Gottfried Returns to the Persian Gulf (Audio) / Greetings from Kuwait

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Gottfried Will Return to the Persian Gulf
Mark Gottfried returned from a week-long USO Trip to Kuwait last August and declared it was one of the “most rewarding experiences” of his lifetime. May 23-29, 2006 the University of Alabama basketball coach will again return to the area, this time with reinforcements in the form of more coaches for Operation Hardwood II. On Tuesday the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment announced the second tour and the college basketball coaches who will participate.

The participants will coach military basketball teams featuring the best military players who will compete in a championship tournament.
http://www.markgottfried.com/
 

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Re: Gottfried Will Return to the Persian Gulf (Audio)

Gottfried: Greetings from Kuwait
May 24, 2006

We have arrived at Camp Arifjan. We arrived in Kuwait City about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. We were met at the airport by Sgt. First Class Dwayne Miller, who we call Will, and it’s great to see a familiar face. What a guy. He has a service-oriented attitude and is our host for the next five days. …

We had pretty uneventful travel, approximately 14 hours in the air. Went from D.C. to Frankfurt, Germany. Coaches Tubby Smith (Kentucky), Rick Barnes (Texas), Gary Williams (Maryland), Rick Kell (who has organized this trip), Reggie Minton from the NABC, and Jim Crews from Army all met on Monday in Washington, D.C., and had a fundraiser for the USO at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club where this year’s President’s Cup was just played. The auction and dinner raised over $350,000 for the USO, and it was a special night. We were met at Dulles airport by coaches Kelvin Sampson (Indiana), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Billy Lange from the Naval Academy, Bobby Lutz (Charlotte) and Dave Odom (South Carolina). Leean Tweeden from Fox Sports has also made the trip and will do a show for the “Best Damn Sports
 
Last edited:

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
OPERATION HARDWOOD II: Greetings from Kuwait
May 25, 2006

What a great day! After a few hours of shuteye, we awoke at 0530 hours, which is 5:30 a.m. for the non-military people, and we were off to breakfast. We did have one coach who has been getting ribbed all day long for oversleeping. An alarm clock was given to him as a gag gift today.

It was off to the DPAC, which is the mess hall, for breakfast. The dining facility is terrific, but my favorite picture from a year ago is not on the wall. There was a picture of the Pentagon the morning of 9-11 and a quote underneath that read, “Remember why we are here." I don’t know why they removed that one, but it sure was powerful.
 

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Greetings from Kuwait
May 26, 2006

When we walked out of the barracks this morning at 0600 hours, Jay Bilas from ESPN said, “[This is] like the movie Groundhog Day." When it comes to the weather here, it’s always the same.... hot and sunny and temperatures around 110 degrees. Not much work for the weatherman here in Kuwait.

We were up early and off to downtown Kuwait. The downtown area is much improved (from my last visit in August) and the Burger Kings and Starbucks are very visible. Once we got there, we met 20 or so local coaches and did a coaching clinic for the Kuwaiti coaches. Dave Odom of South Carolina led the clinic and did a fantastic job. With the help of translators, we were able to share with the coaches the fundamentals of the game and answer their questions. Afterward, we broke into groups to work with the young people and taught the game in camp format, with six stations of shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, defense and lay-up lines.
 
Last edited:

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Greetings from Kuwait
May 27, 2006

The song from “Groundhog Day" is on our minds as we step out of the barracks at 0600 hours. It’s already 105 degrees and hot. Sound familiar? Does it ever change?

We had a full day today of games, with pool play action beginning early this morning. The first thing we had to do was meet at 0730 hours on the outdoor courts and have a walk-through practice. Our team needed to get organized and they did just that. We played at 0930 hours and played well. The soldiers played hard, together and with a lot of emotion. They were ready to play.
 
Last edited:

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Greetings from Kuwait
May 28, 2006

Saturday morning was again an early start. At 0600 hours the temperature was again over 105 degrees and sunny. Sound familiar? Today we’re off on a journey around the base here at Camp Arifjan and, as usual, were amazed at all we did and all we witnessed.

The first stop was to an area where the military trains its troops on Humvee operations. It’s called “Heat," which stands for “Humvee Egress Assessment Training." This was fascinating. We learned a little about what our troops go through when a Humvee is turned over on its roof during an attack. I think that all of us have a new appreciation for what our troops go through after being loaded up with equipment, helmets, flak jackets and full armor. We only did it for the simulation. They do it every day.
 

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
OPERATION HARDWOOD II: Back in Bama
May 30, 2006

Editor’s Note: University of Alabama men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried is back in Alabama after spending a week in Kuwait, where he coached a team of American military troops against teams coached by other college coaches in “Operation Hardwood II."

Sunday morning was the hottest day of the week. I think the temperature before 8 o’clock in the morning was already at 120 degrees minimum. Our team, the Scorpions, had the first game of the day at 8:30 against one of the better teams in the field. It was Dave Odom’s team from the Kuwait naval base. Our kids played hard. They played terrific but they came up on the short end.
 

Crimson Surfer

News|BB|FB|REC, Super Moderator
Jul 14, 2001
23,588
8
0
Henderson, NV
Re: Gottfried Returns to the Persian Gulf (Audio) / OPERATION HARDWOOD II

OPERATION HARDWOOD II: Back in Bama
May 30, 2006

Editor’s Note: University of Alabama men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried is back in Alabama after spending a week in Kuwait, where he coached a team of American military troops against teams coached by other college coaches in “Operation Hardwood II."

Sunday morning was the hottest day of the week. I think the temperature before 8 o’clock in the morning was already at 120 degrees minimum. Our team, the Scorpions, had the first game of the day at 8:30 against one of the better teams in the field. It was Dave Odom’s team from the Kuwait naval base. Our kids played hard. They played terrific but they came up on the short end.
 

New Posts

TideFans.shop - 25% off Fan Favorites!

TideFans.shop - 25% off!

20oz Tervis Tumbler
20oz Tervis Tumbler from TideFansStore.com

Get this and many more items at our TideFans.shop!

Purchases may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.

Latest threads