Playing a varsity sport is ultimately the goal for many student-athletes. Positions on it are usually filled with the most skilled upperclassmen. However, at Vista del Lago High School there are a handful of freshmen athletes that immediately joined the high-level teams.

Moving up to varsity comes with numerous challenges, including feeling pressure to meet the expectations that come with varsity-level play. Since the freshmen are the youngest players, many of them feel uncertain, like varsity cross country runner Matlin O’Brien. “I could lose my spot at any moment.” With seven people on varsity, there were times “where the seventh-place person would be right behind me because I had some not-very-good meets and was worried they would catch up to me… it was scary.”

Joining the varsity team may be intimidating—not only because of the skills but also socially. It can be difficult to fit in when you are new to the school as well as the team, especially when most are older. “Sometimes I do feel a bit disconnected to those older than me but I believe I will build teamwork and become comfortable with them more as I continue to play with them,” said varsity tennis player Theodore Luis. On his team, there are only two other freshmen, but he keeps an optimistic attitude toward getting to know the upperclassmen.

With two-hour practices five days a week, Varsity Softball player Stacey Kraushar works hard to keep everything organized and written down. “It is very important to keep an organized schedule. I have a planner I use everyday.” Time management is key as it is hard to balance homework while having games and practices everyday, especially for freshmen as they still have to get used to high school life in general.

These student-athletes were able to land spots on their varsity teams because of their undeniable talent and work ethic. All of these athletes advise to work really hard to reach varsity level. Practicing consistently to get to a higher level is a lot of work, but that goes for everything. Someday it will pay off.

All of the freshmen varsity athletes worked hard to get to where they are, and since they are young, Vista del Lago is lucky to have them playing for three more years.