While from the outside, the cross country team may seem like one of the tamer sports on campus, but nothing is wilder than their pre-game rituals. From electric pre-game speeches by former BH Alum and now assistant coach Jake Decaprio ‘16 (aka the “Blue Bolt”) to barking at the starting line, the Belmont Hill Cross Country team makes sure the rest of the ISL know it’s there. “I don’t know what we’d do without our Blue Bolt,” says Captain Charlie Donahue ’20, “he just knows how to get us going.”
Over towards the grass field, the soccer team has a different way of doing things. Before heading out, they like to gather in a dark locker room, giving all attention to whoever has something to say. Cole Mathews, Hamza Shemzu, James Cahill, or Erick Silva are reportedly the usual suspects, and after a rallying pregame speech, they take the field. “This is extremely important for team morale,” Captain Mathew Goncalves ’20 says, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
With one of the rowdiest teams on campus comes some of the rowdiest pre-game rituals of all. Similar to soccer, the football team also likes to gather in their dark locker room and call upon teammates for motivational speeches. But sometimes, it’s more than a teammate that steps up. “The only thing that fires us up more than the purge remix is Coach Butler’s pregame speech,” says Captain Jack McHugh ’20, noting the importance of coach participation. After a speech like that, they erupt from our beloved Jordan to the horns of the purge, ready to take on whatever team might stand in their way.
