Team Mass shoots for success

By Sharon Palmer
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE- In front of Yankee Spirits, the excitement was palpable at the outset of Memorial Day weekend; Friday evening, 11 players from Team Mass Girls Basketball were fundraising for their upcoming trip to Ireland, where they will play the Lady Gators of County Wicklow.
The girls were selling raffle tickets for an upcoming Red Sox game, and collecting cash contributions as well as donations of returnable bottles and cans to help fund their trip.
“People have been very generous and supportive of the girls’ trip,” said parent volunteer Jody Fleshman.
Team Mass is part of the Amateur Athletic Union, a nationwide league, and this team is comprised of 12- and 13-year-old girls from Brimfield, Holland, North Brookfield, and West Brookfield, who typically compete within New England.
Coach Deb Adams said, however, that there are many benefits to an international expedition. Besides having fun and honing their basketball skills, Adams said the team makes life-long friends in another part of the world.
“We’re really excited about playing with kids from another country,” Team Mass member Megan Wilmot said. Her teammate Brittany Herring added, “It’ll be really cool not just to go to Ireland, but to travel together as a team.”
Adams also organized a trip to Ireland in 2007 for her players at that time, some of whom are older sisters of this year’s traveling team; she said that it was such a positive experience for the girls that she was inspired to do it again. “It’s a lot of work (planning and fundraising), but it’s really worth it,” she said. Other fundraising events planned include a wine and beer tasting, car washes, and more raffles.
The team is working to raise $20,000 for this year’s trip. All the money, according to Adams, goes to the girls’ airfare, travel suits, and bussing expenses.
The team is scheduled to depart this July 1, and spend 10 – 14 days playing against teams in Dublin, Galway, and other southern counties, as well as Wicklow, the coach noted. While abroad, the girls will be paired with an Irish teammate and will stay with a host family, which helps the girls from both countries to make long-lasting connections, Coach Adams said. She added, “We’re very proud to represent our state and our country.”
For more information on Team Mass, contact Deb Adams at adamsfamily10@yahoo.com.