Under the Radar: Sports that don’t beat the buzzer

Waking up for school seems early enough, but imagine waking up at 4:45 in the morning to get to a 5:30 practice and to jump into an ice-cold pool. Then, you race home to get a quick shower before school. You get to school and immediately after it ends, you must speed home to do your homework without time to socialize. After that, you find yourself swimming laps in the same frigid water. After a day of school and two practice sessions, your day is finally over.

Senior swimmer Moli Eddins attends morning practices three days a week and nightly practices five days a week. Eddins is committed to a year-round swim team as well as the school team.

“Everybody who’s on the [school] swim team typically swims for a year-round swim team, so they love the sport of swimming,” Eddins said. “So if you love what you do, it’s really easy to become motivated and dedicated to do it.”

Junior Elizabeth Conte is also on the swim team. She has a busy schedule and says it aids her time management skills.

“I think it actually helps me prioritize because if I wasn’t on a strict schedule, I think I would be a little more lazy towards classwork,” Conte said.

The school team does not get much recognition, but despite this, both Eddins and Conte stay committed to the team.

Swim team is not the only under recognized sport.

“Nobody comes to our games; it’s just our parents, and nobody from the school supports us,” sophomore volleyball player Kayli Blankenship said.

Some athletes have noticed a gender bias against women’s athletics.

“I feel like most of the time the fans really show up when it’s both the girls and the boys playing the same night, but when it’s just girls playing there’s barely any people in the stands,” junior basketball player Savannah Morris said.

Morris feels women’s basketball is less supported than the men’s team.

“I do feel like it’s a gender thing; I guess [people] kind of underestimate how good girls are at sports,” Morris said.

Junior basketball player Shontai Totten feels that even though the women’s basketball team is less recognized than the men’s team, they are more appreciated than other Northwood women’s sports.

“We’ve had a good history with it,” Totten said. “We

work hard and put in a lot of effort to win games, and with winning games comes more respect.”

Along with women’s basketball, some feel softball is less recognized compared to baseball.

“It is definitely not as appreciated as baseball,” sophomore softball player Evie Hoffman said. “Baseball gets more donations and their field is a lot nicer.”

Jacob Fowler, a junior baseball player, is aware of the difference in fan turnout between softball and baseball games.

“I don’t think [softball] is as popular among the kids at this school and we don’t hear about it as much,” Fowler said. “I don’t think it’s due to gender, I think baseball is just more prevalent in the nation. We’ve done really well the past few years, so it keeps building on the reputation.”

Many under-appreciated athletes feel their hard work and dedication goes unnoticed.

“No one realizes how much commitment it takes,” senior cross-country runner Erin Nelson said. “If you miss just one day of running it can make you a few seconds slower on the race.”

On top of being overlooked, some feel under respected.

“We don’t get the respect we deserve for all the hard work we put into it,” senior lacrosse player Jacob Friedman said.

Many athletes want the attention and recognition the football team receives.

“We would be more enthusiastic about our games, more than we already are,” Totten said. “I think it would be a better and more fun experience.”

Some athletes say they are under-appreciated because of a lack of funding and equipment.

“It’s definitely not funded as much as football,” sophomore lacrosse player Eric Franklin said. “This school has always been more of a football school, lacrosse has just recently gone varsity, so it’s less known.”

Junior football player John Atwater says the football team fundraises on its own.

“We do a lot of fundraisers ourselves. During the summer we sell Charger Cards and chicken,” Atwater said. “We have corn hole tournaments and all different types of stuff to raise money. It’s a lot of work.”

Atwater feels all sports should be publicized equally.

“I feel like every sport should be displayed,” Atwater said. “They all have accomplishments, and I know that the players all want their classmates to see what they’ve accomplished.”

– By Ellie Saksa