Fall semester of every year is key to building the team program by practicing key skills in the pool, building team chemistry and working together to support the team through our pedal cab program and concession stand. This semester, we welcomed six new members to the team: Caley, Mandi, Meghan K., Hannah, Katie and Hailey! Coach Coughlin, along with captains Rachael and Sarah, focused fall semester on establishing and building the foundations of a water polo team. The growth and improvement shown by everyone is a testament to the hard work each player puts in.
This semester, we had a variety of team activities from a pizza dinner at captain Rachael Glenister’s house, attending Basilica Mass together, seeing the Catching Fire midnight movie premiere, Blue-Gold Game activities including lunch and t-shirt making and concluding the semester with a finals study break at Coach Coughlin’s home. Our team pizza dinner was at the very beginning of the semester and was a great opportunity for everyone to meet one another. We even skyped captain Ellen Dowling, who was abroad in Toledo, Spain this past semester. Jumping from the beginning to the near the end of the semester, we attended mass on the second Sunday of Advent. It was a fantastic way to reflect on the past semester and look forward to the following season. The Catching Fire midnight premiere was just a fun night filled with popcorn and laughs at the movie theater. As a part of the Blue-Gold game, each team has a day dedicated to having lunch and an afternoon of t-shirt making. And each year, the shirts get more and more clever! Finally, during finals break, Coach Coughlin had the team over to his house for some ice cream and it also gave everyone a chance to see and for new people, meet, captain Ellen Dowling! It was a fun evening and great way to conclude the semester.
This semester, we continued with our pedal cab program and concession stand. For those who are unfamiliar, a pedal cab is basically a bicycle with seats attached behind it. During the Friday and Saturday of home football game weekends, we ride around campus and in exchange for rides, people can leave a donation. Obviously, weather is our biggest enemy, but we make our best efforts to be out there rain or shine! The concession stand this year was held outside LaFortune Student Center on the weekend of the Navy Game. It was a rainy day but through the hard work of many, we sold out of everything! (Thank you Mr. Glenister for your grill-fire skills!)
Thank you for everyone’s continual support. It was a wonderful semester and we are all looking forward to the following season, marking the 20th Anniversary of the program!
Below are some pictures highlighting our semester.
