To recognize the hard work of student athletes during the spring season, Richland will host a spring Meet the Raiders event this Thursday, Feb. 5 in the Arena at 6 p.m. Family, friends, and community members are welcome to come.
“It’s great to build community,” head boys soccer coach Nathan McBride said. “You know, the best thing about high school sports is building community and having community. So for West Prosper to get to know, you know, every team and each kid is really important for the whole experience of being a student athlete. It’s not just about your program, but it’s also about supporting other programs.”
Ann Ludlow, the athletic secretary, who planned the fall Meet the Raiders event, started planning its spring counterpart back in December. Her job was to use the district script given to all four high schools and then fill it in with Richland’s information.
“They work so hard, you know, and just to get them to be recognized in an environment outside of a game, you know, is kind of nice,” Ludlow said.
Eight sports will be introduced this Thursday: golf, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, wrestling, powerlifting, and track.
“Basketball has taught me the value of hard work, discipline, and teamwork,” varsity girls basketball player and sophomore Lauryn Williams said. “Through the sport, I’ve made my closest friends, grown in a competitive and supportive environment, and learned life lessons that push me to be better on and off the court.”
The fine arts department will also be in attendance at Meet the Raiders. Performances from cheer, drill team, and potentially choir will be something for audience members to look forward to. A DJ will also be present.
“I’m pretty excited,” Raider Revel drill team member and freshman Ava Brosnan said. “It was really fun last time. I’m excited to show off our game day – it’s really cool – and support the spring and winter teams.”
Due to the coaches’ busy schedules, Ludlow said it was challenging trying to get them to fill out the information she needed for the Meet the Raiders script. However, despite the event’s challenges, Ludlow said it should be a fun event.
“I’m excited this time,” Ludlow said. “The last time I was nervous, more nervous, because I had never done it before, and I just didn’t know, how you know, it was going to turn out. So this time, I’m really just excited. Hopefully the kids feel special.”
Some students participate in multiple sports – like baseball player and sophomore Nathan Bloem who is also on the powerlifting and varsity football team. Bloem said he is at school almost 13 hours a day because of classes and practice.
“The way I stay motivated through tough training sessions (is) by knowing it’ll get better because I’ve been in this place before and time makes it better,” Bloem said. “All I have to do is put my head down and work everyday and stay consistent.”
Sophomore Eseosa Osa, who runs the women’s 400-meter and 800-meter for track, said the hardest part of training is the mental part.
“Trying to get yourself to like start a workout or to like keep going through a workout, it’s like very difficult,” Osa said. “So you kind of have to like endure through that and keep going. ”
Some sports being represented this Thursday have yet to have their first game. However, teams like the girls varsity basketball have almost undefeated records – 22-4 to be exact.
“Our first four losses was like in the very beginning of the season,” Williams said. “We were still trying to figure everything out then, but I think our chemistry as a team has been so strong, and we’re looking onto longer long term goals when we’re going into state and playoffs and stuff like that.”
While Meet the Raider’s main goal is recognize its student athletes, it’s also a chance for coaches to see how much their team has grown in their first year together.
“I love coaching because it is awesome to develop relationships and watch the student athletes mature and grow on and off the field as young ladies,” head softball coach Alexis Cantu said. “It is a really rewarding job through offseason, practice, losses, and wins. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Nicholas Tanner, head tennis coach, uses goal setting to help his athletes grow on and off the field.
“We have goal setting meetings at the beginning of each season and then we do checks to see how we are progressing,” Tanner said. “This helps the team set priorities for both on and off the court to improve and maintain.”
For those who wish to see games played by the recognized athletes, the sports schedule can be found on RankOne.
“I think Meet the Raiders is important because it gives the younger generations, like, a chance to look at what they’re coming to,” Williams said. “And I think it’s really exciting for, like, middle schools to see like how their high school schools or their feeder schools are still beneficial to their lives. So I think it’s really important to incorporate that to the middle school kids, so they can just be excited about coming to school next year.”
