heat goes, however there is an increase in the chance of storms. We'll be keeping an eye on the sky later this afternoon.
The final games were played in the afternoon and evening. The results are below. It seems there are a few top teams, but as the days go on, watch for some other teams to improve. Many of the scores have been close. Penn State lost a heart breaker in their morning softball game. After having the lead, USC got a great hit to bring in a couple of runs, which lead to a victory. The Florida/Notre Dame match up in basketball became a classic. There was one overtime game yesterday. The Ohio State faced Florida in football. Florida was victorious in the end.
Daily, the referees make notes about each game. After each game, they chart the team with the best sportsmanship, specific players that showed leadership and those who show "outstanding play". These notes help the conference director, along with head coaches, to decide who should be awarded "camper of the day". Every morning this award is presented. The recipient is given a "Sports Camp Superman T". This camper shows leadership, great attitude and care for his teammates and others.
Tonight the camp will meet for the first of three campfires. We will head down to the campsite after the evening games. Four teams will perform their skits. Special awards will be handed out as well. It's a great time and everyone is really looking forward to it. There will be no camping this evening. Last night Virginia and Oklahoma enjoyed the great outdoors. We've had some beautiful nights here. The air really cools off and the stars have been shining brightly. I hope the boys have taken time to notice!
Basketball
Duke vs Michigan Michigan 26-22
Notre Dame vs Florida Florida 35-32
Ohio State vs LSU Ohio State 30-18
Hockey
Notre Dame vs LSU LSU 1-2
Ohio State vs Duke OSU 2-0
Michigan vs Florida Florida 3-1
Football
Ohio State vs Florida Florida 19-13 OT
Michigan vs LSU LSU 22-6
Notre Dame vs Duke Duke 13-6
Soccer
Oklahoma vs UNC UNC 1-0
Texas vs Penn State Texas 2-1
USC vs Virginia Virginia 4-3
Lacrosse
Texas vs Virginia Texas 2-1
USC vs UNC USC 1-0
Oklahoma vs Penn State Oklahoma 5-0
Softball
USC vs Penn State USC 8-3
Oklahoma vs Virginia OK 17-3
Texas vs UNC Texas 8-3
