Big Red Fall 2014-2015

BIG RED VOLUME 8 • NO. 1 • HOMECOMING EDITION 2014

WATCH THE THRONE

The boys’ water polo and girls’ field hockey teams will strive to repeat as champions in 2014. p. 14-17

BIG RED FALL 2014 • VOLUME 8 • NO. 1

HENRY VOGEL/BIG RED

thePlaybook Audrey Wilson: ON HER TOES

3

Elijah Akhtarzad: FANATICS REINVENTED

10

Jessica Spitz: CROSSING THE LINE

11

A field hockey champion athlete describes what it feels like to be ridiculed for playing like a girl.

Big Red Staff: HOMECOMING TIMELINE 12-13

Bennett Gross and Mila Barzdukas:

DEFENDING CHAMPS

19

DEATH LEAGUE

Moved up to the big leagues during the CIF-SS releaguing of 2014, the girls’ volleyball team takes the court to show that it’s up for the challenge.

Jonathan Seymour: TRANSFERS

20-21

The basketball program is changing its game plan to accommodate a touted newcomer and account for three key departures this offseason.

Jake Liker and Joe Levin:

22-23

TALKING ’BOUT PRACTICE 14-17

The field hockey and boys’ water polo teams respond to graduation losses and larger targets on their backs following championship seasons.

Cameron Stine: LEAVING THE FIELD

Cole Jacobson and Julianna Berger:

18

View points pertaining to the large 26-senior class leaving the football team next year vary as well as thoughts on how it will affect the squad next season.

The limit on full-contact football practice affects both the Wolverines and other California high school athletic programs.

Henry Vogel: THE NATIONAL CREW

24

Tyler Graham: PATH TO THE PROS

25

Big Red Staff: ROUNDTABLE

26-27

theStaff editors-in-chief Elijah Akhtarzad, Tyler Graham, Audrey Wilson

presentations editor Jacob Goodman

associate editors Bennett Gross, Cole Jacobson, Jonathan Seymour, Henry Vogel

staff Mila Barzdukas, Julianna Berger, Joe Levin, Jake Liker, Dario Madyoon, Carina Marx, Caitlin Neapole, Marcella Park, Emily Rahhal, Rian Ratnavale, Connor Reese, Cameron Stine, Jessica Spitz

advisers Luke Holthouse, Jenny Hontz, Kathleen Neumeyer

2 • BIG RED FALL 2014

BIG RED is a publication of the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle, the upper school newspaper at Harvard-Westlake School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604, produced as a part of Advanced Journalism classes. The school has 1,500 students in grades 9-12. For any questions, or to purchase a subscription or to advertise, please contact us at chronicle@ hw.com or at (818)487-6512. Copies of BIG RED are distributed free on campus to students and faculty and are mailed to friends and family by subscription at $15 per year. Letters to the editor can be sent to editor-in-chief Grant Nussbaum, at gnussbaum1@hwemail.com.

BIG RED is a general interest magazine about athletics, including teams and individual athletic pursuits of Harvard-Westlake students and faculty, as well as health and fitness topics. For seasonal coverage of Wolverine teams, see The Chronicle or www.hwchronicle. com.

On the Cover: The stars of the field hockey and water polo teams (from left to right: Raphael Raede ’15, Daniela Grande ’16, Anthony Ridgley ’15, Maddie Oswald ’15) hope to lead their teams to repeat as champions.

Cover Image by Caitlin Neapole

On Her Toes

BY AUDREY WILSON

While helping students contact Athletic Director Jason Kelly and answering the phone, new Executive Assistant to the Head of Athletics Alyxis Trujillo shows track and field coach Jeff Lachman how to sign his coach’s contract and appropriate forms.

Trujillo is no newcomer to juggling many different things at once. She holds the position formerly held by Shauna Altieri who is now Assistant Director of Communications Division. When Trujillo is not busy handling the majority of the department’s scheduling, budgets, coaches’ contracts and CIF regulations, she is traveling around to University of Southern California’s football games.

Trujillo moved to California just four months ago to be with her fiancé, USC defensive tackle Claude Pelon.

With her fiancé’s football career and an athletic family history with siblings playing football and baseball, sports play a major role in Trujillo’s life.

“I knew I wanted to stay within the athletics department,” Trujillo said. “I’ve been in it for a long time, enjoy it, love it and began looking for positions. Harvard-Westlake came up, I looked into it and was very interested, and here I am.”

Prior to her time here, Trujillo worked in her home state of Arizona at Mesa Community College in the athletics department and in the Tempe elementary school district.

Trujillo’s own athletic achievements started at The Alma Dolores Internation-

al Dance Center.

“My mother grew up in that dance studio with the same director that I grew up with,” Trujillo said. “Later I became a teacher there.”

Trujillo practiced almost every style of dance from ballet and tap to Tahitian, salsa and hip-hop.

“In my time frame we ended up opening about four different studios under that name,” Trujillo said. “I was able to co-own one and then manage another, so the studio is really home for us.”

Just last month, Trujillo went to watch her studio competed at the Show Stoppers National Dance Finals at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. When she does return home, Trujillo teaches workshops, holds private lessons and trains with younger girls.

Despite holding the position for only two months, Trujillo looks forward to contributing to the change around campus, specifically with the school’s new mission statement, and the Athletic Department’s plan to rewrite its philosophy.

“I’m still fresh here,” Trujillo said.

“It’s a new look on Harvard-Westlake, but I will say that coming to all the openings and hearing all the speeches, especially from [Rick] Commons, is just exciting.”

Trujillo has the school’s new mission statement posted on her refrigerator.

“It’s very motivating,” Trujillo said. “I am very excited, and I can’t wait to see what evolves from this.”

AUDREY WILSON/BIG RED

popCULTURE Wolverine Athlete

Best Boy Band

Dream Superpower...?

Taylor Swift is dating...?

Pro Wrestling nickname?

Best Reality TV Show is...?

Dream Job as a Kid

boys’ water polo

EVAN ROSENFELD ’17

I DON’T KNOW, I’M A BOY

SUPER BUFFALO STRENGTH

ME

WHITE BUFFALO

NAKED AND AFRAID

NO JOB

TAYLOR INGMAN ’16

NONE OF THEM

INVISIBILITY

I DON’T CARE

THE STALLION

RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE

FAIRY, THEN CONSTRUCTION WORKER

ME

HASH SLINGING SLASHER

KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS

FIREFIGHTER

I DON’T CARE

STEVE STEVENS

BAD GIRLS’ CLUB

GEOLOGIST

girls’ volleyball

HASSAN SMITH ’15

football

ONE DIRECTION

CLAIRE STEVENS ’16

ONE DIRECTION

field hockey

SUPER SPEED

FLIGHT

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 3

COLE JACOBSON/BIG RED

JONATHAN SEYMOUR/BIG RED

HOLE-IN-ONE Left: Lauren Song ’16 completes her stroke in the team’s victory over Marymount at Rancho Park Golf Course.

HOME FREE Right: Ryan Dominick’ 17 drops back to pass during the Wolverines’ 48-6 loss to Loyola on Aug. 2.

FREE FALLING Bottom: Josie Treadwell ’16 saves the ball from hitting the ground in the volleyball team’s preseason scrimmage against Thousand Oaks.

JONATHAN SEYMOUR/BIG RED

HENRY VOGEL/BIG RED

MILA BARZDUKAS/BIG RED

HUDDLE UP Upper Left: Head coach Scot Ruggles strategizes with the varsity offense in a timeout during the 48-6 loss to Loyola on Aug. 29.

SKYWALKER Right: Jenna Moustafa ’17 rallies with her opponent at a preseason practice.

DRIFTING AWAY Bottom Left: Duncan Froomer ’16 drifts away from a defender in the water polo team’s 21-4 win over Dana Hills.

ELIJAH AKTARZAD/BIG RED

RIP IT Center Ben Hallock ‘16 pulls up for a shot in the team’s match vs. Dana Hills on Sept. 16. Hallock had four goals in the game, which the Wolverines went on to win by a score of 21-4.

Photograph taken by MILA BARZDUKAS

ROUNDING UP THE TROOPS

BY ELIJAH AKHTARZAD The 2014-2015 Head Fanatics

ELIJAH AKHTARZAD/BIG RED

ALEX COPELAND ‘15

Copeland returns to the varsity basketball team for his fourth straight year and the last for Coach Greg Hilliard.

MILA BARZDUKAS ‘15 DESMOND BUTLER ’15 MATTHEW GLICK ‘15 Barzdukas has been a varsity two-sport athlete for the past three years on both the volleyball and track teams.

The bleachers were empty as the field hockey team put on a show against Louisville in last year’s 8-0 blowout. During the rout, the only evidence of fan support was from six clapping parents in the stands, but no support from fellow students or Fanatics was apparent.

Since their creation in 2006, the Fanatics have been both criticized and praised.

The main flak the Fanatics have received surrounds their occasional lack of attendance outside of marquee games, but when the Fanatics do show up, their support and enthusiasm alone can push a team to victory.

“Last year, the Head Fanatics pretty much just posted on the Fanatic Facebook group whenever we had games, but no one ever really came out to watch,” field hockey player Sloane Wilson ’15 said. “We actually had a pretty big turnout at one of our games last week after the Fanatics posted about it. I think if the Head Fanatics lead by example by showing up, more fans will come.”

Athletic Director Jason Kelly hopes to see the Fanatics come out to various teams’ games other than football in the fall and basketball in the winter.

“The Fanatics have built a tradition of ensuring great attendance at key games on the athletic calendar and I know that the current leadership team is very keen to build on and enhance that tradition,” Kelly said. “It is very important that each of our athletic programs get to enjoy the enhanced spirit the Fanatics

After playing on the varsity football team for three years, Butler, a linebacker, is now a captain of the team.

Glick is a four-year varsity soccer player who helped the offensive attack of the Wolverines last year.

bring to games. My hope is that the Fanatics come out en masse to at least one game per program during their season.”

The sound of offensive chants directed toward Loyola like “E.T. phone home” and “Beat Boyola” used to ring through Taper Gym, but those have been halted after the CIF issued two citations to Harvard-Westlake for poor sportsmanship and conduct in 2010.

“The strength of the Fanatics is their passion for our school and our teams,” Kelly said.

“Where they can grow as an organized group is how they demonstrate this passion. I have told the leadership of this year’s Fanatics that I want them to focus their enthusiasm on supporting our players, our teams and athletes while focusing on the positivity of our play rather than being negative about our opponents. Being a member of the HarvardWestlake community is a privilege and we all have a responsibility to demonstrate integrity when we are representing the school as an athlete or as a fan.”

With the 2014 fall season underway, Head Fanatics Mila Barzdukas ’15, Ryan Shelly ’15, Desmond Bulter ’15, Alex Copeland ’15 and Matthew Glick ’15 are attempting to change the perception of regular season games and are trying to get more students into the bleachers to support their classmates.

“We want Fanatics to go to more games than just Loyola football and basketball,” Barzdukas said. “There are some great, underappreciated teams that we want to show them

RYAN SHELLY ’15 Shelly has been a goalie for the soccer team and a defender for the lacrosse squad for the last three years.

the love they deserve.”

The new Head Fanatics were selected to lead the Fanatic Section this year by last year’s Head Fanatics. Barzdukas joins the group as the second female to ever be inducted as a Head Fanatic, the first being Kristen Lee ’12 during the 2011-2012 school year.

“Every year, Fanatics come out saying they are going to be bigger and louder than ever,” Glick said. “For us, we take this more seriously than anything. When you come to games, we’re going to be making constant noise. We’re bringing more chants, props, outfits and anything else to make the experience worthwhile. We’re just going to get rowdy.”

With the use of the Fanatics Facebook page, the Head Fanatics have been successful so far in attracting students to most home games, rallying 50 students to the first home field hockey match against Westminister.

As of press time, the page has 427 members compared to last year’s 644. The page is used throughout the year as a way for the Head Fanatics to update the student body on upcoming games and results of games that were recently played.

“One of our biggest goals is to make sure that we get fans at more than just the bigger, more traditionally popular sports,” Copeland said. “We want to turn up the games for every sport at Harvard-Westlake because we’ve all had a lot of experience in athletics and we know how much it means when you have your classmates supporting you.”

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 10

SCOTT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED

MAKING A STATEMENT: Jessica Spitz

’15 steals the ball from a Fountain Valley High School forward in the Wolverines’ 4-0 victory.

CROSSING THE LINE

BY JESSICA SPITZ

Y

ou run like a girl!” “You hit like a girl!” “You throw like a girl!”

We’ve all heard these taunts. Coaches, parents and children often equate a boy’s bad performance with femininity. However, we rarely consider the far-reaching consequences of this behavior. This damaging practice promotes the idea that girls are lesser than, and it permeates the psyches of young boys and girls alike. While boys develop a sense of superiority, girls develop self-doubt and insecurity as a result of this detrimental language.

Unfortunately, we cannot escape this attitude here at Harvard-Westlake. Until very recently, the field hockey team and the football team shared Ted Slavin Field for practices a few times a week. At one of these practices in early September, an assistant football coach made a derogatory remark about field hockey players while our team and head coach stood only feet away. While instructing a drill, the football coach compared his players’ poor tackling to how field hockey players tackle.

Though initially shocked and upset, I did not speak up. Instead, I comforted myself with the thought of writing this piece, hoping to educate a wider audience than a single coach. The incident completely took hold of my concentration, and over the following week I discussed it with administrators, friends, and male and female athletes.

When I spoke with Head of Athletics Terry Barnum, he agreed that the football coach’s comment was insulting.

“What the coach said was completely inappropriate,” Barnum said.

“It was hurtful, it was disrespectful and should not have been said, point blank. So whatever he meant by it, whatever motivational object he felt it was going to satisfy, it didn’t. He should not have said it. And that is not the way we want our coaches to act and behave at Harvard-Westlake.”

A week after the incident, Barnum held a meeting with the field hockey team in which we collaboratively brainstormed ideas on how to make female athletes feel more respected at school. In addition, Barnum, football program head Scot Ruggles and the assistant coach in question formally apologized to the field hockey team.

Though administrators understood the need for an apology, there is a disturbing disparity between the reactions of male and female studentathletes. When I brought up the issue with some football players, they nodded knowingly and laughed off the situation. Though they acknowledged that the coach acted foolishly with field hockey players so close by, they did not take issue with the comment itself. They found fault only because we heard him, not because he said it. When I insisted that this incident revealed a deeper problem regarding the disrespectful treatment of female athletes at Harvard-Westlake and in our society, many of them immediately denied that such disrespect exists, or claimed that they personally do not look down upon girls’ sports.

In contrast, every single female athlete I talked to felt that her sport was not respected as much as boys’ sports.

The same night as the practice,

further mockery of field hockey took place. As a way of promoting the next day’s field hockey game, a student posted a clip from the TV show “Gossip Girl” on the Harvard-Westlake Fanatics Facebook page. The clip showed high school girls “playing” field hockey, though it really consisted of girls beating each other up in a silly scene, with “I Got it From My Mama” by will.i.am. playing in the background.

The author of the post wrote that the scene depicted what real field hockey is like at Harvard-Westlake.

This post was eventually taken down, but not until after many students, including my teammates, had seen it.

This type of degradation on the Fanatics page extends to other girls’ sports as well. How many times has a Head Fanatic, either a boy or a girl, cited girls in spandex as a reason to attend a girls’ volleyball game? Or a potential cat fight as motivation to watch our nationally ranked girls’ soccer team?

My goal is not to vilify the football program, male athletes or the Fanatics. The assistant football coach and the author of the Facebook post most likely did not mean harm by their comments, but they are products of a society that perpetuates the demeaning of women. There are, of course, boys who view their female counterparts as equal. At the field hockey game the day after the incident, we had many Fanatics (all of them boys) in the stands cheering just as wildly as they would at a boys’ basketball game.

However, we as a community need to become much more conscious of our words and actions when speaking

about women in comparison to men.

I challenge my fellow female athletes, and any girl at school who experiences sexual discrimination, to stand up for yourselves and make your voices heard. I understand that it is not easy. I experienced pressure from coaches and players who told me repeatedly not to write this column.

In addition, I understand that many girls do not want to be branded as feminists. In the last few weeks, I was called “sassy” for my passionate stance on this issue. But I implore girls to realize that this topic needs to be a part of daily conversations. While namecalling does not stick, persistent efforts to bring about social reform do.

I challenge male athletes, their coaches and their parents to take this opportunity to self-reflect. How many times have you devalued women as a means of elevating men? High school boys will graduate and move on to college and eventually the workplace, where they will continue to consistently interact with women. Though domestic violence and sexual harassment are much more extreme than harsh language on the football field, it all stems from the same place of putting women down.

Let’s live by our new mission statement. “A diverse and inclusive community” must be one that treats everyone equally, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or any other differentiating quality.

If we want to begin “living and learning with integrity,” we need to collectively take a good look in the mirror and make sure we are content with what we see.

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 11

FOOTBALL HOMECOMING

TIMELINE 1993 - 2014

After falling to St. Francis the year before, the Wolverines beat St. Francis 20-12 in the 1992 - 1993 school year. The victory marks the first time the Wolverines won on Homecoming since the merger.

1993: 20-12 win against St. 1991: 36-27 loss to St. Francis

In the first Homecoming game after the Harvard-Westlake merger, the Wolverines fell to St. Francis 36-27. After a scoreless half, the squad rallied back to take the lead, but lost after a St. Francis touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

VOX POPULI ARCHIVES

12 • BIG RED FALL 2014

The last Homecoming win the Wolverines had was in 2011 against El Camino Real in a 3931 nail biter. The team held onto a slim fourth quarter lead to win the grand finale of the day.

VOX POPULI ARCHIVES

gainst St. Francis

CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

2011: 39-31 win against El Camino Real HS 2000: 37-27 win against Bishop Montgomery

The first Homecoming game in the new century featured a Harvard-Westlake victory over Bishop Montgomery. The squad was able to pull away late in the fourth quarter to take a 37-27 victory.

VOX POPULI ARCHIVES

VOX POPULI ARCHIVES

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 13

14 • BIG RED FALL 2014

GOING FOR THE REPEAT Last fall the boys’ water polo team and the girls’ field hockey team won their league championships. This year they are striving for the same success.

By Bennett Gross and Mila Barzdukas

A

t 3 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 5, last year, there was a strange absence on Ted Slavin Field. The football team was still hours away from its showdown against Palisades Charter High School that night, and the girls’ varsity field hockey team was supposed to have been defending the school’s home turf until then. However, the team’s game that day was canceled due to not being able to find an opponent, after the team’s original adversary could not play on that date.

Homecoming will be a little different for field hockey players this year. Instead of participating in the festivities merely as Fanatics, they will be participating as Harvard- student athletes. After missing last year’s event, the team really will be “coming home” on Homecoming; the day is the first time some in the school community will be seeing the girls play since Homecoming in 2012.

The boys’ water polo team had its “coming home” last year.

In 2012, the Copses Family Pool was still being built, leaving the squad without a venue to showcase its talents for Homecoming.

However, the team quickly made up for lost time by beating powerhouse Long Beach Wilson 11-8.

This year’s field hockey and water polo teams share something in common: they are both defending titles. Field hockey comes into the season as the defending Los Angeles Field Hockey Association champions and match up against Glendora.

The water polo team, which was named the number one high school water polo team in the nation by totalwaterpolo.com and is the defending CIF Division 1 champion, opens their league play against Notre Dame on Homecoming.

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 15 CAITLIN NEAPOLE/BIG RED

GOING FOR THE REPEAT Both field hockey and water polo have yet to prove if they can be back-to-back winning teams, but have set their sights on repeating as champions.

Football remains the day’s grand finale and nightcap, but the games during the day contain special meaning for water polo and field hockey. The two sports are traditionally less popular amongst the Fanatics compared to football and volleyball, but both will likely draw much bigger crowds than usual on Homecoming.

Glendora is one of field hockey’s biggest rival and the only team to beat the Wolverines last season.

“While it is certainly fun to play at Homecoming, we think of [Glendora] like any other game,” Head Coach Erin Creznic said.

“We are not looking for revenge against them, because

ultimately we beat everyone last year.”

Both teams have continued their winning ways into the beginning of the season.

The water polo team is hoping to get one step closer in its quest for an undefeated season.

The team is in a slightly different spot than last year. For the first time, the Wolverines top the rankings instead of rival Mater Dei. They only graduated one starter from last year’s winning squad, new underclassmen have given the team more firepower and the team’s senior class contains multiple four-year varsity players. This is the first season where the Wolverines will have a target on their backs, and getting used to that change is something the squad wants to do quickly.

“By now we’ve been through every situation,” four-year var-

sity player Johnny Hooper ’15 the Wolverines. Seven other sesaid. “In ninth grade, we weren’t niors graduated along with Cartthat good. In 10th grade, we were er, and the team has to rely on okay, and in 11th grade, we were more underclassmen and inexpereally good. I think we’ve pro- rienced players than ever before. gressed so much. We have four “Losing eight seniors was goals usually and we got all of hard because we are practically a them except for the new team both offenundefeated season last sively and defensively,” year so we’re hoping we Caitlin Neapole ’16 can get the undefeated said. “We’ve had to adseason this year and just our strategies.” be the best we’ve ever Not only did the been.” team lose eight graduWhile water polo ates, but it also lost the lost team leader Warleading scorer for the ’ ren Snyder ’14, now team last season in Caitlin playing at UCLA, to Emma Wasserman ’16, Neapole ’16 graduation, field hockwho quit to focus on ey has had to deal with losing academics. their team leader as well with the “Emma Wasserman also departure of Glenne Carter ’14. didn’t return this year and she Now playing Division I college was our center forward,” Neafield hockey at Indiana, Carter pole said. “Emma always brought provided experience and skill for an energy to the game, and she nathanson s

CORNER SHOT: Duncan Froomer ’16 prepares to launch the ball into the top left post in a decisive 21-4 victory over Dana Hills to extend their five game winning streak.

16 • BIG RED FALL 2014 MILA BARZDUKAS/BIG RED

IG RED

PIERCING THE DEFENSE: Team captain Maddie Oswald ’15 penetrates through the Fountain Valley defense in a 4-0 victory.

SCOTT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED

was always so focused and in the wins compared to other Harvardzone. I miss not having her a part Westlake sports. Field hockey’s of the team this year.” last LAFHA Championship was Even though the team has in 2004, and water polo took a lot of underclassmen getting home its first CIF rings in proready to take on the varsity level gram history last season. for the first time, people lookReturning water polo starting to fill Carter and er Raphael Raede ’15 Wasserman’s roles are knows what winning a Georgetown comchampionship is like as mit Maddie Oswald well, as he was on the ’15 and Yale commit team last year, but he Brooke Reese ’15. also know what could “The seniors and happen if the team gets returning juniors complacent. know what it takes to “There’s a story Brian ’ win a championship,” [Flacks ’06] likes to reJohnny Creznic said. They mind of us a lot,” Raede Hooper ’15 are excellent role said. “When we were in models and they are the North-South tourexcited to share their knowledge ney, we went to a pool to pracand experience with the younger tice and Mater Dei was already players,” there. Instead of practicing, they Both teams also need to get were playing a game that doesn’t used to being on top, since both have that much to do with water programs have relatively few title polo, and they ended up losing. It nathanson s

shows that they became complacent, and we have to make sure that doesn’t ever happen with us.

We have to make sure that on our worst day we beat Mater Dei by 10 points.”

Field hockey knows that it can’t get complacent against Glendora, either. The Wolverines defeated Glendora 4-0 once last year during their 13-1-1 campaign, but that one loss was a 1-0 defeat to the Tartans. Much like last year, both Glendora matchups should have big implications on the league standings.

“I’m really excited to play Glendora on Homecoming,” Ne apole said. “They’re a very strong team and I know all the returning players want to send a message to Glendora early on this year.

Hopefully playing at Homecoming will be an exciting environment and push the team even harder.”

WATER POLO Homecoming Preview Againt: Glendora Time: 3 p.m.

Current Record: 5-0

FIELD HOCKEY Homecoming Preview Againt: Westchester Time: 7 p.m.

Current Record: 3-1

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 17

HENRY VOGEL/BIG RED

HANGING UP THE CLEATS

BY CAMERON STINE As the varsity football teams prepares for its Sept. 19 home opener vs. Taft, linebacker Desmond Butler ’15 runs in his full pads in the grueling 106 degree heat on Ted Slavin Field. He slams into fellow linebacker Cameron Welther ’17, completing the linebackers’ tackling drill for the fifth time. He is one of the 26 seniors on the varsity team graduating next year. In 2011, he played for Harvard-Westlake’s last freshman football team.

While other male Wolverine sports programs, like defending Mission League champion lacrosse and defending CIF-SS Division I champion water polo, have seen vastly increasing interest in recent years, the football program has headed in the opposite direction, as the last class to have enough participants for a freshman team will graduate this year.

This season’s combined total of players from grades 9-12 is a mere 71 – and that’s the most during Scot Ruggles’ three-year tenure as head coach. While players understand that cutting the third team was necessary due to the lack of numbers in the program, they’re still disappointed at the lack of a freshman team.

“It’s really sad, it gives [freshman] confidence playing,” quarterback Jon Glover ’15 said. “It’s pretty scary going up against big kids playing as a freshman.”

According to Maxpreps rosters, this class of 2015 has had the largest number of

18 •BIG RED FALL 2014

athletes in at least a decade, and will leave the team with a substantial decrease in size.

“I definitely think they’ll leave a big hole, but if we fill it with new talent and hard work we will be able to be successful in the upcoming seasons,” Welther said.

Based on averages of data from the past four years, the football team is projected to have 58 athletes next season. This is over 10 athletes less than the average number of players in the program in the past four years.

“If the juniors, sophomores and freshmen can get some of their friends to come out, I think this team has a really good shot,” Jackson Beavers ’15, a former defensive end and current JV assistant coach whose bouts with vertigo prohibited him from playing his senior year, said. “We definitely have the talent and the size to compete, but people need to come out.”

The decline of players in the program has been viewed in a variety of ways.

“Although the team will have a hard time filling injuries, I think we have a good foundation,” varsity receiver Ben Cooper ’16 said.

Others view the lack of players as a blessing in disguise for the team.

“I think the smaller line up gives us an advantage, because we are more aggressive and have more endurance than the other team,” Beavers said. “When our players are in we don’t expect to be subbed out, we ex-

Game Time: 7:30 pm Current Record: (1-1)

There’s such a gray area of what

pect to play the entire game.” constitutes bullying. If it’s really severe I The number of people quitting the prowould definitely tell someone, but I’m not gram has increased in the past three years. sure what why I would do if it was While the reasons people are someone quitting just making fun of me or playing around,” vary, the numbers unquestionably show that less football players are staying.

“It wasn’t worth the time and risk of getting injured, which would affect the time I had to focus on school and other commitments,” former guard and current lacrosse player Marco Marenzi ’17, who quit football after his freshman year, said.

Many players quit due to the fear of concussions or because of their parents’ fear of concussions. For every 10,000 high school athletes, 11.5 were diagnosed with concussions according to the National Academy of Sciences.

This puts football at the top of the list for high school concussion rates at almost double the second spot.

“I quit because it wasn’t my priority and my parents didn’t want to risk me getting concussed and affecting other things,” former wide receiver and active basketball forward Aaron Glazer ’17, who hasn’t played football since middle school, said.

“I already got two concussions; I couldn’t risk getting another one playing football especially since I’m a small guy,” former wide receiver and current volleyball player Brad Gellman ‘16, who quit football in middle school, said.

IN THE FACE OF DEATH

Game Time: 4 p.m.

Current Record: (4-2)

BY COLE JACOBSON AND JULIANNA BERGER While most of the media attention during the hectic CIF-Southern Section releaguing saga last spring went to the reconfiguration of the Parochial Area football leagues, the girls’ volleyball program was impacted in an opposite way, being placed in what is now informally known as the “Death League.”

Before this spring’s rearrangements by the CIF-SS, there had been a glaring lack of parity in the two top Parochial Area girls’ volleyball leagues. The Mission League had three of the four 2013 CIF-SS Division I-A semifinalists in Flintridge Sacred Heart, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake, but its three remaining teams were not even in the state’s top 250 teams on Maxpreps. Similarly, the Sunshine League had two of the state’s top 31 teams in Marlborough and Marymount, but had no other teams ranked higher than 150.

After the efforts of the 10-school Los Angeles Athletic Association to fix these discrepancies were recognized by the CIF, the competitive equity issue was gone. Starting this season, the Wolverines will be playing in a new Mission League, including old enemies Notre Dame and Sacred Heart, in addition to former Sunshine League powers Marlborough and Marymount, playing in Division I-AA. The result places the Wolverines in what the Los Angeles Daily News described as the not just the toughest league in Los Angeles but “rivaling the Trinity League and the Bay League for the deepest in all of Division 1-AA.” “Obviously we like to win, but at the same time we train to play the best volleyball that we can play,” Head Coach Adam Black said.

“I’m excited to be in a league that will test us every night.”

Opposite Alex Florent ’15, who finished second in California in the high jump in 2014 but re-joined the volleyball program this season, was even more optimistic: “I love it. I don’t think [playing against former Mission League opponents Chaminade, Alemany, and Louisville] is as fun and no one really supports us playing easier teams. It’s way more fun to have a challenge,” she said.

These new league foes aren’t the only potential upgrades in difficulty for the Wolverines. If the Wolverines finish in the top three in the Mission League, gaining an automatic spot into the Division I-AA playoffs, they could run into powerhouses like defending 1-AA champion Los Alamitos and Flintridge La Salle, who swept the Wolverines in last season’s I-A title game and also were moved

up to I-AA this spring. Overall, the grueling playoff division includes 15 of California’s top 35 teams at the end of the 2013 season according to Maxpreps, making another deep playoff run seemingly more difficult.

Due to this increase in schedule rigor and the loss of a talented class of 2014 (which included three NCAA Division I players in Nicole Elattrache ‘14, Marielle Bagnard ‘14 and Josephine Kremer ‘14), early polls have been somewhat harsh on the Wolverines. The Sept.

15 CIF-SS Coaches’ Poll ranked HarvardWestlake as the 11th best team in Division I-AA, 2nd highest out of any Mission League teams, but the media hasn’t been as kind. A Sept. 15 “Daily Prep Talk” poll didn’t include the Wolverines in the top 25 teams in Southern California -- while placing three other Mission League teams on the list -- and the Sept. 4 Daily News’ preview had the Wolverines at third in the league behind Notre Dame and Sacred Heart.

Black said that while he “respects what those guys do,” he just wants the team to “focus on where we are, and do what we need to do to get better.” Team captain and outside hitter Rachel Savage ‘15 shared similar ideas, saying, “we don’t really pay attention to that stuff … we have our own opinion of how good we are.”

Despite the heavy graduation losses, the Wolverines have an impressive blend of returning talent and increased chemistry. Including senior captains Savage and libero Mila Barzdukas ‘15, the team returns nine varsity players from last season -- and that doesn’t even account for Florent, expected to see significant playing time despite her two-season absence from the sport.

Black cited his captains, Florent, and opposite Marie Begel ‘16 as expected key players, and Savage added that outside hitter Josie Treadwell ‘16 is a vastly improved player to watch. In addition, this season marks the first time since 2010-11 that no underclassmen have been on the varsity roster. Growing closer from years of experience in the program, Savage said, “We’ve had a lot more team bonding, and we’ve connected a lot more than previous years.”

The team began the season well, finishing with a record of 3-2 in the Molten Classic tournament, where it was eliminated in the quarterfinals in four games by Los Alamitos.

Savage believed that despite the loss, this was an encouraging result for the squad, saying that “the fact that we took them to four games

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF BERNARD DILLARD

LIFT OFF: Alex Florent ’15 prepares to spike the ball in the Molten Classic. She re-joined the volleyball team this year, although she is already the number two high jumper in California.

shows that we’ve already improved this early in the year.”

Overall, the Wolverines’ record is 4-2 as of press time, as they head into an intriguing Homecoming matchup with Westlake Village Oaks Christian. Oaks has been a similarly dominant program to the Wolverines, finishing 34th in California in 2013 and off to a 5-5 start to this season as of press time, and the teams have some mutual players in the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy program. Despite these similarities, they have never played each other at the high school level.

Regarding this first-ever matchup, defensive specialist Morgan Choi ‘15 said that “we’ve been working hard all year, and we really want to beat Oaks.”

Ultimately, despite the new difficulties of this season, the blend of confidence and humility should keep the program running strongly.

“It’s going to come down to if we as a team can perform up to standards that we set,” Black said. “To beat good teams we have to play really good ourselves. We have a good amount of key players, so if we can run the system well I think we’ll have a good year.”

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 19

TRANSFERRING OUT

BY JONATHAN SEYMOUR

Although three of the boys’ basketball team’s tallest players have transferred from HarvardWestlake, the team believes it has grown even stronger due to the addition of incoming transfer Wolfgang Novogratz ’16 and its transition to a spread court offense.

A

Notre Dame), and Daniel Schs the 6 foot 8 inch for- reier ’17 (to Santa Monica), Head ward ducked his head Coach Greg Hilliard, who is enunder the doorway of tering his 30th and final season Taper Gymnasium after beating coaching for Harvard-Westlake Maranatha High School 98-96 last and his 40th season coaching year, Nick Medavoy ’16 in total, said that the didn’t know that it was team will not be doing the last time he would many things differentbe playing basketball ly to adjust its strategy for Harvard-Westlake. to suit a smaller team.

Medavoy, who transGoring is 6 feet 2 inchferred to Brentwood in es and Schreier meathe spring, said it felt sures 6 feet 3½ inches. strange realizing that “The team is fo’ he would be playing cused on the players Nick for a different team in we have, the team as it Medavoy ‘16 a different gym wearis,” Hilliard said. “We ing different colors next reacted [to the loss of season.

Medavoy, Goring, and Schreier] Although three of the boys’ by wishing our departed friends basketball team’s tallest players well in their new schools. We will transferred in Medavoy, Chance not be performing without those Goring ’17 (to Sherman Oaks players; we will be performing to nathanson s

20 • BIG RED FALL 2014

the best of our abilities with the basket. players we have.”

“I hope Nick, Chance and The only big change that the Daniel will find the perfect fit for team will make to adapt to this their basketball aspirations and lack of height is that it will feature find a school that they are comits guards more prominently. fortable with,” Hilliard said. “I “I think we will make would love to see all up for the lack of size on three of them have our team with a solid enormous success, group of guards,” Spenjust not against us… cer Perryman ’15 said. please.”

“Although it will be hard As is the case to guard the big man, he on every team every will have just as hard a year, the team expects time guarding a smaller, its seniors to provide ’ quicker and more skilled leadership. This year, Parsa Shoa ’16 player.” the team’s seniors are In addition, the team guard Alex Copeland will increase its defensive pres- ’15, forward Noah Gains ’15 and sure, make quicker transitions guard Perryman. between plays and implement “We want to send Coach Hilla spread court offense, which is iard off with a CIF championship when all five players play around so we’re definitely going to have to the perimeter instead of near the adjust to our lack of size and use nathanson s

Recent Transfers

IN: Wolfgang Novogratz ’16

OUT: Daniel Schreier ’16 Nick Medavoy ’16 Chance Goring ’17

JONATHAN SEYMOUR/BIG RED

GRANT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED

our quickness and scrappiness to our advantage when we play bigger teams,” Copeland said.

The basketball team’s skill will also be bolstered by the addition of new junior guard Wolfgang Novogratz ’16, who enrolled at Harvard-Westlake after moving to Los Angeles from New York this summer. Novogratz, who measures 6 feet 3 inches, adds some much-needed height to the basketball team.

“We’re really excited about this year because we have some young guys that are really stepping up, and the addition of Wolfgang has given us what I think is the best backcourt in California,” Copeland said.

In addition to his other skills as a guard, the team expects Novogratz to be an effective ball distributor that will get everybody

involved in the game. Novogratz and the other new players on the varsity team are working to learn the team’s strategies and plays and to blend their talents with the team.

“I think the basketball team will be just fine without me and the other guys because they have a great captain in Alex Copeland and Wolfgang should give them a little boost,” Medavoy said. “I obviously wish them the best in their season.”

As the team enters the final year of Hilliard’s tenure as head coach before he retires, the players are looking to make his legacy one of excellence, doing the little things right, playing small ball and creating lasting bonds between players.

“Obviously we’ll be at a disadvantage size wise, but with our

five-out offense, we’ll be fine,” forward Parsa Shoa ’16 said. “I would expect to see a breakout year from ‘Cope.’ I honestly think we’ll be able to overcome adversity and beat teams by playing small ball.”

“I hope that my last

“

team has a lot of fun, progresses and makes some lifetime memories that they will share for the rest of their lives,” Hilliard said. “We will take time to enjoy every moment of it. Forty years of those moments. I am blessed.”

THE ADDITION OF WOLFGANG HAS GIVEN US WHAT I THINK IS THE BEST BACKCOURT IN CALIFORNIA. –ALEX COPELAND

NATHANSON’S

Alex Copeland ’15

BIG RED FALL 2015 • 21

Talking ’Bout Practice

New Caliornia Laws Maximum of 18 hours of practice per week Maximum of 4 hours of practice per day No consecutive double day practices Three hour rest between practices

BY JAKE LIKER AND JOE LEVIN Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi famously said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.”

The California Interscholastic Federation and California governor Jerry Brown seem to have a different philosophy, as both have taken measures to improve safety of California high school football players, even if that means sacrificing some wins.

In May, the CIF approved bylaw 506, which, among other changes, made it illegal to have practice twice a day on consecutive days. The rule went into effect in July, and as a result, the Wolverines’ “Hell Week” only brought three two-a-days, as opposed to five in previous years. Even though the rules forced the team to swap the field one day for the lanes and a round of bowling instead of practice, Head Coach Scot Ruggles isn’t worried about the regulation’s impact.

“We definitely got enough out of this preseason while still staying within the rules,” Ruggles said.

Not everyone is so sure. JV wide receiver and defensive back Brandon Lim ’16 believes that the new bylaw has its pros and cons.

“I appreciate how the CIF is caring for player

safety,” Lim said. “However, full contact practices prepare players better for the physicality and intensity of real games. Having less full contact practices won’t allow us players to practice tackling and blocking techniques, techniques that are important in football. I think [fewer] full contact practices will lessen the chance of injuries during practices; h o w e v e r, [fewer] full contact practices will hurt our physicality and intensity come game day.”

Lim certainly isn’t the only one that feels that way; Nick Richmond ’16 echoed his sentiments.

“I think the rules have good intentions in trying to protect players, but there’s also a downside in the sense that we don’t get as much full speed, game situations in practice,” Richmond said.

“

Not only has the governing body of California high school sports cracked down on practices, the state government has too. Three weeks before the start of two-a-days, Brown signed a new statewide law that restricts practice time for high school football teams significantly.

Going into effect Jan. 1, teams will only be allowed two 90-minute full-contact practices per week and none during the offseason. Currently, the team has three 120-minute full contact practices a week and in some cases, six during the offseason.

Assemby Bill 2127 was drafted by assemblyman Ken Cooley, who justified the law to Reuters.

“Concussion can change a kid’s life,” Cooley said. “Viewed through that lens, this bill is not crazy. It’s good for kids and it’s good for parents.”

I LIKE IT HOW IT IS NOW. IT’S FOOTBALL. IT’S DANGEROUS... YOU KNOW THAT SIGNING UP” -ALEX REINER ’18 JV OFFENSIVE LINE

S Rein “I lik Rein seen O son mak lemo “ ers] com best R have best said purp to ar mak ball, Th bam footb high

ornia , the e the wide hool all signtly. into n. 1, will e altwo nute ntact ces week eam week

mblyters. oley not ts.”

New CIF Rules Maximum two full- contact practices per week Maximum of 90 minutes fullcontact practice per day No full-contact practices during the off season

Some players, like JV offensive lineman Alex Reiner ’18, aren’t looking through the same lens.

“I like it how it is now. It’s football. It’s dangerous,” Reiner says. “You know that signing up. I’ve never seen anybody get seriously injured in a practice.”

Others, like JV defensive back Max Robertson ’17, are taking things more in stride; trying to make lemonade out of what some consider to be a lemon of a legislation. “[The government] is doing it to keep [players] safe,” Robertson said. “We’ll have to see what come of the new laws, and we’ll have to make the best of them.”

Robertson’s right. Coaches, players, and teams have no choice but to wait and see and make the best of the new restrictions. It’s what Robertson said first, though, that’s key to understanding the purpose of the laws. Suits and ties in Sacramento aren’t trying to take practice out of football to make it a worse sport; they’re trying to save football, and potentially its players, from itself.

They aren’t alone in that crusade either. Alabama and Maryland have similar laws. Even in the football mad state of Texas--home of $60 million high school football stadiums and the famed “Fri-

day Night Lights”—teams are now only allowed to have one 90-minute full contact practice a week.

Study after study has shown that football is, as Reiner said, a dangerous sport. Those same studies show that practice can be just as dangerous as games. According to the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association, 62-percent of organized sportsrelated injuries in the U.S. occur during practice.

On top of this, an orthopedic society campaign known as STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention), reports that overuse accounts for nearly half of all middle and high school student injuries-the type caused by practicing for two hours, twice a day, for a whole week.

There’s also the possibility that players aren’t getting injured, but they’re being pushed to the point of no return. Injury isn’t the only cause of risk, according to a study conducted by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. The NCCSIR found that non-traumatic causes of death such as heart conditions and heat were twice as common as injury related ones, after studying 243 football deaths between July 1990 and June 2010.

As more and more of these alarming studies

EMILY RAHHAL/BIG RED

are published, coaches have begun to police themselves from going too hard and unintentionally hurting their teams.

“Coaches have taken it upon themselves to practice at a thud tempo, not going to the ground,” Ruggles says. “The sport is safer than people think.

I think it’s too early to tell [whether the changes make a difference], but I think you’ll still see injuries of the game of football, no matter what the tempo or intensity of practice.”

Varsity quarterback Ryan Dominick ’17 doesn’t think that the laws are entirely necessary since coaches are already taking measures to protect players.

“The CIF should trust their coaches in doing the right thing. Instead of having to set up laws and boundaries just to keep players safe, they should look into coaching and make sure every coach is ensuring their players’ safety 100-percent of the time,” Dominick said.

At the end of the day, there is a multitude of opinions surround these laws. In the Wolverines’ case, the law hasn’t been as hard-hitting as it was made out to be, but then again, next year, neither will football practice.

CREW THE NATIONAL QUEST IN

by

Henry Vogel

The finish line was rapidly approaching; the eight-person crew knew it. Jenna Thompson ’16 stole a glance to her left and right as she shouted words of encouragement to her fellow rowers. She was rowing as hard as she could in the final stretch, but her boat couldn’t break away from the stalemate.

Earlier that day, Thompson woke up in a hotel in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The city is home to Melton Hill Lake, a calm body of water surrounded by rural rolling hills and occupied by fishermen looking to catch the white bass, spotted salmon and rainbow trout that swim beneath the surface.

From July 16 to July 20 it served as the venue for the 2014 US Rowing Club National Championship.

“Club Nationals is hard core,” Thompson’s fellow rower from her home club, Alex Oser ’16, said. “It is every rower’s dream to go to the event.”

The event hosted junior national teams from Canada, the United States and Mexico as well as the top private clubs from across the country determined by their rankings in the last national championship.

Marina Aquatic Center, Thompson and Oser’s club in Marina del Rey, finished ninth in the national competition and did not earn an invitation to the Club National Championship. Instead, Thompson tried out for the US junior national team.

The junior national team provides young rowers with the opportunity to race at a very high level and practice lessons learned during the camp program, the official US Rowing website said.

Thompson said her official time in try-outs was significantly slower than most of the girls there, finishing fourth from the bottom overall. What gave her the edge over the faster rowers was her technique and rhythm, which she has prioritized working on rather than her raw power, she said.

Thompson went into tryouts thinking she was going to get cut; she just wanted to learn. When the rosters were announced, she ended up making the A Boat, which is the highest level crew. It blew her mind, she said.

The top girls from across the country were chosen for the team, and the squad took four boats to the competition: a two-person, a four-person and two eight-person boats, one for the official junior competition and one for a college regatta at the same venue.

Thompson was team captain and stroke seat, the lead rower that sets the rhythm for the rest of the team, on all four boats.

“I went in with a very different attitude thinking I’m going to be a very positive energy while other girls are complaining,” Thompson

“

I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT MYSELF AND GOT A LOT MORE DISCIPLINED. I’M REALLY GLAD I DID [THE TEAM].

-JENNA THOMPSON

NATHANSON’S

Jenna Thompson ’16

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 24

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JENNA THOMPSON

ROWING FOR GOLD Jenna Thompson ’16 (right) and the US junior national team she competes with finished third in the main eight-boat event at the Club National Championship in Tennessee. said. “I’m going to tell them to keep going. I knew I wasn’t going to be the fastest and that wasn’t going to be my role on the team, so it ended up getting me captain because I never complained. The more positive things you put out there, the better you feel because you start to internalize the support you give your teammates.”

In the main event, the eight-person regatta, Thompson and the US boat fell behind promptly after the race began. Towards the end of the race, however, they crept up the positions until they were neck and neck with the Saugatuck boat and Texas Boat Club. The Cambridge boat had already finished in first place, but second, third and fourth place were wide open.

As they crossed the finish line, Thompson and her teammates thought they had finished second, but no one knew because it was so close It ended up as a literal photo finish; the officials used a photo to determine Saugatuck had finished second, beating the US boat by .15 seconds. Texas Boat Club had finished fourth, one second after the US boat.

Thompson was in the middle school musical in seventh and eighth grade, but when she didn’t earn a spot in the cast in the beginning of her freshman year, her mom persuaded her to try rowing.

Her older sister had rowed in high school and Thompson thought it would be a temporary activity. Once she started, she couldn’t stop, she said.

Now, Thompson practices six times a week for three hours each day at Marina del Rey. As she and her teammates prepare for the national championship, they practice even more.

“The whole experience of being on the team and going to the event was great,” Thompson said. “I learned a lot about myself and got a lot more disciplined. I’m really glad I did it.”

PSON

PATH TO THE PROS I

by Tyler

Graham

n the boys’ soccer team’s 7-8-3 campaign last year, there was a noticeable hole in the offensive attack; a lack of firepower, a deficiency in dexterity around the goal. The absence was noticeable on the stats sheet as the team averaged barely more than a goal a game.

That void was left by Matthew Gooden ’15, who chose to forgo his high school soccer career in favor of pursuing his passion with an Academy team.

Before joining his first Academy team, Gooden was a forward for the Wolverines in his freshman and sophomore years. As a sophomore, Gooden tied to lead the team in goals and was named the SAAC Athlete of the Month in January.

The Loyola Marymount-bound Gooden is currently a member of the Academy team affiliated with the MLS squad Chivas USA. Last year, before joining the Chivas USA team, Gooden played for an Academy based in Irvine called Strikers FC. Gooden hopes to climb up the ladder of the Chivas USA program and eventually sign with the Chivas USA professional team, or gain interest from a different professional team.

“The main reason I first joined Strikers FC was to gain the best exposure to D-I coaches through Academy showcases and through playoffs,” Gooden said. “Most top D-I coaches immediately look to Academy teams for players, so in order to get that exposure as quickly as possible, I needed to be playing Academy.

Now that I’ve committed to LMU, playing Academy at this point is more about continuing my development as a player, so I can do well in college and eventually play in the MLS.”

Gooden described high school soccer as “more fun,” but decided the benefits of playing Academy were too great to pass up. Unlike Jack Temko ’14, who missed his junior season to play for an Academy team but returned to play for the Wolverines in his senior season, Gooden will continue to play exclusively for his Academy team.

“I don’t want to say I don’t have fun playing for Chivas USA, but I felt like I had more freedom to do whatever I wanted on the field for Harvard-Westlake,” Gooden said.

Many soccer players decide to play for their school team and a club soccer team, rather than for an Academy team, like Colgate commit Matthew Glick ’15, who plays for both Harvard-Westlake and a highly ranked club team called Santa Monica United.

Gooden played high school soccer for two years and club soccer for over seven years before joining an Academy team, and the intensified level of play on the Academy level was immediately apparent to him.

“I think Academy prepared me better than playing club and high school would have,” Gooden said. “This is mainly because the coaches that surround me teach me the mentality that I need to have to be a successful college or professional player. I don’t think coaches at the club or high school level really teach that to their players. There’s also the fact that Academy is a way higher level of soccer than club, so the intensity, speed of play, and physicality helps a lot in getting you ready for college.”

Due to playing on an Academy team affiliated with an MLS team, Gooden, as well as his

“

teammates, are trained like professionals and are expected to perform like professionals; they practice and play under intense scrutiny and pressure.

“Every practice session is basically a battle between you and the other guy that plays your position,” Gooden said. “They train you with the notion that they want to make you good enough that you can sign for the MLS team.

You have to be fully committed to what you’re doing, or else you’ll be left behind because other players will want it more than you do.”

During the summer, Gooden’s team played in a high-profile tournament against other MLS-affiliated Academy teams. Gooden’s team was one win away from reaching the finals, which would have entailed playing in front of a large crowd under the bright lights of the LA Galaxy’s home arena, the StubHub Center, but suffered a loss to Real Salt Lake’s Academy in the semifinals.

Gooden feels his calculated decision to play Academy-level soccer has paid off, and he envisions a future with even greater things in store.

“After I finish my season with Chivas USA, I’m going to be focusing on my soccer and school work at LMU,” Gooden said. “I’m just going to put in the work in the pre-season so I can have a really good freshman season and potentially start getting offers from MLS teams.

I want to do at least three years of college at LMU, if I’m fortunate enough to be able to play in the MLS. If I do end up playing professional soccer, it might not even be in the United States. It could be in Europe for all I know. So we’ll see what happens after college.”

I DON’T WANT TO SAY I DON’T HAVE FUN PLAYING FOR CHIVAS USA, BUT I FELT LIKE I HAD MORE FREEDOM TO DO WHATEVER I WANTED ON THE FIELD FOR HARVARD-WESTLAKE.”

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF MATTHEW GOODEN

-MATTHEW GOODEN

NATHANSON’S

Matthew Gooden ’15

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 25

Wolverine roundtable

Members of the Big Red staff give their take on key issues in current Wolverine sports.

Q: Which team will surpise the most at Homecoming?

Graham:

Some might expect the girls’ volleyball program to experience a severe drop-off after graduating three seniors to D-I programs, but don’t be fooled: the program has reloaded and is fully prepared to take blows and deliver blows in a heavyweight Homecoming bout against perennial volleyball powerhouse Oaks Christian. Keep an eye out for this clash of titans, and don’t be surprised to see the Wolverines come out on top.

Vogel:

Though Fanatics may be dismayed after the football team’s crushing defeat against Loyola, the squad bounced back strong with a 34-9 win over Granada Hills and will do the same at Homecoming against Westchester. Make sure not to give up on the football team. Stop by during Homecoming as the Wolverines keep their momentum and take down the Comets.

SCOTT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED

UP THE MIDDLE Quarterback Ryan Dominick ’17 hands the ball off to running back Garrett Robinson ’15 in the Wolverines 48-6 loss to Loyola.

Q: Which Wolverine athlete will have the biggest individual performance on Homecoming?

Barzdukas: After exiting last season’s Homecoming loss to Pali-

sades High on the team’s first drive with an ankle injury, running back Garrett Robinson ‘15 is ready to atone for last year in Saturday’s game vs. Westchester. Robinson already has 187 rushing yards through two games (after putting up 558 yards in 2013 on a staggering 6.98 yards per carry), and with the team playing against a Westchester team currently ranked 818th in California according to Maxpreps, he should put last year’s demons to rest with a massive performance.

Wilson:

SCOTT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED

DRVING IT HOME Maddie Oswald ’15 fights for a ball with an opposing player in a game against Fountain Valley.

The Wolverines won 4-0.

26 • BIG RED FALL 2014

While Robinson missed most of his 2013 Homecoming matchup due to injury, field hockey’s Maddie Oswald ‘15 didn’t have an opportunity to play at all, as a last-minute scheduling mix-up between athletic directors prevented the team from having a game. Oswald, committed to continue her career at Georgetown in 2015, has an unprecedented combination of speed, strength and passing vision that makes her a mismatch for nearly any opposing player, as she has taken an increased role on the team following the graduation of a talented class of 2014. Oswald is the team’s leading scorer through 4 games, in which the squad is 3-1, and there’s no doubt that she will be hungry to perform -- not only is she attempting to fill the void left by last year’s lack of a Homecoming game, but the game is also against Glendora High, who gave the Wolverines their only loss in their 2013 LAFHA championship season. To the dedicated fans willing to show up to Ted Slavin Field beore the start of the football games, don’t be surprised to see Oswald dominate early and often.

Ma

Henry Vogel Tyler Graham Managing Editor Editor-in-Chief

Audrey Wilson Editor-in-Chief

Elijah Akhtarzad Mila Barzdukas Editor-in-Chief Associate Editor

Jonathan Seymour Managing Editor PATRICK RYAN/BIG RED

Q: Which team has improved the most since last Homecoming?

Q: Which player will help his or her team this season?

Vogel: Yes, the team was number one in the nation last year,

Barzdukas: Facing the loss of David Manahan ‘14, the boys’

and yes, it did win the CIF championship; however, the boys’ water polo team looks even better this season. This year, the boys have won their first five games as of press time and picked up first place at the Santa Barbara Tournament. In the semifinals they dismantled Loyola, a top school in the state, not to mention their arch rival, with a score of 15-6. This is impressive yet not the most telling, as the team also beat Loyola 14-7 last year in their only match-up. The teams most impressive victory so far was a 10-8 win over Mater Dei in the finals.

Seymour: At first glance, anyone would say that the basket-

ball team has been weakened by the loss of its seniors as well as Nick Medavoy ’16. Derick Newton ’14 and Michael Sheng ’14 did make major contributions to last year’s team, but I think the addition of new student Wolfgang Novogratz ’16 as well as the team’s new spread court offense will help it to exceed expectations and turn heads this season.

cross country team has found another star with the return of Ben Weissenbach ‘15. Weissenbach missed his junior season with growth-related knee pain, but is primed to make a major impact in 2014, putting up a team-best time of 16:56 over 3 miles in the team’s league opener. As he returns to top condition, he should only improve, making the Wolverines a force in the Mission League.

Akhtarzad:

With quarterback Marshal Cohen ‘16 on the field, the Wolverine football team is a different animal on offense.

In the six games he completed in 2013, the team averaged 35.5 points per game, compared to a mere 6.7 PPG in the three games he didn’t play in at all. While a tougher strength of schedule near the end of the season partially attributed to that discrepancy, the gap was still massive, and one that a truly healthy Cohen (who accounted for 1410 total offensive yards and 19 touchdowns in his limited 2013 season) will unquestionably fix in the long run.

BIG RED FALL 2014 • 27

W LVERINE

PRIDE HOMECOMING 2014