This year, there is an unusual amount of younger students performing at a very high level in their sports. Some have even earned the honor of being named captains as juniors.

There are two junior captains for different varsity sports. Quinn Ehlen, who is a varsity lacrosse captain, and Hattie Hoffman, who is a varsity softball captain. “You’re younger so it’s harder, because you feel like you should have less responsibility, even though you don’t,” captain Hattie Hoffman said.

One of the main challenges of being a junior captain is that they have more leadership responsibilities than some seniors. It is unusual to have seniors be led by juniors, as this can cause interesting dynamics between teammates, especially at the start of the season. This can make it even harder to be a junior captain. “It is a little harder to earn respect as a junior captain than a senior captain. Being a Junior captain can be tough, but it is an honor,” captain Quinn Ehlen said.

These junior captains have had to act and play like seniors in order to be captains. It was not easy though. “It was really intimidating and scary at first— you have big shoes to step into,” Hoffman said.  

However, there are some benefits to being a junior captain. The main one is that they get more time to lead their team. This can change their approach to leadership drastically from a senior captain. They have to take into account how good the team will be next year and how they will lead next year. “ I have to be working on the skills of the team so it can be a better one next year,” Hoffman said.

Being a junior captain is hard but that has not stopped them from leading their teams rather successfully. Both boys’ varsity lacrosse and varsity softball have been having stellar seasons thus far. “Overall it is worth it to help lead the team and take up the responsibilities,” Ehlen said.