“Lady Hawks” A look Inside the Home of the Hawk’s

The expectations and stress of being on a highly competitive team that requires dedication and commitment can be a lot for students in the women’s athletics program at Waltham High School. Along with school and balancing a social life, for some people sports are an escape, and for others, they are the cause of added pressures. So why continue to participate? There is nothing like being part of a team. Waltham High School has created a strong sense of community within their athletic programs, cultivating friendships, deepening a love of sports, and promoting teamwork. Even though athletes may go home some days after practice tired, and frustrated, wishing they didn’t have to go back the next day, most wouldn’t trade it in for anything. But, by no means is the system perfect.

 

“Lady Hawks “ is the name given to all female athletes at Waltham High School. Some think of it as a term of endearment, while others find it too old school. No matter if you like the name or not, it has carried on a legacy and reputation of the success of female athletics. Recently, the Girls Soccer Team made it to State Championships, and currently the Cheer team are Regional Champions.

We interviewed female athletes from multiple fall sports at WHS.Teams at Waltham High School do their own fundraising.There’s a lot of effort put forth from the athletes to get the word out, and from parents helping to organize events. But, it never seems to be enough. A Waltham High athlete, Morgan, says “There is not even half the amount of money and effort for the girls sports than the guys sports and that’s really unfair.”   

We first talked to a freshman on the “Jv-A” soccer team. She loves her coach and really enjoyed the season. “Shout out to my coach, Ms.Vega, she’s the best.” She had a lot of fun and her team was kind to her as she was new to the school. “I feel like my team and coach were very understanding and never put too much pressure on me.” The “Jv-A” soccer team has done a lot of fundraising and feels financially stable. 

Our second interview was with a freshman on the varsity field hockey team.  Overall, she’s had a great experience playing her first high school sport. The field hockey community was extremely welcoming and supportive. Throughout the season, they hosted multiple bonding activities and participated in fundraising. She described the girls on her team saying, “I felt very welcome. The older kids on my team were very kind and always seemed happy when they saw me… The seniors always checked in on us and made sure we were all set after practice. It was a bit scary at first because I didn’t know any of them, and was terrified of them making fun of me, but they’re really nice and truly amazing people.”  Her mental health this fall has stayed pretty good, but she did express not having very much time for herself.  Practices ran kind of long, so sometimes it was hard for her to find time for anything else.

One of our authors was on the freshman volleyball team. She really enjoyed the season and thought that it was a great way to start high school. “Having tryouts before school started was really nice, because going into school, I knew ten more people than I had before.” The team really bonded and loved hanging out with each other. “Of all the three teams, I believe our team was the most bonded.” They had a split season of wins and losses. But looking back, she doesn’t care about that. She had a lot of fun and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

Next we interviewed a freshman on the Varsity Soccer Team. For the first time in thirteen years, they made it to States. They made it to the second round. She says, “Making it to states was a lot of fun especially because we made history. I wish it lasted longer but the whole team was proud of how far we did make it.” She is one of two freshmen that made varsity, and even though she may not have played as much as other players, she feels like the team is like a family. And she says, “being a part of such a great community really helped me transition into high school and high school soccer”.

Two of our authors, Grace and Stephanie, run on the Cross Country team. Grace says, “Being on a high school varsity team is already intimidating, on top of being in a male-dominated team run by a male coach. Sometimes I feel like the girls are held to a different standard than the boys. Being only six girls out of a forty person team puts a lot of pressure on the girls, because our times contribute more to the teams overall score, although there are fewer girls than boys.” Stephanie says, “The lack of funding for the cross country team has been very obvious throughout the season.  At the beginning of the school year, there weren’t even enough jerseys for each person. Later on we learned that Cross Country doesn’t even get a budget. It’s just hard watching other teams get so much funding, while we rely on parents pitching in.”

For our next student interview we spoke to two cheerleaders on the high school cheerleading team. They’ve been unhappy with cheer so far. They feel like it’s a huge commitment and a lot of work and effort. They expressed feeling drained and overworked by their constant practices and late nights. Cheer has made it hard to find time to do school work and experience the social aspects of high school. They feel they have more than enough funding, but they are over-pressured by coaches, they say, “Cheer is fun but can be very stressful and requires a lot of work and dedication.” 

We also interviewed two captains of the Cross Country team. One captain says “It’s been a very positive experience, I’ve had a lot of fun on the xc, xc ski, and tennis teams and have made a bunch of friends.” We then asked her opinion on funding for her sports, “I would say there’s good funding for some sports more than others.”  She had a very successful season, running at the girls team’s fastest pace.  Like a lot of other girls participating in high school sports, she feels they have been very beneficial for her mental health.  “They are generally a great way for me to de-stress and take some time off of school,” she said.

We also spoke to Senior runner and Captain of the Cross Country team, Ella Wozek. She  unfortunately developed an injury at the beginning of the fall cross country season. An avid runner, Ella has been doing track and cross country since she was in 2nd grade, and has been very involved in Waltham athletics for over 10 years. She says, “I’d say it’s been an overall positive experience. Most of the coaches I’ve had have been great.” We asked if she was comfortable speaking about her recent injury. “In a typical season I would just run through the pain and it would usually go away, but after a week they significantly worsened.” Many girls try to fight through the pain or “suck it up” to continue the season. But the damage that can occur from neglecting an injury can be really significant to teenage athletes. “So yes, overworking myself contributed to my injury.” Ella ended up not being able to finish the 2021 Cross Country season due to her injury, but hopefully can participate in the upcoming spring Track season.

Waltham High has tried it’s hardest to create an impactful athletic community. The teams strive for success, and teamwork. Although stress and pressures can sometimes overtake those ideals. People may get injuries or want to quit, but know they have their team to support and help them. Although the experiences of female athletes vary drastically from sport to sport, we all share one name: “Lady Hawks”. It has promoted a sense of community and support from fellow athletes for decades.