Softball Team Packs Bags For Disney World

By Andy Hutchison

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy...and the Night- hawks?

Like Super Bowl Champions, members of the Newtown High School softball team have had the pleasure of saying “we’re going to Disney World.”

The circumstances are a bit different (for one thing, the NHS players had to raise the necessary money through various fundraisers to cover the costs), but the point is…They were headed to Disney — this week.

On Thursday, the Hawks were slated to leave behind the umbrellas and rainy weather expected around here for an excursion they won’t soon forget. The Hawks will play six exhibition games in three days and, of course, enjoy the theme park rides. They are scheduled to return from Orlando on Monday night.

The idea for the trip came when Newtown Head Coach Bob Guererra had gone to see his daughter, then a softball player at Central Connecticut State University, play in Florida two years ago. Collegiate teams in the north travel south to begin the season each spring, and Guererra saw that some high school teams do as well. When Guererra observed high schoolers playing at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex he thought his players should experience the trip for themselves. I said, “Wow — what a nice thing for our program if we could organize it.”

All he had to do was mention the idea of a long weekend at Disney — for combination of scrimmages with other high school teams and some fun at the theme parks — to the players and their parents, and the ball was rolling on the fund-raising efforts.

The 13 varsity players, with help from parents, raised more than the necessary $11,000 to cover flight and accommodation fees. They sold advertising for the team program, ran clinics, and sold wreaths at Christmas time.

“It was a team effort,” Guererra said of the fund-raising efforts.

The trip should be beneficial to the team in a number of ways, the coach and his players anticipate. Early this season, thanks to a stretch of wet, soggy conditions, the Hawks have had limited practice time. They had only a pair of practices in a 10-day period and have been plagued by some fielding miscues that often hurt teams before they get into midseason form. An early-season trip to a warm (the Nighthawks hope dry) climate with three days of scrimmages against teams from upstate New York, along with practices and batting cage sessions, could make the team that much sharper when they return to resume their regular-season competition next week.

“I don’t see how playing that much can hurt you,” Guererra said. “Whether or not it puts you ahead of a good pitcher — I don’t know.”

Guererra points out that pitchers are typically ahead of hitters early in the season until the hitters get their swings sharpened and the weather gets warmer.

Regardless of how much the trip helps the team on the field, the coach and players expect it to be a nice bonding experience and a good opportunity to escape the chilly, wet start to spring. “It’s a great experience,” Guererra said. “It’s nice to play in the warm weather for a while.”

Infielder/pitcher Kate Bowen said she is looking forward to all of the rides.

“I think everyone’s excited. A lot of us haven’t been there, or haven’t been there since we were little,” Bowen said. “We’re all looking forward to it.”

“I’ve never even been on a plane,” third baseman Joanna Barry said. “I’m excited to go to Disney World.”

When asked which Disney characters the players were most looking forward to seeing, Goofy was the popular pick. “He’s awesome,” Barry said.

“I’ve never been to Disney World so I’m really excited,” right fielder Melissa Fracker added. “It’s going to be awesome.”