By Cris Fiorini

Many Wilde Lake athletes are looking forward to the beginning of the summer league season. Different than travel or club sports, summer league teams allow for programs within Wilde Lake to play together before the season starts. Different than travel or club sports, summer league teams allow for programs within Wilde Lake to play together before the season starts. For participating athletes, playing sports in the summer offers an opportunity to practice and improve for the upcoming high school season.

            Organized by the community, summer sports can be coached by parents or former players, and have players from all skill levels, giving athletes more specialized training. Junior Alan Garcia is one of such athletes who spends his summer on the soccer field. “Playing soccer in the summer helps me prepare for the fall season,” said Garcia. “It helps, so by the time fall soccer begins, I can get straight to business.”

            Junior Kaylan Emerick agrees. “Whenever you play, you’re improving,” said Emerick. “It’s not that competitive. It’s nice to play with people over summer. It’s casual, and it’s fun,” said Emerick. “It’s a great way to improve, and if you make a mistake, it doesn’t get handled too harshly.” With summer league teams based around schools, it provides an opportunity for new players to meet their teammates and bond.

         “I think summer soccer helps a lot with the team chemistry because it gives us more time playing with our team, and teaches us our team members strengths and weaknesses. As a result, we become a stronger team,” said junior Ben Lefkowitz.

          Summer leagues, unlike other teams, don’t discriminate based on skill. While for high school teams you would need to try out and get grouped based on your skill, summer leagues teams don’t have this process. Junior Camille Johnson experiences this through the volleyball summer league program. “It brings people together, JV and Varsity, no matter the skill level,” said Johnson.