Menu
AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT SHS BY B. BOSWELL
Districts
This week our volleyball team took home a district title. This was obviously a big deal for not only the team but our community. This got me thinking on how much the playing environment changes from the regular season a district championship. Everything seems to be magnified in the sense that everything you do now has so much more meaning. Every play counts now on the big stage. Some people can’t take the pressure of having something as big as a district championship on the line, and they crumble under the pressure.
This got me thinking about my first time playing in a district championship. Last year for baseball we played conway the district championship game. This was unlike any game I had ever played in before. My nerves were shooting through the roof, I had never experienced as much pressure on myself as I was then. I could see how some people could let that get to them, as the fear of messing up and costing your team that trophy at the end of the day. But playing in this game taught me valuable lessons, most importantly, how to deal with the nerves I was experiencing . I learned to channel those nerves into my game making me play better. This is a skill I use very often now whether it be for a big test such as the ACT, speaking in front of an audience, or really anything that causes nerves or pressure. We ended up winning our district championship game, further proving that as a team we learned to deal with that pressure, and actually thrived from it.
This got me thinking about my first time playing in a district championship. Last year for baseball we played conway the district championship game. This was unlike any game I had ever played in before. My nerves were shooting through the roof, I had never experienced as much pressure on myself as I was then. I could see how some people could let that get to them, as the fear of messing up and costing your team that trophy at the end of the day. But playing in this game taught me valuable lessons, most importantly, how to deal with the nerves I was experiencing . I learned to channel those nerves into my game making me play better. This is a skill I use very often now whether it be for a big test such as the ACT, speaking in front of an audience, or really anything that causes nerves or pressure. We ended up winning our district championship game, further proving that as a team we learned to deal with that pressure, and actually thrived from it.
the impact of your words
you never know the impact your words can have on someone. something that you may not even think about could mean the world to someone else. this is a tough lesson to learn. the thought that your words and actions hold consequences, and you should be careful as to what words come out of your mouth. this is also an important lesson that i feel everyone needs to learn. if everyone were to make a real effort to do this and implicated it into real world affairs we could see a real change in this world.
i also think that if we were to apply this to strafford we could see a serious and IMMINENT impact of this school. it will be difficult to get everyone to help create this kind of ENVIRONMENT, but if anyone school can do it it's strafford.
i also think that if we were to apply this to strafford we could see a serious and IMMINENT impact of this school. it will be difficult to get everyone to help create this kind of ENVIRONMENT, but if anyone school can do it it's strafford.
the offer
This past week i RECEIVED some of the most exciting news in my life.i have received my first OFFICIAL offer to play college baseball. on tuesday this week i received a call from the head coach at drury university, he informed me that he would like to offer me a spot of their team. it honestly still doesn't feel real yet. this is something i've been dreaming about since i was five years old and it's finally starting to come true. this is what i've been working toward my entire baseball career.
now all of my scholarship money is going to have to be academic, as drury hardly gives out any athletic scholarships. so i plan on retaking my act. if i manage to get my act score one point higher then i can receive an extra $4,000 in scholarships per year. also now i'm going to have to work harder than i've ever worked before at baseball. i'm going to have to be willing to push myself harder than i ever have before. it's not going to be easy to play baseball at drury, but i'm up for the challenge.
now all of my scholarship money is going to have to be academic, as drury hardly gives out any athletic scholarships. so i plan on retaking my act. if i manage to get my act score one point higher then i can receive an extra $4,000 in scholarships per year. also now i'm going to have to work harder than i've ever worked before at baseball. i'm going to have to be willing to push myself harder than i ever have before. it's not going to be easy to play baseball at drury, but i'm up for the challenge.
an update on sports
these past few weeks have been huge for strafford sports. we've beaten our rival, fair grove, in both football and volleyball. these were both huge wins, giving both teams a huge confidence boost, and with districts coming up this is vital. hopefully both teams can ride this new plethora of confidence into districts. this recent success got me thinking about the upcoming basketball season. hopes are high for us this year, we've been putting in the work and hopefully it's going to pay off. a few months from now, let's hope that i'll be talking about how basketball beat fair grove.
community pride
fEW SCHOOLS CAN TRULY CAPTURE THE MEANING OF SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PRIDE AS WELL AS STRAFFORD HIGH DOES. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRAFFORD AND MOST OTHER SCHOOLS IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA IS TREMENDOUS, AND I PROBABLY KNOW THIS JUST AS WELL AS ANYONE. BEFORE I ATTENDED STRAFFORD I WENT TO A LARGE SCHOOL RIGHT IN THE HEART OF SPRINGFIELD. THE COMMUNITIES DIFFERENCE START WITH THE SIZE OF THE SCHOOLS, MY CLASS SIZE WAS DECREASING BY AROUND 400 STUDENTS . WHEN I FIRST CAME TO STRAFFORD, I WAS IN AWE OF HOW WELL THIS SMALL COMMUNITY BONDED TOGETHER. EVERY EVENT (AND WHEN I SAY EVERY, I MEAN QUITE LITERALLY EVERY) THERE IS A CROWD OF SUPPORTING STRAFFORD MEMBERS. THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT IS ALMOST NEVER ACHIEVED AT LARGE CITY SCHOOLS, AND IS PART OF THE REASON WHY I FEEL LIKE STRAFFORD IS SUCH A GOOD SCHOOL. THERE IS ALWAYS A SENSE OF SUPPORT, EVEN IF YOU FAIL YOU'VE GOT THE ENTIRE CITY OF STRAFFORD BEHIND YOU BACK. THIS IS WHAT SO MANY SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES LACK, AND WHAT MAKES THE SMALL CITY OF STRAFFORD SO SPECIAL.