By Jeff Trousdale
Spring break means different things for different students; drunken debauchery in Mexico, the smell of mom's home-baked cookies, sleeping in until 2 p.m. every day. Regardless, it is usually a time for students to take a break from their daily grind at school and unwind a little. But for student athletes in a spring sport, spring break almost always means one thing: the California road trip.
Joel Kincaid, the top senior on the men's tennis team, said that the tennis team's trip to California was a good chance for them to gauge where they were for the season and play against some good competition. They split their two matches, beating UC Riverside 4-3 but losing to 64th-ranked UC Irvine 6-1 to open the trip.
"I was a little bit disappointed how we responded going outside for the first time on our trip," Kincaid said. "Getting beat was probably good for us in a way, it got everyone on edge to work hard and compete hard."
Kincaid said that spring break trips to California are also great for team building. In addition to their matches, the team went to a professional tournament at Indian Wells and got a chance to hang out with each other in the sunny weather.
"This was our first trip together, so for a spring break trip it was a good time," Kincaid said.
The women's tennis team joined the men at the professional tournament, and also played five matches of its own, going 2-3 on the trip. Head Coach Susie Campbell-Gross said that the trip was an eye-opener for her team.
"It was a great learning experience that we need to work hard during practice and be flexible and adaptable to other conditions," Campbell-Gross said.
The Pilot tennis teams practice and play indoors when they are at home, but most WCC matches are played outdoors at the California schools. Campbell-Gross said that her team usually makes a spring break trip to a warmer climate in order to get comfortable with playing in the elements. She also said that watching the professionals play was an added bonus.
"It gave us a good level of what we are aiming for," Campbell-Gross said. "It shows the kind of intensity and preparation that we need to be successful."
Success was fleeting for the Pilots baseball team last season, but this season's spring break trip gave a glimpse of the potential that this year's team possesses.
The baseball team went to the Pepsi/Johnny Quick Invitational, hosted by the defending National Champion Fresno State Bulldogs, and also featuring Cal State Bakersfield and Buffalo. The Pilots played each team twice, splitting games with all three.
"It started out rough, we lost our first three games, but two of them we could've won," senior Cort Carpenter said. "But we got back on our horse and won the last three."
Carpenter said the early losses helped bring the team together and talks with coaches and teammates turned into success later in the trip. Head Coach Chris Sperry also thought the trip ended well.
"We took a young team into a really great baseball environment," Sperry said. "We left there feeling like we got better, so overall we felt it was very successful."
Sperry usually takes his team on a spring break trip to California or another southern state. He said that Oregon weather almost necessitates a trip down south, as the team often cannot play during the rainy March weather. Sperry also sees a spring break trip as a good team builder, though he admits there are limitations.
"We have 33 kids but financially we can't take every one of them on the road trip," Sperry said. "For the kids that are traveling, when you eat and stay together in the hotel I think team building is a natural outcome."
Rob Conner, the men's track and field coach, sees spring break differently than many of his coaching counterparts.
"I like to give my kids a little bit of rest over spring break," Conner said. "We work hard all year long, so this gives them a chance to go home or do other things that give them a breather."
Instead of taking a long trip to California or elsewhere, the men and women's track teams made the short drive to Seattle to participate in the Last Chance Spring Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington.
Conner said that he has never been a big proponent of the spring break trip. He would rather take his athletes to one quality event and then treat them like any other student for the rest of the break.
"I don't have mandatory practices, I think it's important to give them a little bit of normalcy," Conner said.
Conner said that other factors, including the budget, play a role, but for the most part he just doesn't see it as a necessary thing for individual students or the team as a whole.
Conner's opinion is somewhat of an anomaly though. For most coaches, spring break is a time to gauge their teams and bring them together as they go into WCC play.
"The amount of time together is very bonding," Campbell-Gross said. "There's not a lot of stress with school, so this is really when we come together as a team most years."
