By Ames Bettis
Staff Writer
Kate Beeler strides to the finish line during her indoor track meet.
Just because the academic calendar is separated into fall and spring semesters doesn’t mean that the sports calendar is organized the same way. In fact, R.J. Reynolds High School has three main sports seasons: fall, winter, and spring. When the weather gets cold, that’s when the demons heat up in the pool, on the track, in the gym, and on the mats.
Often, winter sports have the lowest turnout of participants compared to the spring and fall. One reason is that there are only four sports options for students to participate in. Another reason is that winter sports fall during a difficult time in the school year. With stress at the end of the semester due to exams and midterms, students would have to give up valuable study time to account for practices, games, and tournaments.
The approach of winter break adds another difficulty because holiday travel and traditions make joining a sports team less feasible for some students, and more breaks make it hard to find time to practice.
Winter sports also have less time than the fall and spring sports seasons. Add to that any missed days for snow and the season can feel like it went a way faster than it approached. Beyond the timing, winter brings uncomfortable weather that complicates some practices.
“Indoor track [practices] being outside is an adjustment because of the cold,” sophomore track athlete Ollie Cleveland said. “Running outside in the cold means having to remember to bring extra warm clothes for practice. It can be difficult to get warm and stay warm, especially during breaks in between running.”
While indoor track practices are affected by the cold, swimmers on the swim team struggle with having early morning practices.
“The difficult part about swimming is that practices are in the early morning, and it’s hard having time before school starts to shower and get ready, especially for those like me who live far away,” junior Garrett Vernon said. “I struggle with the time management of that and getting to school on time.”
While being in the winter does have unique challenges, it doesn’t affect the importance of team bonding. The swim team bonds early in the morning during their practices, while the basketball team was able to bond in their offseason workouts before the season started.
“Coach has been working really hard, and we have gained a lot of chemistry by our offseason workouts, which I know have helped me and I think have helped everyone else on the team,” junior Sayir Dalton said. “Especially helping us run our plays and knowing where each other will be. Last year, we were rebuilding, and this year we will be better. We are hoping to improve and win more games.”
The girls’ basketball team is experiencing lots of improvement from last year.
“I think the team has really improved from last year, even though I wasn’t on it,” sophomore Jane Welch said. “I can tell that everybody is enjoying this season more, and I am excited for gameplay to start and prove how good we are.”
One of the winter sports teams that has been consistently successful when it comes to competition is the wrestling team. Athletes compete individually and on a team, and are excited to continue their reign this year.
“I really enjoy the competition aspect with wrestling and watching my other teammates wrestle as well,” junior Josh Peoples-Bennett said. “The hardest part about wrestling is trying to cut weight and be in the right weight class. The team’s goal is to qualify states.”
Winter sports might not be the most popular season for Reynolds athletes, but those who choose to brave the cold are rewarded with fun competition and great team experiences.