While some Winsor and Belmont Hill students spend their spring breaks vacationing or “staycationing,” there are a couple of Belmont Hill and Winsor teams that travel to Florida to get a jump start on their seasons with some extra practice.
Many teams at Belmont Hill utilize spring break to begin training for the upcoming season. Due to the relatively mild winter weather, sports such as baseball and lacrosse will be able to practice on campus without worrying about snow. However, the crew team cannot row in the Boston winter conditions and will once again be traveling to train over spring break.
For the second year in a row, the crew team will travel down to Lake Beresford in DeLand, Florida for a week of rowing. Working out of the Stetson University boathouse, the team enjoyed splendid conditions and a brand-new facility last year, an experience which no doubt helped to launch them to their New England championship win.
Such a trip is vital for the team in a few ways. For starters, fleeing the frigid conditions of Boston and the Charles in early March decreases the risk of illness, injury, and overall unpleasantness. Secondly, a week spent rowing, eating, and living together fosters team camaraderie like nothing else. Third, the energy that the team builds down in Florida from high-speed racing in warm weather transfers directly onto the Charles upon their return, helping them to jump-start their season and gain an edge on the competition. Hoping to repeat the success of last year’s trip, the team will fly down to Florida on March 22 for a week of training.
On the Winsor side, Ms. Sherren Granese, Winsor’s Director of Athletics, said that spring coaches are looking to possibly organize more spring training trips over spring break. Evie Wells ’22, who has been rowing for two years now, said that “having a prolonged trip with the whole team could really benefit the team so that they have time outside of team dinners to bond and get more time on the water.” Since the spring season is so short and the practice time on the Charles is limited due to weather constraints, traveling to a warmer place over spring break to get more practice in on the water would certainly be very beneficial to the team.
Winsor Varsity Softball will make its annual trip to Disney for spring training during March break next year. Three years ago, senior co-captain Alianna Taitano went to Orlando, Florida with the team where they played five games against local high schools. She commented that “the trip served as both team bonding as well as spring training. Most days we began early mornings with team practices and the evenings would be spent at Universal. Playing against teams of varying levels from a variety of places was extremely beneficial and helped us get an early start on the season and build camaraderie between teammates. Also, having those games before the season gave us room to be more experimental with our starters, our lineup, and more. Overall the trip created great relations within the team and gave us a beneficial head start for the season.”
Ms. Reynolds, the head coach of WVSB, said that in terms of budgeting, players do pay for their own expenses; however, if there is any need for aid, it is very easy to get financial aid. Winsor Varsity Softball hopes to continue their success from last year as and is excited about next year’s trip.
