The Viking: Volume 7, Issue 5

April 2014 Volume VII Issue 5

END OF AN ERA

Si b D ling yn s am in pg ic sp . 3 d or 0 uo ts s :

P. 42

ALL OUT BASEBALL

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LINEUP Volume VII Issue 5 April 2014

4

ZOOMS Charge ahead Line drive ZOOM 3

10

KICKOFF

Staff view Hot or not & Pop culture Inside the Mind of Meredith Kinnaman (‘16)

Ten Questions with Nick Sullivan (‘14)

Spring Speed

20

SHORTS Without limits

by ANNA DUKOVIC and MADDIE KINNAMAN

Viking Tries

by ALYS OLMSTEAD and SHEILA SUBRAMANIAN

photo by Katie Foug

A league of their own

by ROWAN McEVOY

Early bird gets the word

by BRYN CARLSON

FEATURES 24

Dynamic duo

by PRISCILLA BELL

32

Men in black

by CLARA HARRINGTON

48

COLUMNS Last word

HUGGING THE CURVE Megan Tall (‘14) competes in the 200 meter sprint at Gunn High School. Tall completed the race in 26.86 seconds.

LAST CALL

36

FINAL DRIVE

41

Palo Alto sports community icon Ronald Michael McNulty retires after 22 years of teaching.

Football coach and athletic director Earl Hansen will retire from Palo Alto High School after 26 years of coaching football at Paly,

by ALEX MURRAY and JOSH STERN

by ZOE BHARGAVA and MEGAN VALENCIA

by ZACH RIZK

APRIL 2014

ZOOM CHARGE AHEAD Maya Benatar (‘16) stretches away from her opponent and towards the ball in the Lady Vikes’ game against the MenloAtherton Bears. The girls went on to win the game, 15-8.

photo by Paul Bienaimé

ZOOM ON THE SCREWS Casey Glassford (‘15) follows through a swing that led her to first base as the Lady Vikes faced t the Sequoia. The Vikings would go on to fly past the, 1-0.

photo by Paul Bienaimé

ZOOM AND THERE’S THE PITCH Walker Ritchie (‘15) fires the ball at a Wilcox batter during the seventh inning.

The Vikings fell to the Chargers, 7-3.

photo by Olivia Scola

ĚŝƚŽƌƐͲŝŶͲ ŚŝĞĨ WŝƉƉĂ ZĂīĞů :ŽƐŚ ^ƚĞƌŶ Managing Editors ƵĚƌĞLJ Ğ ƌƵŝŶĞ ŵŝ ƌĞnj ŚƌŝƐ ^ŵŝƚŚ Design Editor :ƵůŝĂ ^ĂƵů Photo Editors WĂƵů ŝĞŶĂŝŵĠ dĂƌĂ >ĂǁƌĞŶĐĞ ŽůƵŵŶŝƐƚ ĂĐŚ ZŝnjŬ

From the editors Dear readers,

We hope your spring break was fabulous, and y’all are geared up and ready to go for the next 10 weeks of school.

In this issue of The Viking, our cover package features the stories of Mike McNulty and Earl Hansen, two of Paly’s sports icons who will retire after this school year.

McNulty is highlighted in “Last call” (p. 36), and Hansen is highlighted in “Final drive” (p. 41). Both men have contributed so much to our community and athletics at Paly.

Additionally, we highlight the stories of siblings who compete with each other in sports at Paly in “Dynamic

DƵůƟŵĞĚŝĂ Editor WĂƵů ŝĞŶĂŝŵĠ ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ DĂŶĂŐĞƌ dĂƌĂ >ĂǁƌĞŶĐĞ ^ƚĂī WĂŝŐĞ ĂƌĂ WƌŝƐĐŝůůĂ Ğůů ŽĞ ŚĂƌŐĂǀĂ ƌLJŶ ĂƌůƐŽŶ 'ŝůůŝĂŶ ŚƌLJƐƚ dŽƌŝ Ğ^ƚĞĨĂŶŽ ŶŶĂ ƵŬŽǀŝĐ <ĂƟĞ &ŽƵŐ ůĂƌĂ ,ĂƌƌŝŶŐƚŽŶ DĂĚĚŝĞ <ŝŶŶĂŵĂŶ ZŽǁĂŶ DĐ ǀŽLJ ůĞdž DƵƌƌĂLJ ůLJƐ KůŵƐƚĞĂĚ EŝĂůů WĂƚƌŝĐŬ ,ĂLJůĞLJ WŽŽƌĞ 'ĂƌƌĞƩ ZĞLJŶŽůĚƐ KůŝǀŝĂ ^ĐŽůĂ ^ŚĞŝůĂ ^ƵďƌĂŵĂŶŝĂŶ DĞŐĂŶ sĂůĞŶĐŝĂ ^ƚĂī ĚǀŝƐĞƌ Z͘ DŝĐŚĂĞů DĐEƵůƚLJ The Viking Palo Alto High School 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-­‐329-­‐3837 Email contact: vikingeds@gmail.com ĚǀĞƌƟƐŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ^ƉŽŶƐŽƌƐŚŝƉ ŽŶƚĂĐƚ͗ vikingads@gmail.com

Sincerely, Pippa and Josh

^ƚĂī ǀŝĞǁ

dŚĞ ĐŽŶƚƌŽǀĞƌƐLJ ŽǀĞƌ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚ ĂƚŚůĞƚĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ ŝŶƚĞůůĞĐƚƵĂů ĚŝƐĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ƉůĂLJŝŶŐ ŽŶ ŚŝŐŚ ƐĐŚŽŽů ĂŶĚ ĐŽůůĞŐĞ ƐƉŽƌƚƐ ƚĞĂŵƐ With the 2014 Special Olympics coming up, the members of The Viking have been contemplating what is fair when it comes to athletes with intellectual disabilities playing high school or college sports. In many cases, these students love playing their sport and being part of the team, but are just not at the high skill level that is necessary to make the varsity sports teams in high school and college. The Viking believes that these athletes, who are not at the skill level of the other players, should be given a different role so that they can still be a part of the team.

Some argue that these particular students should be given a spot on the roster regardless of their skill level.

Although The Viking believes that it is unfair that some athletes with intellectual disabilities will never be able to compete at a high level, it is more unfair to give a spot on the team to someone just because they have a disability. Athletes of higher skill levels should not be cut because their spot was given to a less skilled athlete. These students should not have any special treatment when it comes to taking a spot on a team with a set number of players on the roster. All athletes should be treated equally when it comes to trying out for a cut sport.

However, being on the roster is not the only way athThe Viking͕ Ă ƐƉŽƌƚƐ ŵĂŐĂnjŝŶĞ ƉƵďůŝƐŚĞĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚƐ ŝŶ WĂůŽ ůƚŽ ,ŝŐŚ ^ĐŚŽŽů͛Ɛ ĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ DĂŐĂnjŝŶĞ :ŽƵƌŶĂůŝƐŵ ĐůĂƐƐ͕ ŝƐ ĂŶ ŽƉĞŶ ĨŽƌƵŵ ĨŽƌ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚ ĞdžƉƌĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ĚŝƐĐƵƐƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ŝƐƐƵĞƐ ŽĨ ĐŽŶĐĞƌŶ ƚŽ ŝƚƐ ƌĞĂĚĞƌƐŚŝƉ͘ The Viking ŝƐ ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŝƚƐ ƌĞĂĚĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚ ďŽĚLJ Ăƚ ŶŽ ĐŽƐƚ͘ dŚĞ ƐƚĂī ǁĞůĐŽŵĞƐ ůĞƩĞƌƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĞĚŝƚŽƌ͕ ďƵƚ ƌĞƐĞƌǀĞƐ ƚŚĞ ƌŝŐŚƚ ƚŽ ĞĚŝƚ Ăůů ƐƵďŵŝƐƐŝŽŶƐ ĨŽƌ ůĞŶŐƚŚ͕ ŐƌĂŵŵĂƌ͕ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ůŝďĞů͕ ŝŶǀĂƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ƉƌŝǀĂĐLJ ĂŶĚ ŽďƐĐĞŶŝƚLJ͘

10 | T H E V I K I N G |

duos” (p. 24) and how the Special Olympics have benefited athletes in the Palo Alto community in “Giving it their all” (p. 20).

Finally, this is our swan song, and we would like to thank you and all our contributors for following us through our six issues as editors-in-chief. After this issue, the new editors of The Viking will take over from the class of 2015, and carry out their post into next year.

On behalf of all our leadership staff, we thank you once again for your readership and support.

Have a great last quarter!

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

letes can be a part of a team. In some cases, athletes with intellectual disabilities want to be a part of the sports community even if they are not good enough to play.

The idea of being a part of a team is more important to some athletes than actually playing the sport, which is why coaches sometimes allow these athletes to be equipment managers or have other jobs. Being an equipment manager allows the athlete to still be part of the team, while not taking a spot away from a more athletically qualified player.

Champ Pederson, a huge sports fan and athlete who has Down Syndrome, is unable to play at the high level needed to compete in college. However, his disability has not kept him from playing an important role on various sports teams. Recently, he was part of the University of Pacific baseball team. Pederson contributed to the team with his love for the game and his inspirational speeches, rather than his physical abilities.

There is so much more to sports than just pure physical ability, and many athletes with intellectual disabilities bring a rare passion for the sport to the team dynamic. If coaches are able to find a specific role for these athletes that does not take away from other players, then they should allow them to be a part of the team. <<< ĚǀĞƌƟƐŝŶŐ ŝŶ The Viking dŚĞ ƐƚĂī ƉƵďůŝƐŚĞƐ ĂĚǀĞƌƟƐĞŵĞŶƚƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƐŝŐŶĞĚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚƐ ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞLJ ĂƌĞ ŶŽƚ ĚĞĞŵĞĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂī ŝŶĂƉƉƌŽƉƌŝĂƚĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŵĂŐĂnjŝŶĞ͛Ɛ ĂƵĚŝĞŶĐĞ͘ &Žƌ ŵŽƌĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ĂďŽƵƚ ĂĚǀĞƌƟƐŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ The Viking, ƉůĞĂƐĞ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ƚŚĞ The Viking ďLJ ĞŵĂŝů Ăƚ ǀŝŬŝŶŐĞĚƐΛŐŵĂŝů͘ĐŽŵ WƌŝŶƟŶŐ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ Ϯ͕ϱϬϬ ĐŽƉŝĞƐ ŽĨ The Viking ĂƌĞ ƉƌŝŶƚĞĚ͕ Ɛŝdž ƟŵĞƐ Ă LJĞĂƌ ďLJ &ƌŝĐŬĞͲ WĂƌŬƐ WƌĞƐƐ ŝŶ &ƌĞŵŽŶƚ͕ ĂůŝĨ͘

&ŽƌŵĞƌ ŚĞĂĚ ƚƌĂĐŬ ĐŽĂĐŚ͕ :ĂƐŽŶ &ƵŶŐ͕ ǁĂƐ ƐĞůĞĐƚ-­‐ ĞĚ ƚŽ ďĞ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ĂƚŚůĞƟĐ ĚŝƌĞĐƚŽƌ ŝŶ DĂƌĐŚ

Tenacity10.com

EĞǁƐ ƌŝĞĨ͗

ATTENTION GIRLS’ LACROSSE PLAYERS! Tenacity10 offers training and playing opportunities for girls ages 6 thru 18 in Northern California:

Tenacity Training Camps Western Winners Showcase Summer Splash Tournament Tenacity Youth Teams

RELAY TEAM Coach Fung with the members of the 2012 4x100 relay team: Morris Gates-Mouton (‘12), EJ Floreal (‘13), Jayshawn Gates-Mouton (‘13), and Tremaine Kirkman (‘12).

On Wednesday, March 19, it was announced that track and field coach Jason Fung will replace retiring athletic director Earl Hansen. Fung has worked at Paly as a coach and physical education teacher for 15 years.

Fung hopes to continue the successful Paly sports programs that have developed.

“I hope to be the support and I hope to be the leader of our programs,” Fung said.

“And I definitely want to see our programs continue to excel.”

In building Paly sports teams, Fung hopes to show the community that Paly is a great place for kids to come be a part of the athletic programs and also have a good classroom experience. He does not want to change how it is run, but continue to improve it.

“We already have a strong program, so how do we make it better; how do we make the kids coming up now excited about high school sports?” Fung said. “That’s one thing I want to get out to the community is this is a great place to be; you don’t have to go to a private school, you don’t have to do all those things. You can get a great education and definitely have a great sports career at Palo Alto High School.

And it’s evident with kids that have come through here and have done well.”

Hansen will be able to guide Fung in how to handle problems that come to him as the new Athletic Director.

“Hopefully I take away [Hansen’s] knowledge,” Fung said. “Learning what he knows is going to be my next job. Understanding why certain decisions were made that way. Taking and learning the system with his help and his guidance.”

Fung already has an idea of what it will take to be the new athletic director. He knows that he will have to be a resource for the coaches in order to make sure that Paly teams are at their best.

“For the most part, most of our coaches are in place for most of the sports,” Fung said. “I’m assuming everyone is returning for the next season, so now it’s how do I fit into their scheme; how can I help them? It’s not so much changing the dynamics, it’s just making sure that these coaches have the proper tools and what they need to be good coaches. And it comes from me, helping them get to their program and making sure that their program is developing the way they want it to be with a little help from me.” <<<

Visit www.Tenacity10.com Visit www.Tenacity10.com for more details. for more details.

P Culture Grid

The op

What Paly athletes say

W H A T D O P A LY AT H L E T E S S A Y ?

Marcus Brown (‘14) Track and field

Reed Walters (‘16) Lacrosse

Blake Smith (‘14) Boys’ tennis

Will Snodgrass (‘15) Baseball

Hayley Chalmers (‘17) Swimming

Favorite March Madness team

Kansas

Indiana

Wichita State

UCLA

Kansas

3005

Magic

Just a Friend

I Don’t Want This Night to End

Song you cannot stop playing

Childlish Gambino

Coldplay

Sing for the Moment Eminem

Spring Break activity

Not going to practice

Playing lacrosse

Beach

Hanging out with the boys

Relaxing

Post game remedy

Sun tanning with my squad

Watching TV

Gatorade recovery drinks

In & Out

Chocolate milk

HOT

Luke Bryan

Fun in the sun

The sunglasses have been whipped out, the dresses have apperared. It’s no secret that we all love this weather. Go outside and soak up the sun. You can grab your friends, go to the beach, or tan on the quad. But don’t get too hot, grab a drink to cool you down. And don’t forgot to put your sunscreen on!

Basketball too?

The Stanford athletic program has had tremendous success in both football and baseball throughout the last decade. However, it seems that in the past few years, Stanford basketball has been left out of the mix. This year, Stanford finally made the NCAA March Madness tournament and had great success, beating a No. 2 seeded Kansas.

Biz Markie

Spring break blues A quick taste of freedom leaves our mouths, as the harsh reality of school sets in. It was nice while it lasted, but it is time to buckle down and focus hard on our classes. The home stretch is here and the 4th quater means we are almost to those unforgetable summer days.

Later, Mac It’s hard to say “goodbye” to such a legend, and a advisor that has done so many great things for The Viking Magazine and Infocus. We will all truly miss Mac and all that he has given us. Such a kind and caring will never be forgotten. We love you Mac!

N OT Images taken from

12 | T H E V I K I N G |

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

Inside the mind of

Meredith Kinnaman (‘16)

as told to Gillian Chryst photo by Olivia Scola

On her headband

I’m just trying to save the world from seeing my actual ‘fro, and so I just think that headbands can just jazz up your headband. Any outfit you wear, you can put on a headband and it will look fabulous.

On the South

I love the South. The South is like, ‘Go America.’ It is the definition of the United States of America.

On sock game

Since I became a laxer last year, I had to really step up my sock game, and so I bought a lot of adrenaline socks, and now I wear them everyday.

On water sports I have discovered that am not a water creature; I prefer to be on land. And I just drown if I am placed in water.

On lacrosse

I have to be honest, my friends pressured me into doing it because they said that the lacrosse team needed a goalie, and I was like ‘Alright, I’m on board.’

On your diet

I don’t really think that green foods are in my vocabulary, so I don’t eat them. I just think I could die tomorrow, so I should eat all the carbs I can, today.

On Chipotle

Chipotle is like a home run in the food department. If I get Chipotle, it’s like I’ve been so good that day. I order a burrito with chicken, lettuce, cheese, and rice, no beans, no sauce, no nothing. I just love it.

It is so satisfying to my taste buds.

APRIL 2014

Q uestions 10 with

Nick Sullivan

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Nick Sullivan

Jason Fung

Alec Sullivan (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15)

Eli Givens (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16)

Favorite event

400 meter dash

400 meter dash

400 meter dash

Sophomore year - I fell in the 4X400

Best track memory

Winning 4X400 CCs tittle

CCS 4X400 states

Breaking 50s in the 400

Maria Sharapova

Favorite female athlete

Jackie Joint Mercy

Lolo Jones

Alex Morgan

Hanging out with friends

Best past time activity

DMS workouts

Grand theft auto (video game)

Xbox

Water

One thing you must have

Swaggy apparel

Spikes

Spikes

Pet peeve

Underclassmen that do track for a prep

Being injured

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know

The people

Best thing about Paly

Breaking his record

Friends

Friends

Snickers Bar

Favorite pre-meet snack

Sandwiches

Pasta

Goodwill Hunting

Favorite movie

Chariots of Fire

Goodwill Hunting

Remeber the Titans

Summer

Summer or winter

Summer

Summer

Summer

20%

30%

30%

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8\LZ[PVUZ

4X400

Dealing with idiots

Images taken from

14 | T H E V I K I N G |

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

Coach

Brother

Teammate

Snickers Bar

Revolution in Fitness’ NEW Youth Sports Performance Program Our program launch and first lecture (free) on April 10th will be a combination of an introduction to the program itself, with extensive content on injury prevention, injury management, professional screening tests for potential injuries, demos, and hands-on practice. Our goal is to create awareness with as many parents, coaches, kids, and local board members as possible to learn about the program and hear this first lecture topic.

What: PREVENT Injures and Improve the SPEED and PERFORMANCE of your Teenage Athlete When: April 10th, 7:00-8:30 PM Where: Revolution in Fitness, 2741 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto (at NoXcuses Fitness Studio) Presented by: Curtis Cramblett: Licensed Physical Therapist, Certified Functional Manual Therapist Tom Brown: Certified Rolfer, Advanced Franklin Method instructor, doctoral resident in physical therapy at UCSF

“Revolutions in Fitness changed the way I think about my body and made me a better and stronger athlete” — ­ Bryn Carlson

You do your best to live healthy.

We do our best to keep you that way.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

pamf.org

Spring Speed

by PAIGE BARA

Lacrosse Maya Benatar (‘16) Girls’ lacrosse

56 mph: shot Jordan Gans (‘14) Boys’ lacrosse

94 mph: shot

Track and Field Baseball & softball Chris Smith (‘14) Baseball

87 mph: pitch Julia Saul (‘14) Softball

58 mph: pitch

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w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

The Viking calculates the speed of various spring sports actions in miles per hour (mph) to compare the speeds of each respective high school athlete.

Track and field Megan Tall (‘14) Girls’ track and field

16 mph: 200 m sprint

Nick Sullivan (‘14) Boys’ track and field

20 mph: 200 m sprint

Swimming Grace Zhao (‘14) Girls’ swimming

4.7 mph: 50 meters freestyle

Andrew Liang (‘14) Boys’ swimming

5 mph: 50 meters freestyle

APRIL 2014

Early bird gets the word The recruiting process has undergone changes within recent years as colleges have begun to recruit increasingly younger athletes.

by BRYN CARLSON

photo by Zoe Bhargava

SIGNING On February 5th, eight seniors signed the National Letter of Intent after commiting early to play their sport at various schools.

E

ach year, aspiring Division I athletes

clamor to earn a place on the teams

of elite, big-name universities. In

turn, these universities seek out only the best athletes to fill their rosters in hopes of maintaining their prestigious reputations in athletics. In recent years, significant changes have occurred within the recruiting process as colleges recruit increasingly younger athletes.

In February, Palo Alto High School’s Jacey Pederson (‘16) committed to play soccer at UCLA. Not even half way through her high school career, Pederson already has a clear collegiate path.

Pederson updated this news via Instagram post, sharing “Beyond stoked to be committed to UCLA! Such a blessing to be able to represent such an awesome school #bruwinning”.

Many of Pederson’s followers were amazed to hear of her commitment, including one peer who commented on the photo, “Wuuuut that’s crazy congrats!”. So, was Pederson’s commitment truly crazy?

Since Pederson began playing soccer in the

18 | T H E V I K I N G |

first grade, she has excelled greatly. She has been a key player on Paly’s varsity soccer team for the past two years and was named the Female Underclassmen of the Year for her outstanding athletic ability by The Viking in 2013.

Additionally, she has been a devoted member on her club team PSV Union and has played for the U.S. National Team.

Despite her notable successes as a player, Pederson’s commitment is actually not an exceptional case. According to the National College Scouting Association, 24% of girl soccer players commit early to colleges, a figure second only to girls’ lacrosse where 36% of players commit early.

An early commitment occurs before a student can sign the National Letter of Intent (during their senior year), when a coach offers a scholarship for a student to play at their school and the student verbally accepts this offer. Verbal commitments are non-binding for both the schools and the students, meaning that the school may decide to withdraw their offer and the student may also choose to play

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

for a different school.

According to Robin Lent from College Counseling Associates in Menlo Park, a college counselor who works specifically with athletes who hope to play at a collegiate level, verbal commitments still hold significant meaning in the realm of college sports.

“Even though [verbal commitment] is nonbinding, the collegiate sports world is relatively small with the idea that once you make a verbal commitment on the athletes and the coaches side that it is an ethically binding agreement” Lent said, “It rarely happens when some other offer comes along and upsets that verbal commitment” Lent adds.

This year, eight Paly seniors signed their National Letters of Intent on February 5th to officially play for colleges across the country, all of whom had committed early—although none did so as early as Pederson who will sign her letter of intent in 2016.

While Pederson’s commitment was recent, she became involved in the recruiting process much earlier, when she was still in middle

school.

“I began talking to coaches during eighth grade,” Pederson said, “I’d previously gone to some college showcases like in seventh grade I went to one in Las Vegas”.

The NCAA has set in place various regulations meant to prevent colleges from recruiting younger athletes, yet Pederson admits that there are loopholes in the system.

All of the rules are structured around high school students and prohibit certain types of contacts with coaches and students during their sophomore, junior, and senior years.

However, there are no explicit restrictions regarding students in middle school communicating with coaches.

“Since I was a middle schooler it was perfectly fine for me to talk to coaches and for them to call me back and stuff so in that sense it was really beneficial that I could like get to know the coaches”.

Roughly ten years ago, it would have been unheard of for an athlete to be identified by a college in middle school, however this is now relatively common occurrence.

“The one significant thing I think has changed over the last five to eight to nine years

“

is that recruiting is starting much much earlier”. Lent said, “When I first started [counseling] kids, I would get students in January of their Junior year and then we’d start the process—now, that’s too late”.

Recruiting has turned into a race where the college that is recruiting the youngest athletes is in the lead. These schools want to fill their rosters with the best athletes and get strong re-

something to work towards” Pederson shared.

“But I think it’s more of a benefit towards the coaches ‘cause they get their recruiting classes ready, they have an idea of what type of positions they have coming in, or what type of players they’ll have in the future so they don’t needa recruit those type of players” Early commitment is essential in the recruiting process, however it can put immense pressures on the students.

“If a student wants to play that sport at that level, then they need to make that kind of decision as a freshman— they want to put themselves in a place where they can get exposure” Lent said.

Deciding where to attend college can be a stressful and difficult process for any student, but perhaps is even more so for students who need to make this instrumental decision at such a young age.

“The whole process was pretty overwhelming, just the fact I had to decide where I wanted to go to college yet it’s two and a half years away was pretty mind blowing” said Pederson.

It is certain that the recruiting process has evolved in recent years as younger athletes are making early commitments. Committing to a school as an underclassmen is becoming more of a norm—so perhaps Pederson’s commitment isn’t so ‘crazy’ after all. <<<

If a student wants to play a sport at that level, then they need to make that kind of decision as a freshman—they want to put themselves in a place where they can get exposure.

- Robin Lent cruiting classes, which translates to the pursuit of increasingly younger students. There is an ‘early bird gets the worm’ mentality in recruiting—or in this case, early bird gets the word, the verbal commitment of an athlete.

“There are certain periods of time where the coach is not allowed to talk to the athlete, so they need to know way in advance who is coming, who isn’t and who is going to commit” Lent said.

“I think that committing isn’t necessarily a huge benefit for the players other than getting that sense of relief and having a goal,

FUTURE BRUIN Jacey Pederson (‘16) dribbles down the field in a game.

She commited to play soccer at UCLA in February.

”

DRIVE Pederson drives towards the goal on a breakaway.

APRIL 2014

For the love of the game

The Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for kids and adults who have intellectual disabilities. Around 170 countries and four million athletes participate in 32 different sporting events. Additionally, Bay Area organizations provide these athletes to compete on a local level.

photo courtesy of the Pederson family

by ANNA DUKOVIC and MADDIE KINNAMAN

ALL SMILES Champ Pederson (‘06) poses with members of his basketball team. Pederson has participated in the Special Olympics of Northern California.

A

ccording to a report released in 2013 by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 20 percent of minors (ages 3-17) in America suffer from a mental disorder.

Children who attend public school often participate in special education programs. Outside of the classroom, children with disabilities can participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. These activities include opportunities to participate in sports programs. One of

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these organizations is the Special Olympics, which allows over four million athletes to participate in over 32 sporting events on a global level.

The Special Olympics were founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver and are held every four years. Shriver, John F. Kennedy’s sister, grew up playing sports with her sister, Rose Marie Kennedy, who had an intellectual disability and was provided with limited sports programs to compete in. As Shriver grew older, she developed her idea that people with disabilities

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should be given the same opportunities as anyone else. She then created a summer camp called “Camp Shriver” in her backyard in 1962.

Her idea expanded and the first ever Special Olympics was held in Chicago, Illinois in 1968.

Since 1968, the Games have continued to grow. The next Special Olympics is to be held in New Jersey from June 14-21 this year. Although these games may not draw the same number of viewers as the Olympics, they provide a global stage for athletes with intellectual disabilities to showcase their talents and hard

work. The Special Olympics involves more than 170 countries worldwide.

Athletes with intellectual disabilities are not restricted to solely competing on a global level. Local organizations, such as the Special Olympics of Northern California, are bringing sporting opportunities closer to home.

The Special Olympics of Northern California allows athletes to participate in 11 different sporting events, including softball, soccer, tennis and bowling. This organization helps athletes ranging from age five to above, but only athletes ages eight and over can compete. One of Palo Alto High School’s own graduates, Champ Pederson (‘06), participates in the Special Olympics of Northern California.

As a child, Pederson tried multiple sports, including swimming, basketball and baseball. During his first two years at Paly, Pederson helped manage the football and baseball teams. Pederson additionally ran and threw shot put for the track and field team at Paly.

“

There are many differences between Paly athletics and the Special Olympics. However, both Paly and the Special Olympics of Northern California focus on community.

“It’s community based,” Pederson said. “It is not just individualized.”

Pederson has also helped out with the University of Pacific (UoP) baseball team as a speaker and a bat boy.

Through his various athletic experiences, Pederson has gained insight into the effort athletes with intellectual disabilities must put into

ipate in the sporting activities at Paly, either as an athlete or as an assistant in the athletic department. Paly athletic director Earl Hansen has had many special education athletes help in the areas around sports.

“They are supportive in both directions,” Hansen said. “They love being there. They love supporting the teams and the kids on the team love having them. And they help, they’re a part of it. They aren’t there just to be nice. They are very helpful.”

Although Paly does not provide separate sports teams for students with intellectual disabilities, there other pathways for these athletes to involve themselves in the sports world. The Special Olympics and similar organization help to improve the athletic endeavours of athletes with intellectual disabilities. “[The Special Olympics] teaches kids to try to become [who] they are as athletes,” Pederson said. <<<

You’ve got to train; you’ve got to work hard every day.

- Champ Pederson (‘06) a sport. He wants to share his advice with other disabled athletes.

“You’ve got to train; you’ve got to work hard every day,” Pederson said.

Although there are no sports teams at Paly for athletes with intellectual disabilities, these students are still given opportunities to partic-

Special Olympics trivia Officially established in 1968 Games competed among 170 different countries 32 different Olympic sports offered to competing athletes 4.2 million total participating athletes Primarilly ran and organized by volunteers

”

FOUNDER Eunice Kennedy Shriver, John F. Kennedy’s sister and founder of the Special Olympics in 1968, is pictured on a plaque.

COLOR EXPLOSION Special Olympics athletes march into the opening ceremony in an arena. images taken from

APRIL 2014

HANDS UP Staff members Audrey DeBruine and Alys Olmstead on defense while playing wheel chair basketball. They played with the Golden State Road Warriors, coached by a nine-time gold medalist Paralympian.

tries Wheelchair Basketball Join Viking staff members Sheila, Alys and Audrey as they partake in the difficult, yet entertaining sport of wheelchair basketball with the Bay Area Outreach and Recreational Program (BORP).

by ALYS OLMSTEAD and SHEILA SUBRAMANIAN photos by Katie Foug

E

ntering the gym as a swimmer, a soccer player and a runner made us Viking staff members an unlikely group of people to partake in a sport as tough as wheelchair basketball. However, as time went on we found ourselves having been exposed to a supportive community of independent teens and a intense new sport.

Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) was founded in 1976 by two women with disabilities on the UC Berkeley campus in

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order to create access to recreation and more opportunities for a population of physically disabled people that have often been left out of many activities such as team sports.

The Golden State Road Warriors, the team The Viking practiced with, is coached by ninetime gold medalist Paralympian Trooper Johnson. Players come from as close as down the street to as far as Sacramento to practice with the team every Saturday afternoon at the James Kenney Recreation Center in Berkeley. Many of the players have been playing for years, and some even have Olympic aspirations of their

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own.

“BORP really blew up as it opened its doors to the community outside of the university,” Johnson said. “They understood the need for the creation of opportunities for those who fell into a group in between the able-bodied population and Special Olympics, and this group of people with disabilities fit into the BORP program perfectly.”

Us three Viking staff members made the trek across the bay to participate in an afternoon of intense physical activity. Walking into a small gym in Berkeley to see no more than

20 people on the court made it nerve-wracking to test our non-existent basketball skills. Yet, despite their intensity and experience, the existing players were exceedingly accepting of newcomers and promptly showed us the ropes.

Wheelchair basketball is essentially the same as regular basketball; however, some aspects of the game must be executed differently due to the presence of the wheelchair. When dribbling down the court, one can touch his/her wheels twice to turn or push themself forward, and then must dribble at least once to prevent being called for traveling. In order to shoot, there must be continuous movement instead of stopping the wheelchair and then attempting to shoot the ball. If one is looking to set up a screen, he/she must roll into position and then stay completely still. Such rules are what make wheelchair basketball slightly different than the commonly-known sport of regular basketball.

Aside from the difficulty of maneuvering the chair and learning the rules, The Viking staff had to come to terms with the very likely possibility of falling over. Nervousness arose upon entering the gym when we were told about how a certain part on the wheel when hit causes a flip. Despite the fact that none of the staff members flipped over, several of the experienced players did, in fact, fall over in their wheelchairs. Our initial shock was quickly replaced with a smile when the other kids laughed it off as though such a fall was a common occurrence.

After taking some time to practice our skills individually, we were soon deemed ready to play in a 3-on-3 tournament. Being placed on

teams with the experienced players made for much more competitive games, yet this also allowed us to pick up the difficult sport more quickly.

Playing another staff member placed on a different team increased the games’ competitiveness and provided a positive environment for us to improve our basketball skills. Despite our little knowledge for the game, we all handled the basketball frequently, as the supportive teammates passed the ball continuously despite our lack of experience. Passing to the us allowed us Viking staff members to gain enough confidence to even score a few points ourselves.

Going into the third game of the tournament we began to feel the fatigue and truly realize how strenuous this sport can be. Not only does the sport require constant armwork, but it also requires the player to stay stable in the chair which puts his/her core to work as well.

Feeling confident about our increased skill once the tournament had finished, we soon realized just how amatueur we really were compared to the experienced players who spend hours a week practicing their beloved sport.

The kids who The Viking staff members had grown to know as their temporary teammates shared just how dedicated they truly have to be to play for the team, saying that the Golden State Road Warriors was one of the only wellmanaged and advanced teams for kids interested in wheelchair basketball.

Not only are the teens participating in the program to further their skills and because of their love for the sport, but they are also gaining a significant amount of independence

by traveling with the team to different places around the nation for multiple tournaments a year. This prompts the growth of confidence in their ability to live on their own and hopefully grow up to become less reliant on others.

Nothing has detrimented their ability to maintain aspirations similar to those of any other teenager.

Coach Johnson shared several of his goals regarding the BORP program and what it does to the independence of the student-athletes involved in it.

“One thing I really want to focus on is making sure the kids in this program become fully independent,” Johnson said. “I want them to be able to graduate from school, grow up living away from their parents, and be able to live successfully without relying on government support.”

The disabled athletes spoke highly of the wheelchair basketball program and emphasized how important it was be apart of considering it is one of the only sports offered to them. Along with wheelchair basketball, BORP offers power soccer, hockey, and other recreational activities for the disabled community to partake in.

Striving towards developing a strong and independent group of young adults, Johnson and his team continue to prove that despite challenges brought about by their physical disability it is still possible to do what you love.

“It’s not getting hurt that is going to define you, it’s how you come back from it,” Johnson said. “There’s a value to getting up off the ground and learning that things aren’t always going to go your way.” <<<

SHOOT Sheila Subramanian pre- DRIBBLE Alys Olmstead warms-up SCORE Audrey DeBruine looks to pares to shoot the basketball dur- by dribbling before the start of the basket to score another two ing warm-ups. the tournament. points for her team.

APRIL 2014

photo by Olivia Scola

DYNAMIC

DUOS

Paly athletes competing with a sibling on a varsity sport have a unique relationship unlike those of other siblings.

by PRISCILLA BELL

W PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Brothers Alec Sullivan (left) and Nick (right) take to the Paly field at practice after school. Both are sprinters.

hen looking at a Paly roster, sometimes it catches the eye that two players have the same last name, and it turns out that they are siblings on the same varsity team. These two brothers or sisters have something special between them because they are on the same Paly team.

Famous sibling athletes include tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. The Williams sisters have competed against each other in many tournaments, but have also won 13 doubles titles together. The Manning brothers have each won awards for their respective records, and their teams have matched up three times in games each dubbed, “The Manning Bowl.”

Similarly, Paly has many of these dynamic duos who are taking Paly sports by storm. No matter what sport or the age difference, the two find a way to connect through playing the same sport and being on the same varsity team at Paly, each pair with their unique relationships.

No matter how young or how old they were when they started playing, the fact that the two have stuck with the same sport has given them a special connection.

“Most siblings don’t do the same sports, and I think it’s something special that we both do it,” Alex Liang (‘17) said.

Alex and his brother Andrew (‘14) are swimmers for Paly who began swimming at Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics (PASA) together when Alex was seven and Andrew was 10. In his first year at Paly, Alex is on the varsity team with his brother.

Often it is the older sibling who introduces the younger sibling to the sport, as was the case for sisters Kelsey Wang (‘16) and Felicia (‘14).

They both started playing tennis at the same age of nine, Felicia just two years older.

“I started playing, and she came to watch me a few times and she liked the sport, so she also started playing,” Felicia said.

As the two have continued with their tennis careers, Felicia’s skill is something that Kelsey has aspired to reach since she began playing.

“Because she’s better than me, she motivates me to do better,” Kelsey said. “When I was younger I used to not like tennis that much, but I’d think ‘No, Felicia is still doing it; I

APRIL 2014

photo courtesy of Lena Chang

PARTNERS IN CRIME Erin Chang (‘13), 9, and Lena (‘15), 7, suit up in their AYSO uniforms for a picture day. Erin and Lena played on the Paly varsity soccer team together for two years. should try harder.’ I was inspired by her.”

The story is a little different for track sprinters Alec Sullivan (‘15) and Nick (‘14). Both of them started track on the later side (Alec when he was in seventh grade, and Nick when he was a freshman) running track just as a side sport, but it has developed into something that they are both passionate about. Nick is a key member of the track team as a 400-meter runner, and his focus on the sport resonates with his brother, much like Kelsey looks up to Feli-

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cia for motivation.

“He’s definitely more committed than I am at this point, but he does inspire me, so I do want to be that committed at a certain stage,” Alec said.

An older sibling can make being on the varsity team a better experience for their younger brother or sister, as shown with the experiences from Kelsey and Felicia, and Alex and Andrew.

“It was nice [to have a sister on the team as

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

a freshman] because I got to know the team better,” Kelsey said. “It was easier to transition because she was on the team. She connected me to the team more in the beginning.”

Alex anticipates a good experience swimming on the Viking team.

“He makes [the transition] easier,” Alex said.

“He tells me the social norms and stuff like that. ... He definitely makes the team a lot better. I heard he’s one of the guys everybody likes to be around.”

Andrew also is looking forward to how the season will be with his brother on the team.

“I think it will be fun,” Andrew said. “It’s only going to happen this one year since he’s a freshman and I’m a senior. Unless we end up at the same college, it won’t happen again. I’m looking forward to it. I don’t know how it will turn out, but hopefully it will be good.”

By sticking with their respective sports, many hours have been spent at practices. Now, in high school, on the same varsity team, that great amount of time is spent together, and the strong relationship between siblings develops.

Even though track is less of a team sport, Nick appreciates that Alec is on the track with him.

“It was nice [when Alec joined the team] to have someone extra out there I knew,” Nick said. “Track is an individual sport aside from the relays, so besides working out together it’s not that big of a difference, but it’s nice having him out there.”

However, with time before, during, and after practice, a great deal of time is actually spent together.

“We get to talk about different things about the sport,” Nick said. “We go to track practice together and go home together and get to talk about practice: what we like, what we don’t like. That’s a nice thing to have.”

Because Alec went to Pinewood School for middle school, being on the same track team at Paly has allowed for the two brothers to spend more time together than was possible when they were at different schools.

“We didn’t go to middle school together, so I think in high school we’ve definitely gotten a lot closer,” Alec said. “Track has helped us get closer.”

Sisters Lena Chang (‘15) and Paly graduate Erin (‘13) were on the varsity soccer team together for two years, but have always worked together on skills during the club soccer seasons. Erin believes that their relationship would not be the same if they were athletes in different sports and were not able to spend so much time practicing soccer.

“Since we’ve played soccer together I’d always make her go out and juggle with me or kick a ball around whenever I want to get extra touches,” Erin said. “I think it would be harder if we played different sports just because we wouldn’t know each other’s abilities as well.

Since we’re playing soccer together I play with her on the field and know what she’s capable of, and she knows what I’m capable of, so we can work together on that. If we were in different sports it would be more like a different language and probably harder to understand.”

As siblings go to practice and work out together, they are able to push each other to become better athletes. Felicia is a singles player and Kelsey is a doubles player, and despite that they never play together in match, the two sisters still practice with each other to become better players.

“I definitely think [tennis brings us closer],” Felicia said. “During the season we get to spend a lot of time together. … We practice together, so I give her tips and she can help me with tips too.”

There is a special teammate connection that comes with being on the same team and working every day together, as well as being siblings.

“It was really great [being on the same team at Paly] because you have a special bond with your sibling, so you know them a lot better,” Lena said. “The teamwork is really great and it motivates you to work harder too.”

In every sport, practice is preparation for competition. Andrew believes that his rela-

tionship with his brother is rooted in competition.

“At practices we’re normally not in the same lane, so there’s no too much dynamic because swimming is pretty individual when it comes to practice,” Andrew said. “If we end up racing each other I’ll end up pushing him a little harder than maybe he’ll like or want to get pushed at the time.”

In soccer, there are also clear benefits of

“

extends beyond just the two siblings. Soccer has made the whole Chang family closer, with trips to tournaments that Erin, Lena, their parents and younger brother Ryan all attend.

“Soccer has always been a big, common, thing for us,” Erin said. “Our family has just been in soccer for so long because we both started at a pretty young age. We’re always going to tournaments together for Thanksgiving; all of our family holidays revolve around soccer; vacation plans revolve around soccer and everything.

I think it’s not just brought Lena and I together, but the rest of our family together, just because they have to deal with it.”

It goes further to keep siblings connected as they are away from each other. With Erin studying at Boston University and Lena still in her junior year at Paly, they connect over discussing their teams.

“I keep her updated with Paly soccer, and she tells me about her club team in BU,” Lena said.

Even as the other siblings might also go their separate ways for college, they can stay close with their sport similarity. Siblings inherently have a special connection, but being in the same sport allows for an even deeper relationship. <<<

“

working with a sibling in the games, even if the two siblings are different types of players.

“I don’t actually go to a lot of [Lena’s] games, but I feel like I know her better as a player,” Erin said. “Growing up with her, and we trained together for a while, and I feel like I do know her a little bit better on the field better than some of my teammates do. And I guess it’s different when I’m in the goal, too, because I can see everything from there. When I see her I think I direct her a little bit differently than when I direct other people, because I know her strengths and weaknesses a little bit more.”

The great relationship that siblings create

photo courtesy of Felicia Wang

photo courtesy of Felicia Wang

I think it’s not just brought Lena and I together, but the rest of our family together, just because they have to deal with it.

- Erin Chang (‘13)

PALY PRIDE Felicia Wang (‘14) (left) and sister Kelsey (‘15) (right) play in the team’s final match of the 2013 season against Los Gatos. Felicia and Kelsey have both played tennis since they were nine-years-old.

APRIL 2014

A league of their wn As seniors, some students who do not play basketball for the high school team find an alternative league in which to compete in the form of National Junior Basketball (NJB).

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Since its founding in 1984, the program has grown to encompass over 25,000 participants in six states.

According to the players, the atmosphere of the league is very relaxed. A competitive nature still exists, but room for error is much larger than in high school basketball. Practices are optional and consist of open gym time to scrimmage.

Patrick Fuery (‘14), a first year NJB player,

Photo by Susan Spangler

hile many students can engage in basketball as children, by the time high school rolls around, opportunities are more limited. For upperclassmen especially, the chance to play basketball is greatly diminished. Despite the number of Paly students with basketball backgrounds, this year, Paly’s varsity basketball teams contain a grand total of 11 upperclassmen.

While this number sits lower than usual due to the youth of this year’s girls’ team, the number of upperclassmen involved in school basketball constantly remains low. As a result, students who still enjoy the game but cannot compete on the varsity team for a variety of reasons find alternate means of playing. One such option is playing National Junior Basketball (NJB).

“Playing varsity was too much of a time commitment for me, but I still wanted to play,” Edward Mei (‘14) said. “Also, it’s just a great opportunity to compete with a bunch of your friends; it’s fun more than anything.”

NJB is a 30-year-old non-profit organization that offers organized basketball opportunities to boys and girls in first through 12th grade.

Photo by Jenny Yang

by ROWAN McEVOY

28 | T H E V I K I N G |

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

also cited the differences between high school basketball and NJB. “While I could have tried to play varsity, NJB is much more fun and relaxing than playing [Paly] ball,” Fuery said. “It’s also much less of a time commitment, which was key during those college apps.”

At younger ages, tryouts are a common way to divide the large pool of NJB players into equal teams, but as players grow up and the number of teams decrease, teams are put together by choice. This past year, Palo Alto students formed two teams and developed a friendly rivalry.

STANDING AROUND (above) Team JCC stands around during a break in the game. Relaxation was the name of the game for the most part as practices were optional.

DUECES (left) Team Event holds two fingers representing their second place finish. Despite starting the playoffs as the sixth seed, the made it to the championship.

Nabeel Chollampat (Gunn ‘14) Frankie Comey (‘14) Patrick Fuery (‘14) Allen Hao ( Gunn ‘14) Dillon Hu (Gunn ‘14) Victor Liu (Gunn ‘14) Edward Mei (‘14) Roy Shadmon (‘14) Chris Smith (‘14) Neel Thronson (Gunn ‘14) William Yang (‘14)

Words of the players: “We all love to win and hate to lose, which makes everything more competitive, not only in games but also in practices as well” -Edward Mei (‘14)

M

jority of their regular season games including both contests against the other Palo Alto team.

“We really played well all season and were in every game,” Fuery said. “We played our best ball in the playoffs and just came up a bit short in the end.”

In addition to a competitive bond with the other Palo Alto team, Mei’s team engaged in a rivalry with a team from West San Jose that created some serious heat. During a game between the teams, a West San Jose player started belittling Smith, and blocked one of his shots.

After some shoving and elbowing, Smith responded by throwing a punch, starting an altercation that the fans got into.

The incident made for an interesting rematch in the semifinal round of the playoffs.

Both teams received warnings before the start, but the referees called a very strict game and the previous incident didn’t manifest itself.

Despite starting the game off with a 20-0 run, though, the team ended up losing and finishing its season on a disappointing note. Fuery, however, enjoyed the whole incident and feels that the team became close-knit. “[We’re] like a covalent bond,” Fuery said.

“We stick together man, even if things get heated.”

Photo by Jenny Yang

Team JCC

ei and Fuery helped compile one of the teams, incorporating Frankie Comey (‘14), William Yang (‘14), Viking staff member Chris Smith (‘14) and players from Gunn. The players identified a large amount of team chemistry as a reason for success, citing the experience that they had playing together.

“I played with every one of those guys in some place or another before,” Mei said.

With no real coach and plenty of experience playing with each other, practices were optional. Fuery attended a grand total of three practices during the season and Comey attended close to none. Every practice generally constituted two hours of scrimmaging as well as Smith not wearing a shirt.

Some of the time they did spend practicing, however, was used for creating plays and naming them after Paly girls. The mechanics of the plays themselves had little to do with the girls’ names, but they did correspond to whoever was to received the ball in the end. As instructed by the players, the names of the plays cannot be disclosed.

Despite their lack of practice, Mei, Fuery, Smith, Comey, Yang and company won a ma-

DEFENSIVE PREPARATION (above) The team gets ready as they wait for their opponents to come downcourt. In the playoffs, the reached the semifinals before losing to a team from West San Jose.

Photo by Jenny Yang

“[Last year] I didn’t really think [NJB] was [a tradition], but hopefully we kind of started something.”

-William Yang (‘14)

WHY SO SERIOUS? (right) Facial expressions are mixed as Team JCC poses for a photo. Although they a combination of Paly and Gunn students, the team had strong chemistry as a result of long lasting friendships between the players.

APRIL 2014

Team Event Jack Anderson (‘14) Marcus Brown (14’) J.J. Kadifa (‘14) Brian Kannappan (‘14) Andrew Liang (‘14) Will Mendenhall (‘14) Blake Smith (‘14) Jack Shapiro (‘14) John Young (‘14)

Words of the players: “It is pretty competitive, and you do get a little bit angry at your teammates sometimes. It’s funny how even though you go into it as really good friends, you still get ticked off” -Blake Smith (‘14) “Our team underachieved for much of the season (I think we went 3-6) but I believe a part of that is we never had more than 5 or 6 players at each game. It was a lot more about having fun than taking the season super seriously.”

-Jack Shapiro (‘14)

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he other Palo Alto team consisted solely of Paly students, namely John Young (‘14), Blake Smith (‘14), Jack Anderson (‘14), Jack Shapiro (‘14), Andrew Liang (‘14), JJ Kadifa (‘14), Brian Kannappan (‘14), Will Mendenhall (‘14) and Marcus Brown (‘14).

“Our team was full of interesting people,” Brown said. “Only three of us had actually played basketball on a team before.”

With a wide range of abilities, the team’s play compiled a variety of styles. Shapiro, having a strong basketball background, provided an offensive threat. Anderson, on the other hand, had little to no basketball experience and got in frequent confrontations as a result of his aggressive style. Finally, Kannappan played scrappy defense, annoying other players in the process.

While one could argue that the variety of skill sets featured might have need some management and time to gel together, structured practices were nonexistent. By Smith’s accounts, the team had one or two practices in total, never developed plays and only interacted with a coach when a team parent would sit on the bench with the players during games as required by regulations.

“We would show up to games and the other team would have three or four coaches,” Smith said. “We would get there five minutes late with five people, the minimum amount of people to play, and a random parent to coach.

Whenever we beat a team like that, it was just pretty funny.

Given their unorthodox combination of players and lack of practice, the season had its

“[NJB] starts at a time when your done with all your early [applications] and stuff like that so you definitely have time to do it. You can spend time with friends on the court.

It’s a good experience, especially if you aren’t playing Paly basketball.”

-Blake Smith (‘14) 30 | T H E V I K I N G |

Images taken from

Photo by Susan Spangler

“We ended up losing in the championship, which was pretty good since we never practiced, we did have any plays and we didn’t have a coach” -Marcus Brown (‘14)

ups and downs. During the regular season, the team lost a majority of their games. Shapiro remembers one memorable game, however, where they won in the closing seconds.

“Our third game of the season, the game was tied and [Young] got fouled with about a second left and hit a free throw to win,” Shapiro said.

This example of timely playing proved not to be a fluke as the team made it deep into the playoffs. Starting off as the 6th seed in a single elimination tournament, they beat the third and second seeds in their first two games to advance to the championship.

In the final game, however, they lost to West San Jose. After playing the other team earlier in the season, they expected to once again defend against a lot of three point shots. West San Jose, however, changed their game plan and drove the ball more, scoring from close range.

That, in combination with a couple technical fouls, cost the team the game.

“NJB was fun,” Brown said. “I’d recommend it to anyone who has a group of friends that have even a little bit of athletic talent.” <<<

BACK IN WHITE Team Event poses for a picture together after a game.

With a variety of skill sets and a mediocre regular season, their play finally gelled towards the end of the year to make for an “eventful” season.

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Top5 5 4 3 2 1

things you should have done over Spring Break

Splash

Close your eyes and imagine yourself on your back, bobbing up and down in the salty water of the Pacific, the rays of the California sun warming your face. Your mind goes blank, and you feel your conscious inexplicably rushing backwards in time. You are in the ocean’s fetus, and you are completely at peace.

Got a date?

With prom two weeks earlier than last year, it was pretty imperative that you had your date situation sorted by Spring Break. Good luck. (Don’t worry it’s cool to go stag).

Bump it!

Because who doesn’t want insidious grains of sand in unwelcome places?

Whether you’re hitting up the courts at Stanford or making the 45 minute trek to Santa Cruz, sand volleyball is the best way to soak up the sun and engage in some friendly with your friends.

S’mores up!

While you were spending your days snapchatting yourself in a bikini, Instagramming your plane’s wings as you took off, Tweeting about your travel struggles and checking into your final destination on Facebook, you should have been taking a much-needed break from technology while enjoying nature in all its glory.Take a hike!

REM rebound This one is a must. No matter how much time you spend in bed over the break, you probably still haven’t depleted the sleep debt you’ve accumulated over the past three quarters. We all know that sleep is important for innumerable reasons, and we also know that students at Paly tend to not get enough of it.

Boys in black Although the martial arts community remains strong, its presence is largely unknown to the Paly student body.

Photo by Clara Harrington

by CLARA HARRINGTON

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BLACK BELT Johnny Lee (‘15) poses with his taekwondo students at Palo Alto Martial Arts.

oftball, baseball, tennis, track, swimming, lacrosse; with so many sports going on at once at Paly, it’s hard to imagine that there could be even more choices unknown to most of the student body.

Although Paly has long prided itself on the athletic capabilities that its’ students have, it often overlooks sports that sections of the student body take part in. Martial arts has a hidden community within Paly, with several students in each grade participating in a form of systemized combat techniques.

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Without having established practices for martial arts at the school, Vikings interested in becoming involved in the activity have to seek out studios outside of Paly. Having such a time-consuming interest has forced many that were formerly involved in the martial arts community to drop out, favoring a sport that is more actively connected to the Paly community.

Among the few that have stayed with martial arts throughout high school are Johnny Lee (‘15) and Daiki Minaki (‘14). Both students have continued with their form of martial arts outside of Paly, participating in different forms

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of self-defense activities. Lee began taekwondo in elementary school as a supplementary afterschool program with his Korean school. Although other Palo Altans participated in taekwondo as children, Lee is more unique in that he persisted with the activity as he grew older.

“It was around fifth grade that I actually joined a studio,” Lee said. “I mainly enjoyed it for the sparring. It seemed more dynamic, and I thought it would be a good way to get exercise.”

Lee chose to continue on with taekwondo, rather than going into a sport more of his school peers were involved in, because of the

unique advantages that it offers.

“Taekwondo is different from other sports in that it is more standardized,” Lee said. “I chose to do taekwondo because it has a lot of benefits in self defense. Also, it is very good for your cardio – it’s just good for your body overall.”

Minaki, like Lee, maintained his involvement in the martial arts community as he went on to high school. He began kendo, a Japanese form of swordfighting that uses bamboo swords, in sixth grade.

“My dad made me want to start, because he knew about it in Japan,” Minaki said.

Competing in a sport always has drawbacks for an athlete; time consumption is a challenge, and during high school many people have to balance their schedule to include activities they wish to partake in while still taking care of their schoolwork. Having to go outside of school for martial arts makes it harder to pursue, and is difficult to continue during the school-year because of the demands that

classes at Paly have. Both Lee and Minaki have practice at their studios three times per week; although Paly sports typically have practice five times per week, these practices do not require the time it takes to commute to an offcampus site.

“Junior year has been pretty tough, so I haven’t been going as often but ideally I would be going [to the studio] around two to three times per week,” Lee said.

dren he trains, he sees the importance in being a good mentor for them.

“This is a period of time where they don’t really focus a lot, but there are a few talented people that soak in everything they learn,” Lee said. “You have to teach them the concise way so that they actually learn something from their years, instead of wasting them playing around in the studio.”

Despite the laborious efforts that martial arts can entail, being part of a unique culture is rewarding for those involved. Lee urges all interested in being part of the martial arts community to join.

“In America, we try to focus not much on the Korean aspect because we want to be welcome and opening,” Lee said. “Anyone can do taekwondo, you don’t have to be Korean to do it.”<<<

is different from other sports in “thatTaekwondo it is more standardized ... it is very good for your cardio and for your body overall. ” - Johnny Lee (‘15)

Photo courtesy of Daiki Minaki

Photo courtesy of Johnny Lee

Aside from the time taken for his own personal instruction, Lee also teaches taekwondo to children at his studio. He began teaching kids when he was a freshman; although he currently works with grade-school students, he hopes to proceed on to teaching middle schoolers in the future. Because Lee himself learned taekwondo at the same age as the chil-

GOLD Daiki Minaki (‘14) holds a trophy that he won during a kendo competition. Minaki has been involved in martial arts since 7th grade.

READY Lee focuses during a competition held at Foothill College. He hopes to continue on to the Junior Olympics for taekwondo in the future.

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final drive Earl Hansen

At the end of the school year, football coach and athletic director Earl Hansen will retire from Palo Alto High School. Over Hansenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 26 years of coaching football at Paly, he has led the Vikings to over 200 wins, four Central Coast Section (CCS) titles and two state championship games. In 2010 he led the Vikingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to a 15-13 win over Centennial High School in the CIF State Championship game, resulting in a No. 14 national ranking, according to MaxPreps.com.

an

era

last call Mike McNulty

Creator of the popular Literature of Sport class, R. Michael McNulty announced his retirement following the 2013-14 school year, after teaching at Palo Alto High School for 22 years. McNulty was also the adviser for both Palyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s INfocus broadcasting station and The Viking sports magazine, and the announcer for every home game for the Vikingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; football team.

photo by Paul BienaimĂŠ 36 | T H E V I K I N G |

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Last call Palo Alto sports community icon Ronald Michael McNulty retires after 22 years of teaching

by ALEX MURRAY and JOSH STERN

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tarted in 2000, the Literature of Sport English elective offered to juniors and seniors of Palo Alto High School has grown increasingly popular over the last decade.

Through it’s fourteen years of existence, the class has always started the same way.

Each student signs up to read the columns of the modern sports world on subjects that most interest them. They stand in front of the class, paper in hand, and read their column to the students waiting in silence. After each student has done so, they are assigned to write their own column, allowing them to provide their own commentary on anything they find interesting in the sports world.

For fourteen years “Sports Lit” has been run this way. It’s different, it’s unique and it’s something that students at Paly have come to cherish. Many of the same virtues that students feel are similar to the class’s instructor, Ronald Michael McNulty.

Although McNulty has been working in Palo Alto Unified School District for over 20 years, his ability to connect to his students and

get them to be excited about learning is still very much present.

McNulty’s kind and easy-going attitude has allowed him to make friends from the locker room to the classroom during his two decade stint at Paly.

“He’s a guy that you want to get to know,” Paly head football coach Earl Hansen said. “He adds flavor to your life. He’s special; you talk to him and he has great insight, he’s funny. He has the type of things you want in a friend.”

As McNulty’s time here at Paly comes to a close, one would think that he would turn to look back on his body of work and wonder about his legacy. But, as humble as ever, McNulty just hopes that he did his job as a teacher.

Born in Seattle, Wash. in 1946, McNulty was playing catch before he could walk. The son of an avid sports fan and semi-professional athlete, the world of athletics was ingrained in McNulty at a young age. Although he claims to love anything classified as ‘a sport,’ he played competitive baseball and basketball in high school, following the sports at the professional level indefatigably.

Despite his involvement in the athletic

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ship that made him advisor of the Campanile for the spring of 1993 through the 1994 school year and a Beginning Journalism and English teacher. “[McNulty] came in and he was all dressed up in a suit,” Wojcicki said, remembering when she first met McNulty. “He looked super nice. But he was a little on the nervous side.

He told me all about how he had worked at the Santa Clara University and what he had done.

I could tell immediately that I really liked him.

I then got his resumé and all of the paperwork on him and I said he was the right one.”

After working through his internship, McNulty was offered a full-time job as English teacher at Palo Alto High School.

It was his third year of teaching that most

resonated with McNulty, however. The foundation of the Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM) program had been set-up with McNulty working as the core English teacher for all incoming freshman classes. “[I loved TEAM] because there’s something about working with freshman,” McNulty said.

“It’s a fresh start for them and whether they’re good or bad, they’re going to pay attention for a while. I loved that because you get a chance to do so many different [educational activities].”

After McNulty’s first few years working in the TEAM core, a new English elective course was brought to attention and would be available to Palo Alto juniors and seniors: Film Composition. Founded in the 1998-99 school

photo coutesy of Mike McNulty

community in high school, it was in college that McNulty made his professional debut in sports. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, McNulty started off as an English major only to realize his love for the three prong make-up of Communications: Advertising, writing and broadcast.

While at Gonzaga, he worked as a playby-play radio announcer in Spokane for the Rangers AAA farm-league team and ran his own sports column in the school paper, The Gonzaga Bulletin.

18 days after McNulty received his diploma from Gonzaga, he found himself stationed stateside with the United States Army. As the United States began its involvement in Vietnam, McNulty traveled to the small southeast Asian country where he would live for the next 17 months. McNulty worked in a radio station and played records for his first 11 months, then going on to a local TV station as program director and anchor.

After his dischargement from the army, McNulty worked a variety of jobs including the Public Relations director position at Santa Clara University. Looking for new work after Santa Clara, McNulty was contacted by a friend who worked as Personnel Director at Milpitas School District. With no prior intent or thought of becoming a teacher by any means, McNulty was told that his life experience was something that made him a prime candidate for any teaching position in the area.

McNulty had difficulty contacting possible schools where he would be able to become certificated, but eventually settled at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif.

“It was strange,” McNulty said. “I hadn’t been to school in about 25 years. Notre Dame set me up with student teaching, and wanted me to teach for a year: one semester of middle school, one semester of high school.”

McNulty was sent to Jane Lanthrop Stanford Middle School in Palo Alto, Calif. where he learned to become a teacher under instructor Jane Bab. “Talk about having a mentor - she was great,” McNulty said. “[Wanting to get more recognition and a possible larger job], I decided that it would probably be a good idea to have the principal observe me.”

Just following principal Jim Mathiott’s observation of McNulty, Palo Alto High School sent out a message district-wide, asking for a potential journalism instructor. Longtime journalism teacher and Campanile advisor Esther Wojcicki had announced that she would be going on sabbatical, and the school sought a replacement for the year. Remembering McNulty’s past experiences in sports journalism and PR work, Mathiott suggested the Gonzaga graduate as a potential candidate. McNulty was immediately offered a 60 percent intern-

GO BRONCOS McNulty is pictured as Athletic Information Director for Santa Clara University. McNulty also worked in Public Relations and playby-play commentary for both Gonzaga University and Santa Clara.

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photo coutesy of Mike McNulty

year, Film Composition was the first English elective other than Humanities to be offered to upperclassmen at the school. The addition of Film Comp, which was founded off the teacher’s inclination of analyzation of film and video, sparked an idea in McNulty’s mind.

If so many students, who loved to watch movies, would be able to apply English to one of their favorite activities, McNulty thought, there should be alternative opportunities for others with differing interests.

“I always thought about a sports class,” McNulty said. “It was always in the back of my mind.”

His thought truly turned to action largely due in part to conversations between McNulty and fellow English teacher Pete Heilman. An avid sports fan, Heilman compared his notes of sports articles and modern events with McNulty’s two to three times a week. The idea of a Literature of Sports English class first arose during one distinct conversation. “[Heilman] told me, ‘I think the best literature I read is sports,’” McNulty said. “And that always stayed with me for some reason. I was obviously in love with sports literature, but hearing it from someone else was exciting for me.”

Eager to create an English elective of his own, McNulty went to Tom Schellenberg, the then-English Department head and asked about the creation of an English class entirely based off of literature of sports. With Schellenberg’s approval, McNulty wrote up a course guide and lesson plan and sent it to the University of California system, establishing the Literature of Sport indefinitely.

During the same time, Wojcicki had the idea to start a podcast at Palo Alto High School. The idea was to introduce an increasingly popular and more prevalent journalism style to students known as broadcast journalism.

With the help and efforts of McNulty, the two began the school’s first broadcasting station in the old Media Arts building.

The publication would be entirely student run, similar to the only other publications at the time, the Campanile and Madrono yearbook. The broadcast station that was run initially at brunch became a major publication for students interested in journalism, and was added as a class for those with an inclination in the broadcast journalism field. After the broadcast’s first few years as an extracurricular activity, it was added to the Paly course directory as InFocus - a live-streaming feed that

CONNECTION McNulty lectures a class for Literature of Sport. McNulty wrote the course for Palo Alto High School, getting it approved by the University of Calif. Board of Education. would be played at the end of every third and fourth period in the Paly daily schedule.

Emerging into the early 2000s, technology evolved and more opportunities came to exist in the classroom and in athletics. McNulty was approached by head football coach Earl Hansen regarding a possible job that McNulty had experience in before his time at Palo Alto High School.

“

over for Diepenbrock in calling all night time football games over the intercom. McNulty accepted, taking on yet another role in the Palo Alto athletic community. To this day, McNulty announces all home football games for the Vikings.

“He’s the right guy for the job because he understands the game and he knows the kids, so he can match the two,” Hansen said. “How many times do you have an announcer that has a connection with the players? That’s huge.”

As time went on in the 2000’s, Palo Alto High School developed one of the largest high school journalism programs in the country. Additions of Verde Magazine, The Voice online and several other printed publications distinguished the high school on a national level.

Then, in 2007, Palo Alto High School established the United States’ first ever sports magazine published at the high school level. English

How many times do you have an announcer that has a connection with the players? That’s huge.

-Earl Hansen The then-announcer of the daytime football games and former basketball head coach Peter Diepenbrock didn’t want his commentating position anymore as renovations of lights and night games made their way into Harold “Hod” Ray Stadium. Hansen asked if the English teacher and former Santa Clara playby-play announcer was interested in taking

”

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photo by Olivia Scola

CHATTING McNulty and his former student and current track coach Tolu Wusu (‘03) reconnect as McNulty’s students work in the computer lab after school. and journalism teacher Ellen Austin was chosen as the advisor of the publication, helping it to three Columbia Gold Crown Awards. In 2013, after Austin took the Journalism Director title at the Harker School, McNulty was elected to be an interim advisor for the 201314 school year.

“Mac was the obvious choice to take over the reins of Viking as the adviser this year, given his experience and his knowledge of sports journalism,” Austin said. “Plus, he’s just such an awesome guy, and nobody rocks a Hawaiian shirt better than Mac. He’s really an original, and it’s hard to imagine Paly journalism without him.”

At the beginning of the 2013-14 school year, McNulty announced his intentions to retire.

Along with McNulty, Paly will lose important icons of the Palo Alto sports community such as the Big Gym, the Steve Silver weight room and longtime head football coach Earl Hansen. McNulty’s efforts, both in the classroom, on the sidelines and in the press box, will be remembered for quite some time.

His quiet and laid back personality are some of the traits that have not only encouraged his students to do well but have also helped

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incoming staff by leaving them with valuable teaching plans and a bona fide student-teacher relationship model to follow.

Current varsity boys’ lacrosse head coach DJ Shelton (‘08) was a student of McNulty’s and still maintains a close relationship with him, something that was special to Shelton as a student. Shelton recognizes McNulty’s admirable characteristics and attests to what makes him stand out as a teaher. “[What makes him special is] his personality for sure,” Shelton said. “He’s really personable, really funny and keeps a good, light feeling in the classroom. But honestly, from an academic standpoint, and being an educator myself, he’s probably one of the few teachers at the school that help struggling kids do well in his class in getting A’s because they’re really passionate about the curriculum. I think he’s great at tapping into kids who haven’t really felt to be part of the common aspect of school because they aren’t interested in Biology or Advanced Math.”

Succeeding McNulty as a teacher of Literature of Sport, Robert Rojas has also seen these traits up-close.

“Mac has been the most supportive teacher

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in helping me and giving me really meaningful materials, lessons and stories that students are genuinely interested in in Sports Lit,” Rojas said. “He has quite a connection with his students. He loves them and they love him. And as cheesy as that sounds, there’s something genuine and we don’t see it so much so more.

When he talks to them, you see how much he loves the career of teaching, especially on the subject of sports.”

It’s quite a feat, teaching for over 20 years.

McNulty has made numerous, priceless contributions to the Palo Alto sports community, to his students and to Palo Alto High School.

He’s been a quality teacher, an understanding journalism adviser and a friend to students and faculty alike. Although he won’t attest to it, it was Mac’s ideas and work along with the help of several other teachers at Paly that led to the successfulness of a diverse English and journalism curriculum.

“I couldn’t begin to talk about a legacy,” McNulty said. “I hope that if anybody has been in my class, that they’ve gotten something out of it and enjoyed at least a part of it. Teachers come and go, but I will miss this place a great deal.”<<<

photo by Grant Shorin

Final drive

by ZOE BHARGAVA and MEGAN VALENCIA

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past their four years in green and white.

Hansen, known affectionately by his players as “The Silver Fox”, is often remembered as a coach with the ability to make a winning team.

The success that has occurred under Hansen’s 26-year tenure as head football coach has not always been easy. However, his ability to overcome odds is not luck, but it is due to his regimented belief in organization and preparation.

“The biggest lessons The Silver Fox has taught me are about persistence and focus,” Michael Cullen (‘11) said. “The structure of practices enabled us to get better every week, and the variety kept practice fun, always.

[Hansen] knows football so well it just rubs off on you. He’s a guy who I always wanted to go to war for, and I think that’s the most important thing you look for in a coach, is whether their players will buy in to their philosophy from day one and grind until the desired results are achieved.”

Over two coaching stints at Paly, Hansen has coached hundreds of students. One of these athletes is Jason Fung (‘92), who played on Hansen’s first team during his second stint at Paly. Fung, who won the most valuable player award in 1991, is now a physical education teacher and track and field coach for the

Vikings. As both a player and a colleague of Hansen, Fung has learned what makes a great coach from the example he has seen at Paly for the past two decades. Fung will be using what he has learned from Hansen this coming fall, when he takes over as Athletic Director.

“The one thing [Hansen has] always told me is if you prepare well enough, the rest is easy,” Fung said. “Coach Hansen has always been prepared. He prepared for practice, for the week and for the season. That’s one thing I got from him for being the head coach of track: the preparation. If you prepare well enough, everything else falls into place.”

Hansen’s ability to mentally and physically prepare his teams for games translated into many wins. Regardless of his team’s ability or size and the level of opponents, Hansen’s planning often proved as the key to victories on the field.

“We played a lot of teams that probably had more raw talent on their roster than we did over the years, but we still won most of those games, in large part because of our game planning and execution,” Marco Scola (‘10) said.

“Come Friday night, we were always ready to compete, no matter the opponent. Not once in two-plus seasons did I take the field without

photo courttesy of Marilyn Hansen

any things have changed at Palo Alto High School since its founding in 1898. The face of Paly has been altered as new installments have replaced older buildings. The Haymarket Theater, the Tower Building and the George Stirling Stewart Gym or “big gym” are a few Paly icons that still stand today. Earl Hansen stands among these icons, which have given shape and stability for many years to the constantly changing face of the Paly campus.

However, 34 years after his initial appearance at Paly in 1980, the head football coach and athletic director will retire in June of 2014.

In his time at Paly, Hansen has led the Vikings to over 200 wins, including four Central Coast Section titles, two California State Bowl Game appearances and the 2010 state championship title. In addition to his success coaching football, Hansen has also enhanced Paly’s athletic program. His departure signals the end of an era of athletic success under his leadership. Beyond his numerous achievements, Hansen has not only been a coach to countless students, but also a friend and a mentor. The impact he makes on his students carries on far

OLD SCHOOL Hansen is pictured in his 2006 coaching gear, the year in which Paly football won a section title.

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photo courtesy of Marilyn Hansen

photo by Alex Kershner photo courtesy of Marilyn Hansen confidence that we could win that particular game. And I think that is the ultimate testament to Coach Hansen.”

In the 2010 state championship game, Hansen’s ability to prepare his team paid off. After an undefeated season, the players on that team not only remember the joys they had while playing on the field, but also the satisfaction of Hansen’s pure happiness after winning the championship.

“After winning state we got on the bus to go back to the hotel and we were going crazy,” Erik Anderson (‘13) said. “As soon as Hansen stepped inside of the bus all fell quiet. There was a three-second moment of silence and then the biggest smile I have ever seen appeared on his face and he began screaming.

Then the entire team rose up and continued screaming and celebrating with Coach Hansen. The moment was surreal.”

The 2010 season was a milestone in Hansen’s career and led to his receipt of the Cal Hi Sports Coach of the Year Award. However, Paly stu-

CHAMPIONS (top left) The 2010 Paly football team celebrates with their California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) trophy after winning state.

FOOTBALL FAMILY (bottom left) Hansen with his son who now coaches with the San Francisco 49ers.

SMILE! (above) Hansen is pictured smiling for a Paly yearbook photo.

dents and players have always acknowledged Hansen’s superior level of coaching.

“Hansen [is] one of the best coaches, if not the best coach, Paly has ever had,” Spencer Drazovich (‘13) said. “His record speaks for itself. He has the respect of every one of his players and every other coach on his staff. His dedication and devotion to his teams is something that I will always admire.”

Through years of high level coaching Hansen has been able to pursue his passion for the sport. However, the countless hours he has spent planning practices and teaching classes have not been for the glory that accompanies his many successes.

“I’m in education for one reason: [the students],” Hansen said. “It’s because I enjoy being out on that field.”

Hansen’s zeal for the sport has kept the Paly football program successful since his arrival.

Through his constant energy and enthusiasm at daily practices Hansen has passed his love for football on to numerous athletes including

Tory Prati (‘12). Prati also played on the 2010 state championship team and currently plays division three college football for Johns Hopkins University.

“I think Coach Hansen proved to me that doing what you love can keep you young at heart,” Prati said. “I can’t remember a practice where he didn’t have his usual focus and enthusiasm. ... Hansen got excited for practice in the rain. He inspired me to find something in life that I am passionate about, just as he is passionate about kids and football.”

As much of an influence as Hansen had on his players in the game of football, Hansen’s coaching also went far beyond the field. He encouraged his players and students to preserve their values and helped develop them into responsible young adults.

“Coach Hansen had a profound effect on my development not just as a football player, but as a person,” Will Glazier (‘11) said. “He emphasized hard work, toughness and character, and demanded it out of all our players.

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photo by Grant Shorin

photo

by Grant Shorin photo coutesy of Mike McNulty

pic Rugby Sevens team with the World Class Athlete Program for Rio Summer 2016 Olympic Games. Holder is one of many of Hansen’s former athletes who have gone on to pursue athletics at an elite level, all of these athletes carry with them the lessons they learned while they were Vikings.

Hansen’s huge and abundant impact on former players is a testament to his ability as a coach. However, Hansen’s impact does not stop at the football team. As both the athletic director and as a P.E. teacher, Hansen has created relationships with countless students outside of the football and athletic programs.

Though he may house a seemingly tough exterior, Hansen’s caring and fun nature is uncovered in his ability to create a relationship with nearly any student on campus.

“I think many people outside of Paly don’t realize how big an impact Coach Hansen had on the whole student body, not just the football team,” Prati said. “As an athletic director, he certainly deserves credit for the entire success of Paly athletics. But he was also so personable with many students. He taught PE and remembered all his students. With his office located off the big gym, we would come out and say hello to students passing by. I think many nonathletes felt a connection with Coach Hansen, and that is testament to his caring personality.”

Sophia Bono (‘13) was Hansen’s teaching assistant when she attended Paly. As a volleyball player, Bono did not experience the influence of Hansen as a coach. However, Bono felt the weight of Hansen’s presence at Paly and appreciated his ability to support and relate to all Paly students.

“To me, Hansen was always that authority figure that kept you on track and always motivated you, and people respected that,” Bono said. “But at the same time he was the guy that was like one of us; you could always approach him in a casual manner. He was always there to help if anyone ever needed it.”

Hansen has been devoted to football, athletics and students for the past few decades. With the commitment Hansen has dedicated to his job, he has had very little time for vacation and looks forward to what his retirement will bring him.

“Travel is one [thing I plan to do after I retire],” Hansen said. “I’m going to kick back for a year and relax. My wife and I have not had a fall off since 1975, so I don’t know what the fall in other parts of the country look like.”

With Hansen’s departure, the Paly community will be seeing a new era of athletics starting in Fall 2014. Although Hansen plans to continue to stay involved indirectly with the football and athletic programs, his retirement reminds current and past students of the vast amount of success he has contributed to Paly.

“He’s a great coach and great person and it’s

PLAY CALLER Hansen directs his quarterback as he yells plays from the sidelines.

The game of football itself is great for teaching those values, but Coach Hansen helped teach me the importance of performing day in and day out and making each practice count.”

As football coach and athletic director, Hansen’s leadership has been key to Paly’s athletic success. However, as a mentor, his abilities as a leader have also made him a role model for his students and players. Many of Hansen’s former students have adopted his leadership skills to aid them in their post-high-school endeavors.

One of these athletes is Will Holder (‘09) who continued on to The United States Military Academy at West Point after Paly and gradu-

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ated as a second lieutenant in 2013.

“Hansen has had an enormous effect on me as an athlete but even more as a leader.” Holder said. “He led by example every day and gave me someone to look up to and emulate. He always put his players and students first and helped out in any way he could. He was the kind of coach that not only wanted to make you better on the field, but he wanted to see you succeed in life. The lesson that I got from him is that the most important part of leadership is caring and I have carried that though both my athletic and military career.”

Holder is currently training with the Olym-

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awesome that he stayed dedicated to coaching at Paly all this time,” James Foug (‘13) said.

“It’s kind of sad to see him stop coaching, but it should be viewed as more of a celebration of what he brought to this city. Paly has had a rich success and he’s definitely the main reason why. ” Hansen’s retirement is not only the departure

of a football coach and teacher, but also the departure of an icon. In his 26 years at Palo Alto High School, Hansen has shaped the face of Paly athletics and the talents and characters of hundreds of students.

“I think that his success at Paly transcends the many generations of Paly athletes,” Glazier said. “With the football stars that have emerged

from his program, this point is obvious. But what [aren’t] as apparent are the countless men and women that interacted with him in either sports or school. He always had the best interests of the students and the school in mind. He [is] a true educator and coach, and he will be missed.” <<<

“

The experience that resonates most strongly with me was during a game during my junior year in 2008. It was towards the end of the season and we were playing Mountain View at home. We were absolutely demolishing them - it was like 42-0 at half - and so late in the game we were just kind of trying to run the ball and bleed the clock. We’re at their 5 yard line driving away from Churchill and the call is fullback at zero, which is just a run up the middle. I played left guard that year so our center Tommy Kramer snaps the ball and I start driving my guy back near the goal line when I see our fullback Casey Fields fumble the ball. Without even thinking I scooped up the ball off the first bounce and rumbled a few yards into the end zone for a touchdown. I was in such shock that I had to look around to find the ref to make sure he was signaling touchdown for me to believe that that had really happened. Most offensive linemen go their entire careers never touching the ball, so for something like that to happen was inconceivable. The feeling of scoring that touchdown and all the guys - who were and still are some of my best friends - mobbing me in the end zone was unquestionably the highlight of my football career.

And so I’m jogging off the field after the play on cloud nine and the first person waiting for me on the sidelines is coach Hansen. I’m thinking he’s going to congratulate me but instead - and I remember this like it was yesterday - he’s yelling at me ‘Scola, if you were holding your block like you’re supposed to, you would never have even seen that fumble!’ He just couldn’t help himself from bursting my bubble.

But there was just enough of a grin coming from the corner of his mouth for me to know that deep down he was really happy for me. And that is kind of Coach Hansen in a nutshell. He was always so adamant that we not get complacent that even in a game that we’re winning by 40-something points, he’s yelling at me for not holding my block on a play that I scored a touchdown. But because he wasn’t the “wear your heart on your sleeve” kind of guy, he always made sure to give us some tacit indication - in this case that grin - to let us know that he cared.

”

photo courtesy of Nancy Scola

- Marco Scola (‘10)

POST GAME SPEECH Hansen addresses his football team as he stands with Joc Pederson (‘10) on the sidelines.

APRIL 2014

Columns: The Last Word

A torn season

Because what’s a great comeback without a great setback?

O

by ZACH RIZK ne mississippi. *First whistle*...GO! Back to the goal, I’m backpedaling, playing defense on another teammate.

Two mississippi.

All my weight is on my right leg as I push against the opposing player.

Three mississippis.

All his weight shifts to me.

Four mississippi *POP* I found myself on the ground in excruciating pain for 30 seconds before it all went away.

Staring up at the sky the worst rushed my head. I knew it’d be bad, hopefully not season ending bad.

“Why don’t I feel any pain?” “ Where’s the trainer?”

On Monday, February 24th it was only 15 minutes into practice before I tore my ACL, MCL and damaged my meniscus. While the road back hasn’t been an easy one, the people in my life and inspiration from the professional level have all helped make this as easy an experience as it can be.

I came home that night with crutches and a fat brace and headed straight to bed.

It didn’t hit me until I woke up the following morning. Suddenly I realized the magnitude of my injury. The trainer diagnosed a torn ACL and MCL, but nothing was for sure my MRI scan. However, I’d seen the same injury happen at the professional level, and to other Paly athletes. The way I went down made it clear that I wouldn’t be donning the green and white one last time. I wouldn’t get a chance to play big time rival Menlo-Atherton one more time. I couldn’t complete unfinished business with my senior class. It was a lot to think about and haunted me for the several days.

I still went to school the next day and I can’t say it was one of my favorite days. Getting around on crutches and my brace while being bombarded with “What in the world happened to you?” and having to retell the episode about 50 times (as much as I appreciated everyone’s condolences) wasn’t my ideal day.

46 | T H E V I K I N G |

BOUNCE BACK At the end of the 2011-2012 season, Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings suffered both a torn ACL and MCL, an injury similar to that of my own.

A week later my MRI report confirmed the torn ACL, MCL and damaged meniscus with an eight month recovery timeline to reach 95%. Devastating news to say the least. But now a week following the injury I had put that behind me and looked forward to the surgery and recovery.

Just days before the operation I was elected to be a team captain for the 2014 varsity season. I was incredibly honored to receive such a nomination from my teammates. It has always been my dream to step into the captain’s circle as a varsity player since my freshman year. That dream had finally unfolded. However I never pictured I’d be going through the pre game captains protocol on crutches instead of with a lacrosse stick in hand. Nonetheless, I could not have felt more honored.

Surgery day came and as excited as I was to repair my knee, my nerves were lightweight about to explode. The anxiety didn’t ease until the anesthesia knocked me out. I awoke 90 minutes later with a scarily swollen knee. My surgeon explained that operation was 100% successful and that he had harvested tissue from my hamstring to repair my ACL and MCL and would allow my meniscus to self heal.

w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

Recovering from surgery was a long and painful week but the worst is now behind me thanks to the the many people I’ve been surrounded with. Without them, this experience would not be half as tolerable.

I’ve come to realize that, as devastating as this injury has been, blowing out my knee has been hands down the most humbling experience of my life. You really don’t realize how much you have until you lose the ability to do something as simple as bend your knee. Such an injury simply teaches you (as an athlete at least) anything can happen at any given moment and your lifestyle can dramatically change. Not having practiced or played in weeks, I’ve really come to appreciate the small things that a healthy player may take for granted, whether that be showing up to practice and running sprints to dealing with post game bruises and wounds.

While it’s tough to see crutches replace my beloved lacrosse stick and weight room gains go down the drain, I can’t wait to be back on both feet soon and prepare to play at the next level. While this may have been my greatest setback, I’m confident it will be an equally great comeback. <<<

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