For many athletes here at Trinity, their first game for a varsity team is one full of nerves, stress and pressure to succeed. As time goes on, they get more comfortable. Time starts to go by until the end of the season, which starts a fresh period of waiting for next season. Eventually, the cycle will start all over again and will continue up until their final games of their high school careers.
From the posters to the speeches, senior night is full of traditions and goodbyes. For most sports, this is the night that the crowd is full of parents, teachers and fellow students decked out in blue and gold. For many, it is the last time they play their particular sport.
“The events before senior night were really special, but once we got on the field, we were playing our last Trinity game like any other,” four year varsity soccer player Tedi Beemer said. “As a senior, every single game counts, so you should really value each game and play every [game] like it’s the last.”
The nerves from their first game as a new varsity player come back for many seniors playing on senior night. George Reuter is a senior swimmer at Trinity who has experienced first hand the senior night traditions. Some of his best memories at TPS have come in the pool.
“[My favorite memories are] winning districts this year and placing second in the 400 meter freestyle relay at States,” Reuter said.
Beemer’s favorite memory came back in her freshman year of high school.
“My favorite experience as a Saint was beating Bishop Moore in the district semi-finals,” Beemer said. “We came back from a 2-0 deficit at half to win 3-2 in overtime. We really rallied in the second half as a team.”
Legacy and memories are two of the most important parts of the seniors’ seasons. Will Miles has been playing basketball since he was in fourth grade, and had some of his best memories on the court with the Saints. For many, the saddest moment of senior night is leaving behind the team that you had eaten, laughed, practiced and played with for years.
“All the jokes with the team in the locker room and pizza lunch on Wednesdays with Coach Jack [are my best memories of the team],” Miles said.
Beemer agrees with Miles.
“I’ll miss the team the most,” Beemer said. “It takes a lot of time and energy to develop the kind of team chemistry we had this season, and I’m really disappointed that I won’t be around to see if that carries into next year.”
For Reuter, legacy is very important.
“I felt like I had done what I set out to do: build a legacy,” Reuter said.
Many athletes at Trinity play multiple sports. For some, their final game in one sport carries more weight than the other. Jared Herron is committed to play baseball at Florida State University, but also played quarterback for the Trinity’s Boys Varsity football team.
“[Baseball] will not lessen [the impact of] my [football] senior night because it was still the last time I put on that specific uniform for my high school and it was something I will never forget,” Herron said. “Both nights are very important to me. I love both sports and even though I have moved on to play baseball, I miss football so much. I will miss wearing jerseys to school, running out of the banner on Friday nights and fighting with my teammates.”
While the seniors end their high school years in the upcoming spring, many already ended their athletic careers with a hero’s sendoff at one of Trinity’s most beloved traditions, senior night.
