So, yesterday my Phoenix Spitfire ladies and I descended to The Old Pueblo (a.k.a. Tucson) to play in the Desert Sectionals Tournament, which is the first step on the road to Nationals. Since the ladies' tournament didn't start until 4:00 p.m., Ranger and I decided to go down early and watch some of the men's tournament, since they had an earlier start time. After watching the Phoenix men steamroll Tucson, Ranger and I made our way over to the Mexican American neighborhood of Menlo Park, where the ladies were scheduled to play.
Menlo Park itself is located adjacent to Menlo Park Elementary School and surrounded by apartments. Our team arrived to the park and staked out a shady spot under some big trees so we could get ready to warm up for the tournament. The Spitfire ladies were VERY excited to play!!! Our roster was filled from top to bottom with athleticism and experience, and included a returning Joanne A., a savvy veteran with quick footspeed and solid, solid throws.
As always, our regular warmup routine was to run a lap together, and then proceed through a series of 25-yard plyometric exercises. Only this day, we were joined by 3 neighborhood girls: 7-year-old Princess and her 9-year-old sister Jasmine, and their cousin Yesenia who turns 8 today. They were there in the park with their family, and decided to join us for some high knees, butt kicks, lunges, skips, shuffles, and sprints. These girls were muy adorable. Little did we know that they would stay on our sideline for the entire tournament, cheering us on, keeping score, high-fiving the other team after each game, and playing frisbee with the Phoenix boys, who came to watch us play after their games were done. The girls even ran home to get Erin some band-aids after she made a spectacular diving catch in the endzone for a touchdown, and scraped her knees (actually her entire front side) in the process.
When the tournament was over and it was time to go home, they hugged us and hugged us, and told us they didn't want us to leave. Yesenia told me she was so sad she was about to cry. I was sad to leave them too, they were really special and sweet. I'll never forget Jasmine, Yesenia, and Princess. They really added something special to our tournament experience! Oh yeah, we almost won the tournament... so close!!!
Before heading back to Phoenix, we decided to have dinner at Viva Burrito around the corner at 1372 W. St. Mary's Road (http://www.vivaburritoco.net/). This place was awesome, and very affordable. They have a full menu of burritos, tacos, tortas, etc. I ate 3 carne asada tacos and they were delicious! My teammates enjoyed a variety of burritos, fish tacos, horchata, and everything was muy delicioso! I highly recommend Viva Burrito the next time you visit The Old Pueblo.
Yesterday was a great day.
(Thank you for the pic, Lisa!)
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