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Today we woke up quite early at 08:00 and ate a quaint breakfast of
yogurt and bread, then headed off to Bled to swim in its mysteriously warm
lake. Pulling up to the lake we noticed an island about 400 meters off the
shore, and decided to swim to it. The task was not as easy as it seemed to
be, and a few turned back around the halfway mark, but the majority ventured
on. When we reached the island many took a long break, and many took a rest
break. A group found a ride home on a boat, but a select couple decided to
make the long swim back once more (see photo of the round trip swimmers
attached below, Eric Kay also made the round trip swim later).
After the swim we stumbled upon a beach volleyball court and hosted a
small tournament. Coach Kniffin and Coach Ryan Ammerman (Ammo) dominated the
court, with the assistance of Ammo's enormousness. After Bled we departed to
a large center in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. We watched street
performers and went from store to store looking for fun trinkets and
clothes. One big thing you'll notice if you ever travel to Slovenia is the
amount of Gelato (Italian ice cream), the amount of stores honestly doubles
the count of Starbucks and McDonalds back in the US.
We left the Capital and drove back to the Olympic training center in a
heavy rain. Once we arrived we played many rounds of the newly learned card
game known as "13". After relaxing for a while we started to warm up for our
scrimmage against the UAE (United Arab Emirates). They walked into the gym
with a presence that was somewhat intimidating. Being both out-sized and
out-aged we entered the first set. And lost rather badly, at 16-25. After
catching onto some of their hitting patterns we lost the second game in a
closer set at 22-25. And Unfortunately lost the third as well at 17-25. In
the fourth "friendship set" we finally pulled off a victory at 25-17.
Some of the players on the UAE team had amazing natural talents. The
opposite skied and jumped what seemed to be in the low 40's and the libero
covered the entire court. In the end it was a great experience to play them
and I personally look forward to playing them bright and early tomorrow
morning. Another fantastic day in Europe, and a special thanks to all the
parents who sent us here!
(Editor's Note: Aside from a great journal entry and despite the loss,
Cooper passed an impressive 2.8 in the match). |
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