Get excited Gators, because spring sports are starting soon!

With finals coming up and the second semester starting, we here at The Gator’s Eye know you have a lot of stress. To help you out, we found information about spring sports for you.

There are loads of sports you could try, but in order to even try out, you will need a Ticket 2 Play. According to @g_l_athletics on Instagram, you must first register for your sport on the Green Level Athletics website, complete the WCPSS Athletic Participation Form pages two and three, and finally, get your Ticket 2 Play. There are mandatory Ticket 2 Play sessions during lunch on 1/28 for Baseball and Softball, 1/30 for Men’s Tennis and Golf, 1/31 for Women’s Soccer, 2/3 for Lacrosse, 2/4 for Women’s Track and Field and finally, 2/6 for Men’s Track and Field. Once you get your Ticket, you should give it to the Head Coach of the sport. This will let them know that you are eligible to play this season. You will not receive a Ticket if you aren’t eligible. If you have a Ticket from a different season, you will need a new one for the spring season.

Once you finish the paperwork, you’re probably wondering when workouts and tryouts are. Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered!

For Softball, there are no set dates for workouts right now. If there are workouts in the future, athletes will need to bring full equipment. Tryouts will start on February 12th.  Coach Connelly, the Head Coach, said that you should “come ready to put in work, start running, throwing/fielding and hitting, and try to attend any camps at local facilities in the area or local colleges.”

For Women’s Stunt, there is an interest meeting in Coach Mack’s room at lunch on Monday, January 13th during lunch.

For Women’s Soccer, workouts will begin the week after finals. Coach Lamb, who is the head coach, said in an email to all prospective players that “These sessions are voluntary and will be governed according to NCHSAA guidelines as far as what is and is not allowed by coaches. These sessions are for players to get to know one another, coaches, etc. prior to tryouts as well as ‘knock the dust off’ and become comfortable more comfortable on the ball prior to tryouts.”

For Men’s Tennis, workouts will start on the next three days of next week and the three days of the week after. If you attend workouts, you should bring your own racket and wear warm clothes. There were some informal workouts held in the fall. Workouts will be held on Tuesday, 2/4 and Wednesday, 2/5. Coach Cooper doesn’t have a concrete limit but ideally, he said, he would like 10-13 players.

For Men’s Golf, tryouts will be held at The Preserve at Jordan Lake. You should bring your golf clubs to tryouts. There are no workouts for Men’s Golf so Coach Robinson says that athletes should “start working on their golf game” and that they should have been working on it already. The size of the team will be determined by how many people try out and what their scores are. First tryout date TBD.

For Track and Field, practices begin on Wednesday, February 12th at 2:40 p.m. in the stadium. Team members must be dressed to train. They should be wearing running shoes and sweats. When the temperature is below 70 degrees, athletes should be wearing long pants and long sleeves. There are no tryouts and everyone who is interested in participating will be on the team. The advice that Coach Collins wanted to give to athletes is “We build our program around coaches and athletes working together to get better every day and preparing to compete. It is not an easy sport, but it becomes very rewarding as you begin to see the hard work pay off with performance improvements and opportunities to compete at a high level.”

For Baseball, fall workouts are finished and workouts will resume in the last week of January. If workouts are on the field, wear sweatpants or baseball pants if you have them. Wear baseball cleats if you are on the field and sneakers in the weight room. Tryouts are the second week of February from February 12th to the 15th. According to Coach Rogers, the JV coach, a typical Varsity roster has 14-20 people on it. Depending on the number of people who show up to tryouts, there will be both a JV and Varsity team. Coach Rogers said that since the weather’s getting warmer, go outside to practice with the ball and stretch.

Some sports may only have one team based on the number of people who are expected to try out.

Coach Cooper, the head coach of Men’s Tennis, provided a link to this article about how to deal with not making a team. It is a good article for any athlete to read, regardless of their sport.

We hope that this article has provided you with all the information you need to know but if not, we have hyperlinked all the coaches email addresses so you can contact them with any further questions. Good luck to all athletes who are trying out!

Note from Faculty Advisor: A previous version of this article inaccurately identified February 4 and 5 as a Wednesday and Thursday rather than a Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, the location for golf tryouts was identified as the “Reserve” not the “Preserve.” We apologize for any confusion these mistakes may have caused. Please remember that if you have any questions or uncertainty about any of the information listed, you should always double-check with the team coach.