Friday, July 27, 2012

Not Exactly Summer Olympics

By Tim Harwood

Waterloo Black Hawks players have arrived and work has begun at the team’s 2012 Orientation Camp.

The ice is in and there has been some skating, but a variety of activity has been happening outside the rink.  Fitness testing in the parking lot on Thursday morning gave the coaches and training staff the opportunity to get some baseline measurements.  The sprinting will continue all throughout the preseason and long beyond.

Even more important than improving the physical condition of individual players however, this week’s camp is about team-building.  Thursday evening, players visited John Deere’s Waterloo foundry to see teamwork in action on a larger scale.

“We watched a video about all that they do there.  I didn’t understand all of the technical processes, but I know they all have to be on the same page just like we do…one slip up can cause a whole waterfall of consequences,” said Black Hawks forward Ryan Papa.

Related activities continue today, and if you’re in downtown Waterloo, you might even find yourself in the middle of Friday’s project.  Shortly after noon, the players will scatter in small groups to look for local landmarks during a scavenger hunt.

“Last year it was so much fun.  None of us knew where we were going, but we got to know the town, even though we didn’t have anyone in our group who had played in Waterloo the year before,” said Papa.  “It’s about working together and becoming closer as a team.”

If you don’t happen to run into Black Hawks on the streets of Waterloo, there is still an opportunity to meet the entire squad Saturday evening during the team’s Fan Fest.  Tickets are $10 on Friday and $15 Saturday leading up to the event, which begins at 5 PM.

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