Caroline Knightly, Senior Editor
@knightlycourant
With the winter sports season in full swing, all teams are welcoming new players, whether they be freshmen, sophomores, juniors and even seniors. For seniors Alex Esposito, Maddie Smith and Hannah Socci, they choose to fill their winter schedule with 5:30 am practices and lugging around hockey bags for the first time ever.
Rather than sleeping in and keeping their backpack as light as possible as a senior, they let the stench and weight of their hockey bags takeover all for JV hockey. Amongst all the girls, this
shows dedication and instructs people how to make their senior year count.
The beginning of the season brought fear among the girls, but more importantly excitement. With this season being her first and last, Hannah felt that she was unsure about how it was going to play out. “I was nervous because of the commitment but it is completely manageable,” Hannah said. “The practices and workouts can be hard, but it’s worth it because it makes us better players.”
With the first couple weeks of the season under her belt, Maddie became more aware of what it takes to survive through a hockey season. “ I was definitely expecting more of a commitment, but I didn’t realize how hard it is to get ice time,” she said. “The practices are definitely very jam packed but we get a lot done.”
For all three girls, joining the hockey team was something they always wanted to do, and senior year was the year they decided to take their stand. “I have always wanted to play since I grew up watching the Bruins with my dad, so I kind of just took the chance and went for it,” Hannah said.
Maddie knew that hockey was something that had always been on her bucket list since she first witnessed the engaging high school team and their well-known intense bond and love for the sport. “Hockey always seemed like a really fun sport that I kind of wished I had gotten into,” she said. “The team at the high school seemed fun, so I really just thought it would be fun to pick up the sport and see what happened.”
For Alex, her interest started when she saw how much upperclassmen enjoyed the team and how close all the girls became. “I’ve wanted to play my whole high school career so I decided to take my chances and go out for the team,” she said.
Going forward, Hannah is excited to get to know the team and be able to play with them on the ice, but also form friendships with teammates. “I think the season will go well because the team overall is a group of really sweet girls and together we can only get better,” she said.
Alex is using hockey as an opportunity to enjoy something new, while also learning from the experience. “I’m hoping to gain insight on this sport because I’ve always found it intriguing,” she said. “This season gave me a chance to not be intimidated by upperclassman anymore and just go for it.”
Maddie is hoping to make this season count, since it is her first and last within the sport, while also setting up a great season for following grades in the future.
“I hope to learn how to skate better, and I hope to help make it a fun season for the younger kids who have a lot of time left on the team,” she said.
