The first time they walked into the Orange County Convention Center, which plays host to one of the nation's largest youth volleyball tournaments each June in Florida, Lisa Ponce and the wide-eyed girls on her Hawai'i team stared at the 187,000-square-foot venue.

They weren't in Kaka'ako anymore.

"It is overwhelming," Ponce said. "It is intimidating, in fact. Our local kids are just used to seeing a regular gym with three courts and maybe 12 teams. There you walk into a convention center with 55 courts and 56 teams.

"And that is just our age bracket."

Broadening horizons is a primary reason that youth teams travel. That's why they hawk doughnuts, walk field to field with boxes of chocolate bars, wash dirty cars and deliver newspapers.

"In many sports, if you have a chance to go to the Mainland, it gives you an opportunity to see what's beyond here," said Ponce, who serves as co-director of Hawaiian Islands Volleyball Academy. "This is an island, and all the kids who play club volleyball in Hawai'i know each other. It is very limited. When you go to the Mainland, you see what is out there."

ON THE ROAD

Summer travel is a regular event on the calendar for many teams. Some combine tournaments in different states and schedule scrimmages on their off days in an effort to get their money's worth out of each adventure off the rock. Parents spend thousands of dollars for the opportunity, and often turn the trip into a family vacation — relaxing or not.

When it comes to Hawai'i youth volleyball, Ponce estimates that "just about every team from every club" takes a trip. While the younger players are there for experience, the high school-aged players are there for the exposure, Ponce said. College scouts are regulars at every major contest.

For Ponce and her family, the 13-day trip to the 34th AAU Girls' Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla., will cost nearly $7,000 and more hours washing cars than she wants to count. Ponce, her husband and the two daughters who are playing on one of the club's three traveling teams will make the trip.

For Ponce, a Farrington High School science teacher from Moanalua, the trip is a reward for hard work. For her oldest daughter, who also made those trips, the reward was a volleyball scholarship to Eastern Washington University.

It also helps that the tournament in Orlando is hosted by Disney World and that the $1,700-per-player cost — which covers airfare, housing, meals, transportation and tournament fees — includes park admission.

The club attempts to finance half that cost, sometimes more, Ponce said. Fundraisers are constant, and car washes are practically a monthly event.

"It is an ongoing, stressful process," she said.

WORKIN' AT THE CAR WASH

Preparing for a trip can take most of a year, but the Hawaii Stingrays baseball team plans its trips two years apart. Last July, the team traveled to Orlando with 48 players and family members after raising about $55,000.

The 10- and 11-year-old players — all but one of them boys — doesn't travel for any other reason than the love of baseball, said coach Joey Asuncion, a computer specialist who lives in Kaimuki.

"It's an experience that I wish I could share with everybody," he said. "You don't go out there to win every game. You want to compete, but your goal is to give lifelong memories to the players and their families. They won't remember the score of every game, but they will remember the travel and the camaraderie and the fun."

Last year the team participated in Disney's Salute to Baseball, watched Tampa Bay humble the New York Yankees and stopped in San Francisco on the way home.

Next year, the team is going to Cooperstown, N.Y., for a tournament that features different age groups over a 10-week period. The tournament is so popular among Hawai'i teams that in each of the last two tournaments, the state was represented every week.

COMMITTED

A trip like this requires a parental commitment so serious that Asuncion makes sure each family understands what is expected before accepting a player to the team: Almost weekly work at concession booths at the Stan Sheriff Center, delivering newspapers and phone books, and fundraisers that can include selling food-coupon books and a silent auction.

"It's like a part-time job," he said.

Competition drives many of the teams, regardless of their age.

When teams from the Honolulu Bulls Soccer Club travel, the goal is either to play well or gain the experience to play well next time, said Ian Greene, whose 10-year-old daughter is on a team headed for Southern California in July.

The trip resembles a working vacation, with a carefully prepared schedule that includes scrimmages, diet restrictions (no sodas or sweets) and afternoons in air-conditioned malls to conserve energy.

Soccer is the "clear focus" of the week and coaches make sure the players understand what it takes to succeed, Greene said.

"The whole week is about bonding and building teamwork," he said. "The girls ride together in a team van and stay together. The girls all sit together at meals."

Last year, they went to the PATS Cup soccer tournament — but only went to Disney's California Adventure when they didn't qualify for the second round. This year, they return to the PATS Cup, but they have scheduled time on the afternoon of the last day for an excursion.

"With the Bulls, a lot of the older teams do make regional tournaments and they are traveling multiple times a year," Greene said. "Some of the older teams make two and three trips a year."

It's a big commitment for families, said Greene, a lieutenant colonel in the Army who lives in Kane'ohe. Families must decide if one parent or the whole family will travel, and each family is expected to organize a fundraiser during the year.

GOING FOR BROKE

Even by Bulls standards, the summer trip planned for the club's boys and girls Under 13 teams this year is over the moon. The teams are going to Denmark for the mammoth Dana Cup tournament. Along the way, they'll play matches in Germany.

"Some parents are making this the vacation of a lifetime," said Bill Brennan, whose 13-year-old daughter has played on traveling teams since she was 9.

"Denmark is going to be exotic in that regard. ... I think in Europe we are in for tours of castles."

Naturally, the price tag is hefty: $1,800 for airfare for each player. But each player will be hosted, so lodging and meals are free.

It's the parents, wanting to see their kids play on foreign soil, who have to earn their keep.

"I've sold I don't know how many dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts," said Brennan, who serves as city spokesman. "Hey, we're going to Denmark."

It's worth the effort, though, and why Brennan reserves his vacation days every year to follow his daughter's team. Travel is a good mix of serious and fun. It wouldn't be popular if it wasn't.

And incentive? Sometimes the very isolation that sends teams packing makes them stand a little taller.

"Come game time, they put on their game faces," Brennan said. "They know they are representing Hawai'i, and they know they are from this little state in the middle of the ocean and they don't want to be looked at as inferior."

MAKING THE SACRIFICE PLAY

O'ahu sports teams find ways to travel to the Mainland, sometimes farther.

HAWAII STINGRAYS

Sport: Baseball

Field of dreams: In July 2006, it was Disney's Salute to Baseball in Orlando, Fla. Next year, they will play in the Cooperstown Dreams Park National Invitational Tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Work ethic: Since 2004, the Stingrays have worked concession stands at the Stan Sheriff Center, delivered newspapers and phonebooks, sold food coupon books, organized a baseball clinic and hosted a dinner that featured a silent auction and a raffle. No car washes.

The payoff: When the team traveled to Orlando, each family received $5,000 toward expenses.

Motivation: "We try and stagger some of the things we do, but sometimes they are burned out," said team mom Sharisse Nakasone. "I am sure there are times when you feel you are tired of doing it, and there are other times when you see the kids playing together after games and you think it is worth it."

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS VOLLEYBALL ACADEMY

The sport: Volleyball

Court of dreams: The 34th AAU Girls' Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla., in June.

Work ethic: Monthly car washes, Beard Papa's cream puff sales.

The payoff: Hoping to pay for half the $1,700-per player cost.

The experience: "A lot of teams come over and watch your games," said Lisa Ponce, co-director of the club. "If your team does well, by the third and fourth days you have pretty good crowds. They are all cheering. It's just a really exciting feeling. You can't help but appreciate the game at the next level."

HONOLULU BULLS SOCCER CLUB '97 GIRLS

The sport: Soccer

Field of dreams: PATS Cup in Orange County, Calif., in July.

Work ethic: Two rummage sales brought in almost $3,700. Pizza Hut sales another $700.

The payoff: The goal, with a few weeks left, is $5,000 for the team. Families donated $100 a month for four months to help cover coaching expenses, team vans, gas and some meals.

Of choices and sacrifice: "It is definitely a commitment for the families," said Ian Greene, team manager. "You are taking time off of work. You have to decide if the whole family is going or you split them for a vacation. It is a commitment from them."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.