Those who tend to be the most under-appreciated can sometimes be the greatest.

Throughout the culture of our school, we have had many great accomplishments, athletes, students and more and they shouldn’t go overlooked. 

Feb. 7, 2021, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl together. Being the oldest player to ever win a ring and the first player to seven rings, Brady has secured his spot as one of the most loved players, for some, and most hated for others. While many dislike him, his greatness is something that cannot be ignored and is something that should be appreciated.

Though our school is no professional football league, it is home to many great students who have and will continue to accomplish great things. Like with Tom Brady, we, as a school, need to recognize what they bring to the culture and atmosphere of our community. 

Colin Elder, a sophomore on the boy’s soccer team is just one example of greatness at our school. In just two years with the program, he has been able to provide an indescribable impact to the team and brought a shift in the culture. 

Elder started his journey with the sport at a young age. “My family has always played soccer and my uncle is a professional soccer coach so that just made me love the game. I used to always watch him growing up,” Elder said. Constantly being surrounded by soccer, he quickly picked up on it and has stayed consistent ever since. 

Going into high school, Elder did not have high expectations for himself and has even surprised himself with his accomplishments. He said, “I knew I was going to be on the team and all that but I did not think I would be able to play as big of a role on the team as a freshman. I just worked hard and was able to do a lot.” He quickly moved into a role as a key player on the team after less than two seasons. His impact was undeniable and something that pushed the team to be better. 

Moving along through his sophomore season, Elder suffered a season-ending injury that was detrimental to the team. “It kinda scared me at first because I didn’t know how it was going to be coming back. Now that I am back it really motivates me because I’m working so much harder to get back out there,” Elder said. Being fully recovered from this injury, he is taking every step to make sure that he gets back on track for next season. 

After being cleared to play soccer again, Elder was able to score his first goal back for his club team. It came as a relief and motivator for him. Elder said, “It felt so good. I hadn’t played in so long and I finally got that feeling back.” He looks to carry this feeling into next season and take the team farther than they have gotten before. 

Before the last two seasons, Elder felt that the team wasn’t receiving the credit that they deserved. In a way, their greatness was going unnoticed and they looked to change that. “We felt underappreciated for awhile but after we won the regional championship last year, everybody started actually paying attention to soccer. We had that one game where we let all the students in for free and we had a huge crowd and it was so cool,” he said. This game was an excellent showcase of our community acknowledging the greatness in the culture of our school. 

Elder is just one of the many stories yet to be told who bring a sense of greatness to our school. His work ethic, performance and interactions serve as a big impact on our school and in his last two years, he only looks to build off of that. With split A and B groups during the week and already-established cliques, as students, we need to be able to be there for each other for physical and mental support, even when we are apart. Little things such as pushing each other for better grades or pushing someone to make one more shot are just small examples of what comes with greatness.