Spring Break

Charlie Merry

Spring Break

Marketing

Prof. Popovich

Blog #9

 

            Every year college students around the country eagerly await spring break. This year spring break at Saint Michael’s College was from March 14^th to March 23^rd. This time allows students to relax and take a brief pause from their hectic lives. Some students simply go home while others choose to go on vacations with their friends. This year, I was fortunate enough to go on a training trip to Orlando, Florida with the tennis team. I had an amazing spring break this year and it was definitely nice getting away from the bitter Vermont winter.

            Both the men’s and the women’s tennis teams made the trip to Orlando this year. The men’s team was busy throughout the week with matches. We played five matches throughout the week and usually practiced afterward. The schools we played included Colorado College, Hobart, Hope, Hamilton, and Onondaga College. Each match began at 8 AM so we had an early start each day. However, this didn’t bother me because it allowed for time afterward to chill by the pool or play beach volleyball. Also, it was definitely good to play our matches in the morning, before the intense Florida sun reached the middle of the sky.

            I had a relatively productive training trip in Florida. First of all, it was great to finally get back outside and play on some real courts. Our indoor tennis facilities at Saint Mike’s are absolutely terrible. The surface is used for multiple sports, so it’s not built with tennis in mind. Tarrant center’s surface is rubbery, which makes the ball skid and explode on you faster than normal. Going back outside was one of my favorite parts of the training trip. I ended the trip with two wins, tied for the team lead. Also, I lost two 3 set matches during the trip. Losing is never fun, but going 3 sets proved I could play with these teams and I felt I should have won both of those matches. Overall, I felt that I got better, and I ended the trip with the most games won during the week.

            Another highlight of the trip was when both the women’s and men’s teams made a trip to Universal studios. Universal is an extremely entertaining theme park with cutting edge roller coasters and simulation rides. I especially enjoy the huge roller coasters such as The Hulk, and the Dueling Dragons. My favorite part of the park was probably the newly constructed Harry Potter world. I grew up reading all of the Harry Potter books and it was really cool to see this world brought to life through this part of the park. The park recreated the Hogwarts castle as well as the marketplace in the series, Hogsmeade. This part of the park also had extremely entertaining rollercoasters as well as simulation rides. After the park, the team ate a delicious dinner at the Hard Rock café. Ending what was a great day in Florida. Spring break this year was definitely one of the best I’ve ever had, and I hope the teams will choose to return to Florida again next year.