Underclassmen Make Waves on Varsity Sports

Scituate High School athletics have a proud tradition of hard-working, dedicated, and highly competitive teams. This impressive level of play usually makes it difficult for underclassmen to make varsity teams. The few sophomores and freshmen who do make varsity teams exhibit great potential–in addition to above average skills given their ages. We sat down with some of this year’s young stars–these are their stories.

Kendal McCluskey–Girls Soccer

Freshman soccer player Kendal McCluskey has been playing soccer pretty much since she could walk. She began her soccer career at Hatherly Elementary School, playing in Mr. C’s program, where she fell in love with the game. Since then, she has been playing soccer with various clubs and town teams. Her skills, hard work, and experience landed her a spot as a defender on the girls’ varsity soccer team. It is a big transition from middle school to high school–never mind balancing the stress of being on a varsity team–but Kendal credits her smooth transition to her teammates. McCluskey said they have been “so supportive, encouraging, and fun to be around, making it easier.” Her favorite part of being on the soccer team is bonding with her teammates through “the practices, games and team dinners.” Although only a freshman, McCluskey wanted to “make a valuable contribution to the team this season.” She has already started making her legacy: McCluskey will be one to watch over the next few years, as she is already clocking in playing time on the field.

Liz Slein–Volleyball

Although the sport of volleyball is relatively new to sophomore Liz Slein, her skill demonstrates natural talent and expertise. Slein only started playing last year, when she made the team as a freshman. Slein described the team as fun and very much a team sport, which are some of her favorite parts about playing volleyball for Scituate High. She continued her career on the varsity team this year, where she hoped the team could “play a whole game at [their] highest level.” She also has some personal goals for herself, which is to improve her game overall. Slein said, “My personal goal would be to become a more consistent player all around, working on my passing, hitting, serving and setting. That way I can help my teammates in any way I can.” Slein is not only a prominent member of the varsity volleyball squad–she is also on the varsity basketball team. So if you didn’t catch Slein on the courts this season, she’ll be representing Scituate in the winter as well.

Ava McLaughlin–Cross Country

Ava McLaughlin started her high school career out strong when she joined Scituate’s cross country team. The freshman runner made top 20 females for the varsity meet this season, a very impressive stance for a first-year runner. After running  for the junior varsity team during her first race and then varsity her next race, she felt varsity was much more competitive. She credits her transition into the team to all the seniors–specifically giving a shout out to Nadine Reidy, Lucy Masuret and Natalie Scott. McLaughlin said the best part about cross country is the community, saying, “everyone is nice and there is something new every day.” McLaughlin will be key to Scituate’s cross country success in the upcoming years.

Will Sheskey – Football

Will Sheskey, a sophomore at Scituate High School, plays a significant role on the Scituate football team. As he has been playing football since seventh grade, Sheskey’s skills have improved so much that he now starts on offense and defense for varsity football. “I just go wherever coach needs me,” Sheskey stated. That statement is evident through his position changes this year. Starting the season as a linebacker, and now starting as a defensive end, Sheskey sticks to his word and moves where he is needed. His two starting spots came as a surprise “Coming into the season, I did not know what to expect for playing time,” he mentioned, “I knew that I just had to make the best out of any time available to me.”As Scituate varsity football does not typically take freshmen to play, he has taken his first opportunity to join the team very seriously. Being an underclassman, he shows what he can do on the field, but often looks to upperclassmen for leadership. When asked about his future leadership roles he replied, “For the future, I expect myself to be a leader on this team because I love the sport and my teammates, and I want them to rally behind me.” Finally, he added, “I believe I have the ability to step up and bring the team together as an upperclassman.” Sheskey will play a huge role in the coming years of Scituate football.

Ellen O’Donnell- Field Hockey

Ellen O’Donnell enjoyed her field hockey debut on the junior high field hockey team, when she played in seventh and eighth grade. Since then, she has been the JV goalie and varsity backup goalie for Scituate’s field hockey team. Playing goalie can be a lot of pressure, especially for an underclassman player, but O’Donnell is a confident player, saying she loves “being able to control the defense” as a goalie. As for her team, O’Donnell said her favorite aspect of being on the team is “being able to still see my friends even when school ends and be able to talk to upperclassmen about their experiences at SHS.” O’Donnell hopes to keep the number of goals she lets in to a minimum, and maybe even become the full-time varsity goalie in the future. As for right now, O’Donnell is working hard to perfect her techniques as a goalie–so far, she has had a really strong season. O’Donnell is only getting better and will definitely be important to the field hockey team’s success next year.

Johnny Fogarty- Boys Soccer

Freshman Johnny Fogarty is no stranger to the game of soccer. He’s played since he was four-years-old; therefore, he has been competing against older and stronger players for most of his life. Now playing at the varsity level, Fogarty has enjoyed spending time with his teammates and getting to experience the thrill of high school varsity sports. These teammates, Fogarty says, have been critical in helping him transition to the new style of play, which features a “faster pace” than Fogarty has experienced before. Despite this challenge, Fogarty has experienced success–both coming off the bench and starting for the team at times. His first varsity goal came in a tightly contested game early in the season against Plymouth South, which ultimately secured a tie for Scituate. With each passing game, Fogarty has felt his confidence grow–thanks to encouragement from his teammates. Moving forward, Fogarty is focused on doing whatever he can to help the team win the league. Such a selfless and promising player as Fogarty indicates that the future is bright for Scituate boys soccer.

Tyler Ryan- Golf

Sophomore Tyler Ryan has become an important member of the Scituate golf team. He’s played since he was five-years-old, increasing his confidence level with each year. His summer days are spent playing golf while his friends are at the beach, and this commitment has allowed him to blossom as a player. As a freshman, Ryan found it hard at times to fit in with the team, but now feels much more confident a year later. He also credits his teammates with helping him deal with the stresses of being a varsity athlete and supporting him “even on [his] worst days.” Ryan has also participated in NEPGA tournaments, which he feels have prepared him well for high school golf. Looking toward the future, Ryan hopes to be the number one player for Scituate–and potentially play on the PGA tour as an adult.

Keillan Doyle – Freshman Cross Country

Freshman Keillan Doyle is taking high school–and cross country–by storm. He only started running cross country last year, but over the summer he decided to take the sport more seriously, as he said he started running 5-6 times a week. This dedication paid off, as Keillan has a tendency to finish 2nd or 3rd in the varsity races. He said the highlight of his first cross country season was  the race against Duxbury High School. Doyle said, “I finished 2nd for the team and finished in 14:26.” He was able to handle the transition from middle school cross country to varsity cross country through the help of his teammates. Doyle said, “Every single member is so helpful and kind,” and he has “only positive experiences with the team and my teammates.”  Doyle hopes his team and himself can finish strong in these final meets of the season, but it is obvious that Doyle will be playing a major role on the team in the upcoming seasons.

Sarah Lincoln – Cheerleading

Sarah Lincoln, a sophomore at Scituate High School, is a returning underclassman to the cheerleading squad. “I do it with because they’re all so supportive and fun to be around,” Lincoln stated. As some people think Friday night lights are only for the football players, they are missing a huge part of the event, the routines that the cheerleaders spend weeks perfecting. The cheerleaders perform cheers during the game as well as a routine at halftime. Sarah said, “The highlight of our season so far was our home game against Canton because we hit almost all of our routine and I was very proud of us that night.” But they do not only work hard to impress the crowd at the football games. Another huge part of their season is their competition. On this topic, Sarah added, “A goal that the entire team can agree on is to hit all of our routine and competition. Even if we don’t place, we’ve worked really hard at practice and just doing well for ourselves would be awesome.” Although she is only a sophomore, Lincoln’s team has great skill and talent; the most important trait of this cheer team may be their chemistry. “I also think one of the most important and helpful parts of our team is how supportive we are of one another,” Sarah added. Sarah and her teammates look to continue having a great year.