It’s that time of year again: last minute carpools, theme nights, and waking up without a voice. That’s right, we’re in fall sports season. Even though we don’t have our own home field for some of our fall sports like football and soccer, that hasn’t stopped the athletes, spectators, or highly passionate parents of Knoch High School from cheering on and playing their sports.
Coming back is possibly the most successful sports team here at Knoch in the past few years, the tennis team. For anyone who is unaware or confused about the typical layout of a match, it consists of three singles matches and two doubles matches, and whichever team wins three out of five individual matches wins the whole match. The scoring of a match is so unnecessarily confusing that I won’t even attempt to explain it.
Leading her team into this season is Senior Ally Bauer. Bauer has played both doubles and singles in her four years on the team.
On which she prefers, Bauer said, “singles because it’s more independent. You don’t have to rely on someone.”
Despite being a self proclaimed lone wolf, Bauer shares the captain title with Junior Ava Santora, a previous doubles partner of the senior. Together, these two captains and coach Nancy Conlon are RALLYING the team, who are looking to go back for seconds and SERVE up another State Championship title.
Now that you know a bit about the sport of hitting yellow balls with a wide bat, stop by the home courts for a match or two and support the girls tennis team.
Staying ON PAR with the preppy country club sports, let’s learn a bit about the Knoch golf team. The team is coached by everyone’s favorite middle school Earth and Space Science teacher, Mr. Voltz, who is something of a golf legend here at Knoch.
“Dad is a very good coach,” says junior Aiden Froedert. “He takes the time to help us with our swing or other facets of the game to improve. He is laid back and loves spending time with his children (the golf team).”
The golf team rigorously practices at the Saxon Golf Course, working their putts off to face some of the team’s rivals, such as Freeport or Deer Lakes. This year, the golf team has experienced a spike in members with several new students wanting to try their hands at the sport.
“Come play golf!” says Froedert. “Even if you suck, you will still have a fun time walking around with a heavy backpack with sticks in it.”
What’s even more fun than walking around with a heavy backpack with sticks in it? Running around with a heavy backpack with sticks in it! At least, that’s probably what the athletes of this next sport may think. That’s right folks; we’re talking about cross country.
While the idea of running in the grass and hills of rural Pennsylvania may seem like a grueling and downright bad time to some (or most) people, we’ve got some psychopaths here at Knoch who are willing to go the distance for their team, literally! The team has lost a few seniors from last year, but still have dedicated runners such as junior Emma Haugh, who has been on the team for five years! Throughout her running career, Haugh has had to face the elements and physical and mental toil. However, she has a great system to combat these struggles.
“Dang, the motivation to win, or like, beat some girls,” says Haugh.
Seniors aren’t the only ones who have left the team over the past year. The team has also faced a coaching change, with Ms. Formica being the new running overlord.
Haugh has strong feelings for this new coach, saying, “Ms. Formica is amazing and I love her till the end of the world and she’s my half mom.”
Wow, a glowing review! Hopefully, this long distance coach will have a long term relationship with the team.
If you like running but also enjoy chasing balls, soccer is the sport for you. After a couple disappointing seasons, the girls team has high hopes for this year, as this year they’re in a different section, competing against different teams that are a better match for them.
“I think we are finally where we are supposed to be after years of being beaten by bigger schools,” says junior Bella Oskin. “Hopefully, this year we’ll make the playoffs!”
With the way the season is going right now, playoffs are certainly in the picture! The team has been on the BALL with some skills they were lacking last season, and are leading into the season with a couple wins, with the addition of a much less humbling game against Hampton!
Volleyball has had a bit of a frustrating start but it’s in no way their fault. Because of the poorly timed renovations, they just recently started being able to practice in their own gym. Up until recently, they’d been practicing in the middle school gym, where the ceilings are low and the court is much different from their high school court.
“All the balls just shank off the ceiling,” says sophomore Kristen Gallagher. “It’s really frustrating.”
Despite it all, the gym just got finished and the team is ready to put in the hard work to make up for lost time. The team always gets hype for games and tournaments, and they have a spirit that can’t be beat. They were thrilled to have their first home game with the beautiful new bleachers and gym floor. Be sure to come see it for yourself at their next home game!
Coming in last is the football team. This year football has a different dynamic, considering they have no home field advantage, a new coach, and apparently a few new tricks up their sleeve.
“We have almost all new coaches, including our head coach who is changing up our offense since it was outdated,” says sophomore Wyatt Foster. “Especially with the help of newer, better plays, the team is looking good.”
Everyone’s upset about the complete lack of home field games this year, except for the one lucky game we got to have at home for our senior night against Elizabeth Forward, but that won’t stop them! One of the best things for the team is the moral support of their classmates, so keep showing up to games even though the drives can be a bit of a haul. There are always upperclassmen going, don’t be afraid to ask for a ride, and don’t be afraid to go all out for the themes!
Boy’s soccer is also a sport…
Now that you’re totally educated and informed about all these autumnal sports, go out and support your school! Whether it’s driving an hour to see a football game or simply going to the gym to cheer on volleyball, any attendance is encouraged and appreciated by the athletes!
