Maui Wowi & Pre-game Hacky

Smoothies sold at our games, they’re soooo good!! Available in several flavors including strawberry banana, pina colada, lemon, and more! The fun part about them being sold at our games is yelling out "MAUI WOWI!" whenever possible.
Before every game a group of us partake in some serious hacky sack! Each of us have signature moves and the goal is for each person in the circle to touch the hacky without it hitting the ground. Once we accomplish that it’s called a “hack.” If we all touch it twice it’s a “hacky,” and three times is a “hacky sack!” It’s very rare that we get further than that, but it has happened. Since our hacky tryouts video, we have had several new additions to the team. Only by a monitored tryout, of course. They include: Amy Hudson, Megan Gibson, and Savannah Long. Our most recent walk-ons in training are Michelle Tatlock and Tory Yamaguchi. Michelle has shown her dedication to making the team by purchasing her own hacky sack to practice. Tory’s skills are developing quickly; today she did her first toe pop! We’re hoping to initiate them in Kimberly. And our honorary member, Belle, is always welcome to play ☺

Mama Schnack & 4th of July

My mama came to visit for a week! We mostly just hung out in a-town but we did spend a day in Philly. Margo and I took mama to see all the historic stuff Philly has to offer. She got mad at me because I took random pictures on her camera and the battery died, oops. So here are some of the pictures I took on my phone for her ☺

betsy ross house & elfreth's alley



Tory, Tatlock and myself ventured to Philly for the 4th of July parade. We rode on a float along with representatives from the other Philadelphia sports teams. The Eagle’s band was also on our float and they played live music the entire time. It was fun but hearing the same three songs for a few hours got pretty annoying. By the end of the parade I knew all the words to the Eagles fight song, which I never knew existed. So at least I learned something new! ☺

our view from the float & the float itself

Arena Football & Road Trips

Our athletic trainer (Julie’s) boyfriend plays arena football for the Reading Express. I think most of us had never been to an arena football game before, so it was pretty cool. It’s a lot faster than regular football which keeps it entertaining. The field looks so tiny though, especially with the bigger players like Julie’s boy who’s like 6’9”! After the game we got to go on the field and meet him.

For most of our road trips we drive cars, with the exception of Chicago and Rockford. My road trip buddies were my roomie, of course and Teague (aka Mom). The first and most essential stop in all road trips was for coffee. Mom couldn’t have said it better in her text message: “We are leaving at 6am sharp. We will make a stop at Dunkin as soon as we leave.” I can guarantee you our car was the most fun… I mean, who else had road trip hats?! Exactly.

YouTube

Hey everyone, I know it's been FOREVER since I've blogged... and I will get to that soon but for now check out our YouTube videos!! Enjoy :)

When I get paid...

This was a big hit last year, so I thought I'd do it again. I put up a sign in the hallway a week ago and here are the contributions:
When I get paid....
I'm going to buy a new hub-cap for my car - Smitty
I'm gonna make Clare a poster for her door - Hall
I'm gonna save my money just in case... - Spencer & Em-Dizzle
I'm gonna go grocery shopping - Spence
Get a hair cut and wax the bushes above my eyes!! - Hall
Fill up my car with gas - Chippy
Go to the mall - Birk
Get my sixth guitar string - Margo
Pay my credit card bill - Margo
Pay my Dad for my last 3 phone bills - Birk
I'm getting eye black - Margo
I'm getting my car door handle fixed - Birk
Search for better colored headbands for colored headband night - Birk
Buying DVDs to watch in the lounge with Sho! Most likely Dawson's Creek.... season 1, 2, or 4 - Hall
I'm going to Dunkin!!! - The Force

we finally got paid, YAAAYYYY!!!!!! :) Now I pretty much will be sending my entire check to my Dad, shoot :(

80's Workout Video

There's never a dull moment here at Cedar Crest... first it was hacky tryouts and then we made an 80s workout video. This is just a short preview but it's definitely entertaining. Enjoy!

Netherlands & Riptide

LIVE STREAMING GAMES!!!
For the first time in NPF history, the Philadelphia Force will make
available a live video stream of every Force home game. Fans from anywhere
on earth with an internet connection now will be able to see the Force in
action, and more importantly they will get to see the greatest players in
the game! So visit the Force website for further details of how to
subscribe or click this link:
http://onyxweb.streamguys.com/subscribe/force_signup.html

Netherlands
Game 1 - W 6-4
Game 2 - W 5-2
Game 3 - W 5-3
Game 4 - W 5-4

Riptide
Game 1 - L 1-5
Game 2 - L 2-8
Game 3 - W 5-4
Game 4 - W 3-0

Da Vinci Science Center

Smitty, Friedman and I did a two day appearance at the Da Vinci Science Center here on the Cedar Crest campus. We talked to junior high students about science concepts and how they relate to sports. We did exercises to measure velocity and distance; they tested their reaction time and how fast they could throw a ball. I know that Emily, Ashley and I had fun doing it and it seemed like the students enjoyed it too.

We even got to ride a GyroSphere! What is a GyroSphere, you ask? I don't really know how to describe it... just watch the video!

Jersey Number Revealed

The fans voted and on opening day I was finally given my jersey number!!! Yay, I'm not ?? anymore :)

I LOVE sushi and Hacky try-outs

I had Sushi for this first time and I liked it!! We went to this little place across the street from our dorm and it was really good. Margo and I got chicken teriyaki and we split the Shrimp something roll. Shoooot I already forgot what it was called. Tempura? Can't be sure. It was quite the experience though... the waitress brought out hot towels and gave one to Margo, who said "thanks" and put in on the table, then I just held mine and waited for someone else to get one, and finally Rocky got hers and wiped off her hands. Margo and I were like "ohhhh," haha. Then we wanted to practice using our chop sticks so we made up a game where one person drops a piece of straw wrapper and the other person tries to catch it with their sticks. At first it was just me and Margo playing (since we're kids) but the rest of em couldn't help to join the fun. And just imagine a bunch of athletes making a simple game soooo competitive, haha. You should have heard us yelling in disappointment when someone would juuust miss. It was hilarious.

Now, for the serious stuff. For those of you that don't know, one of our pre-game rituals for the Force is to play Hacky. Not everyone plays, just those who want to but we get pretty into it. Last year we had 6 members on Team Hack but we've lost a few of those players so we had to recruit for this year's team. A few nights ago we hosted round one of try-outs. Jenna Hall aka "Haller" and Ashley Smith aka "Smitty" were our first victims. Each try-out began with a verbal question and answer session followed by a physical skills test. Tune in to our youbtube video below to see the results...

Phillies Day

On Saturday the Phillies held a free clinic for over 200 softball players. The Force along with some of the Phillies "ball girls" worked the clinic teaching hitting, defense and pitching. I can't speak for the other stations, but I know the pitching station went well. All the parents thanked us and said we did a good job and all the girls seemed to enjoy it as well.
After the clinic we headed over to the Phillies stadium (across the street), to get ready for the game. They fed us lunch and provided us with a locker room to shower and get changed. We watched a little bit of BP before we headed over to lead the parade of softball players ranging from tee ball to high school. Just walking into the tunnel and hearing all the girls scream when they saw us almost made me cry. Seeing the excitement on their faces and hearing them scream like we're celebrities just makes me love the game even more. Being an idol for those young girls and paving the way for the NPF to grow into what it should be is what we all play for. After we led the pack around the entire stadium, we returned to the 3rd base line where each of us were announced and Ruth Hartman, a hall of fame baseball player, was honored. Amy Harre and Ashley Smith threw the first pitch of the game but none of us got to see it :( After that they divided us into groups on the concourse to sign autographs through the 3rd inning. Amy, Margo, Ashley, Tory and myself (pitchers and catchers) were all together. After the 5th inning Rocky and I got to do a skit on the field with the Fanatic! We struck him out :) I'm not gonna lie, I was REALLY nervous that I was either going to hit him or over-throw it, but miraculously I didn't. I'm still trying to find a video of it, but I haven't had any luck yet. In the 7th inning our entire team danced on the 1st base dugout to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun with the Fanatic. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good day :)