RHS dominates on the athletic fields due to its many outstanding players. Every day of the school year, hundreds of kids improve their skills at practices for one of the various sports RHS has to offer, thus increasing his or her team’s chance at a championship. Some are naturally good at a certain sport, and others work extremely hard to get to the same place. Jack Pfund, a senior who plays Varsity Football thinks that an athlete of the month award “could be cool” and agrees that effort deserve recognition. Team sports have their star players and he believes they should be rewarded for their contributions. These players could potentially be named “Athlete of the Month” and would be acknowledged by the school.
Ridgewood athletes work hard to represent the school on and off the field and their talents are worth being recognized. If an “Athlete of the Month” became an award given monthly, one individual could be selected by coaches and the athletic director as a way to commend an extraordinary player who has grown or changed the team in a positive way. This could be given to an athlete who made the game winning shot in a basketball game, or the walk-off homerun in a baseball game. Such a honor would create another goal for RHS athletes to achieve and serve as another milestone in their athletic career.
The expression, “There is no I in team,” would promote a different viewpoint regarding a team’s success: one person cannot decide the team’s path. Each individual works hard to maintain their spot in the lineup so some believe RHS should emphasize a single team rather than a single player. Chris Canone, a freshman who plays on the Varsity Ice Hockey team, believes that having an athlete of the month award would “not be good because [he] feels that RHS is a team and that one player’s success is the team’s success”. He stresses that RHS is one and should win as one and lose as one. For example, a quarterback would not make such great throws if his offensive line was not protecting him.
Even though such an honor would not celebrate the whole team, it would not take away from the group’s accomplishments. Instead, it would identify those who had a major role in the success of the team and highlight the players who made a difference. RHS students will always go onto the field, ice, water, and court as one.
Emily Sue
staff writer
Graphic: Emma McCarthy