Spring Break as an Athlete

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Words and photos by Kendall Lafferty

When thinking about spring break in college, most people think about partying with their friends, or relaxing and enjoying their time off from school. While this is true for most students, student-athletes get a different type of break than other students. Although student-athletes get a break from classes, they can’t exactly relax or let loose during this time. This year the Rutgers-Camden softball team traveled to Davenport Florida to play 10 games in eight days.

On March 8th, while most students were excited about their spring break plans, the Scarlet Raptors traveled to Florida and prepared for their first game of the season. The raptors arrived at their house in
Florida around 6 pm on Friday and immediately had to prepare for the 5:30 am wake-up call the next day. On Saturday, March 9th the team had to be ready to make their 6:45 am bus and prepare for their 9 am and 11:15 am games The Raptors took the win in their first game of the season in extra innings against Carroll University, (9-7). The second game also went into extra innings, as the Raptors were down 0-8 until the sixth inning when they started to make a comeback and tied the game in the bottom of the 7th inning, but ultimately lost 8-9 in the 8th inning. The team arrived home around 3 pm and relaxed before their 9 am wake-up call the following day.

The Raptors had a later start the next day, as their games were at 1:30 pm against Washington College
(loss 2-3), and 6 pm against Plymouth State University (Win 9-0). In their second game,
Freshman pitcher Sammie Friel allowed just one hit off of a bunt in the 6th inning. The team
arrived home around 9 pm and got to rest during their off day the next day.
On Tuesday, March 12th, the Raptors had another early start, as their bus left at 6:45 am.
The team suffered a loss in both their 9 am game against Wesleyan University (2-10), and their
11:15 am game against Lakeland University (0-4). On Wednesday the Raptors got a taste o
what one might see on a typical spring break, as they traveled to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
for their second day off.

On Thursday, March 14th, it was back to business for the team, as they again had games at 9am against Wisconsin Lutheran College (loss 3-4) and 11:30 am against Fredonia (loss 3-4). Although the team suffered a four-game losing streak, they came back ready to fight for their last game day in Florida. On Friday, March 15th the Raptors swept. At 12:30 pm the Raptors shut out St. Norbit College in just five innings with a score of 8-0. In their second game at 2:45 pm, the Raptors quickly put up 7 runs in the first three innings and only allowed St. Jospsehs College of Maine to score 5 runs. The Raptors concluded their trip by stopping for ice cream on the way home to celebrate a successful last day. When they arrived back at their home the team had to pack up all their belongings and be ready for the 4 am wake-up call to make their 8 am flight home. The Raptors arrived back in Camden around 11:30 am and rested for their upcoming six-game week.