Women’s Golf Blog: Surprise Party

Have you ever had someone throw you a surprise party?  If you are anything like me, it comes with some trepidation. There is always a little angst about the spotlight and the expectations, were you surprised? Did you have any idea? Did you prepare to be in a crowd? You know, did you dress okay that day or how did you look? Okay maybe not all the concerns that everyone would have, but certainly for some of us these questions have lingered in the back of our minds. More times than not, the surprise was not stressful after all and you had more fun than ever imagined.

That may have to sum up my most recent trip with the team over the spring break period.  Having coached for over thirty years, I have had my share of spring break trips, and for the record, they can at times, be challenging.  Much to my “surprise” the past twelve days on the road were simply enjoyable. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t meet some challenges. It just means we were able to “pivot” and find solutions with little complaining and mostly group cooperation. The itinerary for our trip included; two collegiate tournaments, eleven days of practice and play at various facilities and courses, six flights and several miles traveled in vans packed with luggage, a one day excursion to watch The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, and even a laundry day! At the bottom of the itinerary, also pack your patience and your humor.

It started with our flight to Jacksonville, Florida.  Our first leg was delayed, and it appeared we might miss our connection in Philadelphia. We sprinted through the airport, I am pretty sure people thought we were the Penn State track team, maybe not all of us! Ha! We pull into our hotel at a very late hour, only to find the desk manager telling me we were not in their reservations. The team patiently waited after a long day of travel. I pulled out my trip locater from our fabulous travel agent, Becky Jones, and handed her the confirmation numbers. “Surprise” there we were! Whew!

After practice the next day, I thought we would take advantage of the beautiful weather and told the team we would head over to check out the beach.  Of course, they were thrilled. I should not have been “surprised” when I saw two of them dive into the water! We usually have a hard time keeping Mathilde, our player from France, from taking any opportunity to dive in…