The fall sports season ended in early November as nine teams traveled across Europe to compete in ISSTs. This year’s competitions led to varied results, sparking a variety of responses from athletes’ opinions about student’s individual tournaments as they reflected on the season.
Co-captain of the girls varsity volleyball team Sara Khan (’24) said she stayed positive when reflecting on her experiences at ISSTs, even though she was initially disappointed with the team’s loss.
“At first I felt like we could have done so much better than fifth place,” Khan said. “But in every year that I have been at ASL the competition at ISSTs has never been like what it was now.”
Similarly, Nicholas Farinola (’24), co-captain of the boys varsity soccer team, said he was disappointed with his team’s sixth place finish at ISSTs.
“The team had the potential to perform better,” Farinola said. “We showed a lot of heart in our games leading up to ISSTs, and it seemed very promising going into the tournament.”
Furthermore, Khan said having several new members compared to previous years affected group dynamics.
“Since part of our team is so new, we are still adjusting and figuring out each other’s movements and motions,” Khan said. “But, I think that at the end of the day, we all gelled really well and were all able to come together to play our game.”
Likewise, Tami Shasha (’26), co-captain of the girls JV soccer team, said many athletes graduated last year, which contributed to the disappointing results many sports teams experienced this year.
“This season was really tough, especially because we had to overcome a big transition after last year’s seniors graduated,” Shasha said. “However, once we got used to the new team dynamic, our experience was really amazing.”
Nevertheless, Shasha said she is proud of her team’s dedication throughout the season.
“We worked as hard as we could,” Shasha said. “And because of our dedication during these games, I think ISSTs was a good reflection of our strong mentality throughout the season.”
Although Farinola is graduating this year, he said he is excited for his team to succeed in upcoming years.
“This team is a really great group of guys,” Farinola said. “I hope they’ll be able to kick it next season.”
Though Khan said she was disappointed with the final score, she said she still managed to stay positive and acknowledged her teammates’ effort in the final match.
“I’m fine with getting fifth because every single team that placed above us were amazing,” Khan said. “It was such a high level of volleyball and competition.”
