What Happens on the First Road Trip

No matter what that corporate sellout groundhog from Pennsylvania has to say, springtime is finally upon those of us involved with college baseball. Since the first team meeting of the year, every single day has been building up to the time the bus will pull out of campus and depart for the first weekend series of the year.

This year, the rest of the Fordham Rams and I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend upwards of twelve hours together on the first trip of the year down to Western Carolina University.

Don’t get me wrong, spending time with teammates on the bus is the best thing in the world and we have been looking forward to it all year. But one can only watch so many movies, play so many card games, listen to so many songs, and eat so much candy before he starts to forget why he is on the bus in the first place.

It is a sort of Catch-22 situation, a real brain buster; for the past few months I have exclaimed daily, “I cannot wait to get on the bus”, which of course is a true statement. Unfortunately, I know once I am on the bus for about seven hours my body will be struggling to find a comfortable position, my stomach will be trying to manage the ten to fifteen different things I have eaten and drank, and my mind will be spinning in circles, incessantly looking at my phone to check the time.

No matter what, the first bus trip is looming and along with it come some stresses and some responsibilities. Freshmen ask a lot of questions leading up to the trip, but to be honest, it seems to be older guys that make the mistakes out of absentmindedness and excitement. For everyone’s sake, including those who have not had the opportunity to travel on a college baseball road trip, I have but ONE piece of vital information to save yourself from unnecessary stress:

Pack, and then take it all out and do it again.

Honestly, no matter how prepared I know I am before the road trip, there is one thing that happens every time no matter where we are going. The second the door closes and the bus begins its slow saunter out of the campus gates, a pit begins to form in my stomach. The pit in the stomach is inevitable, and it is made of the thoughts of everything I do not remember packing – usually it is pure anxiety and I have over-packed (a problem, but a much lesser problem). This pit gets bigger and bigger with every foot the bus pulls away from campus, eventually getting to the point of no return. The point of no return is when you make sure you at least have your hat, uniforms, spikes, glove, and whatever else you need to play. At least you can be on the field – the reason you are going in the first place.

So above all, avoid the method that some people use to pack that I like to call the “two-armed swipe.” This classic move begins with the player rushing to the locker room at the last minute and placing his open travel bag at the foot of his locker. The second and culminating move of the “two-armed swipe” is just that – a two-armed swipe corralling everything in the locker from equipment to spikes to clothes to gloves. Don’t pull the “two-armed swipe,” save yourself and pack the night before.

By the time this is published, we will most likely have completed our first series of the year. Sure, there will be things forgotten in the Bronx, like computers and homework and phone chargers, but there is one thing that will not be left at home: our willingness to fight for a win every single time we step on the field. Our new head coach Kevin Leighton has motivated us to work hard both on and off the field, to do something every single day, and we are more than excited to put what he has taught us to work. The best way to get ready for the first game of the year is to spend time with your team and get ready to play a focused, but relaxed series of baseball. What can be more relaxing than a bus ride full of fun?

Go Rams!

DC

(photos courtesy of Fordham Media Relations Office)