The Sequoyah Gryphons soccer team ended their season with a record of 4 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw this fall, having grown a great deal in the short period of time they played together. Coach Ben Moran noted that although the team started at a fairly low point due to a lack of experience, as the season progressed, they improved tremendously as a result of their strong commitment.”We started at a low level and our trajectory went upward,” Moran said. “That’s evident in our game performance and it’s evident in our practice performance. I just see effort, increasing skill, increasing commitment, which has been there from the beginning…I’ve been pretty impressed.”
During the season, the team played for about two hours a day, three days a week, in a combination of games and practices. Moran noted that the habits developed in sports and physical activities correlate to the habits of mind of Sequoyah. The teamwork and problem solving that the team learned on the field has the power to impact their schoolwork positively. Players learn to commit to things and to be creative in a physical sense, subconsciously using the habits they learn on the field to be more productive and enthusiastic about their academics. “The lessons that they’re learning on the field can directly be applied in the classroom and their lives,” Moran stated.
One admirable thing about the Gryphons was the record of their losses to Waldorf High School. In their first game of the season, the players experienced a fairly crushing defeat, 0-7, to Waldorf; this kind of opener can hurt the morale of any respectable team. Despite this, the Gryphons played Waldorf again a few weeks later and this time lost 4-6. Having been unable to score a single goal on the Waldorf team in their entire first game, a short few weeks later, Sequoyah’s soccer team scored four times. This is a testament to the Sequoyah team’s progress and the things they’re capable of.
While the season ended a while ago, the players would probably appreciate it if you congratulated them on their impressive run. Go Gryphons!
