Capital has a lot to be proud of, especially its sports teams. During the fall, there is a girl’s swim, soccer, dance, cheer, volleyball, and cross country and boys’ cross country, football, and tennis. Each team has a community and goals they

set together. Each team at Capital works together, even if they compete with one another and the coaches and players all work together to create the best team. A few players and coaches have shed light on their sport, expressing their opinions, team development, and the atmosphere.

For girl’s swim, Capital made districts and got ninth out seventeenth. The swimmers who made it are currently practicing for state, with their teammates that didn’t, helping them out at practice. This accomplishment is impressive given that their swim team dwindled, leaving less swimmers which equates to the lowering amount of points they can get. However, the swim team could improve if more people joined the sport and were consistent about showing up to practice. The swimmers spend a lot of time together, preseason is three weeks while the actual season is ten, and post is

somewhere between zero to four weeks, depending on how successful the season was for the swimmer. The team practices six days a week, from 4:15-6:30pm on the week and 8-11am on Saturday. It’s a lot of work and dedication that goes into swimming, but they also have fun events. On every away meet the team participates in Secret Sisters, a gift giving game where all the players have a secret someone on the team that they buy a couple gifts for. When the team has home meets, they all go out to eat afterwards and have a spaghetti feed the day before leagues start. The swimmers build intense friendships and chemistry, making the team dynamic something they can look forward to every year. One of their coaches, Patty Peterson, is said to be hard and will push you to be better, while the other, Wes Murray, in the words of Brooke Machut, a sophmore on the team, “he doesn’t care if you don’t want to do it. You’re gonna do it.” The coaches may seem intimidating but the swimmers skills and teamwork prove that their strict ways pay out. Machut stated “the community is amazing. I never found anything quite like it. It’s so supportive, we do everything as a team and have many hangouts.” Her views on the swim team are positive and she sees highly of her teammates, saying, “we all suffer together in the pool so why can’t we be friends outside?” The team is light hearted, yet competitive, they are able to laugh and rant to each other while also engaging in friendly competitive banter when competing with each other.

For boy’s cross country, the whole team was disappointed after having only four of them make districts. After, only two made state and will be going soon. However, the accomplishments this year improved from last year, with only two people making it to districts and one making it to state. For more of the team to make districts, Jae Waltz, a runner on Varsity said, “our team really needs to improve on being more consistent and reliable regarding our times.” Despite Waltz’s disappointment in the numbers that made it past the regular season, he has fun on the team which are all

supportive. Another teammate, Malachi Cardona, a sophomore, spoke about his views on the growth and development of the team, “every season, our XC team has improved by a lot. The standard to make varsity has gotten much higher.” The team may have been disappointed, however, both teammates see the potential and how far along they have come. Their disappointment is understandable given that a lot of dedication goes into the boy’s cross country team. Their preseason is typically two months throughout summer before the two and half months of regular season. For those runners who make it to districts or state, their season may be two to three weeks longer. Each practice varying in time, but usually being around one to two hours. While the season is long, the team gets to look forward to the end of the season banquet that both the boys and girls cross country team goes to. They also have team dinners throughout the season and might go get Pho after races. The coaches of the boys team are Micheal Lunde and Brian, who are very passionate and kind to the team. Micheal Lunde is also dedicated, competitive, and funny, being a great coach for the team. The overall atmosphere of the team is supportive, endearing, and hard working. Waltz values the community and how it makes everyone feel welcomed and belonged. Cardon said, “my favorite thing about being on the team is the opportunity to work closely with other individuals who want to push themselves. Along with making memories throughout the season.” The boys cross country is improving and supportive, creating a good environment for new runners who are encouraged to join. 

For boys tennis, both their JV and varsity teams were successful. Their JV team almost went undefeated while their varsity team was able to send a player to state. John Paul Fox-Seidel, a Senior, who’s been playing tennis for three years now made JV this year. He said his season “went better than past years. I got to play with a consistent partner which was awesome, I also only lost two games all season.” Fox-Seidel was proud of his work, yet was still aware of what his

team needed to improve on, “tennis requires a lot of mental strength as well as being able to strategize with your teammates so confidence and consistency is what we need to improve on most.” The team is super supportive and kind, Fox-Seidel said “the tennis community is the best sports community at Capital.” With the team always being there to back each other up and the coaches caring about all the students and believing in everyone. Since the tennis team is made up of mostly seniors, the team will be barren next year, so it’s hoping that a lot more students will join to boost numbers. Being on the tennis team is a commitment, the preseason may not be as long as the other fall sports, but they still put in a lot of effort. Tennis preseason goes for a couple of weeks while the season goes for two months. The team hosts a few parties as a way to build team chemistry. Fox-Seidel said, “I just love the camaraderie of the team. Everyone loves to be there, and you make new friends every season.” The team’s coaches also back up his statements, the coaches, Tom and Art, push their team to be their best but also realize it’s okay to make mistakes. Their positivity and renforcement make a wonderful atmosphere on the team where they all build each other up. 

For boys football, their Varsity team has been having a great season, making it to the playoffs. The team is more connected this year than the previous one, and each player is always in the mindset to play until the end. However,

the team could improve on how they build up to game day. TK, a junior on the Varsity team said, “our team is very energetic, competitive and fun. We always try to make sure everyone is included in every drill or group activities we do.” He hopes to see more people come out for football next year, “the more people that out the better the atmosphere will be.” His coach, Coach Rose, said he’d like to have at least one hundred players next year, only having ninety four this year. The team builds a lot of chemistry throughout the year, having team dinner and competitions. As well as setting something up at Lake Cushman right before week one starts. The team is committed to playing football, having practice six days a week, spending time outside of practice to study film for the four month long season. Pre and post season length depends on the person, but to TK, preseason starts in summer and post season ends when track season begins. Football is no easy task, but the coaches and teammates always have a good time by being energetic, caring, competitive, and building a sense of family. TK’s favorite thing about his team is the family he’s grown and all the memories he’s shared with them. The Varsity team had success and so did the JV team. The JV team went undefeated this year, greatly improving from last year. The JV participates in team dinner, building up their community as they train to make Varsity. Both Varsity and JV teams work hard all season and basically all year to be the best football team in the state. 

For girls cross country, they made it to districts as a team. They had a lot of PR’s and season bests, improving throughout the season. They were able to send a runner to state, which is better from last year. With better times than last year, they also had a lot more runners this year, than the previous one. Even though the team had success,

they aren’t confident in their own ability to compete. While they lack confidence in themselves, they show unwavering support to their teammates. The team has a “lot of great bonds, supports, and overall a fun and outgoing community,” Alea Collet, a junior on the Varsity team said. The cross country preseason starts in summer and the postseason goes for about a month with the runners practicing everyday after school. The team has a lot of time to go to team dinner and get together after practice. The team’s coaches are Coach Joy and Coach Dallas who, Collet describes, “are amazing at what they do and are incredibly supportive.” The runners are able to compete with one another while also being supportive and cheering their teammates on. 

For girls soccer, their Varsity season was quite disappointing. The Varsity team only won a few games and their team hadn’t played as well as last year. The previous year, the team made it to districts. However, this year, the team did not and their season was cut short. In order for their team to grow, they need to work on companionship, focus, and communication. Out on the field during games, their lack of communication made the team sport and individual one which made them lose. The talent of individual players is not lacking but their ability to communicate left them fighting a 1v11 battle, which did not do them justice. The team also lost a lot of their seniors and capitain-like role models, which left the team with younger and new players. This year

was definitely a building year for them, the team had already greatly improved over the season with their ability to work together. Their coach, Coach A, had said, “our team needs to understand the importance of team work and doing it together creates success.” The team and coaches agree there is a lot to improve on, but the team isn’t all ridden with disappointment. The team remains fun, supportive, competitive, cheerful, and humorous. The commitment to the team really depends on how passionate the players are. If the player is dedicated the bigger the commitment is. Preseason starts in the summer, with around three or more practices a week, varying on what the team wants and what coaches are available. The actual season is two months, from September to October with the postseason only being an option if the team makes it past leagues. The team connects outside of their practices, having team dinner every Monday and having an end of the season banquet with JV and C-team. Varsity’s coaches are Coach A and Coach Otto, who are very competitive, funny, supportive, and intense. Their competitive nature can be intimidating, but once you get to know them, they are wonderful coaches. The player’s favorite thing about being on the team is making friends and staying active. Coach A said her “biggest fulfillment was watching each player grow independently and become an advocate for themselves and others.” The coaches and teammates work together to create a positive environment, even if this season hadn’t gone as they’d hoped. 

For the girls dance team, their season is still ongoing, however it’s definitely a positive season moving from football to competition season. The team of six, is getting ready and preparing for competitions, practicing for two hours a day three times a week. The team puts a lot of effort into perfecting their art, their season lasting from May to March. During football season, the team goes out and performs during half time, but as their competition season comes, they train their performances to perfection. The team has improved from last year too, going through practices quicker and getting a lot more done because of how well they work together. They also improved technically from last year. With their improvements, they make a great team, however, they believe they could be better if their stamina and organization improved, and they wish for more dancers to turn out because their team is so small. But just because they’re small, doesn’t mean their small numbers reflect their performance. The team is safe, supportive and fun for all their dancers. They study together, call each other, host parties, play Just Dance, give gifts, have fun competitions outside of dance, and explore downtown together. Payton Albright, a junior on the dance team

, said “I would say the friendships and connections I’ve gained from being a part of the team, and the memories I’ve received have been my favorite things so far.” Whereas, Minnie H., a sophomore on the team said, “my favorite thing about being on Dance is the end result. Seeing my best friends grow into better dancers and better people.” Both of them enjoy their time on the team and have nothing but support from their coaches and teammates. Their coach is SungJa Albright, who Minnie says, “SungJa is not only a mentor who encourages us to be our best selves, but is a supportive and trusting person who cares about our health. She says this phrase, “I can teach you how to dance but I can’t teach you to be a good person, that’s on you” and I think it represents her so well. SungJa is an understanding person who connects to us in a meaningful way, not just as a coach, but as someone we know we can talk to about anything. She is so dedicated to the dance community and her passion shows through her dancers. The team would not be standing without her and I am only dancing with as much dedication as I am today because she was the first person to really put effort into correcting me, and the teammates.” It’s clear that the dance team works hard every time they get in gear and even works on team building outside of practice. The team is open to new dancers and is forgiving and supportive. The team knows how best to cheer themselves on with a talented coach. 

Girl’s volleyball and cheer weren’t able to give their remarks, but rumor has it they were both successful this season. Capital is home to outstanding teams in terms of compassion and support. Maybe not all of the teams went to state, but definitely all of the teams persevered and never gave up on working towards their dreams. Each team improves each year and has something that makes their team unique each season. With the support from their coaches, the school, and even you, we can make a difference to succeed and end up competing at state. The players enjoy the community they have built at Capital where friendships are praised and competition is fierce. All the fall sports have something to offer and should be rewarded as such.