Full Bloom, Full Send
It is a truth universally acknowledged across campus that second term is a dark, seemingly incessant, and heinous period of time where life can drag on at the excruciating speed of a subterranean slug.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A crocus shows her pretty face in the frozen earth, a timid ray of sunshine slips through the over-hanging clouds, and the birds tentatively call out to each other, signaling the arrival of the most anticipated phenomenon of the entire year.
This kickstarts the largest migration of Brentwood students ever seen: the rush to the fields is like seagulls flocking to a school of fish. Mr. Ganley takes a humorous approach, a wonderful mechanism of making light in the darkness, to the coming of a new season: “Spring has sprung and balls are bouncing” is an allusion to a much-awaited sport.
It must be understood that the field represents a new period for the students. A goodbye to the cold that creeps into the bones, to the piles and piles of schoolwork, to the few hours of the day where there is light and a vibrant welcome to the warmth of the honey-like sun on the skin, the lazy reading on a blanket, and most importantly, the arrival of Spikeball season.
What this season brings is not only bumble bees and fresh cut lawns, but also the awakening of animalistic competition that inhabits even the meekest of people. A yellow 3.5-inch diameter ball and a 36-inch diameter bouncy net may not sound like much, but they are the catalysts to this fierce battling.
Addison VO, Daniel W, Charlie-May W, Max K, and I, the most influential Spikeballers of the 21st century, take to the field as if it were a combat zone - the ball and net in hand like a sword and shield. Our end motivation is the same across the board: win or die trying. Known around campus as the most outstanding and smooth player of all time, Max shares his opinion on the game: “My superiority is clear, yet I enjoy playing with those who are less experienced as it gives me an opportunity to teach them the ways of the sport.”
The game is an excruciatingly technical sport where the slightest wrong touch can lead to immediate defeat. The importance of “being constantly dialed,” Addison VO, is supreme. Not only is concentration crucial, but so is the precise teamwork that goes into scoring every point. “Being on the same wavelength as your teammate is probably the most valuable aspect of the game”, states Charlie-May, a dedicated player of Spikeball, when asked to evaluate the sport.
Blood, sweat, toil and tears are shed on the field during this epic spring season, and no student is left wanting. A delicate hierarchy is created in the end, left only to be challenged the following year. The final question is “Who will replace the legends in Grade 12 after their graduation?