Jacob Kinney, left, and Adam Paterson take turns hitting off the tee during a practice in the Presque Isle High School gymnasium April 10. The Wildcat baseball team leaves April 12 for a weeklong spring training trip to Florida.
(Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg)
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — As a player in the late-1980s, Derrick Kinney feels fortunate that he was able to make two trips to Florida with the Presque Isle varsity baseball team for a week of games, practices and fun.
The annual trip was organized by former head coach Tim Olore and was held for 13 consecutive years before coming to an end in 2001.
Kinney is now in charge of the Wildcat varsity squad and he has decided to revive “spring training.” Twelve players, two managers, two coaches and three other chaperones fly out on Wednesday, April 12 and will return the following Wednesday, April 19 after having played three doubleheaders and practicing during the off-days while also enjoying the Disney World theme parks.
“I’m excited for the kids and the experience they will get out of it,” said Kinney, noting it will be the first time on a plane for three or four of the players. “Playing on those nice fields for practices and games and enjoying Disney with their teammates is something they won’t ever forget.”
Kinney said the past couple years the team has spent a few days during April vacation downstate, but rain and cold weather marred the trips and “limited us as to what we could get in.”
Dakota Morrow gets ready to take some swings in the batting cage during practice in the Presque Isle High School gymnasium April 10. Morrow and his teammates leave April 12 for a spring training trip to Florida.
(Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg)
“We’ve struggled in recent years so I thought it’d be a good idea to bring a little life back into the program,” Kinney said, “and to go back and do some of the things that made us successful in the past.”
Kinney estimated the cost per person for airline tickets, lodging and meals to be at $1,400, so the team began raising funds last June through a variety of projects. Apple picking at the MSAD 1 School Farm, hosting a Stew Night at the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club, raffling off Red Sox tickets, selling restaurant coupon booklets and seeking pledges for a hitting contest all contributed to raising approximately 60 percent of the funds for the trip.
The itinerary includes single games against St. Joseph’s College Institute and Rye High School, both of New York, on Thursday, April 13, a doubleheader against another Maine team, the Portland Bulldogs, on Saturday, April 15 and two more single games on Monday, April 17 against Saratoga Central and Baldwinsville, both of New York.
On April 14, 16 and 18, the team will practice for 3-1/2 hours each morning and spend the afternoons and evenings relaxing and having fun at Disney.
Practices and games are held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla., which is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. The team will stay at the nearby Pop Century Resort.
“It’s going to be a good learning experience and I think it will be especially great for the younger guys on the team,” said senior captain Nick Bartlett. “I’m excited about it … it’s a way of ending my high school career on a good note.”
Grant Bridges, another senior, is looking forward to checking out the playing facilities, especially after spending the last couple weeks in the confines of the Presque Isle High School gymnasium.
“It gets crowded in the gym so I’m looking forward to playing outside,” he said.
Sophomore Jonah Hudson concurred, saying “you can only do so much in the gym. We’ll be able to practice situations that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise.”
He also said the time together should provide an important bonding experience for the Wildcats.
“I’m kind of honored to be on a team taking a trip to Florida because it’s been a long time,” Bridges said. “It feels really good.”
Presque Isle will open its regular season on April 22 with a doubleheader against John Bapst to be played at the University of Maine at Orono. The Wildcats’ home opener is scheduled for April 26 against Fort Kent.
