As the spring and the final quarter of the 2024-2025 school year approaches, many sports have already started practice. The following sports are preparing for the upcoming season: girl’s tennis, girl’s soccer, boy’s soccer, boy’s golf, track, and baseball. Tryouts and practices started Monday, March 3, with each sport having their first competition soon. Daily practices and meetings are required to ensure that each player is ready for the ultimate start of the season. Each sport is explained in a simple manner, along with first competition dates for each sport.
Girl’s Tennis
During the spring season, girl’s tennis holds practices every day after school. The overarching goal is to make it difficult for your opponent to hit the ball back. To win, the player needs to get four points to win a game, six games in a set, and two sets to win a match. The first varsity match is versus Millard North on March 31 at 4:00 PM, held at Millard North High School in Omaha, NE.
All sports are feeling the anxiety alongside excitement for this year regarding spring sports. Tennis tends to be a very competitive sport in high school, according to tennis coach Christopher Stock, who has coached both girls’ and boys’ varsity tennis and helped to lead the girl’s team to a championship last year.
“The city of Lincoln has developed many outstanding tennis teams, and Lincoln East is a part of that,” Stock said. “The top tennis athletes in Nebraska typically train year-round in this sport, and that helps drive competitiveness.”
Girl’s & Boy’s Soccer
Soccer, known as football in other countries, is played by two teams, each kicking a ball into the goal to score points. This is all done without the usage of a player’s arms or hands, except the goalie keeper. Girls varsity will be playing against the Norfolk Panthers on March 20 at 4:00 pm. The game will be held at Seacrest Field. Boys varsity plays against Lincoln High School on March 20 at 5:00 pm. The game will be held at Standing Bear High School on field three.
This year, the girl’s soccer team has a lot to look up to this year. The team made it to the semifinals last year and is looking to make it there again.
“This year, I was more excited and expectant for this season because it is my senior year,” defense and center back Bella Bingham said. “We had a really young team last year, which means that this year we have many of our same players back, and we are all closer with each other now than we were last year.”
Boy’s Golf
To win golf, the athlete must achieve the lowest total score (strokes) after competing at all of the holes in a single tournament. Boys varsity golf plays on March 31 at 10:00 am at an invite against many different schools at Firethorn Golf Course.
This season, players are looking forward to a new start. According to Max Moss, a sophomore on the varsity team, the season this year seems to be very optimistic.
“I think we will perform better than last year,” Moss said. “We’ll be able to compete with really good teams this year. I look forward to playing well with the team and having fun with friends.”
Track and Field
Within track and field, there are many events that are competed for. Events based on running, jumping, and throwing are typically categorized as track events (sprints, distance runs, hurdles, relays), alongside field and jump events, such as shot, discus, long, and triple jump. The first varsity Invitational is on March 21 at 1:30 pm, located in Elkhorn High School. The invitation is the Spartans against Elkhorn, Elkhorn South, Gretna, Millard North, and Papillion-La Vista South.
Baseball
Baseball is typically played by two teams, with one team batting (offense) and the other team fielding (defense). Scoring is made by a player making it to home base safely after batting. The varsity team plays Lincoln Southeast High School on March 25, at 4:30. The game is being held at the Den Hartog Baseball field.
Students who come in from middle school are typically new to the tryout process in high school. No matter the grade, students trying out for any sport can be nerve racking, especially for any freshman trying out for a high school team for the first time.
“I was nervous the whole entire time. But I got through it, and it was fun,” freshman and first baseman Landon Topolski said regarding the topic of tryouts. “I think our team is going to be really good because we have guys from all over the place and with good skill levels.”
As the sports season comes to a rapid start, each sport will go through both wins and losses. Supporting fellow Spartans by attending games with friends, sitting in student sections, and cheering them on is the best way to show school spirit and provide encouragement. If the purchase of an athletic pass was made for this school year, using it to attend these games could prove to not only be a fun experience for the audience, but supportive for the players as well. To access the athletic calendar, click the link here.
