VARSITY ATHLETICS

August 09, 2007

BRAZIL FIRST TRIP ABROAD FOR MARTIN...

Case Western Reserve University sophomore Steve Martin had the opportunity to see the country last winter as a rookie on the men’s basketball team. Trips to cities like New York City, Boston and Atlanta to play University Athletic Association (UAA) opponents were eye opening for the St. Peter Chanel graduate (Bedford, Ohio).

The Spartans and Martin will broaden their travel horizons this Sunday, August 12 when they board a bus to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The bus trip from Case Western Reserve’s campus to Hopkins will be familiar to the team, but the journey after they depart will be once in a lifetime.

Twelve Case Western Reserve student-athletes and three coaches will leave for a six-city tour of Brazil Sunday, mixing in preseason games with professional teams with sightseeing and conducting basketball clinics. The Spartans will arrive in the capital city of Sao Paulo, spend time in the beach resort town of Guaruja where they will tour Santos Futebol Stadium/Museum [Pele’s former club] and take surfing lessons, then travel to Taubate, Ilha, Barra da Tijuca and Rio de Janeiro. Ilha is considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world and Rio is home to the famous “Christ” statue and Sugarloaf Mountain.

“This is a great opportunity for our players,” Sean McDonnell, the Case Western Reserve head men’s basketball coach stated. “I hope they remember this experience for the rest of their lives.”

For Martin one activity does not stand out above the rest. He is just excited and honored to be traveling. “I’m just looking forward to seeing many sites and seeing how their culture is compared to ours,” Martin said.

The management major, who played in all 25 games for the Spartans as a freshman last season, like many others, will embark on his first journey outside of the United States. The entire team arrived in Cleveland this weekend and begun practice on Monday at the Veale Center in preparation for its four-scheduled international contests next week.

“Coach Sean [McDonnell] mentioned that we’d get to go to a lot of places [as a basketball team], but I would never had imagined that we would be able to go to Brazil,” said Martin. “This is something that not many people get the chance to do, and I just feel honored that we have the chance.”

Martin, one of four players on the travel roster from Northeast Ohio, also sees the trip as a great opportunity for the team to come together before the season starts.

“From a team standpoint it allows us to bond before the season,” continued Martin. “This whole off-season we’ve talked about getting better and this is a great time for us to do that.”

Posted by: Creg Jantz August 9, 2007 08:37 PM | Category: Brazil

Posted by: cnj4 (Creg Jantz) August 9, 2007 08:37 PM | Comments (0) | Trackback