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."