Freshman Year Sports by Heather Holick

-
Freshman year I played volleyball, basketball and softball. All three sports seasons were remotely different, including different people, different atmospheres, and different coaches. Prior to the summer before freshman year I had never played volleyball. My whole life I've played softball on travel and club teams year round. The only advantage of having played softball when it comes to volleyball is in serving because your arm tends to be stronger from throwing, other then that the sports are completely incomparable. Throughout the season our team had many ups and downs but my teammates and Tobin really made it enjoyable. I had never played a sport that doesn't have a time limit aspect in one way or another. In volleyball in order to win, you have to get a set amount of points. In this case its 3 sets of 25 points. Which to me is one of the most interesting things about it because you dont lose or win a set until that 25th point is scored. Plus even if you do lose the first set, the game isn't over. You are given the opportunity to redeem yourself in the second and third sets. In sports like basketball or softball after an inning or quarter the score doesn't just go back to 0-0, you don't get the opportunity to start over in that way which is why volleyball is so unique to me.
Basketball was an adventure to say the least. Our team lacked skills considering the season started off with a 55 to 6 loss but I've never been on a team that improved so significantly as the season went on. My teammates specifically Katie Groome made basketball so entertaining. I distinctly remember a time where she was trying to set a screen but instead of stopping before the player she completely ran her over making everyone laugh on and off the court. It was my favorite sport last year because it was more of a learning experience than a competition. Lollgen was our basketball coach and evidently this year is my history teacher. What makes him a really good coach and teacher is he really gets the know all his players and students. He's very laid back which created an environment where we as players weren't afraid to make mistakes. 


As for softball I only played in one game and a couple practices the whole season because I was injured. Although I didn't get the opportunity to play last year, I have been playing the sport since I was in first grade. I have played in so many tournaments and games throughout my life and it will always be my overall favorite sport because to me there's nothing like getting a great hit or sliding into home to win a game. Through these sports I have created such great friendships and learned so many valuable life lessons. All three of these sports taught me so much and overall made freshman year really fun. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grace vs. the Tortoise - by Grace McDonough

-
Image
I haven't formed my thoughts about this school year yet because it's only the second day but my first day was straight fire. I got to reunite with the friends and meet my teachers and all the good stuff but I did burst into tears after school because I realized that I do actually have to go back every day. Not mentally prepared yet. I may have also just started sobbing because I woke up at 5:30 a.m. but I'm sure I'll have worse states of delirium as the year progresses. In all honesty, every first day of school has been the same for me since I became a sentient being somewhere around the second grade. All of the teachers ask if I'm related to my siblings who graduated long before me and have apparently left a legacy for me to fulfill. It does get a bit stressful, considering how my new teachers might adjust to me just not being as funny or creative or talented as my older brother and sister. School does have it's charming though. I desperately wanted summer to l...
Read more

Not Fate, Just a Coincidence - Sila Paniker

-
Image
The idea of fate confuses me. I don't really understand how something will happen no matter what you do. It just seems very unlikely. I think we're constantly making choices that lead to occurrences. We make so many decisions a day that it seems impossible that fate can find a way around it all.  Awhile ago, I saw something called the Butterfly Effect, which doesn't exactly relate to fate but it makes sense to me. The idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the world. Essentially, small changes can have large impacts. In my head, this connects with the thousands of tiny decisions we subconsciously make each day. There are people I've met or things that have happened and it feels like it was meant to be but they're just a bunch of coincidences that had the ability to change everything. Thinking about it, there are reasons that can explain everything. For example, I met one of my closest friends a few years ago a...
Read more

Effects of a Positive Mental Attitude on the Student Populace -Jack Maraziti

-
Image
Many kids, including teens, often second guess themselves either in school or on the sports field.  But what good comes out of that?  Recent studies prove that when people have a positive mental attitude toward a topic, it will increase the effectiveness of the brain and probability of success. In 2018, Stanford School of Medicine conducted a study with 240 students ages seven to ten.  47 students were analyzed using an MRI while doing basic math.  The results were outstanding!  Students who had a positive attitude toward the subject of Math were found to have a more active hippocampus.  The hippocampus is a part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.  Lang Chen, leading author of the study stated, "...the unique contribution of positive attitude to math achievement is as large as the contribution from IQ."  This reveals that when students are have a positive attitude toward a subject in school, they are more likely to retain informat...
Read more