Written by: BFA Fairfax Varsity Baseball Head Coach, Mike Brown
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, BFA Fairfax Varsity Baseball will be heading south for spring training. The team will fly to Florida, with many players experiencing their first plane flight, to stay and train at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex (JRTC) in Vero Beach from April 18-24. JRTC offers an all-inclusive spring training experience that includes on-campus lodging, three hot meals per day, use of the pool and recreation facilities, and full access to the ball fields, batting cages, and bullpens.
A typical day for the team entails early morning batting practice, breakfast, 10:00 am practice, lunch, downtime at the beach, 4:00 pm practice, dinner, and a night-time practice, scrimmage, or team meeting. On days off, the team will travel off campus to do something uniquely Florida, such as an airboat alligator tour. The days are jam-packed and the time in Florida goes by quickly.
Playing baseball in Florida, at a historic spring training facility where legends like Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax trained, is surreal and incredible. The short-term investment in becoming a better, more tight-knit group is tangible and important. Bigger than baseball, life-long learning is the true motivation for organizing these trips. Students will get real-world practice using life skills that can open up the world to them. That's what education and high school sports are all about, and it's fun and rewarding to be a part of it.
BFA Fairfax Baseball extends an enormous thank you to the entire Fairfax community for supporting their fundraising efforts for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Play Ball!
