WOODBURY — Trying new things opens a gateway for opportunity, especially in sports.
With the start of the spring season, several students have joined a sport they have never played, meaning there are more students showing up and possibly expecting playing time.
However, just trying out for a sport thinking it’s a walk in the park is not a good mindset to have. In reality, every sport has its own challenges.
Katie Farrell, a senior tennis captain, thinks it’s OK to do a sport for fun, but it’s important to not discount the fact that some athletes pride themselves in their sport, taking it seriously.
“More and more people joining are just girls expecting to play varsity, [but] we just don’t have enough spots for everyone,” Farrell said. “A lot of players don’t even know how to play, so I think that the expectation [to play] varsity isn’t really too high.”
Junior Olivia Gwiazdowski, a tennis player, sees eye to eye with Farrell on how there aren’t too many negatives to the growing number of players.
“The only negative angle can be not getting as much playing time as you would like, but everyone will get to play eventually and get their turn,” Gwiazdowski said. “You’ll develop as a player throughout your years.”
Farrell agrees that there are benefits to increased turnout.
“However, I think it’s so great that more and more people are signing up,” Farrell adds. “It’s important that the sport keeps growing and that new people learn how to play because they can play their entire life.”
Starting fresh isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Students can end up finding a sport they love and want to pursue. For example, Annalie Taylor, a sophomore, just recently joined tennis.
“I joined tennis as a sophomore because I just really wanted to try something new,” Taylor said. “I think it’s a good way for me to get exercise, and since all my friends play I wanted to have fun, too.”
Sophomore Erin O’Leary adds that new sports are intriguing by the way they look and sound.
“I chose to join tennis because I’ve heard it’s just really fun and the relationships are really good on the team, and with other sports I’ve played it wasn’t like that,” O’Leary said.
Senior captain Kelly Farrell points out the challenge to having inexperienced players join a team.
“You have to put more work in with having girls who aren’t as experienced and who don’t know the expectations yet,” Kelly Farrell said. “It’s a little more work, but it will pay off.”
Even when more students are signing up for new school sports and opportunities, some of those sports don’t really have enough players. Laila Jones, a junior lacrosse player, is at the other end of the stick. For this year’s girls lacrosse team, there are just more than enough people to fill the starting lineup — leaving only three subs on the sideline.
“It hurts us number-wise because it’s hard when you’re trying to have a varsity team and JV team when you only have 15 girls, meaning there’s only three subs,” Jones said. “It’s just hard on the people that have to run and stay conditioned because there’s not really any more available options. It can also be scary because kids can get hurt and we don’t have the girls to back them up.”
Just this past season, Travis Jones decided to join the swim team his junior year, which turned out to be a great experience filled with memories.
“I chose to do it because I really didn’t do much with my winter season in the past,” Jones said. “I had friends that did swim and recommended that I do it because they had done it for a few years and enjoyed it, so I figured I would enjoy it too, and it ended up being a fun season.”
Being a part of a team can end up being the best decision a student can make during any year of school. Overall, athletes agree it’s a good thing that kids want to try new opportunities.
“It’s great not only to just build their skills in the sport but they are able to be a part of a team,” Kelly Farrell said. “I think it’s good for the future of this team whenever we go because it means at least there’s some sort of structure.”
