BHS prides itself in it’s athletics. Always working to have the best teams possible, filled to the brim with the best players. Yet, some of our most talented athletes don’t even play for the school or even compete in a traditional sport.

Senior, Laurel Fournier, has been doing crew, or rowing, since she was 12 years old for Cape Cod Youth Rowing, a coed team on the Cape.

“I’ve been around it my whole life because my dad’s a coach and I always wanted to do it. Finally seventh grade rolled around and I was big enough to join the team,” said Fournier.

She believes that competing in a sport that isn’t included in the high school is extremely different.

“You definitely don’t get as much recognition, but at the same time it’s nice because it’s your thing and that’s pretty special,” she said. “I’m a lot closer with my teammates than I would be with a one-season sport at school.”

She also explained that since they compete against the best teams in the state, rowing not being a school sport doesn’t affect how competitive it is.

“We’re still getting up at 4 a.m. to go to races,” she said.

Fournier plans to continue rowing in college, searching for the best programs that also provide her with the major she wants to study.

“I’m only looking at schools that have a Division 1 rowing program. It gives me something to work towards besides academics and I couldn’t imagine my life without it,” she said.

For senior, Mona Boumghait, she stays off the water and on the mat for her sport at Alpha Krav Maga of Cape Cod. Krav Maga, a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces, combines boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo and karate.

“Originally when I was in first grade I did martial arts, then I turned to boxing and now I’ve recently started Krav Maga,” said Boumghait. “I mainly joined because I missed martial arts and it’s a nice feeling to get aggression out after a long day.”

She also added that it’s pretty satisfying to legally beat people up.

Boumghait does not compete competitively, though. She joined mainly to be involved in something fun that also allowed her to meet new people in the community.

“We compete internally with each other. It’s a lot more fun, but compared to previous high school sports I’ve played, it’s definitely what you put into it,” she said. “With field hockey I didn’t have as much of a drive, but with Krav Maga I’m training six days a week and I work hard at it.”

Although she doesn’t compete in traditional competitions like other sports, she does hope to continue with Krav Maga in college.

“I want to further my skills at Mass Maritime because they have a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing club,” she said.

Snow-capped mountains are where senior, Kylie Willis, enjoys spending most of her time. As a competitive ski racer for Franconia Ski Club, Willis can’t just drive 10 minutes down the road to get to practice. After school on Fridays, she and her family pack up the car and drive up to New Hampshire for the weekend.

“We’ve always skied and when I was five years old we bought a house at Cannon Mountain. I started getting involved in the winter programs up there and finally when I was 8 I got placed onto the ski team along with some of the kids of our family friends,” she said.

Her outlook on this sport outside of the school is different, though.

“I feel like everyone I’ve met is a lot more serious about this sport than other sports within the school. A lot of people have the goal of skiing in college, and work extremely hard,” she said.

At the same time, Willis believes there’s aspects that are more laid back, as well.

“You’re paying to be there and that’s your time. You really get what you put into it.”

Willis is hoping to be able to continue skiing competitively in college, too.

“Ideally, I want to ski for Brown University, but I’m not going to make my whole entire college decision solely around the sport,” she said.

She also went on to explain that she really wished there was a ski team at BHS.

“There are mountains that are pretty close, but it would be more than an hour to go to practices and races, so I understand that it’s not the best fit for the school,” she said. “I wish I could still ski midweek like I have in previous years, though.”

While these students don’t compete for BHS, they prove that strength and strong work ethic pay off in the end. They’ve found a sport they couldn’t imagine their lives without and will hopefully be involved in for as long as possible.