Have you ever thought about watching a football game in spring without the cold weather? Or being able to run under a refreshing mist instead of the beating sun?
At Liberty, sports are organized in the same system that the rest of the West Coast follows, with cross country, girls soccer, softball, girls swim and dive, and volleyball in fall. However, the East Coast uses a different order, flipping fall and spring sports, with the exception of football, which is always in fall.
When asked whether Liberty should change to follow the East Coast’s order, students had varying opinions.
“Just because of how we’ve grown up, football’s a ‘fall’ thing. But, I feel like we’d have a lot more participation in a lot of different other sports if sports seasons were switched,” senior varsity cheer captain Sophia Mostrom said.
Mostrom went on to explain that students would enjoy fall sports in the spring due to better relationships and conditions.
“Our volleyball season would be in the spring, so I think a lot more people would come out and watch their games, ‘cause not only would they have more time to get to know the other students, there’s also better weather,” Mostrom said.
Despite their different experiences, other athletes agreed with Mostrom and suggested their own changes.
“Maybe track during the fall would be better because it’s easier to do track in the rain than it is to do cross country in the rain,” junior track and cross country member Lily Phillips said.
But why would students want to change when their sport is held? Mostrom and Phillips shared their perspective as members of a fall sport.
“The first two weeks before school are spent practicing, so that’s kind of a hindrance if we want to hang out with friends or travel,” Mostrom said.
“Since the first season is in the fall, if you want to join a club, you can’t go to any of their first meetings, and they usually meet when practice is going on,” Phillips said.
Excluding football, the only sports that don’t change in the switching order are those held in winter. However, winter sports also struggle with important events that happen at the same time.
“Winter break is right in the middle, so it’s like you have two seasons that are just short,” junior previous Junior Varsity Girls Basketball Captain Marlee La Madrid said.
Even with all these differing opinions, most people say Liberty shouldn’t change the current organization of sports.
“I like how sports seasons are split up,” La Madrid said.
Staff also agreed with the student’s point of view, adding their opinion to a possible change in sport set up.
“I’m an old dog, I think it’ll be a struggle to change,” Varsity Football Coach Steve Valach said.
