The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a school team sport is a group of students working together to represent who they play for in order to make their school proud. But when a team shows up to a match, game, meet, or tournament without jerseys or uniforms, instead dawning simple t-shirts of different colors, long sleeved shirts with other school names on them, and neon shorts, it emits a lack of pride and unity that represents a school poorly, delegitimizing the entire operation, and becoming disregarded at best, and a joke at worst.
But at a school like US that has a proud history dating all the way back to 1890, this type of disorganization would not be possible. Except for when it is.
The disappointing regalia described above is precisely what the JV tennis team has experienced for many years. Surely, the reason is not that the team has not earned them. Last year’s JV tennis team won every single match with the exception to Solon’s Varsity team. They also competed in two tournaments, one of which both doubles teams placed 1st and 3rd in. Surely, the reason is not a lack of school pride. The members of this team are not playing just to fill a sports requirement, but rather to improve and make the school that they play for proud. Surely, the reason is not a lack of eliteness within the School’s athletic program. The C squash team gets the opportunity to purchase school jerseys, and the JV-B Soccer team is provided with them for free. Surely, at a school with an endowment that gives one a headache just trying to comprehend its size, the problem is not a lack of resources either. Truly, there is no reason that it is not yet time for JV Tennis to have jerseys, just like every other team.