BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic – The Nicholls State University baseball team headed to the Dominican Republic on Friday, where the Colonels spent time doing community service and playing against Dominican national teams.
Freshman infielder Ethan Valdez provides a full recap of Nicholls' week abroad.
12/12-12/15: After a night of long travels we arrived in the Dominican Republic with a bus waiting to take us to the resort. We received instant hospitality when we stepped on the bus, and were treated to granola bars, water and traditional music.
The next day we woke up and walked behind the resort, where there was a baseball field with a bunch young kids waiting for us to teach them a few things. The kids were incredible at such young ages and made it fun to give back through the game of baseball. After running the clinic I gave away a pair of batting gloves, an old belt, and a baseball. The look of absolute happiness on the faces of the kids after receiving something I considered so small was amazing.
A few hours later, our team went to take batting practice on a different field before heading to our first game. We played the National Police Force team, and every single kid that we taught that morning was there to cheer us on. We ended up winning 7-6, and one of the most interesting parts of the game was that each team had hit a grand slam. It's rare for even one team to have a grand slam, much less two in the same game.
On Sunday we were able to have a beach day on the Isla Ozuna, where we took a sailboat along with a family. They played traditional music for us and had a dance floor. It was quite a sight to see the baseball team attempt to learn how to dance to their music. When we got to the island, they treated us to barbecue, along with some competitive sand volleyball and ocean swimming. On the way back from the island we took a speedboat to a natural pool, where some of the scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed, and we found some giant sea stars. We finished the day at a buffet on the beach right outside of the resort.
After the long day at the beach we woke up to play another game at the big stadium against Tigres Del Licey, a top team with many players who have made it to the amateur and professional leagues. We lost the game, 4-1, but gained great experience playing a different style of baseball than we were accustomed to. Straight from the game we went on a tour of the Colonial Zone, which is the oldest European settlement, founded in 1502. We were able to tour a fort, as well as see the burial sight of Christopher Columbus. The team also got to see one of the Dominican Republic's oldest churches, which had beautiful murals on the ceiling.
The final day arrived and we took a bus ride to a local sugar cane village to paint some houses and give away some of the things that the local people needed more than we did. This was my favorite part of the trip, because our team and coaches literally took the shoes off of our feet to give them to children who were walking barefoot on the rocky and sharp gravel, where they run around and play tag. After painting the houses we got to visit the Miami Marlins new offseason facilities, which were outstanding.
Going to the Dominican Republic was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I got to spend this trip with my baseball family and it was much more than a vacation. The trip gave us a chance to get closer with one another, and also gave us an opportunity to give back.
The Colonels open the 2016 season with a four-game series at home against Mississippi Valley on the weekend of Feb. 19. For season tickets, call (985) 448-4790 or log on to geauxcolonels.com.
