When flowers bloom, spring sports resume, as baseball, soccer, golf, and lacrosse athletes prepare for the upcoming seasons.  Athletes ready themselves for the endless off-season sprints, lifts, strokes, and swings.

Baseball

Despite losing a plethora of seniors from last year’s sweet 16 team, the NC baseball team’s hopes remain high for the upcoming season.

“I’m excited about being back out there and I think we’re going to have a good season ahead of us,” junior second baseman Shane Wiltsey said.

Senior Sam Fulkerson leads NCs young pitching rotation, while junior Will Stallings will catch and hold down the number two pitching position.

“We’ve got some new kids looking to make an impact this year that haven’t had that chance before. We’re a young team with a lot of potential to be good,” said Stallings.

The outfield is manned by juniors Andrew Eiswerth (CF) and Tre Kirklin (LF). With right field up for grabs, sophomores Devonte Cameron and AJ Diaz will battle throughout winter workouts to earn the position .

“I expect us to play with high energy and motivate others to be successful,” Eiswerth said regarding his outfield.

Soccer

The NC soccer team, led by senior Zach Connolly and junior Marco Desouza, also looks to remain competitive in a tough region. After a solid sweet 16 appearance in the 2014 playoffs, the men’s team wants to go further this year. Juniors Avery Cobb and Gio Estrada must step up and fill the shoes of lost seniors to return to the playoffs once more.

“We want to beat Harrison and win region,” Connolly said. “We have the skill set, we just have to work more as a team.”

Judy Stubblefield

Lacrosse

Students prepare for the upcoming lacrosse season with conditioning during the week. Conditioning whips the students in shape after a lengthy hiatus and gets them ready to practice on the field.

Following the most successful season in school history, with one more win than losses, the Warriors look to channel last year’s momentum into this year, despite losing some remarkable names.

“We lost some key players, but I think we will do fine this year and hopefully keep improving,” sophomore Tanner Burgan said.

This year, the Warriors feel hungry for more wins. Despite their strongest season ever last year, this year they want to improve.

Golf

With golf tryouts next month, North Cobb golfers have begun to recapture their swings. Despite the cold, windy weather, it is vital to get out on the course and become familiar with the outside atmosphere, a vital tool in golf.

“I’m trying to go out to the course as much as possible with this bad weather. But my expectations for this year are to improve my golf game and win some matches,” sophomore Aiden Gulley said.

Last year, the golf team’s performance remained average, but the previous players claim this year will represent a vast improvement.