For many Staples students, the final days of summer are spent savoring the sunshine and hanging out at the beach. Days will soon shorten and be spent with books in hand, but for the many fall athletes at Staples, these last few days mark the start of only one thing: Sports Tryouts.

From field hockey to soccer, this years tryouts have been some of the most grueling in recent memory. “We did a timed one and two mile. Two timed 600`s. We did a lot of small scrimmaging and some drills,” Rachel Morrison ’16 said. All of this took place over three demanding days in which over 90 girls battled to earn one of only 36 spots up for grabs on the field hockey team.

Coach Ashley DelVecchio stressed the importance of hard work and conditioning to her girls, which was a key motivator throughout the six hour long tryout days.

Captain Jenna McNicholas ’15 is optimistic about the team’s potential. The large group of returning seniors and an array of talented underclassman carried the team to a 10-1 victory over Bethel in their first preseason scrimmage.

At the Wakeman fields, the boys soccer team began their training nearly a week before the start of the tryouts and the school year. In the days leading up to tryouts, the team took part in two a day practices that began at the crack of dawn.

Varsity coach Dan Woog is excited about the group of players that participated in the tryouts, and saw large improvements in many returning players. “Sophomore Josh Berman is stepping up big time defensively,” noted Woog.

With more than 90 players trying out for spots on the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams, it looks to be yet another successful year for Staples soccer.