As the 5th period bell rings at exactly 12:24, students sprint out of class and run towards the Grille. By 12:27, the Saint Sub line is already curving all the way to the cashiers. Three minutes and you already missed your chance at getting the hot chicken in your sub. These three minutes cost you the sub and your free lunch time. You lost that competition.
Competitions are everywhere, but this year they may be even more apparent at Trinity than ever before. As a result of some district rearranging by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), Trinity’s teams will be competing against different and bigger schools than in years past.
The new districts were designed to reduce travel times, but will result in competition with much larger public schools. Trinity’s football team added Cocoa Beach High School, Calvary Christian High School and Trinity Catholic High School to their schedule. Yet, their biggest game of the season will come in the last week against our long standing rivals: Lake Highland.
“Playing against your rival is always fun, mainly because of bragging rights,” Senior star wide receiver and defensive back Gabe Thomas said.
It has been a two years since the teams last squared off, so both schools are ready for the long anticipated game.
The volleyball team competes in two different tournaments this season. They will be playing much bigger schools in a more competitive environments like Disney’s Wide World of Sports. They are also scheduled to face district rival Lake Highland late in the season and will most likely play them again in the postseason.
“This year we get to play them on our own turf,” Senior captain Rachel Sturn said. “I feel like by the time we meet them in the season we’ll be ready to finally beat them.”
The swim team, one of the largest teams on campus, added an even more competitive meet to their schedule. The team will compete in the Tampa Bay Classic for the first time and will face better competition than what the team will see in other meets.
In previous years the Girls’ and Boys’ Golf districts included a top finisher at the state tournament in Circle Christian High School, but the district added two more power houses: Lake Mary Prep and Lake Highland. With these teams in their District Meet, they will have to shoot very competitively in the District Tournament in order to advance to the Regional Meet for the first time in several years.
Two public schools, Hagerty and Oviedo, have been in the lacrosse boy’s and girl’s districts in previous years, but another huge public school, Winter Park High School, was added this year.. Each of these schools has well over 2,000 students, making their pool for athletes over two times as big as Trinity’s. There is more competition at these schools’ teams in order to find the best athletes
“One of the things that I have said many times and believe it with my heart, [that] I have yet to see any team give up.” Athletic Director Steven Bluth said.
Bluth believes this stems from our athletes love for their school and their teams.
Every student, parent and teacher wants Trinity to be on par with the big public schools, but it is much harder with our academic standards. Student athletes are expected and required to maintain a 2.0 grade point average throughout the year in order to be eligible for their sport. This causes many students to either steer clear of coming to Trinity or focus more on their studies than their athletic careers. Our athletes may be equally as talented as other schools, but they may not have the time to perfect their craft, due to their studies.
The news of our redistricting came as a surprise to students because the individual schools have no pull and no say in the decision. Even Bluth is not completely sure of the state managed process.
“They try and do it, from what I’m told, by size of school and where the schools are,” Bluth said. “It’s one of those things that we sort of just accept.”
The teams and games may be challenging, but all athletes thrive in competitive environments. The tougher the team, the more an athlete wants to win and the harder they compete. Higher stakes and better opponents is always a driving force for athletes to play harder.
“Sometimes you feel like you deserve the win and other times you have to earn the win,” Sturn said.
Competition and striving to be better than your opponents also comes from coaches and teammates. Coaches push athletes to their limits week after week to prepare them for their opposition. Coaches always know a way through every situation.
“I’m a coach. I’m always thinking there is a solution,” Bluth said. “There is always something positive to take out of a loss. And there is always something to learn from a win.”
Trinity athletes are preparing for one of the most competitive seasons in recent years. Athletes, coaches and students are getting ready for bigger schools, bigger games and bigger competition.
