Fall sports have homecoming and a whole week of hype. Basketball has the White Out and Blue Out games. Spring sports, however, do not get the same all-school attention, with no major event, though Student Athletic Council (SAC) candidates have been running on creating one for years. 

On April 29, Francis Parker’s Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Soccer and Track teams all competed in various locations during the first ever Spring Showcase. The boys baseball team played at the  Elgin National Little League Fields, track and field had a meet at Chicago Christian High School, the girls soccer team played on the Lincoln Park Turf Field, the softball team played at Lincoln Park #2, the JV tennis team played at U-High, and the varsity played at Waveland. 

This year is the first of the Spring Showcase sports events. The Colonels’ Athletic Director Bobby Starks confirmed that the students and faculty have been preparing for the showcase for a while now. “This is the first year that we are able to pull it off,” Starks said. “This event has been in the works for a couple of years, but due to COVID we could not have it for the past two years.”

“The event is special because we can shine the spotlight on those student-athletes that have been working hard during the spring season,” Starks continued. “These student-athletes deserve a major event similar to what we offer during the Fall and Winter.”

On the day of the showcase at school, the faculty and students decided to introduce a students versus staff kickball game as a hype-up event. All of the non-participating athletes were buzzing in the audience as players narrowly avoided landing balls in the grandparents section. The students ended up winning the game, leaving the staff in defeat. 

Freshman Teddy McGuire competed in the Spring Showcase as a member of the varsity tennis team. “I really enjoyed my first ever spring showcase sports event,” McGuire said. “It was great, I had fun playing and watching my teammates’ matches. I loved the competitiveness and I will continue to participate in the showcase for the next three years.” 

A four year, two-season athlete, senior and Student Athletic Council Head Ava Rosenberg hopes that everyone at Parker will be a student athlete at some point. 

The Spring Showcase, which Rosenberg helped plan, is only one part of what she hopes is her legacy in student athletics. “To the underclassmen that are already student athletes, I hope they see me as a leader and as someone who works hard and hopefully it makes them want to work harder,” Rosenberg said. “I hope that these games and events we do with SAC really raise the spirit and hype around sports so that when I’m gone, girls field hockey or soccer has a 30 person crowd.” 

Senior Alexandra Ostrom, co-captain of the girls softball team, said that she “loved” the Spring Showcase. “Alex Fidler hit a grand slam in the second or third inning,” Ostrom said. “It was incredible. When she was up to bat, Elsie Rattner looked over at me and she said, ‘Imagine if Alex hits a grand slam right now,’ and minutes later, Alex was running into home. My favorite part of the season thus far.”

“I hope in years to come, the Spring Showcase gets bigger and gets more hype within the Parker community,” Ostrom said. “I also hope that all the sports can play at the same location on the same day so more people show up.”

Assistant Athletic Director Cynthia Klucznyk also wants to see the Spring Showcase get bigger. “We hope to continue these spring events more in the future.”