"Coach K and Cuba"

On Saturday morning our ball club had an amazing experience. We loaded the bus and headed over to Duke University. Jose Fonseca, the Head Basketball Trainer for the Duke Basketball Program had arranged for Coach Mike Krzyzewski to speak to our players.

Jose and I had worked together at ETSU and he has remained a very close friend. I cannot thank Jose enough for making this happen. The night before, I felt like a young child on Christmas Eve as I could barely sleep because I was so excited.

Coach K did not disappoint. During our first meeting as a staff in Louisville this past December, Coach McDonnell gave us all a copy of Coach K's book, "The Gold Standard". Reading this book and meeting Coach K this morning brought everything to life.

I'm not sure if there is another Coach in the world that has been studied and revered by other coaches, more than Coach K. His success speaks for itself and it was an amazing experience to be able to meet and listen to him deliver an amazing message to our players and staff.

Coach K spoke for over an hour on many subjects but hearing him talk about his experience with USA Basketball was very special. It was evident from the start how important wearing USA across your uniform was to him. Coach K is a West Point graduate and his pride in our country really came through during his talk. He showed us some amazing videos (that I'm sure the public has never seen before) about how he was able to assemble the greatest basketball players in the world and get them to buy-in and come together to for something much larger than themselves.

It was a similar message that Coach Mac had been sharing with our players during our team meetings this first week. This was a special treat for our players, coaches and staff and I know it made a huge impression on us all. Thank you again, to Jose Fonseca for making it happen.

After a game versus a very talented group of select players from the Coastal Plains League it was time for us to begin our series versus Cuba. If you are a baseball fan, then you are well aware of the baseball tradition and baseball talent that the country of Cuba has produced. We knew we were going to be in for a battle.

It was a thrill to finally line up against some International Competition. Our first game versus Cuba was played in Hickory, NC and there was a great crowd. It was extra special as my wife (Jody), son (Gehrig) and my brothers (Mike and Scott) were in attendance.

Cuba had an older, veteran club who could really play and had guys with some amazing individual talents. Max Meyer (Minnesota) and Chris McMahon (Miami) dominated on the mound as they combined to only allow one run on five hits in nine innings to allow the USA to cruise to a 5-1 victory. It was nice to get that first win under our belt. After the game we headed to Charlotte, NC for game #2 the next day at beautiful BB&T stadium.

Once again it was nice to have family in attendance as my oldest son, Tilo, drove over from his summer ball assignment to see the game. It was also neat because we were placed in the
clubhouse of the Charlotte Knights, which is the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and is where my nephew Matt Skole (20 HR's thus far) is playing this season.

We had another great crowd and came back to win a hard-fought game 4-2. Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) hit a big 3 run home run in the 6th inning to give us a lead we would not relinquish. The bullpen efforts of Cole Wilcox (Georgia) and Tyler Brown (Vanderbilt) were suffocating as they pitched scoreless baseball the last five frames.

Now we were off to Durham, North Carolina with a chance to win our first series of our tour.

On July 4th it only seemed fitting that we played our best game of the summer thus far. Our pitching staff combined for a three hit shutout and our offense exploded for 10 hits for during the 8-0 victory. Winning this series in three straight games was a great accomplishment for our squad.

The next night Cuba took one from us late as they scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat us 6-5. We played well but Cuba put together some great at bats in the 9th inning. This was a shock to our system and now put extra emphasis on Game 5 as we wanted to travel to Taiwan with the momentum of a win. Coach McDonnell challenged our guys after the game, as this was the first time we would have to respond after a loss.

On July 6th we were back in Durham, North Carolina for Game 5. Our players responded in a big way as we exploded for 18 hits and 10 runs igniting us to a 10-2 victory in our final game versus Cuba. Max Meyer (Minnesota) and Colton Cowser (Sam Houston State) were our Outstanding Players of the series.

Now it is time to head back to the hotel and prepare for tomorrow's flight to Taiwan. This is going to be a first for me and many of our staff and players as well. I am excited to see how we match up versus the Chinese Taipei National Team. Another great challenge awaits. Go USA!

Until next time...

Xièxie, (Thank You in Mandarin)

T. Skole 7