NAMPA, Idaho – When Northwest Nazarene women's basketball coach Steve Steele told his team they were going on a trip to Cuba before the 2019-20 school year he was met with screams.

Of excitement, of course.

Athletic tours are commonplace throughout the NCAA, but Steele has never taken a team at NNU on one.

"I've wanted to take a group on a trip overseas since I got the job," he said. "The timing of it is perfect. We are graduating six seniors and a lot of leaders, so we are going to have a completely new group dynamic next year. We are bringing in five new players and people will have different roles and there will be different leaders."

All of the non-graduating players, the five incoming freshmen and the coaching staff are signed up to go. The trip is also open to friends, family members and fans. For more information, contact Steele at ssteele@nnu.edu. If you can't go to Cuba, but would still like to help offset costs for the team and coaches you can donate online.

The players, many of whom have never been abroad, are excited to go on the seven-day, six-night trip.

"I think it is really important to get out of your comfort zone," said junior Avery Albrecht, who has been abroad twice. "It is good to get a different perspective of life.

"I think that extra time is really going to be needed for us to find new roles and get to know new teammates. Plus, the extra games won't hurt us."

The benefits of the trip are about broadening horizons as well as getting extra practice and game time before the start of the school year.

Volleyball coach Doug English took a team to China a few years ago and he had nothing but positive things to say about it.

"We were the only ones you could kind of talk to, so you had to rely on each other a little bit more," he said. "You go through some crazy things that would never happen here. It just heightens the team bonding and the team chemistry.

"It is just special to go somewhere different to see a different part of the world and a different culture. That is part of the education of being in a college program."

Steele has been on trips to Europe, Africa and Mexico over the years, both for athletics and for mission trips. He initially looked into taking the team to South America, but anything south of Panama was too expensive and anything north didn't have as high level of basketball.

So he settled on Cuba which not only has good basketball, but offers a unique place.

"Every one I've been on is life changing," Steele said. "I ended up becoming a better athlete because of the experience, but you also learn so much culturally and spiritually. It is always eye opening to see the flat out difference in lifestyle when you go to a different country."