We spoke with Maddy Burke, a sophomore varsity volleyball player, who gave us the latest news on their competitive season. When asked how their season has been going she was hesitant, “It’s been going good,” but she was quickly enthusiastic, “We’ve been starting to get into our groove.” Maddy explained how her team was stuck in a rut for a little bit but is now hopefully out of it. As of October 5, the volleyball team’s record is 7-5. When asked what Maddy personally likes the most about her sport she was enthusiastic, “Volleyball is fun and competitive and I like competitive. It’s a team sport so it really builds a nice community.” When asked what Maddy loves most about her teammates and the energy and atmosphere that they have created she immediately said, “I love my teammates! Everyone is just so sweet and very supportive. The atmosphere is a lot better than last year and there is a lot more motivation and drive.” When asked what she thinks is something people assume most about the sport she laughed, “That you don’t really have to do anything. But come on, like the long runs are hard and it’s more of a mental game than anything else because teams go on runs and you have to use your head to get out of your head and win.” When asked what she would say to get people to come to a game she cheered, “You should come because when we have great energy we play good and don’t you want to be a good Sacredheartian? They’re super fun to watch especially when we play a good team and we’re playing good and it’s intense,” then Maddy yelled, “FILL THE TANK!” Go Maddy!
From kill to goal, we’re here with a varsity field hockey player, junior, Emma Coggins. Emma was excited, “Our season’s been pretty good so far, we’re really starting to work together, persevere, and I think we are going to continue to do well and kill it in states. Our record [as of 10/5/23] is 1-2-3.” When asked what she likes about fockey, Emma said, “I like how it’s really a team sport, and while everyone has a job to do it works best when you do it together.” When about the environment created and the team’s culture Emma was very inspirational, “I like how we are friends on and off the field and I think it gives us good chemistry.” When asked what is an assumption made about field hockey most often Emma said, “I think a lot of people think it’s so much work and that our backs must hurt, but the amount of effort is worth it if you love.” Emma was very passionate about getting people to come to a game, “We have a lot of spirit and win or lose, it’s fun on the sidelines, and you can see us working hard. If you ever want to see what SHA’s about and be part of our community, field hockey is a great place to look.” Go Emma!
Mackenzie Spooner, a sophomore varsity cross country member was delighted to be interviewed, “Our season has been going so good this season. We were runners-up at SCC Divisional’ s a few weeks ago and the record for our regular season is 9-4!” When asked what she likes most about cross country she explained, “The team. Everyone is always encouraging and pushing each other to be the best we can be. I always love the teammates on the sideline cheering the runners on. This always reminds me that I can do this, even when it feels like I can’t.” How motivational! When asked about what atmosphere is created between her teammates Mackenzie said, “We have created an atmosphere that encourages everyone to try and be their best and as a team we love to see our teammates succeed which is what makes the sport so special.” Mackenzie laughed when asked what she thinks people assume most about cross country, “That it’s easy, but it’s really not.” She then added, “Come support our team and cheer on the runners as they go by! It’s always fun to see the hard work we put in during practice get displayed on the course.” Go Mackenzie!
Goalllllllllll! We’re here with Ava Murphy, a senior varsity soccer player, and Lilah Bachmann, a sophomore varsity soccer player. Ava said soccer has been having a great season so far, “-our team has amazing chemistry. Our team record is 7-1 [as of 10/4/23].” When asked what Lilah loves most about her team and the atmosphere she said, “I love the team bonding and the feeling after playing a hard team and winning.” As you deserve! “I love that our teammates are always supportive,” Ava said, “and whenever anyone gets nervous on the field they help each other get out of their head and focus.” When asked what she thinks people assume most about soccer Lilah was passionate, “People assume that itthat it’s easy and it’s just a kick-and-run sport, but it takes a lot of skill and work. We have to make the right pass, have the right form, make sure that we put the right amount of power into the kick, and keep up our stamina.” To convince people to support SHA soccer Lilah and Ava yelled, “Show some SHApport and cheer us on!” and another sophomore varsity player, Bianca Maciel insisted, “BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!” Let’s go Ava, Lilah, and Bianca!
We’re here with Meghan Keeney, a sophomore cheer captain. When asked how their season is going on so far she explained, “We have been working very hard learning new routines and skills to perform at the ND football games. Our Cheer competition season will being in a few months and we are very excited! So more to come!!” What Meghan likes most about Cheerleading is stunting, “People who have never participated in stunting aren’t aware of the required skills, the necessary strength, the trust we must have in one another, and multiple times we have to work the same stunt over and over to get it right. That feeling of creating a great stunt for a crowd is amazing and the pride we feel, knowing how hard we worked on it, is fantastic!” When asked what Meghan likes most about her teammates she said, “How we share an overall love for the sport. No matter if we have a great practice or a not-so-great practice, whether we have a good stunting day, we always end the practice positively. We started something new this year, after each practice we reflect on what went well and what we can improve on for future practices. These girls work so hard and I am so proud to be sharing this experience with them. They are truly great athletes!” Meghan said people assume that cheerleading is not a sport, “Cheerleading is absolutely a sport. We practice hard, we come home with bruises and cuts and sometimes worse. We cheer games in the pouring rain even when ND is way behind in points. We throw humans high into the air, and more importantly, we catch them! We may not have games where we “play,” but we show up and do our best to excite the crowd and perform our routines no matter the distance from home, the weather conditions, or how well the team we are cheering for is performing. We deserve the same respect and acknowledgment as all other SHA sports.” Well said Meghan! To encourage people to come to the games she said, “Sideline cheer for the fall football season is a lot of fun! The student section of games, the Green Machine, sometimes even cheers with us! Our routines are different at each home game and our tumblers are amazing to watch!! There is a lot of energy in the stadium and you don’t want to miss out!!” Go Meghan!
Here’s Anya Zanor, a sophomore varsity swim/dive member, to tell us all about swim/dive team! When asked how their season has been going so far, Anya said, “Our season has been pretty good! Our current record is 1-2 but we hope to bump that to 2-2 [as of 10/4/23] on Friday! We co-op’ed with East Haven and New Haven so it took a bit of adjusting to a new coach and new teammates but we’re having a lot of fun, and our team has really come together. It’s been nice to build friendships with girls outside the SHA community. I like how swim is an independent sport,” Anya explained, “but you still have a sense of being a team player because you want to win your event and score points so the team can win.” Anya explained how most people assume the swim team is bad and boring, “-but we really aren’t. So many people have been making amazing progress since the beginning of the season and we have so much fun at practice and at meets. Our losses have ended extremely close.” Preach Anya! “There’s no time-outs or halftimes so swim meets are fast-paced, energetic, and something is always happening,” Anya exclaimed while convincing people to come to a game or meet. Anya also added, “Come see us swim in Branford on Tuesday October 24th it should be really fun!” Go Anya!
Let’s cheer on these amazing athletes for all the hard work they put into playing great! Roll Sharks!
A special thanks to Maddy Burke, Emma Coggins, Ava Murphy, Lilah Bachmann, Bianca Maciel, Meghan Keeney, and Anya Zanor for allowing me to interview them, it is very much appreciated and I know it’s not easy.
