Spring sports preview

by Chris Williams, Reporter

Just as daylight savings time begins this week, so does spring sports season here at Jim Thorpe Area High School. Although the seasons for baseball, softball, boy’s tennis, and track and field officially begin this week, the Olympian spring-sport student-athletes have put in tremendous amounts of hard work in the many weeks and months leading up to this point in order to prepare for their respective seasons, setting both team and individual goals that they hope to achieve this upcoming season.

Speaking on behalf of the baseball team, senior baseball player, Lucas Boyle, stated, “We prepared this offseason with a lot of hard work, hitting a lot in the batting cages and taking as much fielding as we could,” explaining how the baseball team made due with what they had even though they were unable to practice outside during the winter months. “Our goals are to reach the district playoffs, as well as win some games in districts. We want to play hard as a team and win as many games as possible,” he added. Individually, Boyle’s said his goals for the season are “to better myself as much as I can as a player, person, and teammate.”

Just as Boyle and the Jim Thorpe Olympian baseball team are set to take the diamond soon, so too are Jim Thorpe senior, Sam Sterner, and the Lady Olympian softball team.

Likewise to the baseball team, Sterner and her fellow Lady Olympians “hit up the batting cages as well as worked individually on skills like fielding and pitching” during the offseason. Sterner added that her offseason also consisted of strengthening her leg to recover from an ACL surgery. Since it is her senior year, Sterner stated, “My goal is to work hard and make it my best season yet.” Regarding the team, Sterner finished by saying, “Our goal is to give one-hundred percent and work as a team to play our best, and have great chemistry together on and off of the field.”

Making the trip from the baseball and softball fields behind Jim Thorpe Area High School to the red and blue-painted courts next to the student and athletic parking lots, the next sport on the list is boy’s tennis.

“We prepared for our season throughout the winter having two practices per week inside the L.B. Morris gym,” said senior tennis player, John Fedora, who believes that their winter practices help make the team more and more successful. “ As a whole, the team would like to win more matches consistently. We have a good group of kids playing on the team this year, many of which will help us gain more and more victories as the season progresses,” the senior added. Eager and determined, Fedora also stated, “My individual goals for this season are to be able to win as many singles matches as I can. I wish to be able to show my coach and my team that these four years of tennis were not for nothing, and to be able to prove to myself that practice and perseverance can pay off in the long run.”

Making the very short walk from the tennis courts to the Jim Thorpe football stadium, the last, but certainly not least, spot on the list to cover is track and field, a sport that a vast majority of Jim Thorpe students love to participate in.

“Our offseason is basically our indoor track season. It’s the time where we go over mechanics and the little things to prep us to be better runners come outdoor season,” said senior, Nujai Walcott. Still regarding the offseason, Walcott added, “We use it as speed training so people that run the 800-meter would drop down to the 400-meter or 200-meter to get that speed training. Just getting into that competition mode by going to indoor meets prepared us for the outdoor season.”

Not shying away from setting goals high, Walcott says that, “Last season, we came up short of a league title, so this year, the goal definitely is to go undefeated and get that banner.” With returning veterans and promising new faces joining the program, the senior stated, “As long as there is no laziness, we push ourselves, and trust in our coaches, we’ll definitely be raising up a banner in the gymnasium.”  Individually, the runner says his goal this year is to “simply be a league and district champion at my events, the 400-meter and 200-meter sprints. Coming up short of the podium last year in the 400-meter at districts and states by .80 of a second was heartbreaking, so this is my year of retribution and sacrifice.”

After long offseasons full of hard work and intense training, the student-athletes that make up Jim Thorpe’s baseball, softball, boy’s tennis, and track and field teams are without a doubt ready to take on the competition, determined to make an impact in their respective sports, and achieve both their individual and team goals this season. Good luck to all our our spring sports. Go Olympians!

About the Author

chriswilliams31
Chris Williams is a current senior in the class of 2018 at Jim Thorpe Area High School. Williams has been in the district since kindergarten in 2005 where he attended Penn-Kidder Campus in Albrightsville until 2014. Williams’ strength of schedule throughout high school has been extremely demanding, comprising of many weighted, honors, and AP courses. Williams is ranked ninth in his class and maintains a GPA of 103.7. His favorite subjects include Spanish, history, and English. When it comes to extracurriculars, you can find Williams in a variety of clubs and teams within the school and community. Athletically, Williams has been a four year member of the boys varsity soccer team since freshman year. This year, he is a captain for the 2017-18 season. Besides soccer, Williams plays the alto saxophone for the concert, jazz, and marching bands, is a member of the National Honor Society, scholastic scrimmage team, and ski club. Outside of school, Williams plays travel soccer for Lehigh Valley United FC and is also an Eagle Scout in Boy Scout Troop 555. Williams has an extreme passion for sports and storytelling through writing, film, and photography. After high school, Williams is will be attending Emerson College in Boston to major in Journalism. Williams will also play soccer for Emerson. Williams aspires to become a sports journalist upon completion of college. His dream job would be to write about either soccer, hockey, or college sports for a media outlet such as Bleacher Report, Copa 90, Goal.com, ESPN, Fox Sports, or CBS Sports.

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