At Pleasant Valley High School, varsity athletics and total effort seem to be a way of life. The motto “total effort” fills the weight room and is even printed on Pleasant Valley t-shirts. However, in reality, most athletes aren’t varsity caliber and don’t see sports as a top priority in their lives. Ava Stigler is a member of the JV cross country team and the seventh period weight-lifting class. She had constantly heard the lifting coaches use the phrase “total effort” and jokingly thought to herself, “Some days you just feel like giving partial effort.” Stigler thought the saying “partial effort” was hilarious and decided to make it into a parody.

Stigler wanted to make a t-shirt coining the phrase “partial effort” to contradict the lifting coaches’ total effort shirts. When it came to ordering the shirts, she ran into the problem of a minimum order. The website required her to order six, so she ordered it as a sample to see how many people would be interested. Stigler says, “People have found it funny, but I still need orders.” Even cross country coach Jane Wheeler, along with two of the lifting coaches, found the idea humorous. They even said they would consider buying one. Coach Arnold, on the other hand, told Stigler to burn the shirt. She says, “Some people are taking it too literally, it’s meant as a joke. With no Spartan copyright, I see no harm.”

Even though Stigler is the founder of the motto partial effort, it does not reflect her athletic career. She states, “I do work really hard and try my best everyday in practice. I also do not promote partial effort, it’s simply a joke.” She feels she cannot relate to Pleasant Valley’s motto of “total effort” as well because she does not devote her life to her sport. Her goal is to represent the athletes who don’t always make the headlines. “I want people to laugh and I want JV athletes to feel more united than [they do with] total effort.”  

Stigler is selling partial effort t-shirts until October 2nd. The cost is $10 for all regular t-shirts sizes and $12 for plus sizes. Stigler can be reached through her email, [email protected], or through her social media.

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