Spring Preseason Trips: Jackson Raymond ’24 & JJ Hurley ’25

By Alice Tao ’24

Spring break is a time to relax, reset, and rejuvenate. However, for some Westminster varsity teams, the break was filled with preseason excitement, intense training, and team bonding. Jackson Raymond ’24, Captain of Boys Varsity Lacrosse, and JJ Hurley ’25, member of Boys Varsity Golf, sat down with me to talk about their preseason trips!

What do you play, and where was your preseason trip?
Raymond ’24: I am a member of the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team, and we went to Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. We played against teams in the area for three to four days and had so much fun!

Hurley ’25: I am in Boys Varsity Golf and we traveled to Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama. Over the course of our trip, we played a total of six different courses. It was a lot of fun!

What was your favorite part of the trip?
Raymond ’24: I enjoyed hanging out with my friends, playing lots of lacrosse, and anticipating the start of the season. Can’t complain about that!

Hurley ’24: My favorite part was playing with people I haven’t played with, bonding with my teammates, and playing with my hockey coach! We also went out for nice dinners and took advantage of the hot tub.

What did your daily schedules look like?
Raymond ’24: We would wake up, eat breakfast, and hop on the buses by 8 am to head to our first practice. For non-game days, we would go back to the hotel for lunch and have another practice before dinner. On game days, we would have pregame practices and then play our game. At night, we would have bonding activities which made us all closer to one another!

Hurley ’25: We were able to sleep in, which was very nice. We would then head to the course and play 18 holes. At night, we would have a range session, and it was great practice for the actual courses. Sometimes, we played two rounds of 18, which was very intense.

What are you most excited for this upcoming season?
Raymond ’24: I am most excited to play a lot of lacrosse with my teammates. We have a great group, and I can’t wait to see what we can do this season! The weather is getting nicer and warmer, which I really enjoy.

Hurley ’25: I am so excited this season. We have very great players and both our Varsity and JV teams are very strong. Both teams can break 200, and our JV team can actually beat a lot of Varsity teams from other schools. A lot of kids can break 40s. Overall, we are a really fun team!