Virginia Tech lacrosse’s blog: on the roadVirginia Tech lacrosse’s blog: on the road
Lacrosse

Virginia Tech lacrosse’s blog: on the road

April 6: Final preparation 
Tonight's blog was written by special contributor, senior attacker, Julia Byrne

This morning was like most, with a pleasant twist of sunshine and a high UV ray index, which the girls were cheery about. Few things stop the girls from taking advantage of the nice weather and good food. After the wrap up of breakfast, the team headed to campus for some pregame practice, excitement through the air stepping on the turf one more time before the big game. 
 
The girls love pregame practice, filled with their favorite touch up drills and heading back to the basics in order to tune up for tomorrow. Practice wrapped up with a "pipe game", consisting of who can hit the most pipes out of three rounds. The championship came down to Emma Crooks and Julia Byrne, with Emma Crooks taking home a selection from the prized "treasure chest" pick up from the coach's office. 
 


 
The next stop was of course, lunch before a long scout film session. The team had a very productive session administered by assistant coach Amanda Shimp. Following the session, most girls took advantage of their free time and were in the lobby typing away and focusing in on their studies. For some, like Kendall Welch, productivity was measured by the number of coffees consumed during the day. The girls have had a long week of staying on top of their work and working hard on the field. 
 
Shortly after their study break, the team hopped back on "Abbott", or their home away from home for the week, to carb up for tomorrow's big game. With most short trips consisting of Wordscapes and story time, the girls enjoy their time bussing from place to place. Adderall, uniforms, and debit cards have been lost on this trip but no appetites. Shortly after the Italian cuisine at Papa Vino's, and one too many forkfuls of pasta later, the girls headed back to the hotel to finish more homework and recover for the big game. 
 


 
Pregame the night before usually looks like extra Normatec time, hogged mostly by Emma Harden and Mary Claire Byrne, rehab time with the best athletic trainer in America Anne Bryan, extra electrolytes for Paige Petty, and some nightly Peanut M&M's for Emma Crooks. The girls like to stick to their pregame rituals, with some of our girls deep in their computers finishing homework, or the others mastering their scouting reports through team quizzes. 
 
April 5: Practice at Notre Dame plus a sweet surprise
 
The day began with a breakfast buffet in the hotel meeting room after a late wake up call to let the student-athletes get some rest on day four of the road trip. 
 
The Hokies headed to campus for the first time to practice at Arlotta Stadium, the Fighting Irish's lacrosse stadium. Coach Sung and the staff put the team through their paces with warmups, drills and a stretching session led by Anne Bryan to conlude training for the day. 
 


 
 


 
To refuel, the squad rolled to lunch at Noodles & Co.
 
With some time to spare in the schedule, the team went back to campus to get a picture by the iconic 'Touchdown Jesus', a large mural painted on the façade of Notre Dame's Hesburgh Library. 
 
From there the bus headed to South Bend Chocolate Company, a local factory and store that produces 7,000 pounds of candy each day. The staff there led the group in a tour of the facility giving some insight into how the chocolate is produced and the scope of the company's size and distribution range. 
 


 
After the team spent some time in the chocolate store, the bus headed back to the hotel for study hall and free time before dinner at Ponderosa.


April 4: On the road again
 
The morning began by packing the bus at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino hotel followed by a quick breakfast at Tim Horton's. From there the squad rolled out to Niagara Falls, which includes Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls which is known collectively as 'Niagara Falls'. Combined the Falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America that has a vertical drop of 160 feet or more.
 
After crossing the Canadian border, the team headed to Troy Athens High School in Troy, Michigan for practice. It was a homecoming for head coach John Sung who attended Troy in his youth. He was able to see some old friends and family who came out to watch the Hokies train. 
 
To refuel after practice, the Hokies headed to Fuji Sushi for an all you can eat experience unlike any other. The menu included frog legs, chicken feet and just about any other sushi topping that you can imagine. As a special treat, ice cream and dessert was served followed by fortune cookies. The student-athletes took turns sharing their fortunes with the group.
 
Then it was back on the sleeper bus, essentially the team's second home for the past few days with over 20 hours logged on it. It has fostered a friendly atmosphere with its bunk beds and couches forming an area for the ladies to play games and share a laugh together. 
 
As the bus nears South Bend, Indiana, there are a lot of tired Hokies waiting to get to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow will bring another opportunity to practice, this time at Notre Dame with some fun team bonding activities to follow.
 
 
April 3: Gameday at Syracuse


April 2: Travel day - Blacksburg to Syracuse

The day began with a 4:30 a.m. call time at the Cassell Coliseum bus loop to begin loading gear, of which there is a lot. Between the student-athletes, staff members, medical equipment and sticks, organization is key. Assistant Coach Gregg Gebhard expertly packed the underside of the bus and the team was on its way.
 
After a pit stop in northern Virginia to change drivers, the squad continued on to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to stop for lunch at Wegmans, a local favorite. The team grabbed some food in to go containers and boarded the bus to continue the journey north.  
 
The squad headed to Ensley Athletic Center to practice and stretch their legs after a long travel day. We had the facility for about 90 minutes and the staff put the team through their paces which included; star drill, breakout, draw controls, scout offense and defense and triangle shooting drill.
 

 
 
The players concluded practice with some stretching led by athletic trainer Anne Bryan.
 
From there, the team headed to dinner at the fan favorite restaurant, PF Chang's to chow down on some fine Asian cuisine. The spread included lettuce wraps as an appetizer and in pairs, the student-athletes had the opportunity to order meals to enjoy and share. 
 
After a delicious meal, there was time to shop at the mall for nearly an hour before meeting at the hotel to unload the bus.
 
Finally, at the end of a long day, the team sat down for film study in the hotel meeting room, putting the final touches on the scout of the nation's third-ranked team, Syracuse.