The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

Always proud to show my ‘Eagle Pride’

(Coach Ross Bridges fires up student section at a recent basketball game. Video courtesy of ELIZABETH COPELAN)

By Thomas Traynham, Gazebo Guest Columnist

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Thomas Traynham

Le Kevin Smith. Trevor Jenkins. Ashley Kirk. Michael Lemon. Marquez Lemon. Virginia Hirshey. David O’Shaughnessy. Austin Simmons. O’Showen Williams. Quintez Cephus. Mary Wilson Avant.

These are just some of the athletes I have been lucky to watch in my 14 years as a student at Stratford Academy.

I cherish the football games my parents would take me to when I was a kid, most notably the 2004 state football championship against FPD.

I remember Quez (Marquez Lemon) running the ball every play in the “wildcat” formation for my favorite coach, Rodney Collins.

I remember watching the Sweet 16 basketball tournament against Mount Vernon the year “DO” (David O’Shaughnessy) was a senior, and watching Coach John Paul Gaddy lead that team to compete against one of the best high school basketball teams I have ever seen.

From my first steps on the campus as a 4-year-old, I knew what Eagle Pride meant.  From the long lines for tattoos on Friday mornings to the awesome dreams of Coach Mark Farriba, Stratford athletics has always been a big part of my life.

In middle school, I would go to basketball games and wish for the day when I could stand in the student section for the first time.

Being in the student section during basketball games will always be near the top of my list for my favorite memories in high school. My sophomore year, I was in a student section that watched a state championship team.

Now, as “Pep Club” president, I get to lead it with my friends my senior year.

When we have big games against rival schools like FPD or Tattnall, the atmosphere is electric, and the memories are hard to beat.

I encourage everyone to come out to the games to see the fun we have.

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Student show their ‘Eagle Pride’ at a recent home basketball game. (Photo by LEAH DAVIS, Gazebo Staff)
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Always proud to show my ‘Eagle Pride’