The season is always bitter-sweet. Being the last season of the school year, many students will find themselves saying a forever goodbye to a sport that had carried them through high

school. With sports being a huge part of a Caxy’s time at LFA, a sense of community and comfort through shared passion and love for the game, develops through each season. It is this passion that has created lasting bonds through our student body. 

The season will offer the same roster of sports as last year; girls sports will include soccer, lacrosse, badminton, and softball, while boys sports will consist of tennis, baseball and volleyball, along with co-ed track and field. However, there are few new coaches, and teams are looking to be quite different in efforts to fill the empty spots left by the large class of ‘22.

Many are taking the time in between seasons to reflect on their sports career at LFA, and many are already aspiring, setting goals for the upcoming season. Diana Bishopp ‘23, a member of the Girls Varsity Soccer and Softball teams, voiced her hopes for the upcoming softball season saying, “We were second in the league last year, but I think this year, we can be first. Although we lost a few players, we are gaining a lot of new players as well under the coaching of Darrin Madeley and new coach, Glinda Hall.” 

The Girls Soccer teams will also be welcoming a new Assistant Varsity Coach, Nancy Nassr and new JV Coaches Dieter Villegas and Isaias Cairampoma. The team will also be bringing in many new players, attracting many that wish to explore soccer for the first time. In an effort to ease the transition to tryouts, Bishopp explained, “We’ve been doing lifts, starting informal practices, and I know Mr. Mpofu has been helping run futsal on the weekends which helps a lot, along with working one-on-one with new players.” With the JV team being relatively small last year and not playing out of school games, Villegas is excited for the large number of students trying out, to develop a “structured, successful and closely knit team.”

Although it is not a “team sport,” Chandravi Soni ‘24, a member of the Varsity Track team explained that “the track team is pretty close knit—the boys and girls warm up together, mid and long distance takes fun trips to the beach and most of the team goes to the trainers after practice to relax and talk. I feel like it’s such a good community because of the coaches (Rogers, Golota, Gorowski etc) and how they structure the workouts to build a team.” Track and field had also been holding optional practices with great turnouts. Gabi Stewart ‘24 said, “This incoming class presents a lot of talent that I think will really foster healthy competition amongst the team.” 

With team bonding being a huge part of developing a competitive team, Bishopp explained  “We are implementing team lifts and yoga. It’s a great place to relax and get away from the stress of school and games. I’m looking forward to team bonding events like laser tag and bowling, maybe watching a college game—a great source of inspiration.”

Boys Varsity Baseball will be coached by Dr. Mike Hall, who explained that although the team has lost many strong players such as Brendan Flaherty ‘22, who went on to play for CalTech, he is “ready to welcome in new and promising players.” New teammates will not be the only change in the upcoming baseball season, as Hall introduces access to a nearby indoor practice center where the team will practice during the cold beginning of the season. 

The Boys Varsity Tennis team is welcoming new varsity coaches, Sam Wold and Mathias Kerr. Ned Koh ‘23, a 4-year member of the team said, “It’s definitely going to take a little bit of adaptation…we lost a couple great seniors, but we have some promising talent coming in too.” He continued, “I think if anything being on the team has really shown me the importance of having mandatory sports—it helps you get a great sense of community as soon as you arrive on campus and throughout your time here.”

As we close off the 2022-2023 school year with the spring-sports season, feelings of excitement, reminiscence, and spirit lie in the LFA community. As Bishopp said, “I’m excited to be around these people again…I am going to miss it, but make the best of it.”