Millis, MA participates in the Tri-Valley League and faces Norton in several sports.
Sometimes, a return trip can take years longer than the initial journey from point A to point B and back again. For some, the drive back to your hometown after a crushing defeat in a sporting competition can be the same way. The bus, you’d expect to be somber, reflective, and quiet, devoid of cheer, laughter, and music. It’s easier to forget the loss this way, for some. However, some don’t need to forget. Some don’t want to.
It’s peculiar, leaving a staggering loss, a competition, in extraordinarily good spirits. However, this is exactly how the Millis High School Track and Field team returns every time. A triumph for them always doesn’t have to be an undefeated season, or hanging a banner for a state championship. A victory may not come in the form of a win of a dual or tri-meet, but remaining positive, running hard, and trying their best, no matter what.
Millis is one of the smallest teams in the Trivalley League (TVL) across all three seasons of running: Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, and Outdoor Track and Field. Their program doesn’t have many tallies in the wins column, for either the boy’s or girl’s teams. This doesn’t stop them from training hard and keeping their spirits high, however. Kendall Hyyti is the team’s manager, a former softball and basketball athlete, sidelined due to medical difficulties. Because of the size of the teams, Millis employs only a single coach for the girl's team, and one for the boy's. This leaves responsibilities such as leading warm-ups, ordering apparel, taking times, and even leading practices to Hyyti. One of her motivating catch-phrases is, “You're not going to get better if you sit there and complain”.
“We don't go to meets expecting to lose. We go to meets expecting everyone to do their best and do their hardest”.
The attitude of this extraordinary team, simply put, just isn’t something seen at other schools. In a world obsessed with winning, Millis stays grounded in reality, and instead focuses on the greater picture. Hyyti says, “I really love the team, it's like one big family. As cliché as that sounds, everyone is always there for each other… no one ever has a negative attitude”.
The future can always look bright, no matter how dark the past can be. Hyyti is looking forward to the spring track season, which has it’s first meet in early April. When asked about the team’s success, she responded, “This year we have an exceptionally big team. I'm expecting [and] hoping them to do really well this season”. The team will be training hard every day. Expect to see a great many personal, and even school records this season from athletes John Frasca, along with others. After all, you're not going to get better if you stand there and complain.
No comments:
Post a Comment