Baseball: Cook teams looking forward to spring trips
Area baseball team have adopted the Willie Nelson hit "On the Road Again" as a theme song for his season.
COVID pretty much canceled out-of-town travel plans for teams the past two seasons. This season will be different with six area teams heading out of town this week to play baseball in what they hope will be warmer and drier conditions.
St. Viator, which traveled last season to a tournament in Alabama, will be heading West to play in Scottsdale, Arizona. They will play teams from San Francisco, Arizona and Oregon.
Wheeling is returning to Orlando, Florida to play at the Disney complex there for the fourth time. The Wildcats, who left last Saturday morning, have not been there since 2018 because trips were canceled in 2020 and 2022 due to COVID.
"We try to go to Disney every other year and take a smaller scale trip in between," Wheeling coach Jason Wieder said. "These trips are a memorable experience for our players. We've had players who have never been to Disney before, have never flown on a plane or even been out of the state, so it's cool for them to experience travel and a vacation with their teammates. I think team camaraderie and playing baseball in a warm weather climate in March are the top benefits."
Out-of-town travel during spring break for area baseball teams was growing tremendously before COVID. Teams found that they could fundraise to cover the travel costs while coaches were able to schedule varsity and JV games and practices without much concern for the weather.
"These trips take a ton of planning and fundraising efforts," Wieder said. "I have been blessed with amazing parent groups and administrators during my tenure that have helped me throughout the process. Because of their support for our vision and the support of my family, friends and alumni, we've had some incredible trips."
Buffalo Grove is also headed to Arizona to play, while Maine West is traveling to Nashville. Hersey will be really on the road with games in Quincy before stopping in Missouri to play in Webb City, Joplin and Branson. Hoffman Estates made a trip to Galesburg last Saturday.
Nearly every Lake County school will be playing away from home. Libertyville, Stevenson, Warren, Lakes, Grayslake Central, Wauconda, Mundelein, Vernon Hills, Grant, Grayslake North and Lake Zurich are all taking spring break trips.
Former St. Viator coach Mike Manno, who stepped down after last season to become athletic director at Nazareth Academy, also cited the ability for teams and their families to bond during their travels. Manno had been taking his Viator teams on spring trips since 2009. Manno said the experience for his players was instrumental to their growth and success.
"I just really felt that it set the tone each year for our team," Manno said. "It was great because you were able to build relationships with your players because you were with them all day. There was also the camaraderie that the players had as well. When we started, I felt it gave us an edge because we were one of the first schools to travel all the time. The kids talked about it in school all the time because they wanted to know where the next trip would be."
There was also an unexpected benefit for the St. Viator team that traveled to Fort Lauderdale in 2010. The Lions played a team from Miami's Brito high school and their shortstop at that time was Manny Machado, one of the top players in MLB and currently with the San Diego Padres.
"I will always remember that," Manno said. "When we played our kids watched him and they didn't think he was that good. Then he went 5-for-5 against us and I told the guys, "That's what a major leaguer looks like."
BUFFALO GROVE CELEBRATES THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY:
Buffalo Grove baseball is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the high school. The baseball team will be having an alumni day on April 21 for their game against Glenbrook South.
To register, complete the form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16M7d_X4ITAKkILdeQ_t8y62M7DmKo_-WBicsRoudmC8/viewform?edit_requested=true.