Sports Bonding Away from Home

Although most Upper School sports teams spent the evening of Jan. 6 competing in athletic events on campus or at other local schools, the Greenhill swim team spent that night sharing pie at the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, Texas.

eir trip to Burnet County, about 35 miles northwest of Austin, and their dinner at the Blue Bonnet Cafe marked the fourth year of a Greenhill varsity swim team tradition. e following morning, the swimmers competed in the Tex Robertson Invitational Meet. is year, several team members swam their personal bests at the meet.

the trip. e chatter on the way down [to the Tex Robertson Invitational] was great, but on the way back, it was even better,” Monzingo said.

As a member of the SPC, athletes o en have to pack their bags and prepare for conference matches at distant locations. Common locations for SPC counterplay games, matches or meets are Houston,

Swim Coach Patti Monzingo said. Monzingo says she was able to see how much closer the team was immediately a er

Within the SPC, the conference is split into North Zone and South e North Zone comprises 10 schools, with locations including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. e South zone is made up of nine schools whose campuses are all located in Houston or Austin. Although these destinations are the most commonly visited, teams might also have the opportunity to attend out-of-town tournaments in other cities in Texas or Oklahoma. ese locations tend to be much more varied, as they are o en una liated with the SPC.

Last season, the boys basketball team traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Tarkanian Classic Tournament over winter break. e team made this trip in search of a higher level of competition.

Sophomore basketball player Dillon Watt found that this increased the mental and physical workload of getting ready for games.

We’re all so close to each other in the water, and you get to take it to that next level by hanging out, eating breakfast togther and really just gettting to know each other.”

“Last year, we got to go to Las Vegas, and it was really fun,” Watt said. “We got to stay at very nice hotels. I feel like the process was a lot, though. I’d probably rather go more local just because we had to get on the plane, pack and drive to the location and hotel.”

Athletic Trainer Kasey Zibton says the planning and the pregame work become more complex when traveling. However, Zibton says the added challenges of traveling don’t outweigh the bene ts.

“I absolutely think that the camaraderie and the bonds formed are worth the challenges travel might create,” Zibton said.

Many athletes say that teambuilding through traveling is a vital aspect of Greenhill sports.

“With these team trips, you get to improve that chemistry and go from a team that’s just a group of random kids to a family,” said senior soccer captain Cole Ashley. “Who doesn’t like playing with their family?”

Traveling for games is something that athletes might never have experienced before reaching high school. In Middle School sports, teams only travel locally for away games and tournaments, but they never go to di erent cities such as Houston or Austin.

“In Middle School, we didn’t really travel at all,” said freshman swimmer Avery Lonergan. “We had one [swim] meet in Lewisville, but that was about it. I think going down to Burnet was really bene cial for team bonding.” e trip also allows athletes to become mentally prepared for a game, something they might not be able to do if they were playing at home.

“I like playing away games because it gives me circumstances that I’m not familiar with,” Watt said. “When we travel, it gives me more time to think about the game and lock in.”

Although trips are good bonding opportunities, athletes can also miss days of school and note that it is challenging to make up work while competitively playing a sport.

I absolutely think that the camaraderie and the bonds formed are worth the challenges travel might create.”

“Balancing school and sports is a lot,” said Watt. “When we went to Trinity Valley it was a little bit di cult because we got home probably around 10 [p.m.], so you need to do a lot of your homework beforehand. You can’t really wait until the night before; you have to plan for it.”

Many athletes agree that the school needs to nd a happy medium regarding the number of trips. Doing too many will disrupt school life, while not going on any trips does not allow the team to bond.

Regardless, athletes agree that their sports seasons would not be nearly as vibrant without the road trips.

“Team bonding is one of my favorite things to do,” senior girls soccer captain Helen Jackson said. “I also really like traveling to the games as a team, as it’s something that we don’t do in club [soccer]. I really enjoy having everyone on the bus before the game because it sets the tone and creates a really cool environment.”