By Ruby Bennett     

   Middle-school Sports this season have been beneficial to improving students’ social and athletic abilities.

Track

   This season’s track team has 14 members who often participate in a variety of events that stress different race strategies, different paces and other important aspects. 

   Mr. Wilkison, the middle-school track coach and a music teacher at Tempe Prep, said that his primary goal is to “introduce athletes to the sport of track and field, help them enjoy it and make personal improvement.” 

   Additionally, Mr. Wilkison participated in track and field in high school, and although he didn’t consider himself to be particularly good at the sport, Mr. Wilkison said, “(I) learned that hard work pays off and leads to improvement.” He tries to reflect this in his coaching.

Swimming 

   Middle-school swimming was also valuable to its participants. Rebecca Turley, a 7th grader and member of the team, particularly enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with people who have similar interests. “I enjoy talking to my friends during long swim meets and it definitely pushes you to socialize more,” she said. 

   Additionally, Rebecca said she appreciates the health benefits of the sport, as it is essentially a full body workout. Although swimming is mostly an independent sport, Rebecca noted that “the team has definitely improved. … Some practices were definitely hard but overall it was a very fun experience. … I would definitely participate again.”

Girls’ basketball

   The middle-school girls’ basketball team this year was made up of 13 players, which, although similar to last year’s team, is about five players less than two years before when there was an A and B team.  

   Ms. Williams, who coaches the basketball team, said it is most important for her that “all of our players show up ready to play and improve from the start of the season to the end.”

   Basketball has always been important for Ms. Williams as she has played the sport for most of her life, starting in kindergarten. It is important for her that she and the team recognize the smaller victories, like someone’s first basket in a game, seeing how much a player has improved, etc. 

   “Basketball is a tough sport – it requires a lot of different skills – everyone plays offense, everyone plays defense and you don’t stop hustling,” she said, “You gotta respect any of these players trying it for the first time at school and just going for it – it’s no small feat to take on!”

Boys’ basketball

   Boys basketball this season has also been quite successful. This year their team had relatively new coaches, Jordan and Vince, who were an important part of their season. 

   Boys’ basketball had enough players for an A team and a B team. The A team made it to the second game of the playoffs, and the B team ended their season 9-1. 

   In addition, basketball was an enjoyable activity to participate in. “Basketball was a very fun sport to be a part of. It is a great way to bond with your friends,” said Cohen Westfall, a 7th grade player on the team. 

   The team also improved dramatically from the beginning of the season. 

   Cohen said, “We have seen a huge improvement in everyone on our team. We do tons of conditioning and discipline at practice that improves all of our athletic abilities.”