With the boys’ varsity season finishing with a 6-8 record this season, the team struggled to keep a positive record. The boys’ team did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time in at least four years. Although they practice diligently and are a team full of dedicated athletes, that determination does not always transfer well to the classroom.
The team’s most prominent hindrance is in the grade book. Players are not allowed to play if they are failing classes, and keeping them on the field has become a challenge. While the majority of the team can maintain themselves above a passing level, several core members are not able to play. On occasion, they may even be removed from the team altogether if the situation demands it.
When talking with team members about the problem, they expressed a definite need for a solution, as the methods already in place are less effective than they would like. “We’ve said that if you need help or anything, you should just ask one of your teammates, but many players don’t do that, and many do not always attend class.” Says Stratton Whitworth, a defender on the team.
When asked what is already being done to keep the players passing, Nico Castillo, one of the varsity captains, responded, “Really just threats, if you’re not passing, you can’t play, and study halls sometimes.”
Then, when questioned about the effectiveness of introducing tutoring sessions and whether the players would attend, they said, “I think most of the people who would’ve needed it right now are already gone, but there are a couple of guys that are failing, and it would definitely be used.”
While it may be too late to make a difference this season, this is undoubtedly an issue that needs to be looked at for the coming years so that Paschal’s players can continue playing the sport they love and contribute to the team; it would also be able to make a difference in their academic life.
“Normally, when we have a year like this, we tighten up at the end of the year so that the guys coming up know that the guys who failed classes, who’ve failed to go to class, who are consistently late to class is just not acceptable, and so til the end of the year we start releasing guys. We let them know that you’re trying out right now, so that should tighten up; we’ll lose some of them, sometimes we’ll lose them even if they’re good players, but as we found out this year, the good players don’t help you if they’re not there. Number 1 is we end hard, we end tight, and then we pick it up, as soon as we get in August, we start right there, and this year we were a little bit lax on that, so we’ll pick that up. And that means we’ll probably have smaller numbers on the teams, but we’ll probably be better because of it.” Says soccer coach Townsend.
The future seems to be looking up for the Paschal soccer team, as more emphasis will be placed on maintaining passing grades in the coming school year. Hopefully, this school year will serve as a motivator for the young players moving up to the JV and Varsity teams so that they can prosper both on and off the field.
