By Emily Klepesky  We are welcoming back the Rush community with the 2024-2025 school year! With the beginning of classes and clubs, also comes the beginning of sports again! We are currently in the 24’-25’ fall sports season, which started August 12th 2024. The fall sports here at Rush include field hockey, girls soccer, flag football, and volleyball. We spoke to some of our current Rush athletes about their experiences in these sports, here’s what they had to say:

Meriem Hocine is a junior soccer player here at Rush, “My favorite thing about soccer is my teammates and how well we all get along and support each other even if we make mistakes. We continue to lift each other up and don’t make the other person feel bad about a mistake, rather we give them advice on how to fix that mistake and tell them to try better next time.” Meriem said, “I am more new to soccer however I feel like I have definitely improved from when I first started and the whole experience as a whole is so much fun and feels so good when you see everyone trying and putting in their best effort.” Meriem gives some great personal reasons and experiences on why you should join the Rush girls soccer team! “To see everyone support and cheer for each other is such a joyous feeling. People should definitely join it as it builds new experiences out in the field and with friends and teaches sportsmanship which is super important.”  “Whether we win or lose a game, we all know to congratulate our opponents on a game well played. Something I also like is that if we lose, we don’t beat ourselves up about it yet we applaud each other for trying our best and give it our all for the next game which is super encouraging!” 

Courtney Keifer is a Junior field hockey player here at Rush, “My favorite thing about field hockey at Rush is the team. I absolutely love everyone I play with” “I’d never played before freshman year so I was scared going in and there were some bumps along the way but I got through it and I still love it and play every year!” Here are a few highlights, “Anytime someone does something really well is an amazing feeling, just the support we have for each other and all the jokes between players and even the coach. Just all the laughing and community is overall really great.” “Above anything else, the team is incredible. The sport is amazing and fun and has so many opportunities but the people are what makes the team and you end up finding your friends in highschool a lot easier”

Abby Welsh is a junior flag football player here at Rush, “I had joined flag football in the spring around freshman year because I had always been interested in football from an early age. I played tackle football previously to entering rush and I was just so excited to hear about our flag football team!” “It’s so fun! Even if you don’t know much about football or how to play it’s a great learning experience for anyone! Mr Doyle and Mr Sykes are amazing coaches and overall great people. They were the nicest coaches and I will always love our bus rides home and all of us girls would crack jokes, talk and just be a great team. We are very welcoming and supportive to anyone around us and I think if you are looking for something like that flag football will be amazing.” Those are some great experiences! It would be amazing for others to be a part of that as well! “This team overall was a great experience. We had been to the eagles game and it was definitely a highlight of my year. We took pictures with the cheerleaders, met swoop, and got to play on the field! It was the best time ever and I couldn’t believe I was playing my first flag football game on an NFL field! And we got to watch the game as well which was fun!” “I definitely love how we carry each other and look out for one another. We all rally around each other and that’s an experience I never wanna let go.”

Jayda Davis is a Junior volleyball player here at Rush, “I joined volleyball because I feel like I thrive in a collaborative and competitive environment. It’s a good way to meet new people and establish friendships and relieve stress, and I love the sport.” Jayda has been a Rush volleyball player since her freshman year, here are some of her accomplishments and experiences. “My freshmen year I served 18 serves in a row to win a game.” “My favorite thing about my experience is being able to hang out with the team. All the girls are super great and supportive and I think that has been the best experience so far.” Fall sport sign ups begin again in 2025, for the 2025-2026 season. “I feel like people should join because it is a great way to help with coping and to take your mind off things. I feel just being with the team is just amazing.” 

The fall sports season comes to an end throughout October, and that is when the playoff seasons begin. Please wear purple on October 1st to support our girls soccer team in the Noel Cup!

If you want to join any of the Fall sports teams for the next fall sports season, keep an eye out for signups in your “Class of” google classroom page, for the signups post, from Mr. Corabi.  You can also follow the Rush athletics instagram page: @rusharts_athletics and their website: rushartsknights.org.