As the end of fall sports approaches, so does the era of many students who reluctantly played their final season as a fall athlete.

Senior games serve to celebrate and recognize the departing fall athletes, but seniors never seem to leave this game feeling happy, rather they are often consumed by sadness and nostalgia.

Every senior game follows the same protocol, respectively. The seniors are called one by one onto their decorated field or court, given flowers by their coaches and then typically give the flowers to their parents, and then finish by taking pictures. But what is not planned is the unbelievable amount of emotion that fills the night, something that senior and Varsity Field Hockey captain Sophany Srey saw and felt herself.

“It was really emotional for all of us [because] most of us having been playing together since 6th grade,” said Srey. “I think it’s because we came to realization that our season was coming to an end and as seniors it was our last season together…time definitely flew by.”

The senior athletes typically feel especially emotional because their senior night is also their last home game, but for senior and Varsity Girls Soccer caption Olivia Morrison, that wasn’t the case.

“Although it was senior night, I wasn’t as sad as I would’ve normally been because it wasn’t our last game together on Waterhouse Field,” said Morrison. “The following Saturday was our last home game which was pretty upsetting considering most of us have been playing on that field for the past four years.”

However, Morrison’s senior game was still “very bittersweet” but not just for her and her teammates, but for her mom as well.

“My mom definitely shed a few tears when they were called out but she knows it’s the end of a chapter for me and the rest of the seniors,” said Morrison. “She is excited to see what is up ahead in my future.”

For senior and Varsity Volleyball captain Kayla Fournier, however, it wasn’t the thought of her last home game that upset her, but it was the thought of her senior night itself that was most upsetting.

“It felt surreal that it was actually my senior night,” said Fournier. “It was very emotional because the three years prior I watched other seniors recognized and never thought it’d get to me.”

In fact, “surreal” was a common feeling, something that Morrison mutually felt at her senior night. But every athlete has their different reasons for feeling this way, and for Srey, it was her last season that made her senior night so unreal.

“It has been a great and unforgettable season,” said Srey. “We were all pretty close to each other which is one of the reasons why it’s hard that the season is over.”

Fournier felt that her season, like Srey’s, was something that made her senior night that much more difficult to endure.

“We definitely had an up–and–down season,” said Fournier. “We’ve grown as a team a lot though and we’ve matured, and I definitely think that was spotlighted during the senior night because we were all playing our hearts [out] and we realized just how much we love the game in general.”

Another aspect of the emotion is the anticipation of the athlete’s senior nights from the moment they stepped foot on the field freshmen year.

“It was something to look forward to after seeing senior nights in the past years…I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait until that’s me,'” said Srey. “I kind of wish I could take that back because I would give anything to play one more season.”

Like Srey, Morrison remembers watching other seniors at their senior nights, but wasn’t really anticipating it, rather she couldn’t believe it was actually here.

“As a freshman I remember watching all the seniors get called out and I couldn’t imagine that being me, four years later, and it was finally my turn,” said Morrison. “The years flew by in a blink of an eye and it’s honestly a little crazy to think back to my freshmen year as a tiny Biddeford Soccer player.”

Senior and Varsity Boys Soccer captain Bailey Fontaine agrees with Morrison and thinks that what made his senior night a “very emotional moment” was stepping off of the field for the last time and knowing that he’ll “never play another high school game on Waterhouse Field.”

“[It was] bittersweet having all of the memories that were left on that field but knowing I’ll never be able to experience that ever again,” said Fontaine. “I’ll miss playing on that field and I’ll miss all of my teammates…I felt honored to be a part of the team and a part of the organization.”

Unfortunately, everything comes to an end, and sports seasons aren’t any different. In fact, to senior athletes, ending their last season isn’t as easy as it looks, and what Morrison hopes is that underclassmen athletes cherish their final years as Biddeford Tigers.

“Enjoy it while you can, leave everything you have out on the field and play with heart, before you know it, it’ll be your turn to be announced and you’re gonna wish you could go back.”