Community Profile: Student's Speeches Inspire Soccer Team
By Lyla Cheary
“Boys–it’s game time, baby!” Rory Grant roared on the sideline to the Boy's Varsity Soccer team in a speech that resulted in an enthused cheer from his soccer teammates. That night, they won their quarterfinal game against Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy.
Rory Grant is a tenth-grade midfielder for East Side’s varsity soccer team and their self-appointed motivational speaker. He writes speeches in support of the players to share before or after their games. According to Rory, he intends to motivate his teammates and generate school spirit, foster a sense of pride and inclusivity on the team, and help them perform well and win their matches.
His first speech was written in the spirit of the moment during an intense game with NEST+m which East Side unfortunately lost, breaking a two-year winning streak. Rory wished to cheer them up and encouraged them by saying, “[A]ll streaks come to an end, and today ours did. Like the coach said, we lost. It happens, but what defines us is how we come back from it.”
From then on, Rory became East Side's first unapologetic cheerleader.
“Guys,” Rory started after a win against Bard, “That was legendary right there, and I mean legendary! We stuck by each other, we all gave 110 percent... and pushed each other to the limit. We put in the effort, and we got what we deserved. It’s as simple as that.”
Rory always seems enchanted by his teammates and their performances, always congratulating them with a genuine smile on his face, win or lose. He often articulates the games as “legendary” and “like a Hollywood script,” using his admiration for them as his fuel for his speeches. “Let’s go out, win, and put ourselves in the history books!” He toasted before the Riverdale game.
Rory grew up in Brooklyn but later moved to New Jersey in sixth grade when COVID hit. He explained how devastating the pandemic was for developing friendships, especially when all his peers were just beginning middle school, and also for practicing sports. Living in an apartment during COVID limited just about everything: fresh air, activities to partake in, the amount of toilet paper one could hoard, and, most notably, for Rory, practicing soccer. He speaks optimistically about how his move to New Jersey allowed him to practice soccer in open spaces and take nostalgic bike rides around the neighborhood. Still, Rory moved back to New York, returned to East Side, and is once again a vital part of the academic, soccer, and newspaper communities.
“I want to contribute everything I can,” Rory said, referring to his soccer team. He notes that, although he may not be the most active player on the team, he still finds it imperative to give everything he can to the team. This impulse to help, however, expands beyond soccer. “I enjoy journalism,” Rory said, “I enjoy writing. I want to commit [to] and help the East Sider [Newspaper] become as good a place as possible.”
These considerations Rory pays to his extracurriculars are only a fraction of what makes him a self-aware, altruistic person. He’s always ready and, most importantly, willing to help out. During East Side's recent honors ceremony, he spontaneously helped a group of student volunteers decorate the school auditorium with balloons.
“Even though Rory may not be team captain or even on the starting lineup,” Jesse Kronenfeld Casis, an eleventh-grade Varsity Soccer team member, voiced, “He shows the commitment and enthusiasm of a true leader. He has never shown any negativity and has always lifted everyone else up whenever we may feel down. Rory has a heart of gold, and I am honored to call him a friend and a teammate.”
“If you ever go through something, something that’s bad for you or just something you don’t want to deal with, he’s always going to be there to help,” Leo Rosenburg, an East Side 10th grader and a close friend of Rory’s, reflected. “And he’ll do it, no questions asked, even though he probably doesn’t know anything about it.”
Rory’s genuine passion and consideration for his friends and teammates are awe-inspiring, and he truly is a vital part of the soccer and newspaper communities. He is one of the most empathetic and compassionate people, and the soccer team is more than fortunate to have him at their party. “I guess I’m just trying to help the people and friends that I care about. If there's anything I can do to help, you only have so much time on the planet; you might as well use it,” Rory reflected during lunch.