Ramblers Visit Guatemalan School, Host Clinics - Loyola University Chicago Official Athletic Site

Aug. 21, 2006

Day 7- Ramblers Visit John Bosco School

This morning Loyola visited John Bosco School, a Catholic grammar school and high school with over 2,000 students. The school was very nice and the staff was extremely welcoming. When we walked into the school courtyard, we saw hundreds of students playing during recess. Students were running around for miles it seemed, playing soccer and basketball, the two most popular sports in Guatemala.

Students came running towards our group from all angles seeking autographs and pictures with our players, staff, tour guides, and trainer. It was a unique sight to see hundreds of kids sticking out their hands, arms, uniform shirts, papers, etc. for us to sign. You have never seen more excitement to be seen than we did today. I know our team has continued to be touched by the amazing reception we have received in Guatemala and the enjoyment that playing basketball has brought to thousands of students. Our team has truly realized how fortunate we are to be able to play and coach the great game of basketball and the opportunities that the game has afforded us. Guatemala has welcomed Loyola with open arms and this was very evident this morning.

I kept thinking how cool this must be for students to have an American Division I school come to play at their gym in Guatemala. As Guatemala is a predominantly Catholic population, I think this helped create immediate connections with our friends there. We played a game this morning in an open-air gymnasium that held over 1,500 students. The students came into the gym one grade at a time and the energy level was great.

Rodolfo Fonseca, our Guatemalan basketball guide, and our game announcer, had the gym pumping with noise. He is a great announcer for a basketball game as he gets the crowd completely into the game. As he has said many times to our team, "Basketball is my life, basketball is my passion!" He is an ambassador of the game of basketball in Central America and has done a great job exposing children to the game. Our guys have really enjoyed his pre-game introductions of their names, specifically Tracy Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrobinson, Leon Youuuuuuuuuung, and Majak Kooooooooooooooooooooou! We hope we can create this type of excitement in the Gentile Center with our fans this season. Kids were doing the wave, dancing to the DJ's music, and cheering wildly for Loyola! We have found many future Rambler Rowdies on the trip!

As the Ramblers took to the court, we received a great welcome. Our guys put on a dunking exhibition in warm-ups, much to the delight of the crowd who cheered every slam. Loyola was victorious again today to move our record to 4-0! After the game, as customary at all of our games here, we were mobbed by students wanting pictures and autographs from our team.

Our coaching staff has been very proud of our players throughout the entire trip as they have handled themselves in a first-class manner at all times. Even when the chips were down and the luggage was lost to start the trip, our team kept its composure, adapted to the surroundings, and kept a great sense of humor. Our team is a very tight-knit group, with guys that are friends on and off the court and who always look out for each other. We received many compliments from our contacts in Costa Rica and Guatemala about how courteous our players have been to sign every autograph, take every picture, and talk to many people about Loyola basketball.

It gave our coaching staff great pride to watch our players interact with all of the students who just wanted to be around them. The joy that a simple autograph gave them was worth the trip itself. Our guys took hundreds of pictures as every kid seemed to have a cell phone camera with them.

We enjoyed a nice homemade lunch at John Bosco and then conducted a two-hour basketball clinic for 60 students on the school's basketball teams. Each player was assigned to a basket as groups of students rotated from station to station, learning the fundamentals of the game. Our guys did a great job of teaching them and it was interesting to see our players utilize some of the Spanish that they had picked up during the trip. I have learned that the game of basketball is universal as students who spoke little English could understand the drills and instructions.

The kids really enjoyed the full-court passing station that Brandon Woods, Tracy Robinson, and Leon Young were manning. They taught the kids with great enthusiasm and were really hands-on as you could see that the kids had a lot of fun. Brandon has put his Loyola Spanish classes to good use throughout the trip! Majak Kou's station taught the Guatemalan's the game of 'Knockout', which is very popular in the States and we hope that this will become popular now in Guatemala.

Coach Whitesell held a mini coaches clinic for the 10 local coaches who came to learn some new drills. Our players demonstrated the drills live on the basketball court and coaches were able to ask questions.

The team was able to relax this afternoon after a busy schedule the previous days. The team enjoyed some sunshine at the Marriott pool and hung out for a few hours. The weather has been perfect during our entire trip and the only rain we have seen was in the rain forests while whitewater rafting.

Tonight, we were guests at a nice local restaurant, TacoTento, which was recommended to us by our friends Shai and David Young from the US Embassy in Guatemala. We would like to thank Mr. Young and his entire staff for attending our games and welcoming us to Guatemala in such a nice way. The food tonight was outstanding and we celebrated the wedding anniversary of assistant coach Mark Lovelace and his wife Lea - congratulations!

We would also like to thank Luis Hernandez, his wife, and his son Edwin for being with the Ramblers every step of our journey through Guatemala. They have been the ideal hosts and they have a tremendous passion for the game of basketball. They have taken care of everything we have needed since we landed in Guatemala. Also, thanks to Axel Vandemberg, President of Guatemalan Basketball Federation, and his wife for all of their support and hard work. Many people have made this trip a success and we are grateful for all of the hard work. We know many people in Costa Rica and Guatemala have been following our website and we are excited to know that they will be tuning into our website next season to watch our games live on the internet.

Tomorrow, we will play two games against the top club team in Guatemala, as well as the National Team so we will have to bring our A-games to finish the trip undefeated.

Muchas Gracias-

Coach Boyle