As students approach the end of another year at MCI, they also head towards the end of this year’s athletic accomplishments and extracurriculars. With so many clubs and teams at our school, it can be hard to figure out what’s going on. Before talk of next year’s plans begin, here is a recap on all things athletic from our 2021/22 school year at MCI, as well as important information about sports in general at our school.
Sports and athletics have always been an important part of student life at Martingrove. According to Mr. Vujacic, who coaches several MCI athletic teams, sports not only provide the benefit of staying fit, but also help in meeting other students from different grades. There is also the fact that students get to come to school and look forward to participating in something they love, in a safe and friendly environment. Not only do these sports influence the individuals partaking in them, but they also raise the spirit of the people around them. If you happened to attend any game this year, you know how excited a crowd of MCI students can get. “The heartbeat of a school is often the athletics, because the most students can get involved in that segment of extracurriculars,” Mr. Vujacic stated in an interview. Athletics help to positively impact the atmosphere of the school and improve the general vibe.
This was the first year MCI has had sports in a long time, and according to Mr. Vujacic, it wasn’t easy. After two years of Covid, and added stress on all of the teachers, there have been less coaches than ever. The most important thing for extracurriculars is to have teacher coaches and as many teams as possible, in order to run as many intramurals as possible. This gives the most number of students the opportunity to participate. “Nothing is more rewarding for a teacher than to have a wonderful group of students doing something that they love,” Mr. Vujacic said on the subject. The coach also stated that sports wouldn’t have even been possible this year without student coaches’ help. Nicole Smythson-Shinozaki and Devanshi Patel coached both boys volleyball teams, and Emma Evans, Matthew Graydon and Anne Ruprecht coached the girls volleyball teams. Former soccer star, Dimirti Konomis, coached the jr. boys soccer team.
Perhaps you didn’t partake in any sports at MCI this year, but would like to potentially try out next year. Maybe you just want to join some extracurriculars for fun or make new friends. Either way, Mr. Vujacic’s advice is to get involved in as many sports as possible. This will provide you more opportunities to play on various teams, including some you may not think you would enjoy. Joining the revamped intramural program next year is a great start to getting involved at MCI and making the high school experience more tolerable. “Hard work is usually more important than skill when it comes to being a great athlete.” Remember this important quote, from Mr. Vujacic, for next year’s sports season and for the future ones to come.
In this year’s shortened season, there are fewer sports than ever. Luckily, the school was fortunate enough to continue with volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field, ice hockey, ultimate frisbee, badminton, softball and, of course, baseball. MCI achieved great success in these sports throughout the year, including athletes’ individual accomplishments and entire team’s accolades. MCI coaches are happy to recognize some standout achievements from this year’s student athletes.
- The Senior Boys’ Soccer team was the most talented team Mr. Vujacic has coached for twenty-three years. Congratulations to the West Finalist and to our two grade twelve superstars: Adam Brattagello and Genti Gashi.
- Anne Rupert led the Senior Girls’ Volleyball team to the Tier Two West Region finals.
- The Varsity Boys’ Ice Hockey team played in the Tier 1 division and the goalie, Evan Cherry, should be recognized for giving them a chance to compete with the other hockey powerhouses.
- The Junior Girls’ Volleyball team, led by Amada Jayaweera, had a fantastic season in the Tier 1 Division.
- The Badminton team had a very strong season this year. Georgia Wu finished with a Silver medal at Regionals. At the City Championships, William Zhou successfully obtained a Bronze medal. Mili Sharma and Jamie Cho had a great season in the Girls’ Doubles Division. They won gold at Regionals and Bronze at City Championships, qualifying for OFSAA.
- Adyn Schell must be recognized for his baseball skills and abilities as a grade nine student facing grade twelves.
- The Junior Boys’ Volleyball team lost a playoff heartbreaker but should be commended on their undefeated regular season.
- Wyatt Clark led the Senior Boys’ Volleyball team to a respectable season in the Tier 1 Division.
- The Boys’ Junior Soccer soundly defeated Kipling and Lakeshore but couldn’t get the necessary wins to advance in their tough division.
Anyone that participated in sports this year at MCI deserves to be appreciated and acknowledged. Martingrove competed in the top tier for most of its teams and played alongside some of the best teams in the TDSB. Overall, every athlete played an amazing game that helped their team and school advance and conquer. All of their hard work brought us to the end of another successful athletics season at MCI.
Image taken by Sanaa Mahmud