As the cold winter begins to come to a close, it also marks the beginning of spring sports at South Lakes. From Monday, February 24th to Wednesday, February 26th, tryouts for all spring sports will take place.
South Lakes offers many spring sports. There is baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls tennis, and outdoor track.
For all students who wish to try out for sports, they must have met two requirements prior to tryouts: a submitted Virginia High School League (VHSL) physical form, and a completed Athletic Registration, which can be found online.
Regular season spring sports start February 27 and most end around Mid May, before district playoffs take place for the varsity teams. Sports that compete successfully in districts then go to the regional playoffs, and if a team makes it past the final round of regional playoffs, they qualify for states.
Last spring season, many sports at South Lakes performed strongly during these playoffs, three sports advancing as far as the state playoffs. Girls lacrosse played their way to state quarterfinals against Robinson, softball qualified to state semi-finals, and baseball made it all the way to state finals, where they lost.
“My favorite part is having the weather being nicer and seeing everyone play their sport outside, I specifically like track, I love going to weekend meets,” Sophomore Erica Ocansey says. Ocansey runs outdoor track in the spring.
“I remember during winter track, everyone was inside and it was freezing and we were the only winter sport outside, and now during spring, we can see all the other sports and it feels a lot nicer,” Sophomore Katie Bagley states. Bagley, who ran indoor and outdoor track, continues by expressing the team dynamic in track. “Everyone gets along, which is really helpful,” Bagley finishes.
Aside from weather, there are other parts of spring sports that mean a lot to student-athletes at South Lakes.
“My favorite part about baseball is that it’s a very personal game so you can really improve yourself, but it really revolves around your team, and if you do well but your team doesn’t, you don’t succeed,” Sophomore Sava Stevanovic explains.
“I love hanging out with the people on my team and it’s fun to bond with my teammates outside,” Sophomore tennis player Mia Cleverley says.
“After we win games, we go out to Texas Roadhouse and get dinner together,” Senior Sofia Ponce explains. She reminisces about the softball team’s tradition to get dinner as a team after winning games, which is something she looks forward to every spring.
“I really like the community it builds with having practice everyday, and making friends,” Junior Lela Ripley expresses about playing soccer.
As Spring continues to make its way, so do spring sports at South Lakes.
