The start of a new spring sports season generates various emotions among Carlmont athletes.
Over the past two weeks, tryouts for multiple sports, such as swimming, baseball, and lacrosse, have taken place. The question of whether somebody made the team or not has been jumping around since.
Depending on the sport, the pressures to make the team are higher than others.
“Tryout week was good but very stressful. I just needed to get the job done, and I did,” said sophomore Tyler Webster, who plays for Carlmont’s baseball team.
Most teams are finalizing their rosters and planning the start of their respective seasons. Practice schedules for each team are different, but most teams aim to practice each weekday.
This, however, creates the concern of managing daily practices and competitions with schoolwork. Time is limited, and every student has to create a schedule that works for them to balance schoolwork and sports.
“I played last year, so I know what to expect,” Webster said. “My coach told me to be a good time manager. School is always first and then sports.”
On top of this, many student-athletes have other commitments like jobs or taking care of their family, which they must make time for; some even play for a club team outside of school.
Many students also play both a winter and a spring sport. These students have to find time to balance both the positives and negatives that come with doing so, especially when it comes to ensuring that their bodies are capable of it.
“Playing two sports is a little overwhelming, but after soccer finishes, I’m already fit for track and field, so it works out,” said junior Emily Gehrlien Allen, who plays for both Carlmont’s soccer and track and field teams.
For Carlmont, the sport cycle is continuous. There is always something happening throughout the school year.
“We’re two-thirds of the way through the sport cycle. The spring sports season is the last sports season of the year,” said Patrick Smith, Carlmont’s athletic director. “It feels kind of like a benchmark for me.”
Along with the spring sports season being a marking point, it is also the most populous compared to the fall and winter sports seasons because there are more teams than there is space for all of them to hold tryouts.
“There’s an overlap. We’re trying to schedule time for all the spring sports and get tryouts done in a timely manner so the teams can get down to the preparation for their preseason games,” Smith said.
Work to organize times and locations for the preseason is already underway to make this spring sports season as successful as possible.
Carlmont’s student-athletes have high hopes. They are working hard and looking forward to the upcoming season.
First games, matches, and meets are just weeks away.
