This school year, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Bishop McCort Catholic High School have joined forces to create stronger athletic teams through co-ops with football, boys soccer, girls soccer, and junior high soccer. Even the cheerleading squads from both schools have come together to root on the football team. The process of bringing the students together on these teams has been nearly seamless and is a rewarding experience for all.
The girls soccer team has truly embraced the concept of coming together as one. Coach Cree invited Coach Cypher to join him on the staff, both bringing different skills to teach the student athletes.
BC senior and soccer captain Alayna Przybys commented, “Honestly, the merge started out a little rough. It was all so new, and it was hard for both teams to get used to at first. With the help of our amazing coaches, Coach Cree, Coach Morgan, Coach Maria, and Coach Maddy, we were able to get over that pretty fast. I think once we got it in our heads that we are one team and not two separate teams, we could move forward and actually become a team. The great thing was that we all got along so quickly! We went from strangers to friends to a family in no time at all. It’s been such an honor to work with such an upbeat group of girls who love the sport as much as I do! I wouldn’t have wanted my senior season any other way!” BM senior and captain Kiersten Way said, “I would say that it was a difficult transition, but I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, wouldn’t change it for the world, because I made the best friendships and best friends!”
The connections that the students are making goes beyond the athletic field. They have not only shown great maturity in accepting others onto their teams, but they are developing friendships with each other. BC senior soccer player Nick Smith commented that, “It has been nice to develop a positive relationship with kids from another school in something that we are all passionate about. I am always happy to create new friendships with people from other schools, not just those at BCCHS.”
The communities of both schools have united together to support the student athletes. The “Unity in Faith” Night for the football game at Saint Francis University against Greater Johnstown was a great success. Not only did the team come out with a win, but they did so in blue uniforms in support of the Huskies on the team. The large crowd was full of people wearing crimson and red, and blue and white. Father John Byrnes, rector of the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel in Loretto, a BCCHS grad, and former faculty member at BMCHS commented, “Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever expected to see this happen. This is great for the students and the schools to work together so well!”
As they often do, these amazing students from both schools have not only taken on this new challenge but have embraced it fully. Bishop McCort sophomore girls soccer player Angel Kutsick remarked, “I’m so happy that we got to meet people from another Catholic school, and now I am very close friends with most of them.” Bishop Carroll junior girls soccer player Lauren Long added, “All of us have made new friends in this big step and with these friendships, we have been finding new ways to work with each other on and off the field, finding a new flow to the game.”
These new friendships that each student speaks about, are great foundations for the rest of their lives, and have been formed through faith. “This entire process has been about faith,” said Bishop Carroll Head of School Stephen Cotchen. “From the moment these ideas were conceived, it was done so in the faith that we are doing what is right for our students. Everyone has faith that God will lead us in the right direction. I could not be prouder of how our students have progressed and grown through these co-ops.”