Since LFHS spring sports teams have been facing lots of rainy days, it’s time to shine some light on the traditions that the Scouts hold true to themselves. 

Girls Lacrosse

The Girls’ Lacrosse team awards a special object to a player after every game, a tradition held for many years. This year, the object they pass down is a spear, representing Sacrifice, Purpose, Empowerment, Accountability, and Resilience. Each word forms a letter in “spear.”

“Every year, an object is chosen by a coach that is handed out to a player at the beginning of the season. Then, following each game and practice, the object is handed to a different player. This year, the object is a spear. Last year, it was a lion, and in other years, the object has been different. This tradition allows us all to recognize each other’s hard work and motivates everyone to work hard every game and practice. It is especially important because we have high expectations of everyone on varsity lacrosse, and we all want to achieve our goals this season. The spear unites, motivates, and empowers everyone on the team to constantly work their hardest and put their best foot forward,” Farrell said. 

Baseball 

Senior captain Ryan Valentincic explains the baseball team’s new tradition of the “Chain of Champions.”

“The ‘Chain of Champions’ is a chain with a big ‘LF’ that we pass onto each player after every practice or win. It’s passed down from the person who had previously won it to the player they feel is most deserving. The tradition started years ago when Mr. Del Fava was the Head Coach. Similar to how we pass down the chain, the team used to pass around a bat after each win or practice. Each player would sign the bat after being awarded it. [New Head Coach] Mr. Nilles wanted to continue the tradition in a new way, so for the past two years, we have been doing the Chain of Champions,” senior captain Ryan Valentincic said. 

Girls Soccer

Senior captain Ryan Rice says the Girls’ Soccer team uses music to boost morale before playing in games. 

“We have two team songs- “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey, which has been the team song for many, many years, and it’s a thing that everyone has to know the lyrics to. Recently, the song “Rise Up” by Andra Day became our other team song a few years ago. To begin with, one of our team quotes is “Rise Up,” and in one game we had a lightning delay, so we went into the team room and sang karaoke, and Rise Up was one of the songs, and it kind of just became a song we listen to before every game,” senior captain Ryan Rice said.

Boys Track and Field

A long-standing tradition from the Boys Track and Field team includes an event where team throwers opt for competitive running competitions. 

“One of the Boys Track and Field traditions is called the weight man relay. The last event of the selective meets has their schools choose the four fastest throwers to compete in a 4×100 relay. Oftentimes, donuts are the prize for the winners. This tradition is so special because it is fun to see throwers run, since it is not the norm within the team. The tradition helps boost team spirit. Not to mention, the scouts have won the last three weight man relays,” senior member Ibrahim Hashim said. 

Boys Tennis

Senior tennis team member Gavin Burns explains two of the Boys’ tennis team’s traditions, which involve team commitment and unity.

“Our team has two traditions that have been around for a while. The first one is that for all the new kids that make varsity, we all go to Buffalo Wild Wings and they get the option to (have to) eat the hottest wing without any water. I guess one could say this is to prove how committed the new players are, but we just do it as a way to bring everyone together and make a one-of-a-kind experience. The other tradition is that before every match, we sing a song called Oh Corky’s Boys. We make a circle and chant the song before a match, and it gets us hyped and ready to play. It’s just a fun song that is attributed to our coach, Coach Corky, who’s been coaching for a very, very long time, and it’s a fun way to show how much we respect him. Every year I’ve played, I’ve seen the captains get to explain the song, and it’s always just a great way to build more team chemistry,” senior member Gavin Burns said. 

Boys Volleyball

The Boys Volleyball team has a superstitious warm-up that they follow before every home game. 

“One of our superstitions is that before home games, we meet in the lower commons to warm up. It started a few years before I was in high school when they couldn’t enter the gym until a couple of minutes before the game, so they warmed up in the lower commons, and we have been doing it ever since,” junior member Jack Rancourt said.

Girls Water Polo

The Girls’ Water Polo team has a tradition regarding good luck by jumping into the pool before games. 

“Lake Forest Girls Water Polo has a tradition of not stepping with both feet in the gutter of the pool. We believe it is bad luck, and instead, we jump from the edge of the pool. This superstition gives us good luck in games and helps us build pride in our team. While unknown in origin, this tradition has carried us through multiple coaches and team rebuilds. Introducing this rule every year to newcomers helps create a connection to the sport and team for every player, and seeing freshmen enforcing it creates the close relationship of our team,” junior team member Abigail Houlihan said. 

Boys Water Polo

The Boys’ Water Polo team awards the highest scorer of the season with an honorary award, which motivates them throughout the season. 

“One of our team traditions is an award we have recently started giving out three years ago. The award is the Miles Liebovich Award. The award is given out to the player with the most goals at that point in the season, most of the time right before the Scout Tournament. We named it after our friend Miles Liebovich; he is a swimmer on the varsity team. It’s a fun award to work towards and hand out every year,” junior team member Zach Chermak said. 

Softball

Senior Softball member Annie Gibbons explains how the team warms up and promotes unity through their tradition. 

“When I was a freshman trying out, the seniors did arm stretches, but it didn’t have a name yet. We started calling it “culty arms” because our team is so small and tight-knit that sometimes we joke it’s our cult. For culty arms, our 14 girls circle up, and we count in unison to stretch our arms to prepare for throwing and pitching. After our counting, which we try to do as loudly as possible, we all talk about funny things that happened that day. It’s super fun and it highlights how close this team is,” senior member Annie Gibbons said. 

Girls’ Track and Field

The Girls’ Track and Field team has a relatively new tradition to showcase the hard work they put into breaking their records. 

“A really fun tradition that the track team does is PR bracelets. It’s a relatively new tradition, but each time someone gets a personal best time, they get a bracelet for it at practice the next day. It’s a nice way for everyone to be recognized at practice for the hard work they’ve been doing (not just those who place in the events). We get carabiners to attach them to our backpacks, and it’s fun to see everyone racking up the bracelets throughout the season,” senior member Hannah Burke said. 

Boys Lacrosse

Senior captain Marty Hippel highlights the many fun traditions that bring the lacrosse team together and keep them close throughout the season.

“Some of our more well-known traditions include cutting our hair into mullets before the season, running out onto the field with flags before games, and passing down #4 in honor of the late Jack Adams. While lots of people know about these traditions, there are some that many people don’t know about. After each win, our coach will call out one player who played significantly well. This player receives what we call the Hard Hat. It’s a gray construction hat with a bunch of Lake Forest lacrosse stickers on it, but it means a lot to earn it as a player. It symbolizes the “Player of the Game” in a sense, and it’s a great feeling to win the Hard Hat. We pass it around throughout the whole season,” Hippel said. 

Girls Badminton

Senior Isabella Adams explains how players hand down keychains to reward players after a great match. 

“After matches, we hand out a special birdie keychain to the person that our coach thinks deserves it for whatever reason that day. We have been doing this for years,” Adams said.