All eleven players and families made the 3 1/2 hour trip safety. First things first, uniform handouts (no arguments over numbers), medical check-in, swim test, make beds (these 12 years olds could use some practice), go over ground rules. Then it was time to put on our new Tournament uniforms and head down for the Opening Day ceremonies and Skills Competition. After announcing each team's hometown and entering the field, the national anthems' of Canada and the United States were played. There are 30 teams here from as far away as Canada Florida and California. Chatham represented well in the skills competition with a 5th place in the team cutoff drill where 10 players throw the ball around the field in as short a time as possible. Mikey Jesse held his own in the HR derby, the Hammer - Elijah Schwinghammer had a strong showing in the base running competition and Gorky (Ben Gorski), Dinny (Drew Dinnhaupt) and King Vivs (Nick Vivona) gave it their best in the double play relay. Hot Dogs for dinner, showers, a pre-game pep talk from Coach Cook and lights out as we have a 8am game vs the Michigan Bulls.
