Eagles, it’s time to drop the humble act. Just admit it: Enloe is amazing at everything.
Okay, maybe not everything—we may need to work on our driving in the carpool line—but in general, we Eagles are pretty talented. Yet, Enloe has a longstanding reputation for being “bad at sports.”
While many Eagles are proud of Enloe’s artistic and academic achievements, our sports teams don’t receive the same affection. Band concerts, chorus performances, and plays fill the auditorium, but track meets and soccer games are left with empty stands. This is in part a result of Enloe’s long-standing rivalry with Broughton, which many students classify as a “sports school.” Enloe’s most high-profile athletic event, Homecoming, is against Broughton every other year, resulting in the schools being directly compared. Because this game is regularly against a school that puts such a significant emphasis on sports, it reinforces the idea that we have an inferior program. In reality, Enloe’s football scores have seen growing success in recent years, so this claim is undeserved. Regardless, it’s harmful to reduce our program to the outcome of a single game or the success of one team. In doing this, students overshadow the victories of our hard-working athletes in the rest of Enloe’s diverse athletic department.
This negative reputation impacts our school as a whole. Our school spirit, while strong, is limited, as it’s mainly focused on our arts and academics. One illustration of this issue can be seen in our game attendance, which is often low. Many students may not attend games because they assume that the teams won’t do well, even when our teams have strong seasons. This is especially true with smaller sports. While students are somewhat aware of the record of larger sports like basketball and soccer, most don’t know about the success of our standout smaller teams. This also means fewer students try out for the school team because of the negative stereotypes they believe about them, opting for recreational or club teams instead.
Olivia Vaughan, cross country and track athlete at Enloe describes what she often sees from peers: “I definitely think that a lot of people don’t try out for our sports teams because they’ve heard negative things about them. I’ve heard a surprising number of people say they think they’re too good for our teams and that’s why they didn’t try out.”
Enloe has an academically competitive environment, with many students taking several advanced classes. The heavy homework load, coupled with practices and games, can occupy a significant portion of athletes’ time, leaving little opportunity for other activities. It’s important to find a healthy balance between work and leisure, but this can be difficult for athletes to achieve with their many commitments. Considering the challenges athletes face, they deserve a lot more credit and support than they’re currently being given.
Additionally, many of Enloe’s teams have strong records and have seen great success in recent years. Most students celebrated our Homecoming win this September, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Athletic Director Ms. Jones-House explained that coaches for football, men’s soccer, and cross country were all named Cap 6 Coaches of the Year this fall and that multiple of our teams made it to playoffs. “We did great things [this] fall,” she concluded.
As for our spring sports, our women’s soccer team earned thirteen wins last school year, men’s volleyball won nine games, women’s tennis won six matches, and men’s lacrosse won eight games. Some of Enloe’s less-mentioned teams are also making waves. Women’s gymnastics finished third in the state and wrestling has improved massively this year. When students claim that Enloe is bad at sports, they fail to recognize the tremendous success of these teams.
Unfortunately, the high-pressure environment at Enloe perpetuates perfectionism, with any shortcomings being seen as unacceptable. In a world that’s already filled with so much negativity, we have a responsibility to build up our peers as much as possible, instead of constantly tearing them down. The stereotypes about our sports teams are detrimental to the well-being of our athletes, staff, and the rest of our student body. Being mindful and encouraging to our teams is essential.
The focus solely on win/loss records as the measure of success overlooks what’s most important: the hard work of our athletes and coaches. In the words of Ms. Jones-House, “Oftentimes, we display [our success] throughout the community, not just by the contest results, but by the togetherness and the lasting impact amongst each athletic team… We’re just hoping every year gets better for the coaches and the athletes so that everyone has an experience to remember.”
