Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
features<br />
(continued from p. 21)<br />
<strong>MPH</strong> also struggles with old and limited<br />
athletic facilities, including a small gym built<br />
in the 1960s, and no track. The current gym<br />
can only fit one, sometimes two, sports at a<br />
time, making scheduling practices difficult.<br />
With the construction of the new gym underway,<br />
many students are excited.<br />
“I think it will definitely inspire more<br />
focus on sports because I guess it shows <strong>MPH</strong><br />
is taking a new interest into that besides<br />
academics and performing arts,” said Mariah<br />
Storie, a junior soccer player.<br />
Coaches and students think the school is<br />
underrated for sports. Along with the quiet<br />
success <strong>MPH</strong> has had, student-athletes learn<br />
lessons that prepare them for life. Though<br />
winning and being more competitive is more<br />
fun, the win-loss ratio is easier to accept when<br />
players learn and develop.<br />
Former <strong>MPH</strong> soccer player Tim Goldman,<br />
who graduated in 2011, said he was<br />
angry when his parents moved him from<br />
Baldwinsville to <strong>MPH</strong> because Baldwinsville<br />
is known for its strong sports programs.<br />
However, his time at <strong>MPH</strong> helped Goldman<br />
succeed both on and off the field. He went on<br />
to play collegiate soccer and work as an intern<br />
for the United States Olympic Committee.<br />
“Winning does not matter at <strong>MPH</strong>,<br />
but learning the fundamentals of sport<br />
(teamwork, sportsmanship, respect) can be<br />
achieved without winning,” Goldman said in<br />
an email.<br />
These qualities were taught once again<br />
this past year by Ridall. The boys soccer team<br />
lost in the first round of sectionals, but it<br />
achieved its goal and filled the hole.<br />
“Even though the numbers claimed that<br />
we had a losing season,” said sophomore<br />
Grant Lewis, “the filled-in hole said differently.<br />
It showed that we were different. We kept<br />
our chins up, we pushed each other beyond<br />
our limits, and we achieved our goal.”<br />
Photo by Dan Mezzalingua<br />
30<br />
At the boys soccer team’s end-of-season banquet, <strong>MPH</strong>’s senior captains presented Coach Don Ridall with a golden shovel with<br />
the words “We filled the hole!” written on the blade.
Change language