Senior Alexis Matthews experiences her last year of basketball alone as the only senior on the team. The feeling can be isolating to not have another teammate the same age as you. She has to experience senior night alone and is the only one to have a banner on the wall. With that, it is common for Matthews to feel senioritis in her sport.
Many seniors experience a lack of motivation nearing the end of their high school years. Most have already been accepted to their desired college, or are either just ready to be done with school and start the rest of their lives. Senioritis reflects a decline in motivation or performance. How does this feeling spill into other aspects of student’s lives, such as their sport? Does this decline in effort show in their sports performance? If so, how are athletes able to overcome these challenges?
This feeling is extremely common and it’s normal for athletes to feel defeated during their season. As the only senior on the girls basketball team, Alexis Matthews describes what it feels like to experience it alone.
“It’s hard to be the only senior, you feel like you don’t have anyone, it’s just a lack of motivation,” Matthews said. “But then you realize, you want to still be here for your teammates, for the younger ones. It is your last year and you want to make sure everyone has fun with it. It is sometimes hard to maintain positivity and motivation.”
Although the feeling is common, it’s not something that a lot of athletes want to experience, especially when it’s their last year. Senior Noah Keen has a different situation when it comes to senioritis. His one motivation is his sport.
“I’m full speed ahead towards wrestling,” Keen said. “Honestly, I don’t have very many classes here. That’s my biggest motivation is wrestling.”
Because Keen is in the CAPS program, his classes here don’t matter as much when it comes to his future, so wrestling allows for him to stay motivated to stay consistent with his classes. Keen gives advice to those struggling with senioritis.
“I’d say look at the end goal. I’m very fortunate to have a lot of success in my career. So I can look back and appreciate my success in the past and know that more is to come. But if they don’t have a very successful past or in their career, I’d say just, you know, keep looking forward to what you can achieve and what is possible,” Keen said.
Having that mindset that you’ll continue to grow throughout your season can really help athletes get their inspiration and that spark back into their sport, according to Matthews.
“I would definitely say like, always be communicative with your team, [with] how you’re feeling. And just have fun with it. It’s your last year [most] are not going to play after high school. We have one more year, and you’re gonna have fun. Try to have a positive attitude with your team so they don’t feel like you’re not in it,” Matthews said.
