Oliver Ames fall sports were a total success. Boys soccer made it to the South Sectionals Semifinals and Volleyball advanced to the Division 1 South Finals. But let’s not dwell on the past, and instead let’s focus on the winter sports. So, where’s the hype for winter sports?
Reportedly, the number of athletes for winter sports this year notably decreased from previous years. This is most notable in the number of indoor track participants, specifically female. After a brief sit-down with one of the indoor female track captains, Abigail Hodges, the number of female indoor track participants has decreased dramatically compared to previous years. The causes of this effect are, for now, unknown. Hodges had this to say on the matter, “Although this year’s team is smaller, we still have a lot of great talent in each event which will help us in the long run.”
High school sports that conduct tryouts have, generally, never had a problem with recruiting members because they have a set number of players. Furthermore, I would argue there is a correlation. Sports with competitive tryouts and serious cuts usually have teams with a large amounts of spectators at their games because only the best of the best are allowed to compete.
To give an example, OA Basketball has competitive tryouts and they draw one of the biggest crowds to their games. The basketball team recently had an away game where they spoiled Stoughton’s first game in their new gym, winning 64 to 41. I was in attendance that game, and our fan section was bigger and better than the Stoughton’s fan section. At the most recent boys’ basketball game, Jay Spillane erupted the crowd after hitting the game-winning shot. To give credit to Spillane, he was recently named one of the top 10 basketball players to watch out for in the entire league by HockomockSports.com. Coached by Don Byron, the boy’s basketball team looks very promising this season. If I were you, I would not want to miss out.
To further the example on the female side of the sport, the girls basketball team has started off very strong. After the first two games of the season, they have defeated and outscored their opponents by over 60 points. This team looks to be a major powerhouse, as they seek the division title. In the HockomockSports article, “Girls Basketball: Ten Players to Watch in 2019-2020”, Oliver Ames star, Caroline Peper was listed as one of the most deadly offensive weapons in the league, and at such a young age, she has a lot of potential to grow. With young stars and strong leadership, the OA girls basketball team has a lot of potential to accomplish something impressive this year.
Every Oliver Ames sports team deserves a crowd to support them, but I would like to draw my viewers attention to a league that does not receive the fan base and hype that it deserves. Easton Senior Rec Basketball is one of the greatest and most prestigious leagues ever assembled. But do not just take my word for it, 2-time senior rec champion Josh Cavanaugh has some tremendous things to say.
“Senior rec has some of the best basketball you’ll ever see. To be able to compete on a team full of fellow peers and make a championship run with them, provides a sense of relaxing competition that can not be seen anywhere else. The student involvement, great coaches, and die-hard fans contribute to the unmatched sense of competitive fun. If you can’t sign up to play, at least show your support every Sunday, in the fan section, to cheer on your fellow student-athletes.”
At the end of the day, I challenge you to visit a winter sports game this season, preferably a sport that you do not typically watch. To answer the question, where’s the hype for winter sports, I say it’s everywhere. Every Oliver Ames winter sports team deserves the hype and crowd from their OA peers. From OA basketball to OA swim & dive, and from OA hockey to senior rec, go show your support to your fellow students, no matter what sport is its.