Postscript: Where We Went

Last week was an amazing time. It was all about the boys and it wasn't all about lacrosse. Many lessons were learned on and off the field. Having the opportunity to watch all that growth was a very special experience for me. Thank you to everyone who commented on the blog. It was a fun way to share as much of it as I could with those of you who couldn't join us. I plan to leave the blog up, so it will still be here if you have more family or friends who haven't looked through it. The blog site will remain reserved so that it can be used for future Crush events.

One last surprise came tonight as I looked through my son's latest issue of Lacrosse Magazine. Make sure you look at the High School Boys Top 25 list. Number 25 will be a very familiar name to our boys. Check it out to clear any doubt regarding the caliber of the competition at Golden Goal. Both Crush teams faced the feeder teams for Number 25, Niskayuna! The only lingering question is how they missed Foothill High in the list. Given the skill and teamwork we saw last week, that omission should be cleared before long!

Day 8.1: Extreme Pictures

If only pictures could fully capture the Adirondack Extreme experience! The boys pushed themselves and only time kept both groups from finishing all four levels of the course. Each level went higher into the trees and was a bit more challenging. The staff made sure that everyone was ready before heading out for the real thing.

Day Eight: Extreme Fun

As I write this, the boys should be on the plane in Boston ready to fly home! Yesterday, the boys finally had their much-anticipated trip to Adirondack Extreme. The boys stretched themselves both physically and emotionally. The courses were quite impressive. The boys swung and zipped through the trees while I clicked pictures from the ground. Yes, I wimped out and didn't even go on the first course. I will post pictures after I return to California. Thanks to one of the 8th grade parents, I also have some additional 7/8 team pictures to share.

My son and I left the team at Adirondack Extreme and started on our own adventure visiting relatives in Connecticut. Thus, we missed the clearing out of the cabins and all the fun getting to the airport (2 a.m. bus departure, 4-hour bus ride, 8 a.m. flight). We already have found that some items didn't seem to make it into our bags, so we'll work on sorting those out next week.

There will be many more stories to tell of this fabulous week. I do hope that the boys share with you! Please check back early next week to check out the ropes course pictures and have a great time with your returning athletes.

Gambling and Shooting and Lightning, Oh, My!

Yes, the boys are definitely being corrupted (in a good way). Today's weather made it a great day for a field trip. They hopped on the bus rented by the camp and went to Saratoga. You read that right. The boys went to the track. They were not allowed to gamble away their funds, but they did have the opportunity to learn about probability.

On the way back from that outing, they stopped at a laser tag venue for the shooting.

Today, only the lightning was real. Several of us spent some extra time (and some extra money) in the Golden Goal store while a thunderstorm blew through. Just after we walked into the store, the call came down for us to keep the boys inside until the weather cleared. It poured for a while and then cleared off so that we could all walk back safely.

Tomorrow, the boys have their final day and a number of activities are planned. If the weather holds (i.e., no lightning), Adirondack Extreme is the first stop.

Every Day: The Camp

The pictures posted so far have mostly been cropped to highlight the players. Today it’s time to take a look around. I really wish that there was a better way to convey the beauty of this location. All this rain that gets in the way of activities makes the surrounding fields and hills wonderfully green. The camp itself is part of one of the oldest deeded properties in New York. The family who sold the partners this land has owned it for 150 years and is still the nearest neighbor. The family didn’t want to see the area developed into houses so this concept seemed much more appealing.

The camp is much like it looks on the website. As this is only the second year, everything still looks and feels new. The two turf fields are great and the boys really seemed to like them. There were two grass fields marked out that were used for practices and skills training. There are additional grass fields that can be used for either lacrosse or soccer. They were not marked this week, but they were otherwise maintained and ready for use.

The athlete’s village seemed quite nice. Admittedly, as a mom, I wasn’t generally welcomed up the hill too close to the cabins. I didn’t mind this in the least! The boys had their meals at the dining tent. There was a bit of grumbling here and there about the food, but we hear that at home. The meal I had at camp was fine.

The group has two cabins. Coaches F, S, and P and Mr. G. share the cabin with the 7/8 team while coaches W and F are in the cabin with the 5/6 team. Each cabin has two rooms. The 7/8 team just spread out throughout the two rooms. The 5/6 team organized their cabin such that one room is the locker room for gear and the other is the bunkhouse. These pictures are of the 7/8 rooms. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to venture into the 5/6 cabin again to take pictures. The phrase “looks like a bomb went off” applies well.

The views from the fields are fantastic. All of us remarked on the lovely cloud formations.

However, it is probably good that we cannot share smells over the internet. The fields and freshly cleaned air after the rain are great. Remember how I said this land used to be a farm? There are still farms nearby. Those farms have cows. I grew up on a farm and am finding more than a little humor in the reactions from those who did not grow up with these organic scents. That said, I will be very glad to leave that part of the experience behind! There are other aromas that are even less pleasant than the cows. One of the downsides to all this rain and humidity is that clothing and towels don’t dry well. Add some heat and a whole lot of playing and, well, the gear is getting pretty ripe. The boys don’t seem to notice, but the parents are staying well away from the cabins!

There is even a camp dog. This is Bailey and she is s sweetheart. She isn’t normally allowed to run loose, but she did manage to insert herself into the closing ceremonies.

Day 7.3: Catching Up - Whitewater Style

We have tubing pictures from Monday! Technology is a wonderful thing. I don't have a CD drive on my tablet PC, but I do have a thumb drive and others have laptops. Together we managed to download all the tubing/rafting pictures. Here are the best.

Day 7.2: Catching Up - 5/6 Style, Part 2

The games where the boys wore the blue "championship" jerseys were more than a bit confusing. Some of the boys (3, 12, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 44) have the same number as is on their white jersey, but quite a few have different numbers. Here are the numbers that I think I remember (white jersey # is first, blue is second): 1=0, 4=34, 5= 37, 7= 34, 8=40, 9=10, 11=21, 13=29, 14= ?, 17=27.