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The Standard

The High School Student News Site of The American School in London

The Standard

Underclassmen impress at ISSTs

The fall sports season ended with the varsity girls soccer and volleyball placing first in ISSTs, varsity boys soccer and volleyball placing second in ISSTs and field hockey placing fourth.

The fall season showed that the future of ASL sports is bright and looking towards the future, the results are bound to be similar due to the plethora of underclassmen competing in their respective sports. Underclassmen made significant impacts in both ISSTs and LSSAs, and were imperative to the JV and varsity squads’ successes.

Riley Evans (’17) alone scored four out of the 10 goals for varsity girls soccer, playing an integral role in the team’s success and ultimate gold medal.

Abby Ball (’17), an ISST all-tournament winner, was one of six sophomores on the gold medal-winning varsity girls volleyball team this year. Ball attributes a lot of the team’s success to their chemistry.

“It did help that we had played with each other before, a lot of the girls play on a club team together and we had also played in middle school together as well,” she said.

Although Ball would like to improve as an individual on the team, she believes teamwork and team progression takes precedence over individual skill. “Volleyball is a team sport, you can’t just rely on one person, it’s a whole team effort to be successful,” she said.

Even though the team consisted of different age groups and experienced the addition of new players, Ball felt the team had a positive atmosphere and believes that because of this, the team had more success during the season and ultimately during ISSTs. “I think there are really good relationships between teammates this year,” she said.

JV cross country runner John Castello (’18) excelled as an individual runner this past season and praised the cross country program.

Referring to the freshmen and sophomores on the team, Castello said, “I think they did pretty well, but there is definitely room for improvement, but they definitely do have a lot of potential.”

Castello admits that the cross country season was tough, shown by the fierce competition at ISSTs. However, he wants to build a strong work ethic and progress as a runner.

“There was no real tension between upperclassmen and underclassmen, it was kind of just one team, grade didn’t really matter, they [upperclasmen] give you respect  as a person, not your grade,”he said.

Castello believes that camaraderie was a leading factor for the team’s success in the past season.

Similar to Ball, he believes that the player’s abilities to connect with each other attributed to the team’s overall success.

Owen Gaynor (’17) and Shaun Franz (’17), were two sophomores on varsity boys soccer. Along with four freshmen, the team was the youngest it has been in a long time, however, the potential was clearly demonstrated as the team managed to reach the finals of ISSTs, only to be narrowly beaten by ACS Cobham, and to win a silver medal.

Despite the considerable age differences in the squad, Franz believes the team possessed a strong work ethic. “Everyone worked really well together, and the freshmen show a lot of potential for the future years,” he said.

Gaynor expressed his support for the freshmen and believes they had a strong season. “They really put in the work for us, they didn’t complain, they did what they had to do, and they’d grind through it if they had to,” he said.

Mia Holtze (’18) played goalkeeper, mentioning the chemistry between the upper and underclassmen, Holtze said, “They were very inclusive and worked well together.” She believes that team bonding was a major factor in the the successful season.

As proven by its sports teams performances at ISSTs, ASL is full of ambitious young athletes who are forming relationships that will extend beyond their elevated team performances. Underclassmen played a pivotal role on varsity teams and JV teams, and are ushering in a new era of ASL sports, one of extreme promise and potential.

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