This past year, many students have voiced their interest in bringing new sports teams to the Athletic Department. These sports include softball, cheer, flag football and pickleball.
Marlborough had a successful softball team for many years before it was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and was never reinstated. Julia ’26 Jane ’26, and Chloe ’26 have discussed with both former Athletic Director Sheila Pauley and current Athletic Director Brandon Lincoln about the possibility of bringing the team back. The three of them plan to start a softball club next school year to hold clinics and hopefully encourage the creation of a team in the near future.
“In the past, Marlborough has had many scholarships given to people on the softball team, and missing out on possible scholarship opportunities is disappointing,” Jane said.
Lorelei ’26 has participated in cheer outside of school for two years and wants to bring the sport to Marlborough. Despite setbacks in making cheer an official sport at Marlborough, Lorelei and Natalia ’27 were still able to create a successful club, Marlborough Cheer.
“I knew I had to start small, but that did not stop me from forming big aspirations,” Lorelei said. “My goal is to grow my club into an official sports program that performs at national competitions.”
Additionally, the 2023-2024 school year marked the first year girl’s flag football was recognized as a CIF sport. Students expressed their desire to bring flag football to Marlborough. However, because flag football is a fall sport, and many students who were interested already participate in at least one fall sport, there was not enough interest from students to start a competitive team.
Pickleball, a sport that gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, is another sport that students have brought to Marlborough. Tate ’25 and Emma ’25 created the Pickleball Club which garnered a lot of interest and allowed students to play the game for fun while earning P.E. hours.
“I’m hoping that pickleball at Marlborough will become the first sport dedicated to creating a community without competition or tension,” Mila ’26 said.
