Pirates Sail Through Fall Sports
The Vashon Pirates 2026 sports season has set sail, and many teams have big expectations this year. The fall season consists of many sports: football, girls soccer, volleyball, boys tennis, and cross country. Teams have already been dominating in their performances, with the boys tennis team currently undefeated, the girls soccer team pulling a stunner against the heavily favored, much larger 3A school Nathan Hale at home and continuing an impressive record, the boys football team winning their first game in over two years in a blowout win over Muckleshoot with a final score of 69-8, the cross country team having top tier performances at Fort Steilacoom and a Nike Invitational, and the volleyball team winning their home match against Concordia, marking the start of a promising season. However, it isn’t about the sports themselves – it's the players and team members that make up our outstanding Pirates.
With the boys tennis season just starting, the Pirates are already undefeated, with no end in sight for the winning streak as they continue to sweep team after team.
“We have great teamwork, and our doubles teams have been really consistent over the season,” stated Tommy Brownlee, a freshman tennis player.
“Usually the other team’s number one and number two players are pretty hard to beat, but we’re always able to pull ahead and win,” Brownlee said.
But winning doesn’t just come from skill, it comes from team leadership and the older players being role models for the new ones coming in.
“Basically the whole entire varsity is seniors, and next year is going to be interesting with them gone, but they show good leadership because they’re there every day ready to go to practice showing up every game to work hard,” said Brownlee.
“This is my first year of playing tennis, and at the start of the year I didn’t really know anyone else except my friends, but I’ve slowly made relationships with other people and seniors that I didn’t know before, and that’s probably what I’m gonna miss most,” Brownlee said.
While the upcoming year will be a transition due to these seniors graduating, their work ethic has set a standard for the team that is sure to continue for years.
The boys tennis team is not the only team stacking wins under their belt. The girls soccer team upset 3A Nathan Hill in an impressive 3-1 victory. They’ve continued with the wins, jumping to first place in the league with only one loss. The coordination, communication, and trust that soccer builds turns into lifelong friendships, well-rounded individuals, and talented players. For many seniors, these sports are what they’ll miss most about leaving VHS.
“I think some defining moments have been going to state freshman year and getting to lead this year as a captain, and I think this team is better than the last couple of years. We’ve got a lot of individual talent this year,” said senior captain Miriam Casad.
“I get to spend two hours a day on the field with some of my favorite people that I’ve played with for 12 years, and all those relationships that I’ve built, those are really special,” Casad said.
Soccer captains have to be a leader on the field and take command of the game. However, being a good captain means you go beyond that.
“There’s a lot of communication on the field, like telling people to look where we are, where to pass, etc. But there’s a lot outside of that you have to do, like maintaining team spirit. Especially with the younger players, like when they get to play or when they do something good, making sure to congratulate them and make them feel part of the team,” stated Casad.
With the season in full swing, it’s up to the Pirates to keep racking up wins and earn a potential playoff spot. With the team talent and impressive leadership skills, this goal is not only possible, but plausible.
At VHS, the XC team has been a high-performing team that consistently wins district championships and places as one of the top teams in the state championship. From the outside, it may look like running long distances every day over and over again, and it looks like a sport for a madman and you think to yourself “who in their right mind would choose to run for long periods of time for fun? Running is what you do to punish people, for goodness sake!” But on the inside, the perspective and narrative completely shifts.
“A lot of people think that it’s like just pure grit, but it's more than that,” stated Jared Mansfield, a sophomore varsity runner on the team.
“It’s a feeling of determination and a sense that all the work that you do is going to pay off and that you are going to improve over the entire season”, said Mansfield. With an absence of quite a few seniors this year on the team, the captains have stepped up and taken command of the team and led them to impressive performances.
“The team spirit is really good this year, and our captains on both boys and girls have shown great leadership that is critical for a good team to become great”, stated Mansfield.
The Pirates cross country team has high expectations each year, with both teams going to state year after year. However, for this year, both teams are ranked higher than ever, and this year is sure to be a special one to remember.
With the sports season in full swing, Vashon is showing no signs of slowing down their winning streaks. The Pirates’ schedules are not easy by any means, and they will be put to the test, but the Pirates never go down without a fight.
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