By Bruce Karnick

[email protected]

Team building is a key piece to youth sports. If the players like each other and enjoy being around their teammates, it makes the grueling preseason practices easier to survive. Knowing your teammate will pick you up when you need it is more important than the sport specific skill learned at practice. That is where things outside of the game can help tremendously.

Practices, especially the preseason ones, are all about getting up to speed on the skills needed to play the sport. Building stamina, conditioning, skillsets, etcetera, are all very important aspects to the sports teams, and practices are key pieces to that. Unfortunately, those skills take time to build which does not always leave time for kids to simply get to know each other. That is where something like a group fundraiser comes in handy. Many area sports like to utilize car washes as a fundraising tool, but it is much more than just that.

Student athletes, coaches and parents all work together for a common goal, raising funds, but other things happen in the process, they have fun, they get to goof around a little, get to know each other and enjoy their time with their teammates in a low-pressure environment and it is all grade levels within the program. When the freshman quarterback sees not only the starting varsity quarterback, but the head coach washing cars, that sends a message. Everyone on this team has a role and that role is for the betterment of the team, no matter who you are, we are in this together, no one is too good to work for what they have.

Of course, some of the fun can come after you graduate too. 2021 graduates often return to not only support their former teammates but have a little fun making them wash their car. It was quite amusing seeing former starting center Ben Teigland and co-quarterback Jake Sandquist go through the wash line making their, now senior, quarterback and now former head coach wash their cars.

Football and Girl’s Swim and Dive held their car washes last weekend, and all our teams are always accepting donations to help offset the cost of uniforms, equipment, officials and other needed supplies. If you would like to donate towards any of the school teams, contact the athletic office at 651-480-7597.

As will be customary for the remainder of the 2021-22 sports season, this reminder will be given at the end of most sports stories. HHS has opted to go with a cashless ticket sales starting this year. As of right now, tickets can be purchased in one of three ways.

Online, in advance at https://www.vancoevents. com/us/eventlist/hastingsraiderstickets At the door with a debit or credit card or purchase a digital season pass. Full details of the admission policies along with explanation of prices can be found at https://www.hastingsathletics.org/admission. If you plan on attending or have any questions regarding attending, that page is an excellent resource.

Ireland Zaruba and Kendal Jenkins give each other a soapy high five after a job well done during their carwash Saturday at the Shane Lanning Farmers Insurance Agency. Photo courtesy of Coach Katie McAlpin