Last week, we were rolling along. We had prepared well for our upcoming game against Jefferson and were really looking forward to Thursday’s matchup at home. So, it was with great disappointment that I received the news, that morning, the game had been postponed due to the field being unplayable. Apparently, all of the rain we had gotten, caused water to accumulate under the turf, which caused bubbling!

So, we quickly pivoted and focused our attention to our next opponent, Lynn University, our first of three contests on our Spring Break Trip to South Florida! Due to the field conditions, we did not actually practice on Thursday or Friday, but we did watch a good deal of film on Lynn. We met before 7am, Saturday to get our shuttle buses to JFK!

Our bus ride to the airport, check in process and passage through security, went as smooth as possible. But by the time we got to the gate, our flight was already delayed by an hour. Then it was another hour! We finally boarded and were on the runway, shortly after 1pm, when the Pilot announced that all planes to South Florida were grounded for 35 minutes! Then we were told it would be an additional hour! At 2:45pm they said we were going to be getting another route and that more information would be given in about 15 minutes. At 3:05, we were sixth in line for takeoff, which finally happened within a few more minutes! Through all of these delays, our team (and the entire plane) remained calm and upbeat, I was proud of them.

When we finally arrived in West Palm Beach, the sun was already setting and it had already been a long day. We got our Luggage, our Vans and went to Chick-fil-a for dinner before heading for the hotel. We then went to our practice field for a brief but productive practice. The team was energetic and positive throughout!

Sunday was Game Day! I was worried that the team would be sluggish after the difficult day of travel on Saturday. But we warmed up, pretty well and our energy level seemed at Game Time. We scored the first goal of the game, but the Knights (third game in a row, we played some version of Knights. Weird right) would score the next six, and we would never be closer than three goals, for the remainder of the game. For the first time this season, we were playing from behind. The Lions battled hard throughout the game, but Lynn is a a big, fast, athletic and skilled team with a lot of depth – worthy of their national ranking (#20, I think). The final score was 18 – 12. I was proud of the way we competed and kept battling back. While it was not the result we had hoped for, it was an effort we can be proud of against a high caliber opponent. That kind of game will only make us stronger.

We got pizza after the game at Aunt Lulu’s “NY Style” Pizza and Kitchen. I was skeptical, of course. But I gave it pretty high marks, as did most of the team. We were all beyond hungry, by that time, which may have effected our judgement. Whatever the case may be, that pizza hit the spot.

Yesterday, we got breakfast and hit the road early, for our next destination, Tampa. It was more than four hours of travel, across South Florida (two stops for fuel, one coffee, one Diesel).

We arrived at our Hotel, around lunchtime. Only some of the rooms were ready. We broke for lunch. And regrouped a bit later for film study, before heading to St. Leo, for practice at 4pm.

We made the twenty minute ride to St. Leo University, and were met by their Coach, who had been waiting for us. They have a very nice campus and their field, should be great to play on tonight. Practice was lively, and pleasant with cooler temperatures and less humidity than the day before in Boca Raton. We expect St. Leo to be another very formidable opponent, tonight (7pm. start). I am looking forward to the challenge and am anxious to see if we can again, play at a high level against a very good team, for four quarters.

GO LIONS!