Skip to main content

Sports Are Back!

By

 By Kalia Brewster

Before lockdown happened, sports were one of the most time-consuming, important, and enjoyable parts of my day. After school, I could hardly wait to leave the classroom and get out on the field or court — to play a game that I loved with people that I loved and coaches who invested deeply in me. Nothing has quite impacted my life in the way sports has. It is hard for me to describe how something that has been part of my life since I can remember has been so formative.  I know that many others feel the same way about sports and how it has shaped them.


Esther Tse (12) said about sports and how it impacted her life, “Sports has helped me not only work on my personal skills but also work on communication skills and the ability to understand each other’s strengths.” Sports has a profound and sometimes unseen effect on athletes. Not only the physical aspect of sports, but the emotional, mental, and relational challenges that it presents helps athletes become more well rounded people. 


Recently, however, I have had many conversations about how the lockdown took away sports opportunities and how this has shaped lives in a significant way. Having down time after school is unheard of by Dalat’s athletes. Even the absence of the little aspects of sports is felt. My personal favorite little sports experience was the cheer at the end of practice that the basketball and soccer teams would do. It helped unify the team even in the smallest gesture. Other Dalat students have told me of their own personal losses as well.


 Lydia Geiman (12) said, “I miss the family-like bond that sports teams created throughout the season.” She then quickly added, “I also miss getting my booty whooped during scrimmages.” For athletes, it isn’t about the wins or losses, but about the team building experience. 


To make adaptations to the new standard operating procedures for lockdown, sports was at first not allowed. In recent weeks, however, they have allowed for intramurals, which have been an amazing breath of fresh air for students longing for some fun, physical activity. It allows people from all experience levels to join a team to play scrimmages once or twice a week.


Because of COVID-19, being intentional about building community has become increasingly important. Dalat’s intramurals season is one step towards the light at the end of the tunnel of COVID-19, and I hope to see people intentionally participating in community sports and activities to help us break through the loss and realize what we have to be grateful for. A reset is just what we needed to refocus our minds and hearts on all of the blessings we enjoy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more