School has begun, and that means fall sports are in full swing at NDP.  These athletes have not only been hitting the books all day at school, but they have devoted much of their time to ensure that their sport team excels this year.  Behind every great team is a great leader.  I had the opportunity to interview these varsity athlete captains and understand what it takes to lead a team on and off the field.

NDP’s varsity soccer team is off to a great start.  This strong team of twenty-six girls is led by seniors, Kayla Robison, Allison Shields, and Kristen Marcotte and junior, Colette McGarvey.  Each captain explains her responsibility as running warm ups, assisting the coach, organizing equipment, and making sure everyone knows the practice schedule.  However, all of them agree that their main responsibility is to be a motivator for the team.   Junior Colette McGarvey explains that her role as captain is to encourage players on and off the field and to create a positive environment for everyone.  This may seem like a big responsibility, but when asked why she wanted to be captain, each girl generally said that she loves being a leader and wanted to make sure she could push her team to the limit while still serving as a motivator.  Kayla Robison says that being captain is a very rewarding experience because it allows her to provide guidance to her team and create bonds with the girls.  It is evident that this team’s greatest strength is their chemistry on and off the field.  Some of their other strengths are their ability to switch fields and their speed.  These assets will play a major roles in the team’s upcoming games.   The biggest competitors however seem to be Spaulding and McDonogh.  Everyone should come out to support the soccer team because they love to see enthusiasm from the fans and simply because soccer is an exhilarating game to watch.  Captain Allison Shields promises that you will have a friend on the team to support.  NDP’s varsity soccer team is a force to be reckoned with this season!

Although the tennis season has just begun, varsity captains, Maddie Staczek and Maria Ernest know that the year will be promising.  One can easily see that both Maddie and Maria love their sport and are, therefore, perfect fits for captains.  Their responsibilities as captains are to take care of the equipment and to make sure the entire team is cooperating and bonding while still having fun.  Actually, junior captain, Maddie Staczek, says that the team’s greatest strength is its ability to overcome problems while having fun.  Maddie also jokingly exclaims that her favorite part about being captain is getting to choose who picks up the balls at the end of every practice.  However, this team without a doubt has a great atmosphere due to the captains’ encouragement and guidance.  Under the captains’ leadership, the team functions as a unit.  Even though the team has yet to play any matches, the team has begun practicing.  They want to make sure they defeat their toughest opponent, Roland Park.  If you are looking for an exciting and intense sport to watch, then you should come out and watch NDP’s varsity tennis team!

Cross Country season is upon us, and you do not want to miss it!  This team is led by enthusiastic seniors, Caroline Jenkins, Mary Kate Clancy, and Katie Kammer.  These captains are devoted to their team and in ensuring that it is close-knit as possible.  In order to do this, they are required to stay positive, despite how long or difficult the run is.  When asked why they enjoy being captains, they all said they love creating fun traditions and memories with the team.  Caroline Jenkins says she wants to be a role model and leave the same mark that the previous captains left on her.  Even though it can be difficult to control a group of forty-four wild girls, as Mary Kate Clancy says, each captain agrees it is worth it.  The captains aim to show the girls that cross country is a team sport and that running is a way of life.  Even though the team’s current record is 0-2, the season looks promising due to the newly gained fast underclassmen and the overall potential of the team.  Captain, Mary Kate Clancy, believes that the team’s toughest opponent is themselves and that once they get out of their own minds, they will surely experience success!  Everyone should come out and support the cross country team because the excitement of the fans, as Caroline Jenkins says, is “the difference between giving into the pain and pushing through it.”  This positive and cooperative team is bound to experience success due to the dedication of such wonderful captains.

NDP’s varsity field hockey team is destined for greatness this year!  Captains, Kate Knott, Alexandra Seward, and Maddie Burke, all agree that the team camaraderie this year is superb.  Behind this great team attitude are the captains.  The captains’ responsibilities to their team are as follows: encourage teammates, organize team activities, and bring the team together as a unit.  Kate Knott also hopes to be someone that her teammates can come to on and off the field.  The captains thrive off this responsibility and describe their job as simple because it is so much fun!  Maddie Burke says that the team’s passion for winning helps make their roles as team motivator easier.  Despite having lost a lot of outstanding seniors last year, the team remains positive.  Alexandra Seward exclaims that she wants to help rebuild the team and elevate the confidence of the new players “because they made the team for a reason.”  McDonogh will, without a doubt, be the team’s toughest opponent.  So, everyone should come out to support the team because excitement from the fans makes all the difference.

After a great season last year, the varsity volleyball team is off to a phenomenal start with an undefeated season thus far.  Captains, Anna Carmen, Natalie Garinther, and Francesca Zink have helped lead this team to victory by pumping everyone up before each game and helping to ensure a positive attitude among all.  Each captain loves being a role model and working with the coach to help the team improve.  Natalie Garinther says that being captain is not difficult with such a supportive team.  Therefore, a strong asset to the team is everyone’s ability to remain positive.  Captain, Francesca Zink, says, being positive is crucial because “once one player starts to get down on herself, the whole team follows.”  The major goal of all of the captains is to lead the team to Championships by building up the team energy.  All of the captains agree that the match to watch will be against St. Paul’s.  Everyone should come out and watch NDP’s varsity volleyball team because not only are they top ten in the state, but they promise to keep you cheering and on the edge of your seats the entire time.

Last but certainly not least, the NDP’s varsity crew team is one to look out for this fall.  Seniors, Emma Haw, Sara Salvo, and Olivia Sullivan, are perfect captains because they love their sport.  Sara Salvo even plans on being on a college crew team.  The captains organize warm-ups, recruit players, make announcements, and work side-by-side with the coaches.  However, all of this comes easy to them due to their excellent leadership skills and the team’s attitude.  The captains say that their team is so close due to everyone’s “quirky” attitude.  The team is so close that they are there for each other on and off the water.  This excellent team camaraderie certainly showed last year because NDP was the fastest girls’ high school team in Baltimore.  The captains are convinced that this year will be no different.  Everyone should come out to cheer on the crew team because not only will show everyone how dedicated the team is to their sport, but it will give everyone a better understanding of how intense and vigorous the sport truly is.

The NDP community as a whole should definitely come support all of the fall sports this season.  The girls have been working every day to sharpen their skills and want nothing but to represent their school positively.  The captains promise that you will not regret it!