For student athletes at North, their participation in sports has greatly affected their lives. While some will continue to pursue their sport after high school and some will not, their last seasons at North are an important landmark.
Many senior athletes have been playing sports since they were young and continued that path into high school, but their final season has been different than any of those in the past.
“I’ve been playing football since first grade,” said senior Jake Furtney, varsity football and boys basketball player. “I played a lot harder [this season] because I knew every week it could be my last.”
While looking back on their experiences, some seniors point out how important their sports have been in preparing them for the future.
“The biggest takeaway is learning how to work in a team and learning how to manage my time well, which is needed to be successful in college,” said Marissa Swierkosz, senior girls swim and dive captain and varsity water polo player.
The life skills athletes have learned through their sports has helped them and will continue to help them in the future.
“[Baseball has] taught me a lot about routine,” said senior Andrew Good, varsity baseball player. “Now I like studying every day, it just translates so much outside of sports.”
Sports have also given many students an opportunity to connect with other athletes and coaches.
“Not only [have cross country and track] given me something to look forward to after school, but it’s also helped me make friends with people I normally wouldn’t hang around or people I wouldn’t have a chance to see in school,” said senior Will Stone, varsity cross country and track athlete.
These unlikely friendships can be incredibly important to students both inside and outside of sports, giving them a community at North.
“Enjoy it while it’s there. You don’t get these opportunities to play these games with your friends,” said Furtney. “I’ve made most of my friends from football and basketball, so having those opportunities is amazing.”
As the winter and spring seasons approach, senior athletes are preparing to end their high school careers, and possibly their entire time in sports, on a high note.
“I’m thinking that it could possibly be the last season of my career, [so] I’m putting everything into it,” said Good. “I’m doing everything I can just to show out for the last time.”
With how much their sports have affected them, some student athletes do not know what to expect once their seasons are over.
“It’ll be weird coming home from school, I don’t have anything to look forward to,” said Furtney. “But it’ll be weird, definitely.”
However, the senior athletes already know that they will miss the team and sport that made such a big impact on them.
“I’m going to be really upset… It’s a team sport,” said Swierkosz. “And I think that we as a team are a bit closer because of that aspect, and I can just imagine me getting out of the pool for the last time and it’s gonna be really hard to leave that team in the game.”
