This morning, the staff left their casino, um.. I mean Hotel in Atlantic City and made their way back to St Augustine's Prep to pick up the boys after their home stays last night. Lots of smiles as the boys were playing basketball when we arrived and plenty of handshakes and high fives and the odd hug from host to guest. Some great friendships made.
What a great Augustinian community we all belong to! We packed the bus and waved goodbye and made our way to Villanova University - a big uni with a really successful basketball program. They won the 2016 NCAA Basketball title. Their last previous title came in the 80s so its a big deal to win it and it helps attract new students. Their current stadium is being refurbed (thanks to a cool $22 million donation from a wealthy benefactor) so that next year they will have a new 6500 seat stadium that is top notch and up to date with all the latest gear, but also keep the community feel that the uni prides itself on. We met one of the coaches who took us into the new basketball training centre, mens locker room and then onto the campus dining hall for lunch. The University shop was also visited and the boys picked up some cool stuff. More clothing too for Miss Donnellan. We may need to visit a luggage store next for an additional suitcase.... In the last few years, one St Augustine's old boy has attended Villanova University - Matt King (brother of former Manly Sea Eagle Jason King) and he has since graduated and gone onto work at McDonalds. No just kidding - he's in top level Finance and has set himself up nicely. For our boys - the link you already have with our school and Villanova University is a strong one - so study hard and you may just end up here shooting hoops for the starting five in a brand new stadium. Who's interested?
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This morning three of our players were given some private coaching on the best way to effectively execute a slam dunk by our very own staff on tour. Mr Bataille may seem diminutive but his advice to these three has already worked wonders...
Evening everyone. We made our way out of New York this morning in shining sunlight but still cool temperatures. We drove south out of the city and got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty before continuing over the state border towards St Augustine's Prep. Thats when the sleeping started.... I may lose my job with one photo below... We had a quick lunch stop at a little town just outside of Richland at a Wendy's restaurant. Different to the Wendy's we have at home. They have a burger there called the "Baconator" which contains that unique sixth food group. Prior to this we had a moment of good luck when the bus we were in had to stop and turn around as we approached a low bridge. We slowed down to check and - yep - if we went another metre further we would have taken the roof off the bus. Good call! Arriving at St Augustine's Prep was quite unique. Lots of things we recognise at home - images of St Augustine, statues, verses and phrases on the walls. The school itself is great - the basketball hall is brilliant, swimming pool, football fields - all top class. We were made to feel very welcome and we met the Head Coach - Paul Rodio - plus many other staff and we got started for the games. The school also has the coolest name in all of basketball history - The Hermits Mixed results in the games this afternoon. The Prep boys were pretty classy and came out firing. Two games played simultaneously in two different halls - the Freshmen went down 54-25, Sophomore won 59-37, Junior Varsity lost 50-25 and Varsity lost 60-35.
Not exactly the result we were looking for but the boys are showing promise against a style of basketball they would not normally come up against in Australia. However, some strong performers today included Kelsey Ingram, James Gow and Josh Nelson. Coaches Brad and Joel again did a fab job running the two teams. Joel is snoring away as I type. Post matches, the boys met their host families where they will stay tonight. The afternoon tea was also something to behold - pizza, pretzels, cake, biscuits - all put on by the SAC Prep families. Many thanks for great hospitality. A few WhatsApp messages are going around and the word is that they are pretty happy with how that's been going so far. When we left it was all smiles. We suspect some sleep will be gotten tonight and hope that no Dunkin' Donuts are brought in by hosts. The Staff and parents made their way to Atlantic City for an early night. We pick up the boys in the morning and make our way to Philadelphia to take on Malvern Prep tomorrow afternoon - a pretty good basketball school we are told. Wins here will be a massive boost to the squad and a step up the International Augustinian Schools Basketball Championship rankings (IASBC). I actually just made that bit up, but it should be a real thing. Go Saints tomorrow! If they gave awards for "Dirtiest windows on a bus" or "Stinkiest toilet on public transport" our bus would be taking the gong this week. Not sure why we were dealt this bus but its going on the feedback sheet! See you in Philly - Don't forget to leave your comments and well wishes for the teams! Game day morning and we were greeted by cool conditions again but it stopped snowing overnight and skies were clear and bright. Still plenty of snow on the ground though and still a Dunkin' Donut shop across the road from our hotel. A few of the boys should have diabetes by now... There will have to be a donut amnesty soon....
We boarded the bus at 11:30am and another new driver today. This one looks like he had driven a few buses across the Mexican border in his time, but he knew his way uptown, through Harlem Globetrotter territory and over to the Bronx to our base for the day - Cardinal Spellman High School. The school itself was great - they had a football field and a soccer field (both synthetic and both covered in a lovely blanket of snow) and their basketball hall was nicely sized with no less than 10 hoops placed around the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Their auditorium is also massive - picture the Warringah Mall Hoyts theater no. 1. Fun Fact: The school is a Roman Catholic high school and named after the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. The school has about 1300 students and the most famous ex-student is a current US Supreme Court Judge. The school has appeared in a few TV shows (none that we get in Aus) and Oprah Winfrey visited the school a few years back to do a segment. The games were really good contests - the Freshman boys went down by 1 in a really good quality match 46-45 and the Sophomore crew met a rampant Spellman team who sped away to a 18 point half time lead. The Cardinal was definitely looking down on them in their 41-20. The varsity match match was highly anticipated and the Saints boys got off to a great to lead by a couple at the big break. The second half saw the lead extend, but a comeback of sorts by the hosts saw them steal the lead with only a few mins to go. Up and down it went until the scores were locked at full time and the first lot of OT for the tour was called. Brad's composed demeanor helped calm the boys and a series of fouls enabled the boys to inch their way ahead and eventually finish on top 67-62. We were really well looked after by our hosts - many thanks to the CSHS for the hospitality. Today, we head off to South New Jersey to meet up with the first of our Augustinian brother schools - St Augustine's Prep School, Richmond - where the boys will enjoy their first home stay experiences. First request when the get to their homes - "May I do some washing please?" They are starting to woof a bit. A bit of action in NYC this morning around 42nd Street, but we are all good and taking with us some great memories from this wonderful city. See you in Jersey! JS This morning, Mrs Harris and I took the opportunity to visit the World Trade Centre and view the pools of remembrance and also see the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
This is such a precious museum to the citizens of New York and shows the strength and resilience of them all during such a terrible time in history. Many artefacts taken from ground zero - Photographs, stories, vision, interviews, items of property belonging to teh victims and recordings are on display and in some parts its very moving. Nearly everyone can remember where they were that day and this museum is there to ensure that the nearly 3,000 people who were killed that day, are not forgotten. It was a shame that all boys could not visit this amazing site – none of them were alive in 2001 so next tour, we will ensure they get there. Truly an incredible place to visit. Today we awoke to snow falling in the streets – gently at first, then it really started to come down and didn’t stop all day.
We departed the hotel in our small groups again and did our best to look at as much of the city that we didn’t do the night before. BUT we didn’t find Jennifer Lopez again unfortunately. Some groups visited the NBA store again, some the Nike store, some the Adidas store and some Times Square. Every group visited a Dunkin’ Donuts store at some point. The 12 for $6 deal seems to be popular among the boys. We saw lots of other cool stuff - the NY Public Library (remember the opening scene in the original Ghostbusters?), Christmas trees for sale on the street, steam coming up from the vents, homeless people everywhere, a few subway rides and more Dunkin' Donuts. They may be addictive. All the boys were keen to visit Madison Square Garden for the College match between Kentucky University and Monmouth University. The MSG is one of the most famous stadiums in the world. It is home to the New York Knicks (NBA), and New York Rangers (NHL) teams plus any concert that happens or big time boxing match (Mike Tyson had many bouts there), WWE or even a movie set in New York has the ‘Garden’ in it (plenty of Rocky fights here). Billy Joel holds the record for most consecutive concerts in there too at 46. The game was a great experience and although it wasn’t the same type of theatre that the NBA games produce, the skill level was up there and the youngest players out there were only a couple of years older than our boys on tour. As we purchased tickets the the door, we were spread out a bit, but all had a good seat. Scalpers everywhere too. Post game we managed to be standing at the right spot when the Monmouth cheerleaders walked past us. Never seen the boys look up from their phones so fast. Kentucky got up in the end by 20. Incessant Aussie flag waving was unsuccessful at getting in the big screen. We headed back to the hotel post game for a toilet stop and a change of socks. At 3pm we headed out again in our groups for some more exploring. Mrs Harris and Miss Donnellan achieved a lifelong dream of visiting Tiffany’s for breakfast (at 4:30 in the afternoon). More shopping (and a few items taken back to places or swapped) and the boys made their way back to the hotel for a 9pm roll call and all were accounted for. We welcomed a new addition to the tour group tonight – Mr Byrne popped in and will be staying with us and coming to our games in Chicago as well as rubbing shoulders with the fellow Augustinian big wigs. Mr Byrne had caught the shopping bug early, as he walked into the hotel lobby with bags draped over both arms. Tomorrow we head to Cardinal Spellman High School (Google that) for our third tour fixture. Game 1 tip-off is at 1pm with the others to follow. Stay tuned for photos and match results here. JS We have left the sights and sounds of Boston and arrived to some more peculiar sights and sounds of New York City, via the University of Hartford for lunch.
We left our fabulous Boston hotel on time and a near perfect numbering off by the boys. A new bus driver too this morning with an uncanny resemblance to the late actor John Candy. She was a great driver all the same. The drive to Hartford was to be about 2hrs and Brad had set up a meeting with a couple of basketball coaches to meet us and show us around the campus. Another opportunity to photograph some unsuspecting sleepers! Another relatively small uni, Hartford boasts all the facilities we have come to expect, but uniquely they have no Football team. The basketball team is pretty good though with quite a few internationals and an Aussie guy from Geelong is in their starting line-up. George Blagojevic is his name and he’s having a hoot at Hartford. Brad was able to break the ice and expose his alpha male dominance with a story from his NBL days playing for the Geelong Wildcats in the 80s. Was great to watch. We had a look around the university – the basketball arena was impressive and the boys were able to shoot a few hoops from all angles. At the other end of the court, a female Hartford player was doing some practice with her coach and just quietly, she was better than all our boys put together. She missed one shot out of about 200 attempts from all angles. The weights room was nice too and its pretty much used by the basketballers only. Lunch was in the campus dining hall and again we were impressed. Another waffle machine did tempt me, however this time a tray of Red Velvet chocolate cakes was the sweets option of the day. For the rest of the group, sweet potato chips were on everyone’s plate for main. Yummo. The self-serve ice-cream was well used by the boys. Onward to NYC and as we approached the traffic started to slow down and once over one particular hill, we saw our first glimpse of the famous Manhattan skyline – with the Empire State Building taking pride of place. We followed the road right into the city and made our way past the streets and places that we have heard of before – 34th Street (The Miracle on..), Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Trump Tower, Broadway, The New York Public Library (where they burnt all the books in that movie The Day After Tomorrow), Plaza Hotel (hi-jinks with Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2) and then the towering Empire State Building which is quite close to our hotel. Our driver displayed some particularly impressive / aggressive driving moves down the main street when trying to negotiate the people, the cars and the cabs. I learnt a few things so look out next time Im in the St Augustine's bus on a slow moving Pittwater Road. The Walcott Hotel is in a great spot, but as you walk in, you could be mistaken for stepping into a timezone. 114 years old this place is and Mark Twain once stayed here as did Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. True story. The décor is very Victorian indeed. Once checked in and settled, the boys met us downstairs again – warmly dressed – where we split into groups of 5-6 students per teacher and went off to discover what we could in 3hrs. Some groups went uptown, some went downtown and the stories we came back with were great. The NBA store on 5th Avenue was popular, some visited Times Square others made it to Madison Square Garden for a look around. The highlight was my group who stumbled upon the set of a movie with Jennifer Lopez looking scrumptious in a black overcoat. She got to within a few metres of me and I hastily snapped a grainy photo, much to the annoyance of the director as I had the flash on. Take 2, everybody. We fled the scene. Have no idea what the movie is called but will see when it comes out if we made the final cut. Tomorrow we have a full day to continue our exploring and looks like we may catch the Kentucky v Monmouth College game at Madison Square Garden for those boys that are keen for that. More shopping looms for the boys (mostly Miss Donnellan) and perhaps a bit of snow on the way too. Next games for the boys on Sunday afternoon. JS PS - As I type this is a little NY deli, its starting to snow outside. Some pictures on their way if this tomorrow. Howdy everyone. Another big day for the touring party today starting with a visit to the famous Harvard University this morning. Established in 1636, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities. And its only about $50K a year to go there - bargain! Fun fact: Harvard University holds the eighth-most Olympic medals among American universities (108 total medals). We visited the basketball court as well as the S&C centre and the Football field which is still the original concrete structure built way back in 1903 as a Gift From The Class of 1879. It holds about 35,000 and the annual Harvard v Yale Football match regularly sells out. Its undergone a few changes over the years (artificial surface, lighting, new scoreboard etc) but still no individual seats. Bring a cushion or get a sore bum. A few celebrities that went to Harvard include Matt Damon, Barack Obama, Tommy Lee Jones, JFK and Conan O'Brien. Plenty of scholarships are handed out, so boys get studying to get offered a spot. We walked over the river into Harvard square for a shop at the HU shop and then lunch. A new haircut for the blogger too! We bumped into a Aussie student at the shops - he detected Miss Donnellan's loud booming voice among the aisles - he went to Canberra Grammar, then Sydney Grammar School and is now at Harvard and loving it. The bus trip to Maldon Catholic High School was about 40 mins and when we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the students and the staff. The school has a great history with plenty of old boys making their mark in the US in various fields. One old boy you might recognise is pictured at the bottom of this post. I recognise him anyway! The basketball hall was up there with its quality and game 1 tipped off at 3pm and the Freshman boys never looked phased winning 68-25. Game 2 sophomore match was a great game and Saints got up again and the junior varsity match went right down to the wire - Saints coming away with a 63-61 win. The varsity match was pretty physical and the first half was eventful with some big shots coming from beyond the 3-point line. By the final quarter, Malden had opened up a 15 point lead which finished at 65-44 when the buzzer rang for the final time. A great hit out for all teams and a much improved performance from two days ago in Dallas. Saints Coaches Brad and Joel had an epic afternoon but did a great job managing the boys and giving them all game time. A big high five to Malden HS who were great hosts - providing us with plenty of water and Gatorade during the games and yummy pizza for our dinner. A number of their parents were appreciative of the match and commented on the skill and size of our players - they hadn't seen such height! Thanks Malden HS - we'll be back to play you again and would love to have you in Sydney anytime. Tomorrow we are on the bus for the road trip to the Big Apple - New York City. Its about 4hrs away but we are stopping to visit Hartford University for lunch along the way. See you in the city that never sleeps! The pic above is from the popular sitcom Seinfeld (Final episode where the carjacking scene lands the Seinfeld four - Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine - in jail for failing to help under the 'Good Samaritan' law). The actor on the left is John Pinette (Malden Catholic HS old boy - 1992)
Evening all,
We've left Dallas and endured a bumpy 3 hr flight to the beautiful city of Boston. A few boys managed some shut-eye on the plane. See below. A few anxious moments at the check in counter too when a few boarding passes weren't there for our group. A couple of phone calls and some sweet talking to the American Airlines staff got us all on the plane. One of the most indepth security checks too at Dallas Airport. Only thing missing was rubber gloves. Rookie Traveler Mistake of the Day goes to Dylan Richmond who left his passport on the sink in the plane toilet. That wont happen again, will it, Dylan? So here we are in chilly Boston. So what is it famous for? BOSTON BUILT AMERICA’S FIRST SUBWAY IN 1897 - The Tremont Street Subway is also the third in the world to use electric traction. THE OLDEST PUBLIC PARK IN THE USA IS IN BOSTON - Boston Common was established in 1634 and is still a popular place for folks to gather. THE FIRST DUNKIN’ DONUTS WAS LOCATED NEAR BOSTON - The iconic donut shop could be found in Quincy, Massachusetts, about 11 miles from Boston. THE VERY FIRST CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN THE USA WAS IN BOSTON - The year was 1765 when Walter Baker opened his chocolate factory in Dorchester. THERE ARE NO HAPPY HOURS AT BARS IN BOSTON - It’s against the law since 1984 when a drunk driver killed 20-year-old Kathleen Barry (we may have test this Law...) THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY BRIDGE IS FAMOUS FOR SOMETHING NO OTHER BRIDGE CAN CLAIM - This unique bridge in the only one in the world where a boat can sail under a train going under a vehicle driving under an airplane. THE BIGGEST ART HEIST IN HISTORY TOOK PLACE IN BOSTON - More than $500 million worth of paintings were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. FENWAY PARK IS THE OLDEST ORIGINAL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM STILL IN USE - it opened in 1912 and is home to the Boston Red Sox. BOSTON IS HOME TO THE FIRST COLLEGE IN NORTH AMERICA - Harvard was founded in 1636. THE RED SOX WERE NOT ALWAYS CALLED THE RED SOX - Before owner John Taylor named them the Red Sox in 1907, the team was called the Americans, Pilgrims, Somersets, Puritans and Plymouth Rocks. A bit of history for you all. You're welcome. We've just checked into our hotel for the next two night and it is a swish place. Our room looks out onto Fenway Park baseball stadium. Very retro and decorated with lots of 60s and 70s music memorabilia (boys have no idea who is who). We've had a afternoon walk and will head out for an icecream shortly. It literally got dark at 4:45pm and we saw the huge Christmas tree light up in the street. Tomorrow we visit Harvard University (boys on best behaviour for a scholarship there) and then Game 2 v Malden Catholic High School. All boys keen to get the first win on tour. Check in again tomorrow for match report. JS Another big day in Texas, winding up our stopover here with our games v Crowley High School last night. We got back very late last night after dinner at a restaurant that I cant quite remember the name of and unfortunately my camera broke so no photos of our team dinner. The waitresses were very good at their jobs though.
A real change in temperature treated us yesterday morning. It was easily 10 degrees cooler today, but that did not stop the two toughest men on tour continuing to wear shorts. We will have until Boston I think till the longies come out of the plastic bag... After breakfast, a quick team meeting to prepare for the afternoons games was called and all the boys are good to go.... except one. It was realised that the careful packing last saturday night was missing one important item for one of our tourists. A Basketball uniform. Oh dear. Luckily Miss Donnellan had a spare set. Should we name the culprit? We sure will. Clancy Bird. No worries, young Clancy. Even Michael Jordan left his gear at home one day. Our first stop today was the home-ground of the famous Dallas Cowboys NFL team - AT & T Stadium, just a few minutes up the road. If Americans like things big, Texans like them bigger and this stadium fits that bill. Taking 3 years to complete, the thing is massive and from floor to ceiling, the Stature of Liberty would fit inside with a bit of room to move. 80,000+ people fit in on a game day and other events (like concerts and motocross) they can squeeze another 15,000 - 20,000 in. They played a College Basketball game there a few years ago and got over 100,000 in. Some of the stats are pretty cool too - more ladies toilets than men's (no waiting, girls) and there are over 1500 TV screens around the place ,so if lining up at one of the 700 food outlets you can still see the game. The giant screen that hangs over the playing area cost $40 Million (more than it cost to build the original Cowboys Stadium last century) and it was so heavy that when the installed it, the roof actually sagged 4 inches, but the architects had planned for much more. Lucky they did their sums. The tour was great and we took in the press boxes, Cheerleaders room, Cowboys dressing room, after match media / Press conference area and then finally out on to the playing surface itself. The boys enjoyed a good half an hour throwing and kicking some NFL balls around. A few torn garments in the process as the boys thought they would try and do their best quarterback impressions. A couple of grand fails. In less than one week, the Cowboys play the NY Giants in a epic contest on that very surface which is pretty cool to think about. From there we headed to a factory outlet store and Miss Donnellan went nuts on perfume, shoes and a heap of unnecessary items that she'll now have to carry for the rest of the tour. Oh well. The boys visited the Nike store, Asics, Reebok, Oakley and more and did a fine job adding to the local economy. We headed from there back to the hotel when we discovered a change in tip off time for the first game. The trip out to Crowley High School took about 45 mins in typical afternoon traffic and we arrived in darkness to find a well lit hall and it was impressive. At least three courts were in this building and on the other side of the oval was another basketball venue. Two games started simultaneously with the Senior team starting at around 7pm in the main hall after we all stood for the national anthem. The games were played at a pretty quick speed and although the three matches went the way of the hosts, they were played with really great spirit which was evident post match with the boys chatting and posing for photographs. A few of the cheerleaders even asked for some of the boys' phone numbers! The games were a good test for what is to come on tour so plenty of positives to take away. Check out the photos below from the games. An early start today as we leave Dallas for Boston – about a 4hr flight away. Was a test for the boys to pack it all tonight and be ready for the bus this morning. About to get on the plane now. See you in Boston! |
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