Senior Luke Nassief establishes Hart’s first Quidditch team

After desperate pleas on Hart TV to establish a Quidditch team at Hart High School, Luke Nassief has taken matters into his own hands. During the 2022-2023 school year, the Foothill League will welcome Hart’s first quidditch team, joining competitors such as Valencia High School, Saugus High School and West Ranch High School.

Despite graduating this year, Nassief will voluntarily engage in grade retention (by means of failing all his second-semester classes) and repeat his senior year in order to be Hart’s very first seeker and captain which has sparked recent controversy.

“It’s really not that big of a deal. If parents can hold their kids back in seventh, eighth or ninth grade for one or two years in order to get D1 offers as a 17-year-old sophomore, I don’t see why it’s unreasonable for me to put my athletic career over my academic career,” said Nassief.

While his decision poses obvious disadvantages, such as having to repeat his senior year, Nassief claims the pros heavily outweigh the cons.

“For starters, if this all goes according to plan, I could potentially get a scholarship to play in college. Quidditch scholarships aren’t very competitive since so few high schools offer it, and since schools like UCLA will be desperate for players like me, I’m 100 percent sure they’ll overlook me being a ‘super senior,’” Nassief said.

Nassief anticipates that the upcoming season will be successful. Though Hart’s team is fairly new, most players have paid thousands to play for clubs unaffiliated with Hart, some even being nationally recognized. With so many experienced players with high quidditch IQs and a qualified team of coaches, the season will undoubtedly be competitive.