Canisius softball trip no day at the beach
Visit to Dominican Republic includes game versus national team, clinics, community service
Every Sunday for four winters, the Canisius softball team has held clinics to raise money to travel abroad.
On Saturday, the team will finally take that trip to the Dominican Republic — where they will hold more softball clinics.
"This is the first time we're attempting anything like this," coach Mike Rappl said.
NCAA regulations allow for teams to take one trip abroad prior to or following regular-season competition every four years. In past years, the team has traveled to Italy to sightsee and compete. This year, a weak dollar forced Rappl to look elsewhere.
So he approached the trip with a new perspective.
Through Score International, an organization that arranges mission trips and athletic outreach opportunities, the team will participate in service-oriented projects along with competing against numerous national teams in the Dominican Republic.
"People have asked me, "Why are you going?'" Rappl said. "We want to give a chance for our players to play a little more. To thank the seniors. To maybe open the team's eyes to understand how much we have here and appreciate it."
The team and coaching staff will arrive Saturday evening and practice Sunday. For the next five days, the team will divide its time between softball and service.
On Wednesday, the team will open competition against the Dominican Republic national team in Pan American Stadium. Canisius has not formally competed since ending its season with a loss to Kentucky in the first elimination game of the NCAA Tournament's Columbus Regional.
"We're not really sure what to expect," said senior-to-be Michelle Fridey, a 2006 graduate of Williamsville South. "But you know they've got to be good if they are the best in the whole country. We're excited. We're hoping to give them a challenge and have fun at the same time."
The team will also meet junior national teams as well as a club team. All the while, the players will be painting, buying groceries and delivering food to a village. They will also be visiting an orphanage and running a softball clinic for young children.
But prior experience in running clinics has Fridey feeling only partially prepared.
She has taken only French and concedes that her Spanish is awful. There might be a lot of gesticulation involved in teaching, she said, though, so she does not have too many reservations about communicating with the children.
"A big way to break the barrier is to play softball and express ourselves through playing," Fridey said. "They are able to do the same and that's a way we can go out and be on the same plane."
After six days of hard work, Rappl said there will only be one item left on the agenda. On Saturday, the team will rest.
They will go snorkeling, boating and take a day for themselves.
"Italy would have been exciting and that would have been cool," Fridey said. "But the Dominican is a completely different trip. You can go to different destinations in the world and see the sights whenever you want. But it's very rare that you get to go and help people who need help and see the other side of the world that you never knew existed."
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments