Softball Cruise Clinic Update

A little stop in Grand Cayman with our magnificient ship in the background!

I'm currently writing you from an internet cafe in Jamaica.

So far, the cruise has been a great experience. It is my first cruise ever and I'm really enjoying it.

What better mix than softball, a cruise, the sun, the ocean, and The Caribbean!

It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for any softball player, coach, or fanatic.

My only complaint so far is a bit the lack of sun. It's been cloudy for most of the week so I have yet to "maximize" my tan.

Here is an overview of our itinerary:

Saturday PM - Boarding and leaving for Key West.

Sunday - Key West, Florida

Monday - We were supposed to be in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico but because of a rough sea, the crew decided to head to Cozumel instead. It was a nice alternative.

Tuesday - Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Wednesday - Montego Bay, Jamaica where I am writing you from an internet cafe.

Thursday - At sea all day.

Friday - Nassau, Bahamas - This is the day we spend at a local softball complex. This was arranged with the local softball federation. We are hoping for great weather!

Saturday AM - Back in Fort Lauderdale.

As for the softball sessions, they are held before diner (schecduled at 8:00 PM) between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM when we have stops scheduled during the day. That gives everybody the time to enjoy the local attractions.

There are around 165 attendees on board and they've been broken down into 5 smaller groups (coaches, parents, 11U, 14U, and 18U) and we have sessions specifically tailored for each of these groups on a variety of topics (hitting, pitching, fielding, mental training, dynamic warm-ups, softball-specific training, speed and agility, etc.)

The sessions are held in interesting settings. We are spread between the disco club (really cool deco), a luxury bar lounge (very comfortable couches) and a mini-business meeting room to deliver most of our sessions.

Monica Abbott and I also delivered a session on softball-specific training in the ship's fitness center last night.

Tomorrow, we will use the sports court on the upper deck of the ship to do practical sessions on dynamic warm-ups, speed and agility, fielding, hitting, and pitching.

As mentioned above, on Friday, we will be at a 3-field softball complex in the Bahamas to do on-field skills work with the girls. We are all really looking forward to this!

We are 4 presenters - Coach Dalton Ruer of Cross Training Softball, Coach Dave Paetkau, hitting specialist, Monica Abbott and yours truly of course. I can say that all presenters have delivered interesting sessions and have done a great job so far.

Here is my typical schedule each day so far:

10:00-11:00 - Get up and eat breakfast
11:00-12:00 - Workout (the fitness room is empty at that time)
12:00-13:00 - Lunch and/or special treat like a massage (the massage therapist on board are amazing)
13:00-16:00 - Visit the local attractions
16:00-17:00 - Get ready for my sessions
17:00-19:00 - softball sessions
19:00-20:00 - Get ready for diner and attend live variety shows
20:00-22:00 - Diner and discussion with other attendees
22:00-00:30 - Social time (lounge, disco), etc.
03:00-1:30 - Winding down in my cabin and get ready to go to sleep.

As you can see, I'm having a great time and enjoying it.

Alright, time to go back do some visiting before heading back to the ship.

Here is a little scoop for you: Softball Cruise Clinic II will be held in February 2011. More details to come in the coming weeks.

Talk soon.

Marc