Students cheer for Boys’ Varsity Soccer at Deerfield Day 2022.
By Grace LaPlaca ’25
With massive crowds and pumping adrenaline, Deerfield Day is an annual opportunity for sports teams to play their best and for the Choate community to embody Blue and Gold. Five student-athletes recall how they prepared for Deerfield Days and their lasting memories from the days of competition.
As players in the first game of the day, Girls’ Varsity Volleyball faced high expectations last year. Fortunately, the pressure can be motivating. Celeste Shattuck ’25 shared, “Having really high-energy fans in a high-energy environment makes us play better.”
This year, to better prepare for the added stress, the team mimics that game day atmosphere by occasionally yelling at each other while serving in practice.
Having lost only two games their entire season, Girls’ Junior Varsity (JV) Volleyball went into Deerfield Day 2022 with energy and confidence. Playing in one of the first competitions that day, the team was cheered on by a large, enthusiastic crowd of students and faculty.
JV Volleyball player Emilia Stahura ’26’s favorite memory was when the crowd stormed the court after their victory. Outside of the high-pressure games, the team appreciated spending time together and their growth while training. “We really enjoyed practices and valued that time with each other,” Stahura said. “We really feel like a family now.”
After losing Deerfield Day 2021, Varsity Football came back roaring in 2022 with a 42-30 win over Deerfield. “One of the most noteworthy moments of last year’s game was actually the first play of the game,” Wyatt Morgan ’24 reminisced. “On the opening kick off, Harrison Keith [’23] returned it from our own end zone and ran it all the way to the house. That really set the tone for us, and we were able to continue that momentum throughout the entire game.”
Ella Chun ’25 remembered her JV field hockey teammates sang the school song from the sidelines during Deerfield Day 2021. The team had lost only a single game their entire season, and the Deerfield game was no exception to their winning streak. “In that moment, it was just a culmination of all our victories and school spirit,” she said.
Now a co-captain, Chun hopes to continue inspiring her teammates and helping facilitate the growth and improvement of the team. “Every game, we learn,” she said.
Although Boys’ Varsity Soccer Co-Captain Jacob Federowicz ’24 was injured during Deerfield Day last year, supporting his team was a memorable experience. When Joe Moon ’25 scored an unexpected goal in the second half, Federowicz knew the victory was theirs.
“We were all going crazy,” he said. “It was out of nowhere, and [he had] this individual brilliance that stunned all of us, especially in a big moment.”
Having learned from the leadership of previous captains, Federowicz recognized the importance of being a team on and off the field. Through pregame talks, helping to keep the team organized, and checking up on teammates’ lives outside of soccer, he hopes to cultivate a stronger team culture as Deerfield Day approaches.
