August 15 was the first day of official practice for all high school sports around the state. Most teams had captains’ practice the week before so team members could get to know each other and build  community. Swim captain Molly Seidel ‘24 described their captain’s practice as very organized. They had something fun planned for each of the days. On August 10th, the team went to Shady Oak Beach. Another day, they went to Ivy Besikof’s ‘23 for tie dye and crafts. These activities helped the team bond before the season began. Seidel’s goal for the team this season is, “ trying to make [the team] feel like a family.” 

Cross Country held captains practices throughout the summer. Captain Seth Flikke ‘24 emphasized that summer practices are crucial because it’s easy to fall behind in a sport during the summer. They held captains practices twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays. Flikke is very excited for the upcoming season and he said, “I hope everyone has fun but also grows a lot as an athlete and person.” He continued, “I hope that team spirit continues to grow and popularity in the sport increases.” This season the team has about 45 students signed up. This is a strong number for both the middle school team and boys and girls varsity teams.  

Football practices started August 15 with long practices from 3:00-8:00 pm. Luckily the practice is broken up into two two-hour sessions with an hour of film analysis in between. Captain Sam Hardy ‘24 said that film analysis is a great time for the team to spend time together off the field. He emphasized, “I want to have good camaraderie on the team.” He wants the team to feel like a family. He mentioned his biggest goal for the team is to win the state championship this season. Last season the Wolf Pack was ranked in the top 10 in their section. Their record of wins and losses was 8-3. This year the team has a strong Blake student presence on the team with 35 students from Blake. This is the most Blake students the Wolf Pack has had on the team in a long time.