Arrival in San Deigo

The group successfully arrived into the USA yesterday, although it must be said that the group as a whole were struggling to come to terms with two big flights, change of time zone along with little sleep!

Credit to the boys for being positive and taking the initiative to do the little things to help quickly get over the dreaded jet lag.

By this stage it was time to introduce the boys to a little retail therapy, and subsequently the boys are feeling a lot better at the expense of their cash passports.

Today we started at San Diego Sea World, where the boys enjoyed various shows and exhibits, including the Shamu Killer Whale show, Dolphin show and rollercoasters. Some boys learnt the hard way that 'splash zone' entails getting wet, very wet...

We followed up Sea World with a visit to San Diego zoo, where the boys safely walked 8km and enjoyed all that the zoo had to offer.

To conclude today's events we celebrated Josh Houwen's birthday at a local Italian Restaurant, where staff entertained the group with a original version of happy birthday, and a cake that can only be described as US Super size!

More to come.

Andrew and Brett

Expectations leading up to the tour

With the final fundraising out the way and the excitement of receiving the majority of equipment passed, the boys have been working in earnest to prepare themselves for playing basketball at the highest level. We have a limited amount of time to prepare and with the tour fast approaching we ask that all students adhere to the following:

• Students are prepared to follow team rules and ethos as specified in the tour playbook.

• Students are competent with understanding of the playbook, including offence and defensive structures. This should be studied and known inside out. It is obvious when students don't do their 'homework' and subsequently try to learn on the 'fly' at training; it slows the progression of the squad.

• Students where possible must attend all specified training sessions. Students are expected to prioritise training sessions over work. First and foremost the tour is about playing and experiencing basketball, and getting team structures in place and solidifying playbook knowledge is difficult when training sessions are missed.

• Hard work and dedication by students has not gone unnoticed by coaching staff. Some boys have gone out of their way to approach staff before and after training, as well as during the week to make sure they are comfortable with team strategy and seeking ways to improve and/or what areas to focus on improving.

We expect our boys to enjoy themselves in the USA, but make no mistake it is a lot more enjoyable when our teams play at the highest level and stay competitive. Our experience from previous tours is that students who take the time to learn the team strategies find it easier to control game day nerves, in game performance and often get more out of the games as they are not stressed about last minute learning.