The agenda for many college kids going on a trip to Acapulco during winter break might include lots of umbrella drinks, the beach and maybe some swimming.

Not for the Kansas swimming team.

The Jayhawks’ training trip to Mexico featured lots of swimming, and of course the beach, but no stops at local bars.

“It’s a training trip, definitely not Club Med,” said first-year KU coach Clark Campbell. “We got in a great period of training and a chance to bond.”

The trip seems to have paid off so far because Kansas opened the second half of its season last weekend with victories against both Nebraska and Louisville in Lincoln, Neb. Today the Jayhawks will be back at Robinson Natatorium for their 3 p.m. home opener against Colorado State and Minnesota.

Despite the strict training schedule in Acapulco, which included morning and night routines in an Olympic-sized outdoor pool in 90-degree temperatures, the Jayhawks managed to sneak in some fun on their eight-day adventure south of the border.

“There was definitely a whole lot of work, but we really did get to have some fun,” said senior Gwen Haley, who said that in addition to events like parasailing and jetskiing, the team got to travel everywhere in brightly painted, vintage American school buses. “There was some sun and fun, too.”

Leaving cold Kansas for a warm location during winter break has become a Kansas tradition. In the last two years, the team has traveled to Florida and California for training, but Campbell said he got a cheaper rate through a friend and couldn’t pass up the beautiful location.

But Campbell, a former swimmer and assistant coach for the Jayhawks, said his team got to see the other side of Mexico, too. Not too far from the team hotel was the city — a sight he said many of his swimmers hadn’t expected.

“It’s a big city, with big-city problems in a third-world country,” Campbell said. “They saw things they would never see in America, poverty beyond belief. I think they’ve come back with a whole new level of appreciation for what they have in the U.S., which was a great life lesson.”

It was the only learning the Jayhawks experienced.

Campbell is Kansas’ third coach in the last four years. He said the trip offered the chance for swimmers to get used to his philosophy, but more important to bond with him, each other and new assistant coaches Brad Szurgot and Katie Cowan.