COLLEGE 10s TOURNAMENT: LSU team road trip

by: Adam Diaz

Nov 22, 2014

College Station, TX

Standing on a windy empty parking lot, late on a Friday afternoon, we start hand-balling the footy to one another. Every so often, an American style pass gets thrown and eventually we’ve spread out enough for kicks. The six of us; Josh, Daryl, Stephen, Nicki, Mark, and I are waiting on Zimm to show up so that the seven of us can set course for College Station, TX for the 1^st ever College 10s Tournament. Our drive was virtually music free as casual cantor bounced around the cabin while the mile signs counted down to the LA/TX border. We made our first and only stop in Sulphur City, where the team indulged in gourmet square burgers from Wendy’s, served by an up beat cashier named Victoria. Finally, after a few more hours on I-10, and several seemingly out-of-place turns on a road called “105”, we pull into College Station as the midnight chimes ring. After a lovely “we’re not lost” tour of College Station, the morning greets us with a quick field set up and some rain. The boys, representing LSU, warmed-up their footy and slowly the teams trickle in. Team were proudly representing Louisiana State University, the University of Texas, University of Houston, Texas Tech University, and of course our hosts, Texas A&M. To spite the rain, the field was Astroturf, and played fast. The ball, however, was soaked thru and flopped around like a bouncing lead weight. In a true showcase of the sportsmanship of the players and the sport itself, a couple of teams had to join together to make teams of 10. Our boys played well, with moments of brilliance shining through. Josh received a lot of compliments from the sidelines with smart passing, and great tackling. Mark had perhaps the best defensive play of the day, holding off a double team from 10 yards off the goal to prevent a score. Daryl was quick to the ball, and showed calculated aggression in getting to the ball as the day went on. Zimm had some great clearances to the wing, getting the ball out of the mess in the middle. Stephen had an eye for the uprights, racking up the majority of points for the team. Nicki and I assisted with water breaks and some goal umpiring. Nicki may have taken home the MVP with a timely beer run as the day reached the halfway point. Although the boys didn’t make it to the final, the day was fun. Unfortunately lightning interrupted the Grande Final. With everyone under the pavilion, the BBQ line was opened with a full Eskie near by. Team photos and great conversation wrapped up the day in College Station. We fueled up the truck with gas, our bellies with Freebirds, and began the long journey home. We were Karaoke-ing and talking about our football club most of the way. One of the biggest lessons learned on this trip was whether or not any of us were qualified to be Mark Chambers’ friend, but that won’t stop us from trying. It was a great trip, and good end to the season. Everyone is looking forward to growing the club next year; hopefully we’ll see you out there.

Zimm, Stephen, Josh, Mark, Nicki, Daryl , Adam. Photo courtesy of Nicki K.