Coffee Club

As a freshman, I didn’t really know what to expect for when we would travel to our away games. For example, where would we eat? Would we have time to see the city we were playing in?

I was imagining our road trips to be like the road trips I would go on during my AAU tournaments…lots of free time, shopping, seeing the iconic places the city I was in had to offer, etc. I love traveling and road trips were especially fun!

However, in college, I quickly realized that road trips for away games were very different. Traveling during season and in the midst of school barely left any free time to do anything. Between practices, watching film, team dinners, shoot-arounds, and of course lots and lots of homework, there was always something to be done at the hotel.

But as someone who loves to travel, I still wanted to experience some aspect and get somewhat of a feel of city we were staying in. That’s when I learned about Coffee Club.

Coffee Club, established by previous Stanford Women Basketballers, is a group open to anyone who wants to join. Every morning on road trips, Coffee Club meets in the hotel lobby before breakfast. Tess Picknell, Coffee Club’s president, searches for local and unique coffee shops to go to, and then whoever shows up for Coffee Club that morning; we all walk together to that coffee shop.

Consistent members of Coffee Club are myself, Tess, Bird, Hanna (our video coordinator), Kaitlin (our athletic trainer), John (our communications director), and Mary (our intern).

Coffee Club is such an awesome group. It gives me and everyone else an opportunity to explore and experience the city a little bit when time permits us not to.

Coffee Club gets me up early and has me feeling productive. It’s a great start to my day! Not to mention, talking with Coffee Club members over warm pastries and delicious cappuccinos unique to each city never fails to put a smile on my face…also Bird always seems to have a funny story to tell.

It’s a great bonding experience. I even remember one time a coffee shop in Spokane had board games, so we all gathered around a table and started playing Scrabble! It was so much fun!

Hopefully Coffee Club will continue in the upcoming year. Who knows… maybe after Tess graduates, I will become the next Coffee Club President?

— Alexa