For many students, being an athlete is a part of their identity. They have trained and played since they were young, often times with teammates who have become their classmates and friends. However, a variety of circumstances often result in students discontinuing their pursuit of high school team sports.
Some students, for example, do not return to play a sport after their freshman year due to commitments to extracurriculars and other sports. Sophomore Simone St. Pierre played soccer and skied for the school her freshman year. However, after deciding to play club soccer this year, St. Pierre did not return to ski.
“Soccer started to get more intense,” St. Pierre said. “They started interrupting each other a bit, so it got to the point where I had to choose between the two.”
According to St. Pierre, the decision was not difficult. She said skiing still plays a big role in her life – she and her family ski every weekend so “it’s not too big of a change.”
Similar to St. Pierre, sophomore Patrick Webler played two sports as a freshman. However, when he and his brother joined the New England Ruffnecks baseball club of Needham, Webler decided not to try out for the basketball team as a sophomore. Webler discovered being a part of the Ruffnecks and playing basketball would not leave enough time to do school work and have a social life.
“We have workouts at 6 AM every Sunday morning over at Harvard,” Webler said. “We practice, and that prepares us for the spring season. It’s a series of seven weeks and it’s intense, getting us in shape. All we’ve been doing is training for that. Basketball isn’t my big focus.”
Along with those who decide to focus on one commitment, there are also students who quit due to conflicts within the team. Junior Jen Xu made the varsity soccer team as a freshman; however, halfway through the season, she quit.
“It was a build up of frustration,” Xu said. “I felt like it was hard to talk to the coaches. The players were awesome and I loved them, but with the coaches, I tried to talk to them and it wouldn’t get anywhere. I talked to them about what I was thinking and they were like, ‘Yeah, sure!’ but they never acknowledged it.”
According to Xu, the girls varsity team was on a losing streak in the 2011 season.
“The strategies weren’t working,” Xu said. “When things aren’t working, you gotta change it up.”
Despite quitting freshman year, Xu came back for the 2012 and 2013 seasons because she missed the sport.
“I had to think about what I actually wanted because soccer is good for me,” Xu said. “I put it aside and ignored the differences [between myself and the coaches].”
Although Xu did eventually return, many students do not.
“Well, I do kind of miss it sometimes, because I grew up with doing it, so it feels a little strange. But I think it was time to move on, so it’s all good now,” St. Pierre said.
Pearl Choi and Jason Lammers can be contacted at [email protected].
