Spring is here. Along with the flowers and showers, spring sports are underway. Here at SHS, spring sports are revered as the most important season of them all while football and basketball take a backseat to the likes of track, lacrosse, tennis and more. 

In the eyes of the athletic department, these are the real gems.

Oftentimes at high schools around the country, basketball and football are given priority over every other sport, club, class or subject. This is mostly because of revenue.

Those two sports usually bring in the largest crowds and along with that comes money. Even with one of the worst records in the state, SHS football still brings in the largest fanbase. Of course, credit must be given to the wishful parents and seemingly hundreds of middle schoolers who go to these games.

“I like going to the game because the game is game and my friends there so yeah,” 7th grader Mhavrych Reeche said. “I don’t look at the game. I just run around and cut in the line for popcorn.”

Administration, though, sees spring sports as a wonderful opportunity to get more fans involved with the real sports. The athletic department knows that the old and outdated “big sports” are pretty much worthless when it comes to the future of SHS. 

They recognize football and basketball don’t bode well for athletic talent. They would much rather go off of sports like baseball, a sport where the main skill is swinging a big stick, light jogging and the daunting task of choosing which “Big League Chew” flavor to consume. 

Not only do they not think big sports should be looked at as much as spring sports, they’ll go so far as to give special treatment to spring student athletes. 

“If two kids, a football player and a lacrosse player, get caught vaping in a bathroom, that football player is getting a fine and the lax player is going to back class,” athletic director Flick Weeveens said.

Weeveens is the leading factor in putting the spring athletics on top. He says he gives his full attention to spring sports even during other seasons. He says he focuses on things like “keeping the track in tip top condition, scheduling lacrosse for the optimal practice time and overall funding for the season.” 

The athletic department also gives special treatment to how they look at spring sporting events. For example, the athletic department tracks all student attendance for fall and winter sports, but not for spring. This obviously shows the importance of spring sports to administration over the other seasons. 

By not tracking student attendance in one of three seasons, they are able to focus on supporting the more important ones. This shows very clearly that spring sports are on a whole different level of significance. 

Senior golfer Phat Foomans says he is happy with the support he gets from the school. 

“It’s okay that the school doesn’t promote our events and that we have nobody come to watch us,” Foomans said. “I still feel very important.”

The athletic department is also foregoing grade eligibility for spring sports. Usually, students would need a D or higher to be able to play and have no more than two F’s. Not for spring sports though, they can be failing all of their classes and still be able to play. 

“Look, here’s the thing,” Weeveens said. “The kids playing football and basketball are going to need their grades after high school. But these spring sport athletes … , I mean they’re actually going places, so they don’t really need to worry about silly grades.” 

The school is looking forward to the spring season. They know it will be a lot of work, but they realize every bit of it is more important than any other season.