For many students, the first few weeks of winter mean cold weather, the first snowfall and looking forward to the holiday season. But for Staples’ winter athletes, the end of November means gearing up for sports tryouts and the subsequent seasons to follow. 

One team is looking to start the 2022-23 season off strong: boys’ ice hockey. The team hosted their first “evaluation” on Nov. 28 rather than a traditional tryout as a result of having a smaller number of players compared to other sports. Head coach Matt Bohn thinks that this season is looking hopeful for Staples.

“I’m really excited for the returning guys that we have this year,” Bohn said. “We had our first tryout yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised by not only the [players’] effort but how good the guys looked.”

Though many might shy away from the winter cold, one team can’t wait for the temperatures to drop; the boys’ ski team is looking forward to tryouts at Mount Southington, which are expected to begin on Dec. 20. Captain CJ Johnson ’23 is ready to step into his position and start the season off strong.

“Preseason so far has been captains’ practices, which are more bonding activities such as soccer, World Cup and basketball,” Johnson said. “Then we do dryland, which is conditioning to get you ready for actually skiing in the cold.”

This year, the ski team is scheduled for five races in the regular season, with the first being on Jan. 11.

Last but certainly not least, the gymnastics team is flying into this season after making it to states last year and placing fourth overall in the FCIAC league.

“Gymnastics preseason is coming to an end after a few weeks of getting our skills back,” gymnastics team member Abbie Pleiter ’25 said. “The whole team is really excited for the season to start this Monday [Dec. 5]”. 

Overall, whether it be on snow, ice or even mid-air, Staples’ winter athletes are ready to take on the 2022-23 sports season and hopefully even take home some titles along the way.