Blog #7: Summer Boot Camp

Hello! This is Kaori Shimamoto and I am sorry for the late upload.

I thought I have successfully published this blog that was due a long time ago, but I failed to do so, but here it is!!

Hi! This is Kaori Shimamoto and I just came back from a deadly boot camp. 

As some people might know, I'm involved in Gakushuin University's American Football Team, and I work as a manager/ trainer. Every summer the team goes out into the nature to train themselves physically and mentally. This year we went to Iiyama, Nagano, and stayed there for 10 days. It was my first time to be part of this camp and was very excited but it was nothing I've expected. As the lowest grade in the team, I had to get up at four in the morning to clean out the garbage cans that we put on each floor. Then, get ready for practice and head to the kitchen to help the cooks take out the dishes for breakfast. After all that has been done, the upper grade men wakes up and we eat breakfast together. This is how our daily schedule had went.

TIME SCHEDULE

4:00AM-Freshman cleans garbage

5:00-Gets ready for practice

6:00-Helps set breakfast

7:00-Eat breakfast

8:15-Group A gets on bus

8:30-Group B gets on bus

9:00-Morning practice starts

11:30-Morning practice ends

12:00-Lunch Time

1:00PM-Freshman gets ready for afternoon practice

1:15-Group A Bus

1:30-Group B Bus

2:00-Afternoon Practice starts

6:00-Afternoon Practice ends

7:00-Dinner

8:00-Clean up

9:00~12:00-Meeting

It was really hard for us freshmen to do all the work from early in the morning to late at night. The meeting never ended at midnight and we had to plan how to move the water during practice. The menu of practice changes every day, so the movement of water that we, managers, have to give to the players, changes. It has to run smoothly and we cannot make any mistake. 

This is the football field we used at camp.

I took this picture from the hill that managers had to go up to in order to video tape all practice games.

I did not expect camps to be this devastating. Even though the athletes were much more exhausted then us, I really felt like crying. However, there were some good things. During practice, in the hot humid temperature, everybody is about to faint. When I went to one player to give water, he thanked me even when he was out of breath. I felt a great sense of satisfaction during the 10 days of nightmare.

This was my summer break and I came back with a nice tan skin and tan lines from my T-shirt. My friends thought I went to a beach resort but they thought wrong! It was nothing like paradise and I did not want to do it a second time. Next year would be a little better since I would become a sophomore, but it was a really good experience and I was able to know how important it is to work hard for someone or something. It's great to be part of a team and double the happiness and decrease sorrow.

How was everybody else's summer?