OHS' First Sports Team
A junior this year at OHS (and part of the College Blog Team here at the PJ!), Gemma Haney is the creator of OHS' Baseball Team. Editor-in-chief, Ande Sozzi, learns more about the team, why Gemma created it, and her own life as an athlete in the interview below.
Pixel Journal: Why did you decide to start the baseball team?
Gemma Haney: I decided to start the baseball team, because I saw that OHS was lacking in opportunities for athletes that might want to participate in team sports during High School. I live in the south, so team sports are a crucial part of life, and I wanted to have this experience, this made me realize that other OHS students might feel the same way. The experience of cheering on a sports team is also a big part of community at B&M schools, and I saw an opportunity in this pursuit to strengthen the OHS community. I chose baseball not only because I know the game so well, but also because I feel that the skills are easy for anyone to learn, and can be practiced independently.
PJ: How exactly does the team work?
GH: The way that I have set this up, is that the team will meet over Adobe Connect to practice every week or so, my hope is that in the future there will be enough interest that there can be the occasional real life practice. All of the players on this team are also encouraged to practice on their own. We are actually going to play a game this year, which will hopefully take place during graduation weekend, on a Stanford field, against a local team.
The point of this team is to add to the community, which is why it is open to any student that might have interest (regardless of gender, grade level, or past playing experience). As a Girl playing a traditionally male sport, I understand the importance of opportunity and inclusion, which has been one of the driving factors of this team. I hope that anyone who is at all interested in what this team is meant to do, will contact me, and hopefully be interested in supporting this venture.
PJ: You yourself play baseball. Was that a large factor in starting the team?
GH: The thing that got me to think about starting a high school team was actually the fact that as an online student, and a girl, there are not that many opportunities for me to play baseball. I realize that a lot of other team sport athletes at this school probably feel the same, and my hope was for this to be an opportunity for everyone to have the chance to play on a team together, as well as come together in support of one another. Playing baseball for almost 12 years has allowed me to feel qualified to player coach this team. The length of time that I have played baseball also enlightened me to the benefits of playing a team sport, and I wanted to share that with the community.
PJ: What do you see in the future for the baseball team, or OHS sports as a whole?
GH: My long term hope for this team is that it will become more of a fixture within the OHS community, I think that during my time at this school it probably will not become one of the biggest clubs, but I hope that in the future there will be other students that will want to continue to cultivate this idea. In the future I think that this club will foster a larger sense of community at OHS, and encourage people to try new things (like baseball). In a more immediate sense of future, I am working towards getting some guest speakers to talk about their take on the benefits of team sports, and other important things like, work ethic, and mindset. My hope is that this club will inspire people to just try, because if I had not tried, this would never have been a possibility.