The clock hits zero in the final game of the year. The season has ended and they will never see the field again. Many seniors will go on to college after their senior season and never play their sport again.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, almost 8 million senior students currently participate in high school sports, but only 480,000 students participate at the collegiate level. This means that less than one percent of students will play in college sports. Not to mention, about 23 percent of kids will never see playing time in college.

It’s not just the dream of playing in college that makes it hard to leave the sport, but also the friends you make in the process. It’s hard knowing that you might never talk to them again after the season. In order to understand how hard it is on seniors, Athletic Director Brandon Wheeler shared some heartfelt moments.

“The end of the season always ends in tears, even if you win the whole thing,” Wheeler said. “You tear up because it’s over, but it’s the sense of finality and the sense that their competing days are over.”

When a season ends, it’s the last time a senior will be able to play with their teammates. That’s the harsh reality that varsity lacrosse goalie Patrick Koeppen ’23 will face in a few short weeks.

“It’s been a lot of pressure to do good and win the games you’re supposed to,” Koeppen said. “You only have a couple of games left, and I know it’s ending, so it really pushes me and my teammates to win.”

Leaving your spring sport, and going off to college has been going on for a long time. The throwing coach for the track team, Steven Weidman, said that continuing to run track in college was a necessity.

“Scholarships were a big deal for me when going to college, I decided to go to college for Track but without the scholarship money I wouldn’t be able to,” Weidman said. “20 percent of throwers I’ve coached go onto the collegiate level, that’s not saying they started in college. Of the kids that got into college, I would say five percent start in college that I’ve coached.”