The Clash 2011–Settling In

After 14 hours of travel time and stopovers in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, we finally arrived yesterday in Rochester for our third shot at The Clash, the premier high school dual meet tournament in the country. Unlike the sub-zero temperatures that greeted us the last two trips, we arrived to “balmy” 35 degree weather. For the first time in a long, long time, there’s no snow on the ground in December, which disappointed some of our kids just a bit. But it’s still plenty cold for our boys, dropping into the 20’s at night.

After checking in at the hotel at about four, we headed to the University Center Field House for a light workout to “get the road off”. The team was weary, but the workout served its purpose and the boys left feeling a bit looser and relaxed. Dinner was at the Pannekoeken Family Restaurant, in what’s become a regular stop for the Punahou wrestling team.

This morning, we headed to John Marshall High School for a workout with their wrestling team. We had a great workout with Coach Brian Parlin’s team four years ago and today’s session was just as good. We got some good drilling and good live with a solid team.

After lunch, we visited the Rochester Ronald McDonald House to do a little community service. Over the years, the Rochester community has been very generous to us and we wanted to find a (small) way to show our appreciation. We took a short tour of their fantastic facility then helped decorate and pack the breakfast bags they provide to their families who need to take their breakfast on the go.

Dinner was again at the Pannekouken place and lights out at 10. We have an early start tomorrow, with an 8am practice. We’ll spend the afternoon with a tour of the Rochester area, then back to make sure everyone’s on weight. As we get closer to the tournament, the team is starting to look forward to the competition. We’ll have six dual meets over two days, all of them tough, and the boys are starting to get excited.