Preparations Are Underway!


TIME TO START THE PROCESS


With less than a week to go until the trip, the group gathered on Sunday afternoon (March 3) at Hanover High School to assemble hygiene kits, which will be distributed to residents of remote villages as part of the trip.  It is one element among many that will hopefully make this trip a special and memorable experience for the 14 young men who are making the trip.  

While Sunday was the first formal gathering to prepare for the trip, the group has been amazingly committed to getting ready and has been working hard at its craft, hitting weekly on Saturday mornings and then gathering again later in the afternoon for team workouts at the high school.  Many are also working out on their own during the week, either individually or in small groups.  For many of the players, this is being done while also playing a winter sport, which shows just how committed they are to baseball and how much they enjoy being around each other.  (And successful winter sport athletes at that, with the basketball team and hockey team both headed to the state semifinals on Tues and Wed, respectively.)

Back in early February, we were fortunate to meet with Sebastian Manon, a sophomore on the Dartmouth soccer team, who is from Santo Domingo.  Sebastian spent an hour with the group and talked about his life growing up in the DR and what to expect on the trip.  While he is a very focused soccer player (he will be playing for the DR in the Summer Olympics), his passion for baseball was quite evident and definitely caught the attention of the HS players.  Sebastian talked about the national passion for the game, what to expect while playing and his biggest piece of advice?  Eat the food!  

The group will depart on Saturday evening from Logan, arriving around 2:30am and hopefully in our beds in Boca Chica by 3:30am.  We'll drag ourselves out of bed and head to a nearby field for a quick practice in the morning then back to Santo Domingo for the Red Sox-Rays spring training game, which should be an incredible experience.  Dominicans don't watch baseball the way we do and the atmosphere should be electric.  As Sebastian told us, he can't really watch baseball in the US because the fans make it so boring, haha.  



The rest of the week will unfold as follows:

MONDAY

·       Beach workout and practice with Dominican Academy players and coaches (7:30 AM)

·       Tour MLB Complex (10:00 AM)

LUNCH AT HOTEL

·       Game #1 (1:30 PM)

TUESDAY

·       Game #2 (8:30 AM)

LUNCH AT FIELD WITH OPPOSING TEAM

·       Tour Colonial Zone (AFTER GAME)

WEDNESDAY

·       Community Service-House Painting (8:30 AM)

LUNCH AT HOTEL

·       Practice with MLB Coaches (3:30 PM)

THURSDAY

·       Game #3 (8:30 AM)

LUNCH AT HOTEL

·       Community Service & Hygiene Kit distribution (3:00 PM)

FRIDAY

·       AM Free at Pool, Beach

EARLY LUNCH AT HOTEL

·       Game #4 (1:00 PM) vs. Pembroke Hill School (Kansas City, MO)

·       Postgame: English tutoring with KC Royal Prospects

During the trip, different players will be posting updates, and we'll do our best to share photos and videos from the trip.  It'll be a fun way to keep people at home updated on the various activities and also create a souvenir journal.  Before doing that, we have so many people to thank for making this trip possible (and I'll surely forget some):
1. The players' families: Despite the high school's denial 😞 of our March Intensive trip, the families remained committed to providing this opportunity to their baseball-loving sons.   
2. The Byrne Foundation and Mrs. Dorothy Byrne stepped forward right away to financially support the trip which kickstarted our fundraising.
3. Hundreds of community members, family and friends came together to donate over $5k to support the trip via our gofundme website.  Amazing.
4. Ben Davis from Hanover HS for supporting the group (and all Hanover HS baseball players for that matter) with weekend access to the gymnasium for station-based workouts and skill development.
5. The Upper Valley Baseball Club for affording access to batting cages each week for living hitting.
6. Jarret Berke (Lou's Restaurant) and Tim Cullen (Brick 'n Brew) for hosting fundraisers to support the trip at their respective establishments.
7.  Sixth South Hotel, the Hanover Inn and the Hilton Garden Inn for donating an incredible amount of toiletries for the 200+ kits that were assembled.


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