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The coming of spring means warmer weather and the chance for Lake Shore Athletes to participate in spring sports. Six sports are offered at Lake Shore High School for the spring season. These include baseball, Boys’ golf, Girls’ Soccer, Lacrosse, Softball, and Track and Field.
As Spring conditioning and the sports get underway, athletes from two of six sports teams reflect on their previous high school sports experiences and look forward to their 2023-2024 season.
Dante Messina, senior, and member of the Lake Shore High School Baseball team, said, “My personal goals for this baseball season are for one to hit over a 400 batting average, and have at least one no-hitter. I’m sure there are many guys on my team that are striving for this goal as well.”
This is important to an athlete, as establishing goals can help the athlete focus more on their season, and when the season concludes, they can look back on their accomplishments and see if they accomplished their goals.
Reece Dryval, junior, and member of the Lake Shore High School golf team said, “My goal is to make the state finals.”
If you establish goals, at the end of the season, you can reflect on those goals, and then you can determine what you will do if you want to improve in your sport for the next season.
Messina said, “I see a leadership role being a returning player, when most of the team, being juniors, has not been on varsity in the past.”
Being a leader on a team, especially if that team is competing on a big stage, is vital. This is because if there is a good leader on the team, the athletes will be motivated to perform at their best to succeed.
Dryval said, “As a returning member, I was named the captain and I am a figure for the underclassmen to look up to.”
This is a crucial mindset to have, as most of the underclassmen are new to the world of high school sporting competitions.
While being an athlete is important, it is also important to consider the personal connection between the athlete and the sport they are playing, especially if it’s competitive. The athlete ends up representing themself in a national tournament.
Messina said, “I think I’ve grown a lot with Lake Shore, my coaches are all amazing and they’ve turned me into a player I definitely would not be without them.”
Good team chemistry is vital, especially if the team is only a few games away from a major victory. This can also help emotionally, if someone gets down after a bad play, then the team can console them, and knowing that the member has the team by their side can help tremendously.
Dryval said, “Being a Lake Shore athlete has made me develop into a more mature [person] and made me become a better athlete.”
This is vital to being a better athlete and a better person in general because maturity both inside and outside of sports is vital. This is especially important if you encounter some trouble during your sport, like an argument on how to settle a certain problem, then the veterans of the team can step in and help.
The athletes then consider their connection to their school, both on and off the field.
Messina said, “Representing Lake Shore means a lot to me on the field because we want to win obviously but off the field as well because my team is like my family so it’s like I’m a representation of my own family.”
Good sportsmanship is important as it can teach you some basic manners, and how to deal with certain situations.
Dryval said, “Representing Lake Shore is a great honor. Knowing that I represent our whole school for my sport gives me some confidence.”
This is very important as having confidence when you enter a major competition in the sport could rub off on the team, and that could lead to that team winning many major tournaments.
The two Lake Shore High School athletes then look into their future as athletes.
Messina said, “I will play collegiate baseball after high school, and I will make sure I play it at the highest level by doing my best this season.”
If you’re going to any higher level of sports, you’ll need to have a good resume. For example, if you’re going into the world of collegiate baseball, you’ll need to have a good resume. This will allow you to stand out to the colleges and look appealing.
Dryval said, “Because of how well I am doing in my sport I’m already talking to colleges for bowling. Hopefully, my senior year will finish out good then I will decide my path.”
This is crucial because if you’re looking for a way to take your sporting career to the next level, then looking into collegiate sports is a good gateway into that, because if it goes well, then you could look forward to elevating your sporting career to the next level.
In summary, regardless of your sport, if you have a passion for it and work for it, that passion will flourish, and it could evolve into something big.
