As the 2022-23 school year comes to a close, student-athletes at Malden High have something on their minds that is not just vacation: captains’ practices.
In the season before sports, captains host practices for students to warm up and refresh skills before it comes time to start the official season. This is also a great time for new team members to get introduced to the team and decide whether or not they wish to partake in the sport in the coming season.
There are seven sports that Malden High offers in the fall: girls’ volleyball, girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer, co-ed field hockey, co-ed golf, girls’ cross country, and boys’ cross country.
The girls’ volleyball team has not announced their captains nor their practice schedule over the summer yet, but that information can be tracked over their Instagram page @maldenvolleyball.
The girls’ soccer team’s captains next year will be Abigail “Abby” Morrison and Beatriz “Bia” Souza Santos. Tryouts are on June 20th at Pine Banks Park and practices will run from 7:30-9am. For more information, refer to the captains’ emails: amorriso24@maldenps.org and bsouzas24@maldenps.org.
The boys’ soccer team’s offseason is starting the soonest. On Thursday, June 8th directly after school, all students that wish to play boys’ soccer in the upcoming year must report to H406 to talk with Coach Jeremiah Smith. The practice schedule is yet to be announced. Their captain is Donald “Donny” Wright, who can be reached at dwright24@maldenps.org.
The co-ed field hockey team has the most captains to reach out to: Yara Alves Escobar, Daniel O’Toole (Head of Sports for The Blue and Gold), and Pampam San. Their captains' practices will run on an increasing schedule. Starting the week after school ends, practice will run two days a week. That schedule will continue until the middle school field hockey clinic on the week of July 10th, when the practices will increase to three days a week. The specific days are yet to be determined, but that information can be tracked via their Instagram account @maldenfieldhockey. captains' emails are as follows: yalvese24@maldenps.org, do'toole24@maldenps.org, and psan24@maldenps.org.
The co-ed golf team, combined with the Revere team, will not be running captains' practices this year. captains Saul Kruckenberg (skruken24@maldenps.org) and Reporter for The Blue and Gold Ryan Coggswell (rcoggswe24@maldenps.org), alongside Coach Richard Malatesta, will be the people to reach out to come fall to join this team.
The girls’ cross country team has not released their captains' practice schedules yet, but information can be accessed through the captains Emma Spignese-Smolinsky and Hadjar Yousfi (Head of Local for The Blue and Gold). They can be reached at espignes24@maldenps.org and hyousfi24@maldenps.org.
Last, but not least, the boys’ cross country team captains Nick Duggan (nduggan24@maldenps.org) and Rolanda Mejia (rmejia24@maldenps.org). Practice schedules will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
With many teams facing a decrease in enrollment due to the pandemic, it is encouraged that students try out for any and all teams that interest them. According to EdWeek, a non-partisan education-based news network, “...both girls’ and boys’ sports participation took a hit from the pandemic. There were about 161,000 fewer girls and 158,000 fewer boys playing high school sports in 2021-22 than in 2018-19.”
In relation to Malden, some teams have not been able to form JV or freshman teams, as opposed to pre-pandemic. While enrollment rates are increasing, it is still encouraged that students attend captains’ practices and tryouts.
