Category Archives: D-III overseas

Augustana: Working for this all summer

Posted on by

TamblingThe Augustana basketball teams are heading to Brazil this week and will be blogging on the trip. Brandon Motzel is blogging for the men’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team.

Excited does not even begin to describe what our team is feeling. Not only have we been looking forward to this all summer, but also since the coaches started recruiting us.

I remember the first time I met Coach G. The first thing he showed me was all of Augustana’s championship rings, followed by pictures and stories from their previous international trips to Europe, Ireland, and Asia. When he mentioned that we would be going to Rio de Janeiro during our four years, I could not wait. I know the upperclassmen have been waiting even longer than I have, and when we talked about it during this last weekend of practices, I heard the phrase, “I can’t believe it’s finally here,” many times.

These were our last two days to get ready, but we have been in preparation for Brazil since early spring.

It began with team skill workouts and “Brazil-bond Thursdays” with our strength coach, Darren Phelps. We also had three informative seminars with Augustana professor Mariano Magalhães. He gave us a basic introduction into Brazilian culture, what to expect, and a short lesson in useful Portuguese phrases to learn. Maybe the best part of the sessions was when we learned how to Samba, a skill that will be put to good use in Brazil. I was ready to jump on the plane for the 11 hour flight to Brazil after all that, but we still had all summer to wait.

We finally arrived back on campus July 18 to begin the first of our 10 days of summer practice. The first night back, we played in the final game of the PepsiCo Summer league, followed by a practice at the Carver Center. It felt like we were playing in a sauna it was so hot and humid on the court. Everyone was slipping and falling all over the place, but despite the conditions, we were all happy to be playing and practicing as a team again. We went through all our offensive sets for Brazil, and spent a lot of time working on our defense and communication, just a few keys to our team.

It stayed hot for most of the days we were on campus, so it was a huge benefit to get to stay in the Parkander Apartments with the AC on. No one wanted to move after two-a-days, so in my apartment we played cards and talked about the upcoming trip for hours. This was a lot of fun, but none of us minded when we had to stop playing to head over to one of the coaches’ houses for a cookout once each weekend. Coach G had us over for the first weekend, and while we were there he showed us some Travel Channel shows on the food in Brazil. Honestly, some of the dishes on the show, like pork with chicken blood as a sauce, had us feeling a little queasy and apprehensive, but the team’s consensus was to at least try a little bit of everything.

This decision was also reinforced by several alumni that stopped by over the three weekends. Drew and Brett Wessels were two that spoke to us. They offered advice on everything from their trips abroad to life after college in the real world. We all listened attentively soaking up as much information as we could because we knew all of these guys have been very successful both on and off the court. Kyle Nelson, Bryant Voiles, and Dain Swetalla also visited; these guys have all been playing professionally since graduating from Augustana. They were able to give advice on international basketball, which was great for us because there are several major rule differences. These three also scrimmaged with the team, which really reinforced the sense of family and camaraderie between the Augustana basketball family, both current and former.

I didn’t think I could be any more excited for the trip, but after experiencing that, I knew the trip would also bring our already close-knit team even closer together.

So, after all this preparation, IT’S FINALLY HERE! We depart for São Paulo Brazil, on Monday night from O’Hare Airport where we will begin the trip of a lifetime!

Heading to Brazil!

Posted on by

TamblingThe Augustana basketball teams are heading to Brazil this week and will be blogging on the trip. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose.

The Augustana women’s basketball team is gearing up for a great trip to Brazil!

After two weekends of intense practices we are now back in our respective hometowns to pack and prepare for the long flight ahead. Words can’t describe how much excitement and anticipation we have going into the trip. We are so excited to be able to play three games, participate in some community service activities and basketball clinics, and enjoy the culture while we are in Rio.

Can’t wait to get there!

An amazing week comes to an end

Posted on by

The Muskies are home. It was another marathon travel day – Prague to London to Chicago to Lakeland – some 16 hours in all. There was a lot more sleeping on the return flight home. A combination of the early wake-up call on Saturday, plus the hectic, but rewarding schedule that filled the week caught up with everyone.

Traveling Lakeland player

Part of the value of a trip like this is certainly the experiences. All 11 student-athletes were enjoying their first time on foreign soil, and Prague was a good selection. A lot of people in the city speak English, but you’re surrounded by enough discussions, signs, etc., in Czech to remind you that you’re far from home. That made navigating the subway and tram and ordering off a menu a bit tricky sometimes, but all the more fun. To their credit, the players embraced the opportunity and ran with it, seeing and doing as much as they could stuff into a week, learning plenty and having fun in the process.

What made this trip even more special, and it’s something the players talked about all week, is the people. You could see the bond between this team, already pretty tight, growing stronger. It was an especially fitting way for graduated seniors Trevor McKown and Sam Schroeder to end their time at Lakeland together. Despite coming to Lakeland from towns nearly 900 miles apart (Sam from Shawano, Wis., and Trevor from Hot Springs, S.D.), the two have become best friends. Their mothers also made the trip, and they talked about seeing one another again some day when each of their sons gets married, because Sam and Trevor are certain to be in each other’s wedding. When the group parted ways in the parking lot outside Lakeland’s Wehr Center, there were plenty of hugs and best wishes for a great summer. The memories will last each time they glance at the hundreds of pictures taken this week, and during stories sure to be told over and over when the players return to campus in August, and when the parents re-connect at games this season. The two games the Muskies played were neat experiences, but when the student-athletes recall the trip years from now, no doubt the memories and stories will focus on what happened both on and off the court.

For our final two videos, we turn to freshman Michael Koeppen and junior Jake Schwarz to wrap up the trip.

Lakeland heading to Prague

Posted on by

Lakeland Sports Information Director David Gallianetti is blogging the team’s trip to Prague.

In a few hours, the journey for the Lakeland College men’s basketball team begins as we head to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for nearly an eight-hour flight to London Heathrow, then a two-hour flight to our destination – Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. We’re scheduled to land in Prague at 10:55 a.m. on Sunday, and we’ll be here for six nights to play some basketball and take in all the amazing things this 1,100-year-old city has to offer. Now approximately 20 years removed from Communist rule, Prague is a hotbed of culture and history in Central Europe, and we’ve got plans to make the most of it during our stay.

The Muskies are scheduled to play three games, and will spend the rest of the time seeing the sites including the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, the Lennon Wall and the Communism Museum (to name a few). Some of the 44 people in our travel group will likely check out the 10th annual Fringe Festival, a nine-day mix of comedy, theatre and music with companies from across the world. We’ll also be there for the final week of the 66th Prague Spring International Music Festival, a showcase for the world’s best symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles.

The team making the trip has a roster of 11 student-athletes, including nine returnees and two seniors who recently graduated, Trevor McKown and Sam Schroeder. Coaches, family members and some Lakeland alumni and friends round out the group.

The trip is through Moose Tours, which has booked international basketball experiences for teams at all levels since it was founded in 1972 by legendary Lakeland basketball coach and athletic director Duane “Moose” Woltzen. Woltzen’s son, Scott, a 1982 Lakeland graduate, is president of Moose Tours today and will be joining the Muskies on this trip.

This trip is a throwback of sorts, and many alumni who played for Moose will remember that trips to major U.S. cities and international play were a staple at Lakeland under Moose. He took Lakeland teams on trips in 18 of his 23 years at Lakeland. The Muskies played in Denmark, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and Aruba.

One of Lakeland head basketball coach Aaron Aanonsen’s goals is giving his players the best college basketball experience possible. “We want to offer opportunities that aren’t possible with every program,” Aaron said. “Coach Woltzen made trips like these a priority, and I’ve spoken to our alumni who still talk about the value of those trips. We’re excited to be able to provide a similar experience for our players this year.”

Two of Lakeland’s 11 players have been to Canada, but no one has been outside of North America. “This will be a memorable cultural experience for these young men, and having a chance to do this with their teammates and members of their family will make it extra special,” Aaron said. “Playing against teams in Prague will be a unique experience on the court, and getting a chance to explore a city with such a long, rich history will be an incredible experience off the court.”

That’s it for our first installment. I’ll post again Sunday night (Prague is seven hours ahead of Wisconsin time) to recap the trip and get some early reaction from the players on their first trip to Europe. This is going to be fun!

Oglethorpe heading home

Posted on by

Oglethorpe is on the road, all the way to Central America. They’re checking in with occasional blog posts. Rising senior Andrew Steioff writes.

It is currently 5:30 in the morning and we are waiting at our terminal to head back home to Atlanta. After a week full of non-stop sightseeing and traveling, it seems we are all sleepwalking through the airport and even the wonderful coffee of this country can’t help wake us up.

The last few days have been filled with a couple days at the beach, zip lining, and a game against the Costa Rican national team. The beach resort we stayed in was one of the most serene and relaxing scenes we could have hoped for, with the rainforest stretching all the way up to palm trees and the stunning beach. The surrounding landscape was mountainous so it felt as though we were enclosed in our own beach paradise separated from the rest of the world. While swimming in the pool the first afternoon we experienced a tremble and most of us really thought nothing of it; moments later we were ordered to evacuate the pool because just 40 miles away a 6.0 earthquake had taken place. Living in California in my young life, I had experienced earthquakes before but it was a first-time experience for most of my teammates to add to the list of firsts already accumulated during the trip.

The next morning we embarked on our zip-lining expedition through the rainforest canopy. We glided through the trees on 14 zip lines traveling at speeds of 35 mph on some of them. The most uneasy part of the whole experience though was standing on wooden platforms built around trees suspended hundreds and even thousands of feet above the ground. After the zip-lining we had the rest of the day off at the beach to relax and enjoy our last days of Costa Rica and its beautiful scenery.

The last day we had our final friendly game against the Costa Rican national team, only it wasn’t as friendly as advertised. The teamas extremely physical and coupled with their excessive size, the game became a little chippy from the get go. One of their best players even got ejected after throwing a elbow into the jaw of Branden Jovaag. Exhausted from a long week of travel, we did not bring our best effort and eventually fell to the team 87-64. It was amazing to play top tier competition though, as this is the team that represents the whole country of Costa Rica when competing for a bid to the Olympics and other international competition.

Overall, Costa Rica was an experience that surpassed everyone’s expectations: from the food, to the sights, to the basketball competition, to the friendly people, and most importantly the memories and companionship we formed as a team. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that everyone on this team will cherish for the rest of their lives. Saying goodbye to this country and this experience is a tough pill to swallow but the thought of sleeping in our own beds tonight is enough to ease the transition.