Chatter and laughter fill the room as plates of pizza and sodas are passed around. Friends and strangers alike bond through their shared status as “teammates”.
The cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track teams are three of the many sports teams at the high school that have team dinners. For these teams, dinners are held the evening before meets. The cross country dinners happen at captains’ houses, but, due to their large sizes, the track teams both have to hold them at the high school’s cafeteria.
“All the grades are eating together, the boys’ team and the girls’ team are eating together, so it’s a lot of fun,” said Elise Dupont ’25, a captain of the girls’ cross country team and member of the girls’ track team.
Because of the size of the teams, the logistics of these dinners are organized by the captains’ parents, while the captains themselves advertise the event.
Eating together goes beyond just pre-organized team dinners, however. The cross country and track teams also go out to eat impromptu breakfasts after morning practices at Weston Road Cafe or The Linden Store, and dinners after regular practices to places like Shake Shack. They even occasionally stop by Mr. Tom Denman’s room, where all the cooking classes are held, to make breakfast.
Members of the winter track team making pancakes after a morning practice. Photo by Elise Dupont.
“Team dinners definitely help with team morale in general because [cross country] is a team sport, even if you’re timed individually,” said Dupont. “These past couple of years, the girls’ distance team wasn’t as close, and I think we are getting a lot closer this year.”
Other sports teams also go to fast food restaurants after practices and games, such as Dave’s Hot Chicken and Five Guys.
“At the very least [the boys’ swim team] has team dinners once every two weeks,” said Nati Oppenheimer ’26, a member of the boys’ swim team. “I love hanging out and talking with the team. It has helped me meet and become better friends with my teammates, especially the new members.”
Bonding over burning hot chicken, burgers, fries, and endless peanuts, these team events help underclassmen to mesh with the more seasoned upperclassmen.
“Since practice is just swimming laps, you don’t really get to talk, but the outings have made me more and more included in the community,” said Leo Thorati ’28, a member of the boys’ swim team.
Connecting with the rest of the team has benefits beyond building friendships.
“If you are running with people that you like to run with, it makes running more enjoyable,” said Jolie Chen ’26, a member of the girls’ cross country and track teams.
Not only do team dinners help build community, but they improve athletic performance.
“The closer the teams are, the more swimmers bring the best out of each other,” said Doug Curtin, the coach of the girls’ and boys’ swim teams. “When a tight knit group is formed, it makes for really awesome practices. What happens via team dinners or other connections, is there a shared sense of purpose that comes in practice. This then leads to performance results at meets.”
“The closer you are off the court, the closer you are on the court. If you don’t like the people you’re playing with, you’re not going to play well with them,” said Spencer Briggs ’25, the captain of the boys’ basketball team.
