DENVER – The Metropolitan State University of Denver softball team is headed to Europe for a rare opportunity to see the world and spread the popularity of the sport.
"I'm really excited about the trip," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "I've never done anything like this with the program before. And a big part of our team hasn't done anything like this before.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime type experience that we can provide for them at a relatively low cost. If you're able to pull it off, it's one of those added experiences in being a student-athlete." The NCAA allows teams to make foreign trips once every four years, and many programs across the country at all levels take advantage of it. It's an experience that Van Wetzinga hopes her program can make regularly. "That's my goal moving forward, so that everyone who plays here for four years has the chance to do this," she said. The Roadrunners will be traveling June 10 through June 22 to the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. They'll be playing four or five games against local clubs or junior national teams. Though the program has done significant fundraising and is continuing to do so, players are paying a portion as well. To help sponsor them and make it more affordable, click here or on the link to the MSU Denver Red and Blue Fund above. The softball fundraising link is located on the Red and Blue Fund page. Sightseeing on the softball team's trip includes stops in cities such as Prague, Vienna, Venice, Florence and Rome. "It's a big world out there," Van Wetzinga said. "We're used to our world, but things are different out there, and I think it would be very cool to open their eyes to different cultures and ways of living, not to mention just all the history over there." Travel arrangements are done through Bring It Promotions, which the MSU Denver volleyball program has used for its foreign trips. This time he softball program will get a chance to serve as ambassadors for its sport, which is developing in Europe. "It's not what the United States is – or Japan, Canada or Australia," Van Wetzinga said. "But the world softball federation is really trying to push having more United States teams and groups going over to Europe to try to spread the sport more and develop it." Softball wasn't an Olympic sport in either 2012 or 2016, but it's back on board for the 2020 Games and softball enthusiasts want to keep it there. "It's our goal to keep it in the Olympics, because then it becomes that dream for little girls and they want to play it," Van Wetzinga said. "Hopefully we can develop it in other countries so there's more competition."
Comments