AHS held a Winter Banquet on Feb. 28. All winter athletes as well as their parents and coaches were invited to the annual award ceremony that celebrates the successes of the season and the hardwork of all the athletes.

Although the banquet acknowledged the effort of every player, it also had awards for individual players who showed the most dedication and persistence throughout the season.

The banquet provided a chance for those who work the hardest to get their glory moment on the podium in front of all athletes, families, and friends.

Besides the bigger and more serious awards, the winter sports banquet also allows each coach to give their athletes a specific award based on how they performed.

While handing out these awards,  a lot of coaches gave feedback back to their players on how the season went and what they can improve for the next one. The feedback allows the athlete to know what they need to improve on and what they did well.

The big award of the night is the Atomic Achievement Award. It is handed out for each level of sports. The winter coaches select the athlete that worked hard on the field and worked hard to maintain great grades for the Atomic Achievement Award.

Many student athletes work hard on the field and in class in order to win the award. The winners of the Atomic Achievement Award get a certificate and a lot of pride and support from fellow teammates and coaches.

Sophomore Dazon Harrison who played J.V. Basketball for the winter was one of the few to win and Atomic Achievement Award. “It was a great experience to recognize winter student athletes,” Harrison said. “I felt really proud of myself and thankful for winning the Atomic Achievement award. I was also happy when I took the flick with Coach Behne after the Banquet,” Harrison said.

Ben Padrutt, another athlete that won the Atomic achievement Award, was really excited and honored to hear that he won. It is a great achievement to win the award. It is one of the highest awards given to athletes at the winter banquet.

Padrutt is a senior this year and has done swim all four years of his high school career and has attended many winter banquets.

“”The Winter Banquet went well, as usual, this year,” Padrutt said except this year, Pradutt won the Atomic Achievement Award.“”I was really happy. I knew a lot of previous players who won it. It feels great to be apart of them. The greatest part of the Banquet is when Swim was alone and every swimmer got their own award. It was very fun.”

After the team announcements and awards were given to all the teams, the individual teams split up to have more intimate award ceremonies.

In the individual team setting, more personal awards that are based off of the players’ personalities are given out to each member on the team. The coach then recaps

the season.

These individual gatherings are a great opportunity for the teammates to discuss the season and have fun doing it.

Although the banquet is often viewed as a positive activity, not everyone was satisfied with the event.

Sophomore Devin Gill, who played J.V. basketball this winter and also plays quarterback for the football team, had some differing opinions about the winter banquet.“”I do not like the winter banquet. I think it is  boring,” Gill said. “So far, I had no great memories of the winterbanquet. Hopefully, next year, I can find the winter banquet better than these past two years,” Gill said.

Not everyone was dissatisfied with the event.

Sophomore Mohamed Kanu, J.V. Basketball player, had his own positive opinion about the winter banquet. “ “I felt the winter banquet was very nice and fun. It gave me a chance to interact with my J.V. teammates and other student-athletes who attended the winter banquet,” Kanu said. “I also enjoyed it when I got a chance to talk with my coach. It allowed me to understand what I need to improve entering next season and what I did well ending this season,” Kanu said.

The athletes who attended the event had many mixed feelings about it. Despite the mixed feelings, overall the banquet provided the coaches and students  with a great opportunity to assess and reward their efforts from the season.

It also informed parents of the athletes about the activites their children do and meet the coaches that spend a lot of time with their kids.

The banquet was a great way to end the long winter season and acknowledge the athletes that worked hard to excel.

“This winter I did two sports and the winter banquet made it worth it” sophomore Alejandro Casquino said. “I enjoyed the fact that me and my friends and teammates could reflect on funny moments that happened during the season  and talk about the season and enjoyable moments.”

The Atomic Achievement winners

Emily Pope – Track & Field

Jacob Weber – Track & Field

Sarah Shamdeen – Girls Basketball

Sarah Hawkins – Girls Basketball

Nia Lewis – Girls Basketball

Dontae Johnson – Boys Basketball

Dazon Harris – Boys Basketball

Anthony Marnell – Boys Basketball

Kayla Velasquez – Swim & Dive

Ben Padrutt – Swim & Dive