While we waited for the day to start, we were able to walk around and get all of the coaches to sign our tiger rags - which I had my very own tiger rag from www.clemsontigerrags.com. It said 'Clemson Girl's Tiger Rag' monogrammed on the top! We also got the Tiger's signature and watched Dabo take photos with all of the other participants. The line for Dabo was super long - kudos to you ladies who waited in it.
The ladies clinic officially kicked off at 9 a.m. and was packed full of fun events. From shopping to Q & A with the coaches wives to learning about football and recruiting...to quite the show in the weight room from some of the more confident players. Lol...
My favorite part of the day - which it's hard to think of one favorite part - was the CU Idol session. A few of the Clemson football players came out and performed songs live in front of all of us. I loved the Justin Bieber "Baby" rendition with the surprise vocal from Tajh Boyd.
The day ended with a group picture on the hill and the traditional running down the hill by all the participants.
I really enjoyed meeting a bunch of other female Clemson fanatics, and I loved all of your different t-shirt designs! I also met and spoke with Dabo's wife Kathleen who is the most genuine and sweetest lady. The entire day she was interacting with all of the women, while also being a mother - one of her boys spilled some coke in the gym and she didn't even hesitate to get down and start wiping up the mess...while wearing white pants.
The clinic far exceeded my expectations - my friends and I agreed we will DEFINITELY be back for next year's clinic. If you've been on the fence about going, I highly recommend you go. Get a group of girlfriends together and sign up - it's so much fun and it's for a worthy cause.
One of the most memorable moments of the day was when Dabo asked all the ladies who have survived breast cancer, who have the breast cancer gene in their family, or are currently battling breast cancer to come stand down in front as him and his wife presented the check for the money raised by the clinic.
I walked away from the day a little tired and a little sweaty...but more proud than ever to be an alumni of such a great university with an athletic program that cares about more than just football.
The entire day I noticed a theme from the program - it's about family and relationships - whether it's recruiting new players or the weekly family dinner the coaches and their families have together as a group. We also found out that when Dabo became coach, he let the coaches' wives and families come to away games with them for the first time. There were photos above each coach's office of that coach with his family. I love that. And the coaches' wives and kids were present and participating throughout the entire event. I think I even witnessed one of Dabo's sons convince a clinic participant to bet higher on one of the silent auction items. "Come on...it's tax deductible..I don't know what that means, but it's good." :)
Only disappointment for us was the lack of interaction with the football players (minus the weight room of course). I need more football player autographs on my Tiger Rag - including Kyle Parker's who was notably absent Saturday. Guess I need to go to Fan Appreciation Day on Aug. 22nd.
Check out all the photos we captured...
Most of the photos were taken with the group I was in, Group F...but we need other groups' photos! We would like to add your photos to this album as well - please email them to us so we can share them with everyone.
Were you at the clinic yesterday? Comment on this post and share your favorite moments of the day.
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