Notes from the Road …
Thursday …
One of the more difficult times as a coach … Dan’s daughter Peyton is 3 years old today and Dan has to settle for wishing her a Happy Birthday with a phone call from the airport as we are about to leave for Abbotsford and Kamloops.
A very happy family reunion as the Dinos are treated to a wonderful Indian dinner by the Dhaliwal family in Abbotsford. Tony’s mum, dad, sisters, and brothers are joined by uncles, aunts, and cousins to welcome the team to Tony’s home in B.C. The food is great, and the warmth of Tony’s family is a joy to see.
Friday …
Prior to game-time, the Dinos enjoy the ‘late check-out’ ritual of stuffing 15 team members into 2 motel rooms for a 4-5 hr. period of rest or wrestling, depending on which room you happen to be in. Drive through a busy Abbotsford to the Mennonite Educational Institute ( high school ) Gym, which is the temporary home of the Fraser Valley Cascades.
In a scene reminiscent of several years ago, the Dinos hit the floor to the cheers of the “Brown Army’, about 150 relatives and friends of Tony D and Sonny Khangura. They have much to cheer as the Dinos feed an unstoppable Sonny K and he goes for 24 pts. , a personal best in Canada West play. Tony, who gets more minutes in front of the hometown fans, gathers up his troops for a family photo after the game.
Saturday …
The early morning hours see the Dinos wending their way by bus over the Coquahalla Highway, which is lined with 8-10 foot snow banks, but, fortunately, on this clear, crisp night, has a clear roadway. We pull in to the palatial Accent Inn in Kamloops at 2:30 a.m.
Beakfast for the coaches at 9:00 a.m. prior to watching more tape of tonight’s opponent, the TRU Wolfpack. Our waitress at The Whitespot is Jackie , another cousin of Ross and Henry Bekkering … they are everywhere!
We are greeted at the Thompson Rivers Gym by ‘Wolfie’ , the fuzzy wolf mascot for his Wolfpack … Sonny K suggests ‘B.B.’ as a better moniker, and Asst. Coach Matt Skinn would go with ‘Howell’ . Such are the inanities for discussion deep into a road trip.
Ross Bekkering, feeling somewhat fatigued from the travel, and suffering from a painful charleyhorse, offers a mere 15 minutes, but scores 18 pts. in that time. Thanks for coming out Roscoe! Josh Feist, in a larcenous mood, intercepts 9 TRU passes and leads the Dinos to a 100-82 win. Tony D mops up with the 100th pt. as his family, who drove up for the night, looks on.
Sunday …
Morning comes early as the groggy, sleep-deprived Dinos board the bus at 7:30 for the 2 hour ride to Kelowna and our West-Jet flight back to Calgary. We now have 4 days, almost to the hour, before we take off again for Winnipeg and our next two Canada West games.