6th Grade SAS Naper
The Crusader Chronicle
Sports
Baseball
by Conor Golson
St. Andrew’s has many great and wonderful things, but we do not have baseball in the sixth grade. There is no baseball team, but that does not mean that the sixth graders cannot play. However, in Austin, there is a league for amateur baseball players. This league is named Western Hills. They have teams for players from 2nd-8th grade. They have five fields, three near Austin High School and two at WAYA. I play baseball and so do other boys in this grade, so I am going to talk about this team of 11 and 12 year olds.
Charles Wright #8 on my baseball team, has been playing baseball for ten years. He is still learning baseball skills such as batting and is becoming more advanced. Charles has been playing baseball at Western Hills since he was in second grade, which is the first year you are allowed to play in the league. He likes the Dodgers Coach Morgan and says that he inspires him to go above and beyond his normal skill set. I asked Charles if playing baseball at Western Hills this year has improved his skills, and he said, “Coach Morgan has improved my swing and now I hit harder.”
St. Andrew’s is making a new middle school baseball team next year, so I asked Charles if he was going to play in the Western Hills Little League or at his school, St. Andrew’s. Charles says that he is hoping he will be able to play both next year.
Everyone on my team loves playing baseball for Western Hills, and not one player has a school that provides a baseball team in middle school. I would play for my school because it is about pride in playing for St. Andrew’s. I think that almost every school should have a baseball team because almost everyone has pride in their school and they would want to play for their team. There should be a community field and all of the schools that have players could play together and form teams for fun, so that every kid could play.
I encourage everyone to play baseball or softball next year for St. Andrew’s. Show your school pride! I feel like everyone should be able to play sports for their school, not just baseball but any sport they desire to play. If you do not want to play for St. Andrew’s, or if they do not provide the sport that you want to play, then you can surely find a league in Austin that supports your sport. I hope to play for St. Andrew’s next year and look forward to winning!
The Dodgers
#1 George McKee
#3 Herd Holland
#4 Hayden O’Shea
#5 Thomas Daniel
#6 Drew Morgan
#7 Conor Golson
#8 Charles Wright
#9 Walt Chavarria
#10 Clayton Kocurek
#12 Grey Nakfoor
Crusaders Take All
by Oliver Ames
Girls basketball St. Andrew’s beat their biggest rival St. Stephen’s in a close contested showdown coming down to the last minute in the championship game. Reporter Oliver Ames spoke with point guards Sophie Stokes and Sarah Courtney after the game. Sarah said, “It was really fun, and a great opportunity and experience. We were winning at all times during the game but at one time we were only winning by one point with a couple minutes left in the game so it was very stressful; but then we won.”
Flashback: It is "game one" of the season: the Crusaders are visiting the Hill Country Knights and don't know what's going to happen with the rest of their season. The Crusaders come out strong in the first half and never look back. Everyone played as a team and a couple of players even got 10 points, but there was still a lot of work to be done. They won 45-7 and were very happy.
The next week was Spartans week. Everyone on the Crusaders was very excited, but also a little nervous because they were very good and also their biggest rival. One of the Crusaders’ great rebounder and shot blocker Callie Ruark was out due to illness, so everyone had to step it up and play well. It was a low scoring game but the Crusaders pulled out the win 16-14. The teams would meet again soon…
St Stephen’s and St Andrew’s meet again in the girls basketball championship, winner takes all, losers go home. The stands were filled up with audience members and the players were nervous about the game. Point Guard Sarah Courtney said it was very stressful at times and very fun at times. St. Stephen's had a player named Kai Lanier who would take the ball every time and the Crusaders would have to triple team her sometimes. With great defense and offense, St Andrews won 20-15 and get to take home the championship trophy and be on the sports wall.
Becker Jackson’s Soccer Career
By Charlie Thomas
Becker Jackson loves soccer. Why does he love it so much and why is it his favorite sport? He said he loved it because his dad played college soccer and he’s been playing since he was a little kid. He is also very good at the sport!
Becker is very proud of his dad and wants to mimic his soccer career. Mr. Jackson played at Sewanee University in Tennessee. He has taught him the value of teamwork, dedication, and skills, not just talent.
Becker also discussed his club soccer team and how it’s different from the St. Andrew’s school soccer team. He plays for Westlake club soccer and he likes it more than school soccer because it is more competitive. He also gets to travel around Texas with the team, which he enjoys. However, since St. Andrew’s is his school, he loves to play for his home team.
Becker has made the 3A team in both 5th and 6th grade. He achieved this goal through hard work, practice, and his talent. Since he plays for his school and a club team, he has practice every day for at least an hour and a half and sometimes more. Through this hard work, Becker is one of the best soccer players I know.