We started in Northern Virginia, with a scrimmage against the Scottish National Team. It was awesome to see some great competition and a different, much quicker style of play than we were used to. It was definitely a refreshing way to start off the season and a good way to get back into serious competition. We all loved their accents and had the biggest tailgate you could imagine. It was fun talking to the Scottish players about their schedule and the types of things that differ in our two leagues. They even managed to convince a few of us to purchase their very Scottish looking kilts.
Then it was on to Orlando, Florida. The weather was FANTASTIC -- we couldn't have asked for a more perfect week. After a long day of travel on Sunday, we stretched our legs with a team jog and some evening yoga with Wendy. That night, we headed to Olive Garden for a team meal, complete with endless bread sticks.
On Monday, we had a productive three hour practice to get us started for the week, and then we enjoyed unwinding by the pool that afternoon. The team certainly took advantage of the Florida sun to get a little tan and we were fortunate enough to have our season goal-setting session poolside as well. In the evening, some Orlando alums spoiled the team by organizing a wonderful dinner at a bistro downtown. It is always great to meet former Generals, spend time with them, and hear the various paths their lives have taken since departing Lexington. 
Tuesday started off well with a two-hour pregame practice, followed by a nice afternoon off. A group of us ventured to Universal Studios, where we ran around the park feverishly in order to ride every last roller-coaster we could find. Fire and Ice was a team favorite, followed closely by the Hulk. A burger-filled dinner at Margarittaville topped of the day for the thrill-seeking crew.
Another group found their way to the Pirate Adventure Dinner, which was conveniently located across the street from our hotel. The pirate and princess impersonators impressed us with their singing, dancing and acrobatics (true story, there was a trampoline involved). The pirate for our section was named Antonio and we were his biggest fans. Cav, Alexis and Alli were even picked as volunteers and got to join the fun and they were given pirate hats as gifts.
For some, the afternoon meant additional time relaxing poolside or a necessary trip to the nearby fantastic outlets for a little shopping!Wednesday posed a long day full of tough competition, as we took on two Division II teams, Adelphi University in the morning and Rollins College later that evening. The teams were athletic and aggressive, but we were able to make the most of our scrimmages. Our team implemented lots of new strategies and began to see the weeks of hard pre-season work pay off. We definitely took advantage of playing such high-level competition so early in the season and were more than ready to WOMP on St. Mary's (MD) in home-opener!
