The moment of silence seems endless as the junior class athletes sit at their banquets anxiously waiting to hear the captains for the following year.
The names are called.
Some athletes have gone through this process more than once, and some even more than twice.
A number of these athletes show such outstanding qualities, both in the heat of a game, and through their spirit, that they have been nominated to lead multiple teams as captain throughout the coming year.
Peter Elkind ’14 describes his three seasons of being a captain as completely different experiences, each one having its own unique qualities. “As each season ends, I become nostalgic, as I think about the teammates that are transitioning to a new sport, only to meet and become friends with new people in the new season.”
Captains must fulfill a variety of obligations, students said, including leading the team to the state finals, cheering on the freshman though a tough race, and being everyone’s role model and friend.
In the final moments of the football state championship game, it is hard to forget the winning scorer, running 60 yards down the field, beating out defenders left and right, and bringing home the first state championship since 2005.
However, as cliche as it may sound, despite the success brought to the team by a single standout player, the team is made up of many athletes, all playing an equally necessary part in winning and losing.
Soccer, indoor and outdoor track captain Jack Scott ’14 said he has enjoyed his experience so far as captain and is excited to have an entire season left of captaining a sport in high school. James Lewis ’16 had the chance of playing on the varsity soccer team with Scott, along with running track both in the indoor and outdoor seasons with him. Lewis describes Scott as “extremely hard working” and adds that Scott “would have us repeat the same drills for hours; there was not a break until the entire team perfected it.”
Scott is always working towards the next win for the team, knowing that in both soccer and track, no win is gained by a single player.
Tyler Scanlin ’14, a captain of the indoor and outdoor track team, has led her team to win state, New England, and national titles in the DMR in the outdoor 2013 season and indoor 2014 season.
Coming into the winter season, Scanlin said she was not sure how strong her leadership skills were going to be.
Now in the spring season of track, Scanlin is ready to lead the team to another season full of medals and trophies.
Malcolm Watson, distance track coach, has nothing but positive words to describe Scanlin as a captain. Watson remembers watching Scanlin as captain on her first day of practice in December as a “quiet leader” and now watches her “lead the team with daily cheers, motivation, support, and respect for everyone, both coaches and athletes.”
Watson continued, saying, “It is not only Tyler who is becoming a stronger athlete everyday, but she is becoming a stronger leader and adding so much strength to the team.”
Scanlin could not have said it better: “When doing a sport like track that is sometimes very hard to enjoy, I’m glad I can be captain so that I spread my love for running, and teach everyone that running can be fun.”