LH Sports Magazine

The Little Hawk

SPORTS 9

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Season updates

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one year to make it count You can’t always get what you want, but Jason Jones’ luck is changing; he is starting for his first and last year of varsity Football.

He isn’t going to waste a second of it.

in a class of her own

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Esports debate

PREVIEW

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In a class of her own: Ashley Smith

Where the seniors at? Ashley Smith represents the class of 2016 for volleyball.

Teammates, coach Pitcher and Smith herself weigh in on the situation. Terry Coleman and Alix Sharp ‘16, who is similarly one of only two seniors on the girls’ swimming team look at the bigger picture - what does it mean?

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Sports Coverage

Updates on all City High sports with the stats you need to know.

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The Comeback

Jason Jones is ready for his first and last year playing varsity football.

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running with faith

Mary Arch leads the City High girls’ cross country team into her third varsity year

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Glory and gore

Duncan Forbes writes on football’s dark side, and why he can get past it.

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Esport Legitimacy

Are they really sports? Jonathan House and Miles Pei duke it out.

LIVE TWEETING AND CITY HIGH SPORTS UPDATES

@LHSBrady @DomBalFox @JonathanHouse6 @LittleHawkSport

Schedule

Away Games 10/8 MVC Supermeet @ IRV Warren Golf Course 9/29 Girls Swimming @ Cedar Falls 9/26 Girls VB: Dubuque Invitational @ Dubuque Hempstead 10/15 MVC Divisional @ Dubuque Soccer Complex 10/6 volleyball @ Waterloo East 85

9/26 Girls swimming @ CR Kennedy

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65 m

10/2 Football @ CR prairie 9/28 MVC Divisional golf meet @ Gates Park Golf Course 10/1 Bud Williams Invitational @ West Branch HS 10/1 Boys golf @ Ellis Golf Course

Volleyball

Girls’ Swimming

Football

Boys Golf

Cross Country

9-26 Dubuque Invitational @ Dubuque Hempstead and Dubuque Senior

9-26 Girls Invitational @ Cedar Rapids Kennedy

9/25 vs. Ottumwa

9/28 MVC Divisional Meet @ Gates Park Golf Course

10/1 Bud Williams Invitational @ West Branch High School

9-29 vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie 10-6 @ Waterloo East

9-29 @ Cedar Falls

10/2 @ Cedar Rapids Prairie

10-6 vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson

10/9 vs. Burlington

(ONLINE SCOREBOARD) Visit thelittlehawk.com for schedules and score updates on our interactive scoreboard.

10/8 MVC Supermeet @ Irv Warren Golf Course

10/1 @ Cedar Rapids Prairie and Cedar Rapids Kennedy @ Ellis Golf Course

10/10 @ Sterling, IL @ Woodlawn AcademyHoover Park (Girls Only)

10/6 IHSSA District Tournament

10/15 MVC Divisional @ Dubuque Soccer Complex

UPDATES Girl’s Swimming Karl Thomas The girls season includes a dual meet every Tuesday along with championship meets, and various invitational meets totaling 19 this season.

The meet schedule is piled on top of the team’s busy practice schedule which includes over 15 hours of training a week, with weights, conditioning, and twelve and a half hours in the pool.

The swim team has also expanded to 20 girls this year, with three quarters of the the team consisting of underclassmen. Almost half of the team is comprised of freshmen.

Boy’s Golf Sam Bloom With ten meets under their belt, the City High boys golf team looks to continue their success at the Divisional meet.

State qualification would show that they can compete with top teams such as LinnMar, CR Wash and CR Prairie.

“I think we’ve met our expectation,” Calvin Greenberg ‘16 said. “I think we could probably improve to the point where we could be pushing Prairie for third place”.

The Divisional meet will be hosted at Gates Park in Waterloo Monday, Sept. 28th at 9:30.

Girl’s XC Gabe Weigel The City High Girls’ cross country team has gotten fifth at CR invitational, sixth at Pleasant Valley, and third at IMS. They beat two teams that were ranked in class 4A, in Ames and Linn-Mar and defeated two teams ranked in class 3A, in Marion and Dubuque Wahlert.

Arch got tenth at Pleasant Valley and fourth at the CR invitational, setting a PR with a time of 18:55 on the 5k.

“If we are going from a one to ten ranking I’d give it an eight on up for almost everybody,” assistant coach Ryan Ahler said.

FOOTBALL Jonathan House After losing to two ranked teams to open up the season, the Little Hawks improved to .500 last Friday night, beating West High in the Battle for the Boot by a score of 14-12. It was City High’s second straight win in trophy games, as they claimed the Little CyHawk Trophy on the road in Ames on Friday, September 11.

“Especially in this type of game, it’s everything, I think the better team ended up prevailing,” coach Dan Sabers said of beating the Trojans.

“Our achilles heel so far has been finishing drives, we’ve just had trouble, we have got to get that going,” Sabers said.

The Little Hawks play at home against Ottumwa tonight in the first game of district play.

Boy’s XC

Nathan Cremers This year’s City High boys cross country team is halfway through their season, led by five of returning varsity runners.

The boys started the year on a strong note, placing first in the IMS invitational meet. They then placed sixth out of 15 teams at the Pleasant Valley invitational in Bettendorf and third out of 19 teams at the Cedar Rapids invitational.

The team this year has 95 boys on it, the largest it’s ever been.

“The hope is that all 95 will keep working hard and if they all do their job we can take our varsity team back to state,” coach Jayme Skay said.

Volleyball Brady Vanlo With just over half the season in the record books, the City High volleyball team is off to a 5-3 start for their first half of the season.

This season, Ashley Smith has played 21 sets for the Little Hawks and has a total of 32 kills and 13 aces. Alexa Ingram ‘16 is 4th in the MVC in kills with a total of 72 and also has eight aces to go along with it.

The girls will have their next home game on Tuesday, September 29th at 7:00 against Cedar Rapids Prairie.

PRofile

Jason Jones

“FOOTBALL MADE ME REALLY THINK ABOUT LIFE,” JONES SAID. “YOU DON’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT, AND YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD TO GET WHAT YOU NEED.”

(16.8 yds/catch) Top Point Scoring Wide Receiver

Comeback Kid

Bella Pittman

(404 Rec YDS)

3TDs

The responsibility that comes with being a senior on the varsity football team is already serious. For Jason Jones ‘16, it is compounded by the fact that it’s his first season in which he is actually able to play.

“Being a senior, you have to be a lot tougher on yourself and everybody,” Jones said. “Everybody lives up to your expectations or standards, therefore your team can be good and you can be a good leader.”

Jones, a Little Hawk wide receiver, tore his meniscus during last year’s football season, forcing him to sit on the bench for the entirety of the year.

“This season feels special after I hurt my knee, and just being able to come back from it makes me feel happy,” Jones said. “This is the sport I love to play. I have built myself up a lot, just for this year.”

Before the Friday games, Jones can’t head to the field right away; he must get prepared for his opponent and surpass his fears.

“I have a fear of people that are bigger than me of and them hurting me. I get by thinking that no one is better than me, no matter how big they are,” Jones said.

“I look forward to facing my opponent knowing what they do, what they like to do, and what I can do to give the crowd a show.”

Playing the position of wide receiver is more than just catching a ball and running to the end. Jones must connect with his team. When on the field, he examines the competition for an opponent that will give him a challenge.

“I look to see which players can guard me and make me work for what I get,” Jones said. “But the most important aspect as a receiver is getting a chemistry between me and the QB [so] he knows when to throw me the ball and where I like it.”

This is Jones’ last year at City High, and this is his last opportunity to show himself.

“It’s my last year of high school football, my last year being a Little Hawk, and my last year playing with my friends. I’ll never get the chance again,” Jones said.

PRofile

MARY ARCH

“[MY TEAMMATES] ENCOURAGE ME EVERY DAY, NOT ONLY IN WORDS BUT WITH ACTIONS TOO,” ARCH SAID. “EVEN JUST A SIMPLE ‘GOOD JOB’ CAN MEAN A LOT WHEN YOU ARE DOING A HARD WORKOUT OR IN A RACE.”

(18:55 PR)

XC

Cedar Rapids Invitational

Running with faith

Gabriel Weigel Jonathan House

Fastest Girls’ XC Runner TRACK

(2:18 PR) State Track Meet

The girls’ cross country team practices six days a week for about two hours every time. As they head down First Avenue, the girls team is driven and led by junior Mary Arch. “[My teammates] encourage me everyday not only in words, but with actions too,” Arch said. “Even just a simple ‘good job’ can mean a lot when you are doing a hard workout or in a race.”

Arch is homeschooled in the mornings, but says that that doesn’t affect her running or team bonding.

“No, no one cares. It’s not like [I’m] any different,” Arch said of her relationship with her teammates despite her homeschooling.

Arch says her biggest accomplishment is running a 2:18 800 at state track last year. She also recently set a new personal record with a time of 18:55 at the CR Invitational.

Arch also connects her Christian beliefs to her running.

She says she does everything she does for the glory of God. She says she lives by the Bible verse 1st Cor 10:31, which reads, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” “Without God, I wouldn’t even be able to run or even be alive. So each day I run, I want to do it to praise Him for what he did for me when He died on the cross for my sins,” Arch said.

Arch hopes to someday run at the collegiate level, possibly at D-II Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas.

“I want to run in college; there’s a school that I’m looking at called Dallas Baptist University,” Arch said.

“I think I’m probably gonna go there, but I don’t know.

It’s in Texas. My sister is going be living in Texas, so I wanted to go check it out.”

Opinion

I’Am GOING TO KEEP ON LOVING IT! BUT How can we get so excited about a sport that glorifies so much violence?

Duncan Forbes Football season is here, and it’s easy to see the excitement flowing, but why do we get so excited about a sport that’s so violent? Why does it get so much attention? Personally, I believe that the reason football is so exciting because of its complexity and fastpaced big plays - in other words, its entertainment value.

On August 9th, the NFL preseason kicked off with the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, featuring the Vikings and the Steelers in a “thrilling” 14-3 Viking win. This game brought in higher TV ratings than the final game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between The Blackhawks and the Lightning. Of course hockey is much more popular in Canada and across the pond, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that both teams in the final were from the United States. It all comes back to entertainment value,

Dunkin’ with Duncan For more deep thoughts by Duncan check out his online blog Dunkin’ with Duncan. From the Hawkeyes, to the NFL, to NCAA Basketball, Duncan’s got something to say. Read his comprehensive sports blog at thelittlehawk.com

though. I’d rather watch something spectacular, like the missed field goal return TD at the end of the Alabama-Auburn game two years ago, than watch a black circle slide into a goal. Don’t get me wrong, I like hockey, but even the most incredible slapshot can’t beat the excitement from that one play.

In July of 2014, just before the NFL Preseason, former Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended for two games for knocking out his then fiancee, now wife, during an altercation in a New Jersey casino. The original two-game suspension was thought to be very lenient

by the League compared to its normal four game substance abuse policy, but after more video evidence was found and reviewed, the Baltimore Ravens immediately cut Rice. With the rise in domestic abuse and other crimes in the NFL, one would think that fans of the game would have turned their backs until the League made more of a stand but, rather, fans kept watching the Ray Rice drama unfold, waiting for the regular season to begin.

Why this example? Why show a tragedy that doesn’t even involve football gameplay? It’s because this is the perfect example of how

football’s entertainment can eclipse something as serious as domestic abuse.

I’m not saying it’s justified; in fact, far from it. It’s probably one of the most disturbing aspects of football culture. It proves, however, that the promise of that one perfect football play that gets fans standing and cheering is enough for America to overlook the violence, concussions, even the domestic abuse surrounding football. It’s the entertainment value that keeps fans, like myself, at the edge of their seats every fall, and it’s for that reason that I’m going to keep on loving football.

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PREVIEW

In a Class Of her own

Dominic Balestrieri-Fox It’s rare that a team is made entirely of seniors. Depending on the sport and the particular situation for a given year, there might only be a handful of seniors on a varsity team. A team that has only one senior is something almost unheard of; it hasn’t happened in at least the past 14 years on the City High volleyball team; enter Ashley Smith ‘16, City High varsity volleyball’s only senior player. It’s going to be an interesting senior-night.

Smith, an energetic, vocal libero has been on the team since transferring from Tipton her junior year. She is one of the team’s captains and leaders on the court, and is confident that she’s up for the job.

“I like it because I like being able to carry the team, to guide everyone, I don’t want to be a follower, I want to be a leader, so this is a good role for me,” she said.

While initially upset that few seniors opted to continue volleyball this season, Smith has since come to accept it and is happy for her former teammates.

“At first, I was upset, because I wanted to spend it [senior year] with everybody, but they’re coming to all the games, they support me. If they’re happy, I’m happy,” she said.

Although the situation is rare, athletic director Terry Coleman sees it as having less to do with the class of 2016 and more to do with random and situational factors.

“I don’t think it says anything about the class of 2016, we have a ton of seniors on the [girls] cross country team, the [girls] tennis team has several seniors, he said.

“Obviously with the juniors, completely opposite story. They have a lot of athletes involved with volleyball, but maybe not as much in the other sports.”

Swimmer Alix Sharp ‘16 is in a similar situation to Smith’s; she is one of two seniors on the girls’ swimming team this year, the other is Alayna McCafferty ‘16.

She doesn’t see the lack of seniors as a bad thing at all, but, rather, liberating.

“I think it’s really nice,” she said. “We’ve been through it all together, we know what’s going on, there aren’t a ton of people trying to control everything.”

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ABOVE: Ashley Smith gets vocal during the battle of the spike. PHOTO BY MARY OLESBERG

Sharp thinks that the bigger picture is more important: not only did the swim team gain several new swimmers, it retained the same number of seniors from last year and is on track for a large senior class in 2018.

“It’s always really nice to have a lot of people go out, and the freshman class is half of our team and I think that team will build throughout the years,” she said.

One reason Sharp attributes to the loss of seniors in certain City High sports is intensity of workload; the girls’ swimming team has a 19 meet season and averages over 15 hours of practice a week.

“Swimming isn’t that big of a thing at City, and almost no one in our grade really wants to do swimming. Last year there were two seniors. I think it’s just one of those things, swimming has a big workload,” she said.

Smith takes an all-in approach to volleyball’s workload, and sees why others might not.

“Volleyball, especially for City High, is a big commitment, we’re busy every single weekend and practice after school, so personally, I want people to go out, but I want them to go out 110%. If they aren’t feeling it, you know, ‘do you’, but you don’t have to go out for volleyball because it’s a huge time commitment,” she said.

Head volleyball coach Craig Pitcher thinks another factor that might drive seniors away is competition from underclass-

men. If starting spots are taken by underclassmen, it disincentivizes seniors from competing.

“A lot of these juniors played as sophomores, and there was maybe a point, where a lot of the seniors said ‘I’m going to work really hard in practices, but not get a lot of playing time, so is it worth it to go out?’,” he said.

Coleman agrees that the decision to pursue a more rewarding situation in another sport is a common one among athletes, especially seniors.

“People are always evaluating their particular situation. If you’re a senior in a sport and maybe you’re going to have more of a supporting role and you don’t want to take that supporting role, or you want to explore more opportunities,” Coleman said.

Volleyball is one of the handful of sports at City High that have to make cuts, and starting positions are highly contested. Juniors almost entirely make up the varsity squad.

“I’m in a position where I’m going to put what I feel is the best team out on the court whether they’re freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors,” he said. “Part of it is having a junior class that is very skilled, it’s uncommon to have a strong class that comes through where a lot of the spots are filled by juniors.”

Smith stood out among the class of 2016 early on, having developed a leadership role on

the court during her junior year, despite being a fresh transfer from Tipton.

“She transferred in last year, but she had that leadership in her the whole time, and due to her communication, her competitiveness, it was never a worry that Ash would be able to get the kids going,” Pitcher said.

Juniors like Shannon James and Alexa Aldrich-Ingram have stepped up to take the leadership roles normally filled by seniors.

“There’s always an adjustment time at the beginning of the year, to really understand what kind of role they have to have. In volleyball, it’s really a matter of ‘Can we get in sync as a team to really get it good?’,” he said.

James, Smith’s co-captain, sees her class doing just that, and doesn’t think much of the lack of seniors. She’s been playing varsity ball since her freshman year.

“We definitely missed the seniors from last year, but I think we’re really stepping up,” James said. “The ones [of us] who are returning varsity players have all taken up leadership roles; there’s not really a single leader who’s a junior, we all work together as a sort of cohesive thing.”

It wasn’t apparent that the team would be almost entirely juniors early on; a group of seniors attended the preseason meeting, but due to schedule conflicts and personal factors, namely the desire to participate in other sports,

the number dropped to one.

“Next year, we could have a lot of seniors,” Pitcher said. “One year, you’re very sparse, the next year you have an abundance. Next year I’ll have a situation where I’ll have a lot of seniors, but I’ll have to fill those spots when they’re gone.”

Focusing on next year, James sees the experience that the junior players on varsity will gain as a clear advantage of having fewer seniors this season.

“We’re going to get a lot of people back next year, which is a huge plus. Next year we’re really not losing anybody but Ashley,” she said.

Although only one player will be replaced, James feels that Smith’s presence on the court will be missed next season.

“It’s going to be hard to adjust to, because she brings a lot of energy and during practice she’s kind of our driving force, she motivates us all. Someone’s going to have to fill that role,” she said.

Smith is excited for the juniors next season and confident in their abilities and her own in this one, regardless of the situation.

“The cards fell how they did, and I think as harder games come around we’ll be mentally ready,” she said. “Next season, they’re going to be a strong team. A lot of them have been playing together since grade school in club, through freshmen year, and as seniors they’re going to be a really strong team.”

ESPORTS Are esports really sports? Miles Pei and Jonathan House go head to head to discuss the facts of the matter in the wake of the June 22 ESPN esports issue.

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MILES PEI ‘18, Reporter JONATHAN HOUSE ‘17, Editor

The definition of “sport” is vague. Wikipedia lists “RC Racing” as an official physical sport. Compared to eSports, I think the amount of physical activity is pretty much equivalent. The same goes for hunting and fishing, neither require you to run or jump. What needs to be made more clear is that eSports are not a hobby, and have comparable physical needs to RC racing and fishing.

H

Yes, the definition of a sport is vague, however, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a sport as “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”

Therefore, eSports isn’t a sport, because it doesn’t contain the one key concept of the definition, physical exertion. Some would argue that it requires hand eye coordination, as well as quick reactions. While this is true, lots of other every day tasks, such as note taking, require some level of hand eye coordination. Driving a car requires people to make quick decisions, and sometimes react quickly, but the daily commute to work isn’t considered a sport. Many people claim hunting and fishing are sports, while these do require more physical activity than eSports, they are strictly hobbies as well.

H

While eSport players can make lots of money, that doesn’t qualify them as professional athletes; lawyers make a lot of money too, and that “sport” still hasn’t gotten its own fantasy league. You also say that eSports are a sport because they are televised and widely followed. Competitions like the World Series of Poker are even broadcasted on ESPN. Although it’s widely followed, its winners come away with millions of dollars, and it’s televised on the premier sports network, it all comes back to physical activity. It has none.

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I do see eSports continuing to grow in popularity as technology improves, and games continue to become more complex. I think it could become even bigger than it already is, especially with younger generations, who will have grown up with games and YouTube, and the concept. Will it ever be a true sport though?

Not until virtual reality kicks in and eSports players have to actually stand up from their computer screen.

The US government recently approved visas for professional gamers. Furthermore, the viewership for eSports is enormous, outranking sports on youtube. People don’t want to consider eSports a real sport because they don’t like the idea of a computer game being compared to their beloved sports.

However, a single League of Legends player can bring in almost $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year, just from tournament wins. This might not seem like much compared to an NBA player’s salary, which was $4.9 million dollars in the 2013-2014 season according to Forbes.com, but we also need to consider that eSports have only been around for about 15 years.

ESports are getting more and more popular in our generation by the minute. Having access to websites that provide users with the ability to upload content to YouTube or even stream from the comfort of their own home, this generation of teens now has more opportunities than ever to expand their gaming careers and make eSports an even bigger sport in the future.

What do you think? Should ESPORTS have a place in the sports section? Send your opinion to Dominic.balestrierifox@gmail.com

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LITTLE HAWK SPORTS MAGAZINE