Emma Brumbaugh ’14, Carli Grims ’14: As spring sports get under way, teams will travel to destinations both near and far over spring vacation to kick start their seasons. Typically the trips include some kind of practice for the teams, either scrimmaging opponents and or practicing with the team on courts, fields, and courses.
Varsity boys’ tennis coach Whit Powell, a lower school fifth grade teacher, plans to take his team to Florida from March 23rd to the 30th for their annual trip. Powell stated, “The team will be traveling to Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie, Florida. There is an ITA, the International Tennis Academy, there that has students live there year round and train. We are grouped in with the ‘academy kids’ who represent a very high level.”
The team does not play any team matches, because, according to Powell, “The trip focuses mostly on athletic training and fitness.”
However, as Powell stated, “There are competitive matches played against those living and training there.”
When asked what goes into planning the trip, Powell replied, “The trip is fairly easy to plan as this is the third year we’ve gone to this particular location. We are familiar with the facilities and coaching staff, which make for a smooth transition.”
Powell noted, “The players are aware of the behavioral expectations we have on our team…we hold each player to a high standard.”
He stated that one of the most difficult parts of planning trips is “collecting documents and fees from Upper School students out of season while I am a lower teacher.”
While the team does have extensive facilities here at EA, Powell believes there is a great value in traveling with the team at this time of year because of both the weather and opportunity for teammates to bond.
He also commented, “It’s a great experience for all involved. It helps jump start our season as well as valuable team bonding time.”
Over spring break, both the varsity boys’ and varsity girls’ lacrosse teams will also be traveling. The teams will be heading to Maryland, where they will scrimmage competitive teams from that area.
Head girls varsity lacrosse coach and upper school history teacher Amanda Vos Strache ’99 will take her team to Owing Mills, Maryland, where the team will be scrimmaging McDonough and Garrison Forest high schools over the course of two days.
Vos Strache echoed Powell’s sentiments, stating that planning the trip was “relatively easy…once the games were scheduled, and Gina Buggy helped make that happen, we asked around on activities to do and places to stay. One of my good friends lived in Baltimore and had some suggestions.”
Like the girls team, the boys varsity lacrosse team will also be traveling to nearby Maryland to scrimmage competitive lacrosse high schools, including Bullis School at Washington College March 16th, before break even begins.
Captain Kevin Gayhardt ’13 told Scholium that, in addition to the scrimmage, “[the boys team] will be traveling to Camp Letts [for] a retreat.”
This retreat aims at facilitating team-bonding activities will take place March 25th to the 26th, and then conclude training at EA.

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