The Sweaty Start of Sports Season

Dael Kim

Conversations about season one sport filled the air on the first day of school as Mr. Davis, the new athletic director, sent out an email with the signup list.

Over the course of two days, August 12^th and 13^th, Dalat students from 8^th grade to 12^th grade had an opportunity to try out for either the varsity soccer or varsity volleyball team. As the school bell rang to announce the end of school, students quickly gathered up their things and got ready.

On the lower field, the girls who were trying out for the varsity soccer team started off with a 3km run where the course included stairs, the high school building, and the middle school building. On the upper field, the varsity boys’ soccer team ran sprints, different drills, and scrimmaged. The varsity boys’ and girls’ volleyball tryouts took place in the gym, where students got evaluated on their serves, bumps, sets, and spikes. After two days of intense work, students waited nervously for the roaster email to come out. Finally, the official teams were announced, and the Dalat 2019-2020 season one sports were set to start.

When asked about how tryouts went, Mycah Winsor (11) answered with a smile on his face, “I really enjoyed getting to see the new people and the returning players at the tryouts! I’m looking forward to making some new friendships that will last even after soccer season and also to continue growing in ones that I had before.” Winsor cheerfully expressed his passion for soccer, and he also went on to say, “Congrats to everyone who made the team.”     

Every year, the Dalat sports teams have something unique that is different from other teams. According to Haeon Park (10), “Something special about Dalat sports team is our sportsmanship! While we push each other to do our best, we always encourage to one another. We don’t blame each other whenever someone makes a mistake. This season, I’m really excited to bond with my team and also to improve on my goalie skills.”

As the curtains open for a new beginning, both the players and the coaches are hoping to find joy through playing the sport they love, which is also an excellent opportunity to grow in skill, leadership, and friendship. For Seniors, this will be the last year of their high school sports career, while for the Freshmen, this is just the starting point. With sweat dripping and heart pumping, the old and new faces of the finalized varsity players welcomed the start of the season with a new hope ahead of them that will soon become a long-lasting memory.