For both of us, our time in elementary school was defined not by tests or grades, but by recess. It didn’t matter whether it was football, basketball, kickball or soccer; we were with our best friends, having the time of our lives every day.Every gamefelt like our own Super Bowl.
Five years after our last recesses at Carlthorp and Georgetown Day School, we found ourselves on Ted Slavin Field recreating that same magic. The Quad was filled with ecstatic seniors in Hawaiian shirts celebrating their last day, and juniors and sophomores dreading their upcoming exams, wishing they were the ones in the Hawaiian shirts. Yet we and eight other juniors found an escape from the consuming thought of our upcoming finals: a football tournament to determine the draft order for the upcoming fantasy football season.
While season one of the Harvard-Westlake Football League (HWFL) consisted of five teams of two to determine our fantasy football league’s draft order, we took it to the next level this year: six teams with four players each, referees, replay officials and an Instagram page with professional quality photos from Editor-in-Chief Connor Tang ’25 and George Ma ’25.
Although both of our teams went 2-3 and missed the finals, HWFL made many of our second-semester senior lunches feel like fifth-grade recess again. It was lightning in a bottle. We had recreated a feeling that we had both thought only existed in our past lives. From our time on the field to Jack’s time as a referee and oligarch (Micah Parr Oligarch of the Year) and Alex’s time as a coach for the Super Bowl Champion team VACA we were with our new set of best friends, having the time of our lives.
There were many highlights of HWFL season two. From the Super Bowl going to 4OT, played over the course of nearly a month, to the brawl in the rain during the final regular season game between VACA and WAAM, the league provided all 24 of us with memories we will cherish for a lifetime.
Building upon the success of HWFL, we continued to reclaim other aspects of recess, creating Harvard-Westlake Basketball Association (HWBA) and laying the foundation for Harvard-Westlake League Baseball (HWLB). But more important than parodying the names of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) was the excuse to spend more time with our best friends, compete and create something entirely our own.
As we mature and grow older, school often becomes more and more like an occupation. What occurs on this campus is meant to set us up for our next chapter. What often gets forgotten in this quest for tomorrow is what makes today worth enjoying. Even during this stage of growth, it’s important to remember what keeps us young. This isn’t the same for everyone, but for us, it is recreating the magic of our elementary school fields on Ted Slavin Field.
