Members of the Cooperstown field hockey team and the adults who chaperoned returned from a spring break trip to Scotland on Saturday tired but with an enjoyable and educational experience behind them, said CCS field hockey coach Brenda Wedderspoon-Gray.

Seventeen members of the Cooperstown field hockey program, two other students at CCS and 11 adults left for Scotland Friday, April 14, after a year of fundraising.

The group took a bus to Newark and then a seven-hour flight to Scotland, where they played four games against club teams and had an extensive sight-seeing schedule.

"Everything was fantastic," Wedderspoon-Gray said Tuesday. "The history is pretty amazing. We have history here, but it's only 200 years, there you're talking about centuries."

Ellen Phillips, a 10th grader at Cooperstown and field hockey team member, said most team members were amazed to drive down the streets of Scotland and see the castles.

"Scotland is beautiful and learning the history was super-interesting," Phillips said.

The group took tours of Blair Castle, Loch Ness, Cawdor Castle, Rosslyn Chapel, Edinburgh and St. Andrews. In addition, the group took a ghost tour in Loch Ness, Wedderspoon-Gray added.

"But we didn't see the Loch Ness Monster," Wedderspoon-Gray quipped. "We got a chance to tour both the countryside and city. The Scottish Highlands were a definite high point."

She added that the field hockey games were a learning experience for her team, as the Cooperstown team was playing against teams that have played together since September and were all very good. All of the games were played on artificial turf, which was also something new for the Cooperstown team.

"Our goal was to try and take something positive out of each game, and I think we were able to do that," Wedderspoon-Gray said. "We had quite a few underclassmen with us, and hopefully playing against high-caliber players will help them in the upcoming season."

Phillips agreed, saying that while the games were tough, the team members learned a great deal about the sport which will hopefully translate into success on the field next fall.

"We learned a lot of new skills, and I think we're all excited about next season," she said.

Team members were able to raise about half of the money for the trip through various fund-raisers over the past year, including bake sales, car washes, etc.

Wedderspoon-Gray said when she was in high school her field hockey coach, Pat Mihalko, took the team to Europe on several occasions, and was her inspiration for planning similar trips for her teams.

Two years ago the hockey team went to England, and in two years the team may go to Wales or possibly Australia or New Zealand.

"I'd like to keep doing it every other year," Wedderspoon-Gray said.