T HE G REEN W AVE G AZETTE
P AGE 4
Unified Sports: An Incredible Experience
Soccer match caps off successful fall season
Madison O’Connell
Contributor
Members of both the Abington and Rockland Unified Soccer Teams prior to their
match under the lights at Memorial Stadium
on October 13. (Courtesy Abington Athletic Department)
The Unified Sports Program is an
amazing after school activity that I
participate in. It was a huge success
last year, and we are off to a great start
this year. I believe everyone should get
involved.
Joining Unified has allowed me to
meet so many students at our school
that I might not have gotten a chance
to know otherwise. Sports have always
been a huge part of my life. They have
helped me develop and shape who I am
as a person. I joined the Unified Sports
Program because I believe everyone
should have an equal opportunity to do
this; getting to share this incredible
experience on the field with everybody
means so much to me.
I dedicate time to this program once a
week. The practices are usually on
Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
During this time the coaches, Mrs.
Casey, Mr. McGinness and Mrs.
McGinness, set up drills for us to work
on. They are all very encouraging and
make the whole atmosphere there very
enjoyable. While we are practicing I
get a chance to talk to all the participants. This gives me opportunities to
get to know everyone that is involved
very well. Everyone loves to be able to
talk and get to know each other while
doing something fun. Unified Sports is
co-educational, giving everyone an
open shot to join. Right now we are
playing soccer, but in the winter we
will play some basketball and last year
they played kickball in the spring.
However the coaches are open to any
other ideas.
On Tuesday, October 13 we played a
game against Rockland’s Unified
Team. The game was under the lights
at Memorial Field. The stands were
packed with fans and there were announcers at the game. I have never
heard so much cheering during a game
in my life. It was an awesome experience for everyone. Although Rockland
won 9-8, everyone had a lot of fun.
We are hoping to play another game
against Carver soon. (5-5 tie)
The Unified Sports Program is something that I wish everyone could experience; I was hesitant to join at first,
but I do not regret my decision. I love
spending time with other students and
sharing something that I enjoy. This
program is something that I plan to
continue on with for the rest of my
high school experience. It has made a
huge impact on my life, and it is something that I will never forget.
Riding the green wave… To college!
Madisen Caferro
Contributor
Alicia Reid (courtesy photo)
T HIS
ARTICLE
WAS SELECTED
F OR THE B EST OF
S CHOOL N EWS
O N - LINE
Matthew Whalen celebrating with his
Green Wave teammates in 2014.
(Laurie Curran photo courtesy
Abington Sports Photos)
High school students that take advantage of the many programs offered
to them are often better prepared for
the challenges awaiting them in college. We interviewed three recent
Abington High School graduates: Matthew Whalen (Class of
2014), Alicia Reid (Class of 2013) and
Sarah Spencer (Class of 2012) and
asked them how their time at AHS
helped them.
From an academic standpoint, all of
the students are thankful for their
Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
Although not every college accepts AP
credit, students such as Whalen (now
an Accounting major and English
minor at Holy Cross in Worcester,
MA) are still grateful for the independence these classes taught them.
Whalen made the point that college
lectures don’t cover all the material
that students are responsible for.
“(They) only scratch the surface of the
material; they expect you to dig deeper. AP classes taught me how to work
through problems on my own,” said
Whalen.
Exposure to college-level expectations
in high school makes one’s ride
smoother. As Reid, now studying
athletic training and pre-physical therapy at the University of New England
(Biddeford, ME) put it, “t