Before subbing freshman Nora Esposito into the Hornets’ game against Horace Mann, Coach Leffler offers advice. She typically gives specific instructions and targets to focus on as she prepares to enter the field. “I’m pretty sure Leff was telling me to fight for second chances here. We were trying to possess the ball more,” said freshman Nora Esposito.
In high school sports, each year seniors leave, some players return, and new athletes join teams. Coaches and athletes at high schools like Hackley face the challenge of a changing roster. Adapting to new athletes and the loss of old ones impacts team dynamics, strategies, and coaches’ plans for a successful season.
This year Varsity Cross Country is strong with a promising season. Coach Seth Karpinski said that since last year the team composition has “changed a ton.”
From last year, only two seniors graduated, Asher Beck and Travis Knaggs, who now both run collegiately, making the team the second largest in school history with 47 runners. However, larger numbers present the issue of ensuring each runner gets adequate attention and coaching. Depending on experience and ability, runners are put into different training groups. While some smaller teams may only have three or four training groups, Hackley has eight or ten training groups.
Coach Karpinski said that although Asher and Travis were big losses, the team has had some “awesome pickups.” On the girls’ side of the team, there are many “heavy-hitting additions who have experience in the sport, too”
For example, track runners Sophie Fraizer, Macey McClane, and Layan Sow joined the team this year. Given her strong leadership qualities and athleticism, Sophie stepped right into the role of captain.
On the boy’s side, there are 26 runners in total. Although they lost two top-tier runners, many underclassmen have been stepping up to fill those spots. Coach Karpinski said that Henry Prescott, who just joined the team this year, took his place as the fastest runner on the boys’ side in just the first week of practice.
Even though high numbers of runners can be challenging, this year six team captains help manage the team. Coach Karpinski said he has to get creative to solve this problem; having many people in leadership roles helps out with this issue. Additionally, the fact that there were fewer seniors last year led to juniors Rafael Castro and Mederdith Lee taking on leadership positions last year. So, coming into this year, they had experience as captains.
The team’s training philosophy this year is to run fast on Monday and Tuesday and run at a more conservative pace with more mileage for the rest of the week. On Saturdays the team races in a public school invitational. This is really important because some of the highest-quality runners in the state attend.
However, this training method forces the team to sacrifice their mid-week race on Wednesdays. The team attends these races and runs on the course, but they don’t go all out. They treat it more as a training day.
While the cross country team has navigated the changes of a larger roster, the Varsity Field Hockey team has adjusted to the loss of players and smaller numbers.
Coach Jenny Leffler said that the team lost some impactful players from last year. Additionally, numbers this year have been lower than in past years. However, a core group of returning players has made this transition seamless. The team returned a total of 17 players out of 22 players, 4 of whom are swings, playing on both Varsity and Junior Varsity.
“We have small numbers, but there are a lot of returners. So what that really meant for us is we couldn’t take as many people as we might have last year. Last year we took many people who were first-year varsity players,” Coach Leffler said.
In terms of strategies, the team is taking a similar approach to last year. At the beginning of the season, the team played with four midfielders, compared to the typical three. The loss of the team’s center mid left a position on the field to fill.
Instead of only having one center midfielder, Coach Leffler started Lizzie Doherty as a defensive center midfielder and Devyn O’Callaghan as an offensive center midfielder and used their strengths, mindset, and strong fitness to the team’s advantage. According to Coach Leffler, Lizzie plays with a defensive mindset; therefore, having her as a center-back and defensive midfielder has given the team a strong advantage in pushing the ball up the center while keeping a defensive focus.
In past years Devyn has started as a forward. The way she carries the ball and distributes it is helpful to have in the midfield. Additionally, having her push up into the forward line when players are in the circle has been very successful. Furthermore, her strong fitness allows her to play full games in those challenging positions.
Both Varsity Cross Country and Field Hockey teams are adapting to roster changes, with Coaches Karpinksi and Coach Leffler focusing on leadership development and strategic adjustments. As Cross Country benefits from blends of returning athletes and new talent, the field hockey team relies on its solid core and the strengths of its players.
