Day 1 of our journey, I may have been in this job before but
with a new team and a new location, it’s like it’s all fresh again.
Fortunately we had a later flight so airport arrival time
was 9.30am making my hatred for being up early a little less. We all gathered together
alongside our NSW colleagues to the group check in. There are 4 teams from most
states that come to Nationals. Women and men’s teams from both Metro and Country.
So that makes 14-15 people per team. That’s a lot of baggage, but as different
as our luggage was, we all looked the same lining up to check in proudly
wearing our Basketball NSW gear. After a few pictures and last minute instructions
to the girls about which gate to be at, and at what time, I was off and made a
beeline for the coffee shop. Ok, I can take on the rest of the day now.
Shout out to Qantas who’s ability to manage groups is simply
awesome. We had experienced their great service only a month ago when we decided
to forgo a training camp to attend a preseason tournament in Dandenong. Their
seamless processes made a check in a breeze. I once again brought along a
bright coloured ribbon so all bags were easily identified. It is a tactic that
I have employed each time I have travelled as a group and when you are at the
baggage carousel at the other end it
allows any member of the group to easily identify a piece of luggage from their
group. We were the first group at the arrivals with all our luggage off the carousel.
Being at the mercy of other’s travel bookings means that you
cannot be in control of how things are. Just yesterday we had received notification
that our cars and buses would not be available to us at the airport depot (despite
there being a branch right outside the terminal). We had to leave the kids at
the airport with the assistant coaches and be shuttled to a location 10 minutes
away. We did discover that it would have been possible to have our vehicles
brought over, we just had to have asked. Up in the memory bank to make calls as
soon as the reservation numbers were known. Fortunately we weren't in a rush,
like some of our colleagues who had training later that afternoon. An unnecessary
inconvenience.
Once finally through that procedure we loaded up the girls,
and our loads of luggage, for our journey from Melbourne airport. I was in
charge of the bus with the girls and one of the Assistant Coaches (AC), and our
coach and AC took the car. We all fit in without any fuss at all, and the trip
to Ballarat was about an hour and half. Our girls had travelled from all over
Country NSW to get to the airport. Some starting their journeys the day before,
so once the hum and rock of the highways kicked in, they were off to sleep. It
made for a quiet trip, until 20 mins from our destination one of the girls
alerted me to a need for an emergency stop at the bathroom. Thank God for
roadside bathrooms on highways.
I may have made a couple of wrong turns from Melbourne to
Ballarat, despite bringing my much needed GPS along. I am geographically
challenged to the extreme, so to anyone that knows me will not be surprised by
this info. It was really only minor exit misses, and one where I was distracted
by seeing the MARS factory.
We arrive at our accommodation and greeted by some very
bubbly staff. I am not sure whether they had perhaps felt the need to overcompensate.
Just a month earlier I had received a call to be advised that our accommodation
booked 6 months ago had accidentally been cancelled. Our rooms had been booked
out by others who could not have possibly paid the deposits as quickly as we did
(within days of making enquiries). After some very assertive discussions our
booking was reinstated, and rooms reallocated. But it was nice they were so
very friendly.
I had arranged to have groceries delivered which saved me
hours and also meant that the girls could eat almost straight away after travelling
so long. While I was setting up for lunch the team settled into their rooms and
checked out the lay of the land. But first stop was reception for wifi
passwords. Of course.
Our set up is awesome. We have 5 rooms/cabins and we are
mainly all in our own little cul-de-sac in the holiday park. The amenities are
great, so it is easy to settle in. Less than half an hour after we finish some
lunch the girls are already asking what time is dinner. I had made a schedule
for each room so they know what’s happening each day and what the plans are for
dinner.
Spaghetti Bolognaise tonight, and I am so very glad that I
had packed some of my own kitchen creature comforts from home. My electric
frypan, spatula, tongs, cling wrap and foil, a couple of my favourite knives
and a chopping board. I am so glad that these were packed because I’ve already
used all of them with the 2 meals that have already been provided. Having these
things with me has made cooking preparation so much more like home, and less
stress!
After dinner the girls settle in to watch a movie and the
coaches start their individual chats with the team members. This gives the
coaches the opportunity to talk about exceptions, and what sorts of things they
can contribute to the team. This is a valuable time for lots of reasons.
Last year when traveling with the U16s State team, it was so
valuable to have a supermarket nearby so we have done this again and it is less
than 1km from where we are. So I took one of the ACs to the shops for some
extra supplies not provided in the food delivery. As it is a Woolworths, it
stays open to 10pm which is great for those last minute things needed for the following
day.
Now all the girls are tucked up in bed and quite exhausted
from their long day, as we all are. A big and exciting day tomorrow. No games,
but team photos, Basketball Australia media and a training session.
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