By Evelyn Tole

   “Always keep going for the ball and never give up,” says eighth-grader Emily Youngs to encourage her teammates before a game. 

   The middle school girls’ soccer team had a unique season because they’ve previously never had an A and B team. Yet the girls have been working hard and it’s been paying off, with the A team coming in fourth in the region and the B team in first. 

   The A team recently tied a game against Chandler Prep and are scheduled to play against Cicero Prep on Feb. 2. The B team suffered a 2-0 loss against North Phoenix Prep and is also scheduled to play on Feb. 2, vs. Arete Prep.

   Unlike the girl’s team, the middle school boys’ soccer team has had to adjust with a smaller amount of players. This was a building season for the boys. While they didn’t have much success in terms of wins and losses, they learned many of the fundamentals of soccer. 

   The team’s next game is scheduled for Feb. 2 against Arete Prep.The middle school baseball team is in second place in its region. All of the players have done well, but some have stood out. Some of these include pitchers Cooper Furiga and Kelson Hogan, along with Samuel Carter for his defense and Andres Lazano for his hitting. The Knights lost to Lincoln Prep in their game on Jan. 26 and are scheduled for playing Chandler Prep on Feb. 3. 

   After a short hiatus the middle school softball team was back in gear this season. But because they weren’t sure they’d have enough players for a team, they were not given the best place to practice and had trouble getting uniforms. 

   Most of the teammates were also inexperienced. Despite these challenges, the team is in third place in its region. Coach Brad Savage says, “We haven’t had a softball team for a while…so we hope to build a program that will prepare the girls so there can be a varsity softball team in the high school.” 

The girls lost a tough 21- 15 game against North Phoenix Prep, but with a better understanding of softball, the athletes are anticipating improvements for next season. 

   Although there were many set-backs in the middle school winter season, the middle-school players were still able to prepare for high-school sports in their upcoming future.