Traveling With Athletics
By Paula Feitosa
Southern Virginia University is full of sports teams that travel and compete throughout the year. The trips they take are full of competition, tough play, and unforgettable memories. I asked several members of different teams to give their own perspectives on traveling with their team, sharing their memories with The Herald readers. Below are their responses!
Soccer Team
Sam Melo (‘23) plays on the soccer team. His favorite trip was to Marymount University in D.C.. “It was the best trip because it was the first trip of the season and everybody was very excited. We were together all the time, inside and outside the field. We had really good food, and a fun time bowling.”
Field Hockey
Sydney White (‘25) shares that the best trip with the field hockey team was to Pennsylvania. They were able to explore different surfaces and had their best performances of the season. “On our way up to our game against Notre Dame of Maryland, we visited Hershey World. After this fun excursion, we warmed up for our match on a grass field, which we weren’t used to because of our home being turf. Regardless of this slight issue, we ended up winning 6-1 against our competitors. This was a record win for our team and was one of the best performances of the season.”
Men’s Volleyball
Kristo Puntes (‘25) talked about his best experiences traveling with the volleyball boys to New York when they went to play the nationals. Being away from home (Bradio) for the first time, Puntes reported that being part of the team is one his favorite parts about being a Knight. “Starting with the bus that we had, there was great a lot of space, the hotel was also super nice, located in downtown New York, all the restaurants that we went to were really good. After the completion was over we had time to walk around New York to get to know the city a little bit, we visited some museums. Overall we had a great time.”
Tennis Team
Coach Snelson and the both tennis teams all agree that their best trip was to New York, where they got to play and have a lot of fun in downtown New York and at the U.S. Open tournament.
Men’s Swimming
Parker Kam (‘24) shared his training trip to Florida over Christmas break as being the most memorable one. “We went to the beach and had practice. It was super fun because it was a low stress kind of just hang out where we got to get to know each other and didn't really have to worry about competition.”
Looking from a coach’s perspective, Coach Payden (Soccer) and Coach Snelson (Tennis) explained what the routine is like and what they have to prepare before every trip. “It is definitely a work event, we have to book the bus/van, hotel, have the full itinerary ready, and meals planned. But having said that, we have a great team and it is a pleasure to serve them.”
After spending some time with different teams and hearing so many stories, I came to the conclusion that an expirience on a team isn’t based off of wins and losses, but the bonds that’s created between teammates. The big trips to New York or to the beach during a match in Florida—these are the things that keep the players cemented to a team and feel a sense of belonging. This is what builds the Southern Virginia experience and shows that it's being together and unified that is fun for the players and not just winning.
