Summer Trip

By Jim Gazzolo

 

Combining work with play, the McNeese men’s basketball team is spending a week in El Salvador.

The Cowboys, in Will Wade’s second season, will play a trio of games against international teams in what is called the Volcano Classic.

The series began Friday and will take place over three days. It is a trip that will expand the University’s brand outside the borders while also giving this team a chance to get to know each other.

“We will get a lot of this trip,” said Wade. “The important thing is for us to be able to spend time together.”

College programs can go on summer trips once every four seasons. McNeese last went in 2019 when now Athletic Director Heath Schroyer took the Cowboys to the Bahamas in his second season as the basketball coach.

Now it is a trip to El Salvador, where the Cowboys will spend time after the games to do some sightseeing. They will hike a volcano, take surfing lessons in the ocean and even help conduct a basketball camp for kids.

“This is great for our players to come together and experience another part of the world,” said Wade. “Some of our players have never been out of the country. It is good for them to see how other people live.

“We will be staying in the nicer part of the country but they will get to see some of the other areas. I think that will give them a good perspective of how good they have it here and what other people have to go through.”

The trip also gives McNeese a chance to get a headstart on the upcoming season. The Cowboys got to hold 10 official practices before leaving for the trip.

Wade said that was a big help for a team that has six newcomers who are expected to make the Cowboys even better than last year when they finished 30-4.

“We got to see how the new guys fit and some of the possible different combinations that we can use,” said Wade. “It also gives the players a chance to get used to playing with new players.

“Anytime you get on the court it helps you.”

That is not what the players were looking forward to the most. For them, this is a time to find some new adventures.

“I would never have had this chance,” said senior forward Christian Shumate. “I have never been out of the country. I am looking forward to it.”

The trip is part of the total education Wade believes in. It helps that it also gives him a chance to get the extra basketball work in as well.

Combining the two makes this the perfect work vacation for the Cowboys, many of whom didn’t know each other until this summer began.

“It will be a well-rounded trip, something that I think they will enjoy and remember,” Wade said. “I think it is important that we teach more than basketball and expose our players to other things.”

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles