MONROE - The Monroe High School softball team will look to build momentum for the season during a spring-break trip to Florida.
"It's a trip that is 50 percent fun and 50 percent softball," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "A lot of it is a reward for the hard work and the success the program has enjoyed the last 20 years."
The 14-member Monroe softball team will fly out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Sunday for Orlando. The Cheesemakers will practice Sunday night and Monday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex before playing Frazer, Pennsylvania, and Greenwich, Connecticut, in a three-team scrimmage Tuesday. Monroe will then play Grayslake North, Illinois, at 8 a.m. Wednesday and Pine Richland High School, Pennsylvania, at 10 a.m. Thursday in its first two regular-season games of the year.
"We get a chance to play some good teams from across the country," Buvid said.
With many softball teams being held hostage to spring weather in Wisconsin, Buvid always looks forward to the chance to get a leg up on the competition.
"Softball-wise, the weather is a lot better," Buvid said. "We get a chance to get outside in nice conditions. You get a jump on other teams."
This is the seventh Florida trip the Monroe softball team has made since 2004. The Cheesemakers plan a Florida trip every other year. Buvid said the cost is about $1,150 per player. The Monroe School District doesn't fund any of the trip. The trip is paid for through fundraisers by the softball team and through families.
"We tell parents up front we try to do 50-50," Buvid said, referring to the softball team fundraising for half of the costs and parents paying the other half.
Buvid said each player for this year's trip received an average of $619 and their families were responsible for paying the other portion of the cost.
The softball team has raised money through concession stands during basketball games and volleyball matches, a spaghetti dinner and car washes.
Buvid said the trip saves the district money because they don't have to provide funding for a bus for transportation and don't have to pay umpires for two games.
"It's a perk the softball players earn and pay for," he said. "A lot of the families treat it as a vacation."
The Cheesemakers will be playing near the same facility where the Atlanta Braves host spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
"You are playing at the best facility you can play at," Buvid said.
When the Cheesemakers aren't practicing or playing a game, they will have some time to tour Walt Disney World. Each player is rooming with one other teammate.
"They room together for one week," Buvid said. "It can be a nightmare for a coach. Any time you have that it's a good bonding experience."
"It's a trip that is 50 percent fun and 50 percent softball," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "A lot of it is a reward for the hard work and the success the program has enjoyed the last 20 years."
The 14-member Monroe softball team will fly out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Sunday for Orlando. The Cheesemakers will practice Sunday night and Monday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex before playing Frazer, Pennsylvania, and Greenwich, Connecticut, in a three-team scrimmage Tuesday. Monroe will then play Grayslake North, Illinois, at 8 a.m. Wednesday and Pine Richland High School, Pennsylvania, at 10 a.m. Thursday in its first two regular-season games of the year.
"We get a chance to play some good teams from across the country," Buvid said.
With many softball teams being held hostage to spring weather in Wisconsin, Buvid always looks forward to the chance to get a leg up on the competition.
"Softball-wise, the weather is a lot better," Buvid said. "We get a chance to get outside in nice conditions. You get a jump on other teams."
This is the seventh Florida trip the Monroe softball team has made since 2004. The Cheesemakers plan a Florida trip every other year. Buvid said the cost is about $1,150 per player. The Monroe School District doesn't fund any of the trip. The trip is paid for through fundraisers by the softball team and through families.
"We tell parents up front we try to do 50-50," Buvid said, referring to the softball team fundraising for half of the costs and parents paying the other half.
Buvid said each player for this year's trip received an average of $619 and their families were responsible for paying the other portion of the cost.
The softball team has raised money through concession stands during basketball games and volleyball matches, a spaghetti dinner and car washes.
Buvid said the trip saves the district money because they don't have to provide funding for a bus for transportation and don't have to pay umpires for two games.
"It's a perk the softball players earn and pay for," he said. "A lot of the families treat it as a vacation."
The Cheesemakers will be playing near the same facility where the Atlanta Braves host spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
"You are playing at the best facility you can play at," Buvid said.
When the Cheesemakers aren't practicing or playing a game, they will have some time to tour Walt Disney World. Each player is rooming with one other teammate.
"They room together for one week," Buvid said. "It can be a nightmare for a coach. Any time you have that it's a good bonding experience."
