In elementary school, we are taught to recognize the “5 W’s” and “1 H” when reading a
story. In case you don’t know them they are: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? As I began my investigation on Cardinal Newman’s players, I developed this simple structure and kept the following questions in mind.
1. Who are the players on these teams?
2. What does playing a Cardinal Newman sport mean to them?
3. When are their seasons and games?
4. Why are players so invested?
5. How do players really feel about playing a highschool sport?
First and foremost I spoke to the players that have been playing these sports the longest
and have a beyond special season this year; the seniors. Alysha Fenelus is a point guard for the girls varsity basketball team, and she expressed her unwavering love for her team, “I love the girls and love the team and I’m ready to play my heart out for my senior year man”. Talking to her and watching as her smile spreads across her face while talking about their upcoming district game makes everyone listening just as excited as she is. Our baseball team is well known for making it to states in 2022, during which Matthew Mahoney was a sophomore. As a current senior, Mahoney shares “It’s very meaningful to be playing because this is my last year and I’ve played baseball all of my life. It’s my senior year. It’s my last ride because it’s probably the last time I’ll ever get to step on a baseball field”. He informed me about his future hopes for college as he continues to discover what he wants to do at TCC. Lastly, I recapped with football player Carson Strolla who had faced a major season ending injury after an early game in the season. During our conversation he shared how grateful he is to be back and able to be playing baseball.

In his words, “Through physical therapy and the support of my family I am able to play my senior year of baseball. This means so much to me because baseball is my first sport and I have dreams of playing in college and professionally.” Impressively, off the top of his head, Strolla shared a famous Rocky Balboa quote: “It ain’t about how hard you can get hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep on moving forward”. He was able to make it through his recovery by remembering this and he is ready to give his all in his final sports season in highschool.
On the topic of injury, every player takes a major risk by participating because you never know how or when an accident may occur. Josh Marks, a junior in the 175 weight class for wrestling, shared his story from this season, “I was at practice when one of my teammates did a move which twisted my ankle and my knee causing me to be out for the remainder of the season. My teammates, family, and coaches have put in the effort to help get me through this. As a whole I think our team dynamic is unique. We might not be very close outside of practice or matches like other teams at Newman, but that makes us better able to focus on wrestling when we are together. At each practice and tournament we encourage and make one another better players and better people.” After these serious injuries, players are expected to work hard to recover not only because it’s the expectation, but (as I learned) because they really want to. When players get seriously hurt the first question they tend to ask the doctor (not including the parent/guardian) is “When do I get cleared to play?” Then they begin the process all over again with conditioning and tryouts.
Lacrosse tryouts finished at the end of January and immediately the players are jumping into practices after school everyday. Number 92, midfielder Tyler Honeycutt, claims “I do a little bit of everything on the field. I choose to play each season because it gives me the opportunity to play a sport I love with my closest friends.” He continued to share his enthusiasm for the boys

first away game on February 13th against Oxbridge. The girls varsity lacrosse season began at the end of January against Benjamin.
The newest sport that has begun circulating lots of conversation is girls beach volleyball, and this is the first time in Cardinal Newman history that we have our very own team to cheer for. The sport was co-founded by two best friends, juniors Izzy Herlong and Shay Pfendler. Herlong shared that, “After a 2 year journey we finally got it started and I am excited to have founded this team at Newman which links us as members of the Palm Beach Volleyball League”. More information on tryouts, practices, and game dates will be released in the announcements in near future.
In conclusion, it really is about the team and love of the sport for all of these players. They are motivated every time they step into their position because they want to be a better player for their team. None of the people I spoke to were playing solely for scholarships, nor credited their success to themselves only, and all of them were proud to be representing a Cardinal Newman team.