On November 1st, the Friends Select community gathered together in the cafeteria after school to celebrate the community’s fall athletes at the fall sports awards.

Sports awards have become a staple in Friends Select’s athletic program. At the end of each season, every team gathers in the cafeteria to celebrate the athletic accomplishments of Upper School students. Free food is provided as a special treat to each team. As the student-athletes eat, each team’s head coach stands up and talks about the past seasons accomplishments and memorable moments. After the head coach talks about the team’s season, they then present four awards to deserving members of the team. These awards include most outstanding, most improved, most dedicated, and best sportsmanship. After the awards are presented each team presents a team made video. Most videos are funny, but some are formal.

This year’s sports awards had many great moments. One of the most notable highlights was Matt Todd’s (Head Coach of the Varsity Girls’ soccer) passionate speech about his team. Todd spoke with passion for what seemed to be over an hour. His speech showed how much he cares about his team and how excited he is for the future of the Varsity Girls soccer program. Another notable moment was when Varsity Cross Country Coach Jonathan Ogle awarded Carlos Eckert (‘19)  the most outstanding runner. When asked what the award meant to him, Eckert reflected, “I’m honestly really proud of myself. Cross country isn’t an easy sport, so being able to run the entire season with good times and not quitting is an accomplishment to me.”

The Varsity Boys soccer video captured the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Led by Minas Macos (‘20), the video was a compilation of randomness, including funny clips of the team playing soccer on the roof, pictures of the past season, and some banter involving head coach Barry Lynch and The Revolutionary War. Bill Klose, FSS Director of  Athletics, described the video: “It shows there is a special relationship between the coaches and players. Being able to put Barry’s (Head coach for Varsity Boys Soccer) face on a British flag and playing that song in the background was just hilarious. Barry was a good sport about it, when a coach and players can laugh together like that it shows the great chemistry the soccer team has and that that team can do special things when they work together.”

Bill Klose has been organizing the Sports Awards for many years. When asked about last week’s sports awards, Klose said, “The awards went well— some coaches speak longer than others, which is fine. I thought it was fun, the food was good. There were a ton of people there. It was probably one of the most crowded ones we have had. There were a lot of kids there who did not do a fall sport, which I think is awesome. It’s showing how school spirit is spreading into athletics.”

Throughout every coach’s speech there was one common belief: the future is bright for FSS athletics.

Varsity Cross Country

Carlos Eckert – Outstanding Player

Alex Haurin – Most Dedicated Player

Jonah Berrong – Most Improved Player

Kenny Shewoo Park – Sportsmanship Award

Varsity Field Hockey

Camryn Harvie – Outstanding Player

Izzy Dean – Most Dedicated Player

Mia Cohen and Lily Cappello – Most Improved Player

Allura Tarant – Sportsmanship Award

Varsity Tennis

Amelia Squires, Madeline Squires – Outstanding Player

Chloe Zhang – Most Dedicated Player

Tal Lesnik – Most Improved Player

Alex Shapiro – Sportsmanship Award

JV Tennis

Angelina Ye – Outstanding Player

Felicia Liu – Most Dedicated Player

Karolina Vainshtein – Most Improved Player

Anna Ting – Sportsmanship Award

Varsity Boys Soccer

Minas Macos – Outstanding Player

Alec Kane – Most Dedicated Player

Arley Johnson – Most Improved Player

John Larkin- Sportsmanship Award  

Varsity Girls Soccer

Alex Piven – Outstanding Player

Hannah Sieg – Most Dedicated Player

Annie Rupertus – Most Improved Player

Sofia Rodriguez-Burno  – Sportsmanship Award