As spring sports begin, players from all teams are excited to start their seasons and compete for Barstow.
Boys golf, track and field, girls soccer, baseball, and boys tennis all began their practices on February 28. In the two weeks before spring break, all of the teams hope to bond, improve their skills, and prepare for their upcoming competitive season.
Many of the teams this year have grown from previous years and have many more new players. The boys tennis JV team, in particular, has grown significantly, as well as the girl’s soccer team. The fresh faces and strong turnout for these sports has encouraged a positive attitude for the outcome of their seasons.
Boys golf has 12 players this season, including four new freshmen and a new coach, Travis Scott. In their first few practices the golf team has been mainly focused on improving their overall game, and everyone is working individually on what they need to improve. The captain of the team, Tyler McNieve ‘24, said he hopes to lead by example and motivates the team in any way he can.
“I’m going to try and encourage everyone because golf is a hard sport, and try to lead at practice by making sure everyone is practicing what they can,” says Mcnieve.
Last year, the members of the golf team made it to state, with McNieve ‘24 scoring in the top 25 players. The golf team is hopeful that they will carry on their success and make it to state once again this season.
“We all practice together and try to make each other better at practice,” continues Mcneive ‘24.
Similarly, the baseball team has begun their season motivated, with long practices and a new mindset. Prior to the season beginning, the team organized workouts before and after school. They have also received new equipment for the season, and their new Coach Todd Rein has encouraged discipline and hard work amongst the boys.
Coach Rein, who has been described as especially proactive when it comes to campaigning for more resources during the school year. In fact, Rein’s appointment has led to a new baseball turtle and new uniforms for the team.
The team’s first practices have gone well, and there is already a stronger bond amongst the players. In order to encourage a hard-working yet fun environment during practices, Solomon Holmes ‘23, the team captain, said he tries to lead by example and stay positive to motivate the other players.
“I just want to see everyone improve, I want everyone to have fun,” said Holmes ‘23. “I don’t care if we win or lose, I just want everyone to have fun, because that’s all the game is about. One of these days you’re not gonna be able to play it, so you just need to enjoy the ride.”
The baseball team also held a variety of pre-season practices, usually hitting the weight room or just playing quick games of catch during break or after school. The boys also focused on nutrition and hydration to up their gameplay.
After a disappointing season last year, the players have emphasized just how much their skills have improved after last year.
“I think we will do really well, personally,” said baseball team member Lukas Brodrick (‘23). “I’m confident, we improved, we all got better, so we will do better than last year.”
Any spectator can tell that the team has intensely strong bonds that transcend the playing field. Being friends can be especially important to foster fluidity, adaptation, and premonition during games. The team’s bond has led to what Coach Rein has called, “the most energetic team he’s ever coached in his 15 years of coaching.”
The track team, led by Coach Candace Baldwin and captain Jackson McNickle ‘24 has also tried to emphasize team spirit, even though track and field is a more individual sport. After the first week of practices, Mcnickle explained that, “I’m most excited about going to meets, coming together as a team and pushing each other to see what we can do by the end of the season.”
For the first two weeks of practice, track students have been focused on conditioning, mainly to build stamina and strength to wholly accomplish distance running events. Because the team did not do many pre-season practices, the conditioning will only make the team better with their endurance and overall strength.
Girls soccer, this year, got off to an early start with pre-season practices beginning almost two months before the first practice. Their hard work has paid off with an energetic, motivated team. Team captain Maddie Bauman ‘22 is extremely excited to start the season and has an optimistic outlook on the season, especially due to the increased number of girls who joined the team.
“The first practice went really well, we’ve been able to scrimmage, which is something that we’ve never been able to do before,” said Bauman ‘22. “And I think it’s really allowed us to see the system in a way that we haven’t been able to do in years past and really start working on that team building aspect.”
With the unusually large number of girls, the team will be able to divide into a Varsity and Junior Varsity team, something they have not been able to do in years past. Among the new players are many freshmen and sophomores who have never played soccer in high school before. Their addition to the team means that the team will have to work through many different challenges to play cohesively.
Bauman ‘22 emphasizes that, “A lot of girls are freshmen. So they’re kind of coming from middle school and making that adjustment into high school soccer, it’s a lot faster, it’s a lot more aggressive, you really have to play possession. So just kind of breaking those habits that you may have picked up in club or in middle school and adjusting to a quicker, more mental game, I think is something that we can all work on.”
Finally, boys tennis has also started this year. After a jaw-dropping state win last year, the season is expected to be a success. Additionally, a variety of JV and varsity players have really stood out.
On the varsity side, senior Richie King ‘22 has proven to be a talented team captain. The juniors on varsity, George Colombo ‘23 and Aaram Salam ‘23 have also been instrumental in leading the team to state and hope to do the same this year.
With multiple different sports underway, spring is raring to be a success for Barstow students. From the track to the soccer field to the tennis courts, the excitement of a new sports season has overtaken the school, and the skills of the players will only grow to match this energy.
