Over the next few days the 8 USA WEST participants are going to attempt to collectively blog their trip to Japan. It is our hope (and theirs) that they can each send at least one blog entry over the course of their trip. Obviously, their schedule, and access to the internet will be limiting factors, but we have hope!

Charlie Nesser (Totino Grace HS) - Junior Defenseman

We just arrived in Japan today after a long day of travel. Our flights were ten and one-half hours and one and one-half hours. When we arrived we took the subway from the airport to the hotel. The rooms are just big enough to fit the beds in and nothing else. It is very humid and hot -- I believe we have a chance of rain almost every day here.

Training camp went well. We practiced for two days before coming out.

The team is very good and is a lot of fun to play with all of these great players. And not surprisingly, the gear is sick. That is about all that has happened so far.

Todd Frykman (maple Grove HS) Class of '08 Defenseman

Konechiwa From Japan,

This is the first time I`ve beenable to get to a computer in Japan. The weather in San Francisco was perfect for playing lacrosse, warm and sunny with a cool breeze.

We had a long practice the day we got into SF with dinner provided at one of the local players homes. The next day was 6-7 hours of lacrosse, with the weather being a bit hotter and the turf field adding to the heat.

The team consists of 8 UMD guys, with the rest being California (4 Sonoma, 2 Claremont, 2 Notre Dame de Namer), 1 ASU, 1 Oregon, 2 from Michigan, and 1 from Army.

After the second practice day we went to downtown SF to watch the Giants vs Detroit Tigers game at AT&T Stadium. It was nice to watch a baseball game with just the sky above you. This night also consisted of getting to know our teammates more and having fun. The next morining we had to get up at 6am for our flight to Japan.

Before our flight even got off the ground in SF we were delayed 2 hours. But once we were on the plane some wished it was delayed a bit longer. After 4 movies, a couple card games, half a book read, and 2 naps we arrived in Nagoya, Japan. Because our final destination was in Fukouka, Japan we had to make a connecting flight, but because of the delay in SF with missed our initial flight and got placed on a different one.

We were rushed through the airport. Everyone was lost in translation, not knowing which way to go, and being nervous going through customs.

But being an American lacrosse team we had fun while being loud and boisterous. At the new flight there was an additional fee if you weighed more than 160 lbs... two of the players were under that.

Once we got to Fukouka we traveled by subway to our hotel. The lights of the city are bright and big and there are a lot of them. The city was very busy, even at 9 at night the place very busy.

Opposite of Texas, everything is smaller in Japan. There are alot of people and when they expand they expand up, so there are a lot of high rise buildings. When you walk in to the hotel room you fall over the first bed and on to the second one it was so small. We watched a little Total Recall in Japanese.

The second day in Japan was a busy one. We woke up at 7am and took all of our stuff (lax gear bag, clothes bag, and backpack) and took the subway to the game. During June and July Japan is in its rainy season. When they say rainy season, it is a rainy season. I haven`t seen the sun yet and it will either be raining heavy or lightly constantly. We played 3 two 20 minute half games on a surface I have never played on before. At first it looked like one large puddle, but it was clay or sand combination. Kind of like a baseball infield. It played surprisingly well.

The field seemed to be extra wide and long. The Japanese players were very quick. It was awesome to watch all of these good US players play together.

After the games we took showers at la local gym and then had a dinner at a nice resaurant. The dinner was put on by the JLA and many Japanese lacrosse players were there as well as the JLA leaders and some host families. The host families have some affiliation with the Japanese Lacrosse Association.

My host family consists of Shingo, who is on the regional U20 team, and his parents Eiko (mother) and Hishoto (father). They have a big home and were vary welcoming. They enjoyed there loon (MN State bird) statue very much. They had me sign it and placed it in one of their display cases. They speak very little english, the parents speaking almost none. So at times it is difficult to communicate, but we are both trying, so its not so bad. I am almost fluent in Japanese...only kidding, but the Japanese do enjoy it when you try to learn their language. I am meeting a lot of nice new people, but am having a hard time remembering all of there names.

Tomorrow is the big game. We will play four quarters in a level 5 stadium against one of the best teams in this region. They tell me there will be a lot of people there to watch.

Well this email is getting long and there is so much more I could tell you. I will save that for next time. Not sure when that next time will be.

I have attached a few of the photos that I have taken. Enjoy!

Sayanara,

Todd

Dan Pitzle (Totino Grace HS) - Junior Midfield

Konnichiwa

Im not sure if it is my turn to write this blog or not but it is hard to find time to get this done so, here goes nothing.Days 4-5 or 6 I dont really know.

We have had two days of games thus far and we have played pretty well.

We have won all our games so far but we still have the toughest teams ahead of us. The team is very talented and the scoring is spread out evenly because of the level of play. We have played on clay fields the last couple of days, but it hasnt been much of clay. More like dirt and sand. Tomorrow we play in a huge soccer stadium against one of the best Japanese club teams. It is rainy season here in Japan so it has been raining on and off and it is also very humid.

My host brother is one college student and lacrosse player. His home is very small but very nice. I have learned very much about the culture and language of Japan and it is very exciting and interesting.

Im having the time of my life here.

Today after the games we went to a mall and it was gigantic. It had 8 different levels of shops. And I thought the Mall of America was big!

Tonight we are going out to dinner with our host brothers and a couple of the USA West guys. Many of the players are spread out throughout Fukuoka and suburbs of Fukouka. Some players are with families, and some are with college students. Everyone is having an awesome experience so far and it is only getting better every day.

The food has been awesome. I have tried a variety of food so far ranging from squid to chicken heart to suishi. Everything has been very good and I hope it stays that way! Oh and I also ate at a McDonalds here in Fukouka but it is definitely different from back home.

The people here are excited about seeing us and speaking with us. The Japanese are very welcoming and nice to us. To say it all, we really couldnt ask for anything more. But for now, its sayonara.

Pitz

Scott Wishart (Mounds View HS) - Senior Attackman

Today we starded off with a short practice with the Japanese players. We woke up at about 8 or so to get to the field by 9. In order to get to the field we had to take numerous subways and walk a little bit. It is very interesting going through the subway.  The Japanese Lacrosse Association has been guiding us around everywhere basically which makes travel very nice.
 
We had about a two hour practice where we did basic drills. We ran some diamond drill to warm up then split according to positions. Each position did different things but the attack did shooting around the net. We showed them basic shots to take around the net and correct form. We also did 3vs2 and 4vs3 which was quite exciting. We played "Genny" and then let the Japanese players do 4 on 4s and more scrimaging type stuff.

The Japanese players are very excited to be there and love the game.  They have impressive stick skills and are developing their game type situation skills.  Most have been playing for only a couple of years though. Practice was fun though and it was cool to be there. It is awesome to be a part of an event like this.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating and doing our own thing. A group of us went to the beach by bus. It was a fairly decent ride to get there but it was a good time. We ended up playing volleyball due to the weather being chilly and eventually rainy which forced us home. The area is very nice though and it is mostly city.

Tomorrow we go to Osaka by bullet train where we stay with another host family.Hope all is well. The trip is a blast so far and should be for the remains of the time.

Todd Frykman (Maple Grove HS) Class of '08 Defenseman

Oyaho gozeimas!
Good Morning!

This email was written at ten in the morning, but for you it would be 8 in the evening. Today is a travel day. We will be taking the Bullet train from Fukouka to Osaka. There we will meet our new host families and play more lacrosse.

On Sunday was the game in Level 5 Stadium against the Kyushu U23 Regional team. There were about 500+ people in the Stadium to watch the game. There was some play by play announcing and a ceremony at the end of the game with an game MVP awarded.

Kyushu is the Island region in which Fukouka is located on. The stadium was amazing and it had grass! I didn`t know how much I liked playing on grass until I played 5 games on clay. The team we played was the first team to field more guys then our team.

The Kyushu U23 Regional team was better then any other team we`ve played. These Japanese teams are very quick and fast, but size is a large advantage to us. Our smallest guy is about average height on the Japanese team, but he has a lot more muscle. The games on our end was a little sloppy but we won 16-2.

There were some highlights in that game for the UMD team. Charlie Nesser got his first goal of the year after a good clear and an aggressive move to the goal with a blistering shot that I don`t think the goalie saw.

Brian Hochman was named the game MVP, whcih is voted on by the fans. Some say it was his behind the back fakes and the sweet behind the back goal that gave it to him. Others say it was his similarities to Joe Mauer.

After the game our coaches said that that team was the 5th best in Japan and we still had to play to 1st, Tokyo, and 2nd, Osaka, best teams. I am very excited to play against these team to truely test the abilities of our team.

On monday we said good-bye to our host families and stayed in the hotel. That evening was a free night. The team split into 3 groups and went to different areas for food and drink. This was a very fun night. The food was phenomenal. Then we went to Karoake and sang some good old songs.

Well I have to get going gotta get some breakfast. I can`t send any pictures now but I will try soon.

Sayanara,

Todd

Brian Hochman (Bloomington Kennedy HS) - Senior Midfield

Oyaho! Which means good morning because I am pretty sure thats what time it is when you will be reading this.
 
I am not exactly sure what everyone else has written so I am going to just wing it.

This has probabally been the best experience of my life. playing lacrosse in another country, but also to be able to wear a jersey that has your countries name on it. It was an amazing experience to run out of the level 5 stadium in fukuoka; which was gigantic with USA on your jersey.

Every game we have played we have won. This is because that USA west has a very solid roster. Its an honor to play with players from other rivival teams. And to think at one point everyone on this USA west team was either a captain or a leading scorer. And now they are all playing together.
 
Side note: if you havent heard Pete Nelslon was named one of our captains for USA West.

Everyone has a very unique styles of play and we have been able to mesh together very well on and off the field. Our offense has been doing well and our defense I believe has only let up like 9 or 10 points in 7 games.

Well I am off to go eat sushi or maybe hit up a hot spring.

Oh and a little unknown fact from me to you, if you ever have a chance to eat raw liver with salt you might want to pass it up. But if you have a chance to drink Pacari, a sweat sports drink, hit it up. I will send another email that is longer later when I get to an olympic village.

Keep it real,

Brian Michael Hochman #22 on the field and #1 in your hearts

Summary

Nate Goertz (Minneapolis South HS) Class of '08 Midfield

I finally found an internet cafe so I can send this out but I only have about ten minutes so I'll have to rush this a little. As far as the country of Japan goes, its amazing. The people are so friendly, the food is great and the lacrosse is impressive, to say the least.

For the first half of the trip we were in Fukuoka and the compitition was about what expected. They were fast and could catch and throw very well but it was obvious that they didn`t have the knowledge of the game that we had.

When we arrived in Osaka it was a little different. The teams were much more skilled and could move the ball very well. They have alot of players who have surprising skills for how long they`ve played (most of them only 1 to 3 years), and some of these teams could give many teams in the MCLA a run for their money.

My role on the team so far has actually been defensive short stick and giving a physical presence on the field. The Japanese sometimes go down hard but they always get up fast. It seems like nothing phases them. I`ve had a few goals and some assists but mostly big hits is what I`ve brought to the table.

Nate

Casey Mithun (Apply Valley HS) - Senior Attack

The team is full of very talented players from all over the MCLA, couple from D2, and one from D1. We meshed really well during our first drill during training camp in the Bay area, and it noticeably carried over into our games in Japan.

As far as the lines went the coaches put the UMD attackmen (Nelson, Wishart and I) together right off the bat and our chemistry was right were we left it from the season. We remained an attack line until the second half of the trip where we then requested to change it up and have a little fun playing with some west coast attackmen. Then have a little different style than us and it was a fun wrinkle to throw in.

Before leaving for Japan I did not really know what to excpect. All that I had heard about them was that they were small but very quick with stick skills. That was right on the money, you wouldn't think they were moving very fast then all of a sudden they would clear the ball by you.

I was very impressed with their goalies play. They are all very quick with their hands and made it very difficult sometimes for our shooters and finishers. A very interesting note about the japanese lacrosse players is that they do not usually use shooting strings, their stick is just mesh with maybe, maybe a single v shooter.

I asked a couple of different lacrosse players that spoke english what the deal with that was and they just didn't really have a reason to not use em. Their sticks threw perfectly fine though. They for sure strung the sidewalls different so that the ball would release similar to if they did have shooters. I know hochman, one of our goalies (Garrett F.-CSU), and I strung more than a couple sticks for some players who wanted to try the "american style" of stick stringing.

As far as the country goes, I have never been anywhere that culturally deep before in my life and it opened my eyes to how different the world really is when you aren't looking in your own back yard. I had an amazing time and would reccommend that anyone that gets a chance to do this should take the opportunity. The food was great, I made sure that I packed some tums for the trip but I honestly never used them.

There is for sure a lot of things that we all learned and took back from this visiting the country.