Hello Sentinel Fan Club!

On Tuesday, March 19, spring sports were officially kicked off with a guest speaker. Sister Lisa Maurer from the St. Scholastica Monastery came in to talk to the students who are starting spring, SMA activities. Sister Lisa talked for about 30 minutes, and she included student readers in her presentation. Our students read short stories to help us understand the key areas that we can really emphasize in our development to become better team members. Some of key points she shared with us were:

God is using all that you are learning in your sports and activities for you to be who and how God dreams you to be.

God is using you to build SMA into what it will be for years to come….even 100 years from now.
Privilege comes with responsibility.
Everything we do is in God’s providential love; God can make our world better bit by bit through us.

To complete the presentation, we all read “An Athlete’s Prayer” together and left the presentation really thinking about the opportunities that activities provide to grow in our faith and in our development as virtuous human beings!

Chris Lemke, Activities Director, Principal at Stella Maris Academy Jr./Sr. High campus

Spring is gearing up to be quite busy with multiple sports sharing gym space, students rehearsing for the coming musical, and everyone waiting for the spring precipitation to melt off so we can get back outside! If any of these activities sound like something you want to join, it's not too late! Click on the links in the titles.

Softball

There is a new coach on the softball field, Jeffery Dieryck. Coach Dieryck spent a few years coaching softball for 12-14 year olds followed by 22 years as assistant head coach at Denfeld. His coaching history also extends to football and hockey, both at Denfeld. So, why coach for Stella Maris? Coach Dieryck likes a challenge and hopes to put together a team that has fun playing and learning softball. “I like working with younger kids to see the smile on their faces when they learn and do well. [It] makes me happy to do that,” says Dieryck.

Softball is in its second year at SMA. The girls are competing at the Junior Varsity level as of the start of the season which began March 11th. Coach Dieryck wants to, “teach the girls to play together as a team, [whether] winning or losing games.” His ultimate goal is having a varsity-level softball program, “competing against other schools and holding our own,” by next year.

Track and Field

Practice was supposed to start Monday, March 25th...but, snow! The coaches are looking forward to getting going and a great 2024 season. The first meet is April 23rd.

Trap - Clay Pigeon

Registration with USA Clay Shooting is now closed. This year’s SMA team consists of four competitors.

Baseball

Baseball is working hard to establish culture and team chemistry. Daily practice is new to most of the players but it offers an opportunity to focus on fundamentals well before games start in May. Coaches talk about supporting teammates regardless of their level of success, and they never view anything as a failure but rather an opportunity to learn. The players are being taught baseball IQ, skills, and concepts that are new to them and head coach, Joe Gingerelli, is incredibly proud of how well they've grasped everything the coaching staff has thrown at them! They are anxiously waiting to get outside!

Boys’ Tennis

Boys Tennis began on March 25. Coach Reier is looking forward to a warmer season so that the team can get on the courts much sooner this year. With 39 4th-10th grade players, the program continues to grow and this year will have a varsity team!

Boys’ and Girls’ Golf

The Stella Maris Golf team is currently meeting and discussing rules and proper golf etiquette. We plan on getting into some fitness training in the weight room starting this week. We are also anticipating the delivery of some equipment that will help us practice our golf skills indoors.

Musical

We are more than halfway through rehearsals and the kids are doing an amazing job preparing for our first SMA Spring Musical! Our cast is made up of 39 students from 6th - 10th grade. Students are practicing after school 3-4 days a week and many of our students are involved in other activities as well as the musical. The students are very dedicated to this project and I am enjoying seeing each one of them shine in their roles. The show will run Thursday, April 25th, Friday, April 26th and Saturday, April 27th @ 6:30 pm. The musical will be performed at Holy Rosary School, 2802 E 4th Street, Duluth. Tickets are on sale now!

Meet Emma Morton, a 9th grade student and softball player at Stella Maris Academy. Emma was chosen for this highlight because of her enthusiasm and dedication to the sport of softball last season.

Tell me about yourself.

I live with my mom, dad, and grandpa on a small, just-started, hobby farm. One of my more “unique” hobbies is my passion for writing and editing creative fiction/works. I also ride and train horses with my neighbors. They just had a filly birthed last April, so preparing to break the foal and ensuring she is ready for a farrier has been a challenging but exciting adventure. Basic facts about myself include my love of reading; writing; walking in the woods; and exploring small shops, bakeries, or tourist attractions around Duluth. I also just started a small get together with some of my friends where we meet every Saturday or Sunday and host a Bible study.

Why did you join the softball team?

I joined the softball team because of how much I enjoyed being a part of the Stella Maris team last year. I also wanted to improve myself physically and I thought it would be a good way to simply learn how to handle a busy (but realistic) schedule that could mimic one I might have in the near future as I start living more independently.

What are you most looking forward to this season?

I am looking forward to improving both as an individual and as a team under our new head coach, Jeff Dieryck, and assistant coach, Frank Bucar. I think they will really help form our team into one worthy of competition, one where other teams will leave a game saying: “Stella Maris Academy… they sure are becoming a team that can hold their own.”

On a personal level, I am looking forward to becoming a better infielder, catcher, and overall team player. I can become competitive and a little controlling, so letting the team work as a unified group with equal responsibilities can be hard for me. I think I will really get to know my teammates well and I can’t wait to form that inseparable team bond with them as we progress through this season.

What do you think the greatest challenge might be this season?

I think really putting the pressure on and creating the urge to push ourselves both as a team and individually may be a challenge for some people. A softball team’s reliance on each of its players is both its strength and weakness; like a fine tuned machine, if one gear is out of place, the entire machine is broken. However, if well oiled, the machine is effective and efficient in its job. Our machine is not yet completely oiled, but it is in the process of improving.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how our team is working hard not only to become a good team, but a great team. With the apparent effort each player puts in, the improvement is evident. Specifically, the catchers and pitchers are really polishing their work under the firm hands of our coaches. The pitchers are gaining both accuracy and precision, while the catchers are working hard to never let a stray ball get past them, no matter what. Although I can’t speak for the rest of the players, I have heard they are steadily improving.

Tell me about the softball team.

This year’s competing softball team is made up of junior high and high school members. The younger girls only join the rest of the team twice a week. They do not compete. The team starts a practice by gathering equipment, then praying and doing their stretches, the latter of which will steadily get more complicated as the season progresses. As of this moment, stretches are lead by the coaches, but once the team captains (high school players only) are chosen, they will take over some of the coaches’ current roles, including leading stretches. To finish the warm-ups, the team runs four laps around either the gym or field. The players will then choose partners to throw to. The throwing distance will steadily increase as the players loosen their arms. As of this week, the coaches are enacting the “Perfect Throws” policy, which means if any player misses a catch or throws badly, both them and their partner will do either five to ten sit-ups or five to ten push-ups. After throwing, the team will split. The pitchers and catchers will practice together while the rest of the team either works on batting, infield, outfield, or exercises to improve on different specified areas. This will take the rest of the practice, although on some days, the entire team works on batting together. There is only so much the team can do in the gym until the snow clears and the field can be prepared for the upcoming softball season.

Little Flowers

The Little Flowers meeting in March began with shouts of, “The Sisters are here!” Sisters Magdalena and Magnificat joined us to help the girls learn more about St. Monica and the virtue of hope. They also taught the group some new songs and spent time with the girls, answering questions such as, “What color is Heaven?”

Our leaders also took advantage of the unseasonably warm afternoon to bring the Little Flowers outside to do some planting. We HOPE the plants are thriving!

We have a couple of meetings left, but the end of the year is quickly approaching. As we start to prepare for next year, more leaders will be needed to accommodate our growing group. If you feel called to help lead a grade level group (PreK-3) reach out to Emily Patrick (erpatrick5@gmail.com).

Article and photo courtesy of Emily Patrick

Sentinels in Motion (March 25, 2024)