Holiday Travel Tips

Well it's that time of year again, the one that all the drivers on the East Coast dread. Holiday commuting. With Thanksgiving not even a week behind us and Christmas coming fast there is no time to prepare. The roads of New Jersey are going to be packed no matter what time of day we sit in our cars. The Turnpike and Garden State Parkway will be turned into a parking lot for a few hours and everyone who didn't prepare for their adventures with snacks, drinks, and plenty of music will be going out of their minds. Be Calm and Carry On may be one of the biggest themes of the year but it will be on repeat in the minds of every driver.

What do you need to do to prepare in case you get stuck in traffic? Here are a couple useful tips to help get you to your destination.

1. Keep an extra bottle of water in your car in case of trust.

2. Grab a few of your favorite snacks and keep them with in an arm’s reach so you can munch on the go. I always recommend fruit snacks that have fun shapes so you can make a story out of your trip.

3. Invest in a phone charger for your car, sometimes "Subway Surfers" will be the only saving grace your passengers may have.

4. I always keep a pile of CDs in my car. This may sound so old school but my iPod connection in my car does not work and that is the only way to listen to music without commercials without paying for satellite radio.

5. If you are getting tired of listing to the same songs over and over again why not try listening to an audio book? Try this website that works with Amazon or this one if you have a library card. These books can be put on your smart phone and then connected to your car. Or you can go the old fashion way and go to your local library and rent one. The Alex Rider series are very exciting and fun for any age to listen to!

6. Make sure that you check the traffic before you leave your starting point! http://www.511nj.org/ has all of the traffic for New Jersey.

7. As tempting as it will be to text in the car, just don't do it! It's not worth it! Sign up for the X the Text campaign and keep yourself and others safe!

8. Do not forget to switch drivers every few hours if you are driving to a destination that is far away. And pack pillows so the ones who are not driving can sleep with a little more comfort.

Following these tips will not make traffic move faster, but it can make the ride not seem as endless. Trust me; I am not one for waiting around in traffic.

Oh I forgot one!

9. Have a good time and have fun! Remember time flies when you’re having fun!

And the season was officially over

Yesterday was uniform turn in day for the Kean Field Hockey team. The day no one ever looks forwards to. The day our backpacks go back as well as our new shooting shirts. The blue and white uniforms are taken from our lockers and you loose your number for a few months.

The day that uniforms are handed out in the summer feels like Christmas. New sweatshirts and pants, warm ups and shorts are sitting in your locker neatly folded. Today was the opposite of that. The locker room is covered with broken shoes and empty water bottles. This is the day everyone scrambles around to make sure everything is turned in. Every jacket, pair of pants and bag are handed in to the equipment manager. Even our name tag holders that hung on our lockers go back.

While the uniforms are being turned in the team always takes a look back on our favorite memories from the year. This year was a season that seemed to fly by. Every road trip is mentioned as well as the amazing memories from our 5 home games.

My favorite memories may be different from the others on the team. My top ten memories in no particular order are:
1. Sitting on the lawn in Roanoke, VA watching the Lorax with some of the girls from the team.
2. Friday night karaoke sessions in the cafe at school. Melly and friends always had a song to share even if no one else wanted to hear it.
3. When our team beat FDU this year we went out to eat. The food was awesome and the talk was great.
4. Seeing everyone "shake that thing" while playing Little Sally Walker before games and practices.
5. Dancing is a way to relieve stress and get ready for practice. The dance parties in the locker room totally got our blood pumping before our two warm up laps.
6. "Rain, rain go away" was a common theme in most away games. Especially playing in the pool, I mean, turf at Misericordia.
7. Everyone go and look up the field hockey team's Kean exchange videos...that's all I have to say on that.
8. Heart and Hustle, Score Score Score.
9. Singing songs whenever they were playing in your head (like the middle of a game)
And last but not least number 10. "Ain't no mountain high enough...
...to keep me from getting to you"!

We don't always remember the wins and the losses in a season, but we always remember the stupid things we do together. I will never forget the 2012 season or the girls on the team. They are my sisters and no matter how much you fight with each other a family sticks together. I love you girls!

I'm So Sorry!

I am so sorry that I have not been able to update for awhile.  Being a college student I have had to complete a lot of school work, and then being an athlete on top of that. KUFH just completed our field hockey season last saturday (10/27), right after the game we had to evacuate campus due to Hurricane Sandy.  I have been stuck at home because our school has not had power for the past week.

As soon as I complete the papers I had due this week, I'll write up a recap of the field hockey season!

Oh I forgot, the Kean Women's Lacrosse Team starts fall ball this week!!!!!!

It'a a Pink Night at Kean

Tonight at Kean University the field hockey team will be holding their pink game against Mercy College at 7:30 on the turf.  The team will be accepting donations that will go towards breast cancer research.  October is breast cancer awareness month and many teams hold pink games to raise money.  
Wear your pink and come out and support the cougars! 

On another note, the second Cougar Talk video from Kean Xchange is up on Youtube and other Kean websites.  Junior Steph Soares answers some questions on why she picked Kean and what she loves about field hockey.  There is a little surprise at the end so make sure you watch the whole thing!

Cougar Talk

Interviews are not always the best way to get to know a person.  This interview by Kean Xchange, a social media website that helps provide information about all aspects of Kean University, captures the personality of one of the KUFH seniors.  With the questions ranging from why did you choose to go to Kean? To a more light hearted if you could audition for American Idol what song would you sing? The interview was easy going and had everyone there laughing.  

Five of us were interviewed a few weeks ago and as they are released I will put them up on here.  If anyone is interested in any of the other fall athletes interviews you can check out the athletics tab of Kean Xchange.  I would like to wish the football, women's soccer, men's soccer, women's volleyball and women's tennis team the best of luck for the rest of the season.  

Finally!

After a huge game yesterday KUFH came out with a win today! A much deserved win! The cougars came out strong and scored with-in the first four minutes, which would be the only goal of the game! They played for a full 70 minutes and never lost faith.

While the team was sitting on the bus waiting to leave the field we started singing one of our favorite songs, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".  A classic to any athlete who has ever traveled on a bus with a group.  We started clapping and singing to the words that we knew.  If anyone has ever seen the movie Remember the Titans than you would know that it is just one of those songs that brings a team together.

A short write up about the game can be found on the Kean athletics page at http://www.keanathletics.com/sports/fh/index if you were interested in reading about it.

Our next game is on October 6th up at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.  Let's go Cougars!!! Rawr!

Finally A Home Game

On October 1, 2012 the Kean University Field Hockey team had their first home game of the season.  It was against the #3 ranked team in the county and #1 ranked in the NJAC (New Jersey Athletic Conference) TCNJ.  The final outcome of the game was 1-0 with TCNJ on top.  The Kean cougars put up the fight of their lives last night.  There was never a thought of backing down out on the field on either side.  Kean had nothing the lose and played like it.

I am so proud of my team.  We played like a team and looked like a team from the first whistle to the last.  

Tonight we are back on the road with a game at Fairleigh Dickenson University, Florham, NJ.  Let's Go Cougars!!!