While many area student-athletes went their separate ways for spring break, the Sturgis softball team caravanned to Kissimmee, Fla., in an effort to bond and train as a group.
It was a trip months in the making that required hours working middle school concession stands and seeking sponsorships to cover the $400 per person cost. Second-year head coach Matt Mizner believes it will have been worth every cent. 
“We’re staying about two miles south of Disney World,” he said. “We’re staying in a house that has seven bedrooms and plenty of room for everybody and we’re just going to practice. We’re going to have three hours of practice a day and then go back and have an hour classroom session teaching these girls verbiage they should know.”
A lack of outdoor practice last season cost the Trojans defensively, particularly in the outfield. Mizner explained only one player last season had experience in the outfield and the rest were converted from infield positions. However, teaching the girls new spots inside a gym had significant drawbacks.
“We couldn’t get them outside to take any live hits off a bat,” Mizner said. “We were just throwing the ball in the gym to them. That doesn’t teach you how to track a ball. By the end of the year they were much better. We really struggled in the beginning just because of the weather.”
Sturgis finished 18-17 last season with only a couple returning letterwinners back. This year expectations are much higher, especially with dominant senior pitcher Dominique Beach back for another go. Beach recorded 289 strikeouts and two no-hitters last year alone. Those numbers were good enough to break the school’s career marks.
But on top of the training and teaching in Florida, it’s an opportunity for the team to bond.
“We had six juniors, no seniors, one sophomore and four freshmen on the varsity team (last year),” Mizner said. “Most of them didn’t know each other beforehand. Getting them together and not getting in their little cliques was part of it. They were hounding me about who gets to sleep with whom and who gets to be in which car. I’ll divide you up. I’m going to put them where I want to put them. There’s a reason why I’m putting them with whom I’m putting them.
“I make captains play catch with freshmen. That’s their partner so they can get familiar with them and they’re not afraid to talk to them. If they don’t care about each other then they’re not going to run through a brick wall for each other.”
Check JoeInsider.com Friday for the Sturgis softball season preview.