The school year begins its new chapter with the fall season sport tryouts, consisting of cross-country, tennis and, volleyball. Considered three of the most beloved sports by many students, future athletes are looking forward to becoming a part of a team this season. Regardless of the members on the teams, there is no doubt that successful results will follow for the approaching season.
“The ball crashes to the ground, a great applause breaks out, filling the court with tears of joy,” said Lara Kim (10), JV volleyball player. “This is one of the many enjoyable things about volleyball season. Although there are many new team members, I hope to become closer to all of them in order to create good chemistry on court with all of the players as a team. ”
Cross-country is a strenuous sport that not only requires physical stamina, but also a hard mentality. Fall sports tryouts for the team began on Aug. 17, as the prospective runners met in the field with their coaches: Coach Jennifer Miller, Coach Tyler Miller and Coach Raymond Marangelo. Members of any sports team must be willing to spend their time devoting themselves to the sport, and in this case, that devotion comes in the form of daily practices in preparation for the upcoming races. Approximately 30 students made an appearance during the tryouts, including new and returning members. A unique aspect of the cross-country team is that none of the players are placed in a permanent position to begin with; the members of the varsity cross-country team will be finalized depending on their newest race records. On Sept. 2, the cross-country team had their first race of the season at Korea International School.
“I hope the new runners aren’t daunted by the nature of the sport. Although 5 kilometers may seem like a long distance and requires lots of energy, if we all run together as a team it is an enjoyable sport for all runners and good results will follow if we work hard and prepare for the upcoming races,” said Kevin Kim (11), cross-country runner.
Having to set foot outside of school every practice may seem like a challenge for the varsity tennis team, however, most players view it as an opportunity to participate in an activity that they love whilst representing our school at the same time. Every tryout, players gather to ride the bus and depart to an outdoor tennis court with Coach Ricky Green and Coach James Tyvand. The varsity boys tennis team faced their first challenge even before the season officially started as they faced a shortage of members. Nonetheless, the varsity tennis team is expected to overcome its lack of members by bringing home good results in their future tournaments.
“I personally would like to see the players get along as a team. There is definitely certain amount of competiveness in practices since the players need to challenge each other for slots on the team, but once that has settled, I would like the players to come together and really support each other throughout the season,” said Coach Tyvand, varsity girls tennis coach.
Volleyball is one of the most popular sports among the student athletes, with approximately 70 players trying out for the team just this year. This year’s volleyball tryouts were held in Tiger Gym 1; players were later grouped with people of similar abilities and tried out in divisions. Due to the large number of players, coaches conflicted with a few returning players who had different opinions about the new members selected on the team for the season. Notwithstanding these controversies, the players showed strong chemistry as a team, a key aspect many athletes venerate. On Aug. 26 at SIS, the varsity volleyball team will participate in the Korea Classic Volleyball Tournament and will proclaim the return of KAIAC champions.
“For this volleyball season, I want the JV girls to have more confidence and faith in our team. I wish for this season to become a game changer and flip our overall image; most importantly, I hope that our team can represent our SIS tigers to the best extent, as triumphant volleyball players who aren’t just those who failed to get into varsity, but those who stood around to play volleyball, have fun, and win,” said Jenny Oh (10), JV volleyball player.