May 20 - Rocky Face; May 22 - Macon
May 27 - Peachtree City; May 29 - Duluth
Jen Yee Checks In From Atlanta Where She Spent Senior Weekend
Jen Yee In Australia Photo Gallery (updated April 3)
Georgia Tech junior Jennifer Yee and 2007 graduate Caitlin Lever are members of the Canadian National Softball Team that will participate in the Olympic Games, Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China. Yee will be keeping a blog of her experience and give fans an inside look at an Olympians life preparing for the games and then while she is in China.
last updated April 27, 2008
April 27, 2008
Wow it's been an eventful last couple of days, but I made it, however painful it was. I'm at Tech again and it sure feels good to see the team and especially the seniors for their senior weekend.
I spent last week in Lincoln NE for training camp with Canada. Since Coach
Sippel is the associate head coach for the University of Nebraska, training
camps are often held there. We did some fitness testing and practiced a bit on the field, and it was really good to touch base with everyone at the halfway marker to our little break before the second tour.
However I always seem to have the worst luck with travel days. From bladder infections to hives, none would have topped how stressful it was to come to Atlanta. Upon checking in to our flight they told us that Chicago O'Hare had a "Ground Stop" issued throughout the day due to tornado warnings, which first caused our flight from Lincoln to be delayed for 5 hours, and second caused our flight from Chicago to Atlanta to be canceled. So then began the process of rerouting. As we were trying to find some new flights to Atlanta, it seemed easy enough to just save a seat on the 6:30am flight the next morning, since Caitlin got on the flight easily. Not so easy apparently, it was easy to save A SEAT, by the time I came up the flight was full. I think my heart, stomach and all major internal organs dropped to the floor. But my smart techy friends saved the day and found me a flight on a different airline at 7am.
It doesn't all end there though. Caitlin and I had to take the flight to
Chicago that night in order to fly out the next day. So after realizing all the hotels by the O'Hare airport were sold out we were fortunate enough to crash at a teammate's house for a couple hours before heading back to the airport. Upon checking in AGAIN, Caitlin has to take some bus across the airport because Delta is no where near the United terminal, and I realize United didn't actually buy me a ticket for Delta, they just put me on the stand-by list for a flight that was overbooked by 7. There goes the internal organs again. It was probably the longest hour of my life watching that stand-by monitor for my name to come up. I managed to squeak the last available seat as the plane was starting to board. I don't think I slept at all on that flight because I was still so stressed out, and relieved at the same time.
So the moral of the story is, avoid connections in Chicago at all costs, Papa Johns will deliver pizza to the Lincoln Airport, and pretending to not
understand the concept of stand-by and almost crying to a Delta agent really might get you on that flight.
Well I'm going to enjoy my days back in Atlanta and before we know it I'll be traveling the world again on the second part of the Olympic tour. Bye
everyone, come out and support the Yellow Jackets for their final home game
this weekend!
April 3, 2008
Hey guys! After a long two months of travel, I'm finally home. I gotta say
Australia was amazing, but I was about ready to come home. After being to
all the places I've been, it makes me appreciate home that much more.
I spent my last week in Australia on Hamilton Island, a resort island by the Great Barrier Reef, and in Melbourne where I have family. Snorkeling on the reef was probably the coolest thing I've ever done, swimming among giant schools of
fish, and being able to get right up close to all the plant and animal life. It was definitely worth wearing the funny looking wet suits, and the hour long boat ride of terrible nausea. I knew all that mental training would come in handy someday.
I have an aunt and cousins in Melbourne, so i spent a couple days with them
before I came home. It's nice having family close to where you travel, sure
beats a hotel or a hostel for that matter.
I'll be home for about 2 weeks, then I'll report to training camp in Nebraska.After that, I'll have another month at home before I'll be leaving again for the second tour. Just enough time to work some kinks out and get back in shape.
We're almost there folks!
March 18, 2008
Hey everyone, the first tour is officially over! Last night was championship day for our final tournament. Rightly so it was our longest day at the ballpark with 2 epic games, an 11 inning game in the morning and an 8 inning game for the final. We didn't get out of there until 11:30 at night, but it was worth the gold medal we're taking home! That's right, I said gold medal.
Not to brag or anything, we just beat Japan in extra innings to win it, no big deal. All jokes aside, I think we deserve this week off in Australia, team bonding is what they call it. We're staying at Lake Tabouri to do some surfing, kayaking, and hiking as a team. Then on Monday, most of the team goes home, but me and a couple other girls are taking a couple extra days to go up to the Gold Coast. Then I head off to Melbourne to visit some family before I go back to BC. Two week vacation before I'm back at it again, I'll be sure to enjoy it.
March 10, 2008
Hey everyone, I'm writing to you from Sydney Australia. It sounds so weird to say that since it doesn't seem that different being here, other than people talk with an accent. The internet situation has been quite expensive lately, so I haven't been able to submit a blog, let alone check my email more than once or twice. So here's the rundown, a Cole's Notes version if you will, of what I've learned about Australia without precious internet.
1.Before entering the country, it's a good idea to clean the dirt off your cleats, in order to avoid a hefty fine, as well as a grumpy custom's officer who has just disinfected them for you.
2. The dogs at the airport aren't really there to search for drugs, but trail mix and granola bars instead.
3. The ozone really is thinner here. Ask my face.
4. Aussie toilets have 2 flushes, a half flush and a full flush. Don't press the full one while sitting down, you will get wet.
5. The Australian accent is probably the hardest accent to imitate.
As far as what we've done this week, it has basically consisted of playing ball. We are staying in Rooty Hill, just outside the city of Sydney, and about a 10 minute drive to the park. We are playing in two tournaments while we're here, both held at the Olympic stadium from 2000, and there are 3 other international teams participating, Australia, China and Japan. It's so great having the opportunity to play these international teams this early, it really gives us the experience we need going into the Olympics.
Today was a day off, so we made a trip to the local zoo, and took a walk on the beach before a nice dinner at Outback. Kind of cliché I know. It was pretty cool seeing all the animals native to Australia, as well as the others. However, I still hope to see a kangaroo on the side of the road one of these days.
Wow, it's already March 10th, which means only 2 more weeks left of this tour, and 150 days until opening ceremonies. The countdown is on ladies and gentlemen.
March 3, 2008
Well, today is my last day in North America for a whole month. Tonight at 10:30 we're leaving from LAX to Sydney Australia. By the end of this 16 hour flight we'll have bypassed all of Monday and it will magically be Tuesday. The wonders of trans-Pacific air travel. I've been on some long flights before but never as long as this, so Caitlin and I walked down to the Borders across the street in order to find some forms of entertainment to keep our sanity, in between the bouts of chemically induced sleep. Said in the words of Caitlin Lever, "I'm going to be so pilled up on Gravol, I won't be able to read these 3 books I just bought!" And unfortunately we have practice right when we get there, this should be interesting.
We only played one game here in LA against Cal State Northridge. This trip was more meant to revisit with our sports psychologist Ken Ravizza, who works at Cal State Fullerton, as well as make it easier to fly out of LAX. Yesterday was our day off to just lounge around and do nothing, those days are very much appreciated. Today we're going to a local high school to do our monthly fitness testing then coming back to the hotel to clean up before we head off to the airport.
That pretty much sums up my LA experience, sorry for not doing anything more exciting. Talk to you again soon!
February 28, 2008
Hey there. I said I'd write from Arizona and I intended to do that, but it's already our last day here! It was only a 4 day trip, to play 2 double headers against ASU and the University of Arizona. It was definitely nice to play some top competition before we start playing international teams in Australia. The weather has been so nice here, it seems to get better and better wherever we go! It's about 26 Celsius outside, like summer in February. All this warm weather is making me excited for LA and Australia, hanging around the beach and doing a little surfing. Sorry, I mean, I'm excited for some hard fought softball games against great competition.
Our last week in Vegas was pretty laid back. Our coach was nice enough to give us a couple days off from practice to give us a break. We attended another karate session as well, this time with a little more activity, hitting things, playing with wooden swords and the like. Another highlight of the week was our team costume/guitar hero party. Everyone came to our house in their costumes, food in hand, and fingers ready for some serious guitar hero. It made for some good team bonding.
Anyways, it's 6:30am and I have a plane to catch. Good luck to my GT softball girls this weekend, and I'll write again when I'm in California.
Jen Yee
February 19, 2008
Hey everyone! Time sure flies by when you're having fun. It feels like we just got here, and now we've got one week left until we're off to Arizona.
Things have been really busy around here, over the last 9 days we've played 11 games. Last Saturday we opened with Washington and Texas Tech, then we traveled to St George, Utah to play Dixie State and Southern Utah University. This weekend we played Wisconsin, Portland State, Seton Hall, UTEP and CSU-Bakersfield, all of which participated in the Las Vegas Desert Classic here at UNLV. It's convenient training here in Vegas because they host so many tournaments, there are always teams around to play. Yesterday was our last game here, and we'll finish off our last week with some light practice.
On a different note, I have gotten to experience some different means of
training, all thanks to the Canadian Olympic program. The first was our team karate class at the local dojo. Believe me, karate is not all about punching and kicking, but instead being able to focus your mind and tap in to your inner "chi". Unfortunately I had trouble grasping this concept and was unable to put out the candle with a punch. I was able to blow it out just once all night, with the help of my bat. Maybe that's where my "chi" lies.
Today, we got to do some vision training with some certified sport scientists and sports vision trainers. They gave us some tools as eye "work outs" so our eye muscles can work most efficiently in picking up spin from a pitcher, or seeing the bounces from a ground ball. These workouts were indeed that, and I definitely had a headache afterwards.
Well I will try and enjoy my last week in Vegas as much as I can, and will write again when I'm in Arizona!
February 4, 2008
Well, after a day of reconciliation pending the disappointing game yesterday I decided to write in my blog again. I made it past the first week! It should be all downhill from here right? Probably not, but the first couple days of agonizing soreness is over, which is a feat in itself.
Our first week included lots of practice, working out and sleeping. It seemed like that's all I did, a lot of the time we didn't have time to eat, and I managed to lose 3 pounds inadvertently (all of which I gained back during the Super Bowl). Our mental trainer Ken Ravizza was also here to check in on us this last weekend, and this week our nutritionist is here. Today she took us on a grocery shopping tour and walked us through cooking dinner for the team, as well as gave us some tips for meal planning and snacking during long days at the field. Softball Canada gives us a food allowance for the time we're in Vegas, so this is actually the first time I've had to shop and cook meals for myself.
It has definitely given me a new appreciation for the AA's wonderful meals.
Well it's bedtime now, once again I've failed to stay up past 10:30. Until next time readers.
Jen Yee
January 29, 2008
Hey everyone, I'm writing to you from the glamorous Las Vegas Nevada. I flew in yesterday from Vancouver and was happy to get away from the 6 inches of snow to say the least. I had a relaxing time at home in between the training I was doing with my hitting instructor, Dave Paetkau, and his clinics I was helping to run.
Right now I'm living in a house with the one and only Caitlin Lever and 4 other teammates, and I've spent most my day getting settled in, unpacking and the like. Practice starts tomorrow, and our days will usually consist of a practice in the morning, workout or conditioning in the afternoon and meetings in the evening. Not much time for gambling or shopping, nor much energy for it, but I'm sure an evening talk on Skype with my GT teammates will make me feel so much better!
I will write again in a week or so to let you all know what's going on, and how I'm doing.
Cya in a week!
Jen
January 8, 2008 Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday. It's that
time of year again when everyone's getting ready, looking forward to the spring season. As many of you may know, I won't be joining the Yellow Jackets for this upcoming season, but instead will be joining the Canadian National Team en route to the Olympic Games in Beijing. Right now we're all around the country training individually, but at the end of January we will be centralizing in Las Vegas.
I'm really excited for this opportunity to represent my country, and I'm
doing all I can to be ready for camp. Over the next eight months, I will be
providing updates with where I am in the world, and giving you an inside look at my "Olympic Journey".
I am going to enjoy the rest of my time here at home and will check back in later this month from beautiful Las Vegas!
Jen
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