Middle School Fall Sports Roundup

 

It was a great season for volleyball. Twenty-one girls played at the JV level, so we split the girls into two teams, a Grade 6 team and a Grade 7/8 team. Twelve girls from Grades 6, 7 and 8 played at the Varsity level. With only two returning players from last year's Varsity team, this season could easily be viewed as a building year. But the building moved along quickly. Both the JV (7-5 overall) and Varsity (6-3) had winning seasons, and the attitude of the players on all three teams was positive throughout the season. Several coaches and athletic directors at other schools mentioned how much they like playing us, even when we beat them, because of our fun spirit. Indeed, the girls were happily supportive of each other, and improvement was widely evident - from 6th grade girls pushing themselves to learn an overhand serve to Varsity players learning how to move and cover each other in their more complex rotation scheme. They also learned to succeed by building a solid foundation that has led to a successful volleyball experience.

 

The high points for JV often came when the girls successfully completed a pass, a set, and then a spike, which was something that happened much more frequently as the season progressed. For Varsity the high point was more a cumulation of wins, which perhaps wasn't expected because of the number of girls new to the Varsity level. Next year, there are five players returning to the Varsity team, and with many JV players eager to step in, we're looking forward to having the winning tradition continue.

 

JV1 – Katherine Christensen, Paisley Cristobal, Merryn Coumou, Tess Gandhi, Maeve Hunt, Ananya Kukreja, Soni Nigam, Maya Robinson, Ella Salam, Kayleigh Shaw

 

JV2 – Bailey Black, Ellie Crist, Emily Fecliciano, Eva Gleitz, Kayla Mathurin, Sitara McMillan, Emily Perrin, Cora Shandrow, Allison Fitz, Anni Liu, Anjali Roland

 

Varsity – Grace Donahue, Lauren Jangard, Alexandra Bessler, Jade Cheatham, Abby Givens, Lilly Gray, Elisabeth Connett, Imani Gant, Sarah Harper, Jaskiran Pental, Eliana Sunderland

 

- JV Coaches Kyle Price and Mackenzie Jones, and Varsity Coach Lexi Ross

Our middle school cross-country team had an incredible season. Every single runner gained speed, endurance and mental strength as they trained daily for long distance runs, hills, and core conditioning. Students were initially challenged with the length of our runs, but developed the confidence and ability to complete up to four miles of steady and consistent running. All the hard work paid off at our District Championship at Fort Steilacoom this past Tuesday when our 7^th and 8^th grade girls took home the first place award as League Champions! At district meets, the lowest score wins. Of the ten schools competing, Annie Wright girls scored less than half of any other team. It was a clean sweep!  For the 7^th and 8^th grade girls, 8^th grader Anna Haddad took 4^th place with a time of 9:13, while 7^th grader Sophie Jeter took 5^th place with a time of 9:38.  For the 6^th grade boys, Ranbir Pental took home the ribbon for 4^th place with a time of 10:48.  Julia Henning took home the ribbon for 5^th place in the 6^th grade girls race with a time of 10:33. Lena Friend volunteered as assistant coach and was an invaluable source of encouragement, knowledge, and preparation for our off campus runs. Each runner shaved significant time off his or her personal records, encouraged their teammates, and had positive attitudes throughout the season (even when battling some of Tacoma’s toughest hills). Job well done Gators! 

 

Roster: Erica Chen, Cecilia Cobbs, Mia Dobbins, Natalie Fah, Michelle Foster, Aalia Gomez, Anna Haddad, Julia Hanly, Emma Harrison, Julia Henning, Sophia Jeter, Katye Majora, Blake Nygren, James Parrott, Ranbir Pental, Anna Salam, Emily Smith, Elle Svensson-Stewart, Eleanor Tanbara, Ethan Wasyluka, Jessica Zou

 

The boys' team started their season with the expectation, with seven talented club players and a four-year winning streak, that they would roll over all opposing teams and become league champions. That did not happen. Why? More than guaranteeing a winning team, it is my responsibility to make the Middle School soccer program valuable to all players, as well as to promote an atmosphere in which the boys have fun learning, practicing and competing. They should feel safe, respected and important.

 

The ages of 12 to 14 are a key stage of development as an individual and potentially as an athlete. At this age the bulk of the physical work we do is on skills acquisition and health-related fitness improvement. We are also focusing, however, on the intellectual and social-psychological development of the young person.

 

What is the take home message? I do not believe that there is too much to be learned from losing. It is the opposite; there is more to be learned from winning. The team did plenty of that, with a record of six wins, one tie and on loss. At this stage of development, however, it is crucial to allow athletes to express their opinions and try new skills and concepts in a competitive and dynamic environment.

 

New this year: At the end of the season the boys made presentations based on inquiry projects. Each student had the freedom to choose and research any topic related to soccer. Those topics could be a reflection of their performance during the season, research on a particular player, study of style and tactics of play, fitness and soccer, team dynamics, leadership and more. Listening to these boys' presentations, it became clear to me how smart they are. They really took the project to heart. I was mesmerized by the depth of their interest and their understanding of complex concepts. I was really impressed by the hours they put in completing the project. Complex concepts like fatigue and skill acquisition, socio-psychological dynamics of the team, and leadership were presented with incredible understanding and passion. This was one of the brightest classes I have ever taught.

- Coach Emil Verbovski