Coming into high school can be a very intimidating experience. Freshmen are coming into a whole new world with rules and expectations different from those of the middle school.
Not only are they new to the school, they are new to the sports.
“It is hard proving yourself because you are new to the coaches,” Landon Puzio said, “You have to try your best. If you get your spot you get your spot. Going to the open gyms helps build relationships with coaches and other teammates.”
There are a few freshmen who will attend open gyms to prove to the high school coaches that they deserve to be on the team.
The upperclassmen have bonds with the coaches and teammates. They know how the coach likes the practice to go and what they want to see. Upperclassmen have the upper hand at claiming the varsity spots.
Freshmen have to show they want the varsity spot. They should work 10 times harder and show up 10 times more to prove they are better and more dedicated.
“It is intimidating because you look up to them and you do not want them to look at you and say you are as good,” Paisley Lund, “You want to get along with them and have them not think your annoying, immature, and cocky. I think when freshmen get spots the upperclassmen get annoyed. I think some can crack under the pressure of the coaches and upperclassmen watching them. I think I play worse when upperclassmen watch me.”
The freshman are trying to show that they are great at their sport but they do not want to seem like they are immature and cocky to the upperclassmen. Some of them do get on varsity and starting spots because they are good at what they do. The upperclassmen might get annoyed at them for getting starting spots over them.
“I originally started on JV then, week one I got pulled to varsity,” Nate Bevacqua said, “I think people below are frustrated I got pulled up, but having your dad as a coach makes it harder because he expects more from me.”
Bevacqua has been around the varsity players and practicing with them from a young age but he is not the only freshman who went to practices when he was younger.
“I think I have an advantage over the freshman who did not go to the open gyms, they also know me because of my siblings,” Austin Hocking said.
It is not just their relationships that put them ahead of the game they have been playing the sport since they were younger and put effort into earning the spots they get.
“I do not find playing with the upperclassman intimidating,” Hocking said, “I play better when there is more people watching. I know I am already better than some of the other players, it might be harder to get the starting spot because I am younger.”
They have found their love in the game and are taking the spots they deserve some freshmen find it harder than others to not be intimidated by the upperclassmen.
“I feel like I had to try harder than the upperclassmen but I could not be cocky or I would get judged,” Violet Stone-Fenton said, “It definitely pushes me to work harder but I feel like I am constantly scared to make a bad pass or miss a goal.”
The upperclassmen have typically gained maturity throughout years in high school while the freshman are still trying to find their footing after coming out of middle school.
“I know how to act around them because I grew up around guys like them,” Bevacqua said, “I think people think freshmen are annoying but being around varsity sports when I was younger helped me mature.”
Some of them have been playing their sport for years and are continuing to show up and show off their skill in their sport.
“I have been playing soccer since I was 3,” Stone-Fenton said, “I went to the summer practices.”
The athletes put effort into their practices the parents are seeing the effort they put in.
“I have a lot of mixed emotions about Nate being on varsity football,” Colleen Bevacqua said, “It is very exciting because I know how hard he has worked. We would come home from a baseball tournament where he was catching the whole time and he would be wiped, but he would still get on his gym clothes and go and lift. He is working 24/7 to get better at the two sports he plays.”
The freshmen work hard at their sports, but when some of them get the varsity spot other athletes feel they do not deserve it.
“It is difficult having parents work at the school he has more obstacles and adversity to work through,” Bevacqua said, “He has been coming into the high school since he was very little he was on the sidelines as a water boy and ball boy since second grade. It is tough on a parent being a parent and a coach for my husband. When he was told he was getting pulled up to varsity his dad Al Bevacqua one of the coaches was not informed. It was a surprise to us both the other coaches told him he was splitting time with JV and Varsity.”
There will always be rumors as freshmen no matter who you are if you end up on a better spot than upperclassmen. It is one of the harder parts of starting high school but the coaches know where the athletes belong and they put them in that position.
