Spring break and my 21st birthday, relaxing on the beach, drinking a few. Wait. That’s not right. Let’s try again. Spring break and my 21st birthday, playing lacrosse all week long and drinking out of water bottles! Now that’s the way to do it!
While other students had plane tickets to Florida, the Bahamas and Cancun, or a relaxing trip home for this spring break, my team and I were off in Maryland practicing for the upcoming season and playing in a game against Howard University in Washington D.C.
The first day of my spring break was like a scene out of a movie. After winning a tough game against Niagara University my teammates and I ran back to our rooms to shower quickly, then ran to the athletic center to catch our bus to Maryland, which is where we spent our spring break.
I went back to my room, took the world’s quickest shower, grabbed my bags, and literally sprinted back to the field to get on the bus. My whole team arrived just on time at 4:30 like we planned.
While the QU woman’s lacrosse team has no trouble sticking to a plan, it seemed our school did. As the time passed we realized that Quinnipiac never hired a bus to come pick us up and spend five days with us in Maryland. While coaches were on their cell phones trying to get us a bus my team was just sitting around talking and laughing and making the best of the situation. It was all very funny until it started to pour!
Once we got ourselves and all of our bags inside the rain stopped of course, and a bus finally showed up. Dale, our bus driver, was from Maryland so when he heard about the chance to go home for a few days he volunteered to take us away for spring break.
Shortly after boarding the bus and beginning the 6 hour road trip we all realized that Dale was a little too anxious to get to Maryland, and the speed at which he drove certainly showed that!
So, six hours later we got to the hotel feeling tired, and bus sick. After switching hotel rooms because our toilet wouldn’t flush, my roommate and I finally got into our beds after the longest day of our lives.
Day two of the trip was a little more relaxing and a lot more fun.
Somehow, Becca, our coach, was able to pull strings for and get us practice time at Loyola College, The University of Maryland and UMBC. I swear the woman knows everyone in the world who plays lacrosse, and she was able to make this trip possible.
Becca taught us a few new plays and explained to the team how the “turf monster” makes players fall on their faces when they are running all alone.
Although it may seem like all we did was play lacrosse, we did so much more. There is only one thing my team does better than play lacrosse, and that is EAT!
Throughout the trip we ate just about as much as we played. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory one night, ESPN Zone Restaurant another night, and of course dinner in the mall a few times.
We were fed well, and we practiced hard until game time. I would have to say that of all the games I have played in my life the one against Howard University was the most interesting.
We won by a score of 16 to 6, but we hobbled away with two concussions, one black eye, and one yellow card.
Half way through the game there was a fight off the field and one of the men in the fight ran onto the field and stating yelling.
The ref thought he was going to go after our goalie because she was playing so well, so she was told to drop her stick and run. Before Megan could drop her stick the crazed man was forced off the field and the game continued with all players a little shaken up.
When the game was over we changed quickly, got back on the bus and headed for home.
I must say that although I am still pale, with no tan lines, I wouldn’t give up this trip for anything.
We made so many memories, had so many laughs, and we even came home with a win on the lacrosse field. I want to thank, my team, my coaches, the athletic trainers and of course good old Dale, for making my 21st birthday the most interesting birthday ever!