Tweet #FiredUp

DAY 1
After three spirited days of practice and an all-day trip to Atlanta on Monday for an emergency Passport appointment, we loaded the Lee shuttle bus at 3:45 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight to Atlanta on July 23. Fortunately, the three-hour layover gave us a few minutes to grab some breakfast before we boarded the plane to the Dominican Republic. Our courteous flight attendants greeted our senior point guard Parker Suedekum with a Happy Birthday wish over the loud speaker, even though it wasn't his birthday. It felt like a good day to celebrate one of our senior captains, so we made the request. He was greeted with a nice applause. 
 
After three hours and a fairly uneventful flight, we landed safely and were greeted by our SCORE missionaries. We made our way to the SCORE hotel for lunch and orientation. The suggested speed limits and protocol for normal road rules are somewhat thrown out the window on the island. Somehow everyone is in each other's way, but never in the way. It's quite impressive for a first time Dominican traveler. 
 
After a late lunch and some instruction from the SCORE missionaries, we made our way to our host hotel to check in. We had a couple hours of down time and decided to find something productive to do. So, we did what we always do and found ourselves in a heated game of pool volleyball. The night concluded with a late dinner, some card games, karaoke, pool, ping pong, and a team meeting to discuss the next day's activities. 
 
DAY 2
After an early morning breakfast buffet, our SCORE missionaries, Cassandra and Felipe, arrived for our morning outreach to the Casa de Luz handicap orphanage in Santo Domingo. Felipe shared on the way to the city about the orphanage we were visiting, what to expect, and how to interact with the kids. 
 
As much as we could prepare for what we were about to experience, the physical challenges of some of the young children was overwhelming. Remarkably, many of the kids had a smile on their face and lit up when we arrived.The time at the orphanage was the hardest part of the day, but by far the most rewarding. We had a chance to interview the head of the home for one of our case studies, then headed back to the hotel for lunch and a quick break before our first day of competition.  
 
A 2:30 p.m. departure allowed us to arrive to San Lazaro for a 4:00 p.m. tip. Rush hour traffic in downtown Santo Domingo was another eye-opener. As the Dominican players rolled in, we realized the essence of "Caribbean" time and that the power in the indoor/outdoor facility was turned off. 
 
Even though a few pigeons and some local children were our primary spectators, Lee Men's Basketball took down the club team of San Lazaro in a tough and physical contest. The International rules are definitely an adjustment, but the experience on the court for the first time of live competition with our new team was exciting and meeting some new friends from San Lazaro was a highlight. 
 
Before we returned to Juan Dolio, we stopped by an inner city pick-up basketball game in the neighboring city of Guayacanes that SCORE has been ministering to throughout the summer and interacted with the kids. They were excited to see a college team and we had a couple games of 1-on-1 and a shooting contest. 
 
The 12-hour day was coming to an end as we made our way back to the hotel for dinner. The night concluded with each member of our team sharing their highs and lows from the day and our two seniors Parker Suedekum and Ryan Montgomery sharing "their stories." It was a full day!