Hey gang,

The 4 of our members, Saboto Trent, Ben Outlaw, Todd Grahm and myself,
just returned from the TeamUSA training session weekend at the
PennState Univ facility in Uniontown Pa. We arrived Friday night at 9PM
from a near 7hr drive, checked into our hotel room and dashed over to
the training facility to recieve our team package which included our
beautiful, new TeamUSA uniforms, Tshirts, warmup jackets, Ringstar
sparring shoes, and sports bag. We quickly dashed back to our hotel
knowing we'll have to be back at the crack of dawn for our team
training. Like kids on Christmas however, as soon as we got back to our
room we opened our bags and tried on our new gear. 5:30AM came way too
soon. We were up again, showered, dressed, then back in the van. Our
session started with some light stretching indoors, then we met outside
for some cold morning cals of 100 "jumping jacks" then the dreaded 10
lap run, down and back on a 30deg grade ramp which was approx
100 yds. Finally we met back inside for assignments of our coaches for
the particular events we would be competing in. Some of us had as much
as 3 and the minimum of 1 event. Though there is an outside chance
anyone of us may be called upon to "Stepup" as an alternate for an
additonal event we weren't originally slated for. We crosstrained. In
my case was forms. I originally made the team only as a stickfighter
but I'm more than happy to have an additional oppritunity to represent
the Team. During the morning training session of sparring,
stickfighting and forms, we also took team and individual pictures
before breaking for a catered lunch. After our 2nd session, a break for
dinner then our evening martial arts demonstration peformance before an
audience of parents and guests. We were all sore from the days training
but from the excitment of performing we were able to tap into our final
reserves for the show which went over well to an appreciative crowd.
Some of us couldnt get back to our hotel rooms fast enough where it was
off to dreamland. For others, a chance to unwind and
see what the hotel lounge had to offer! Very reminescent of the bar
scene from the film "Best of the Best". Our final training session on
Sunday morning tied up some loose ends as far as training issues went,
namely more sparring was addressed. We ended with running the bleachers
and wheelbarrel races leading to some comedic moments which also had a
bonding effect with the team. We grabbed our bags, shook hands, hugged,
exchanged personal contact info and made the long trip back home,
anticipating the big day in November where we'll meet agin in Buffalo
NewYork for the trip into Canada.

Cheers!

Mel