Neumann Softball will not be relaxing this spring break, instead they will be competing in a week-long tournament to kick off their season.
The tournament, called “The Spring Games,” is an annual competition held in Florida. Where teams from across the country come to compete, and this year the Knights will be competing from March 1-9 playing 10 games in just 7 days.
The Knights will take the field from Saturday-Monday, and Wednesday-Thursday, in three locations: Clermont, Kissimmee, and Leesburg.
Third year head Coach Shannon Padula is excited for the start of a new season and sees the tournament as a way to get the engine running as a team.
“As a coach I like that we have ten games because I can work out the kinks. I can put people in situations and see what works and doesn’t work and overall, I can see how the team bonds and get a feel of what my starting lineup is going to look like at the end of ten days,” she said.
Coach Padula also plans to get her team prepared for conference play by matching them up with opponents of similar stature while at the tournament.
“I get to rank our team and play people ranked around us. I tried to put us into a comparable-harder bracket because its early in the season, so you don’t want to go crazy, but you don’t want cupcake games either because that doesn’t really help you,” she said.
Coach Padula notes that the trip to Florida is mostly for business, but also highlights the team bonding as her favorite part of the experience.
She thinks her players would say the same thing and is especially excited for an off day during this trip because she surprised the team with tickets to a Phillies spring training game in Clearwater.
This sentiment is shared by sophomore catcher, Faith Weaver who is excited for, “getting to bond with teammates and getting to go to the Phillies game, playing new teams and getting back into the swing of things, and getting our season off to a great start.”
The Knights look to bounce back from a 12-25 season, using this spring tournament as a way to start fresh, and continue to grow as a team, and to bloom into a new season.
Information for the tournament can be found at thespringgames.com.
