By: Trevor McNamara

High school wasn’t the experience I expected when I was in eighth grade imagining scenarios of how my high school career would go. During my four years at Westborough High School, I endured many highs and lows. At times I felt on top of the world making a difference, but other times I felt I was a burden and going through the motions daily.

The best thing about high school was the fact that I found a path to follow to life in college and beyond. I dealt with many tough situations in high school and went through some rough times that at the time I wished I didn’t have to go through. Now as I look back on those situations, I know they helped me grow as a person and gave me a new perspective on life.

My most memorable moment of high school happened outside of school in coaching. During my senior year I had the opportunity to be involved with the youth lacrosse program. I was coming off a junior year in lacrosse where I was an All-American and someone the youth kids looked up to at times. I’m currently the head coach for the Westborough U15 select team and while my senior year in lacrosse has been extremely tough, my team’s games and practices every week give me something to look forward to.

As I coach these 7th and 8th graders, I want the kids to have fun and not worry about the pressures that comes with success. Something I unfortunately learned too late in my high school career is:  the importance of doing something you love and not doing it because you’re “good” or feel forced by peers and outside sources.

I have never smiled more in my life or been happier in high school then when I’m on the sidelines coaching my team. Seeing the young kids I coach come together in succeeding through hard work while having fun is extremely rewarding to see as a coach. Recently, I challenged my players to get better by playing wall ball to work on their stick skills. I never thought twenty-three 7th and 8th graders would be so willing to compete and get better. Their reps are tracked by an app and there are standings for my team to see who does the most wallball reps in a day.

The first day after I sent out the email telling kids we were going to have this challenge, I had numerous players on the global leaderboard for having the most reps in a day. I couldn’t have been happier to see my players taking time out of their days to get better. I know for a fact that I would have never been eager to go play wall ball for hours, so it’s rewarding to see how much these kids want to get better. Also, it’s good for me to see because I know that these kids will be ready to contribute and star for the varsity team once they are in high school; and I’ll be glad to have played a small role in helping them get to that point.

As a freshman coming into the high school I never would have imagined myself coaching 7th and 8th graders as a senior. Ultimately even though I didn’t quite enjoy my lacrosse and high school career, I knew I had the platform and chance to make a difference in other kids’ lives.

I would have never been able to do any of this without some of the lessons I learned from teachers at the high school. Throughout high school, teachers such as Mrs. Stoker, Mrs. Potosnak, Mr. Nofsinger, Mr. Brown, Mr. O’Brien, Mrs. Corbosiero, and Mr. McCoskery helped me out immensely. These teachers helped push me to be the best and helped me further my education, while also teaching me lessons that helped me mature and become a more well rounded student.

Westborough High School has asked a lot out of me these past four years and while I had a lot of difficult times, I’m grateful for my time spent here. I could have never expected my high school experience to turn out the way it did, but there is nothing I would change about my time at WHS.

While I’m excited about the end of high school and having a new beginning at college, these last few days are bittersweet. I hope to enjoy the last few days of high school and the graduation celebration, but I will never forget my time at Westborough High School due to the fact that I was able to mature as a young man over my four years here.

A lot was asked of me in high school, but more will be asked for me in my future at college and once I have a job in the real world. From everything I learned at WHS I will now be properly equipped to handle tough decisions that will occur in my future and flourish due to my experiences from high school.