Westminster’s sports program is well known throughout St. Louis for good reason. The hard work and resources that have been put into the program have brought great praise to Westminster, but WCA student athletes, like artists and students, would still like more attention from the student body as a whole.
While Westminster student athletes are content with everything that has been given to them through the athletic program, many athletes are still asking for more from their fellow students.
“I do believe that Westminster students care greatly about athletics and have supported us, [the football team], a lot throughout the year, but we always want more people attending our games,” said Tyler Catlett, junior.
It is not surprising that many students believe that sports have become the most important aspect of Westminster. This feeling has arose because of the amount of work and money that has been put in to keep the athletic program in top shape.
“All the [sports] programs get some sort of money since the athletics budget covers coaches salaries, officials, equipment, tournament fees and uniforms in most cases,” said Todd Zell, athletic director.
With all the resources that have been put into the sports program, Westminster has become a regular in important tournaments around St. Louis, making Westminster well known for their athletic program.
“It is difficult to name all of the tournaments we participate in. It varies by sport, but most are local, some programs like to go out of town for a tournament but that comes at an extra cost,” said Zell.
Westminster’s athletic program has become renowned around St. Louis partially due to the athletic facilities.
“I think the [athletic] facilities kind of piques people’s interest in our school. I think when people are making that decision to come here their reasons are far greater than just a nice building and fields. I do think it gains peoples interest in the school,” said Zell.
It is obvious that sports have become an important part of Westminster and because of this the athletes have received great praise over the years from students and the newspaper.
“Sports, activities, and the arts are all an important part of the overall education of students. Some of the successes that we [the athletic program] have do give us some good notoriety in the newspaper. I think that recognition is great because it gives all of us a chance to talk more about our school and the work that God is doing here,” said Zell.
It is inevitable that certain people are going to believe that one program is getting more attention than others, but, ultimately, all the programs seem to get plenty of resources and attention.
“I think there is a pretty good balance as far as resources and recognition are concerned,” said Richard Van Gilst, math teacher and varsity baseball head coach.
Westminster has been blessed with great art, athletic, and education programs. They all receive many resources and great praise, but there will always be athletes, artists, and students that want more for their program.
