Kate Hoops: Finishing Off Our Spring Break Trip to Arizona
Our spring break officially began Monday morning in sunny Rio Verde, Arizona. We loaded up the van and headed to Tonto Verde for our first pitching practice. After a good three-hour practice session we headed back to the house for some lunch. Before long we were back in the van on our way to play the Peaks Golf Course at Tonto Verde for the first round of qualifying. We finished the day with some putting drills and it was time to head to the house. Once back, Coach showed off her amazing cooking skills with delicious steaks that we could not get enough of!
The next five days followed about the same routine. Roughly an hour-and-a-half pitching in the morning and then another hour-and-a-half of practicing individually with whatever skills we wanted to. We would then break for lunch and have the choice to head back home for lunch or stay at the pool and eat and try to catch a tan. And before we knew it, it would be time to start warming up for the qualifying rounds. Over the six days, we played three different golf courses. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we played the Peaks, which is part of Tonto Verde. Tuesday we played Vista Verde. On Wednesday and Saturday we played The Ranch Course which is also a part of Tonto Verde.
There were countless memorable moments on this trip. The one that stuck out the most though I believe would be when our GA, Kim Kester, was stung by a scorpion in her sleep! She woke up the next morning feeling dizzy, had blurred vision,and had no feeling in her hands and feet. We immediately took Kim to the EMT's at the local fire station. Kim returned with the good news that she was going to make it, but she just had to take it easy for the day. So for the next couple of days we were all very cautious around the house, since we knew the scorpion was still around. Alli was sleeping in the same room as Kim the night she was stung, and couldn't handle it so she pulled her bed into the next room over (as if to say scorpions don't change location). I was lucky enough to find the scorpion a few days later in my bag. I never ran so fast. But then Tasha saved the day and killed the scorpion!
Another memorable moment was the javelina (wild pig) we saw on the Peaks golf course near the end of the week. To our surprise they are quite tame animals that eat plants not people. Seeing a javelina was almost as great as scaring Megan for about an hour the night before with animal noises and scratching at the window! Then there was the awesome putting course at Tonto Verde. We played it many times throughout the week, but the most exciting was the last day when we split up into two teams, Internationals vs. Americans. It was a well-fought battle but after the playoff the Internationals prevailed.
I will have to admit, I was bit skeptical at first living in a house with 11 females for an entire week. With that many females you never know what drama can ensue. But in the end it all worked out great and we had a blast! The host families and community of Rio Verde, Tonto Verde, and Vista Verde are wonderful people and it was great meeting and getting to know all of them. We enjoyed the fresh baked muffins in the morning from Bonnie. And listening to the inspirational talk from Forrest Hamilton who played in the NBA, was an alternate on the Olympic team, and was an All-American at Missouri State, he was quite moving. This was a Spring Break I will always remember and it will be hard to live up to in the years to come.
Kate Hoops is a redshirt freshman from Lima, OH who is majoring in early childhood education
