Although the 2023-2024 fall sports season comes to an end at OHS, the memories made, and relationships built between these high school athletes will last a lifetime.
The team mentality and culture amongst the sports programs at OHS is an undeniable factor aiding in their triumph. Girls volleyball for example, went undefeated this season and continued to dominate the court in playoffs, winning first place as state champions.
“This season we found a lot of success in focusing on building our relationships with each other, and focusing on the mindset aspect of volleyball,” said Maggie Paulsen, junior. “Everything else kind of followed along.”
Being close with your teammates can really help the athletes to push not only themselves, but the other members on their team to be better as a whole.
“[Building] those relationships and learning what to do for your teammate when they are down, to get them out of that rut, is really helpful especially in a team setting,” Paulsen said.
The undefeated record of girls volleyball did not come without its struggles. As the athletes strive for perfection, errors are bound to happen in practice or in games. But a positive team environment helps to mitigate any problems they face.
“Be okay making mistakes because it’s gonna happen and that’s how you get better,” Paulsen said.
Another sport that has shown continual promise throughout the season is boys golf, as they took home another victory from the DV (Deer Valley) Cup.
“We’ve won this tournament for the last nine years,” said Noah Kaoni, junior.
Beating all of the boys golf teams in the district at the DV Cup was no easy feat, but the male golfers here at OHS were able to achieve their goal by unifying as a team.
“When we have a sense of comradery, when we don’t just play for ourselves and start playing for the actual higher goal of making state, I think we tend to play better,” Kaoni said.
Some might view golf as a laid back sport, but at OHS, the golf program requires a combination of focus, effort, and intensity at all times.
“Golf is not a sport you can take a break at, you have to grind at it in order to get better,” Kaoni said. “You can’t just go in there expecting to be good.”
Hardwork is a key component to other sports such as swimming. Athletes at OHS are learning to push their boundaries, and challenge themselves to be better alongside their teammates.
“It’s gonna be hard, it’s gonna be a learning curve at the start,” said Michael Simcoe, junior. “But keep pushing through the difficult things, because in the end, swimming is actually really enjoyable.”
A sport becomes enjoyable when that sense of friendship comes into play. Being able to encourage and lift up your teammates can help the overall performance of a team.
“It’s a hype sport,” Simcoe said. “We are definitely behind the blocks talking to our teammates, talking to our swimmers, making sure their heads [are] in the race.”
The unity between swimmers at OHS has led the team to success and victory throughout the 2023-24 season.
“Our relays have definitely been successful this year. We have all three of our relays making state, and we also won boys regionals for the third year in a row,” Simcoe said.
In addition, varsity football at OHS continues to over take their opponents and tackle their competition. Like during their game against Pinnacle, where the players were able to push one another and come out on top.
“Against Pinnacle, in the 3rd quarter, we were all hyping each other up and we started playing [well] again,” said Colton Wiggins, junior.
Like other sports teams, the bond created between players in the OHS football program is undeniable.
“We’re all super close with each other and we are all best friends,” Wiggins said.
When it comes to being the best, you need to put the goal of the team to improve, before yourself and accept constructive criticism. Being close with your teammates can make pushing each other easier and more effective.
“We can get on each other’s case without it being awkward. And we can help each other get better,” Wiggins said.
Incoming freshman joining the football program and underclassmen looking to make varsity have big cleats to fill. Perseverance, determination, and grit from new players will ensure another victorious season for OHS football.
“Come ready to play and work hard because we need that if we are gonna be good next year,” Wiggins said.
