As most people in the middle school have gotten used to their spring sport, I thought it would be interesting to interview different students in the athletic options to see what they thought of it and to hear about their their overall experiences. I went through the list of all the middle school athletic options, hoping to interview one person from each of them to get a glimpse of what people think.
On a scale of one to ten, how much do you enjoy the sport that you participate in?
Oliver (Tennis): Eight.
Sarah Leonard (Track): Eight.
Nia Brooks (Lacrosse): Seven.
Veronica Barrera (Softball/Baseball): Seven.
Why have you chosen that number? What are the pros and cons?
Oliver (Tennis): I just really like tennis and it’s better than all the other options.
Sarah Leonard (Track): I kind of like to run. I find running calming. So I like it when we can just run for a certain amount of time.
Nia Brooks (Lacrosse): I like the team. Everyone is equal, like, on other sports I’ve been in, like, only the eighth graders can lead stretches, but in Lacrosse, anyone can.
Veronica Barrera (Softball/Baseball): It involves running. I don’t like running. I hate it. It’s just throwing a ball around. So I guess it’s, an easier sport. It’s chill.
What is your favorite thing about being in that sport?
Oliver Angert (Tennis): I like to be able to play against other people, especially on a team.
Sarah Leonard (Track): I don’t really know. I guess I just like how calming it is.
Nia Brooks (Lacrosse): It’s really chill.
Veronica Barrera (Softball/Baseball): I guess, it’s chill. That’s my favorite thing.
Is there anything you think could be improved about your sport?
Oliver (Tennis): Nope.
Sarah Leonard (Track): Not really. I don’t think so.
Nia Brooks (Lacrosse): No, I don’t think so.
Veronica Barrera (Softball/Baseball): The coaches are strict. Really strict and not very welcoming to newcomers, which I am.
Is there any sport that you wish was included this year for spring athletics that wasn’t?
Oliver (Tennis): Curling.
Sarah Leonard (Track): No, not really.
Nia Brooks (Lacrosse): No
Veronica Barrera (Softball/Baseball): Biking. I know that’s not really an option, but, yeah.
After the interviews, I wanted to know how many kids in the Middle School, were in each sport so I headed down to the Athletic Director, Ms. Crowley to see if she had answers and she did. This is a chart showing what she told me.
| Sport | Number of Kids Participating |
| Softball + Baseball | 26 |
| Lacrosse | 19 |
| Tennis (A, B + C) | 32 |
| Track | 65 |
Of course this is just a small glimpse at how kids feel about their sport and is simply opinionated, but it definitely gives us an idea of what goes on during athletics and how it is perceived by those playing and how popular they are among students.
Thanks for reading!
By Violet Babb ’24