By Rose Engler
For the first time in school history, the baseball team took their game way out of the park on a trip to Verona Beach, Fla., last week for a series of seven scrimmages over five days.
This trip offered players an opportunity for team bonding, baseball practice, and simple fun.
Varsity baseball head coach and physical education teacher Gary Simmons organized the trip. Coach Simmons said, “I attended the Massachusetts State Coaches Clinic this fall and talked with some Mashpee coaches who really inspired the idea. The Mashpee team has been lucky enough to fly down every other year to scrimmage and improve.”
Coach Simmons was looking for an opportunity to get the players on the field as much as he could. “We decided to fly because we really wanted to have more time to play. We don’t typically get any, due to the weather,” he said. “Like the snow outside now.”
Team member and junior Mitchell Chaves said, “It really allowed our team to bond early in the season. We have team chemistry before our official games have even started. My favorite part of the five-day excursion was playing. It was warm, so when we weren’t playing we just hung out, listened to music, swam in the pool, and laughed about old baseball memories.”
Many of these players have been playing together for many years. Sophomore and newly recruited varsity player Samuel Bresnick said, “I felt lucky to make varsity just in time for the trip. I have been playing for 12 years, and baseball is my favorite sport, so going to Florida to get some spring training was great for me. We got to know each other and grew as a team. It gave us the glue a good team needs.”
Junior Elias Fhagen-Smith said, “It was a ton of fun, something new and exciting. I haven’t been on any sports-related school trips, so this was a big change for me. Aside from playing baseball, I enjoyed sitting in the warmth, and making the midnight McDonald’s run.”
Five days, 120 hours, and seven scrimmages later, these athletes returned to the Island with better baseball skills, sun-kissed skin, and a tangible team bond. HSV