WOODBURY – “Sports have taught me life lessons that I won’t forget,” says Nonnewaug senior and former field hockey and lacrosse player Kyleigh Paige.
People have all different reasons for playing sports. This can be because a friend joined, staying in shape during the offseason, wanting to have something to do after school, or because they can see themselves continuing this sport in the future.
Everyone has their own story to write. Athletes, past or present, all started their story with sports.
Why Sports?
Sports have grown significantly at Nonnewaug. Every year, a lot of teams see a growth in attendance. But why do people join?
“I haven’t played sports all my life, but throughout high school I was continually encouraged by those around me, influencing me to just try a sport,” says senior track and field athlete Grace Schmidheini. “After all the encouragement, I chose to try track and field in the spring of my junior year. I ended up loving it and being okay at it and chose to continue it.”
Even coaches are surprised with the amount of people who join. They think it’s good that more people are interested.
“Right now I have about 40 signed up, but I know I have about seven or eight that are my tried-and-true,” says Deb Flaherty, the boys outdoor track and field coach. “I’ll be between 45 and 50 kids this year compared to last year with 43 kids, which if you think about it, is pretty big for a team.”
Arleigh Duff, the head coach for the girls track teams, shares that it is good that people are joining the team.
“When I first started in the ’90s, there used to be around 40 girls that would sign up,” says Duff. “Then we went through a phase where we had numbers drop to the 20s, and it just proceeded to get lower and lower. Then one year I remember we had 12. This all happened right after the COVID year. Ever since then the numbers have grown.”
The Perks
Every sport has a perk. It can be getting first place at a competition, or winning the biggest game of the season. Another big accomplishment is continuing one’s athletic career to the next level.
“I reached out to coaches at the university and asked about their athletics,” says Schmidheini. “They told me that they are a D-III school and have a track and field team. I was interested and continued to contact the coach. After many conversations, they welcomed me onto the team for my freshman year.”
It’s a huge accomplishment that should be celebrated to be able to play at the next level. But that’s not the only perk of a sport.
For example, the NHS baseball team won the Class M state championship back in 2023. They worked hard for that win, and proved that they deserved it.
“We were pretty excited … because we worked so hard for it,” says Ray Lomax, a sophomore in the baseball program at the time. “It meant a lot for the program, and it was also the first [state championship win] as well.”
Even though Schmidheini hasn’t been playing sports for very long, she decided to try indoor track. This year was the first year that the Berkshire League held indoor track championships. She took home a gold medal in shot put, being the first female BL indoor track shot put champion.
“I was balancing a lot that day, from a church competition on the line as well as the track team’s win overall. It was a responsibility that I understood and did my best to balance both events,” says Schmidheini. “Showing up to championships, I had an expectation of potentially not winning, but after my third throw, I felt more confident about a potential win. In finals, I ended up not doing as well as I thought, doubting whether I took home the win or not. When they called my name over the speaker to collect my first-place medal saying I have won the shot put event, I was elated and it made all the hard work worth it.”
The Lows
With every perk, there’s always a counter. It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. There will be some cloudy days as well. Athletes need to find their way around these hiccups, but sometimes it’s hard to navigate through it.
“I personally just didn’t find enjoyment in the sport anymore,” says Paige. “For the amount of pressure that was being put on me and as a senior, I decided that I would rather just enjoy my senior year and not be stressed out and worried about a sport that didn’t really capture my interest anymore.”
Losing the love for your sport can be heartbreaking, even if the person was playing that sport since they were little. But that’s not the only heartbreak that can be endured through sports. Athletes experience make-or-break moments. Accomplishments come so close, but then at the end, they fall just out of their reach.
“Last year for outdoor [Berkshire League] championships, it came down to the last throw where I PR’d, and I thought I could win the meet,” says senior three-sport athlete Emma Jackson. “However, on my competitor’s last throw, she beat me by one foot. I was disappointed because I thought I could win, but in the end, I was happy for her win and my PR.”
Why Mental Health Matters
Most athletes experience some type of moment that can alter their perspective on sports as a whole. For some, it’s just a drop in a bucket, while for others it can be a consuming flood that seems to never end.
“Throughout my time in sports, the struggle of comparison and confidence sometimes felt never ending,” says Schmidheini. “It was the constant cycle of comparing myself to others which brought down my confidence as an athlete overall. But I slowly overcame that obstacle with time as I realized in myself that being an athlete means more than a constant comparison with others.”
Maybe it wasn’t always a comparison, but just other commitments that were made prior.
“Being an [FFA] officer last year, my junior year really messed me up because I would have to miss practices for FFA things, and then I would have to miss FFA things for practices and games, and it was very hard to balance it all,” Paige adds. “I like to think that I did it well, but I didn’t want to have to balance everything. I definitely felt burnt out towards the end of the season after running from thing to thing, especially when I played field hockey. I wouldn’t get home sometimes ’til like 9:00 and then I’d have homework to do and then I would have an FFA thing to do like the next morning.”
Balancing commitments that people make in many areas can be hard. It’s not an easy task, especially for high schoolers.
Setbacks
Setbacks are pretty common for sports. It can range from a mental block or an injury. For injuries, it can take a while before an athlete gets back to 100%. An injury can also affect someone’s mindset, like their ability in the future.
“From personal experience, injuries can unquestionably affect your mindset,” says junior Olivia Gwiazdowski, who has been out the past two basketball seasons due to injuries. “I have been injured the last two basketball seasons and have definitely second guessed my ability to play and the level I will be at when I come back. It just means I have to be willing to put the extra work in for the next season.”
A mental block can be another big setback as well. It can affect the way you play, and how you see sports.
“Since my concussion, playing goalie feels completely different,” says freshman soccer player Jocelyn McDougall. “I used to react instinctively, diving without hesitation, but now I freeze up. When a hard shot comes at me or a striker charges in, doubt creeps in, and that split-second hesitation changes everything.”
“I’m afraid of getting hurt again, so I second-guess plays I used to make without thinking,” McDougall continues. “Instead of trusting my instincts, I hold back, trying to protect myself. I want to break through this mental block and play with confidence again, but right now, the fear is still there, keeping me from being the goalie I used to be.”
Not only can a mental block make someone second guess their abilities, it can also bring doubt.
“When I have a bad performance day, I view myself as someone who knows I can do better, and I have a hard time continuing because of my mistakes,” says Schmidheini. “I also compare myself constantly so if I’m not doing well to this standard of perfection I hold myself to. I also perform even worse because I get in my head.”
Lessons and Connections
Sports bring athletes both a family and life lessons. The team one plays with for two or three months can teach important lessons about leadership and teamwork.
“Sports definitely taught me teamwork, but it also taught me leadership,” says Paige. “Sports are a different realm, like when you’re in the middle of a play on the field, you can’t sit down and talk about it. You can’t talk about what you want to do at this moment. Instead, you have to quickly decide what you want to do, and be able to communicate with people on the fly. Benign with a team so long you start to have a good sense of your team. You can know if you’re yelling at someone on the team, and they realize you’re not yelling at them but you’re yelling at them to do something.”
Life lessons play a big role after graduation or taking a step back from the sport, helping to envision situations more clearly. Sports not only bring athletes a family, but they can teach people lessons that will stick with them for most of their life.
“I think the biggest life lesson I suppose or maybe just like something valuable I’ve learned is it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are,” Paige concludes. “It matters that you want to work hard for your team and for who you are.”
