Top 3 Underrated Teams at Jenks and Top 3 Reasons You Should See Them

By: Chloe Graves

A tactical tackle, the whisper of a wack, a daring dribble; all of these are common actions of many little-miss-not-so-popular sports. In a world dictated by whichever sport yells the loudest, hits the hardest, and asserts the most dominance, many passive sports get overlooked.

Looking back on recent events, when was the last time someone asked, “Hey! Are you going to the wrestling match on Friday night? It’s supposed to be the toughest match of the year.” Or maybe, “Dude, the swim team’s meeting against Union! We have GOT to go watch!”

If one of those phrases has been thrown in your direction in the past month or two, please alert me ASAP because I will willingly give you a dime. Maybe two. Yet, the problem is not the sport being “boring” or taking up “too much time”, it is simply not as popular due to being not as publicized and appreciated.

In this article are the top three underrated teams at Jenks and three reasons you should go cheer

them on!

Boys Wrestling

The empty wrestling mats where the Jenks Boys Wrestling team practices.

Wrestling: pure will and grit. The whole point of wrestling is to see who can push themselves farther, and who can test their limits the most. It is not just a display of athleticism but of character overall.

The objective of wrestling is to pin the opponent's shoulder blades down on the mat for about three consecutive seconds. Wrestlers will start on their feet, facing each other about three feet apart until they are permitted to tackle one another. These matches are split into two periods, each about three minutes with a thirty-second break in between, and take place in competitions or tournaments where the wrestlers are on teams. While wrestlers compete individually, earning their own points, the team with the most wins is how the game is won.

“It’s physical,” Junior Jenks wrestler, Joshua Henderson stated. “It’s the most conditioning sport of all.”

Wrestling is not for the weak. It isn’t only a physically rough game, the sport is mentally and emotionally challenging, forcing those brave enough to dare to compete to address their biggest mental blocks and find a way around them. So, without further ado, here are three reasons to go watch wrestling this season.

#1. The Hype.

Picture this: two opponents face to face, calculating their next attack and attempting to take the other person down. Tension crackles through the air, thick enough it could be cut with a knife, fans cheer in the close quarters, echoing off the ceiling and right back down to the speculators, sweat drips down the side of the wrestler's faces, a physical display of the energy circulating; it’s the final match and winner takes all.

That kind of energy is a constant factor in wrestling. Without fail, you can expect there to be a loud, noisy, hype atmosphere and a consistent display of pure heart on the mats.

“Everybody is hype. Like mid-match when you’re watching, everybody’s hype and the environment goes crazy,” Henderson said.

If you're worried about showing up to a wrestling match and it being boring, you have been buying into the wrong misconceptions for way too long. Everything about it is so eventful and exciting that you might get an adrenaline rush just from watching. The hype is something that can always be counted on when going to see a wrestling match.

#2. Push Past Anything

“When everybody’s hype, it’s something that encourages us to push ourselves past anything,” Henderson revealed, regarding the level of energy in the room.

Let’s face the facts: the more people, the better the atmosphere is bound to be, eventually developing into a snowball effect. If there are more people, there’s more hype, giving more encouragement, making the wrestlers perform better, and in turn resulting in something for fans to get even more excited about. If just ten more students showed up to the matches, the energy would see a clear spike.

Not only that but when a person is being watched, it is only human nature for them to want to do something impressive. If more people are coming to the matches, it is going to encourage the wrestlers to be more aggressive, avoiding the passive calls (whenever a wrestler is too timid), giving them better odds at scoring a point in their period and therefore winning their overall match.

Isn’t it strange to think about the difference you could make in the wrestler's performance? I encourage you, to go support your wrestling peers! They will feed off of the encouragement indefinitely.

#3. No Contact… Quite the Opposite

Whenever a fight breaks loose, a crowd comes rushing with flashing phones, curious eyes, and craning necks. Every. Single. Time. It doesn’t matter where nor when, if people are swinging, a flock will follow shortly.

Subtract a couple of swings and a few dirty moves here and there and maybe, just maybe, you’ll begin to do something that resembles wrestling. To sum it up, wrestling is a controlled tackle, so why wouldn’t you want to bring your flashing cameras and anticipating grins to watch a more concise and clean fight?

“The other sports that get hype are like no contact at all,” Henderson shared. “I feel like wrestling is the most physical, hype sport you can do.”

The physicality of the sport brings out a particular raw desire to win that is unknown to any of the other sports, something that not only is entertaining to watch but can even be inspiring. Even though we as human beings may be more comfortable with the familiarity of popular sports, it is easy to look past that when there’s something as exciting as wrestling going on.

2. Girls Golf

The Golf Club of Oklahoma's empty course where many tournaments are held for Jenks Girl's Golf.

Photo credit: GolfClubOklahoma.com

Golf. The first thing that comes to mind for most people when golf is mentioned is most likely old people and country clubs. While yes, that is true, those two things are both very commonly involved with the sport, there is so much more to it than the stereotypes that we’ve come up with, prior to even attempting to attend a tournament.

Golf is extremely difficult and requires a trained skill set that only is acquired through tremendous amounts of hard work and dedication. A player has to perfect their aim, power, and precision to reach the perfect swing, something that doesn’t happen overnight.

To sum golf up, a player has a club and is attempting to hit the ball into the target hole. A course is standardly about eighteen holes and golfing through the course is considered one round (typically players will only go about one round). The sport is tracked through under or over par, which is the number of swings that a golfer should have to take to get the ball in the hole, therefore making under par good because you have completed the hole in fewer shots than expected. The lower the score the better, making the negative numbers ideal and gaining points a bad thing.

Golf is unique to any other sport available in all of the aspects including the environment, objective, and general function of the game, making it a very interesting sport to watch. However, if you need more convincing, here are three reasons why you should attend the Jenks Trojan girls golf team tournaments.

#1. Being Supportive is for Cool People Only

Supportive: providing emotional support and overall encouragement. By supporting someone, you are automatically encouraging and quite frankly, helping ease their emotions.

According to a study done by Monash University, even when a team has a home advantage, if there is a limited crowd present, teams win only 50.6% of the time. However, if a crowd is there to encourage their team, that win percentage spiked nearly 8%, giving them odds closer to a 60% chance of winning. By showing up to a golf tournament, you’re automatically impacting their performance, being supportive, and acting how a real Jenks Trojan should.

Sophia Lefler, a Jenks Varsity girls golf player, spoke very positively about her team and how it is not a sport that should be overlooked or underrated in any aspect.

“People should come support because it’s golf you know,” she giggled. “They just need to show support.”

It’s as plain and simple as it sounds. It’s golf! The players always appreciate when someone shows up to watch them. It will not go unnoticed.

#2. Rising Action

Girl’s golf is in it this year. For as much as they’ve been training and working, it is bound to pay off when it truly matters. Their focus is an unmatched force that could carry them far enough in a tournament, even alone. It’s something that is both admirable and entertaining to watch, definitely not a feat to be missed.

“I think we really have potential,” Lefler revealed. “We’re not like for sure going to win, I mean we’ll have to play really well, but we have a chance.”

While it isn’t indefinite for anyone to win, the season is not until the spring, giving the golf team time to work out their rough edges and smooth out all of the bumps. The chances of them improving are nearly 100%, allowing them to be completely prepared to win. They are simply in a period of rising action.

Not to mention they have momentum. At the Meadowbrook Country Club in Tulsa, only last year, the Lady Trojans snagged the state championship title, shooting a 303-311-614. This no

doubt has spurred them on, giving them confidence for their upcoming season, and a solid chance at winning.

#3. Environment? Chill.

When the word golf is thrown around, I doubt you think of sweat, blood, and tears, clawing to get to a ball, career-ending injuries, or any other extremities. It’s a little more like classical music, high tea, peace and quiet, and beautiful landscapes.

Many people don’t attend sporting functions because they can be overstimulated by the loud noises, quick pace, and intense environment. However, the environment at a golf course? Chill. It’s relaxed and peaceful, yet not lacking the tension of competition in the air, making it a fun and calm way to be entertained.

“I feel like people don’t come because they just like to cheer loudly in other sports,” Lefler stated. “But it’s still fun. Like you get to do a little golf clap,” Shortly after displaying her best golf clap; a short, sweet, and gentle little noise.

The golf claps scattered around the course, the gentle wacks of the balls, and the quiet buzz of golf carts whirring around the trails, make a perfect little melody. Golfing stays entertaining but doesn’t feel overwhelming and is a perfect function to attend on a spring Saturday this year.

3. Girls Basketball

The empty court at the Frank Herald Field House.

Basketball is a fairly simple game. The overall objective is to get the ball in the net by shooting it, earning a team two to three points. However, the ball can not be picked up and carried at any time on the court, it must travel either through passing or dribbling (bouncing repeatedly on the floor). Whoever ends up with the most baskets scored is the winner of the game.

Imagine this, it’s a crisp Friday night in January; the year has just begun. Shoes are squeaking on the freshly cleaned court, balls are bouncing on the ground and swishing through the nets, people are shouting, and music is blasting out of the speakers as the Lady Trojans warm up for their game.

Captains of each of the teams shake hands as well as the refs, the national anthem and alma mater are sung, the players huddle up, and the buzzer sounds with a jolt. It’s time to play the game. Not only that, but it’s the game of the season as they are opposing their rivals. The starters circle for tip-off, energy is high, but fans are what could be a determining factor. The players look to their beloved student section, hoping to see waving and cheering, and instead are greeted with emptiness. Complete silence.

Any team needs support to succeed, but if that’s not reason enough to come to support your Jenks Girls basketball team, here are three additional reasons to come out and cheer!

#1. Do Better!

For so long, it has felt like Jenks girls basketball has been overlooked and neglected. Not only JV games are dismissed, but varsity is as well, and this has historically been a pattern at Jenks. For the longest time, there has been a lack of support and therefore energy at the girl's basketball games.

“Oh students,” Teylor Smith, a Junior on Varsity for the Jenks Lady Trojans questioned in disbelief. “I’d say we usually only have about three to show up.”

Even though Smith proceeded to give a little giggle after that shocking statement, it does not take away from the lack of support given to this team, especially in contrast to the boy's team, which gets a student section that is overflowing.

Only last year, the Jenks Lady Trojans made it to the Area tournament, surpassing the first round and only losing by a slim portion. This was the first time that had occurred in over ten years, making it almost certain that some of that success will carry over to this upcoming season. Imagine the power this team could obtain if they had a full crowd to help shift the energy in their favor. If we as students do better and show up to the games, we will be correcting past mistakes and acknowledging a team that deserves it.

#2. Energy Shift

Previously touched on were last year's victories for the girl's basketball team, but what wasn’t addressed was the increased momentum that this results in. When one has performed well and is on a fairly decent high, it is odd for them to dip and start completely back at square one. The girls will use last year as a stepping stone and become even better this year.

Not to mention the team bond that has been built. The team's camaraderie is unmatched, with few tensions and lots of friendships made through the sport. The girls genuinely enjoy spending time with one another and aren’t just forced to.

Both of these things combined have developed into an energy shift. The energy is high and crackling with excitement as the environment is positive and ready to go.

“People should definitely come out this year,” Smith said. “I think the energy this year will be really really good and it’s something we’ve got that no one else has.”

#3. Not Boring… Like At All

If you’ve ever attended a basketball game, you know how extremely fast-paced it is. A simple glance away or a two-second conversation and you’ve missed something. Basketball is a sport of mistakes, and mistakes are what make things interesting. There is always something to look at.

If you’re worried about being bored at one of these games, that is certainly an irrational fear. Basketball is fun and there is never a lack of interesting things. From people diving on the floor for a loose ball to making a near-impossible shot to getting fouled the mess out of… there is something for everyone.

Basketball doesn’t even need to be understood to be entertaining. The gym is usually extremely loud with the band blaring fight songs and speculators yelling at refs for making the wrong call. The drama is a bottomless pit.

If you’re looking for an interesting sport to watch, girls' basketball has got you covered, so don’t be afraid to show up!

For more information on any of these teams, you can visit the websites below to learn more!

Wrestling- https://jenkssportszone.com/teams/wrestling/

Golf- https://jenkssportszone.com/teams/golf-girls/

Basketball- https://jenksbasketball.com/

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