I hope that your summer is going well!  The weather has been very typical here in Chicago -- extremely unpredictable, but I know that the team is enjoying their break from campus routine.  The guys are home working hard for the upcoming season and the coaches are busy recruiting and preparing for the upcoming season.  Everyone involved with the program is eager for our September trip to Argentina and Chile, not just for a great experience, but to set the tone for the 2009-2010 season.

Before we left campus, the team took part in a new community service endeavor which turned out to be a terrific experience.  For the first time on the University of Chicago campus there was a "Relay for Life" event sponsored by the American Cancer Society.  Relay is an event held annually at many college campuses during which teams raise money in the form of pledges in support of walking laps around a track from 7:00pm one evening through 7:00am the following morning.

Our team chose to participate in the first annual relay at Chicago and raised over $3,200.00 for cancer research - thanks to the many of you that contributed.  It was also a night during which our team remembered those in our lives who have battled cancer, enjoyed some good time together (guys even paid money to smash whipped cream pies in my face!), while also generating a generous contribution to a very worthy cause.  It was an especially significant evening as we remembered the mother of a recent alumni who passed away this spring after a long battle with cancer, as well as the father of a current player who is fighting the disease.

Enjoy the summer!

-Coach McGrath