Members of sports teams are encouraged to work together during sports events, but some teams also stress the importance of team bonding outside of practices and games.

Junior Megan Stanislowski of Wall plays on the Wall High School varsity volleyball team and considers her teammates some of her closest friends, due to the team activities they do. Her team goes out to breakfast after tryouts and holds pasta parties periodically. She said this helps her team get closer because they get to know all the members of the team outside of the court or field.

“It’s a small team to begin with so you all get really close with each other,” Stanislowski said.

Senior and varsity field hockey and lacrosse player Riley Mullan of Long Branch also feels her teams at Long Branch High School have become close groups of friends. Like Stanislowski, Mullan said that time spent together in practice allows friendships to form.

“We start practices in June and our season doesn’t start until September, so we have a lot of bonding over the summer,” Mullan said.

Mullan and her teammates have also done “friendship building activities, like we did at Thompson Park” to make friends and learn to work as a team.

Despite how close she is to her teammates, Stanislowski said there is a negative to being part of a team at Wall while she attends CHS. She feels she misses out on activities that go on during school hours, like team lunches and wearing team shirts to school.

“I still wear [my team shirt], but it’s not the same as when everyone wears it,” Stanislowski said.

Mullan said that she is still able to maintain a close relationship with her team despite the different school.

“I still go to the pep rallies, and I still try and involve myself as much as possible. Three out of four of our captains go to a vocational school so I guess we’re just all used to it,” Mullan said.