Practice day in Chapel Hill

Because Coach Adam was too lazy to drive to Raleigh on Tuesday afternoon, he conned the rest of the team into coming to Chapel Hill. Needless to say, this was especially painful for several of the team members whose preferences run more to a shade of red, but everyone seemed to survive it.

The day started at the Smith Center, where several members of 8U threw down some vicious dunks got a behind the scenes tour that included a trip onto the court and into the varsity hallway. Players even went in the UNC locker room, where they were instructed not to walk on the NC logo under orders from Roy Williams:

But with all the cool stuff they saw at the Smith Center--walking on the court, seeing the locker room, watching several minutes of a pickup game that included a handful of NBA players and all the current Tar Heels--do you know what the runaway winner was for the part of the day that elicited the most oohs and aahs?

That's right: the hot tub. Or, as Angry Ben would say, "Can I get a hot tub?" Yes, you can:

After a quick tour through the Basketball Museum, during which we learned that Eric Montross's shoes are slightly bigger than Coach Adam's, it was on to Boshamer Stadium for the second part of the day.

Carolina head baseball coach Mike Fox spent the better part of a half-hour with the team, talking to them about love of the game and commitment (not getting their commitments to play at Carolina, but being committed to the team). He also asked them several questions about the results at the state tournament, and answered a few player questions.

And yes, the players even got some work done. After taking Monday off to revel in the state championship glow, they were able to use both the indoor and outdoor facilities at Carolina on Tuesday evening. One of the stations was throwing on the Boshamer field (dodging the sprinklers added an extra degree of difficulty):

While all the other stations were set up in the indoor cages:

Once practice was over, Jennifer declared that it was time for her to hit. If I had to best describe her success at hitting, I would say one of two things:

1. She was approximately as successful at hitting as Coach Adam was at catching that foul ball in Laurinburg.
2. As a hitter, she is an incredibly excellent cupcake maker.

Here, see for yourself. Note the very helpful and supportive coaching from Coach Kevin:



However, we did learn one key fact. Several teams that we play use an EH (extra hitter) in the lineup. If we ever need an EH, the call is going to Ann:


Regular practice resumes Thursday at West Raleigh, unless Coach Adam can persuade everyone there's a really cool batting cage they have to see in Carrboro.