PAST

Imagine a time when girls could not compete with other schools in athletics.

Oh wait, that was 40 years ago.

Thanks to a law called Title IX, girls gained equal opportunities to boys when it came to athletics. The law states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity.”

Up until 1974, schools nationwide did not allow girls to participate in interscholastic athletics. Antioch Community High School was not an exception.

ACHS was home to a program called the Girls Athletic Association, an inner-scholastic league where girls from ACHS would play each other rather than athletes from other schools. Sophomore Allison Smith was dumbfounded by this.

“I think that it would not be fair for girls to not be able to compete in sports,” said Smith. “Sports are a huge part of many girls’ lives. Therefore, girls should always have the ability to do what they love. Girls should have equal rights with boys.”

The past of ACHS was full of sports, even gymnastics which came to an end the 2006-2007 school year. Even to this day, athletics are a big part of ACHS and its role in the Antioch community.

PRESENT

Athletics are still an important part of ACHS today. They bring students together to form one team to make lasting memories, while bringing students together in the bleachers to cheer on their fellow Sequoits.

“Athletics play a huge part of my life socially, physically and mentally. I think that it is not only important to get involved academically, but with athletics too,” said Smith. “Many of the friendships I have made have been through sports, and it is a great way to do what you love.”

“Swimming without a high school team is really hard because I don’t get to compete in dual meets throughout the high school season. I only get to swim at conference and sectionals. I have my mother, Linda Jackson and my friends dad, Tony Besson for my coaches. My mom really supports me throughout the entire season. She really keeps me in check when I’m at practice so I don’t slack off,
junior Jordan Jacob said. “A lot of the other high school teams get their own time to practice but we do because we don’t have a pool for me to swim in during season I have to stay with my club until the week of conference so I really rely on her to push me to my limits.”

For the girls, ACHS offers basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, dance, field hockey, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling.

For the boys, ACHS offers baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling.

In addition to the sports offered, some Sequoits take part in swim meets to qualify for state while other student athletes are part of lacrosse and hockey teams.

Presently, ACHS athletics is very proud of its coaching staff. As the years go by, so do coaching styles. Smith runs cross country and track and is very proud of her coaches here at ACHS.

Smith said, “I think Antioch sports are different from others because everyone on the teams grow close together, like a family. All of the coaches at Antioch are understanding and put time and effort into making sure we succeed. The coaches also understand that academics come before sports.”

FUTURE

As many know, ACHS has a few Sequoits representing themselves on teams made up of multiple schools. For example, there is a combined club lacrosse team made up of District 117 student athletes.

Another sport that is made up of more than just Sequoits is ice hockey. The Lakers Hockey Club Association hosts student athletes from ACHS, Lakes Community High School, Grayslake North, Grayslake South and Grant. It is an opportunity for prospective hockey players because it gives those athletes a chance to play, even if their high school does not offer it.

Freshman ice hockey player Derek Olson would love if ACHS would add hockey to its list of sports.

“ACHS should get ice hockey,” said Olson. “It would allow ACHS to have their own team and would give students an opportunity to play if they haven’t before.”

Ice hockey and lacrosse aren’t the only sports that students wished ACHS added in the future. A survey conducted by the Tom Tom about which sports students would like added, resulted in swimming, diving, boys bowling and fencing as desired sports. Lacrosse was chosen by the students to be the next sport entering ACHS with hockey being the runner-up.

“Right now we are attempting to bring back activities, underclass sports levels and stipend positions that were lost in the budget cuts a few years back.  The intention is to have these restored by the 2015-2016 school year.  There was a district co-curricular expansion committee made up of parents, students, coaches and community members to look at the potential of expansion of the co-curricular programing once the budget cuts were restored.  This looked at the addition of coaches and levels to existing programs along with potential new sport programs.  In addition, I know there is already interest by staff members of adding new activity programing  in the future also, especially with students interested in achieving Cum Laude status looking for new clubs to join.  If a decision to expand occurs, my guess is that the information gathered by the committee along with interest brought by staff members  to begin new clubs will be reviewed and determinations will be made as to how to best use available resources to provide programming that will allow for the maximum participation of students in the district,” ACHS athletic director Steven Schoenfelder said.

Although these are all wishes, one dream will come true for football and soccer players at ACHS in the near future with a new stadium. The addition will include a new turf field and eight-lane track.

The future holds a lot for the prospective students of ACHS. With a new stadium with turf going into play next year, one may ask what is next for ACHS. Maybe future Sequoits will be able to have an access to a pool or even revive the gymnastics team.

Another addition of athletics going into play during the 2016-2017 school year is a new conference. With the name undecided, Antioch will be joined by new schools from the Fox Valley Conference like Grayslake North and Grayslake Central.

Athletics were, are and always will be a part of ACHS and what it means to be a Sequoit.