Following a successful fall sports season with league victories for football, girls’ golf, girls’ volleyball, and boys’ water polo, winter sports are underway.
As with every season, team captains are chosen. Head Coach for Girls’ Varsity Basketball Paris Johnson shared some of what she looks for in a captain. “With no seniors on the team, we are searching for consistency from our captain candidates,” she said. She will look at “how they handle adversity in games and will decide on a week by week basis the captains for that week.”
Captains are typically seniors and sometimes juniors, as they tend to have more experience playing on a Bishop’s team. However, there are a couple exceptions. Celeste Oder (‘26) is co-captain of the sailing club, which is a year-round sport. She has been sailing for six years, three with the Bishop’s team after joining in eighth grade. She said, “We have a small and fairly inexperienced team, so we’re still in a growth phase. I want to build our teamwork and skills and get to as many regattas [competitions] as possible so that we’re ready to be competitive next year.”
To some, sports can be an emotional rollercoaster. Boys’ Varsity Soccer captain Dylan Gigler (‘24) said, “I love both playing and watching soccer because of all the ups and downs and emotions that you can go through while enjoying the game.” For others, sports are an escape. Girls’ Varsity Soccer captain Jessica Luo (‘24) said, “I am able to get my mind off school, especially when it gets super stressful. When I am playing soccer, I forget about everything and I only focus on improving my skills.”
For her, community is a key part of the experience. Oftentimes, being in a large group with people in all different grades can mean that not everyone talks to each other, so to try to counter this, Jessica said, “We started doing ‘freshman interviews’ and ‘sophomore surveys’ as a way for us to get to know each other better, especially underclassmen. Up next are ‘junior judgements’ and ‘senior interviews.’ It’s just a fun way to bond, get to know each other, and have a good laugh… My goal is to make a cohesive team where our bond goes beyond the field, around school.”
For the Girls’ Varsity Water Polo Team, there are no specific team captains. Instead, all seniors are considered leaders of the team. One such leader, Mikayla Crowe (‘24), said that over the years, the team has built various traditions, allowing them to bond with each other. She said, “Every year, our coach, Doug, does ‘t-shirt day.’ Over the course of the year, he thrifts each player t-shirts that represent them in some way to gift to them as part of this tradition… It shows how much our coaches love and understand each and every one of us.”
For others, taking part in team sports is as simple as doing something that they love. Carl Murfey (‘25), co-captain of the year-round Bishop’s Surf Team, said, “[Surfing] is what I love to do, and it makes me so happy.” Sports can also be a refreshing break from the often intense academics each day. Celeste said, “I like how freeing sailing is. Anything that’s on my mind or worrying me before I go sailing doesn’t matter anymore when I’m on the water.”
While sports are often a wonderful experience for people, there are also struggles that come with it. For many, injuries are not uncommon. Jessica noted, “I have faced a lot of injuries in my soccer career including tearing my calf, getting patellar tendonitis and pes anserine bursitis, and straining my groin and hamstring often. Dealing with these injuries was tough, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It was disheartening at times, especially when it meant being sidelined and missing out on playing with my team.”
But while such injuries can often be discouraging, Jessica said that there are valuable lessons that can be learned from them. Her takeaway was, “It sucks, but it’s a part of the game. It also made me realize the importance of taking proper care of my body in terms of nutrition, injury prevention, hydration, etc. Injuries aren’t always something that you can control, but to an extent there are things that you can do to help with prevention, especially strength training.”
Reese Newlin (‘26), captain of the Equestrian Team, has been injured for both seasons, though she has been riding since she was three years old. She said that, though she hasn’t been able to compete with the team much, she is “extremely grateful to be given such a unique opportunity to spend time with these animals.”
Though the season is just beginning, the new captains are all hoping for a great season, with a chance to foster a sense of camaraderie, and to share their passions for their sports with new people. Jessica said, “My hope for this season is just to make a lot of memories. I am so excited for the group of girls we have. Everyone is excited to be there and in practice everyone is having fun. Everyone is pushing each other to be better. All I can really hope for is that everyone [gets] to have as much fun as I do on the field.”
