Telstars sports are good options if you are looking for fun, new friends, and the ability to improve on certain skills. There are many different options to appeal to each kind of person. Last fall we had a third of our students participate in some type of sport. Football is rough, soccer is footwork, cross-country is a test of endurance.

At the start of the field hockey season, the school barely had half a team. We started to recruit a lot of players who were dedicated to the team and interested in learning a new sport. The Telstar field hockey team only had three players who had ever stepped foot on a field before. They started off with a 1-2 loss in the first game. The players showed next level perseverance and dedication through the season. At the end of the season they scored eight goals (six by Vivi Charette, one by Natalie Charette, and one by Evy Cummings). The team ended with two wins, six losses.

We talked to Coach Renee Charette and she said some highlights of the season were “coming back after a couple of tough games against Spruce to get our first win at home against Lisbon. We won on a Friday afternoon, and it was our fourth game we played that week. Another highlight ending our season with a win against Dirigo, who was an evenly matched team to TMS.”

Telstar’s soccer team started its season with an insane amount of players, making it hard to manage playing times for all the players. The amount of playing time per player is a con to playing soccer in the fall, but there are a lot of pros, too.

A benefit to playing soccer last fall was that you got to dedicate your time to doing something in the afternoon. Another positive is that kids got to meet new people and make new friends. By the end of the season everybody knew each other’s names, which showed growth considering nobody knew each other at the beginning of the season.

We decided to interview a team captain to find out what it was like being a captain this season.

Cyrus Mills said, “It was different than the past years, but was fun to end off middle school soccer by being the ‘big kids’ of the league for once. It was also fun to see how the younger kids played compared to the older kids. Playing soccer was way more fun this year because our team was able to work together well and have fun at the same time.”

The football team consisted of eight players who persevered through many injuries and obstacles, including COVID-19. Considering all the hardships, their ability to play as well as they did this year and the ability to try new positions was outstanding.

The seventh-graders really stepped up and most of them have never played before. The players improved their skills throughout the season and had an incredible 28-0 record. Often team captains lead warmups and help the team get ready for the games.

“It’s nice to see the younger players improve over the year,” said Coach Jack Mallory.

Over the course of the cross-country season there was a lot of progress in multiple categories. One part of the sport the team improved on was stamina. Each player learned to pace themselves, control their breathing, and have fun.

Some of the star runners, including Yuma Cretaou and Mallory Raymond, really stood out with their outstanding performances at every meet. Kaiden Manjourides and Parker Gillman showed great progress as well.

The team also won the sportsmanship award for the season. Overall, the team really stood out when they went to the Winthrop meet and everyone did great and really demonstrated their skill improvement.

Fall sports are a fun addition to the school year that help students get out of their house, meet new people, and improve on certain skills. Our winter season is already rolling with kids lacing up their basketball court sneakers, and waxing and tuning their alpine and XC skis.

Many thanks to all the adults who coach and work to make these programs a success. Go, Rebels!

Vivienne Charette and Jake Zolad are eighth grade students at Telstar Regional Middle School and submitted this piece as part of their classwork in Lindsay Luetje’s public relations class.