Katherine Kelly, Sports Editor
Before her retirement, former girls soccer coach Karen Olson headed up the purchase of new sports bags so that the teams would have something to use for away games and equipment. Once enough money was accumulated by the coach, the girls team expected to receive the bags; however, the bags were believed to be lost since the girls team never got them.
The bags were later discovered by the boys team, and they are currently using them. There was a lot of confusion around whom the bags belonged to and whom they were meant for, but the confusion has recently been resolved.
“Those 18 bags were purchased by Coach Karen Olsen in 2015,” boys soccer coach Ben Bork said. “She told me that the boys could use them too.”
Girls captain Madison Browne was one of the girls who was on the soccer team when the sports bags were given to the boys.
“We didn’t know that the boys would get to use them [this season],” Browne said. “This season we didn’t even have the bags.”
As it turns out, they were sitting in boxes and their plastic wrappers, untouched and unused.
The two teams plan on sharing the bags, so the girls are going to have access to them after this season. The boys team appreciates that they have new bags to use.
Co-captain Ben Gass was on the receiving end of the bags.
“When we first got them, we heard that the old girls coach bought them, and I think they ended up not being able to use them,” Gass said.
The boys team has also been contributing funds for the equipment for both teams, according to Bork. He believes it is only fair to share the bags since the bags belong to the soccer teams.
The boys soccer team also received new uniforms in addition to bags this year, thanks to Borks fundraising.
“I budgeted for new uniforms … I use them for the varsity squad,” Bork said. “They look really sharp.”
“Boys soccer has purchased for our shared program three goal nets, two cases of Nike soccer balls and various training equipment over the last three years,” Bork said. “This equipment has been paid for by the boys funds and [is] shared by both programs.”
Senior Grace Riggs concurs with Bork.
“The teams share everything else,” Riggs said. “It doesn’t make sense for the school to buy two sets of bags.”
The boys will return the bags at the end of their season.
“The bags will be collected, emptied, cleaned and stored,” Bork said.