Tyler Dierkers--July 22, 2008

I have been enjoying my summer to the fullest so far! It started out with summer school with the rest of the guys, and that is always a good time because there are not a lot of people around so you pretty much just get to be with your teammates for those six weeks. My class went well, and I needed it for the completion of my finance degree coming up in May. I am glad class is over though because I hated sitting in class, especially in the summer when there is so much to do.

Once I got back home to Cincinnati, the summer has come into a nice routine. My typical week has been working little kids camps during the day, usually at my high school. This works out really well for me because I can work out before or after and also because I enjoy working with the little kids and trying to make them better players. I had a lot of people help me with my game, so I am just trying to do the same, and hopefully the kids are getting something out of it.

Since I've been home, it has been good to be around a lot of people I normally don't get to spend time with while I am at school, and also being with the family has been a lot of fun. There are no real big plans for me for the rest of the summer, except I am going to a wedding of a guy I played with in high school this Saturday down in Knoxville, Tenn., where he goes to school. Perhaps the highlight of my summer so far has been running into Monty St. Clair at the Reds game this past weekend. It was good to see him and catch up a little bit.

Another big part of my summer has been playing in the Deveroes Summer League down at Woodward High School with Carl Richburg. Unfortunately, we lost in the playoffs this past week, so we are now finished. Carl and I played really well together, and I am happy with how our games are progressing.

In talking with some of the other guys, I know that everyone is working hard this summer, which only increases my already high expectations for this team. I have never been more excited for one particular season than this upcoming one. We have a lot of senior leadership, and I think the competition amongst the younger players is going to be fierce, which only helps our team out that much more. I know this season is going to be a special one, and anything less than a championship is unacceptable ... that needs to be our mindset every day.