By Tyler Park ’14, Sports Section Editor

In recent years, Newark Academy has made dramatic upgrades to its athletic facilities.  With the addition of Kacur Field and the newly re-christened Coursen Field, our fields are second to none in Essex County.  These impressive facilities have created a myriad of benefits for our athletes, and one of the most exciting developments is the introduction of regular night games into the schedule. This fall, a few of our athletic teams, including boys’ and girls’ soccer teams as well as the football team, got to play games under the lights, in front of large and enthusiastic crowds.  This created a uniquely exciting atmosphere, as the Minutemen played a number of close contests against various rivals.

Many of the athletes who participated expressed strong appreciation for the benefits of playing night games.  Playing under the lights can evoke an atmosphere similar to the one enjoyed by professional athletes around the world.  This inspired many of our Minutemen athletes to give their very best effort in front of the home crowd.  “I think that the atmosphere of night games increases the levels of intensity and adrenaline for any type of team athlete,” said Abby Whelan ’14, star midfielder and co-captain of the girls’ soccer team.

In the past, night games have been mostly a feature of the basketball schedule.  Over the last few years, the Minuteman faithful have been treated to a number of memorable moments in the Kirby Gym on Friday nights, most notably the Newark Academy upset of Montclair Kimberley Academy back in 2012.  With the addition of the new turf fields and accompanying lights, these moments can now be enjoyed by several other teams.  This season, the Minuteman football team earned an unforgettable win over Dwight-Englewood under the Coursen Field lights, when sophomore Quarterback Elias Neibart hit junior wide receiver Gebereal Baitey for a long pass play before Neibart scored the game-winning touchdown.  Senior captain Jai Ghose, who unfortunately missed the Dwight-Englewood game with an injury, believes that the team benefited from the atmosphere under the lights.  “Speaking as a member of the football team, it gets us pumped to play. It definitely helped us beat Dwight-Englewood,” he said.

One of the drawbacks for athletes playing in night games is the large gap between the end of school, at 2:25 PM, and the beginning of a prime-time game, typically around 7:00 PM.  However, our athletes focused on the positives of these idle hours.  “It’s certainly not ideal to have to wait four hours for the beginning of the game.  But we had a nice dinner as a team, a nice warm-up, and a thorough strategy session to prepare for the game,” said Ghose.  A rising star soccer player, Aman Patil ’17, believes that the gap had a positive effect on his team.  “The gap between the end of school and our games affected us in a positive way because it gave us time to transition from our school mindset to our playing and motivated mindset,” he said.

There is no doubt that night games draw larger crowds at Newark Academy. On Friday and Saturday nights, students typically have less academic pressure on their shoulders, and they are often ready to come out to the fields, relax, and support their friends and peers.  Thus, night games are great for athletes and fans alike, and they are one of the most popular additions to the Minuteman athletic department.  While the soccer and football teams have already reaped these benefits, athletes are hoping that there will be more night games in the winter and spring.  In high school sports, there is nothing more exciting than playing under the lights.