Army West Point Athletics
Hump Day At West Point
October 06, 2010 | General
Welcome to the Army blog for Wednesday, October 6. Christian Anderson at the controls today and this is my first attempt at blogging. I joined the Army Athletic Communications staff after Labor Day, and I hadn't had a chance to blog until now.
This is actually my second stint working at West Point. I served a four-year term as an assistant in the AC office from 2003-07, before moving to Vermont, where I worked for three years as the Sports Information Director at Norwich University. This year, I'm the primary contact for the sports of: men's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving, wrestling and lacrosse.
Well, that's enough about me ... now let's turn our attention to all of the exciting happenings in Army athletics. This time of year is always interesting, and a bit hectic, because the winter sports are starting up. The fall sports are, of course, in full swing, but adding the winter sports to the mix creates what some refer to as "the overlap."
The men's and women's swimming and diving teams, which I have the pleasure of covering on a daily basis, opened their season last weekend with a sweep of Rowan. To read more about that meet, click HERE. The ice hockey team begins its 2010-11 campaign this weekend with a game against Colgate on Cape Cod, while the rifle team opens up its season this weekend as well. Women's basketball began practice last night (check out the practice recaps HERE), while men's basketball gets under way in a couple of weeks.
The Army football team has another key game this Saturday as the Black Knights travel to New Orleans to battle the Tulane Green Wave. Tulane beat Army by one point last season (17-16) at West Point.
Perhaps the biggest game of the weekend is Army-Navy women's soccer, which will be aired on a tape-delay basis by Fox Soccer Channel as the NSCAA's Game of the Week. The Army women are 10-3 and ranked seventh in this week's Mid-Atlantic poll. The Mids are 8-5-1 and listed ninth in the Mid-Atlantic this week. This game always seems to be a close one, so if you're in the area, I recommend you come out to Clinton Field to support the Black Knights (7 p.m. on Friday night).
Several members of the AC office will be helping to staff the game, including myself. I'll be assisting Mady Salvani, who will be running the show as the women's soccer primary contact. Tracy Nelson, who covers the volleyball team in the fall, will be assisting the TV broadcast as the "Red Hat", helping to make sure that the broadcast goes into and out of commercials properly.
There are always extra jobs and responsibilities to tend to when TV is in town, regardless of the sport. They are always in need of a timeout coordinator, cable pullers, stat runners, spotters, etc. We try to assist them as best we can.
I'll be at Clinton Field again Saturday night when the Army men's soccer team hosts 24th-ranked Colgate in a Patriot League contest at 7 p.m.
Today has already been an interesting day, and it's not even noon yet as I'm writing this. I've taken part in a meeting for the women's soccer game, worked on the swimming and diving media guide and worked on the wrestling guide, while also starting my preparations for the men's soccer game. It's one of the things I enjoy most about working in this field...no two days are ever the same.
On that note, I'm off to meet with diving coach Ron Kontura.
Until next time, Go Army!
