Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 40

Description:	The varsity team holdshands on the fieldduring the singing ofthe National Anthem.PHOTO BY ALEXANDERAUDRETSCHgirls who play together,stay together.After years of playing together,the 1 2 seniors on the girlssoccer team consideredthemselves to be a family.Girls who play together, stay together. Forseniors Hillary Whitehead and Francesca Smith, this statement could not bemore true. Whitehead and Smith were two ofthe 12 seniors on Bloomington Souths girlssoccer team for the 2008 season. Almost allof those girls have grown up on multiple soccer teams together, and learned each othersstrengths and weaknesses.For many of those seniors, their last gameplayed as a Panther was their last game together. Since it was our last year together, itdefinitely meant more to us, explained Smith.The team made its season last all the way tosectionals, before they lost to BloomingtonNorth. It was still a really special season forall of us, said Smith.Cutters and South Central Premier were twoteams many of the seniors played on. That ishow we all met, and how we started our friendships, said Whitehead. As the years went on,they learned about each other, on and off thefield, and became a family. We started tolearn about each others likes and dislikes, andeveryones playing style, explained Smith.While at first it seemed great to get so close toone another, the girls found out that even families have their problems. Every family hastheir conflicts, explained Whitehead. Eventhough the girls went through some problems,they always came back together. We stillloved playing together despite our occasionalproblems, agreed Smith.Team bonding on the bus rides and hanging out before and after the soccer games allhelped the girls become closer. That was thetime where we formed our support systems,explained Smith. They got to laugh together,talk, and sometimes forget the stresses of soccer. The girls did not just become a team, buta family. We love each other, and love playing together, said Whitehead. -MADELINEHAYFORD40 I SPORTS \| girlssoccer
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8062
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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