Number The Story Behind the

For many athletes, the number embellished on the back of their jersey represents more than just an identifying symbol, it has a story behind it. The number could have an association with luck, or maybe their father or mother wore the number in their days of athletics.

Choosing a jersey serves as one of the first steps of beginning a new season. Athletes claim which number they want early on in the year and it illustrates part of their identity for the next couple of months.

Some athletes have played their sport for years and have stuck with their number through it all. For Miami Palmetto Senior High sophomore and varsity lacrosse player Orli Clarin, five has been an important number to her since a young age, and has used it as her jersey number since third grade.

“Five has always been like a sign for me and a lucky number. I have always seen it as whenever you see the number five, something positive happens. So I thought that choosing the number five for my jersey would create a better outcome for me,” Clarin said.

The importance of the number five started even before sports, as her grandma sees it as her lucky number, so it was originally chosen in honor of her.

The number does not always need to have a story behind it to be special. For MPSH junior and varsity lacrosse player Lukas Goldenberg, he selected five simply because the number looked cool.

“I picked it because I thought it looked the coolest. In basketball, in middle school, I started wearing [five]. I stuck with it,” Goldenberg said.

Now that he has proudly worn the number for multiple years, it has become special to him. The number has become one he uses in his daily life including his social media usernames.

Mia Rodriguez, MPSH senior and varsity volleyball player has used the number 71 since eighth grade, bringing this number along with her all four years of playing.

“My dad was a really active football player in high school and his number was 71. His career ended earlier than he wanted it to, so I [play with his number] for him,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez has continued the legacy her father began back in high school, making 71 a multi-generational number.

“I think he was happy about it when I told him that I chose it for him. I think he knows that its for him and in honor of him,” Rodriguez said.

These numbers do not always have a background in some long-standing tradition or have been used since middle school to hold specialty. Lucas Pozzo, MPSH sophomore and varsity basketball player, found his special number, four, this year.

“I picked this number to represent my immediate family. Four represents the four closest people to me. I play for them,” Pozzo said. The four on his jersey not only represents his mother, father and sister but also himself. The number gives him motivation to step out on the court and try his hardest. Pozzo plans to keep this number with him throughout his basketball career to remind himself why he plays his sport.

Brooke Wilensky Copy Editor b.wilensky.thepanther@gmail.com

DESIGN BY PAULA ORTIZ