MHS senior Marie Maher reflects on a final season
Published April 10, 2020
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—Across the country, high school seniors are approaching their last few months of school in a cloud of unknown. Will they graduate? Have prom? Will they see their classmates and teachers before heading out to the next chapter of their lives?
In Melrose, hundreds of seniors remain social distancing and learning virtually at home, waiting to get back into Melrose High to bring their public school careers to a close. They’d like to at least come full circle on their educational journey, many that began in the kindergarten classes of Melrose public schools.
For athletes, it’s an especially frustrating time. At press time, a spring season awaits on May 4, but all that is contingent on whether schools do open that day. Another delay by the state may put a complete end to a potential spring sports season, never mind school. That’s a situation no one wants.
Melrose senior Marie Maher, 18, can be considered the face of Melrose athletics. The three-sport athlete has seen it all since she was a mere freshman, having experienced the epic highs and brutal lows of eleven varsity seasons. That she finishes her lauded high school athletic career in a fog of uncertainty is hardly the finish this athlete hoped for, but it’s worth pointing out that Maher is no stranger to adversity, and thus, maybe the best person to speak on the experience of a high school senior athlete backed against a wall thanks to this pandemic.
Maher’s high school sports experience is chock-full of varsity letters. She started on varsity as a freshman hockey player—and at the perfect time, too, as the Melrose High girl’s hockey team experienced the peak of their success with deep tournament runs, multiple all-star nods and a league title in 2019. As a volleyball player, she was called to the team as a sophomore and became part of the Div. 2 North champs of 2017 who went all the way to States. And she is a four-year letterman and captain of the two-time league champion Red Raider girl’s lacrosse team. She’s a bit of a lucky charm, this one.
However, this senior year has been a challenge on many levels. Last year’s league champ Melrose High girl’s hockey team experienced a mass exodus of players running to private schools, leaving a skeleton crew headed by senior captain Maher (last year’s Coaches Award winner) and fellow senior captains Emma Lynch Galvin and Sofia Gukelberger. They formed a co-op with Stoneham (“Stonerose”), a team who tried their darndest for wins but found it hard to get their footing as a brand new team wearing a Stoneham uniform.
Mid-way during the season, Maher fell to a season-ending shoulder injury.
“Losing my senior hockey season in an instant was tough for me to deal with, considering I already felt like I was in a rut with chasing our first win and not getting one, it felt like a kick when I was already down. I couldn’t play in my Senior Night in hockey and it was disheartening,” says Maher.
Now cleared to play, the final season of her high school journey—lacrosse — remains in doubt.
“It’s hard to be positive,” she admits. “Everything is very uncertain and hard to wrap my head around. I’m happy and fortunate we still have our season to look forward to, because I know some other states don’t. Sports are my everything, and not being able to play especially when it’s out of your control is hard. However, surrounding yourself with family and friends makes you feel a whole lot better.”
Right now she is focused on communicating with her fellow lacrosse captains Emma Randolph and Jenna Thorpe and her players in this extended pre-season. “We did a team Zoom during the first week to talk about what our future might look like,” she says. “Keeping morale up is definitely hard but we try to stay positive and look on the bright-side of things.”
And when they do hit the turf, they certainly have goals. She says, “We want to win as many games as we can and become three-peat champs of the Middlesex Freedom League. Also have some fun with the time we have, because we already lost so much and we should cherish the time we have.”
Battling against this adversity may not be new, but it has emboldened Maher to face this challenge. “I understand in the long run it will shape me to be a better person. When people are becoming sick with this pandemic, it’s important to be grateful for your health.”
She also has learned some perspective about the value that years of routine and practice have meant in her life. “It shows what we take for granted,” Maher says. “There have been times when I wasn’t in the mood to go to practice because I was tired from school, but now I’d do anything to be tired from school then go to practice for 2 hours.”
Being a Senior Means Something to the Whole Class
Outside of sports, Maher is well-known and active in Melrose High TV productions, including as an anchor of the morning broadcast with Micye Duntin. The National Honors Society member has also hosted student events, served as the emcee of the pep rally and as a play-by-play broadcaster at the Powder Puff game. Right now, being able to come full circle with her lifelong friends and classmates means everything.
“Senior year is a huge milestone, and for spring, it’s the best of times with sports, Senior Week, and making great memories and it’s heartbreaking that we might not get that,” she says. “It may not seem like a huge deal in the big picture of life but to all seniors, I believe our feelings are completely valid.”
Daughter of Joseph and Susan, and sister to Patrick, 19, and Meghan, 14, Marie is still undecided where she will attend college but expects an imminent choice. With just a few precious months left of school, her greatest wish for her senior class is to reunite.
“I truly just want to go back to school, even if there is nothing to do, I’d love to hang in the LC [Learning Commons] with my friends in the morning, read the announcements over the loudspeaker, and see all my teachers one last time. I’d love to have our Senior Week. I’ve been looking forward to it since last year when my brother had his. It’s the best time of the year for seniors having your final wrap up and making long-lasting memories.”
With that said, she is well aware of the importance of social distancing in order to help conquer this pandemic.
“I hope people are staying inside and flattening the curve. Thank the doctors, nurses, and medical staff on the frontlines at the hospitals, as well as the workers who have all worked tirelessly for our community and others. And to make sure you reach out to loved ones and friends.”
This bona fide leader at Melrose High offers advice to other student-athletes about keep keeping perseverance in hard times.
“You need to keep your head up and keep going. It may feel like everything in the world is against you at times, and you can’t catch a break, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Everything will get better with time. And my favorite quote for hard times like this is from Julian Edelman: “Tough times don’t last—tough people do.”