The days get shorter and the sun begins to set earlier as winter arrives in Brookline. Sixty-six girls begin their routine of rushing up the stairs up to the pavilion for indoor track practice, where their coaches stand waiting for them.

After finishing their warm ups, the team either runs over to Downes Field or stays in the pavilion for lifting, depending on the weather and workout plan. The number of students who have taken an interest in indoor track has noticeably increased this year, creating one of the largest sports communities at the high school.

According to senior and captain Lyla Baldwin, there are many pros and cons to having such a large group of people competing on the team.

“It’s really fun to have a large team. It’s nice to have diversity on the team, and there are so many new freshmen this year. But it’s also hard to keep track of everyone,” Baldwin said. “You want to be friends with everyone, but it can be hard to get close to people just because there are so many of us. Practices and meets can also get really hectic sometimes.”

The girls track team is no-cut, so all students are welcome and encouraged to join the team and will make the team if they want to.

Girls indoor track coach Lee Eddy has been coaching track at the high school since 2007. He initially coached the boys team for two years but eventually became head coach of the girls team. Currently, he works with assistant coaches Adrienne Pascucci and Michael DeYoung.

Eddy said that he loves how track being a no-cut sport has led to a large number of athletes signing up, and expects them to show up and work hard at what they do.

“I tell the kids that it is a no-cut sport, but if they don’t come to practice or if they come to practice every day with a bad attitude and they don’t want to do the work, I would first encourage them to do better. But if they still didn’t want to do better, I would suggest that this team is not for them,” Eddy said.

Baldwin said the number of people who signed up contributed to a more differing team than usual, with people of all different specialties working and training together.

“A lot of people do indoor track to stay in shape for their other sports. Some people play lacrosse in the spring, so they run indoor track to prepare for their season, and then also a lot of people do it just to try it because running is a good sport to try out,” Baldwin said.

Senior Zara Sideeka said that at times, she feels some barriers within the team, as they are less close-knit than other teams. However, this does not stop them from creating a strong and healthy team culture, she said, especially when individual students make an effort to reach out to others.

“What happens is that sprinters and distance kids can get very separated, so you don’t get to know everyone as well. But there are times when we all get to be together, like when we run warm up laps I get to talk to the sprinters, which is nice because I don’t usually get to see them as much,” Sideeka said.

Eddy said the team’s large range of skill levels contributes to the positive team environment he hopes to maintain throughout the season.

“Our abilities are varied. We have kids that are state level, excellent athletes who win state championships. And we also have kids coming in who have never run before. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t be where the ‘state champions’ are eventually, just that they are still finding their way,” Lee said. “All that we ask of people is that everybody comes and they do the best they can at all times.”