Sisters, best friends, teammates
Seniors Tosha and Kacie Monroe play sports together
May 21, 2014
The whistling followed by a hollow sounding thump is heard several times a minute throughout the gym. Back and forth over the net, a battle of will and skill plays out. This combat transpires over a span of mere minutes deciding who can move fastest, smash strongest, and who can do these with the most endurance. This is the world of badminton, a world where senior Kacie Monroe thrives.
Monroe enjoys being part of the No. 2 doubles team, as she is an excellent player. She remembers a time when it was not as such.
“We were outcasts at first, but then we started playing and we bonded with the team,” Monroe said.
She has played since freshman year alongside her sister, Tosha. They may fight often, but they complement each other when they play, becoming a winning combination.
The team rarely loses a match or tournament and has won TCAL since its inception in 2005. Although the team is very competitive with its rivals, its members aren’t competitive unless they are trying to help each other improve themselves. “We are always trying to help one another because if each one of us improves, so does the whole team.”
Monroe remembers a time when she was not a good player. She was in her freshman year and at the bottom of the totem pole just like all the freshmen who had no previous experience. She was brand new to the sport and needed lots of help with her technique and footwork. She has improved considerably since then, becoming much better and moving toward the top. “Everyone I have ever played against, win or lose, has helped me get here,” she said.
She has worked hard throughout the years in school and sports. Monroe has a great appreciation for this who brought her here and the friends along the way. It has been a great experience overall for her.
Monroe hopes she can continue badminton in college and waits to return to crush her fellow players in next year’s alumni tournament.
Get ready and rally!
The gym starts to fill itself with players, dividing the courts with every position.
The battle to outwit their opponent begins.
Everyone’s on their feet — the repeated motion of feet constantly bouncing back and forth. The opponent makes a move. The serve. It could be used to their advantage — a weapon. They hold the birdie and let it drop slightly in front of them. Whoosh.
Sweat drizzles down her face as she prepares herself for a swing back to the birdie. She smashes it with maximum power and it strikes the floor. She scores.
From freshman to senior year, Tosha Monroe has played badminton, and not a day goes by when she does not try her hardest to rank towards the top. Monroe enjoys the position of first double and does her best to make it into sections. Monroe plans to continue to play as she makes her way to college. She says, “One day I plan to come back and play in the alumni tournaments.”
The tradition of alumni tournaments have been apart of badminton for years, where past players come back to the courts to teach the next generation. Monroe would like to be apart of that tradition with her sister.
Kacie Monroe, her sister, has been Tosha’s partner since they began playing.
Monroe says, “she’s not only my sister — she’s like my best friend.”
After playing for years, badminton has changed for Tosha. “We as a team have become one. Usually you don’t say ‘Hi’, you just walk by,” Monroe says, “but because we’ve become a family we say ‘Hi’ and more.”
Although simple gestures like “Hi” are being made to one another, they do more than just that. Both sisters have interacted with the team they now call a second family and hang out together at lunch.
The Monroes not only play badminton, but volleyball as well. They have played volleyball since the sixth grade all the way to their senior year.
But there is more to Monroe than just sports. Her love for animals drives her passion to be a zoologist. This career would allow Monroe to interact with her favorite animals: elephants and tigers.
The youngest of her siblings, she craved the school life that her siblings had, but was not yet old enough to attend.
However, her grandmother held her sister Kacie back, so they could attend school together.
They’ve been together for a long time; not just as sisters, but friends.
“We’re always together,” said Tosha, “and you will always see us together.”