Men's Soccer: Day 2 In Olathe, By (Midfielder) Zoran Kukic November 15, 2007 Olathe, KS- Waking up in the morning wasn’t quite as early as day one. We had to be awake and ready to board the buses by 10:15. I failed to wake up on time in order to enjoy the breakfast at our hotel. Speaking of the hotel, it is more like a home as our rooms are like actual apartments with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and 2 bathrooms. In addition there is food and drinks available in the lobby free. We ventured off to the practice field which again we only had a designated 60 minutes to use. It was a very light practice as we were just trying to get our touches and focus down for the biggest game of the year that was now less than 24 hours away. After the practice was finished we made it to lunch after a reoccurring pattern of getting lost. We ate at Johnnies Barbeque, which again was a great and filling meal. It was an exciting time as we got to go back to our nice hotel rooms. On the way back home to the hotel, on the usually loud cruisers you could feel the tension and focus setting in. There was a period of absolute silence and everyone was thinking about the same thing and what the task at hand is Friday morning. In order to get our focus and rest we were given the rest of the day off. My room was one of the ones blessed with wireless internet access and people made their way over with their laptops to use the service. This is the second day in a row that the room was filled with laptops and guys checking their e-mail and facebooks. If you walked in you would think it was some kind of gaming convention. After the “gamers” disbursed we all got some rest until going to dinner at 6:30. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant close by called Johnny Cascone’s. It was a great meal, and a sophisticated place. It is definitely a place that I could not afford to take any girls on a date unless I had the assistance of my father’s credit card. It was another great meal and it was that time again as we got to go back to our rooms, but before that we had a meeting in a conference room of the hotel. I know meetings can’t really be fun or exciting but this meeting was very emotional and helped us get into a better state of mind for our game on Friday. That meeting helped us realize that we have had a great season but it is not yet over, and brought us even closer together. It is a summary of how great the atmosphere on the team is and how much we all respect each other. We than went to our rooms, with this intensity and focus to prepare for tomorrow. We play at 11AM against Concordia in the first round of the National Tournament. It is what we have all been working and waiting for. For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact: Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director (641) 784-5318 mshelton@graceland.edu
November 15, 2007 Olathe, KS- Waking up in the morning wasn’t quite as early as day one. We had to be awake and ready to board the buses by 10:15. I failed to wake up on time in order to enjoy the breakfast at our hotel. Speaking of the hotel, it is more like a home as our rooms are like actual apartments with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and 2 bathrooms. In addition there is food and drinks available in the lobby free. We ventured off to the practice field which again we only had a designated 60 minutes to use. It was a very light practice as we were just trying to get our touches and focus down for the biggest game of the year that was now less than 24 hours away. After the practice was finished we made it to lunch after a reoccurring pattern of getting lost. We ate at Johnnies Barbeque, which again was a great and filling meal. It was an exciting time as we got to go back to our nice hotel rooms. On the way back home to the hotel, on the usually loud cruisers you could feel the tension and focus setting in. There was a period of absolute silence and everyone was thinking about the same thing and what the task at hand is Friday morning. In order to get our focus and rest we were given the rest of the day off. My room was one of the ones blessed with wireless internet access and people made their way over with their laptops to use the service. This is the second day in a row that the room was filled with laptops and guys checking their e-mail and facebooks. If you walked in you would think it was some kind of gaming convention. After the “gamers” disbursed we all got some rest until going to dinner at 6:30. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant close by called Johnny Cascone’s. It was a great meal, and a sophisticated place. It is definitely a place that I could not afford to take any girls on a date unless I had the assistance of my father’s credit card. It was another great meal and it was that time again as we got to go back to our rooms, but before that we had a meeting in a conference room of the hotel. I know meetings can’t really be fun or exciting but this meeting was very emotional and helped us get into a better state of mind for our game on Friday. That meeting helped us realize that we have had a great season but it is not yet over, and brought us even closer together. It is a summary of how great the atmosphere on the team is and how much we all respect each other. We than went to our rooms, with this intensity and focus to prepare for tomorrow. We play at 11AM against Concordia in the first round of the National Tournament. It is what we have all been working and waiting for. For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact: Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director (641) 784-5318 mshelton@graceland.edu
