Wednesday Practice, Media Day and, What Else, FOOD!

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 

Another 6:30 a.m. coaches' meeting set the tone for the fourth glorious day of the Brasil Onças Week Camp.

Only one practice today followed

by a Media Day full of photo ops

The jungle surrounding our hotel

was full of these green parrots

OLB Igor Mota sporting a

Vacaville Bulldogs hoodie

How in the world did Igor, the heart and soul of our defense, wind up with a hoodie from a Northern California high school where Laurie's Father spent his final years working before retiring?

Jungle flora on the hotel grounds

LB Alex Posito warming up

From the European League of Football's Barcelona Dragons, Alex was in Brazil for a week to hone his skills for the upcoming ELF season.

There were no official Onças green game pants for him, so he borrowed a pair of the Agoura H.S. pants that I had donated to the Brazilian Federation.

DB Max from Germany's

powerhouse Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns

Also wearing Agoura H.S. pants, Max is a young player transitioning from the Unicorns' Junior to Senior program.

I think that this week of work was both eye opening for Max and a positive learning experience as the entire defense embraced him as if he were 100% Brazilian.

CB Marlon Tamasia tracking

a WR's hip during one-on-ones

Another round of Pass Rush vs.

Pass Blocking on-on-ones

It was one of those mornings.

The one-on-ones should be a simple time dedicated to competition between defensive and offensive skill sets. It was indeed that this morning but unfortunately it quickly digressed into a M.A.S.H. Ward as four defensive players were injured.

Our Team periods proved to be much safer.

OLB Igor Mota in green blitzing

off of the Edge

Igor would eventually be named as one of our Defensive Co-Captains and with good reason.

He is the Tasmanian Devil from cartoon fame personified when he hits the field. Igor only has one speed, FULL! 

If any Onças defender has a doubt about what to do, he should simply ask himself, "WWID?"

What Would Igor Do?

Today would turn into a real food orgy.

HURRAY!

The "Three Amigos" (Bart, Alex and I) opted to walk back to the hotel again under some false pretense on this intensely hot and humid day.

Who were we kidding we needed meat NOW!

We decided that the most prudent way to explore the town was to get something to eat about every three blocks.

It was a unanimous vote by the way.

The first stop was for a beer and a

meat pastry appetizer

We needed more, MUCH MORE!

Well, maybe this was

a bit too much . . .

Stop Number Two was

more like it

A price of 6.50 Brazilian Reales equals about $1.35 USD.

We shared a large order of both

cheese and meat pastries like

like this one which went great

with another beer

Our bartender had fun serving

us today and we enjoyed his enthusiasm

We walked a few more blocks . . .

Wait, you can buy hair via WhatsApp?

I may have to check out this offer.

We were now in the heart of Itapecerica da Serra, a bit lost but still hungry and thirsty.

Madonna and Child

across from . . .

 

. . . Itapecerica da Serra's main church,

the Igreja Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres

How sultry was it outdoors, you ask?

Maybe this photo of Bart before

our third lunch of the day

gives you a clue

Our final lunch stop appeared perfect on first inspection with wonderful aromas coming off of the BBQ grill and, on close inspection, just enough dirt and grime that signals either a tremendous food experience or ptomaine poisoning.

Usually it is the first but you never know for sure.

A little full from our first two lunches, we opted to go light.

Just this delicious half kilo of meat

for us to share along with three

more ice cold cervejas

 

The aromas were AMAZING!

With Captain Igor Mota

Checking out the M.A.S.H. Ward

before heading ups to the Media Day

Head Coach Brian Guzman

organizing the team picture

Brian is an amazing person who is Filipino by ancestry, Brazilian by birth and is a long time college football coach in Mexico currently with the Pumas Acatlán.

I know that he speaks both English and Spanish without the slightest trace of an accent. I'm guessing that the same can be said for his native tongue of Portuguese.

The LB core hamming it up before

the start of the official photos

L. to R.: Alex Posito, Jefferson Martins, Defensive Co-Captain Luis Polastri, me, Joao Holyfield, Defensive Co-Captain Igor Mota and Giovanni Pichetti

With my roommate

OL Pedro Sangaletti

One of the good guys even if he does play Offense.

CB Marlon Tamasia says that

I can still grow dreds like his

I'm not sure that he is correct.

The Official Team Photo

The Onças Week Coaching Staff

The Offense

The Defense

The Defensive Backs

with Coach Casey Frost and

Coach Gui on the flanks

The Defensive Line with Coach J.P. Teran

The Linebackers in a more

formal setting

After the photos, there were

lots of interview panels that included

one with Alex Posito and another

Bart Iaccarino not Laccarino

We had a long time to kill before our evening round of meetings, what to do . . .

This bundle of joy worked the

desk at our hotel

We were asked to always leave our room key with her before going out and to reclaim it upon returning.

Since she spoke no English and I spoke no Portuguese, I first communicated flashing the appropriate fingers for Room 208.

She tried to teach me how to say "Dois-Zero-Oito."

I was OK with the Dois-Zero part but had trouble remembering the Oito which turned into a running joke between us most of the week. I nailed it the last two days of the camp.

This evening she gave Alex the name of what she claimed to be an excellent churrascaria nearby for dinner.

What the hell, we hadn't eaten anything in a couple of hours, so the Three Amigos got an Uber.

This meal was such a blur of goodness that I forgot to take any pictures and can't even tell you the name of the establishment.

What I can tell you is that a bevy of servers stopped at our table non-stop for 30+ minutes with skewers of different types of incredible meats including Brazil's signature cut known as picanha.

We all were eventually forced to tap out fully sated but not completely defeated.

It was an AMAZING dining experience.

We finished the meal with a Caipirinha cocktail that was much improved over last night's attempt.

Today's eating frenzy proved that . . .

BRAZIL IS CARNIVORE HEAVEN

Finding an Uber ride back to the Hotel Del Verde was again an issue but we got one back in plenty of time for the evening meetings.

The experience continues to energize me. I'm having a great time falling in love all over again with coaching American football overseas!