Her eyes are glued to the court. A cramped hand scribbles down every turnover, timeout, point scored and foul. The official scorebook is her responsibility and any error in it can throw off the whole game. No pressure, right?

Senior Carlee Swanson is the “stat girl” for the girls basketball team and records everything that happens each game over the season. While the stakes are  high for everyone, Swanson takes pride in holding such an essential position.

“I like the responsibility because it makes me feel important,” Swanson said. “I was injured with a concussion during my sophomore season and decided to stop playing [basketball] but I still wanted to be a part of the team, so I chose to take the stats.”

There is clearly no shortage of work for team statisticians. Like Swanson, senior Alex Spiezio is a stat girl for the girls swim team and will help out the boys team when needed. Although Spiezio puts in numerous hours recording times, scores, places and names, she loves her job.

“It’s a fun way to hang out with my friends but also help the swim team,” Spiezio said. “When the tension is high, it’s really fun for me because I know what places each lane needs to win or tie but I don’t have to stress about swimming.”

While team statisticians have different responsibilities than competing athletes, they are assets to the team and immersed in team culture nonetheless. “I’m not athletic at all and I don’t do any sports so this was a great way to be a part of a team,” Spiezio said. “All of my friends used to talk about the psych parties and the bus rides and I never did any of that, but I get to now, so it’s been really fun.”

Becoming a team statistician is simple and starts with a conversation with the team’s coach. Whether you are passionate about a sport or want to get more involved in the WHS community, statisticians get to experience the best of both worlds. To Swanson, the perfect candidate for the job is anyone who “wants to get involved with extracurriculars, understands [the sport] and doesn’t crack under pressure.”