By David Decoteau
*Authors Note - I am going to attempt to make more blogs posts to the Hammers website. The post meet entries will be more my recollection than stats and hard information. Those things will be included, but not the driving force behind the updates. Instead, I hope to capture the feeling of the day, and the team, and the Hammers experience overall. Hopefully, going forward, it can be helpful to both remember what has passed, and as a tool for those considering the team and the experience.
BOYCE PARK
My favorite venue so far, although I do also love Fair Hill, and Jordan Creek also has some very nice features and nearby attractions. I guess they all actually have something to offer…but I like Boyce.
I think I like it best because it reminds me of home. It has hills and roots and some fast, fun flowing single track that seems to be at the outer edge of what NICA could sanction, and still be within their liability guidelines. And, as a Hammer…we like that boundary area.
Both our teams (School and Composite) and both days of racing (middle school and high school) were proud days at Boyce. The Hammers might not have had the most athletes at Boyce, but in all the categories that we fielded athletes…we made the podium. Other Coaches were literally walking by me at Boyce and saying, “What’s I the water up there?” They meant this in the best way possible.
And speaking of Coaches, more than one coach from other teams made a special point of coming to our team tent to say how much they appreciated and admired our athletes. From “kind” to “courteous” to “most supportive of their teammates that anyone has ever seen” were just some of the comments. As a Coach of the Hammers, this meant more to me than any podium or award we could receive. Truly a humbling experience that made me very appreciate for what we have on the Hammers.
Timing results can be found here: