The OnLion: Sports

by Ben Popkin

I was a wrestler. I cut weight, worked out excessively, and put up with people’s complaints. First of all, let me tell you what a normal day is like for a wrestler. 5:30 am, I woke up and got dressed in darkness. I went for a run in the morning, sat through class, went to practice after school, ran or biked after practice, and sat in the cold pool in the training room. It was 6:30 pm before I began the walk back to my car. That’s right. A wrestler spends more time at school than his home (we call it our vacation home). In the process of killing our bodies and strengthening our minds, the senior wrestlers have been left with unforgettable memories.

I can remember when I first began wrestling. When I was in seventh grade, I was a basketball player. I did seven pull-ups in P.E., and Coach Glasser said to me, “You’re going to be a pretty good wrestler.” “I’m a basketball player,” I said cheerfully and walked merrily away. It just so happened that we were playing basketball in P.E. that day. I had the ball, and went in for an open layup. I missed. “Yeah,” Coach Glasser said, “you’re going to wrestle.” He was right.

The Lovett wrestling team practices together from the first time we wrestle, to the last. This means that the middle school practices are more or less the same as the varsity practices. This gives the middle school an advantage over the competition.

“I remember wrestling Stuart,” says Robert Satcher, “I still have the lead in victories. Three to two.”

While Satcher says he is winning the count, Childs says that it is tied up.

“One of those wins was at UTC (wrestling camp) and the ref wasn’t watching when I pinned Bob earlier in the match,” argues Childs. The two have since separated from each other in size, and it looks like this heated rivalry might never be resolved.

The majority of our middle school years were filled with large victories, and a lot of us had undefeated seasons in our eighth grade year. Because of this, many of us felt unbeatable going into high school.

High school was a shock for a lot of the Lovett wrestlers. We went from running through the competition to losing matches. My first loss of freshman year came in our first weekend tournament, the 400 North Duals. I got rocked in this match, and I mean killed. I was taken down and put on my back multiple times. My feeble attempt to take my opponent down ended in my face on the mat. I was going to have to get better if I was going to survive high school wrestling.

The older you get, the harder wrestling practice becomes. You spend less time trying to figure out moves and more time drilling them. My practice partner for 6 years was Matthew Hines, one of the hardest workers in the wrestling room. He was always there to tell me when I wasn’t working hard enough. Practices were long and hard, and many times we would collapse outside after practice was over. But we got better as a team and individually, and that was important.

Our team learned leadership from seniors such as Robert Thrasher, Hunter Dunlap, and Adam Domanico. This year’s senior class was strong in talent and big in heart.

This year, the wrestling team made it to the state dual finals for the first time in six years. It came down to the wire with Henry County, the team everyone loves to hate. It had been a heated dual with unsportsmanlike penalties on both sides. Lovett was up by only a few points when the last two matches came up. Freshman Patrick Emerson came up with a huge win at 160. In this match, Patrick forced his opponent to DQ himself with four unsportsmanlike penalties. This clenched the victory over Henry County. Our hearts filled with emotion and our lungs filled with air, we yelped with joy as the Henry County wrestlers threw things and swore. It was one of the happiest nights of our life. People cried, we hugged, and sang. Our team had made the state finals.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Burton Dunlap, “we were in the finals.”

For two special seniors, there was another extremely important win. Both Matthew Hines and Daniel Domanico both won individual state titles their junior year.

“I did the only thing I could think of after I won,” said Matthew. He was referring to his victory roar (photographed by P. McIntyre).

With all of these great wins, there are still people who wonder why we wrestle. A few questions we hear again and again: Why don’t you just go up a weight class? Why don’t you smile more? Why don’t you just quit? These questions don’t help a wrestler during the season.

But I will proceed to answer each of the questions so that they will never be asked again. The reason we don’t go up a weight class is because we want to be stronger than the competition. “But if you go up a weight class you’ll have more energy and be better.” No we won’t. If we go up a weight class, we’ll get beaten by people who cut weight. We do smile when it is appropriate. If someone says something really funny or something good happens, we will smile. Because we aren’t in a constant state joy people label us as depressed. And finally, I’ll tell you why we don’t just quit. Wrestling has taught us to persevere through the hard times. Real wrestlers don’t quit things because they can’t eat French Fries. We have too much commitment to the sport and to our team mates to quit. I understand that these answers will not satisfy many people, but I must tell those people to quit with the questions.

This year, there were 8 senior starters on the wrestling team. This includes Austin Davis, Matt Hines, Robert Satcher, Daniel Domanico, Burton Dunlap, Stuart Childs, Mack Emerson, and myself. This means that over half of the starters on the wrestling team will be graduating.

What does this mean for the future of Lovett wrestling? Will the team be able to bounce back from this hit? History has shown that no matter how many starters are lost, the wrestling team will always be able to bounce back. Rich Niehaus, a sophomore, took second at the state tournament. This is quite a feat for an underclassman, and Rich shows great promise for the future along with other returning starters Ricky Nunez, Patrick Emerson, Zack Wolfe, and Hunter Rich.

As I leave this wrestling chapter of my life behind in high school, I am left with lessons and memories. It has been a journey, but it has finally ended and I am going to move on into my life. Like most of the senior wrestlers, I will never again be required to weigh a certain weight by a certain time, and I won’t step into the center of the mat for a match ever again. It’s been hard, but it was worth it.

by Antolina Ramirez

Coming to work everyday, despite how difficult or successful last night’s game was, the boys’ varsity basketball team consistently maintained a positive attitude through a pretty tough season.

Senior players, Michael Steele, Dylan Brown and Harrison Reeves kept good attitudes, despite the team’s record of 5-16, and more importantly lead the other players by example.

“Each game is a new challenge but our goal has always been the same,” explained head coach Chuck Melito, well into the season “Win the next game, win the last game.”

Yet the team faced another difficult challenge this season, replacing 11 players from last year.

“We are extremely young, only returning three players from last year,” added Steele. “We also didn’t have very much size.”

Melito believed the players were getting better everyday and while it could have been very easy for them to get down on themselves, the team’s record didn’t determine their attitude or diminish their work ethic. The team’s trip to New York over the winter holiday was a great bonding time for the players and helped them to the realization that they could play together.

Going into the region tournament, the team was focused on a win in the first round game against Decatur in order to advance to the next round. And though the boys did not leave with a victory that night with a final score of 58-42, the team played well under the leadership of the three seniors and a few additions to the team.

“Freshman Drew Brown moved up from JV,” explained Melito. “He plays with no fear and was able to give us some quality minutes.”

The boys finished sixth seed in region, ahead of Avondale and Cross Keys. Their tournament record, 4-12, was in no way of indicative of the attitude or work ethic of the players. By the end of their season, the team came together and believed in one another.

“We might not have had the size and speed of other teams, but I would match their heart against anybody’s,” said Melito.

by Antolina Ramirez

Surprising a lot of competitive basketball teams and winning a scrimmage against the wrestling team, the girls’ varsity basketball team had a fun and exciting season.

“They’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season,” explains coach Liz Kennedy.

Unlike other teams who have grown up playing together, building strong team chemistry, the girls had never played as a team prior to the season. Yet, all players contributed, particularly the team’s only returning player and senior, Elizabeth Selman.

“She has done a great job leading the team,” says Kennedy.

Despite the team’s record, 16-12, Selman says that the team is much more successful than last year.

“All of our games have been really exciting,” adds Selman. “We have lost 6 games by 1 point and 2 games have gone into over time.”

Kennedy believed these close games showed that the girls were on the verge of a turning point, which came at the time of the girls’ region tournament. Their record was in no way an indicator of how good this team was.

In the first round of region, the lady Lions left with a win against rival Westminster and an advancement to the second round against Buford. Although, the girls were not victorious against the lady Wolves, their next win over Decatur placed the team at third in region.

“This put us in a bracket for state to play the #2 seed, which is Jordan for the first round of playoffs,” explains Selman.

After a long and rainy drive to Jordan, the girls battled it out. With only a few seconds left in the game and Jordan with the possession of the ball, the lady Lions played tight on defense. Winning by two, the girls advanced past the first round of playoffs, an achievement that had not been made in many years. Freshman Tatianna Jackson was the team’s high scorer that night with 23 points.

In the sweet sixteen, the team played Model, ranked number one in the state as they were undefeated the entire season. Although Lovett was eliminated from the tournament, losing against Model, the girls played with a lot of heart.

“The season was by far the best and most fun season since I have been on varsity the last three years,” adds Selman. “I have a really good feeling about these girls and this team next year and I can’t wait to see how much success they have next year!”

by Antolina Ramirez

“I would say that so far we have excelled this year as a team,” said senior wrestler, Bob Satcher, towards the end of the season.

Having lost only two matches, one to Baylor and Jefferson, the varsity wrestling team had an exceptional season.

Some of the team’s big wins include the team’s victory at the War Eagle Classic, placing second in the Prep School Slam, making them the best private school wrestling team in Georgia, and their win over Henry County in the state semifinals, guaranteeing the team second place.

Although these victories were key to the continuous success of the wrestling team, the boys had another particular victory in mind. Every year the team’s goal is a state championship, however with Jefferson moving up to AA, second place was a great victory at the State Duals.

“We have eight seniors on varsity and have done well to lead the underclassmen,” said Satcher.

At the Sectional Tournament, eleven lions qualified for State, including returning state champions, seniors Daniel Domanico and Matthew Hines. Of these eleven wrestlers, five were able to advance to the State Championship. After two days at State finals, the Lions finished strong.

“We got second overall behind Jefferson,” said Satcher. “We had five guys in the finals but unfortunately everyone lost.”

Finalists included seniors Stuart Childs, Austin Davis, Adam Domanico, Matthew Hines and sophomore Rich Niehaus finishing at second place. Senior Ben Popkin placed third and Satcher sixth.

by Lenzie Avery

The swim season started off quick: everyone was working hard to get back into the pool and back in shape. “The first part of the season is the hardest,” says junior S.E. Spencer, “It’s all about getting used to being in the water.”

The swimmers worked hard this season to get where they ended up. They had practices on weekdays and on Saturdays. According to the swimmers the Saturday practices were harder. These practices consisted of starts and turns, and sprint sets.

“It was probably one of the most fun season’s I’ve had,” says Spencer, “I didn’t dread going to practice. And I got my first state cut so it payed off.”

Three records were broken: the girls 200 & 400, and the boys 100 breast. Senior Phillip Link broke the 100 breast record.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Link says, “knowing all the hard work and sacrifices I’ve made for the past 4 years has finally paid off.”

Not every player swims and trains year round, but Link spent almost all his time in the pool. He’s been training year-round at SwimAtlanta since his freshman year.

Lovett ended up placing 16th in state for girls, compared with 6th last year. “Everyone got a lot faster,” says Spencer, “It was a year for breaking records, not as much for placing.”

The boys placed 6th in state, “That helped everything I’ve done pay off too,” says Link, “Because it wasn’t about what I’ve done personally, it’s about what the whole team did.”

As for next season, the swimmers are enjoying the break. But as soon as fall begins next year, they will get back in the pool and back in shape for the season.

While most senior are still scrambling to find the perfect college and anxiously awaiting acceptances, senior Liz Derrick knows exactly where she is going and is certain of carrying her soccer career into college with her. As of February 4th, Liz is officially playing division 1 soccer for Furman University. Although the signing is now done and over with, there was a lot of work leading up to this and even more to come.

Like many young Atlanta girls, Liz’s parents signed her up for Tophat soccer when she was three or four. Although she was too young to decide to carry on for herself, eventually she grew to love the sport and has stuck with it. She continued playing for the past 14 or 15 years, and started her Lovett career in 7th grade.

For most athletes, the college process can be difficult and stressful, but this proved to be an even greater challenge for Liz. As part of the process, one makes a list of schools he/she is interested in attending, e-mails the coach his/her game and tournament schedules, and then hopes for the best. But while most people were being scouted by colleges, Liz was recovering from a torn ACL. “So during the time in which everyone was committing to schools I was hurt and not able to play and all the scholarship spots were being taken up,” she says. The serious injury took Liz out of soccer for about eight months, which made the process even more stressful and irritating.

Along with stressing out over the injury, Liz also admits it made her hesitate about carrying the sport into college. “I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to sign anywhere because that whole process was going on when I wasn’t playing and I wasn’t able to be looked at,” she says. But after making a full recovery and getting back on the field, she realized that she wanted to keep playing at the next level.

Thankfully, Furman was still looking at her in the second semester of her junior year, “which is really late in the college process for soccer. ” From there the process seemed quick and painless. They observed some of her Lovett games, she visited the school, and she committed. Although the decision was made much later than normal due to her injury, she loves the outcome that has come from it.

With the help of some of her coaches, friends, and family Liz has been able to make it where she is today. Although she can’t name one person who has been most influential to her career, she does name a fellow teammate as a great supporter. Turns out, there was “another girl on my team who also tore her ACL at the same time as me. So, we went through all that crap together.” Having a fellow teammate go through the same problems was very helpful for Liz.

But now Liz will be leaving her friends and family and starting fresh at a new school. Although she had to make her decision much later than usual, she is extremely happy with the choice she made. Going to a smaller school over a state school was a major factor in her decision. She was worried that in attending a big state school soccer might take over her life. “Furman is the perfect school in that respect because it is an intense program but at the same time I get to have a college life outside of college soccer,” she says. And although she won’t be playing with any of her Tophat friends, she will be playing against them as they go onto other college teams.

Although she has no planned major or any soccer plans after college, Liz is looking forward to college and whatever it will bring.

by Laura Quittmeyer

As of February 4th, Caitlin Torie, Lovett’s varsity girl’s team goalie, is signed to Auburn for division 1 soccer. This signing has been in the works for more than a year now, but her overall soccer career has been in the works for much longer.

Starting at age five, Caitlin’s parents signed her up for a “little coed community league” and she fell in love with soccer right away. She continued her career playing in leagues in her home town of Chicago and continued in other leagues when she moved to Atlanta. In seventh grade she started playing for Lovett and has played for Lovett ever since.

Her dedication to the sport has caused her to make sacrifices. “I’ve missed a lot of school, usually about four to six days a semester, so I always have a lot of make up work. I’ve missed a lot of birthday parties and little gatherings like that,” she says. But she adds that she fortunately has very supportive friends that make it easier for her.

With support from her friends and family also comes influence and inspiration. She says her dad has been particularly influential. Starting the college process a year earlier than most students, Caitlin is grateful for all his help. “My dad had to take me on all my visits,” she says. “Whether it was a day trip to Auburn or Knoxville or a weekend trip to Waco, Texas or Charlotte, he was always up for the trip. He gave me all the advice I needed to make the right decision. All he wanted was for me to be happy and get a good education. Without his support I don’t know what I would have done.”

All of her (and her dad’s) sacrifices and hard work paid off in the summer right after her sophomore year. “They (Auburn representatives) came to watch me play in a State Championship game for my club team, which we ended up winning! A few days later, my coach told me that Coach Hoppa, the Auburn soccer coach, was impressed and that I should keep in contact with them. So I did,” she says. The following fall she took her first visit to the university and fell in love with everything about it. She says that she’s visited other schools and seen other coaches, “but I kind of always knew Auburn was the right fit for me. So in early January of my junior year I verbally committed.”

Now that all is said and almost done, Caitlin looks forward to the college days of her career. “It’s going to be a huge commitment,” she says, “I know that I’m probably not going to have the typical college experience and I’m going to have to work twice as hard with my time management, but this is what I’ve always wanted to do.” She says that she also understands there will be pressure to perform, but she has always wanted to play at a big time school.

Once in college Caitlin plans to major in nursing. Carrying soccer into her future beyond college is still a question mark. But she says she isn’t going to cut out the idea just yet.

by Jamesa Stokes

With the beginning of the spring semester, senioritis has already kicked in for some. But there are many seniors who can’t avoid the responsibility of early workouts and early arrivals on campus for summer practices, especially those who have chosen to take their college experience to another level.

Senior Jordan McLean will be attending Franklin and Marshall, a small liberal arts college in Lancaster, PA., playing NCAA Division III Lacrosse. “I was approached by Franklin and Marshall this past summer after playing in a tournament in Pennsylvania. The coach called me after he saw me play, and he figured I would be a good fit in his lacrosse program.”

Franklin and Marshall may be his final choice, but McLean in fact had plenty of offers. “I got offers from a few D-I’s and D-III’s,” he says. “I got about 35 to 40 letters total. The D-I schools weren’t as good academically as Franklin and Marshall, and I knew I wouldn’t want to go into the professional league. I chose Franklin and Marshall because I liked the college a lot, and it’s in a different part of country, since I did not want stay in the south for college.”

McLean says that his love for the sport started in middle school. “I started playing Lacrosse in the 7th grade, just as something to do in the spring,” he explains. “My dad’s business partner got me into it, because he played in college at the University of Pennsylvania.”

He quickly took a liking to lacrosse, citing that “the schematics were similar to basketball, and you also get to hit people,” he says. “It is also very fast paced and intense.”

Although he started in the 7th grade, it took him three years of practice to really improve his game. “I began to get good at lacrosse in my sophomore year, mainly because that year we had about four torn ACL’s. So basically, I went from third line to getting a lot of playing time on the second line,” he states.

He admits that even though he is a good player, he has had some not-so-spectacular moments on the field. “I was decked twice my sophomore year in tryouts by Nick Malone, and I couldn’t see straight for a week. My head hit the ground before the rest of my body did.”

But that incident didn’t compare to his worst experience. “My most embarrassing lacrosse moment happened at our Westminster game. I was running down the sideline, and I just dropped the ball, literally in front of our whole team. And no one even touched me!”

He decided to forego playing basketball this year to focus his time on lacrosse. McLean devotes a great amount of time, 10 to 12 hours a week, throwing after school, and being a referee and a coach at the YMCA, to help kids learn how to play. And Lovett isn’t the only team he plays for. He also plays for ‘The Shockers’, which is his off-season team.

Most don’t take into account the traveling involved. In addition to Pennsylvania, Jordan has played in tournaments in Charlotte, Tampa, Duke University, and a variety of places with Lovett’s team as part of the regular season.

He may be excited about this opportunity, but he knows where his priorities are in college. “I know I want to major in business, accounting and finance,” he states.

Even though McLean will be leaving behind his career as a lacrosse player after college, he certainly hopes to enjoy his time as a college athlete.

by Antolina Ramirez

If you find yourself making your way down to the University of Georgia next spring, you might come across a familiar face on the college’s baseball field. Senior Clayton McKenney has committed to play Division I baseball, particularly to pitch, at UGA next year. In between last January and this past Thanksgiving, McKenney went on numerous official visits to colleges such as Duke and Furman and was planning to visit Georgetown and Tulane, but it was lunch with UGA’s baseball coach, David Perno, that sealed the deal.

“Even without baseball, UGA is where I wanted to go,” adds McKenney. “So it’s perfect.”

McKenney began his baseball career at the young age of six playing Tee Ball. Since the 8th grade, McKenney has been a part of Lovett’s baseball program and involved with other outside leagues, including East Cobb baseball for the past two years. He participated in summer travel ball for the Atlanta Bulls for numerous years.

“The thing I remember the most from my little leaguer days is when I threw a no-hitter in an 11-year-old tournament,” says McKenney. “I was two outs away from a perfect game too. I’m still kind of bitter about that.”

With such a large commitment came large sacrifices.

“For the last two years I’ve gotten up every morning at 5:30 A.M. to come to school and work out so that after school I could run and throw and get my arm ready for the season,” explains McKenney. “It’s early and it sucks, but I’ve gotten used to it I guess.”

McKenney’s summers have also been consumed with baseball. Despite the early workouts, late practices and repetitive days of baseball games and practices throughout the summer, McKenney has never taken a break from baseball.

Through the Lovett program, McKenney has had teammates that have had a large impact on him, especially former Lovett student and athlete, Philip Carkhuff, who is now pitching at the University of Dallas.

“The way he went about his business on the field was the right way and it got him to the next level,” says McKenney. “There’s no doubt that made a huge impact on me and my development as a pitcher.”

And though McKenney is excited to further his baseball career with UGA’s baseball program, he did have some reservations prior to his college search.

“The only reservations I had were about whether I was going to end up at the right school,” adds McKenney. “I knew I was going to play somewhere. The whole process is just really stressful and frustrating at times but it all worked out in the end.”

McKenney is looking forward to playing on a big stage in a bigtime baseball conference in the SEC. Going pro after college has always been a dream of McKenney’s.

“There are 30 teams in the Major League of Baseball and each team has about 12 pitchers so I would have to be one of the best 360 pitches in the world,” explains McKenney.”I know its a tall order, but there’s still a chance.”

The weekend of January 10th, a representative from the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau visited McKenney’s house to meet with his family and talk about the draft.

“We’ll see,” adds McKenney. “I need a great season this year before anything else can happen.”

As far as academics are concerned, McKenney is very open to his major in college, as he enjoys religion, history, politics and law. He plans on earning a degree in the liberal arts.

by Wallace Winborne

GIRLS

The Lovett girls cross country team continued their absolute dominance this year, with their 4th title in a row.

“I’m very proud of the outcome of the girls season,” said history teacher and head coach Jimmie Jewell, who has led the girls during their region AA dominance. While Jewell pushed the girls hard to victory, there was still fun to be had.

Addie Schoen and Blair Beskin, moral leaders and seniors, seemed to have enjoyed every minute of the season.

“The girls on the team are the sweetest girls ever,” said Senior Captain Addie Schoen, who’s been running since the beginning of the streak. “(Everyone) on the team knew when it was time to focus and when it was OK to mess around…we’d all look forward to practice just because we got to be each other.”

“I will never forget about it,” said Blair of the season. “My teammates are so much fun to be around, and they made me want to run.”

The strength of friendship within the group was undoubtedly a factor in their success.

“The team this year is closer than it has ever been,” said junior Elizabeth Rucker, who placed 5th in the state event. “We went to breakfast together on Friday mornings and Figo the night before races.”

With a 2nd place finish at the Carrolton Invitational to finish the regular season, and the 4th straight region championship, the girls earned the top spot going into the finals.

Despite competing with a strong Blessed Trinity squad and a new member of our region, Westminster, the girls dominated with 6 of the top 20 finishers.

Elizabeth Rucker, Meredith Thornhill, Alexandrea Horst finished in the top 10 (5th, 6th, and 8th) and Maddy Martin and Elle Boydston finished 14th and 16th.

But it wasn’t just these top 5 finishers that made the season a success.

“Everyone was dedicated… we couldn’t have done it without every girl on the team,” said junior star Elizabeth Rucker.

With only 2 seniors graduating this year, Coach Jewell says that things are looking good “on paper” for the future. I would say so.

It would seem that with all 6 of our top finishers returning for the 2009 season, the Lion girls should return with an even stronger finish, continuing their reign as queens of the region.

BOYS

The boy’s season ended on something of a bittersweet note. Although they did everything in their power to succeed, they placed 2nd at the State event, runner up to rival Westminster.

“Most of us have been running together since 7th grade and it’s been a very hard road,” said senior star Kyle James, who finished 2nd overall in the meet. He lost to an independent runner by just a few feet, and blacked out at the finish line.

Despite this seemingly successful finish, the team feels that their hard work should have translated into a win. They worked harder and performed better than many much larger schools, and they did everything in their power for a chance at the title.

“We trained really hard all year long,” said senior Clarke Maddox, who placed an impressive 4th at State and who will run at New York University if accepted there. “We all wanted to win so badly, it was easy to train hard.”

“We didn’t get it last year, so everyone wanted it even more this season,” said sophomore Parker Whitlock, who ran with the team last year and placed 45th at State. “Everyone was disappointed when we lost.”

“We were definitely one of the hardest working teams in the state,” said 1st year runner and sophomore Andrew Frazier. “We deserved the championship.”

Harrison Dykes and Will Deisley also ended their careers strong, with 5th and 13th place finishes.

Despite the fact that the season ended without a championship title, there is some satisfaction to be had knowing that it was all left on the table.

“We tried as hard as we could to win, doing everything right, training hard, and focusing,” said Maddox.

“I am very pleased with how hard they worked all year,” said coach Jimmy Jewell, who watched the boys grow to this point of high achievement, “and how well they interpreted what we were trying to do. They ran hard, they ran smart, they did well.”

“Westminster was very very tough,” he went on to say, “we weren’t quite tough enough to beat them.”

While the girls team will be virtually the same next year, the boy’s team is losing five seniors, all of whom are key parts of the team. Rebuilding will be difficult, especially if Peter Rhodes does not run cross country to get into shape for basketball.

Despite differences in the outcome of the season and a difference in where the team will stand at the beginning of next season, there is one striking similarity: friendship between teammates.

“My teammates are awesome,” said Maddox. “We are all really good friends, and we are lucky to be in a class with five seniors.”

“Looking back on it has flown by,” said Kyle James. “It’s been great to get to know my teammates.”