Winning Good. Success Better.
By:Skylar Downs
High school athletics can be challenging at times. Your teammates may not always be the easiest to work with. Maybe you are not all that easy to work with as well. You might not agree with every decision the coach makes.
And you don’t always win.
All these things and more can make it tricky to measure the success of a team. So how exactly do you measure success as a high school athlete?
Win or lose, a team can always be considered successful. Success isn’t always determined by how many wins you get, or the lack of wins your team may have. The measure of success is much deeper than that.
According to Jazmin Whittier, a sophomore soccer player at PRHS (Class of 2025) some of the most important things about a high school sports team are “Teamwork, having good teammates, having respect both ways, and respectful coaches.” Good points, all of them. Without respect a team cannot be successful. If people on the team are being disrespectful, that can throw off team chemistry.
Andrea Forbush, head coach of the girls JV soccer team and assistant coach of the varsity girls soccer team – as well as head coach of the girls softball team – had some things to say about this topic.
Question: What is the most important part of a high school sports team?
Coach Forbush: “I would say probably learning how to manage both school and athletics. I think the time management piece is key not just in high school, but as you get a job, or as you move up to being on the college level. Being able to manage your time also teaches you strategies. I know it can be overwhelming to be too busy, but being able to manage your time with the athletic piece, the social piece, and the academic piece” is important to balance things later in life.
Team success also requires leadership. Without leaders, the team will fall apart. Leaders are there to help guide the team in practices and games. This gives other players an extra perspective on how things should be done. It also helps to have things explained in multiple ways so that you can fully understand the essential concepts.
Finally, good team chemistry equals success. Bad team chemistry? Good luck. Mr.Collins, assistant coach of the football team, said, “That’s the biggest piece. If you don’t like each other then you can’t perform together, and then that will hurt the team's success.”
I learned that chemistry lesson first-hand. Last year when I joined the girls soccer team, I was a sophomore and only knew the basics of soccer. The girls on the team were so helpful and patient with me – as were the coaches. The seniors were the most helpful during tryouts and I was so sad when they left at the end of the year. I learned so much from everyone on the team and my coaches. I made the team and was super excited for how the season would unfold.
That was the first full school sports season since the pandemic disrupted everything. We had all new coaches and all new players, which gave us a bunch of opportunities for team chemistry to develop. I learned so much in that season, developed into a better version of myself, and a better athlete. Not to mention that I made a bunch of new friends. The soccer team is my family and I will always have their backs, we all have so much fun together. Win or lose we will always be there for each other.
This year we have a sophomore who has never played soccer in her life, and I am proud to say that I have done my best to help her like the seniors helped me last year. We have a real friendship now, a friendship that started with the values taught by Ms. Forbush, Mr. Collins and their players who have been paying attention. Winning is great. Success is better.
By:Skylar Downs
High school athletics can be challenging at times. Your teammates may not always be the easiest to work with. Maybe you are not all that easy to work with as well. You might not agree with every decision the coach makes.
And you don’t always win.
All these things and more can make it tricky to measure the success of a team. So how exactly do you measure success as a high school athlete?
Win or lose, a team can always be considered successful. Success isn’t always determined by how many wins you get, or the lack of wins your team may have. The measure of success is much deeper than that.
According to Jazmin Whittier, a sophomore soccer player at PRHS (Class of 2025) some of the most important things about a high school sports team are “Teamwork, having good teammates, having respect both ways, and respectful coaches.” Good points, all of them. Without respect a team cannot be successful. If people on the team are being disrespectful, that can throw off team chemistry.
Andrea Forbush, head coach of the girls JV soccer team and assistant coach of the varsity girls soccer team – as well as head coach of the girls softball team – had some things to say about this topic.
Question: What is the most important part of a high school sports team?
Coach Forbush: “I would say probably learning how to manage both school and athletics. I think the time management piece is key not just in high school, but as you get a job, or as you move up to being on the college level. Being able to manage your time also teaches you strategies. I know it can be overwhelming to be too busy, but being able to manage your time with the athletic piece, the social piece, and the academic piece” is important to balance things later in life.
Team success also requires leadership. Without leaders, the team will fall apart. Leaders are there to help guide the team in practices and games. This gives other players an extra perspective on how things should be done. It also helps to have things explained in multiple ways so that you can fully understand the essential concepts.
Finally, good team chemistry equals success. Bad team chemistry? Good luck. Mr.Collins, assistant coach of the football team, said, “That’s the biggest piece. If you don’t like each other then you can’t perform together, and then that will hurt the team's success.”
I learned that chemistry lesson first-hand. Last year when I joined the girls soccer team, I was a sophomore and only knew the basics of soccer. The girls on the team were so helpful and patient with me – as were the coaches. The seniors were the most helpful during tryouts and I was so sad when they left at the end of the year. I learned so much from everyone on the team and my coaches. I made the team and was super excited for how the season would unfold.
That was the first full school sports season since the pandemic disrupted everything. We had all new coaches and all new players, which gave us a bunch of opportunities for team chemistry to develop. I learned so much in that season, developed into a better version of myself, and a better athlete. Not to mention that I made a bunch of new friends. The soccer team is my family and I will always have their backs, we all have so much fun together. Win or lose we will always be there for each other.
This year we have a sophomore who has never played soccer in her life, and I am proud to say that I have done my best to help her like the seniors helped me last year. We have a real friendship now, a friendship that started with the values taught by Ms. Forbush, Mr. Collins and their players who have been paying attention. Winning is great. Success is better.