Spring teams struggle to get commitment for Florida trip

Emma Trone, Editor-in-Chief

Due to grade demographics and some concerns about the athletic and competitive aspects of the annual spring break training trip to Florida, only members of the baseball team will be traveling to the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

The baseball team has sent members to Orlando for the last 12 years. Julian Skosey-LaLonde said that the trip is a good opportunity to start the season strong.

“You get to wake up early in the morning, and practice and play all day. The goal there is just getting better, so sometimes the coaches will have you practice 8 hours a day. You get to face some 7A State Champions from Texas, and see some really good ball,” Julian said. “The other side of it is just hanging out with the team, which is fun because we’re in Orlando.”

However, for teams like the girls soccer team and track and field team, the trip is less focused on competition and training.

Senior soccer player Sammy Rodman said that because there are fewer seniors on the team, fewer underclassmen have heard about the trip, which stifled interest.

Sammy also said that the trip isn’t purely for athletic purposes, which may have pushed away players who wanted to spend spring break improving their soccer skills.

“People go on the trip for different reasons. I think a decent number of kids went for the soccer reason of it, but there wasn’t really a lot of training, and we spent a lot of time in the theme parks and stuff like that,” Sammy said. “Other people like to go for the social aspect and like to bond with the team. But I think for a lot of people who would have stayed in Chicago and done more soccer-training related things over the break chose to do that rather than go to Florida.”

People go on the trip for different reasons. I think a decent number of kids went for the soccer reason of it, but there wasn’t really a lot of training, and we spent a lot time in the theme parks and stuff like that.

— Sammy Rodman

Athletic Director David Ribbens said that due to the timing of different sports seasons, track and soccer get fewer opportunities to compete in Florida than the baseball team.

“Baseball has gone for the last 12 years, and that’s mainly because they get more games down there, and that trip ends up being a little more productive,” Mr. Ribbens said.

“Soccer is early in the season, and they just can’t get as many games down there. So part of it is that it’s training, and it’s good, but the fact that it’s not competition may be playing a factor in that.”