WOODBURY — Coaches yelling from the sidelines, new team dynamics, intense and precise training. These are all characteristics of a high school sports team.
As a freshmen coming into this new environment, it may be difficult to handle the challenges of more competitive athletics.
“I think the expectations are so much greater in high school. I mean, you are playing for more,” says Josh Kornblut, the Nonnewaug JV boys soccer coach. “You have things like league titles, league tournaments, state tournaments, and so the level of competitiveness is much greater.”
Being a freshman in high school sports can bring many new challenges and opportunities to adjust to. Coming into a new team with many upperclassmen and unfamiliar circumstances can be nerve racking to up and coming players.
“I think the challenges are definitely getting used to doing bigger things, rather than middle school sports, which are more relaxed,” says Payton Brown, a freshman field hockey player. “In high school, you are taking on more responsibility.”
Compared to sports at the middle school, high school athletics can be more draining mentally and physically. These teams train five or six days a week, with games sometimes two or three of those days.
“Playing as a freshman, you could be playing against 17-, 18-year-olds, so that is a huge adjustment,” Kornblut says. “Getting used to that level of play, the size difference, physicality, speed that they have, and really being able to keep up with some of those bigger, stronger athletes [is challenging].”
Part of the adjustment to high school isn’t just about the game itself, but about the people you play it with and the atmosphere around it.
Bryce Gilbert, a freshman soccer player at Nonnewaug, said the upperclassmen on her team helped her adjust.
“Walking towards the field on the first summer practice, I was so nervous, but 10 minutes in, my nerves were eased because the seniors were so welcoming,” Gilbert said. “They were seniors and I was a freshman, but they still made me feel like a valued part of the team.”
