Everyone talks about the big games and all the accomplishments during the season, but no one talks about how you get to those. So many extra hours go into these extra activities that no one sees, but it all shows and shows how hard work really pays off. Being a student is hard enough, but adding an activity or sport can make it even more stressful. 

Many kids find themselves practicing before or after practice, not just when it’s mandatory. When playing sports you can’t just expect to be good, you have to put in hours and hours by yourself, even if it’s just little things. Coaches see the hard work during the pre-seasons and the effort of working hard. 

Kearsley has many sports starting up again to start off our winter season. For instance, basketball, bowling for both girls and boys, competitive cheer, wrestling, and more.  So many teams have talent this season and have goals to accomplish bigger and better things this year. 

Senior, Lorenza Cefalo stated, “this season is ours.” This cheer season the girls want to represent Kearsley in the best way possible. We have many goals set and hope to further the competitiveness of this sport and grow as a team to get better every day. These girls spend two hours every day of the week putting in work. Sometimes we even have lock-in practices on weekends and even have at-home video practices to learn things. These girls are on it and hope for good results as their first competition approaches.

The boys and girls basketball teams are in the gym for 2 hours every day doing fundamentals and conditioning in many different drills before tryouts.  With opening season games around the corner, these student-athletes are working hard both off and on the court. With a new coach this season for the girl’s team, the girls express they are excited for something new. The boys on the other hand, have the same hard-working coach they have had for years.  There are many seniors on the team making impacts on the younger players. 

Junior, Jeremiah Brown, has a great role of leadership on the wrestling team. He explains, “we definitely work hard. Most of the time we run or go over moves that our coaches want us to do during our match.  I feel like we mentally prepare and train our mind and body because when you’re out competing for a full 6 minutes, you definitely feel like you would want to give up.” Wrestling at Kearsley has had great outcomes for many wrestlers.  These kids train daily and even do things at home to prepare for this sport. These wrestlers put their bodies through so much and hope to gain wins in their matches. This sport takes grit and the wrestlers love the adrenaline that comes with it.

The boys bowling team is looking forward to a great season again this year. These athletes hope for high-scoring games. For the girls bowling team, sophomore, Layla Hunter-Suchodolski communicates,“the bowling season is starting with a fresh start and some newcomers. We are preparing to talk about some team bonding and a little different support team, which is how we are cheering. Things are good and strong now it’s just time to prepare for our first match!”

So much time goes into every sport. Each sport takes a different variation of skills, mindset and determination.  Everyone hopes for the best this season, but it is all determined by the hard work these athletes continue to put in.  Let’s welcome the winter 2023- 2024 sports season!