By Dair McNinch, Staff Writer
As the First Flight men’s soccer team advances once again into the state playoffs, the entire team decided to brave the hassles of bleaching their hair, all in the name of team spirit, superstition — and Trent Powell.
“We had all been talking about doing something like this, but no one wanted to be the first one,” senior Quinn Douglas said. “Then Trent just showed up to school on a Monday with yellow hair.”
Why did the junior go bleached blond?
“I thought everyone was going to do it over the weekend,” Powell said.
If Powell had been on any other team, he might’ve just been left hanging out to dry, but within a couple of days the number of soccer players walking around with either frosted tips, completely yellow hair, and even a dyed mohawk increased dramatically.
Just as no two teammates’ style was the same, neither was their experience getting it done.
“I did it at Leslie Jennings’ house,” senior Vega Sproul said. “I was kind of nervous, but it went relatively smoothly. It turned out a bit yellow, but it’s more about the team spirit.”
Some guys didn’t have to travel very far to join the trend.
“My mom did it for me in my bathroom,” Powell said. “It was pretty scary because she hasn’t done very well with my hair in the past. I think it turned out pretty well, but maybe that’s just me.”
Ironically, one of the few people who chose to have it done professionally had the process not go quite as well.
“When they put the bleach in my hair it burned my scalp pretty bad. It took like an hour to do it all,” Douglas said.
As might have been expected, there have been a handful of undesirable side effects that come from pouring chemicals in your hair.
“At practice the last couple of days, everyone has been complaining about their scalps burning when they have to head the ball,” Sproul said.
Some of these effects came almost instantly, as the process was taking place.
“When I got it done, I could watch my hair changing,” sophomore Lucas Neiderlander said. “That was cool, but it itched for a while.”
Despite the pain or discomfort and however the look turned out teammate to teammate, they all can agree that it was something worth doing.
“It brings us together as a team, sort of unites us,” junior Lawson Eldridge said.
This group has been through a lot together. The seniors have been part of a team that made it to the state finals two out of the last three years, finally winning the first men’s soccer championship in school history last year.
The Nighthawks are two wins away from playing for the title again, facing Dixon at home Saturday at 5 p.m. in the fourth round of the playoffs. A win Saturday would set up an East Regional final against the winner of No. 1 East Duplin or No. 5 Jordan-Matthews on Wednesday. First Flight is seeded second in the East, so Wednesday’s game will be on the road unless Jordan-Matthews wins. (You can check out the bracket here.)
The state championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18, at N.C. State, although the NCAA championships may force a move. Officials with the NCHSAA plan to announce final details for the championship site and times on Monday, but for now, the Nighthawks are keeping those blond heads focused on Dixon.
“I’m not really sure about what kind of effect it has on us, but every year we’ve done something weird with our hair we did well in the playoffs,” said Powell, who scored the go-ahead goal in overtime during Wednesday’s 3-1 thriller over Clinton.
Whether or not bleaching their heads was the key, the Nighthawks cruised through their first two matches in the playoffs and show no sign of slowing.
“I don’t approve or disapprove, but it’s something that the team likes doing that follows the rules, and bringing more team spirit to the table never hurt,” head coach Juan Ramirez said.
If there’s one thing First Flight knows, it’s spirit. From football coach Jim Prince’s speeches to bleaching one’s hair, it’s all around First Flight athletics, within the teams, and inside the student body that supports its peers so well.
“I think it’s really cool how they all came together to represent their team,” junior Cole Kelly said, “even if it’s hard to tell them apart on the field.”
Junior Dair McNinch can be reached at mcninchle1121@daretolearn.org.
