After two long years of online school and no sports, EABH's athletic program is back on its feet. And since it has been so long since we had sports on campus, and some changes were made inside the department, many students have had some issues understanding the program. In order to clarify as many doubts as possible, interviews with Mr. Jaison Norris, Athletic Director, Mr. Sandro, Assistant Athletic Director, and Luma Barreto, president of the Student Athletic Leadership Council (SALC), were conducted. In these interviews, they talk about how the program works, the process of becoming part of the Hawks, the expectations for this semester, and everything else you need to know about this semester's ISSL.
Interview with Mr. Jaison Norris (Athletic Director):
[Interviewer:] "With sports recently coming back, what is the process that students have to go through if they want to be a part of the Hawks?"
[Mr. Norris:] "The main process for students is to be committed to your sports. This means coming to practices and communicating with the coaches if you are not able to make it for a valid reason. Commitment is very important because we have a limited amount of time to work together and gel as a team. The other expectations for being an athletic Hawk are academic and behavioral. It is important to keep up with your school work and conduct yourself in an appropriate way in the classroom."
[Interviewer:] "What are the expectations for ISSL this semester?"
[Mr. Norris:] "The expectations are that we have fun, be part of the team, be kind, and be as competitive as we can be. Competition is never about winning. It is great to win and I hope we do, but the main expectation is that you try to have fun and enjoy the experience. If this means scoring a goal, that's great, but not everyone is a forward. So having fun and enjoying the experience will mean different things to different athletes in their different roles. Being part of a team will help prepare you for life. We all have different values and beliefs, but sport can be a way to bring people together and this is through the concept of "the Team." We win as a team, we lose as a team. As a team, we try to build each other up. If this isn't what you want, maybe athletics is not for you. This connects to being kind. Be kind to your coaches, be kind to the refs, be kind to each other. Life is too short to be unkind. And finally, be competitive. This doesn't mean win every game. What it means is you should try your best and work hard. We may not get the results we want all the time, but if we work hard, that is something we can be proud of and build upon."
[Interviewer:] "Who can join Varsity? Who can join JV?"
[Mr. Norris:] "Varsity is for the best 12-18 students we have for each sport. As athletics is co-curricular, we want to field the best teams we can. This year, JV is for any student aged 11-15. We are excited to take part in our first JV tournament at N.R. and I hope the G6-G9 students seize this opportunity to try new sports or continue to play in a sport they are familiar with."
[Interviewer:] "Is there anything else you would like to add? Any perspectives, hopes, expectations?"
[Mr. Norris:] "I hope all of our students will try out for athletics as we return to play and I wish everyone all the best at N.R!"
Interview with Luma (President of the Student Athletic Leadership Council):
[Interviewer:] "As a student and athlete yourself, what can the athletes expect from this semester?"
[Luma:] "As an athlete and student myself, I think that it is often difficult to manage both academics and athletics but especially this semester I think we can expect a lot of commitment and dedication from our athletes [...] because we came from a long period of everyone just staying at home. [...] I think that yes, we should all focus and stay on top of academics because we are student athletes and we recognize that that's very important but we do need to really dedicate ourselves and commit to practices because ISSL is coming up and we need to be ready for the tournament."
[Interviewer:] "What is the role of SALC? What can students expect from it?"
[Luma:] "The role of SALC is to represent the body of athletes, the same way StuCo would work for students as a whole, you know, as the bridge between the school's staff and management with students. SALC is going to connect the athletic department to athletes and integrate the athletic department in the school, to create the symbol of the hawks, to strengthen who we are and what is the meaning of being a hawk to the community. I think that what students can expect from SALC is leaders within the athletic department and people who will be the voice of athletes, who will try, as much as possible, to integrate athletes in new activities, in representing the Hawks as a family, a united group, and by making new projects – we do have some projects we are going to release soon that has hopes of making the athletes even more visible and present in the school community."
[Interviewer:] "How do you think that the return of sports and tournaments will affect, not only the athletes, but the school as a whole?"
[Luma:] "The return of sports and tournaments will affect athletes because this is part of who we are. If you are a part of the team it is because you love the sport, or you love practicing, and you love being in that environment. So in terms of being an athlete it motivates us, it challenges us, it makes us inspired and we love it. We love the challenge because we love playing and participating in the tournaments. As for the school, I think it's a milestone because after everything we've been waiting for – because of the pandemic – everything that has been put on hold, the fact that we get to come back to play sports is a symbol that you know, we're fighting the virus, we're fighting everything that's coming. [...] So I think that the sports coming back is a symbol of strength
With the depositions of this amazing team, we hope that the athletics program has become somewhat clearer for everyone and that hopes, expectations, and spirits are up for one more amazing semester to come! If questions are still left unanswered, feel free to contact any member of SALC: Luma (12th grade), Alícia (11th grade), Lucas (11th grade) and Anna Flávia (10th grade).
Go Hawks!
Pep rally before the volleyball team left for the tournament in Curitiba
A special thanks to the interviewees, SALC, and the responsible for the pictures from this pep rally!