Fall II Athletes Focus on Team Bonding During Fall 2 Season

Many sports in Massachusetts had their seasons delayed, calling them “Fall 2” sports, beginning February 22nd. The “Fall 2” sports include football, cheerleading, and indoor track.

This season, the track team will be competing against other teams virtually. The team is composed of many superior athletes who get to run on a newly built track. From running every day to breaking school track records, Scituate junior Kevin O’Keefe will likely have the reputation as one of the most talented athletes Scituate has ever seen.

O’Keefe said his biggest goal for the “Fall 2” track season is “honestly, just to have fun.” There are many athletes on the track team, and team bonding has become more difficult during the pandemic. According to O’Keefe, “We just practice, and it naturally happens–the boys part of the team is pretty small, and a lot of us are juniors, so it’s pretty natural.”

The support from teammates truly motivates these athletes to run faster, throw farther, or jump higher. Hopefully, in the future, instead of virtual meets, there will be another high school track team arriving at Scituate High School to go against the Sailors.

Scituate’s cheer team is notably one of the most spirited teams at SHS. Being led by four junior captains, the Sailor’s cheer squad has been practicing daily, filling the gym with motivation and Sailor pride. One of the four Captains, Jess Daniels, said, “Our team’s goals for this season would definitely be being able to compete. Everyone is having a late-season, and it seems crazy but it’s incredibly motivating to put the work in when you’re training to compete.”

The big setback that pushed the season to March has given the team more time to prepare and train for their upcoming season. “What motivates me to lead my team to success definitely is seeing people’s reactions,” Daniels says, stating she loves “watching the instant serotonin each athlete has when they hit a stunt or throw a tumble pass.” Daniels explained that coming back from a long, hard break is challenging, “but with cheer specifically, we couldn’t practice because we would be putting together a routine for nothing.” Daniels added, “We just now have at least a few games we can cheer at. But we also had not been able to stunt, which makes it hard to come back as strong as last year.”

“Everyone wants to do more–everyone wants to help the team and each other. There’s almost never a bad attitude at practice, and that really helps build a good team,” Daniels explained. With a positive attitude and motivated mindset, all of these athletes will help make Friday nights under the lights more electrifying.

The football team has been creating history throughout the years. Following the 2019 season, many spots were left to be filled by underclassmen. With a shortened season and protocols that the teams must follow, the team knew that this year would be a challenge. Senior captain and wide receiver Jeremy Franzini stated, “I think everyone’s goal is always a championship, but this year I want to make myself and my teammates better and create a family on the field.”

Of course, Covid-19 is playing a huge role in the “Fall 2” season: “With Covid, it’s been difficult to get together as a team,” Franzini says, “when we could, we would get together, do seven on sevens, work out together, and joke around together.” Team bonding has always been a big factor in improving team chemistry and ultimately winning games.

“What motivates me the most to lead the team to success are the players that played before me,” says Franzini, “winning the Super Bowl my sophomore year was a great experience. It’s something I’ll have with me for a while and I want that again and everyone on the team wants a championship. We’re hungry!”

Great leadership is key to maintaining success and achieving goals that were difficult to reach. Anyone can be a leader, whether it’s pushing a teammate to work harder or picking them up after they made a mistake and keeping them moving forward. When good leadership and teamwork are noticeable, that team will go a long way. Being determined and motivated to finish practice off by beating a personal record or having every athlete successfully do their jobs on a play or stunt is one of the greatest feelings and outcomes of having successful leadership and team motivation.