The last game of the season. After four years of training and competing on the team, this was it. The last time I’d be able to play badminton in my high school career, my last senior night. I can say for sure that I was far from disappointed.
On the Wednesday of our last home game, the seniors met outside the gym at 3:30 where underclassmen stood guard to ensure the element of surprise.
When we were finally allowed to enter the gym, it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Yes, I had been in the place of those freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, cheering on my seniors as they entered the gym for their last game, but being on the other side was different; it was overwhelming and exciting.
Opposite the double doors from which we entered, eighteen senior posters decorated the wall. Each of the posters represented a part of our personality or interest, whether that was a love for avocados, dedication to League of Legends, passion for K-Pop, or just their name written in Japanese. Even the most seemingly insignificant detail of a background gradient between team members represented a sibling relationship.
But of course, we couldn’t admire the posters for long before we had to start the game against Santa Theresa. This time, we were able to have all eighteen seniors play the twenty-four spots on the varsity line up, and one by one, the games started and finished as the gym echoed with cheers for the last time. The final score was 15-0, a first, just in time for our very last home game.
As the night came to a bittersweet end, we took the event outside to the overhang in the X-Quad where the entire team took time to take photos, munch on food, and celebrate the end of our season together. It was here that the seniors found out about the spent hours which the underclassmen had spent at each other's houses to work on posters, gifts, and even some sweets for a fun game of cupcake roulette.
Its been over three months since the team came together for the very first day of conditioning and in that time, we’ve grown as friends and bonded as family. Through the highs and lows of the season, the team has always been there for each other and it’s those little things that make being on the Badminton team worth it. As a graduating senior, I can only say that the memories which the team has given me were the greatest gift they could have gave.
On the Wednesday of our last home game, the seniors met outside the gym at 3:30 where underclassmen stood guard to ensure the element of surprise.
When we were finally allowed to enter the gym, it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Yes, I had been in the place of those freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, cheering on my seniors as they entered the gym for their last game, but being on the other side was different; it was overwhelming and exciting.
Opposite the double doors from which we entered, eighteen senior posters decorated the wall. Each of the posters represented a part of our personality or interest, whether that was a love for avocados, dedication to League of Legends, passion for K-Pop, or just their name written in Japanese. Even the most seemingly insignificant detail of a background gradient between team members represented a sibling relationship.
But of course, we couldn’t admire the posters for long before we had to start the game against Santa Theresa. This time, we were able to have all eighteen seniors play the twenty-four spots on the varsity line up, and one by one, the games started and finished as the gym echoed with cheers for the last time. The final score was 15-0, a first, just in time for our very last home game.
As the night came to a bittersweet end, we took the event outside to the overhang in the X-Quad where the entire team took time to take photos, munch on food, and celebrate the end of our season together. It was here that the seniors found out about the spent hours which the underclassmen had spent at each other's houses to work on posters, gifts, and even some sweets for a fun game of cupcake roulette.
Its been over three months since the team came together for the very first day of conditioning and in that time, we’ve grown as friends and bonded as family. Through the highs and lows of the season, the team has always been there for each other and it’s those little things that make being on the Badminton team worth it. As a graduating senior, I can only say that the memories which the team has given me were the greatest gift they could have gave.