T HE G RE E N W AVE G AZE T T E
P AGE 1 3
First Year on the Team
Freshmen have their own set of hurdles
has a very good idea of what it takes to
be successful.” According to Spencer,
Coach George‟s advice for incoming
freshmen is to “come into the first day
in shape, do some running in the off
season, and you will start your first year
off strong.”
Kevin O’Neil, Contributor
Incoming freshmen are eager when
entering high school. They have questions like, “What are the sports like?”
and “Will I fit in?” Sean Spencer had
these questions as he tried out for
the Green Wave boys track team this
year. We asked him how he went
Overall Spencer said his first year of
from inexperienced runner to confident
track went very smoothly and has
competitor and what tips he had for
been “lot of fun and hard work.” One
future freshmen.
highlight was coming in third place for
This being Spencer‟s first year of runthe one mile run at his very first meet.
ning track, he said he “really wanted to
increase (his) overall conditioning and develop new athletic
skills that he can apply to other
“You can see your
sports.” This is a common focus
point for athletes who are looking to stay in shape during the
improvements each practice
spring. “You can see your improvements each practice and
that really does help your overand that really does help
all conditioning,” said Spencer.
your overall conditioning”
First time athletes often wonder
what the coach will be like.
Coach Brian Lanner is head
coach for boys track, and according to Spencer “he is a good
guy and a very smart coach.” Another
coach Sean mentioned was Coach Steve
George who works with the distance
runners. “He is a really cool guy and
— Sean Spencer
Spencer‟s teammate and fellow freshman Alex Freeman competes in the shot
put and discus. He found it was very
helpful to follow the lead of more ex-
Freshman Alex Freeman
perienced teammates. “Dexter Chevalier
and Ryan Mariano truly helped me. I still
need improvement, but they really helped
with my form.” Freeman added that one of
the hardest parts about being a freshman
was “getting everything ready for meets.”
The main focus for incoming athletes is to
come in looking to improve and help their
team. Spencer and Freeman have done just
that along with other freshmen athletes. Hopefully they will continue
that success beyond their first year.
Tennis: Serving Up Teamwork and Fun
Matthew Burbine,
Staff Writer
Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova are
three of the greatest female tennis players ever. However, they
are in fierce competition with
Leighann Healy (Class of 2014),
Christina Howe, and Kim Phan
(both Class of 2015): the three
captains of the Abington High
School Tennis Team.
The team is led by Coach Jim
Prizio (Priz) and Coach Ed Mace
(Mace) as we learned during a
recent interview. Three players,
Taylor Johnson (Class of 2016),
Leighann Healy, and Christina
Howe, all said their coaches
Courtesy the Tennis Team
“have a good sense of humor."
Healy, in particular, called them
“nice and old”- which is very
high praise for these two
coaches.
The team‟s record this year
was a solid 6-11. However,
it was not good enough for an
MIAA tournament berth. Howe
expects the team to make the
tournament next year “because
of our awesome players.” When
asked about their favorite part of
playing tennis the three girls had
differing opinions. Howe said
she enjoyed “making dirty jokes
and having fun.” For Johnson on
the other hand, “playing singles
and always trying to get better”
were her favorite parts. Finally,
Healy said her favorites were
“the free snacks, the team, and
all the fun they have”.
The team seems like they have a
lot of fun together and enjoy
competing. That‟s what sports
are all about. The Abington tennis team seems to know this best
and that‟s why they should be
talked about more.