By Bearcat Sports Media Team

The Bearcat Sports Media team traveled to 33 games throughout the eight-week winter season, experiencing the most thrilling wins and crushing defeats along with our favorite Bearcat sports teams. All the while, our team brought you comprehensive coverage through articles and live streams so you could be a well-acquainted Bearcat as well. Having received positive feedback from athletes and parents alike, we hope to be just as productive during the spring season. Below we share a little more about ourselves and why we do what we do!

Darina Huang ’23

Hi, my name is Darina, and I’m a senior from New Jersey. I’ve really enjoyed working with sports media this season, and went out to watch many hockey and basketball games and swim meets. It was really fun to combine my interests in writing with watching sports, as it’s fun to go out to games and doesn’t feel like a burden. Throughout the season, I’ve been able to improve a lot in terms of crafting a narrative and featuring the interesting aspects of each game, instead of just recounting what happened. It was cool to ask coaches and athletes about their opinions on each game to go beyond the spectator perspective and really understand what the result (whether it was positive or not) meant to the players themselves. Some of my favorite games included anything girls varsity basketball—given their dominant performances this season—and girls JV basketball’s buzzer-beater win over IMS.

Eliott Hu ’25

Hi, I’m Eliott, a lower mid from New York City. Doing Sports Media this winter has given me the perfect opportunity to cheer for my peers while still staying productive. Although I’ve been interested in sports writing for a while—even starting my own website in eighth grade—this winter was a completely fresh experience for me. For the first time ever, I got to watch competitive wrestling, squash, and swimming, meaning that I had to learn the rules of each sport to write about it properly. With the aid of some peers on those teams and others, I was able to churn out well-written articles each week. Unfortunately, writing about our losses (which don’t happen often!) was a constant challenge for me this year, but there’s a good part to write about in every event. Overall, my favorite game to watch was girls varsity basketball versus Choate, which went to an intense overtime period.

Dasha Post ’23

I am Dasha, a staff photographer for Hotchkiss sports. Before coming to Hotchkiss I loved photography but never really did it much. I had the skill, the tools, the passion—but I didn't have the outlet for using it. The first time I really put my passion to use was when I managed boys varsity soccer at Hotchkiss in the fall of my senior year, and I loved taking action shots. The only downside to this is that I only watched one sport all fall and didn't get to cheer on or take photos of any other sports. Bearcat Sports Media became the perfect co-curricular for me in the winter. I had the opportunity to watch all my friends play varsity, JV, and thirds sports while fulfilling my passion for action sports photography. Photography for me is a form of meditation. I turn on my camera, focus on the players, and start pressing the button. For a lot of people that is their favorite part, but for me the favorite part comes after I've taken the photos. I open my computer, open Lightroom and Photoshop, and get lost from the outside world for hours in editing and fixing the photos I’ve taken to bring them to perfection. Photography has always been a passion of mine that brings me joy, and this co-curricular is what helped me put my passion to use. 

Ben Wistar ’26

Hi, my name is Ben Wistar. I’m a prep, and this is my first time doing anything related to sports media. I was inspired to join this co-curricular because I am very interested in sports, and this is something that my Dad (Mr. Roger Wistar) used to run for many years. This season has been very fun, and I have learned a lot about writing about sports. My favorite game that I covered this season was the JV boys hockey game versus Cardigan. It was a thrilling game that saw the boys win in a shootout. It was very fun to write about. Some of the more difficult games that I covered were the boys varsity squash games. They won both very handily, and so it was challenging to add substance to the article. Overall, this was a great experience that I will definitely do again next winter!

If you are interested in being on the sidelines and producing content through various avenues as the Bearcats continue to crush it on the field in the spring, please contact Mr. Hinz (jhinz@hotchkiss.org) or sign up for Bearcat Sports Media as your spring co-curricular. Through this experience, you’ll learn the skills to properly report on a sports game, operate a livestream camera, and photograph the most exciting moments. We hope to see you there!