It was an early morning for us all as we loaded the bus at 5:00am to head to the airport. I'm sure that most of us slept on our flight to Houston. I had mixed emotions as I said goodbye to the girls as well as Max, Fisio, and Stefano. Manuela was brave enough to speak on behalf of the entire group to let me know just how appreciative the girls were of both Tim and my efforts to bring them on this tour. They were very happy about their experience in the United States and happy that they were able to have a little bit of freedom in where they ate and the little time they had to see some things outside of the gym. I wish them all the best in their season and hope that they all take something away from this trip whether it be on the court or in their lives. Fourteen nights is a long time to be away from what you are used to and, although I know it wasn't easy, I think they did a nice job of adjusting.

On behalf of Bring It Promotions I would like to say thank you to everyone who made this tour a possibility. Coach Elliott from Texas, who first had this idea when his team played in Italy this summer, is mainly responsible for the trip. Along with Texas, Mike Jordan from NMSU, John Corbelli from Texas A&M, and Chris Lamb from Wichita all had a huge part in giving the Italians this opportunity. Of course there were many others who helped including the staffs from each University, the club directors who were involved, and a few others, and we appreciate all that was done in order to make this happen. This is for sure an experience that the Italian team will never forget and an experience that we hope to improve upon and repeat in the future.

Good luck to all in their upcoming seasons!!!

Ciao!