The amount of high caliber athletes at Williston is very impressive, to stand out in this competitive field is even more of an honor. Throughout the schoolyear, the students and faculty receive a weekly email of Athletes of the Week.

Athletes at Williston perform at one of the most competitive levels in New England. Competing at this level, the New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) is already rewarding, but to be recognized is something even more special.

Coach Lapan, the Strength and Conditioning coach at Williston, is in charge of sending out these emails.

Sam Milnes, a senior this year, shared his memory of being named Athlete of the Week his sophomore year. “I still remember reading the email when it came out,” Milnes said. “I was new here and I was being recognized for hard work during my soccer season.” Milnes also plays hockey.

This recognition can be a goal for a lot of student athletes. Sam Milnes said it only pushed him to be a better athlete and the recognition around campus was something special too.

“My friends joked around with me, but I really was proud of it. I think any recognition makes people happy,” Milnes said.

Brian Soder had great things to say about the award as well. “I was young and new to campus when I was Athlete of the Week.” Soder said, “It almost welcomed me to my teammates, and people around school wanted to talk to me about it. This also pushed me on the field for my soccer season as it was a push to only do better.”

For the most part, every team will submit a name of one of their players every week. Some weeks though, there may only be a few athletes in the email, but this could be a good thing. Instead of feeling the pressure to recognize a person from a specific team every week, it only keeps the meaning behind the award that much more special.

Being recognized as a top talent, or performer, is no easy task here. It keeps the Williston community hungry for success, and the desire to strive to be better athletes and teammates in general.