On January 31, Campolindo girls varsity basketball beat Ygnacio Valley High School with a final score of 62-43. Prior to the game, however, the team celebrated their soon departing seniors with a ceremony that highlighted each senior’s accomplishments throughout their Campo Athletics journey.
Senior night is an extremely valued tradition at Campo that allows athletes and their families to pay tribute to their high school sports career before the last home game of the team’s league season. The ceremony includes the senior athlete’s numerous achievements being announced, along with any future plans that the athlete has regarding their sport. The senior’s family is able to come join them during this time so they can celebrate their child’s accomplishments together.
The three seniors celebrated were guard Sophie Lederle, center Laurel Tringe, and captain post Julia Erickson-King. A shared favorite moment of the night between the three was “when we got to walk out with our parents, specifically walking through the tunnel of my teammates and getting to see all of them because these are the people who I have spent my whole basketball career with,” said Erickson-King.
Before this season, the team was challenged with adapting to an entire new coaching staff. While this may seem like an unprecedented change, it was necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the team. Lederle explained, “[With the previous coaches] a lot of people didn’t want to play the sport anymore. They didn’t even want to play Campo basketball.” However, the new coaching staff and seniors on the team helped rebuild the team this year and “brought that energy back so people want to join the team and enjoy playing basketball,” Lederle said.
The energy was apparent in the atmosphere before, during, and after this important game. The fact that it was senior night also affected the team’s mentality, making them “really excited. But the goal was ultimately just to have fun and have a good time,” said Tringe.
The team has bonded on and off the court, creating deep connections that allow them to do well but also have a good time. These bonding moments have been some of the team’s favorite times together. “My favorite moments are always just after games when we hang out and get food together. I also really liked before practice when everyone was calm and when we talked and got ready,” explained Erickson-King.
With their season soon over, the juniors are beginning to have to step up and prepare to overtake these leadership positions. The seniors have full confidence in them, however, and just hope the team “keeps doing what they’re doing,” said Tringe.
