After an unprecedented fall sports season at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) — one that included a canceled Island Cup and multiple league champions — students, teachers, and coaches are now gearing up for the winter sports season. With the anticipation of another busy season ahead, winter athletes have been preparing for the Dec. 1 start.
Senior Sophia Alves said many of her fellow track teammates have warmed up by playing a fall sport. “A lot of people who do indoor track also do cross-country,” she said.
However, indoor track requires more specialized training than cross-country, leading to an early start. “We have a group of people, sprinters specifically, getting together three weeks before the [winter] season to just get on blocks and stuff like that,” she said.
The boys’ varsity basketball team lost five of its players to graduation, which is posing a bit of a challenge. Junior captain Jacoby Light said, “We don’t have a lot of seniors, so it’s going to be challenging stepping up into a leadership role.”
Boys’ basketball varsity Coach Mike Joyce recognizes the challenge that comes with having a younger team, but he is optimistic about the team’s experience. “[The current juniors] played a lot of minutes last year, so they are ready to take that step and really be aggressive and assertive in the gameplay, with that level of confidence that you need to be successful,” said Mr. Joyce.
Boys’ varsity hockey also has a young team, but senior captain Griffin Callahan feels confident in the team’s ability this season. “We lost our head coach and we lost about 12 seniors, but I think it’s going to be a really good season,” he said. “We’ve been doing weight-room training two or three times a week, and additional practices two times a week, and many players show up for U18 youth hockey games on the weekends,” said Griffin.
Girls’ hockey is coming off a successful season last year — one in which they beat rivals Sandwich and Falmouth — but is struggling to fill a roster for the upcoming season. “I believe we have 14 players returning [to the program],” said senior captain Elle Mone. “We lost three to private school, and two graduated. We’d ideally like to recruit five or six players,” she said, confirming that a typical high school hockey program has more than 20 players.
Juniors Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman swim for the girls’ varsity team, and say they have always struggled with numbers. “Winning a meet is definitely a challenge [because] we just don’t have enough people,” says Leah. “So it makes it difficult to beat bigger teams.”
Leah and Zoe are excited to see what the season will bring now that their roster has grown from eight to 13. “I’m excited to improve as a team, uplifting each other during meets, and hopefully winning a meet this year, as we didn’t last year,” Zoe said.
Senior Samilly Guimares is a member of the girls varsity basketball team, and is excited to connect with teammates and begin her season. “During the season our plan is to do ‘sisters,’ so our seniors will bring little snacks before a game to the girls and their families, just to build a stronger connection and be more together,” she said.
The wrestling team is also full of excitement following their successful league win last year. Senior Isaac Lefebvre is looking forward to being with his friends and teammates and having a successful season: “I’m excited to have one last shot to go far in states and playoffs and just to have one more opportunity to do what I love to do.”