The Grady Football team prepares for the season.
Each fall, sports teams have to adjust to the loss of old players and the arrival of new ones. From long-establised programs to new start-ups, this year’s fall sports teams offer some intriguing storylines.
CROSS COUNTRY
Grady physics teacher and cross country coach Jeff Cramer likes to see each season as a “new sandcastle” to build, and the previous sea- son as a sandcastle washed away by the ocean.
While cross country is a sport based on in- dividual runners, it is also requires teamwork. Because each team’s score is scored based on the places of the top five runners combined, the lower the score, the better the team does. Cramer’s goal is to have a core of 15 boys and 15 girls who can all run together well, and also to let the individual stars sort themselves out throughout the course of the season.
“No one really stands out because we all run in a very strong, tight group,” senior Adrian D’Avanzo said.
The team lost two varsity runners to gradu- ation, but will try to stay strong and make it to the state meet by running hard together.
Junior Grace Powers sees a promising year ahead thanks to the large number of fresh- men that have joined the team.
FOOTBALL
The Grady football team has locked up 11 straight winning seasons and Head Coach Ronnie Millen hopes to continue that streak. While maintaining the team’s iden- tity, Millen said he hopes to make the neces- sary changes needed to be successful.
“We are small but fast and physical; we do a lot of running [the ball], but we have a hurry-up [no huddle] offense, so it’s a lot new this season,” senior offensive lineman Quantavious Swanson said.
Former running back Isaiah Jenkins will be playing quarterback this season. Jenkins has clearly demonstrated the skills to succeed as a running quarterback but also is a passing threat , senior teammate Zac Carter said.
The team’s defense is relatively steady, with key players such as Xavier Walker and Ted Galanos. The team also has two players, Ja- mand Glass and Keenan Marr, who are start- ing the season injured.
Despite its losses, the team is confident in its ability to overcome the adversity it faces, with hopes to win a region championship.
VOLLEYBALL
Having lost only two players to gradua- tion, the volleyball team has retained seven varsity players this year. Several of these girls have volleyball experience outside of Grady on club teams and at camps.
The volleyball team will also have a coach as- signed specifically to the JV team for the first time. The team has new coaches this year for both the varsity and JV squads.
“I really like the coaches,” senior Qri Montague said. “I’m glad that we got new coaches [and] now they are able to teach us the fundamentals.”
Coach Constance Riley said she hopes add- ing lots of new faces will prepare the team for the upcoming season and beyond.
“Last year we lost to North Atlanta too many times, but we still made it to state and competed very well but still lost,” junior cap- tain Gabby Poux said.
WATER POLO
The newest arrival to the Grady fall sports lineup, the APS Knights water polo team, is made up of Grady and North Atlanta players.
The team has made leaps and bounds in its six years of existence, and finished first in the sec- ond division last year. As a result, the team has been promoted this year to the first division. The APS water polo program also features an all-girls and a second-division team, meaning more playing time for every player.
Last year was the first year the team had a full roster for every game, and now that the returning players have had at least one year of experience with competition, coach Stuart Sheldon feels that key players such as senior Ryan Switzer and junior Joe Bradley will have to step up. At the same time, almost half of the team is comprised of freshmen. Sheldon said that by the end of the year every player will have logged significant playing time and will have grown as a water polo player.
Bradley, who is a goalie on the team, is get- ting specific goalie training for the first time from a goalie coach from California.
SOFTBALL
The softball team was only one game away from making the playoffs in 2012. Coach Patrick Thomas hopes that this year, despite having lost several players, the team can make the playoffs and com- pete well.
The team lost four-year starter and cap- tain Abrahana James, but Thomas is con- fident in his five returning starters. The team also has added some promising new players, such as sophomore first baseman Simone Howard.
“Since many of the girls on the team are beginners, I expect a lot of frustration but a lot of learning as well,” Howard said.
Thomas feels that with hard work the team will improve, but practice this season has been hindered by rain.
Senior third baseman Taylor Baker said although the team has some individual stars, it also “stands out as a whole.”