Something New

By Jillian Williams | April 29, 2021 | Sports

Sports are a staple of life at Stanton College Preparatory School. Attending football games and showing school spirit at pep rallies full of screaming students wearing their class colors are a fundamental part of the traditional Stanton experience. However, with the cancellation of competitions and the institution of new safety policies to combat the coronavirus, sports teams this year have struggled to find their footing among the new regulations. Despite this, some students have taken the changes as an opportunity to branch out and try a new sport.

Similar to other schools throughout the country, Stanton’s sports programs have struggled throughout the year due to safety constraints. As a result, students and parents were hesitant to participate, especially those who are attending school virtually. Since sports teams practice and compete without masks and involve close contact with others, students were apprehensive about the safety of athletes and the risk of contracting COVID-19 during practices or games. While high school students may not be the most at-risk age group, COVID-19 deaths were still rising at the beginning of the school year and sports presented a very real risk.

Team sports such as lacrosse and softball initially did not have enough players to compete and have put more effort into recruiting students on their teams to have enough players this year. At the end of January, coach Andrew Cristovich advertised the open spots on the girls lacrosse team in the courtyards during lunch, encouraging students who were not familiar with the sport to try out. This stands in stark contrast to the way sports traditionally start, with tryouts that include cuts to narrow down teams. Rather than narrowing down the best players to be on their teams this year, coaches were scrambling to fill open spots.

The softball team also publicized their incomplete team roster after tryouts, using social media to recruit students to join regardless of experience. To fill their empty positions, they utilized the Student Activities page on Microsoft Teams, which every student at Stanton has access to. The use of Teams and social media platforms helped reach more students, including those at home who were not present for in-school announcements and advertising, encouraging them to try out. 

Sports teams offer a myriad of other benefits that help influence students' decision to join. With now having to overcome the challenges of online learning and life during a pandemic, playing a sport is an optimal strategy for students to relieve stress and maintain social connections in a world where interactions are limited. Additionally, sports can be listed in college applications as an activity to gain potential scholarships or finish out hours for awards. As a result, students felt compelled to join sports for the thrill of trying something new and being part of a team.

In the midst of such difficult times, these students were able to grow despite obstacles and branch out to try something new. Although these athletes experienced setbacks to their learning from the coronavirus and accompanying precautions, they were all able to learn and improve in their sport, having many successes.

Haley McCoy (Varsity Weightlifting) (11th)

This year, junior Haley McCoy was a first time competitor on the varsity weightlifting team. She joined the team because of her interest in working out and getting stronger. Starting out with no experience, she had to learn the sport from scratch.

“I really like working out and it seemed like a good opportunity to improve myself” said McCoy, however practicing the sport was a learning experience. “At first I could barely lift the bar, I dropped the bar multiple times in meets and a few times on myself in practice.”

Lifting weights in a competitive setting demanded new physical effort from McCoy, requiring her to practice and train in order to improve. She experienced many setbacks at the start, dropping the bar and struggling to lift the weights. McCoy persevered through her initial adversity with a strong resolve and desire to reach her goals. Her determination paid off when, despite being a first time competitor, McCoy placed sixth at regionals.

 “I was honestly very shocked [when I placed at regionals],” said McCoy.  “It was my first year and I didn’t think I was going to get as far as I did.”

McCoy placed with her overall score from benching, clean, and jerk, competing against athletes from across the region. She saw drastic improvement from the beginning of the season and at regionals, she was almost able to lift her own weight. 

“I had the best experience with support from my team and coaches,” said McCoy, “It’s such a welcoming team and a really great environment. I also felt a lot of self-fulfillment after reaching certain goals for myself.”

Starting out with no experience, McCoy is an example of a student who persevered through difficulties to be successful in taking on a new sport. She plans to compete again next year.

Ethan Alesch (Varsity Football) (12th)

Ethan Alesch was a member of the varsity football team this year, trying the sport for the first time as a senior. After participating in a number of sports throughout his high school career, including soccer, basketball, baseball, and track and field, Alesch decided to try football this year as his last opportunity before graduating.

"I have played almost every sport besides football,” said Alesch. “I decided since it was senior year it would be fun if I were to play since I had always wanted to. I had an amazing experience. All the coaches were extremely helpful in coaching me to be the best I could be.”

Alesch struggled to learn in the beginning of the season and the team had a rough season after being forced to omit their summer camp and practices due to COVID-19 restrictions. Even after the season started, it was hard for newer players like Alesch to learn many skills with the emphasis on limiting contact between players.

"It was hard to get good at tackling because we had to limit contact due to COVID-19,” said Alesch.

As a result of these restrictions, he had to practice more in order to learn and harness the skills that require contact with other players. The entire team struggled to regain their footing throughout the season, losing many games leading up to their final game against Zarephath Academy on Oct. 30. The team was anxious starting the final game, but were able to come out with a win, an exciting end to their difficult season. Alesch was the starting cornerback for the game and was able to make an interception, a major success for his season.

  “Crushing Zarephath was my favorite experience because it was amazing to see the whole team happy and celebrating after the game,” said Alesch. “I was extremely joyful to know that I played a crucial role in our win.”

Considering it was his first time playing, Alesch was able to quickly pick up the sport and became a vital part of the football team this year. Starting out with such little experience, Alesch made noticeable gain by working his way up to being a starter in their final game, demonstrating how students can be successful in trying something new.

Emily Christovich (Varsity Lacrosse) (9th)

Freshman Emily Christovich followed in the footsteps of both her older brother and sister in deciding to join the varsity lacrosse team this year. She was able to learn the sport fairly quickly by practicing with her sister, senior Chloe Christovich, before the season started. 

"I really wanted to try something new, and lacrosse was something that to me, seemed like something that wasn't as popular and a smaller team would mean a bigger bond,” said Christovich. “While there’s a lot to learn and it’s kind of a complex sport, it’s been a lot of fun thanks to the rest of the team. Everyone has been helpful and they totally recognize that I'm still learning, and they're really sweet about that.”

Christovich and her team experienced setbacks from the start of their season. On Feb. 9, the entire team was forced to quarantine until Feb. 13 due to members of the team testing positive for COVID-19, causing their first game to be postponed. Despite the hindrances, Christovich remained optimistic, practicing at home with her older sister during lunch periods and after school.

"It was hard getting quarantined, but it really gave me an opportunity to practice more with my sister,” said Christovich. “Whenever I get something right or notice myself getting better at something, I consider all of that a success and I'm still having a lot of fun.”

Christovich saw success on March 1, when the team played against Ponte Vedra High School in their third game of the season. In the last half of the game, she was put in for defense, gaining her first real in-game experience. Then, on March 4, the team experienced another huge success when they defeated Mandarin High School. The team is looking forward to many more big games as their season continues.

“I definitely figured out what I needed to work on but I was really proud of myself for getting out there and doing my best,” said Christovich.

Christovich has been successful in trying lacrosse for the first time this year, being able to not only learn the rules and strategies of the sport but also gaining experience playing the game, despite hindrances from the pandemic. She plans to continue playing lacrosse for the rest of her high school years.