Girls POTM: Lindsay Farbman

Lindsay Farbman ‘26 is the Spectator’s pick for the December Player-of-the-Month. She has had an amazing start to her season by leading the girls basketball team to a 3-2 record after the Vernon Hills Thanksgiving tournament. This includes a blowout 54-32 win against cross-town rival Lake Forest High School.

Farbman had a standout performance against Antioch High School. She was very efficient from the field by shooting 10 for 14 and was 5 for 7 from beyond the three-point line, which totaled 27 points in a fantastic opening game.

She credits her recent success to her court awareness and intensity. She said those parts of her game, “translated well this season as the teams we play know my game and defend me very intensely.” 

Farbman is trying to work on her drives to the basket, scoring in other ways and one-on-one defense. She said, “ I try to find other ways to score anytime I can and guard the best players during practice to improve for games. 

Her favorite NBA players she looks up to are Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. Farbman said, “I like the way they create their shots and use their speed.” This is common in Farbman’s game.

Farbman’s favorite locker room song is “Party Till We Die” by MAKJ. She said, “It’s one of our favorite traditions, and we have been doing it since I was a freshman. 

For the Caxys to have success on the court this winter, Farbman said, “As a team, we need to become smoother in working together while also finding ways for each of us to use our strengths. I think we have a really skilled team this year, and once we find the ways to use our skills, we will be super successful.” 

With her recent commitment to play basketball at Wesleyan University in Connecticut next fall, she is ready to take her game to the next level. Farbman is bringing in the Spectator’s honors for the month of December because of her amazing play so far in the young season.

Boys POTM: Dawson Ward

Dawson Ward ‘28 is a sophomore for the co-ed Varsity Squash team. Ward has been nominated as the Spectator’s choice for Boys Player-of-the-Month for the month of November. 

Ward originally played another racket sport before squash, tennis. Ward has only been playing for a year and a few months. Ward got into squash because “it looked fun to try” and has already become a key contributor to the team’s success over the past year. 

Because of LFA’s five squash courts, Ward spends all of his time training on campus. Ward doesn’t play for any outside club or team but does go to courts often to get some extra work in. Playing tennis made the transition to squash easy, but putting in the hard work over this past summer has been “the big part of my growth as a player,” Ward said. Along with the daily hour-and-a-half practice sessions with the team, Ward goes early and stays late to get extra reps in and improve his development even more. 

Ward doesn’t do anything special in his pre-match routine, but he does like to stretch, jog a little and practice hitting to make sure his swing is ready come match time. The winter season is a long season, and the team needs to become really good teammates with each other in a very short amount of time. Ward said, “[The team] bond together well, often drilling and practicing with each other before and after practice.” The experienced coaching of Coach Adel has brought the team great success on the court, on the track and in the weight room. 

Ward doesn’t have any specific reason for his love for squash other than the idea of having fun while also improving at the sport. Ward said, “There is something very satisfying about hitting good shots.” This and his love for sports are some of the main reasons he loves to play. 

Ward plans to play squash all throughout his tenure at LFA, but hasn’t thought about his plans to play the sport after high school. Ward is a very fun and talented guy to play with, and that is the main reason for how well he has fit into his team’s culture. Ward and the rest of the Caxys have a long season ahead of them that will end in Philadelphia at the Squash National Championships, where their goal is to win it all.