The Pinion Vol. 93 No. 2

THE PINI N

Student-edited paper of McKinley High School Vol. 93 No. 2

Honolulu, Hawaii

December 2014

Winter Edition

MHS student petitions for a named-called graduation Does MHS stick to tradition or is it time for a change?

photo by Lin Song

Find out more on page 3

2 THE PINION NEWS

mhspinion.com

Leaders need courage to be effective

by Silvana Bautista, Web Editor Leaders need to be confident in everything they do.

Student leaders of McKinley High School and other high schools on Oahu attended a conference on Nov. 6. This year’s theme was Na Koa: People of Courage.

Key speaker Rick Blangiardi was a football player at UH. He later became a coach and he now has a career in broadcast. Blangiardi said it is important for leaders to have confidence and strength.

He said that leaders cannot be afraid to lead people who are better than them because it could lead to progress.

Blangiardi also said that it is important to have conversations face to face.

He said, “You can’t lead through a screen.”

Leaders must also have a positive attitude. Followers will pick up on a leader’s

personality. He said that perpetual optimism is a forced multiplier. Likewise, cynicism and optimism does the same.

Blangiardi said that leadership is a learned skill. Leaders are continually learning. They need to be service oriented. They radiate positive energy, believe in other people, lead balanced lives, see life as an adventure and make things happen. He also said that they must physically exercise. He said that leaders need to be able to make people look up and commit to them.

He also said that titles do not necessarily make a person a leader. A person can be in charge of people who do not respect or follow him. A leader needs to be responsible for the people they are in charge of. If those people stop looking at the leader for help, then they believe that the

leader is either not good enough for the role or that the leader does not care.

After all the breakout sessions, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders speaker Katie Chang and Student Activities Director April Nakamura spoke. All student leaders sat at the front to have a better understanding of their speeches. It was absolutely quiet; the speakers were only ones heard.

Nakamura said that leaders need to be the voice and hands for those who do not have the courage. Leadership is not supposed to only benefit the leader. It is supposed to help everyone else.

The conference emphasized the importance of courage and that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to face that fear and overcome it.

Chang said that courage is a verb because a person needs to do it to get past a fear. She also said that courage is “fueled by love” and that it is contagious. A person is more likely to do something if they see someone do it first.

The final message of the conference was by Nakamura. She said, “We need you to be the people of courage. Be the leaders we need you to be.”

AOF provides abundant opportunities to students

by Lin Song, Web Editor “AOF is a good opportunity for students who are not only interested in business,” Filamer Lloyd Doronio, the new president of AOF this year, said.

Academy of Finance at MHS started in 1992 with a group of 17 sophomores. The purpose is to “give choices upon graduation to students interested in business,” AOF teacher Gwendolyn Maeda said.

“AOF can provide practical application for what students are learning,” Maeda said.

There are many activities including AOF conference, job shadowing and the stock trade simulation game online. There is winners camp at Kamehame Ridge in October. It is a field trip about goal setting, leadership training and team building.

Secretary Desiree Ancheta said her fa-

vorite activity was job shadowing.

“I could see different parts of a company and determine if I really like that career,” she said.

Doronio said that their teachers give them opportunities to go out into the work field to volunteer.

“The academy is a great place to bond with others and start networking. It is also a place for learning life skills, not just those in the accounting field,” senior Michael Kamei said.

From the class of 1996 to class of 2013, the average percentage for students in AOF to go to college after high school is 87.2% according to Ms. Maeda.

Students in AOF are required to take specific English and Social Studies classes, as well as some business elective courses such as Accounting and Directed

Studies.

The officers are now planning their first social this year. Doronio said he wanted to “make AOF not just about work but also fun and memorable for everyone in the academy.”

The Pinion Staff Adviser: Cynthia Reves Editors: Silvana Bautista, Sean Gleason, Jane Lavea, and Lin Song

Publication Information

THE PINION is published by the Newswriting Staff and printed by the Reprographics Learning Center.

The Pinion McKinley High School 1039 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814 Email comments or questions to pinion@mckinleyhs.k12.hi.us

mhspinion.com

Petition created for a namecalled graduation at MHS

THE PINION 3 NEWS

by Lin Song, Print Editor “After four years of attending McKinley High School, wouldn’t you want your name to be called out and be recognized?

Shouldn’t “recognition’ be a tradition also?”

This is part of senior Netty Leviticus’s petition summary.

Leviticus is petitioning to have students’ names called at the May 2015 graduation ceremony. So far, she has about 200 signatures from different grade levels. Her goal is to get 300-400 signatures.

She plans to show it to school officials before second semester.

When Leviticus was a freshman, her brother was a senior. She was shocked to learn that McKinley did not have a namecalled graduation ceremony. Since then, she has wanted to start a petition.

Senior Malina Lewis, who signed the petition, said, “We want to be heard and recognized.”

April Nakamura, the teacher in charge of the graduation ceremony, said that she does not want to discourage Leviticus but the result will be “no.”

“When you are a senior, you want your name called. After you graduate, you are happy that it wasn’t,” Nakamura said.

Nakamura said the name-calling process would make the graduation at least two hours longer. Right now, the graduation lasts about 50 minutes.

Senior Wei Gong said, “The namecalled graduation will take too long and I’d rather spend more time celebrating with my friends and family.”

The current form of graduation is a tradition at McKinley High School. The graduation ceremony at McKinley is more formal than the ones at other high schools.

“The big picture, the big thought behind

Students embrace free dress

by Karrina Johnson, reporter Going to McKinley is a nice change for freshmen because most of the middle schools in the district have some type of uniform. Students from Washington, Kaimuki and Stevenson Middle Schools said that their uniform was just a basic tee shirt with their school logo.

Stevanie Pasion from Cathedral Catholic Academy had to follow a slightly more strict dress code. Going to a private school, she had to wear a plaid skirt and

white polo shirt. Pasion also was not allowed to wear any jewelry. The only thing allowed on her wrist was a watch.

Pasion and the other freshmen like how they can wear whatever they want at McKinley.

Sophia Horvath from Kaimuki Middle School said that McKinley’s dress code is “reasonable, but not annoying.”

Kevin Doan from Stevenson Middle School also prefers McKinley’s dress code

photo by Jane Lavea why McKinley doesn’t call out names is because the big deal about McKinley is always about unity. It is about graduating as a class, not as an individual, because everything you do is about us, not me,” Nakamura said.

Leviticus is still going to collect the signatures for the petition and talk to Principal Ron Okamura.

“I’m still going to try no matter what the result is,” she said.

over his middle school, even though it is pretty much the same besides the uniform shirt.

Tam Le from Washington Middle School has a different opinion. Le said that she likes to wear whatever she wants, but sometimes having a uniform is nice as well.

“Every single morning when we wake up, we don’t need to worry about anything just like, pop that shirt on, you’re going to school and done,” she said.

Overall, most students like being able to wear what they want. Although, there are positives to having a uniform, such as not having to worry about what you are going to wear each day.

4 THE PINION NEWS

mhspinion.com

McKinley’s Literary Magazine is always looking for more works

of your amazing creative talent.

Send all contributions (art, poems, photography, songs, etc)

to mckinleylitmag@gmail.com

or to Ms. Abrew in W224

image from upload.wikimedia.org

ACLU introduces guide for student rights

by Anela Chavez, reporter “You can actually make your schools better by knowing your rights.”

Summer intern Holly Berlin said this as she introduced the new Students Rights Guide for public and charter schools in Hawaii from the American Civil Liberties Union. This guide is filled with information about your rights as a student. It ranges from topics or questions about freedom of speech, sports, religion, protection of students’ gender expression, to student groups. This guide is meant to help stu-

dents if they feel their rights have been violated or if they are just curious. Private schools are not included for this guide.

Having students knowing their rights will help schools keep things fair. Students will hopefully feel more confident and comfortable while at school. Legal issues could also be avoided if people were aware of students rights.

This guide has been modified by attorneys, social workers and other professionals. The ACLU strongly suggests you

contact them with questions, suggestions or worries about student rights. This is only meant to help students and to raise their awareness. The ACLU also gives other resources for specific rights like Women’s Sports Foundation and Hawaii State Office on Homeless Concerns. Parents, teachers, guardians and school staff and administration are allowed to use this guide as well. http://acluhi.org/the-rights-of-studentsin-hawaii-public-and-charter-schools/

mhspinion.com

THE PINION 5 EDITORIALS

Fitzpatrick’s “Hush Hush” series has her readers begging for more

by Jane Lavea, Web Editor Everything was normal in Nora Grey’s life up until her father, Harrison Grey, was killed on a business trip in Portland.

A year later, she sets out for normal again but is disappointed when she discovers that she is one of the most important leaders of a supernatural army. Being a breed of the Nephilim, she falls for a fallen angel who is supposedly an enemy to her kind. Fallen angel Patch Cipriano was set on killing Nora in order to become human, but fate changes when he

falls for her. Danger awaits at Nora’s door when she discovers that her whole life was a lie and the true meaning behind her father’s death.

She must choose whether to lead her people to freedom from the fallen angels or overcome the bridge between the two irreconcilable worlds and save her love with Patch.

The Hush Hush series consists of four books titled “Hush Hush”“Crescendo” “Silence” and “Finale.

Collage from pininterest.com

SAT become top priority for high school students

by Yunmi Kim, reporter For seniors, there is pretty much only at the most three chances during their senior year toto take the SAT test, provided that they never took the SAT test during their freshmen, sophomore, and junior year.

Most college applications are due in late November, early December and January.

Which means that seniors must take the SAT test on October, November, and December. Any test taken after December is not accepted by many colleges, especially the mainland.

Senior Alexandra Kaohi has taken the SAT test once in October this year. Although she plans to go to KCC for college, she still took the SAT test in case if she ever needs it. “I knew that there was a test in November, but I didn’t take it because of my schoolwork and needed more time

to complete it as well as the Senior Projects,” Kaohi said. As for preparing for the SAT test, these are some things she did.

“The preparation materials that I used to study for the SAT is borrowing SAT prep books from the library and practiced answering questions online,” Kaohi said. For senior My (Sherry) Lu who is planning to take the upcoming test on December 6th, “I went to a website called March2Success, which composed of many helpful test preparation to practice my skill to improve my score,” Lu said. SAT prep books and online SAT websites are one of the ways to prepare for the SAT test, as well as private tutoring and even things like reading a book, writing a story, or even playing a logic game such as Chess or Sudoku.

cartoon by My Lu

It may seem like it is too early to prepare for a standardized test that is only going to be taken in the late junior year or early senior year, but it is better to be ahead of the game from the others. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors should start to prepare themselves for the SAT test because getting a high score on it the first time saves a lot of time during senior year.

Having to get a below average score on the first SAT test means that the student has to do another SAT test again, which also means that they will have to spend their time studying for it. Where instead, they can use that time to focus on things like college applications, AP classes, extracurricular activities, and many other things that must be done during the senior year in order to go to college.

6 THE PINION EDITORIALS

mhspinion.com

Trust your own instincts

by James Harbin, reporter

Around this time of our lives we’re brought upon the burden of making our own decisions. A lot of us don’t realize that we sometimes don’t listen to ourselves when making decisions. We listen to what we think, not what we feel.

Instinct is the gut feeling in you is what pulls you in a different direction. It is also that one thing that stands even when it’s next to similar objects. For me, I find that whenever I follow my instincts, things turn out better than they would have if I didn’t. I always listen to my instincts

regardless of how crazy or ridiculous it may seem because this is my life; I’m going to live it my way. It’s only your life if you control it.

Your instincts are your soul’s way of telling you where to go. Don’t listen to your mind. Sometimes we over think things and we tend to go a certain direction because of the pressure.

Your soul is what makes you an individual. Think about it this way. Out of approximately seven billion people in this

Keep going and don’t think about where you are, but where you’re going.

Image from www.eetimes.com

world, there’s only one you. Take advantage of that and be yourself, follow your soul, go where it takes you. When people say, “Follow the wind,” they mean for you to follow the little tug you feel.

If you can’t trust someone, at least have the decency to trust yourself. If you can’t trust yourself, who are you?

If you like what you’ve been reading, be sure to visit mhspinion.com for EXCLUSIVE content not published.

Students suffer without lockers

by Sammie Yee, reporter As students struggle to get to class, notice the multiple books they carry during the day. Lockers are available for students at McKinley High School, but are there enough for all students? Senior Kairis Yam was seen carrying two large textbooks, including her binder for all classes, with a bag filled with her AR book and school supplies.

“It’s difficult carrying textbooks I don’t need for certain classes,” she said. “My middle school had lockers for all students and it made my bag less heavier. My hands and back would hurt when I carry

all my textbooks with me.”

Senior Lea Tee was seen carrying a psychology book in her AP Literature class. She said that a locker would help.

“Yes, because we carry a lot of stuff, it would be easier to put books away in our first class,” she said.

More school lockers can solve the problems of students complaining about the many things they have to carry. They would also help prevent having back problems by decreasing the weight of school supplies students have to carry. More lockers would not only help students store

their school items, they would also relieve them of stress.

There are not very many cons to having lockers. Monthly inspections can prevent the chances of problems happening.

“I had a locker in my high school. It kept me more organized because I didn’t leave books home on accident,” English teacher Christopher Martin said. “It’s worth it because it’s a one-time expense.”

If lockers can help students, they should be something the school board provides for all students.

mhspinion.com

THE PINION 7 EDITORIALS

The mighty, mighty tigers are dying out

by Max Higa, reporter We all have seen a tiger before. We have seen it since we were children, in storybooks and television cartoons. Maybe your religion or culture worships the tiger as a god or powerful being.

But the thing is, tigers are becoming increasingly rare to find. They are there one second and are gone the next.

Since McKinley High School is known as “Home of the Tigers,” this seems like an important matter.

Once, tigers ruled across Asia. Today, only about 3,200 wild individuals remain among six different species. Tigers are dying out mainly due to habitat loss and poaching. Habitat loss happens because humans wipe out a tigers home, such as cutting down trees, to make space for farms and houses.

Poaching is when hunters purposely kill a tiger to sell its meat and fur on the illegal black market or trading. Also, some 5,000 other tigers are kept as pets in the United States, even though their owners don’t have the means to support them. (Why would you want a 300-pound predator in

and white body with black stripes is impossible to miss. They are admired and feared across the globe. If we were to kill every tiger, future generations would never receive the chance to experience this amazing animal. If you would like to help, you can head over to http:// www.worldwildlife. org/species/tiger. Once there, you can sign up to become a monthly member or even write a letter to Congress, telling them to support tiger protection. Famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio donated $3 million to the World Wildlife Fund to support the big cats.

Tigers are vanishing like ghosts, without them, we are not the mighty McKinley tigers. cartoon by My Lu your backyard, anyway?)

At our school, “a ti“I think it is sad and unfair to ger means to be persisthem,” Freshman Mikaela Rivera tent and to never give up,” freshman Kelia said. “I feel that tigers should be protected Herring said.

“It also means to always try by law because they are actually magnifiyour best to reach your goals.

Also, being cent creatures. Parks should be created a tiger means to take pride in everything since they are endangered.” we do.”

Why do tigers matter? Tigers matter because they are unique. Their orange

8 THE PINION FEATURE

mhspinion.com

Follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! @mhspinion

Mainland Marathon

by Karrina Johnson, reporter

In May 2010, Margaret Weller traveled across the mainland in only three days. Weller was moving to Hawaii, but her family did not want to fly straight there. They wanted to make it a bit of an adventure. Weller, her brother and their parents left Virginia, driving one car crammed with eleven suitcases.

From Virginia, they drove through Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally California. Weller said the drive was exhausting.

They drove for 15 hours at a time, only stopping three

times in Arkansas, Texas and California to rest.

Weller said the craziest part of the trip was between Texas and New Mexico. They came across a sixty-mile desert with crazy weather. One minute it would be hot and sunny, the next it would be raining so hard that a person can barely see where they are going.

The trip created an opportunity for Weller family to get to bond since they had to spend hours with each other. “In a way, I guess, it kinda brought our family a little closer,� Weller said. cartoon from pixabay.com

mhspinion.com

THE PINION 9 GAMES

Good Luck.

Have Fun. EASY

INSANE WORDS TO LOOK FOR: BLANKET BLIZZARD CHILLY HOT CHOCOLATE COLD CUDDLING

FIREPLACE FREEZING FROZEN ICE SNOWBOARD SNOWFLAKE SNOWMAN

10 THE PINION FEATURE

mhspinion.com

Students should appreciate the lunch menu

by Jane Lavea, web editor Students do not know how hard it is for cafeteria manager Mitch Arnold to make sure that everyone has a decent meal.

Cafeteria managers follow the guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create menus for breakfast and lunch. It is a five-week cycle of menus.

Complaints from students can be a problem for the cafeteria workers. McKinley is one of the luckiest schools in terms of lunch items, so what are these complaints all about?

“MHS was always at the forefront agriculture for having the best lunch than other schools. For the price that we are paying for lunch, the opportunity is special and we are very lucky because other schools don’t offer as much as we do,” Arnold said.

There are students who appreciate what they are given.

“I love it because every time I step in the cafeteria, ... that food smells great and it puts a smile on my face,” senior Noah

Mitchell said.

The workers work hard to prepare the menus and they are trained well.

“We are very blessed to have what we have for lunch because sometimes when you’re cool with the workers, they stack your plate,” junior Victoria Koli said.

“If you have any problem, suggestions or comments about the food, come and see me. Please come see me and I’ll fix it for you,” Arnold said.

AR doesn’t catch students’ favor

Do you prefer reading the book or watching the movie based on the book?

Infographic by Ling Song

by Karrina Johnson, reporter Most students said they would rather not do AR testing. They said that it is a waste of time. However, reading is an important part of school.

AR helps us understand books, freshman Sean Nakata said.

In the first quarter, three students (two in grade 10, one in grade 12) had 100 or more points. Twenty-two students (6 in grade 9; 4 in grade 10; 1 in grade 11; 11 in grade 12) had more than 50 but less than 100 points.

According to freshman Sophia Lim, AR testing is “not bad, but not fun either.

It’s like homework.”

“The questions ask for too much. … too many details,” freshman Melanie Lau does not like it either. “It’s nervewracking, I’m afraid I’ll forget everything I know.”

Freshman English teacher Irene Tanaka said it would be easier if English teachers had computers in their rooms so students could take the tests.

In a poll of 25 students 68 percent said they prefer movies based on books over reading the books, because it takes less work and time to watch a movie. Also, most people find movies more entertaining with all the effects.

Only 8 out of 25 (32 percent) voted for books. Freshman Sophia Horvath voted for books. She said the reason people voted this is because books give you more information and that sometimes movies will cut out important parts of the story.

mhspinion.com

THE PINION 11 FEATURE

Student continues to carry on her Japanese culture

Hanging onto her dreams.

Photo by Yunmi Kim

by Yunmi Kim, reporter Alyssa Bales, a freshman at McKinley High School, speaks English and Japanese.

Bales was born in Kanagawa, Japan, with a Japanese mother and an American father. Her name has a Japanese origin.

Her mother originally wanted to name her Alice because she liked the story “Alice in Wonderland” and wanted the name to be girlish. However, she decided to change it so that Bales would have a name that would be both Japanese and American. So the name became “Alyssa” or “Arisa.” The “A” stood for Asia, the “Ri” stood for Asian Pear and the “Sa” stood for Sand.

Bales’s first language was actually English, not Japanese.

Bales said, “In the past, I never spoke Japanese with my mother or older brother.”

She never had any interest in Japan or in learning the Japanese language.

Bales could not understand Japanese at that time, so her mother spoke to her in English most of the time. But when she

turned nine, Bales changed her thoughts after watching the Japanese TV show, “Hey Say Jump!”

Bales said, “I started to gain interest in Japan.”

It made her want to learn Japanese as well. She also did it for her Japanese relatives living in Japan in order to be closer to them, especially to her grandmother.

Bales said, “I didn’t know how to speak Japanese, so I only spoke to my aunt, who knew English.”

The language barrier made her think that her grandmother did not like her.

From that point on, she spoke to her mother in Japanese instead of English at home in order to improve her Japanese speaking skills.

Bales admitted that “it was a little hard at first,” but she was slowly able to speak Japanese as time went by.

Now that she can understand Japanese, Bales said that she is able to understand what her mother is saying in Japanese, so she “can be part of the conversation.”

She also said she is closer to her Japa-

nese relatives than before. Now as a freshman at McKinley High School, Bales notices that some people who have the same ethnicity as her are not always bilingual.

She said, “I feel sorry for them” because it takes a really long time to master another language, especially as a teenager. Bales said that for her, even though she still has to improve her Japanese, “it won’t take that much time” since she is already familiar with the language for the most part.

As for her future, Bales hopes to improve her Japanese now so that she can live and work in Japan. She explains that when she works in Japan, her occupation would be an English teacher there. Bales got this idea by her mother’s friend’s suggestion on what she should become when she grows up. She still tries to use Japanese as much as possible and is in Japanese class at McKinley High School to reach her goal. She said she hopes to speak Japanese much more fluently than now when she graduates as a senior.

12 THE PINION SPORTS

mhspinion.com

McMillan goes for her goals as goalie

by Jane Lavea, web editor Junior Majorlyn McMillan is McKinley’s soccer goalie.

She started playing soccer during her freshman year because she was encouraged by a friend to try out.

“My plans after high school is to attend UH Manoa and further my soccer and softball career. I want to major in marine biologist,” McMillan said.

Soccer is a team sport.

There are other players on the team and everyone needs to work together to do what is needed to be done. Support and expertise is needed in order for everyone to have a clean game.

“I enjoy playing soccer because it is a very fun and competitive sport. The goal of the game is to work as a team,” McMillan said.

Self-talk to the team is important because everyone needs to understand the game plan. Something will likely go wrong but in order to minimize that, the team needs to develop strategies.

“Goalie can be pressuring at times because I have to make a decision between

cause I’ll have to step up and be on point,” McMillan said.

Goalies have to be physically and mentally strong.

They need to be strong in the air and not be afraid of getting hurt. They also need to have their feelings in check.

“It’s about being able to tell what the next move is” McMillan said. She also said that it saves energy from blocking shots that are not going to score. photo provided by Jane Lavea making a save and not Head coach Shelby Costa making it, making the said that if McMillan conright decision or making a wrong one, and tinues to improve the way she has been making decisions without hesitation,” Mc- playing, she will be able to play soccer in Millan said. college and be able to get a scholarship.

McMillan said that staying positive is a “She’s a talented goalie with a good atreally hard thing to do when your team is titude. She’s new to the sport and she does losing. She hates feeling as if other teams not have many experience. However, her are scoring because of her. determination and skills makes her better “My job as a goalie is to stay focused than other experienced players who have in the game and block any balls from played for 10 or more years,” Costa said. scoring. It is important for me not to get “No drama should be in the team as we side-tracked because I can lose focus. If all work together no matter what the cirdefense does not cooperate by not doing cumstances are,” McMillan said. their job, then it makes my job harder be-

Cheerleading Calamity

by Karrina Johnson, reporter It is hard work being on the McKinley cheerleading team. The cheerleaders practice hard. On odd days they practice from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on even days they practice from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m..

They put so much time doing what they love, but sometimes it can be dangerous.

Freshman Janelle Lactaoen recently in-

jured her right knee from wrongly landing a jump. Lactaoen said this has affected her cheerleading because she can only do certain things during practices and performances. She has to sit out most of the time due to the pain. But that does not stop Lactaoen from pushing through and continuing to do her best.

Cheer- clipart from hasslefreeclip.com leading may be hard work and a bit dangerous at times, but in the end it is worth it all.

“You work together to become a team or family and just do everything together,” Lactaoen said.

mhspinion.com

1.

1. Georgio Tran (10) finishes hard. photo by yearbook photographer Yuki Loyd

2.

2. Mckinleys 21 breaks from her defenders. photo by Baby Manu 3. English teacher Mr. Martin dukes it out with a student. photo by Sean Gleason

3.

For more pictures of Tiger Ball and other sport events, visit mhspinion.com

THE PINION 13 SPORTS

Junior Bryce Takenaka takes 1st place in HHSAA bowling championships

For an interview with Bryce, visit mhspinion.com

14 THE PINION SPORTS

1.

mhspinion.com

2.

3.

5.

4.

6.

1. Mckinleys varsity girls paddling team before they start their practice. photo by Jane Lavea

7.

2. Vincent Mitsui (12) makes a hard turn. photo by yearbook photographer Yuki Loyd 3. Mckinleys 33 keeps calm under pressure photo by Baby Manu 4. How often do you see mckinleys staff together playing basketball? photo by Jacky Vuo 5. Jonathan Kanno (11) after releasesing his bowling ball. photo by Sean Gleason 6. Student goes for a lay up despite being chased. photo by Sean Gleason

8.

7. Form is key to paddling. photo by Jane Lavea 8. Julio Solorzano (10) gains ground on a Kaiser runner. photo provided by yearbook photographer Yuki Loyd 9. Macjun Otarra (12) shows whos the bigger man. photo by Sean Gleason

9.

mhspinion.com

Paddling propels Zhang to succeed

THE PINION 15 SPORTS

photo by Jane Lavea

by Jane Lavea, web editor Senior Allen Zhang has been paddling since freshman year. Teammates said that he is the heart of the team.

Zhang wants to become a physical therapist assistance because he likes working with people. He plans on attending Kapiolani Community College.

Zhang learns teamwork in paddling. In addition, he motivates himself to paddle because of his love for the water and surfing.

“I feel that wherever my coach puts me in the canoe it is my responsibility and duty to do it 100 percent and paddle not only for me but for the team.”

Zhang paddles in Seat 1, also known as the stroker. Stroker is the person that sets a pace for the rest of the paddlers.

They also inform steers-person, Seat 6, if anything is directly in front to avoid collisions.

“Our main goal is to paddle together, no individuals. All six people in the canoe paddling together as one,” Zhang said.

When the JV is using the canoe, Varsity uses this time to do land workouts. Doing land workout helps them to stay physical.

It is not only about paddling in the canoe, it is knowing how to work as a team and when to keep going when it gets hard.

“When it gets hard, we try to call power change to get the canoe moving. Steersmans also talk to motivate the team,” Zhang said.

Power change is when everyone gives it their all. When paddling, everyone is pad-

dling at a normal speed but when power change is called, everyone puts in all their power.

Paddling teaches a person to control his or her counter- instinctual, such as maintaining a low center gravity, different positions to hold the paddle, and mental capacity.

“We always paddle our hardest in practice,” Zhang said.

Peter Valenti, McKinley’s 3-year head coach, said that Zhang is the heart of the team.

“He’s very hardworking, competitive and has been doing good since freshman year. Allen just needs to buckle down a little in school but he has a drive to succeed,” Valenti said.

16 THE PINION mhspinion.com