Regrettably, it seems that students at WJ are reluctant to give praise and recognition where it is rightfully deserved. The most successful groups and teams arguably receive the least amount of attention and credit from the school.
The junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball teams finished their seasons with both teams combining for a mere three losses in 24 games, two of these losses coming at the hands of highly-touted Gaithersburg. Also, the girls JV soccer team finished their season undefeated and the debate team has won the county championships the past six years. Yet, both teams have flown under the radar and receive nowhere near as much recognition and praise as teams like the varsity football team.
This seems to reflect an underlying issue at WJ: we reward and support mediocrity instead of embracing a winning attitude and culture. This losing attitude and culture is deeply embedded in many WJ sports and extracurricular activities.
One of the major sports at WJ that is exemplary of this issue is football. The varsity football team has lost 36 games out of 40 since 2006, easily becoming a consistent non-factor in their division. A coaching change this year boosted the team to a three-win season, but this losing record still wasn’t able to change the perception of WJ in the eyes of their opponents and onlookers.
Despite their accomplishments this season, the team’s past records and performances still precede them. With the largest amount of students, parents and teachers attending the football games at high schools throughout the country, football is easily one of the most popular and highly publicized high school sports. Therefore, whenever someone measures a school’s success in sports, he or she automatically look to the record of the football team. When someone mentions sports at WJ, they reference the consistently dismal records of the football team. No matter how well other teams are doing at the school, the football team’s record will affect the opinions of other onlookers and opponents.
This losing attitude and culture also affects many other teams at WJ like the girls varsity basketball and coed volleyball team. The girls basketball team didn’t win a single game last season. The coed volleyball team also posted a dismal 2-10 record, their third straight losing season in a row. Countless other teams at WJ besides the football team are indeed affected by this ongoing concern regarding the approach taken to each season.
I can personally understand how easily one can lose their drive and motivation, especially after continuous losses. Soon, not only will the coaches and players lose faith in their abilities, but so will opponents and others looking in on the situation. This creates the label of being the “easy school” or “guaranteed win” on another team’s schedule. Students at WJ can no longer accept this label and must prove others wrong by instilling a revamped attitude and outlook about the importance of having successful and winning seasons into all of the extracurricular groups and sports teams at WJ. Such a drastic change like this is not something that can or will happen over night, but something that will change with consistent preparation and progress toward this goal.
