As titans, we make up a diverse community where everybody goes through experiences differently. There are many differences, including gender, what sports they play, and if they are in a leadership position or not. As a group, we interviewed three athletes from within the Hall community, all of whom have had many different and shared experiences within the sports that they play.

Seth Cooke(Grade 12) is a lacrosse player and he spoke about the many benefits and opportunities that the lacrosse program offered him. One of the things he was really happy about was all of the connections and friendships that the lacrosse program provided him. “I made a lot of friends on the team that I would not have made if I didn’t play.” Looking forward to his senior season, Seth is excited to help the team and lead the team to a better record as a senior. “As seniors, we have to lead the underclassmen and show them the right way to do things.” 

As Kevin Brown(Grade 12) finished up his final hole at the end of his senior golf season, he recalled all his emotions. “Golf has been so special to me and that last day was a bittersweet ending.” As captain of the golf team, Kevin went through a lot of adversity throughout the season. “I did miss a lot of school because of golf… it was a lot of hard work.” He also explained how he had to “set an example for the rest of the team”, as since there isn’t much teamwork in golf, you have to try your best to motivate your teammates around you. The main takeaway that he got from playing golf though, is that there is no better way to make connections with other people than playing sports. “Sports will make your friendships stronger, and allow you to meet new friends that you probably would have never met before.” 

Julia Seguro(Grade 12)  is a star swimmer and is just about done with her season. She talked about her love for swimming at a young age and how it pushed her to become a better swimmer. “I have to teach the underclassmen skills to help improve their time. Being a senior is sometimes stressful and the pressure you have on yourself can be more than others.” Not only has she improved herself but she also has to lead the underclassmen to get them to succeed as well. They spend a lot of time together and get to know every person on the team which is important to the overall improvement of the team. One of the upsides was her ability to balance schoolwork and sports. She said that she “was able to complete homework after school and practices were mainly at night so I could come home and complete any work and then get to practice.” Night practices gave her time after school to get to her work making it easier to balance sports and school. 

As you can see, there is no one definition of a Hall athlete. Each individual has put so much time and effort into their respective sport, and they all have had different but equally impactful outcomes. Through our interviews, it is clear that being an athlete at Hall has numerous positive outcomes. Even if they do not continue to play these sports through college, the connections and positive experiences made throughout their time at Hall will last a lifetime.