Daytona Day 4:
The sun was back out on the beach this morning as our team prepared for another busy day. This morning we had an early start arriving at a local elementary school at 9 am. We had the opportunity to put on a presentation for the fourth and fifth grade students at Pine Trail Elementary school about being "Champions of Character." We introduced ourselves to the students and told them a little about where we were from before covering the five core values of being a Champion of Character: respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship. We were able to entertain and interact with the students through skits, interactive games, questions from the audience and finally a quick skills session. Colleen was definitely the hit of the presentation as she fascinated the kids with her flip throw that instantly won them over. This was not only a very rewarding experience, but we were also able to give back to the community, something that our team highly values.
Even though the beach was calling our name after lunch, we decided to drive to the game field at Embry Riddle to watch one of the first games of the tournament: Lindsey Wilson (the number one seed) vs McKendree before practice. Today's practice focused on some key set plays that looked very promising and ended with a scrimmage. The hour flew by as our excitement grew and we prepared for our upcoming game tomorrow morning.
After practice we returned to the hotel for some free time. Some girls headed straight for the beach and to the pool, while others opted for a quick nap since we had such an early start this morning. Later on in the evening we headed back to the game field for the "Parade of Champions". Before the parade our team was lined up next to our opponent Northwood and there was definitely some tension in the air that made us even more eager to play. Each team in the tournament walked along the field as they were introduced by the announcer to the many fans that packed the stands. Throughout the week more and more familiar faces have come to Daytona to lend their support for our team. Our number one fan and soccer mom, Pam Ash, Dan Hanton, many of the girls' families from across Canada and the U.S, and even David Lee packed the stands among others and I have to say that we definitely had the loudest fan support thanks to them all!
We ended our day with a great dinner with the team and all of our fans and then a little bit of free time before curfew. Tomorrow is finally the day we have been waiting for since winning our game against Hastings a couple of weeks ago. All the hours of practice and dedication will be put to the test tomorrow morning at 11 (10 central) in our game against Northwood. Wish us luck!
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mshelton@graceland.edu
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