by Amy P.

After Mr. Lippmann said his goodbyes, some people began to wonder what would happen to the Varsity Basketball team.  For the last 10 years, Mr. Lippmann was, as we all know, a devoted math teacher, but also the one and only Head Varsity Basketball coach. He shaped the basketball team from nothing to something much more than people imagined. He was the one who really created the basketball program at McGehee and continued to do so until his final days here. No one knew what would happen to the team after he left. Fortunately for those girls who wanted to play, Mr. Western, the team’s assistant coach for the last few years, was up for the challenge.

Mr. Western started off the season with early morning practices that consisted of a mixture of drills and conditioning to get the team in shape and ready to go for the season. Mr. Lippmann, being head coach for such a long time, made it hard for people to imagine any one else yelling at the team from the sidelines. Luckily, Mr. Western was around the basketball girls for the past few years, so the transition was easy. Players like Junior Anne K. feel that Mr. Western and Mr. Lippmann’s coaching styles are different from each other. “Mr. Lippmann,” she said, “was laid back while Mr. Western is much more determined and focused. His focus helps us focus and makes us play better, but Mr. Lippmann’s sense of humor did help us relax more.”

Mr. Western, and his new assistant Coach Cat, have worked together to form a team that has done extremely well this season. Sophomore Sam T. said, “It’s obvious that we’ve improved so much; take a look at this season’s records so far compared to last year’s.” The team’s biggest win was that against Newman. Not only did the girls win, but they exemplified hard work and motivation. It was a huge victory that happened to be against one of our biggest rivals. The girl’s finished strong against Newman, but were not as lucky when they faced Sacred Heart. Although the Hawks were winning by twenty points after the first half, they “just lost it in the second half” says Anne K. (’09). While it was a huge upset for the team, they came back strong with a victory to Fischer: a team whom McGehee had never beaten.  

The majority of the team’s players played together in previous seasons and most agreed that a lot was expected of them this year, especially because they would be losing Kathryn S., Catye C., and Alison B., three very important seniors. “We have finally ‘clicked’ as a team, and it’s sad to know that we will be losing part of that ‘click’ next year,” says Sam. As playoffs get closer the team must prep for intense games and hard work, and they hope that with a lot of focus and sleep they can make it far.

By Olivia J.Soccer: More Than Just a Sport

Now that the soccer season has ended many would say that the soccer team has done very well this year. You always hear the saying, “practice makes perfect” but it took more than sweaty practices full of shooting at goals, agilities, important plays, and reminders of what the coach wants to see out of the girls in upcoming games, to become a successful team. Sports bring about an atmosphere of wins and success; but from the players’ point of view, soccer is more than winning; soccer is more about bonding and the relationships formed with fellow teammates.

The team overcame many setbacks this year: along with losing essential players to the 2007 graduation, many of the team’s defensive players quit this season and there were rarely practices when every member of the team attended. Despite these setbacks, the team remained a strong unit and continued to do great in games, which all comes from the strong bond the team formed with each other.

This year the team felt like they have became closer than they ever would to some people. They created a team where old players, “…help[ed] out the younger/newer girls on the team…” and sometimes vice versa. Jourdan T. (‘08) says, “we are closer as a team and not in our own groups…” A lot of the time girls tend to stick with a particular group of people who are similar to them. But the soccer team learned each others’ likes and dislikes on and off the field and have brought girls, unlikely to speak to each other, closer.

The goals of the team were: to become, “…better as a team and make [their] coach happy with [their] performances,” along with improving as a team and playing their best in every game. Hannah T. (’11) said, “Hopefully we can make it to the playoffs and get farther than last year,” another goal for the team. The team successfully reached many of the goals they set for themselves this season. Even if the team hadn’t made it to the playoffs, the building of the team was the most important part of soccer to the girls and is what made them progress throughout the season. The girls only seemed to get good comments from their coach. One player, referring to a recently played game, said “…our coach told us that it was the best game we have ever played since the beginning of the season and we didn’t even win. The relationship the girls build with each other is what makes the team strong and successful.

This year the team will face another setback, as senior players move on to college and perhaps even bigger soccer teams, but they should not be greatly affected by the loss. Jourdan T. (’08) said, “When this season ends it’s going to be sad because this is my last year playing for McGehee and I am going to miss the team the most.” The building of a team is what makes soccer fun and is what is missed most by the team. But although seniors will have to move on and the team will have to face yet another loss, the soccer team will continue to be just as great. The great relationship the team has formed with each other will only help them stick together when they are facing a season with new senior leaders next year. 

For a season that many believed would not be successful, the Varsity volleyball team proved otherwise. Throughout the season the girls worked together to form great chemistry and leadership that lead them all the way to the second round of state. After defeating Pope John Paul in the first round, the Hawks then faced the Newman Greenies, one of our biggest rivals. Just like last year, the two teams came head to head in the semi-final round, both battling to move onto the finals. In the end, McGehee did not take home the trophy but the girl’s had many things to be proud of. The effort and passion that they put into the game paid off when they made it farther than anyone expected. The team had ups and downs of the season and senior and Captain Patrice Hightower said that “Beating UHigh at one of our tournaments was the best win of the season.” The close bonds that the girl’s made with one another lead to a great season and was the main thing that Patrice said she would miss about McGehee volleyball. We can only hope that the volleyball team will continue to work hard and although they are losing several seniors, remain the team that they were this year.

“How well can they do with 15 girls, when other teams have40?” Coach Meghan Person found herself wondering at the beginning of the season. Much too many people’s surprise, the McGehee swim team (the first in years) made it all the way to the state meet where they placed 6th overall. The team only had 7 girls swim in the meet, and still came in only a few points behind St. Martins, a team with many more swimmers. The team overcame many obstacles such as not practicing every day and having very few swimmers. Coach Meghan Person also commented that “I think the biggest challenge for the team was getting over the mental hurdle of competing against those big teams that have their own pools and swim every day of the week.” This team has started a trend that will hopefully only get better with the years to come. Person also stated that “They are a great group of motivated girls and this is only the beginning of their success in swimming!”

Hawks strive for success  

As the Hawks get their first kill of the game, fans cheer loudly and the players pump one another up with their uplifting support and intense excitement. For the past few years, McGehee has strived to create an amazing volleyball program that has not only created a large fan base but has also been extremely successful. I’m sure most of you have been a part of a McGehee volleyball scene and you know what it’s like. The enthusiasm and pride coming from the McGehee fans is something that you have to see to believe, but many started to question what this year’s season would be like without the seniors from last year. This group of talented and committed seniors had been together for many years, and it showed when they were on the court. Most of them had been the key players on the team for a while, and without their presence, no one knew what to expect. Just as the fans were wondering what the season would be like, even more so were the players.

As summer came to an end, the Varsity volleyball season was just beginning. New captains were assigned and many of the players who had been considered underclassmen were now expected to be leaders. Sam T. (08) said: “It has been really neat transitioning from the underclassmen into one of the leaders on the court; however, I still look up to the more experienced players both on and off the court, just as I did last season.” The players have had to switch their lineup as opposed to the way it had been for the last few years. With different people setting and different people hitting, the team had to make up for the loss of the seniors but still remain successful. When asked about the first game without the seniors, Captain Kendall F (09) said: “It was very different but it was exciting to see how this year’s team would connect…” This new team was filled with talented players, but in order for them to be successful, they would all have to work hard to build the team up in order to make up for the loss.

As the season moved on, we saw both frustration and excitement from this group of girls. The team had formed great chemistry and this resulted in several big wins, one of which was to Sacred Heart, a team that McGehee had not beaten in almost a decade. While we saw wins, we also saw losses, but the team kept their heads up and continued to work hard. Their weeks were focused on 5 to 6 days of training and the stress of school at the same time. All of the players agreed that it did take up a lot of time, but when they won a game, all the hard work was worth it.

There is still a lot of the season to come, but what had to be changed in order to keep up the success? The seniors from last year had been some of the girls who had helped start off the volleyball success at McGehee, and all the younger players agreed that they were intimidating at times. Obviously, every player on McGehee’s team this year missed the leadership and skills of last year’s seniors, but they all agreed that it was far less intimidating. Many felt that this year’s team was a lot closer than previous seasons and this was crucial for the team’s success. Senior Ayanna H. says: “There is good chemistry on the team and everyone is comfortable with one another.” She also felt that everyone was open with each other which often times resulted in better practices and better games. Everyone has their eyes on the Hawks as district matches start to get closer and the idea of state draws near. Will the girls have what it takes to make it all the way to state?