Submitted photoThe Redmond girls basketball team played Dec. 28-31 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. Back row, from left: assistant coach Roger Buhrle, Jessica Toledo, Sophia Hamilton, McKaylie Capps, Jenna Hall, Hayley Fast, Bella Dannis, Ava Kitchin and head coach Angela Capps. Front row: Tess Buck, Kailey Jackson and an unidentified former player.

Early-season tournaments are nothing new in high school sports. But a couple of Redmond teams are going the extra mile for the competitions.

The Redmond High girls basketball team traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, in December, where they faced teams from Florida, Texas and Alabama. Next month, Ridgeview’s baseball team also will leave the state for a tournament in a warmer climate — sunny Arizona.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Ridgeview coach Joshua Davis said. “Some of our kids do travel; others have never left Central Oregon. It can really create a life experience they’ve never had. That’s what it’s really all about, creating a life experience for our kids.”

Raising the funds

The trip will cost an estimated $12,000, Davis said. That includes renting vans for the 15 players and four coaches to make the trip, as well as gasoline, hotel and tournament fees.

The baseball team has a booster club, run by Davis’ parents, which puts on fundraisers. That includes the annual Tri-Tip Dinner and auction, which brought in $25,000 in September. The trip was also assisted by a large donation from supporter Rick Paul, a Mitchell rancher who regularly visits Arizona in the spring.

“He said, ‘I’m down there. I want to watch you guys play,’” Davis said of Paul.

The Redmond girls basketball players had to raise money for their trip themselves, to the tune of $2,200 per player. Coach Angela Capps said the fundraising started in January 2015.

Players brought in money by selling 50/50 drawing tickets, as well as asparagus, strawberries and peaches. They also worked at the Deschutes County Fair and the Oregon Wrestling Classic.

“You don’t take your fundraising lightly, or you’re paying out of pocket,” junior guard Sophia Hamilton said.

Capps had the trip in the back of her mind for a while, and the school’s principal and athletic director were “100 percent supportive” when she brought the idea to them, she said.

“Once we had their blessing, we just went for it,” Capps said.

Just as the Redmond girls did around Christmas, the Ravens won’t miss class since the baseball tournament in the Phoenix area is during the March 21-25 spring break.

They will play a game March 21, a doubleheader March 22 and a fourth game March 24. They will leave after the last game and caravan home. They expect to arrive back in Redmond March 25.

“Most of our families will travel,” Davis said. “It’s a good opportunity for team bonding and team unity — an opportunity to grow together and get ready for the upcoming season.”

Ridgeview hopes to win more games than Redmond’s girls did. The Panthers left the KSA Events Classic basketball tournament in Florida with no victories in the three games they played between Dec. 28 and Dec. 31. But they said the experience goes beyond basketball.

“It was beautiful, one of the best experiences I’ve had,” said Hayley Fast, a sophomore post for Redmond. “The games were very challenging, getting to play other teams from around the United States. It was really fun being with my team and getting to experience that with them.”

The Panthers got to visit the Animal Kingdom, Epcot and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World when they weren’t playing.

“Being able to hang with your teammates, going to the pool or going on rides with them, made it all worth it,” Hamilton said. “It was so much fun there.”

Redmond brought 10 players to Florida along with 10 adults, including coaches and chaperons.

The Ridgeview team will stay in Surprise, Arizona, where the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals have spring training, and plan to watch a couple of games when they aren’t playing, Davis said. They will also visit a local water park on an off day.

The tournament will include 113 teams. Davis said about a third come from Oregon.

“This is pretty normal for a lot of Oregon teams,” he said. “They want to get out of that rain and cold and get down to sunny Arizona to that 80-degree weather.”

The Ravens are scheduled to play two teams from Colorado and two from Arizona, where baseball is played year round, Davis said.

“The competition will be good,” he said. “I think it will be a good test for our kids because I feel like the (Intermountain Conference) might be one of the strongest 5A conferences in the state.”

As for Redmond, the Panthers plan to return to the Florida holiday tournament in 2017. Capps said she is already looking at raising money for that one so it doesn’t have to be rushed.

The Panthers’ younger players are looking forward to returning to Florida. But senior Jessica Toledo got a going away present — she was selected by sponsor KSA Events as the recipient of a $350 college scholarship, which was awarded to a senior on each team there.

“A lot of people thought I was crazy for taking this group of girls to Florida, but they are an amazing group of kids and a lot of fun to be around,” Capps said.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com