By Zach Persing ’15, Staff Writer

It is almost that time of year again! Newark Academy Winter season athletes are just days away from starting postseason competition in their respective sports.  State Tournaments are extremely important to high school athletes throughout the nation, not only because they eventually determine champions, but also because teams have the opportunity to face out-of-conference opponents whom they may never have played before.  Additionally, players must treat every game with the “win or go home” attitude, as one loss in the postseason will mean the start of the offseason.  All of these factors combine to create great intrigue for state playoff events.

Given the fact that postseason competition is so drastically different from regular season competition, it is easy to understand that some athletes might approach the postseason with a different mentality.  Jordyn Norris, a senior at Newark Academy and a member of the girl’s swim team, echoed this sentiment.  Norris said, “After working so hard for an entire season, there is definitely pressure when you are one loss from the season coming to an end.”  Whether that pressure propels athletes to greatness or causes them to fold is certainly arguable, but it is clear that the pressure can in fact play a major role.  Sam Wood ’15, a member of the Minutemen basketball team, offered a similar opinion, saying, “Playoff games obviously make athletes feel pressure, so it is important to be mentally prepared.”  Wood and the Minutemen will put that sentiment to the test in the upcoming Non-Public B North Playoffs.

Some athletes find that additional pressure can detract from an otherwise good performance, so they try to ignore said pressure.  Lyle Poisson, a senior at Newark Academy and a C-rated fencer is a proponent of this philosophy.  In a recent interview he said,  “I try to prepare the exact same way for every single bout regardless of whether it is part of the regular season or the post season.  I try to not let the pressure affect me in a negative way.”  While some may adopt the contrasting mindset that they can feed off of the extra energy that state tournaments bring, Lyle’s stance is certainly valid and speaks volumes about his confidence in his own fencing abilities.  Lyle’s coach, Ivanka Lucceheti, frequently tells her fencers, “focus on the current bout and nothing else.”  As the fencing team prepares to face postseason challenges, it will be fascinating to see whether this mentality provides a path to success.

In all sports at all levels, the postseason is undoubtedly a time when athletes create their legacies.  They can either rise to the occasion and achieve glory, or fold under the pressure and face a brutally long offseason faced with several “what ifs” and a great deal of regret.  The upcoming winter postseason could be very promising for the Minutemen, as the girls’ basketball team and boys’ foil fencing squad in particular are expected to do quite well.  In addition, individual standouts including senior wrestler Pat Gerish ’14 and freshman fencer Shane Iverson ’17 figure to compete for championships on the individual level.  Regardless of what actually plays out, Newark Academy athletics is all but guaranteed a postseason full of excitement and a high level of competition for all participating Minutemen.