Student-athletes ‘trapped’ in school for commitment to teams

For weeks, Mike Moritz ’14 has dreamed of waking up at 10 a.m. — “sun already high in the sky” — and enjoying the comforts of the first day of April vacation.

However, as a member of the varsity baseball team and a game scheduled for today against Bassick High, Moritz had no choice but to ditch his comforter, dress in a button-down shirt and tie, and make his way to Staples — at least for four hours.

“I feel trapped,” Moritz said. “I wish I could’ve woken up, stuck my hand out the window and felt the breeze, before mentally preparing myself for sitting on my couch and watching TV for hours.”

Ethan Burger ’17, a lacrosse player, agrees. If he weren’t here, he says he would still be asleep.

“Coming to school today is pointless,” Burger said. “We’re not doing anything. It would have been nice to use this time to rest up for practice later.”

Lucas Grevers ’14, a volleyball player with a game later in the day, is on a bit of a different plane. While he isn’t happy about being in school just to play in the game, he says he might have had to come anyway.

“I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to come, but I already have too many absences at this point,” Grevers said. “Either way, we’re doing nothing today, and [the volleyball team] has an early dismissal anyway, so I’m not here for long.”