The saying, “Play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the back,” can have a lot more meaning for certain teams. Though every sport competes locally in and out of the conference, some teams have the privilege to go above and beyond the handful of schools they play annually; they have the chance to travel out of state and represent the school on a much larger scale.
Teams such as girls’ lacrosse, football, softball, and girls’ basketball have either recently traveled out of state for a tournament, or are travelling over the summer for camp. These trips may seem like a vacation to some, but most of the time the teams are doing exactly what they go out of state or travel for: to play and win.
Though most teams travel for tournaments, some also travel over the summer to camps. Last year girls’ basketball traveled to the University of Notre Dame for a team camp, Rachel Dawson, junior, said, and this year, they are heading to University of North Carolina in late June.
Staying instate is also an option to get better in the offseason. Football traveled to Benedictine University in Lisle, and this year they are bound to Northern Illinois University, Trevor Staley, junior said.
Tournaments provide new ways to improve and new competition to play. Girls lacrosse went to Ohio for their tournament and finished with two wins and one loss to one oh Ohio’s top teams.
The girls’ lacrosse team was not the only team to do well in their tournament. In the past three years, girls’ softball has traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to play in the Lady Warrior Southern Classic Softball Tournament. This year, the team won all three of the games they played in, but one of their games was rained out.
Whether a team is going to play in a competition, or improve in the offseason at a team camp, travelling is about more than just the sport. It allows for teammates to have a little fun, and make tons of memories along the way.
Rachel Dawson, junior, Girls’ basketball
Q: How do you think this trip will be both similar and different from Notre Dame last year?
A: I think it will be different than Notre Dame because at Notre Dame we played a lot of teams from around LZ, but when we go to North Carolina, we will get to play teams we have never played before.
Q: Why did the coaches choose to go to University of North Carolina and what are some of the things that the team will do while they’re down there?
A: It’s generally different every year because Bennett tries to let everyone go to a team camp they haven’t been to yet. We are going to play a lot of games while we are at UNC. And then we are obviously going to see the UNC campus and we are going to go to Duke while we are there as well. I am excited about spending time with the team because we have all become so close and for all of us who are going to be seniors this is our last team camp, so we are all excited that it is at UNC.
Theresa Miller, senior, Girls’ lacrosse
Q: How does the team bond when you travel?
A: Food plays a large part in team bonding because we eat a lot and it’s something we all enjoy. Being together for a couple days keeps us in close proximity, so we get to know our teammates a lot better. If anything, you find out who is (or is not) a “morning person.” Plus it was 70 degrees in Ohio, which meant that while all our friends in Illinois were dealing with golf ball-sized hail, we were getting a tan.
Q: Why do you think it’s important that the team travels out of state?
A: I don’t think it’s necessary to travel outside of Illinois; rather, I think it’s important to have the experience of interacting with other teams, whether they be out of conference or out of state. By playing new teams, we gain a broader perspective of our competition, and being away from home helps us hone in our focus solely on the sport and our games. The Ohio tournament we participated in allowed us to play teams we had never seen before and to devote a couple days just for our team.
Trevor Staley, junior, Football
Q: What are some team building things the team does?
A: Last year we would meet in a little auditorium every day and we did some things like captain speeches, a movie night, and on the last day, we broke off into different groups and would have to complete different tasks with each other.
Q: Does travelling to team camp benefit the team or hurt the team?
A: It definitely helps the team because it helps us all become closer which prepares us better for the ups and downs of a season.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about team camp this year?
A: This year we are going to Northern Illinois University which is cool because that’s where we went to State in the fall. Since I’m going to be a senior, I’m looking forward to taking more of a leadership role at camp and dictating what things we do as a team.
Maria Schroeder, senior, Softball
Q: Was there better competition at the tournament than the teams that you play locally?
There were teams that were better than the teams we play here, but mainly because the teams were from the south so they had already played around 25 games when we hadn’t played any. Travelling definitely had a positive impact on the team. We’re pretty much together 24/7 so we learn a lot about each other, and in the end that brings everyone closer.
Q: What was your favorite part about going to Tennessee over spring break?
A: My favorite part was when we went down to Nashville to have a nice dinner with the team and our parents. We went to a restaurant that taught us how to line dance and it was just a big party. We had such a good time with the coaches and overall it was so much fun. My favorite part was last year at the tournament it started raining and we were waiting to see if our game was going to get cancelled. They were playing music over the speakers and a girl from another team and I got in a dance off in the rain. It was really strange but really fun.
