Swimmers and basketball players....I can’t believe I have to write about them...just kidding! Aside from the fact that swimming and basketball are decidedly not my cup of tea, they do have one other thing in common. They’re both winter sports at Mystic Valley. Oh yeah, and MV's swimming and basketball teams are both historically REALLY GOOD. In school, there are two things we dread about winter each year: cold rooms and midyear exams.
Because of my recent involvement in winter sports, I have always wondered how winter athletes prepare for the third most important tests they’ll take in high school (behind MCAS and SAT). I talked with a number of winter athletes and their three coaches: Mr. Dan for Varsity Swimming, Mr. Cantwell for Varsity Girl’s Basketball, and Professor Tony Ferullo of Suffolk University for Varsity Boy’s Basketball.
The swim team has practice right after school to 6 o’clock every weeknight and mornings every Saturday. The team last year is now under a lot of pressure after the departure of eight seniors, including MVP Christian Kinnon and Caroline Williams. They are now under the leadership of seniors Michael Leung and Ryan Kinnon. This is primarily an inexperienced team, with seventeen swimmers with at most two years of experience. They have two meets on midterms week, Monday and Wednesday.
“Considering I have had past experience with a busy schedule, I shouldn’t be hindered...I think I should do well.” -Sophomore Kris Vu
“Not much really changes...I feel like I keep the same grades…[and] the same schedule” -Junior Taylor Gibson
Coach Dan has 10+ years of coaching experience. His academic experience consists of being a floater and an English teacher, which ultimately led to his current position as Assistant Director. With such experience, Mr. Dan understands the importance of the phrase “Academics Before Athletics”. He advises not just swimmers, but to the entire student body to not leave all the work the few days before midterms.
“It tends to creep up on all of us...with all of our businesses and tight schedules, so it's really up to you to be proactive,” he said.
I also approached him on the issue of sleep. He emphasized on the point that studying is not 100%. He stated that for school, you need to know ‘The Law of Diminishing Returns’; If your body is tired, then it will become inefficient. Here, he implies that sleep is just as important as studying.
“It tends to creep up on all of us...with all of our businesses and tight schedules, so it's really up to you to be proactive,” he said.
I also approached him on the issue of sleep. He emphasized on the point that studying is not 100%. He stated that for school, you need to know ‘The Law of Diminishing Returns’; If your body is tired, then it will become inefficient. Here, he implies that sleep is just as important as studying.
Mr. Dan hopes the best for this year’s team. “There’s a great nucleus of boys and girls who are much younger, but the best is yet to come”.
***
The girls basketball team has the same practice schedule as the swim team. The team is under the same pressure, after the departure of four seniors, including MVP Meghan Foley. This new team consists of ten underclassmen, under the leadership of junior Menel Lamadzema and sophomore Talia Mamayek. Fortunately, it just so happens that Mr. Cantwell creates the schedule for the conference and has not scheduled any games for midterms week.
“I plan stuff ahead, I take advantage of all the free time I have to plan everything I out. I’m usually busy anyways, with school, basketball, and work, so I think I’m used to it. ”
- Junior Captain Menel Lamadzema
“I do stay up regularly, but basketball keeps me on track.” -Sophomore Captain Talia Mamayek
Coach Cantwell is in his fifth season as head coach. As a history teacher, he also understands ‘Academics Before Athletics’. He places an importance on balance.
“Athletics is a field of exploration and competition. However, it is important that one is not more important than the other.” Cantwell said.
“It teaches things that aren’t learned in a classroom. The most important of those things being teamwork”. He advises his players as well as his history students to develop effective habits and to practice them as much as possible
“Athletics is a field of exploration and competition. However, it is important that one is not more important than the other.” Cantwell said.
“It teaches things that aren’t learned in a classroom. The most important of those things being teamwork”. He advises his players as well as his history students to develop effective habits and to practice them as much as possible
And to all the teams and coaches, Coach Cantwell has made a bold claim: Girl’s Varsity Basketball has the highest GPA in general sports. The challenge is on folks! Good Luck to the Girl’s Basketball Team!
***
The boys basketball team has practice at 7-9 every weeknight and practice on weekends. The team is under pressure after the departure of five seniors, including MVP Matt O’Connor. They are under the leadership of seniors Danzy Briceus and Michael Carlino. They have a game during midterm week on Tuesday.
“I think I usually do well, I mean, I’ve been doing this since eighth grade” -Senior Captain Danzy Briceus
Coach Ferullo is in his fourteenth season with the program. In fact, he is the only boy’s basketball coach the school has ever had! He has said before, the school would actually influence him to reschedule practices and games in order to give the players time to prepare for midterms. Recently, that has changed.
However, Ferullo’s motto is still the same ‘Family, school, basketball’. He analogizes basketball as “a microcosm of life, it reflects different aspects of life skills”, similar to Cantwell’s message.
“I don’t have to really emphasize that point because this is a school that already stresses this message," he said.
It's that message that creates responses like this:
“Before, I [wasn't great] at managing my time...Now with basketball, I plan to use my time better in school” -Freshman Alfie Tsang
He also compares preparation for midterms like preparing for a game. “You have to be aware to be prepared. Know your opponent and cut him down. This is the building blocks to preparing for a test such as your midterms.”
Ferullo has no further viewpoint on the future of the team, as he only looks towards the next game but not further.
After further research, it appears as if the lowerclassmen ratio to upperclassmen (just in high school) winter athletic ratio is 68: 25. The ratio would be larger including lower school athletes. This explains why each team has primarily young teams.
In general, these athletes feel prepared enough, given that they have adapted to their new schedules. Still, the message from the coaches stays the same. As educators, they emphasize to never put your athletics before your academics. Study hard just as well as you play hard.
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