2004 CUNYAC Goodwill Tour - Summer 2004 

CUNYAC Hoopsters Land In Ecuador

When I first heard about the CUNY Goodwill Women’s Basketball Tournament in Ecuador from my coach I didn’t really take it serious because I thought he was joking. I couldn’t believe it when it actually hit me that I was chosen along with one of my teammates to participate in the practices. Being that the try-outs would be held on March 26th & on the 28th I began contemplating what would happen on those days. I found out the same week that there would be four community colleges and 10 senior colleges involved. Hearing this news made me quite nervous but also very focused on the fact that I would have to work extra hard to seal a spot on the team. I was so ecstatic to know that even being asked to participate in something like this was an honor and as long as I tried my best things would go just fine. For the next two weeks or so before the practices start I made sure I would be in good condition to do some serious running.

Even though I tried to prepare myself for what to expect on the first tryout it wasn’t enough. I arrived early that day to make sure I got warmed up and ready. As I looked around there was not a familiar face in the gym. At this point I knew I had to come out my shell and get to know some people. That was easier said than done. I found it to be overwhelming because of the amount of people that showed up to the tryout. I kept thinking to myself ok relax its only 2 dozen people you should be fine. I tried to calm myself down as much as possible but by the time that happened we were ready to begin. How should I explain what came next? Oh yeah. Lots of running. I was happy that I started running a week before otherwise I would have passed out.

I was thinking now ok maybe this isn’t so bad after all but little did I know what the coaches were going to have us do. I wasn’t accustomed to many of the conditioning drills that they had us do that day. This was about the time I started to feel unsure of myself. I cleared my mind of all negative thoughts and just kept saying there’s nothing to lose but plenty to gain if I give my all and try hard. As the practice went on the fatigue began to kick in. I looked around and could tell on many of the girl’s faces that they were tried too. So I didn’t feel alone. I can’t explain into detail exactly everything that happened that first day. What I do know is that I felt confident and happy with myself for surviving the first day. When the second try of the first out came I had some idea of what to expect now and everything seemed a lot less stressful. When the day came I was surprised I was shocked that some people didn’t come back but this gave those that were there an advantage. After this practice I was excited because I wanted to know right away if I made the cut and if I would be returning or not. Later on during the week I found out through email that I would be returning for the second try out and it made my day. I called everyone I knew to let them know the good news. I knew now that nothing was going to stop me. I continued to work hard to keep my body in good shape and work on my endurance. I was just so grateful to have been given the opportunity and chance to be a part of something special like this. Knowing that I would be among 14 other women with the possibility to travel to Ecuador and who shared the same aspirations as I do made me feel so content.

July 2, 2004 - Today we had a 10:00 a.m. practice that lasted until about noon. I felt that it went considerably well. We went over our defensive strategies and our offense. I think that noticing the mistakes made yesterday helped everyone become more attentive to what is going on so that we don’t make the same mistakes in games. After we drove back to the hotel and then ate at the metro café right across the street. The food there seems to be good given the fact that we were there the day before. When everyone finished eating lunch we went to our rooms to rest and made sure we had all our things ready for our third game. Before we left, we viewed last night’s game to see what things happened, good and bad. Then, we jotted down some things we noticed about ourselves and the team.

The game started off slow for us in the first half. We couldn’t make a basket and were down by twenty. Then right before the half ended we scored a quick five points cutting their lead to eleven. The second half we played great. At one point we cut the lead to two but then they increased their lead to six. We lost the game by six at the end. I was very proud of everyone because we came back and stepped up our defense. We were able to contain there leading scorer to less than eight points in the second period. I was also proud that we never once gave up and everyone was supportive of each other.

Nichola Hall, City Tech

After three years of playing basketball, I got an opportunity to represent CUNY in Ecuador for two weeks. I still can’t believe that I, Nichola Hall, am getting the chance of a lifetime like this.

At my first tryout for the team I was very nervous and scared because it was the best CUNY players trying out. At first I thought that I was did not belong here. I never even played high school ball. I started learning in my first year at City Tech, and I’m still having difficulties keeping up.

The two tryouts were extremely hard and it seemed like everyone else knows what to do except for me. I felt frustrated, and I considered giving it up, but my coach and mother told me to continue trying my best. Now that I’m a part of the team I’m still worried that I will let down my teammates and coaches because I’m not a strong player and the only thing I can offer is rebounding, which I’m told is by best skill.

I’m learning so much, not only about the sport, but also about team work and getting along with the other players. Practices are still a little difficult, but they are not so bad after all. I only have a problem with some of the terminology. I am so happy and grateful that I got this chance, and I will continue to give 100 percent. I only hope that the coaches will have the patience.

Self confidence is on the of the key points that I will be working on during the workous. By the end of the trip, I would like to be able to shoot with doubting myself. I want to drop step without being scared of getting hit, and I also want to grab more rebounds so that we can win all of our games. When this is over, I hope that I can bring some of my newly acquired knowledge and skills to my teammates at City Tech.

The road to Ecuador was not out of reach. As CUNYAC adds another accomplishment to its cap. Upon arrival of our administrators, coaches, and student-athletes at JFK airport Terminal 4, Coach Bostic states, "We are excited to be on our way, it has been a long three months preparing for this trip."

For the first time in CUNY history a women's basketball team is going overseas to compete. Boarding LACSA flight 661 to Quito, Ecuador with a stop at San Jose, Costa Rica. Our student-athletes were ready for their mission, to set out as student-ambassadors of the City University of New York representing twenty colleges in NYC and over 400,000 students. "The honor of representing our colleges and the CUNYAC on and off the court is going to remain with me forever," said Hunter College forward Jessica Proscia. The feature film was Blue Chips starring Nick Nolte and Shaquille O'Neal. Great start to a great trip. Education, Athletics and Integrity is exactly what we are setting out to achieve as our goal. To make this a trip that our student-athletes will never forget.

After four hours and fifty minutes we arrived at Costa Rica, our entourage were looking for restrooms and food. During our one hour lay-over we took the time to stretch and relax as we prepared for another two flight to Quito, Ecuador. Diane Ramirez( Baruch point guard) said, "We are looking forward to playing basketball against someone other than ourselves and having the opportunity to check out the sites, they say Ecuador is a beautiful country."

At last we arrive in Quito, Ecuador at approximately 1:40pm, Mr. Gonzalo Troya (Director of Sports and Recreation) waiting patiently. Mr. Troya escorted us to our vans and we were on our way to the JW Marriott Hotel. Zak distributed room keys and spoke about the do's and don'ts of our trip. Michelle Wallace (John Jay) stated, "This is a breath taking experience, it is not everyday where you just get up and leave to Ecuador for 10 days and play basketball with all of my opponents. We are now one team with one common goal, putting CUNY on the map across the globe."

July 3, 2004 - Fun! Fun! Fun! Today was fun. We did another clinic and after that we had a scrimmage with the team. We will be playing in three days. Lunch at the Waffle House was very delicious. Renee and I had curry chicken in humongous bread. The presentation of the meal cost something you only see at special places. I don’t think that I will ever see that again. They bake a big round bread remove the top and put the curry chicken in the middle. The meal brought back memories of back home; the only thing that was missing was spice. Rannie even bought another one to save for dinner.

The tour of Quito was spectacular. We were moving around in a bus like true tourists. We saw a church that looks like a castle out of a King Arthur movie. It was beautiful and over 100 years old. The mountainsides were very picturesque and unique, and the houses on the hillsides have different types of colors.

Next, we traveled to a statue known as the Virgin Mary. It was beautiful, the atmosphere and surrounding had a sense of peaceful feeling to it. We took about twenty pictures in front of the statue- if was magnificent. We then went shopping in the town and I had a great deal of fun. I window shopped at every store that I passed. We all did as a matter of fact. Finally, we stopped at a Champion store where they press printed logos on our T-shirts. I got two, one with big bunny dunking a basketball and one with my nationality.

For dinner we had Dominos and hung out in my room. I cannot wait till tomorrow’s tour of the rain forest and the volcanoes. I almost forgot to mention the town is over 500 years old and the Mary statue is over 30 years old.

Jessica Proscia, Hunter

June, 28th - The past couple of weeks have been a growing process for all of us. We have learned to play with people, who all season, you play against. I’ve learned many of my new teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. But this experience has gone way past just the basics of playing on a basketball court. We were given the chance to go on a biking trip together. I think that this one trip was the key to getting to know each other better. We also had to talk and communicate in order to get through several group tasks that we were given. These obstacles we had to get through together let us build trust and confidence in each other. The most difficult part of our trip was the hike itself. I found it to be a fun challenge. It wasn’t extremely difficult, but we were in a situation where we all had to cooperate and let each other know what was going on up ahead. We also had to trust the person heading us along the trail. It turned out to be a really good experience for me.

The last couple of practices leading up to the trip were also exciting because we know we were going to leave soon. I can’t wait to get there and see what the competition is going to be like. I’m also looking forward to seeing another country. I’ve never been outside the United States, but I’m looking forward to a good experience with my new teammates.

We met this morning at 4:30 a.m. at JFK. Our flight was at 6:30 a.m.. So after we all met and checked our bags, we grabbed something to eat and got right on the airplane. After about a five-hour flight we arrived in Costa Rica. We spent about thirty minutes in the airport before we had to board our next flight which would take us to Quito. After spending another two hours on the plane we were finally here. We picked up our bags and got into two vans which took us to our hotel. The hotel is beautiful and the rooms are really nice.

When we first arrived we were brought into a conference room where we were given steamed washcloths to wash up with and we were also served drinks. A little bit later we brought our bags into our rooms and then walked to a restaurant to have some dinner. After dinner we took some pictures and hung around for a little while before we had to be in our rooms for 11:00 p.m. curfew. I’m going to end this journal entry now since is almost midnight and I have to be ready and for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Goodnight.

June 29, 2004 - Today we had to wake up at 7:30 a.m. and be downstairs and ready to eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m. There was plenty of good food at breakfast. I had some fruit then eggs, bacon, French toast, and some pancakes. After eating we went to the equator. It was cool. They had a big monument with a little museum inside. There were a lot of little shops to buy postcards and other little gifts. Before we left Rannie, Michelle, Diane, and Chico did a funny skit imitating all of the coaches.

When we left the equator we got some food. First we walked all over the place to find this food because some people thought they knew where they were going. But anyway, we ate and then walked across the street to the gym to practice.

During practice I realized the difference in altitude. It was hard to breath and my chest was burning a little bit. I think everyone had a tough time with that, but we were looking forward to playing our first game tomorrow night. After practice we came back to the hotel to hangout for a couple of hours before dinner. Some of us stayed at the hotel and some of us went to use the phones around the corner to call home.

For dinner we just stayed at the hotel and ate pizza. It wasn’t that good because they don’t put any sauce on their pizza. So afterward, coach Freddy was going to take us to a shopping center, but it was closed so we went to see the white house. The lights were nice and we took pictures with the guard but their white house is really small compared to ours in Washington D.C. Next, a couple people, not mentioning any names, decided to jump in a cab without us and wave goodbye. So the rest of us jumped in cabs and we beat them home. Even though they tried to leave us behind.

Jennifer Ithier, Hunter

June 30, 2004 - Today day started off good simply because we got to sleep an hour late. Breakfast was as good as the previous days. The French toast is slamming. After we ate, it took a while for the vans to come and take us to the school for practice. Practice wasn’t all that good but we had a good run. Then when we tried to get lunch. There were sandwiches, but all of them were ham and cheese. That is when all the problems started because people didn’t eat ham and they kept saying that that was our only choice. Until they said if anyone wanted tuna fish then everyone raised their hand. It was so funny. Then we all had to take like three taxi’s back to the hotel and the taxi driver tried to act like he couldn’t understand us when we said the Marriot, even though there’s only one in Quito. These cab drivers were trying to play us because they knew that we were tourists. After lunch I started to get really excited because we were going to play our first game.

The ride to the gym wasn’t that bad and the actual gym looked better than the one we have been practicing in, but the most amusing of the day was right before the game started. I realized that I didn’t put my jersey on underneath my T-shirt. But all the bags were lined up together so I didn’t know which one was mine. And all this was happening while the game was about to start, and I was starting. So I had about four people opening up bags looking for my jersey. It was a classic moment.

The rest of the night was history as we won an exciting game 61-59 and our defense really stepped up. Tomorrow will be the busiest day. We will be running around from 8:00 in the morning until 10 p.m.

Today started off good once again. I had a nice breakfast. The eggs were as good as they usually are. I am sitting here thinking about the game that we have later. I hope that we are able to come away with a win. I heard that we will be playing a team that is really good. Earlier today we did a clinic for these kids. It went pretty well. In practice my knee was hurting me, but I will be ok. I am sitting here writing my journal early. Today I finally got a chance to go to the pool. It felt extremely good. It was Jess, Jahlina, Mo and I. We were back and forth from the pool to the Jacuzzi. Well I am about to go and get dressed for my game. I will inform you on how it went when I get back.

I’m back and we lost by the score of 62-41. Well, what can I say about today’s game? I know the score. Yea, yea. I really didn’t get much time, but I am happy. They had a lot of good players. Those girls can really shoot well. They had one 6’2” girl that did her thing. She had a couple of blocks.

I heard that they pay some of them to play. I honestly think that the team from the other day was more physical than the one we played tonight. There was a play that made me laugh. Jess intercepted the ball and took about three or four steps and then fired the ball to Diana, who flew back like a piece of feather. Nevertheless it is time for me to go to bed. I am really tired. I just wonder what we are in store for.

P.S. We need to treasure the ball better.

Michelle Wallace, John Jay

July 5, 2004 - Today was our day off and it was dedicated to talking. We left the hotel at about 8 a.m. and headed towards the volcano. After about an hour drive we arrived. We took team pictures at the overlook of the crater. The lava from the volcano had created it from its eruption. It was definitely a site to see. The view was both beautiful and incredible. Jessenia and I weren’t too thrilled about standing by the edge because neither of us are too big on heights.

Later on, we took a hiking tour through the rain forest. Our guides name was Richard and the property belonged to him and his wife. It wasn’t really as difficult or as good as the mountain hike with the Lemon Squeezw. I did enjoy the hike though. I started out towards the back and ended up finishing right behind Diane and Jessenia.

We stopped off at this family restaurant and had one of the best meals since we’ve been here. I ordered Apandas with yellow rice and french fries. Apandas is breaded steak and it tasted extremely good. I was taking notice to other plates and I don’t think I could have gone wrong with anything I ordered.

When we got back to the hotel we decided to walk to the store. On the walk, there’s a small hole that we usually walk pass. It was very dark and Jess stepped right into it and hurt her ankle. Shatasia and I carried her back to the hotel. I bagged some ice so we would put it on her ankle. Hopefully, she’ll be able to walk. We ate Dominos again and basically called it a night.

Jessenia Marrero, Baruch

July 6, 2004 - Today was an emotional day. It started off with our first really packed clinic. They treated us like we were famous. The school put on a really nice show and the girls were so appreciative of what we had to teach them. They rewarded us with a cute magnet of a girl playing basketball, cake, and ice cream. But mostly, they made us feel like what we were doing mattered. The floor that we were playing on was ridiculously slippery. So after the clinic we cancelled practice and went back to the hotel.

At around 3:00 p.m., we headed to the poor part of town to distribute food. We arrived and I don’t think anyone was prepared for what they saw. There were more than 50 starving people waiting to get anything they could. The children were the saddest sight of all. There were babies and toddlers in ragged clothing. Their mothers were anxiously waiting for the little we had to offer. It was really hard to accept. We take so much granted… I just wish we could have brought more to give these people.

On a happier note the day ended with a win. We finally played a team equal in competition. The game started off alright. We were obviously the better team so I knew we would come back when we went down by 14. I was sure we would make our run and comeback. We did, and everyone contributed. It was a great win for a great team.