Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Brooke inducted into RHS Athletic Hall of Fame



Brooke Vessey ('07) was among the inductees during last week's Redlands High School Athletic Hall of Fame dinner and ceremony. One of the youngest inductees in Hall history, Vessey was a dominating athlete in water polo and swimming during her days at RHS.

REDLANDS >> Brooke Vessey hasn’t been gone for very long. She graduated from Redlands High School in 2007.

But her resume as a swimmer and water polo player at RHS and at San Diego State made her a natural selection to be an inductee at the Redlands High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Still, she was shocked when she got the call that she was being considered for induction.

“I think I am the youngest one,” Vessey said. “It surprised me so much. I was really struck by it when they asked to look at my resume. I just graduated seven years ago. Being so young, that is why it is such a great feeling to be here.”

This year’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class also includes Wayne Braga (‘51) and his sons Dennis (‘73) and Matt (‘76); Richard ‘Red’ Simmons (‘56); Dan Finfrock (‘64); and Sami Grisafe (‘03).

The induction ceremony was held Thursday in the Orton Center on the campus of the University of Redlands.

“This is so amazing,” Vessey said. “To be as young as I am and to be inducted, I feel blessed. I felt happy that they thought I had done enough to be a part of this.”

Vessey’s water polo career at RHS is one of the school’s most successful. She was a CIF-Southern Section Division 5 Player of the Year (2006-07), a Citrus Belt League Most Valuable Player and a four-time RHS Most Valuable Player honoree.

In swimming, Vessey was even more of a dominating figure. She was the Coca-Cola Citrus Belt Area Female Athlete of the Year in 2007 and the school’s Athlete of the Year in 2007. She was undefeated in the 100 fly and 100 backstroke during her four-year stay and was a three-time CIF Masters finalist.

In all, Vessey led RHS to eight Citrus Belt League team championships.

“There is such great tradition here at Redlands High School,” Vessey said. “I loved it here. I think a lot of high schools wish they had what we have here. The tradition is special. We need to keep special.”

Vessey, however, has moved on with her life and career. She retired as a competitive, everyday athlete, and is now the strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State.

It was a natural move, Vessey said.

“Now, as a college coach, I have a different view what it is like for athletes,” Vessey said. “I can take all that I experienced and put it into coaching.”

Vessey has learned much about fitness and conditioning. But in high school, lifting weights was not a part of her athletic agenda.

“I never lifted in my life while I was at Redlands,” Vessey said. “It was very rare for me. If I knew then what I know now, I definitely would have done it more in high school. But looking back, you can do more. I did what I could with what I had.”

Vessey and the inductees visited with RHS athletes during an afternoon tour of the campus.

Like it has been for many previous inductees, talking to current high school athletes was a special moment for her.

“I really enjoyed it,” Vessey said. “Sharing my experiences with them was really nice. I talked to them about what they can do if they have dreams after high school and how to get there.”

It was Vessey’s first visit to the RHS Hall of Fame room.

“I had never been there,” Vessey said. “I had never seen it and I didn’t even know it existed. I thought it was great. I hope I can give back and make it even better.”


Brooke's Speech in 6 period to all the athletes on campus at Redlands High School 

Friday, September 12, 2014

Flash Back Friday: CWPA Champions

Flash Back Friday of the 2013-2014 Champions:

Congratulations to all the champions! What a fun year we had and a season to dream about. Undefeated ending with a sudden death victory! I love seeing the friendship, memories and enjoyment the girls show. Then the growth of the sport of water polo. It does not get much better as a coach.



The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) looks back on the teams that won league and National championships during the 2013-14 academic year. St. Francis College Brooklyn (Men's CWPA Championship), the University of California-Santa Cruz (Men's Division III Club Championship), the University of California-Los Angeles (Men's National Collegiate Club Championship), Connecticut College (Women's CWPA Division III Championship), Indiana University (Women's CWPA Championship) and San Diego State University (Women's National Collegiate Club Championship) are featured in the wake of their titles during the past men's and women's seasons.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Rainbow Weather

In California we do not get very exciting weather.. Especially living in San Diego. Almost 365 days a year the weather is the same. So needless to say I NEVER check the weather. This got my into a little trouble a few days back. I was up nice and early off to the beach for a paddle. Only to realize we were having a huge lightning storm.

I ended up not being able to paddle out. But I did get to see a beautiful rainbow and light show.











Sunday, September 7, 2014

Staycation

After Brooke's wedding we did a staycation in San Diego with the In-laws. It was a great time to just relax and honestly visit some places that neither of us have ever been. 

Activity 1: Paddle Boarding

Giving the sister a ride
Paddle Boarding with the family in Mission bay outside the Bahia hotel.A bunch of the family rented paddle boards and spent time going around the bay. My mom had a little trouble standing up- but once she was up she was off to the races on the board. Fun to spend time with my Aunt Kay, Cousin Mary, Aunt Martha, Uncle Dennis and my siblings. All of us just paddling around. 


Mom out on the water trying to stand
Mom is up and away
I thankfully have been out on a paddle board a few times. I used all the tips to help the family. KK really enjoyed it- for some time. Then when mom got on a board, KK came onto mine. Once we got used to the balance thing and I was willing to work a little harder, we were off and enjoying time paddling together! Though her butt was getting a little wet. Dad did not want to try but he enjoyed watching us all from the sand!


KK loving it

Mary and my Aunt Kay
For being water people- stand up paddle boarding is awesome. Especially on calm water. You can experience all the joys of being free and out on the water. Without having to be get wet. I think this is why my mom really enjoyed it. She never had to get wet. Though she did admit- she would not do it out of the surf!








Activity 2: Hike Torrey Pines


View from the bluff
Hiking the bluff
Another great activity was hiking Torrey Pines. I personally had not been to the area since college and we did not spend much time enjoying it. We went hiking with mom, KK, Aunt Martha, Uncle Dennis, Scott, Renee and Brennan. Our nice hike did end up being very long. We should have listened to dad when he said to bring extra water. Which we did not. 
Down the bluff
KK with a beautiful view

Our small hike ended up being over 10 miles. Up the hill around some trails, into the museum. Then since you always see the golf course on TV- we made the extra little hike to see it. A very beautiful lodge and lovely golf course. I know my Aunt Maratha and Uncle Dennis loved seeing the golf course. 


Cassidy Family
The hike back we took it off the bluffs down onto the beach. Which was a much quicker way back to the car. It was an absolutely beautiful hike on the bluffs then down on the beach. Even though it was long, worth all the views and beauty. 




Activity 3: Balboa Park Museums & Velodrome

Balboa Park is a live and amazing little area of San Diego. There are so many museums. We visited a few different ones. The San Diego Hall of Champions.  I have previously been to an event hosted by the museum. The banquet was amazing at a lovely hotel in Mission Valley. Seeing what I had with that event, I assumed the museum would be fascinating and amazing.  Though we were disappointed. The displays were lacking information, not all working. I want to hope that the museum it did not have more. I believe it is a newer museum- I love the idea of it. I have previously been to event hosted by the museum and it was amazing. 

After the Hall of Champions, we headed over to the Air and Flight museum. The Cassidy family has deep routes with aircraft and flying. Though any and all museums I find fascinating. This was no exception. A few of the planes they pointed out Grandpa Wixom used to own one similar. So much history in the airplanes.    
                                                                                                                                         
After the Air museum we headed to the Natural History museum. Brennan had seen an add for a special exhibit on Pirates. I have to say I thought a lot of it was made up. After going through this it was amazing, so much information. The way these pirate-ships were able to govern themselves, split everything equally. That long before the idea of ending slavery, that pirates had no care for color. Only about who could help the cause (not the best of course). 

Once we had enough in Balboa park it was over to the other side of the park. We had a quick snack then headed to the Velodrome so that Scott and Renee could see what this track racing was all about. Tuesday night racing is the higher levels, Brennan is working his way up to that level. I think they really enjoyed experiencing the track and all that comes with it. 

Activity 4: Palomar Mountain Observatory & Julian
A few weeks before this vacation Brennan did a race up Palomar mountain. I personally had never driven up it. And I have no plans on riding my bike up it that is forshure. He did it to test himself. Wanted to show his parents the craziness of it.  The drive was actually beautiful, we passed only two cars along the track. 

Once at the top of the mountain there is a very cute little store. We made a pit stop there. From around the corner you can get to a huge observatory. We took about an hour to view the museum they had. Then walked up to this MASSIVE telescope. I have never seen anything like that it. I definitely left there more informed and confused about the dark reaches of our universe. They did ask that we tell other people to try and keep lights we do not need outside off. All that light bounces and they have trouble seeing things in space. Thus I have been doing my part to make sure we do not leave the porch light on when not needed. 

On the way down the mountain I figured out we were only a few miles from Julian. A beautiful little town that is famous for there pie. Once in the town Renee liked the cuteness of the town. It has an old town feel still. I was super happy because I got my Apple Pie from Mom's bakery. I of course made it ala mode so that I could get my ice cream as well. The pie was amazing as always.  


Odd Activities:
Like any vacation you do a lot of eating out. Though it was nice cause we eat at many of Brennan's and I favorite restaurants. I think we did put his parents out of there comfort zone once in a while.  

Such a great vacation spent in San Diego- all while coming home to our own bed. 

Friday, September 5, 2014

Brooke's Wedding Video



All the bridesmaids
Always has amazed me how quick we grow up. Not sure when college ended and we entered the real world. But to be married just seems like we cannot be old enough for that. A lot of I cannot believe we are this old happened in 2013 and 2014 as I have watched many of my best friends get married, I myself got married. But then to be planning and knowing that my sister Brooke will be getting married- a very out of this world feeling.      

The Friday prior to the wedding was like many others. Feeling like you have all the time in the wold only to learn that the clock is moving much quicker than normal. We would all meet to get our nails done. Then a lunch down in PB. Then back to the hotel for a rehearsal on the sand. Once the rehearsal was over- everyone showered got all dressed up. Off to the rehearsal dinner down in PB. It was also great to have my in laws in town for Brooke's wedding. They came during the rehearsal dinner and we had then had a staycation with them the following week. The rehearsal was a fun night to hangout with the wedding party and family. Plus the food and drinks were great. 

Wedding Day:
Vessey Girls
Since the wedding was taking place later in the evening. We were up and off to breakfast down on the ocean nice and early. Breakfast was fun with all the bridesmaids along with my parents. Dad managed to use his magical powers to make his glass completely sheer in the middle. It was a good way to start the day with everyone just relaxing.

Once back at the hotel it as a mad dash for the shower. Eight bridesmaids and a bride with one shower. You can all guess how that went! Once showered there was a lot of time spent waiting around as we each got our hair and make up done. It is always fun to get made up. As we finished getting all dolled up, it was time to get into our dresses and another round of pictures. Pictures in the room all together. Then pictures around the hotel with all the bridesmaids. Taking so many pictures prior to the ceremony was nice, it made that we did not have a mad rush to the ceremony. Plus not to many pictures after the ceremony. Just time for Nik and Brooke to get all the photos they wanted.

Nik was very emotional when Brooke was coming down 
Brooke did a fun first look with Dad & Sean. It was time to get a ton of bridesmaid pictures taken. While the boys were also doing the same on the other side of the hotel grounds.

Brooke and Nik had a cute no look where they exchanged notes. Then a few minutes of waiting and it was go time. Nik cried while Brooke headed down the isle. It was a very beautiful back drop and ceremony.

After the ceremony was another round of pictures with family and both sides of the wedding party. We would then head to the reception. The reception was hosted on the Bahia Steam Boat. A quick walk and we were all ready for the party.

The reception started with the grand entrance where the bride and groom had there first dance. It was a fun atmosphere. We then headed upstairs to the dinning hall. It had a beautiful stain glass ceiling. We would have a fun meal, with great speeches. After the speeches we headed outside for a fireworks show. The evening was beautiful in the bay.

The Happy Couple
After the fireworks show it was back downstairs to dance the night away.  I can personally say that I had a great time. Everyone seemed to have an amazing time and danced the nights away.

The evening and weekend ended as quickly as it came. With many memories, laughs and tears!



Short version of Brooke's Wedding video

Link to official pictures

My Best Friends
With Ashlyn- cutest flower girl ever!






My hot date

Congratulations Nik & Brooke. I am blessed to have you as my sister and best friend. It was an honor to be part of your special day. It was a beautiful wedding.


Friday, June 27, 2014

Women's National Collegiate Water Polo 2014 (Highlight Video)


Just watching this video made my heart race. I still have yet to re-watch the championship game for a few reasons. Awesome to see it end with all my girls smiling faces! 

Reason 1: It will just give me anxiety and stress me out. Even though I know the outcome!

Reason 2: I will be judging myself as a coach. There is always more to learn and watching will show me how I let those amazing young woman down especially in the 4th quarter. I should have called a timeout when Michigan got some momentum. But at the same time we did need those timeouts so the girls could make a few big stops and get us into overtime. Also makes you think back to what you should have taught in practice. Coaching is learning and I can ALWAYS get better!

Reason 3: I just want to go back. Relive those girls true excitement and joy. I have experienced the agony of defeat and the excitement of winning. Not sure anything compared to this win for the girls, myself and the program. What a great weekend, that we will all remember forever!

Huge thanks to the CWPA for putting together this video! 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Last Fling Before the Ring

All the girls that went on the tour in our Cable Car
Last weekend we did Brooke’s bachelorette weekend in Temecula or the "Last Fling Before the Ring". She wanted something fun and simple. We had seven people do the tour, then Mikayla and Brooke's old roommate Jena were meeting us at the hotel later.We decided on a wine tour. I booked us with the Temecula Valley Cable Car Wine Tours. I had previously been on there tour and it was a lot of fun. Plus they are the best priced- I highly suggest checking them out. 

The group at the hotel

The tour stops at four different wineries, with lunch at the third winery. Honestly cannot even remember the names of the wineries. The first winery was very cute and had great wine. The second winery was South Coast Winery. This place is massive. The bar tender we found also felt no need to stick with taking our tokens. We ended up drinking about 3x more than the number of tokens we all had. Which you can guess what happens then. The group had a really really great time! Brooke did really like a wine at this winery. I did purchase a few bottles for the wedding weekend. The third winery we had lunch overlooking some vineyards. It was nice to finally sit down and the food was great. Then time to drink more wine. The fourth stop we did not like much at all. It was in a converted house, crowded hot and the people working were rude. They did make a pretty good Sangria. 

Sisters
After the tour the group was a bit tired- so it was back to the hotel. Mikayla arrived before us so that she could set up the room. Before we headed to the room we did make a stop at the little Mexican stand. Seemed that after four wineries we were really hungry. Once we demolished the food, we all just relaxed and hung out for a bit.  Once everyone had recovered a bit we did lingerie party for Brooke. I think she enjoyed all her new gifts. While having a bit more fun drinking. Then we walked about a mile to dinner at this Mexican restaurant in old town. All the ladies had fun at dinner. After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel where we end up playing this super fun game. Everyone had such a great time, the game made everyone laugh sooo hard.  Sadly I did not even win a round of the game, Brooke however became the big winner. Makes sense it was her weekend!

Love my little sister
Sunday would be relaxing, once up and got everything cleaned we headed for coffee. Then everyone headed their separate ways. Brooke wanted to get back to SD as Nik was finally arriving after his cross country road trip from Pittsburgh.

The weekend was such a fun time. The group of girls from the weekend were great. Many of them had meet each other previously, which always makes it a little easier. I cannot thank them all enough for coming and just enjoying the weekend with Brooke. The countdown is seriously on for when she says “I Do”. I can’t believe it is in 3 weeks.


Monday, June 23, 2014

Pacific Coast Division Awards- Coach of the Year

This season with my water polo team was something special. These girls really enjoyed themselves and showed just another reason why I love coaching. The awards for them just keep coming. Since I worked with such amazing athletes, they really make me look good. The main reason that I was voted "Coach of the Year" within our division.

I am even more excited to say many of my athletes were voted to the All Conference Team.

Pacific Coast Division

Most Valuable Player:
Bailey Wickliffe (San Diego State University)
Coach of the Year:
Jamie Vessey Cassidy (San Diego State University)
First Team

Morgan Klingfus (Goalie)
San Diego State University
Madeline Schwartz
San Diego State University
Bailey Wickliffe
San Diego State University
Leah Ashley
California Polytechnic State University
Sophie Calhoun
California Polytechnic State University
Danika Felix
California Polytechnic State University
Dorit Stein
University of California-Los Angeles



Second Team
 
Morgan Rollo (Goalie)
California Polytechnic State University
Adison Gosslein
San Diego State University
Kelli Boling
San Diego State University
Nina Escobedo
San Diego State University
Faith Aguirre
University of California-Santa Barbara
Frankie Puerzer
University of California-Santa Barbara
Shelbi Skinner
University of California-Los Angeles
 
 
Link to see the entire list

Friday, June 20, 2014

Brooke's Wedding Shower

Last weekend we had a lovely Saturday afternoon spent with family and friends. There was a great turnout for Brooke's wedding shower. The shower was held at my parents home in Redlands. I really have to thank Mikayla and mom. They did basically all the work in getting the shower planned and set up. I just swooped in at the last second to help with a few details and celebrate. It was also great to have many of Nik's family and friends in attendance. Nik's mom Valeria also made all the food, which was amazing and made for some great lunches for me this week.

We had a very laid back shower. No crazy games. Just hanging out and spending time with family and friends. At my shower we had everyone introduce themselves and then give a favorite memory or something special they wanted to share. When we did this at my shower I was overwhelmed with what everyone had to say about me. Thus I really wanted Brooke to experience that. I know she was holding in tears a few times. So I think she also enjoyed the activity.

Such a cute cake
Just some of the amazing food- this was so beautiful no-one wanted to eat it. 

Mikayla came up with these super cute center pieces

Brooke with just a few of the gifts she received

Brooke & her cake.. Thankfully she had not dropped it

The girls..
I know Brooke appreciated having everyone come out and celebrate with her. It was a great afternoon. We are under a month till the big day!

After cleaning up from the shower I spent some time with the family. Then we had Coldstone for Father's day. Dad always loves some ice cream, as do I!

To see the whole Album of photos

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

CWPA National Champions

Why I Coach:
Coaching to me has a very different definition than how it would be defined in the Webster Dictionary. I coach so that I can share the knowledge that I have so greatly received from my personal experiences from coaches, athletes, games and situations. I coach to give back to young individuals, help guide then forward in life. I coach to create a place that all feel welcome and that their thoughts and opinions matter with equal weight.

Some individuals coach so that they have complete power. I coach for the opposite, I want to give my athletes power. I get just as much from my athletes as I believe I am giving them. I learn something new constantly from them. My biggest thoughts were during the National Championship game with so much on the line, that my players were still confident in voicing their thoughts on plays and situations. This type of coaching I believe allows for the sharing of constructive information and growth for us all.

This past season was like no other year of coaching. Like anytime coaching there are the good days and bad days. As a coach I have experienced some amazing wins and some very tough losses. This year I was able to rooster and coach two teams an A squad and a B team. This alone created some extremely long days at tournaments coaching 4 games in a day many back to back. Yelling from the bench to my other squad that was supposed to be warming up or cooling down. Or the time we played each other and I was standing near half coaching both sides, I can tell you that game got very confusing.

As the season went on my A squad only lost a game that was at the ASU open invitational. My B squad lost a few and won some great games, getting better every time we played. This was the best part of the year, the girls actually wanted to sub they were playing so much. No one was mad about playing time!Everyone became a better player and teammate. 

Pacific Coast Division Championship:
Victory Swim
In order for us to advance to the National Championship tournament we needed to win the Pacific Coast Division championship, this is something that as a program we had never accomplished. The best we had ever done was 2nd in our league, back in 2012. Where we got 5th at the National Championship (in Florida). The programs only other appearance at the National Championship, prior to this year. That year 2nd was good enough to stamp our ticket because CAL Poly (in our league had one the 2011 National Title- granting our division 2 spots).  That said this year we had to win to advance.

This would be the first time our program got to host the Pacific Coast Division Champs, making a bit of extra work for us. In all it worked to our benefit. The  B team would have a great tournament ending with two wins and two loses. Then the A squad would play through the tournament with little trouble. Then playing a great game against Cal Poly to win! I would get to take a great victory swim. Being pushed in by the girls! It was such an exciting time for the girls and our program. Then we started the planning process Nationals was only three weeks out.
Spending a bit of time stressed with the president we managed to get everyone’s plane tickets to Cleveland Ohio. The hotel booked, our rental cars rented and our paperwork turned in. 

Nationals Bound: 
The trip to Ohio would start super early. We had a 6:15am flight. Of course we had a delay out. Which seems to be the only way I travel these days. Once in Ohio we headed straight to the pool to warm up.The girls got to loosen up and start to feel comfortable with the indoor pool. We then headed to grab some dinner and back to the hotel. Which of course had the water being turned off- after a cross country flight, humid pool and then no shower. This was turning out to be an adventure for us.

Friday we would only have to play one game as the 3 seed, we were playing 14th seed, which would be NYC. I was happy with how the starters came out to play setting  us up for a great tournament.We were then able to rest the starters and play our entire squad. It was great to see some of the younger less experienced players get a great amount of time. We would win 13-6. Game Recap. With a good amount of time left in the day we wanted to rest up, we headed to lunch and the movies. Getting the girls in bed early to set us up for another great day.  

Last huddle before the championship game
Saturday we would play two games. I would also have my own cheering section, Nik made the 2-hour drive to Geneva to watch the games. The girls really enjoyed meeting him. The first game of the day was played against Duke. Thanks to some great help from my old teammates and best friend Anna, I had a full scouting report. We would win the game and everyone would get a great amount of playing time once again. We would defeat Duke 9-2. Game Recap. 

After winning this game we were officially in uncharted territory for our program. History was already being made we were into the semifinals of the National Championship tournament. The semifinals would be against ASU. We had played them at the ASU tournament earlier in the season.We had struggled a bit  in March with them, so I was a bit unsure how this game would go.The girls would come out firing away. They really set the pace of the game, allowing for everyone to play. We would defeat ASU 12-4. Game Recap. After beating ASU we were granted our first ever trip into the NATIONAL Championship game.

MVP Morgan
Sunday would be an exciting day for our program. The girls were a little nervous as was I. The game would start out a little slow for us. The girls then started to settle into the game. This would be the first game of the year in which the girls were pushed. The score would go back and forth. Leading into the fourth quarter, both teams had the opportunity to win the game. Yet defense was great on both side and we held them off. Our goalie Morgan was a brick wall down the line, she stopped everything.  With such great defense, it meant overtime. Two quarters- three minutes. No goals were scored. By this point we had not been subbing much, the girls playing were exhausted. We had two starters that had fouled out of the game. After two more quarters it was sudden death till a winner was crowned. With only about 10 seconds left in the first quarter of sudden death- Meghan Harder was able to sneak the ball into the goal. We would win 10-9. Game Recap 
Celebrating our overtime win
I can fully admit to not even seeing Meghan’s goal. I was watching the other side of the pool, hoping that the girls were running the play that we had just discussed in a timeout. At this point the place erupted; I am not sure if I was pushed in or jumped. Honestly I think it was a bit of both. Not sure I had ever swam so fast in my life. I was in the middle of the girls huddle in what seems like an instance. We spent some time celebrating in the middle, before heading to shake hands. It was such a great game all around. 

After we shook hands, it was award time. We would be presented last with our National Championship plaques. Morgan would be named MVP of the tournament, while Bailey and Kelli were named to 1st team. The girls were just so excited. A few times I wanted to cry just watching the excitement of the girls. During the game was hard, they had never been tested, the entire year they had just won. So for them to dig deep and stay as a team, was wonderful to see. Many times when a team is in a hard place or struggling it all goes bad when the girls start yelling at each other. My team never did this, they were always so positive with each other. As supportive as they could be. Just wanted one thing to all become National Champions. The girls were just so excited, they had so many amazing things to say to me during awards. This tournament and team is one of my proudest moments.

National Champions
Once the awards were over it was time to shower and get on the road. I had heard about the longest & oldest covered bridge just down the road. As a team we would head to see it. Then it was back to San Diego as National Champions! Only a few girls graduate, so I am hoping to have another amazing season next year.

I want to also thank all the parents of the girls. They were just great this season. To all the people that stepped up and made a donation to the program. You helped these girls create one of the best memories of their lives. One of the best parts of this tournament was the CWPA had set up live streaming of all the games via the internet.It was always amazing to receive text messages from family after a game. After the championship game I had over 100 messages from my family- texting back and forth. The joy and love you all sent for me. That you were 100% behind me coaching. Brennan thanks for all your love and understanding when I freak out. To my siblings for all your texts and tweets, coming to watch me coach. Brooke for helping to coach. My parents for being supportive as always. For Brennan's parents watching the game and not thinking that I am crazy after watching me. I am very blessed with amazing athletes and an even better family. 

The league gave me all the games on DVD. I can officially say that I have not watched any of the games yet. I started the championship game, but within seconds my heart rate was rising and I could not do it. Still just so fresh and exciting. Maybe in a few weeks! 

Longest & oldest covered bridge


If you are interested in reading more in-depth about the games check them out below.
Game 1: SDSU vs NYC
Game 3 (Semi Finals): SDSU vs ASU

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Learning SUP

I have only paddled once before. I really enjoyed it, so Brennan and I have been doing some research so that I can purchase a board in the coming days. At PEAR we have a great coach Noelle who is a SUP master, so I enlisted the best. She offered for me to come meet her and Trevor for a lesson and to try out some different boards in Newport/CDM. 

They have a great company if you are interested in learning and taking some classes: http://boardrideradventures.com/
On the race board
It ended up being a super windy evening! Thus making for a bit of trouble in learning. I started on a race design board- which is harder to balance and lighter. Noelle wanted me to start with the hardest board and see how it went. I was learning a lot and doing really well. The wind was starting to pick up a bit. I ended up getting a little worried near the rocks, then the wind and some boats. Well I ended up taking a trip into the ocean. I tried to recover my balance, by walking backwards. When the board is only 12'6 there is not a lot of space to go backwards. Surprisingly the water was not as cold as I expected. Noelle was great and did not laugh at me to hard, that I could tell. 


The paddle back was hard- since it was directly into the wind. I can see why people get a good workout in. My legs were a bit sore-probably from trying to balance the whole time. Then my lower back just from learning to paddle. The right side of my body is way more sore, guess I worked a bit harder paddling that side.  Noelle said that I had great balance especially with how windy it was, that I could even control the race board was impressive for only my second time. 



When I changed boards it was way easier. This board is designed for fitness classes and more of leisure. It was much wider and actually went straight. Where the race board is designed to move fast through the water like a boat, plus it was much lighter. On the other board I was able to just go straight without issue.
Changed boards- was told this is near the perfect paddle stroke!
All in all it was a ton of fun. Falling in hurt my ego a bit- but Noelle was such a great teacher. I was starting to master the correct form near the end of the lesson. I look forward to finding a board that I like and getting more into the sport.

Thanks again to Noelle and Trevor for teaching me. If you are visiting, live in the area please take a few minutes to check out there company. Get on the water today! http://boardrideradventures.com/