The night before

The players are prepared and enthusiastic.  Over the next two days, they will be in competition for about 21 hours.  In their spare time, they will go over their games with coach Florin Felecan, spar with one another, play bughouse among themselves and other teams.  They will also joke around, socialize with players from Lincoln Park, Lane Tech, Whitney Young, Payton, Lakeview, and elsewhere.  They will undoubtedly find time to eat, play cards, solve rubik's cubes and play video games.  And, still, they will sleep at night.