Team Traditions

Crown Point High School Sports Participate in Many Different Traditions... Why?

BY EMMY WAKE [sports editor]

Team traditions are an integral part of high school sports. From certain songs before games to a “prayer circle” on the field before a game, every team has some kind of tradition, a ritual to get them ready for games and matches.

For the boys soccer team, they kneel in a circle on the field before every game. Why?

“Before every game, we have a traditional ‘prayer’ that we’ve used for all three years that I’ve played,” senior Jake Borner said.

The girls volleyball team has the typical traditions; however, there is one tradition that sticks out.

“Every year, when postseason starts, we do dance parties in the locker room. Coach Duncan is always the center of the circle, dancing,” former captain Vanessa Del Real said.

The girls basketball team also has a tradition that many people see, as long as they pay close enough attention at the games.

“When we huddle up in the middle of the court before basketball games, we step on the gas. We’re all in a circle and we stomp our foot,” senior Emily Phillips said.

Another very popular tradition at Crown Point belongs to the boys swim team. Every year, before sectionals, the boys on the team bleach their hair and then shave their heads. Many swim teams across the country bleach their hair during the swim season, however, the head shaving tradition seems to be a Crown Point original.

According to junior Connor Opyt, the head shaving tradition started because they shave their entire bodies for sectionals, and a few years ago, some swimmers decided to shave their heads as well.

Another tradition that is very popular at Crown Point High School are the pasta parties that many teams have the night before a big game or match. Many teams participate in this tradition, including the soccer teams and basketball teams.

According to star senior AJ Lux, the boys basketball team has another tradition centered around food: about once a month, the team goes out to eat together. It’s simple, but it brings the team closer together.

Many wonder what the point of having “traditions” on a team is. The answer? It brings the team closer together. These traditions form unbreakable bonds between teammates and forge lifelong friendships.

BY EMMY WAKE [sports editor]

Rianne Murphy, a junior at Crown Point High School, will be competing for the USA in Turkey this coming August. For what, you may ask? Wrestling. Despite being a male-dominated sport, Murphy fought her way to the top.

“I started wrestling when I was eight, [but] I first started in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when I was five. I started wrestling to give me a little edge when I competed in jiu-jitsu, but it eventually became its own thing,” Murphy said.

Murphy got into wrestling because of her dad, who thought it was important that she knew self defense, so he signed her up for jiu-jitsu, and eventually, wrestling.

“My dad was very protective and didn’t like the idea of me not being able to defend myself. At the time, I just kind of went along with it because I got to meet other kids and roll around so it was fun, but I eventually discovered that I liked competing as I got more into jiu-jitsu,” Murphy said.

Murphy recognized her desire to compete early on. Unfortunately for her, there wasn’t a wide variety of opponents for her.

“There weren’t that many girls around in wrestling, especially when I started, [and] I know a lot of girls shy away from that, which is understandable, but I’m competitive and wanted to win,” Murphy said.

Not shying away from the competition and fighting to get better, Murphy continued to compete, and win.

“I’d been at that tournament before, and I got runner-up last time, so I was that close and I lost it,”