Over spring break this year, the Orono baseball team traveled to Orlando, FL for fun, sun, and training.
“The spring sports teams always have trouble practicing because of the ever-changing and cold Minnesota climate,” senior Brett Huston said. “Going to Florida allowed us to prepare for the season a little bit better.”
The costs for each player to participate in the trip was covered by the players’ families. There were no previous fundraisers by the team to support the players.
Mild climate and warmer temperatures allowed the team to play on a diamond field and work on their skills for the upcoming season. In Minn., the team practices in the gym when the weather is bad, which can provide unrealistic dimensions for playing.
In past years, the team has had the option of traveling to Fort Pierce, Cocoa Beach, Palm Springs and other locations in Fla. and Calif. to practice.
The team left on a flight on Mar. 23 and spent the week practicing, scrimmaging teams from across the country, visiting the Disney Parks and spending their time together growing as a team. The team returned home on Mar. 30.
“A chance to play in Florida was awesome in and of itself,” senior captain Mitchell Carlson said. “But being there with friends and creating a bond within the team is what made [the trip] really successful.”
Around 40 teams participated in practices and scrimmages held in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located in Orlando. On top of those teams, the complex was also hosting lacrosse and softball practices and scrimmages, as well.
A concern that was voiced by some players was how fair the coaches could be with tryouts after already seeing the skills of 24 of the players verse those who did not make the trip.
“I don’t think [that] there is a disadvantage if you don’t go. [Head baseball coach Bucky] Mieras is very good at making the tryout process fair,” senior captain Jake Flemmer said.
Mieras commented that though the players get time to play and practice, the coaches do not consider the trip an opportunity to see the players and evaluate them for spots on the team before try-outs.
“Disney [Parks] was great for the guys,” Mieras said. “By the last day there were groups of 12-15 guys wanting to go [to a park] together, when at the beginning of the week it was groups of three or four.”
The team had scheduled an hour of batting cage time each day to practice and record their swings. Practices were two hours and later in the week came scrimmages also for two hours. The team then had all of the time in between to visit the Disney Parks.
Rooming was also based on bonding. Players requested a room but in the end, Mieras had the final say to mix grades and build friendships.
“As a captain, it was good for me to room with some of the sophomores so that I can be a good example and build trust with them,” Carlson said.
Overall, the trip, though a good opportunity to work on skills, really helped with team bonding and creating a “family” within the players.
