The Karate Kid: Lynbrook Style Freshman Izumi Shimanouchi describes her experiences as a national karate competitor by
claySONG
Bear scares help boost Hockey morale by
yasmineMORTAZAVI
At the start of a new field hockey season, players get their game schedules, hear about team expectations and go over other sports formalities. They then receive bracelets with red, white and blue beads strung onto a leather band. These bracelets are called “bear scares”, and Lynbrook field hockey players have been receiving them each season for the past 30 years. Over time, bear scares have become a symbol of sisterhood that the team shares and a way to tie the present with the past. The tradition all started with Sandi Stober, who introduced field hockey to Lynbrook in 1970 and “brought in bear scares to, as she put it, keep evil spirits away, avoid injury, and have the Hockey Gods look over us,” says Linda Nichols (P.E department chair). The name “bear scare” comes from bracelets that were worn in Stober’s small town to keep away the stray bears. Each year players receive a new bracelet, with the bead colors set in a different order than the year before. The bear scares are tied on, and members of the team are required to wear them at all times, with the exception of official games. But these bracelets have become much more than just a cool accessory.“It makes me feel like I’m really part of the team,” says freshman Gaby Chan, JV
team member. “The other sports teams I’ve been on haven’t felt so much like a family.” This tradition allows all the hockey players to participate in something that Lynbrook Field Hockey has been doing for a very long time. “No matter what, no matter how a player is, they can still be participating at the same level as everyone else,” says senior Aliya Karimi. This year, an especially symbolic addition has been made to the leather bracelets. Next to the four red and white beads, there is now a single white heart bead. The white heart was also worn 10 years ago by Lynbrook’s Field Hockey team to support Sandi Stober during her fight against cancer. Nichols says, “She made it through that hockey season, and passed away in February.” The heart bead has been brought back this year in honor of Stober, who helped send Lynbrook to 10 CCS championships and coached for a total of 32 years. The bear scares are just another reminder that sports are more than just exercise. “It’s about the entire experience,” says Dumas. Junior Angela Hu echoes these sentiments as she says, “It’s like when you’re at practice running and everyone is cheering you on,” Hu says, “That’s kind of the way bear scares make me feel.” The Field Hockey team hopes to channel their teamwork into a successful season. Their next home game is tomorrow against Monta Vista.
AUSTIN YU—EPIC
The field hockey team raises their hands for a cheer, with their bear scares tied on their wrists.
orable moments. In El Salvador, where the Junior Pan American Championships took place, a coach approached her and said that he knew someone who owned a karate school with the same name as her. A few weeks after the championships, she received a mysterious package in the mail. Upon opening it, she pulled out a t-shirt that read, “Izumi Karate School.” Last month, she found an article regarding the Izumi Karate School in a Japanese karate magazine, which also included a picture of the school’s instructor. Izumi figured that the coach she met must have sent her the shirt. “I wear it occasionally, and I am always proud of wearing it. I’m planning to send the magazine to him soon,” she says. Unfortunately, at the moment, an ankle injury is temporarily preventing her from continuing her participation on the U.S. National team. However, her passion for martial arts and her devotion has undoubtedly played a major role in shaping who she is today. “Karate is like my shadow. Wherever I go and whatever I do, karate is always with me,” she concludes. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU
While many students are diligently working to get an A on the next test, furiously typing to squeeze in that lastminute essay before the deadline, or planning on how to ask out that cute special someone, freshman Izumi Shimanouchi is hard at work preparing for the Junior World Championships for karate, balancing both her academic tasks and karate. It seems almost impossible to understand how a freshman can balance both keeping up with school work and other after school activities while busting out high energy moves. “Before going to high school, I went to karate class almost every day. However, due to a lot of homework and tests, it’s hard to spend as much time as before. So, I am currently trying to figure out how to balance my school work and karate training,” says Shimanouchi. That is athletic devotion at its epitome, keeping up with the intense training no matter what schedule conflicts occur and dealing with whatever sacrifices that have to be made. Her love for this martial art flourished from the very beginning, as soon as she turned five years old. At that time, Shimanouchi and her mother were undecided between her taking ballet classes or activities such as karate. However, Shimanouchi, being the active tomboy
that she was then, was glad to trade in ballet slippers for sparring equipment. After the first day at karate class, Shimanouchi was hooked. “The class was very fun, the teacher was really nice, and I was always excited to go to class every week,” she says. During the beginning classes, when Shimanouchi was first starting out, the overall training was mainly orientated around the basics: Kata (performance) and Kumite (sparring). Last year, she was placed on the United States National Team, and placed third in the Junior Pan American Championships for Kata. As a member of the U.S. National Team, there are things constantly on her mind, such as performing well and keeping up in school. “I did feel the pressure that I have to get a medal, for both me and the United States,” says Shimanouchi. But along the way, she is able to make friends from many foreign countries, such as those in South America, that she traveled to and broaden her horizons in many ways, karate and more. Traveling around the world of karate also has its mem-
LHS Football kicks off the new season to a great start by
noorsherAHMED
The Lynbrook football team has a new reason to strut around the campus with their heads held high. The team started off the new season to a fantastic start with 3-0 record. They defeated Delmar 34-7 three weeks ago and James Lick high school 27-0 two weeks ago. At the time of the production of the Epic, the score of the game against Harker was not available. The two wins are a tremendous morale boost to the team, because it has struggled in the past. The football teammates believe that their undeniable chemistry and three to four years of experience have been a big part of the reason for their newly found success. “A lot of us are returning seniors [so] a lot of people have been playing for four years,” says senior Izzy Khalil, “Once you play with the same guys for four years, you build trust, and chemistry with each other.” This year’s team is composed of experienced athletes. All of the team is made up of juniors and seniors, therefore ensuring that most of them had at least three to four years of prior training and experience working with one another as well as the coaches. “We have many returning starters from last year‘s team, so we have a lot of experience and a lot of understanding of what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively,” explains Coach Ray Wright. This was a key contributing factor to their three recent wins because team members were able to showcase each other’s strengths without revealing any weaknesses. “Everyone’s a star player,” says Khalil. But some players really stood out. The football team’s offensive “weapons” are Wes Wang, with 147 yards per game, and Billy Zamagni, with 148 yards. Defensively, James Estrada stands out with 8.5 tackles per game. The football team has reason to be proud. In the past, Lynbrook’s football team was not taken seriously due to its poor records. But the football team is hoping to change that this year with their newly established bond and goals. “So far things have been going better than last year,” says Wright. For the football team which had seen losses as a regular occurrence, this is a big turnaround. But Wright believes that caution should be held, “We just have to be careful not to get overconfident, because that could spell bad things” he says. Although the last two games were wins, that trend is not guaranteed to last throughout the season. The team urges fans to come out and cheer, because it boosts the spirit, encouraging them to perform better. “Our real task is ahead, like Homecoming,” warns Khalil.