by Amelia F.

The girls’ athletics program at the Alamo Heights Junior School is loved across the entire campus. Not only does being a part of the girls’ athletics program teach students how to play sports, but it also teaches them important life skills and ideals.

Coach Tacker, the girls’ athletic director, enjoys watching the girls grow spiritually and athletically from 6th to 8th grade. “I get to watch their growth on and off the courts, but just them as human beings is the best part.” Coach Tacker also greatly appreciates working with the coaching staff as well as being a part of the school community in general.

The student-athletes are fond of girls’ athletics as well. “I think the girls’ athletics program positively affects the students because it teaches kids to work together as a team,” states Mary Wesley Gissel happily. There are also many things that girls gain from being a part of the program. Mary Wesley describes, “There are multiple people that I wouldn’t think I would have made friends with, but because of being on the same sports teams as them, I’ve made great friendships.”

The girls also create relationships with coaches throughout their years at the junior school. Coach Tacker describes: “We’ve built enough of a relationship with [the student] to know that we’re here to support [the students] and advocate for you.”

The girls feel this way about the coaches as well. “I feel like the coaches have really learned about us as people, so they know how to talk to us and coach us,” Mary Wesley states passionately.

This passion spreads throughout the whole program, but a main ingredient to it is the sports teams. In the girls’ athletics program, the sports include volleyball, basketball, cross-country, tennis, track, and more. Although tryouts are said to be pressuring, the outcome is always worth it, according to the girls. “I think that tryouts are very stressful, but the teams are made well, and the coaching is very well done,” states Mary Wesley excitedly.

Throughout the years, the girls’ athletics program has grown and expanded. According to Coach Tacker, “We used to have about 90 kids per grade in athletics, but now we have up to 120 and 130.” Not only have the numbers grown, but the sports have changed as well. “We used to have a combined team of 7th and 8th grade soccer, but now they’re separate,” she says with pleasure.

Although the girls’ athletics program at the Alamo Heights Junior School may seem just like a normal program from the surface, it is extremely critical to the coaches and students, as well as to The Junior School’s culture as a whole.