Monday 25th March 2013….Day 12!!!!

First of all Happy Birthday to my lovely Niece Sam…Hope you had a great day…

Here Sam and I are dipping our feet in Loch Lomond last summer!!!

So today was sports day…..Pauline had to work today and Corning was flying back to Colorado so I offered to drive Ashley to the Tennis facility and spend the day there…here is the day of a budding superstar!!

We arrived in time for her 8.45am start and off she goes…

So here is the deal with Ashley..the USTA development committee selects 24 girls every year to enter their program and there are 3 facilities here, Florida and New York…so the top 24 girls in the country are in these three camps and Ashley was selected almost a year ago……she gets complete all day coaching including, fitness, nutrition, physiological…the whole works…she is also sponsored by the Babalot tennis company who supply her with all her equipment…….this is a monster deal and she is so fortunate to have been selected…it is a huge commitment for her and also her parents……everything is paid for and the goal of this development is that they are striving to get at least 5 of these girls into the second week of the US open in 5 or 7 years time……so you can tell we are talking an elite group.

So for 2 hours Ashley and two other girls did very hard and tiring tennis drills

.then it was off to the track for strength training and then lunch.

During lunch I walked the whole facility which is magnificent..it is also the home of the famous

soccer team which until recently Beckham was a member….I did stop and watch some of the soccer drills

What a small world as I was watching these young men work out I knew I recognize some of them and after asking one of the coaches I was told they were a team from Edmonton, Canada and here for a week of training  I then asked the coach if they were ever in a tournament in Kamloops BC about three years ago and he said yes and I said I know I reffed your final game!!!!

I then went into the velodrome, my first time in one of these buildings…

and was amazed to see this young man

Check his legs out?? Also his shorts??  I spoke to him and he was a very kind enough to talk to me for a while it turns out the Canadian sprint team trains here whilst waiting for a velodrome to be built in Vancouver….his dream and goal is the next Olympics!!!

See how fast they go!!!

I then went back to the courts and watched Ashley play a three hour marathon practice game

It was a wonderful entertainment these girls were so good, hitting winners after winners!!!

It went to a third set tie breaker which Ashley lost….but in my mind no losers it was a great experience for both kids!!!

I was very impressed with the day and now have a deeper understanding of what these girls have to go through and a new respect for them…I cannot wait to see her in two weeks in the Easter bowl Tournament….I drove Ashley home and she was tired out and we did not get home till after 5pm!!!

Pauline cooked a lovely supper and I got all my stuff ready and my case packed as I leave tomorrow to fly to Vancouver where I am staying the night because the next day I have an appointment at the Mexican Consulate and then take the ferry home to Nanaimo……

Thanks Ashley for giving up your room and letting me watch you today and thanks also Pauline and Corning for your wonderful hospitality…looking forward to seeing you again in 2 weeks!!

Yashi Koshi!!