The end of February marks the beginning for the season for spring sports. Each year after President’s Day, returning as well as new players try-out for the sport they find most interesting in hopes to make a positive impact on the team. “We are looking forward to working hard, having fun and putting a very competitive team on the field,” baseball coach Doug Grove said. “I hope the players have fun and enjoy the process that is involved with playing competitive baseball.”

The sports held during the spring season include outdoor track, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, lacrosse and crew. While all of the coaches hope for a successful season, expectations are set particularly high for those team who saw winning records last year. “The varsity team beat the eventual state champions during the regular season and made it to Regionals last year,” girls’ varsity soccer coach Jed Bobier said. “We will look to continue to build upon that success from last year.”

Each year, coaches focus on rebuilding the program without the players who graduated, and veteran athletes guide new recruits on how to continue the team’s legacy. “We have a core group returning this season as opposed to last season where we had graduated seven seniors the year before,” varsity softball coach Leigh Winstead said. “We are going to build on what we established last year and have fun doing it.”

Similarly, outdoor track, an individual sport where students do not have to try-out and can freely join at the start of the season, is a continuation of both the cross country and indoor track seasons. The added third season of this sport provides the team with more opportunity to train and strengthen their skills for the competitive division. “I was extremely pleased with how the indoor track season ended,” track coach William Drake said. “I am hoping that we can build on that success.”

Throughout each season, team coaches experience the loss of graduating athletes while, at the same time, the presence of new players who are ready to put their own mark on the sport. Regardless of who joins this spring, the teams will continue to strive for personal bests, both as a competitive group and as individual athletes. “Hopefully, everyone plays to the best of their potential,” Coach Grove said. “If they give me and their teammates 100% effort, that’s all I can ask of them.”