First-year Wesleyan player Luke Wherry reports on his team’s recent training trip to California.
Middletown, CT — During the week of January 5th to the 12th both the Wesleyan men and women’s squash teams trained in Palo Alto and San Francisco, California. The trip was incredibly exciting to many members of the team: for some it was leaving the dreary and cold Connecticut weather, for some it was going to California for the first time, and for me personally it was to eat as much In-N-Out Burger as possible.
We rented two vans, both somehow equipped with a PlayStation 2. The van was not only a means of transportation, but also a competitive video gaming arena. The training in California was quite intense at times. After over 12 hours of travel, we played squash at the impressive Stanford University facility, and then proceeded to do interval work on the track. As the week continued so did the training. Through the training were able to come together as a team, and support one another.
On our second day we played at the beautiful University Club in San Francisco. The University Club had two pristine doubles courts. Some members of the team had never played doubles before. Playing doubles with the team was both fun and incredibly humorous. One of the best parts of the trip was that we were all able to explore San Francisco. Many went to Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Golden Gate bridge park. A few of us rode a cable car and hung out in Union Square.
My personal highlight of the trip, besides beating Conn, was when we were driving back from San Francisco on the second night of the trip. Coach Shona Kerr made a wrong turn, and as we were making a U turn, the hubcap popped off the tire and proceed to roll down the street. We all laughed as sophomore Keitaro Sagawa ran down the street to return the hubcap.
Much was achieved during our week visit. The men’s team was able to avenge a tough loss earlier in the season to Conn. The women played some very difficult schools, but were able step up their game and play at a very competitive level. What was best about the trip was the amount of team bonding. Everything we did, we did as a team. We were able to train as a team, come together in matches as a team, and most importantly have fun as a team. The trip was overall a blast, and much was accomplished for both Wesleyan men and woman’s squash teams.
