Every year, students make the same complaints. Whether they’re griping about how long the school year is (“I can’t wait until summer!”) or how they hate high school (“I can’t wait to get out of this place!”), the grumbling is ever-present. But for many high school seniors, the end of their four year passage is a bittersweet affair, something that can be seen clearly in athletics.

“I’ve learned not to take anything for granted because it goes by so fast,” said senior and three-year varsity basketball player Nash Oh. “At the end of this past season, I couldn’t believe my high school career was coming to an end.”

As this year comes to a close, and with it their respective sports seasons, senior athletes are looking forward to future plans. Some will continue to play competitively in college, others in clubs or intramurals, and some not at all. But as they all look toward the future, they all reflect upon their high school athletic careers at some point or another.

“It was extremely sad to have it all come to an end,” said senior two-year varsity football player Robbie Lowe. “I remember the last whistle being blown and thinking back on my first couple practices and how it all went by so fast. All the seniors stood on the field in silence as the lights shut off, just thinking about the four year journey we had just experienced.”

The four year journey. It’s something every student hears so much that sometimes it doesn’t really register. As cliché as it may sound, it is used so much for a reason. Many senior athletes own stories illustrate how their high school careers have affected their lives.

“From playing competitive sports in high school, I came to know what it took to succeed in something, be it sports or grades or any goal on life,” said senior and two-sport varsity athlete Andrew Goldstein. “Pretty cheesy, but true.”

Senior varsity runner Roni Teich also has taken away beneficial lessons from his years as an athlete at WJ.

“I learned more about running and competing that I could have anywhere else,” he said. “Also, these past few season of my senior year have been very valuable, in that I have discovered much about leadership roles and what it takes to make a team as cohesive as the cross country and track teams are now.”

Besides the lessons that can be learned from being on an athletic team and the journey that goes with it, many seniors look back and cherish being on a team with their friends and the occasions that they would have otherwise not had.

“Amazing, just amazing,” senior and two-sport athlete Bethany Stokes said. “I met some of the most amazing people rowing and without it, my high school experience would have been a lot worse.”

Senior varsity tennis player Alysia Rodgers also had a positive experience with her time on a WJ team.

“I feel like all the hard work and effort I put in has definitely paid off,” she said. “I’ve had so much fun and being part of a team has made the experience much more enjoyable.”

So as high school comes to an end, many will readily and anxiously go on to the next step in their lives, but they will also remember the good experiences they had at WJ.

“I loved playing for WJ and I felt a sense of pride,” said Oh. “Every time I stepped onto the court I wanted to represent my school and show people what we could do.”