Autumn Athletes: A Look into APK’s Fall Sports

Hannah Moffa, Staff Writer • November 16, 2023

As we move closer towards the end of the fall season, it’s time to take a look into the achievements and accomplishments of Apopka High School’s (AHS) fall sports teams. The Blue and White had the opportunity to interview coaches and players about their views on this season.

Football

This football season was full of both nerve-wracking and thrilling finishes that advanced our team to playoffs. We had the opportunity to interview Coach Rolson about this season. “It was challenging. We had a lot of injuries.” He stated.“We probably had eight quality players out for a bunch of the season, so we didn’t have as much depth as we’d like to have.” However, the AHS football team was able to overcome these challenges and make it to playoffs winning their first round this past Friday (11/10/23)!

When asked about what he’ll miss this season, Coach Rolson explained how he will miss the players the most: “I just want them to have the best opportunities they can and go as far as they can go. It’s always sad, especially for the seniors, as they finish their last season, you just want them to have as much time as possible. They’re just good group kids. We have good quality, high character people this season, so I’ll miss them.”

Cross-Country

This fall, the AHS cross-country team traveled around showcasing their skills and endurance. Coach Fowler explained that even though this season had both highs and lows, “The team finished strong at the right time of the season.” He continued “The vast majority of both the girls’ and boys’ teams ran the best times in the metro and district championship meets which is what I had planned for.”

Towards the end of the season Coach Fowler was unable to join the team at their district competition but stated, “When I accessed the meet results online and saw their times, it was extremely gratifying to see that their hard work paid off and they pushed themselves beyond their limits to run their personal records.”

Golf

This season the golfers had some incredible moments on the course and made some unforgettable memories. Coach Walker shared his favorite moment from the season: “The best memories from the season would have to be the girls finishing 5th in the metro tournament and the boys taking 9th out of 23 teams in their metro tournament!”

Coach Walker continued and shared his overall views on how this season went for his team, “I think overall, the season was a success. Even though we didn’t have a lot of success during this season, we pulled everything together and finished better than we have in both the boys and girls metro and district tournaments.”

Swimming & Diving

This fall season, AHS’s swimming and diving team displayed their abilities at the meets, some even swimming their way to regionals. When asked about the biggest challenges the team faced this season, Coach Seagrave shared her opinion, “The biggest challenge was the pool! At first, we didn’t know if Wewa would be available so we didn’t have a pool. Then, at the end of the season, the pool pump broke and we didn’t practice for nearly two weeks before it was fixed. We didn’t practice at all the week and a half before Regionals. It felt like a major setback, but the swimmers overcame it with grace.”

Even though the team experienced these setbacks, Coach Seagrave feels as though they’ve had a good season overall. “This has been such a happy team and that should really be the goal for high school sports. Make it a place for the athletes to bond and feel comfortable in. On a competitive note, I was exceptionally pleased that all three of my senior captains made it to Regionals. I’m so proud.”

Bowling

This season, our bowling team brought their A-game to the lanes and pulled off many impressive wins. While interviewing Chase Robbins, one of the players on AHS’s bowling team, he explained how the season went overall, “At first it was a rocky start. We had trouble with chemistry, then we started getting along and put our differences aside and started winning as a team. It sucks we couldn’t have finished further in state. Injuries really prevented us from going any further but we put in the effort and it shows.”

Everyone must overcome obstacles to reach their goals, including sports teams. Chase described what he thinks was the biggest challenge for the bowling team: “My biggest challenge was to get everyone to not hate each other. We had to just talk things out and push each other to get better everyday.” He also shared his favorite memory from this season, “My best memory is seeing how committed the starting five were to trying to win and how close we got. Holding that trophy as a team felt amazing. We showed we’re not a team that should be taken for granted.”

Apopka’s Bowling team – Courtesy of Apopka Chief

Volleyball

This season, the Apopka High School girls’ volleyball team was full of progress among the players. Head coach, Coach Watts, gave her overall view on this season. “As a coach, the only concern I have is if my players progressed in the sport and as people. I think that this season, that goal was achieved! Each person, including myself, left as better people and volleyball players so I’m happy with the season!”

When asked about how she will overcome any challenges that may be faced next season, Coach Watts stated, “Coaches aren’t perfect and there are always things to learn. Personally, next season I will try to be more open minded about players’ positions. By the end of the season, we had a few players switching positions out of need and it worked out great! I can only imagine what those players could have done if they had practiced there all season!”

Cheerleading

There are many factors to a high school football game, one of the most important being our Apopka cheer team. The Blue and White interviewed Coach Bercegeay and gathered her views on this fall’s cheerleading season, “My view on our season is that it has been the best season ever! We have grown so much as a team and it has shown through our skills, comradery, and level of academic achievements.”

She also shared what she will miss most about this season’s team: “I will miss working with this group of girls next season. Each year brings a new group of personalities. I have enjoyed working with this group because they keep me on my toes and always make me laugh.”

Overall, The Blue and White could not be prouder of each and every player and coach that went into making this fall season one to remember. We wish everyone the best of luck in their sports and hope for many more successful seasons.

About the Contributor

Hannah Moffa, Staff Writer

Up until sixth grade, I dedicated all my time to gymnastics and school work. I believed that as long as I was doing gymnastics and keeping myself at the top of my class, my whole life would just fall into place. In sixth grade, Covid hit. This is when I began to see gymnastics as more of a repetitive chore than a fun sport. While I used to take a deep breath and try again after failing to complete a skill, I was now angered at the fact that I wasn’t immediately perfect at something I had been doing since I was three. At that point in time, I decided it was in my best interest to step away from gymnastics and start a new chapter of my life. When the Covid restrictions were lifted, I was in eighth grade. Numerically, the days between sixth and eighth grade seemed very long and jumbled but the jump in maturity levels and my understanding of the world happened fast. In some ways, I think this was good for me because I was forced to learn how to adapt, but in other ways, this convinced me that if I didn’t move at a quick pace, I’d fall behind. Throughout eighth and ninth grade, I began writing. This taught me to not expect to be immediately perfect at everything, and while I still struggle with this as a sophomore, I’ve noticed a constant improvement. I hope that I’m able to reach people who have or are experiencing similar circumstances and help them learn that this process is not something they are supposed to just accept immediately, but a process to learn more about themselves and their true desires.