Viking Volume XII Issue 4

Viking magazine While athletes spend tireless hours on the court, they see their work pay off under the lights on game day. Less often seen are the people behind them working just as hard to make game-day magic happen. p. 26

Photo of Serafin Barron by David Hickey

Volume XII, Issue 4 February 2019

VIKING MAGAZINE

would like to thank our spownsors...

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brose

Suman Gupta

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Liz and Russ Jones

Silvio Rabello

Jean and John Berndt

Mark Kasevich

Harbor County Rentals

Sarah Cleasby

Dan Kawakami

Jim and Michelle Shorin

David Clements

Tom Kemp

Fred and Kate Smith

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Po-Shen Lai

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Stitt Family

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Fletcher Family

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LINEUP 1 2 Intro 1 6 Conspiring Competitors

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lftime

1 9 Spring Sports Previews 2 2 Stepping into the Limelight

2 9 Backlash 3 2 Recruiting Robbery 3 6 Weight Debate

40 42 44 47

Path to Paly V-Tries Athlete Apparel Final Word

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

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Strike

Ella Thompson (19’) lunges for the ball in a 2-0 loss to Gunn.

Photo by David Hickey @vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Jelly

Antony Yu (20’) races for a layup in Paly’s 62-50 win over Los Gatos on Quad Night.

Photo by David Hickey

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@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

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Slam

Charlie Williams (19’) pins the opposition in a 47-25 victory over Gunn.

Photo by David Hickey

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Viking Editors-in-Chief Maria Fletcher Ellie Jeffries Stan de Martel

Volume XII, Issue 4 February 2019

Staff Writers Alana Abeyta Ryan Bara Lincoln Bloom Sam Cleasby Kevin Cullen Sanaz Ebrahimi Dexter Gormley Gerzain Gutierrez Ella Jones Griffin Kemp Tina Lagerblad Joshua Lai Conner Lusk Joey Passarello Danny Rabello Ya’el Sarig Ryan Stanley Jack Such Sofie Vogel

Managing Editor Lauren Daniel Design Director Zach Phillips Multimedia Editors Mallory Kuppe Cole Sotnick Business Managers Eric Aboytes Summer Daniel Beat Editors Zach Baumgarten Ryan Strathearn

Photo Editors David Hickey Jason Shorin Copy Editor Nathan Seto Video Editors Tyler Foug Nick Welch Head Columnists Nathan Ellisen Wes Walters Executive Senior Staff Writers Jackson Chryst Joshua Kasevich

Social Media Director Will DeAndre

Adviser Brian Wilson

Viking Magazine Palo Alto High School 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-329-3837 Email contact: vikingeds@gmail.com Advertising and Sponsorship Contact: vikingads@gmail.com Viking, a sports magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Advanced Magazine Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The Viking is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity.

Advertising in Viking The staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with The Viking, please contact the The Viking by email at vikingeds@gmail.com Printing Services 2,500 copies of The Viking are printed, six times a year by Folger Graphics in Hayward, Calif.

Logo Font Courtesy of Måns Grebäck All photos taken from Creative Commons unless noted

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From the

editors

Viking is back and better than ever! We have kicked off our first issue of second semester (and 2019) with a bang, and we cannot wait for you to see what we have in store!

Spring sports have already started up and hundreds of participating athletes are ready to go. Previews of all 11 of Paly’s spring sports can be found on page 19.

Definitely don’t miss out on making it to this season’s meets and matches – the teams are packed with talent and have gotten right into preseason conditioning and training!

Paly welcomed new varsity boys bas-

ketball head coach this year, Rodney Tention. Tension has a long, impressive coaching resume, and you can trace his career path on page 40 in “Path To Paly”,

by Mallory Kuppe, Lauren Daniel and Connor Lusk. Also in this “Stepping Into the Limelight”, we bring to light those figures behind the scenes who make Paly sports possible. From the president of sports boosters to team parents, trainers, and custodians, it’s time these people get the recognition they deserve for all their hard work!

On page 12 check out “Backlash”, Dexter Gormley, Griffin Kemp and Ryan Bara’s story about how both professional and Paly athletes deal with the backlash they receive from failures on the field. On a lighter note, Gerzain Gutierrez, Ryan Strathearn and Ella Jones delve into the athletes with the best drip – and their signature looks – in “Athlete Apparel”. Also,

flip over to page 16 to read about some of sports crazy conspiracy theories: did the league rip off the Saints? Was Michael Jordan poisoned? Read to find out!

Our staff writers have been hard at task this production cycle, but some have been putting in a little extra (physical) work. Tyler Foug, Ryan Stanley and Lincoln Bloom took on the NFL combine in this issue of Viking Tries, and you might be surprised to see who came out on top.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Viking!

Stay tuned for our coverage of spring sports and a full second semester of Paly athletics!

waistband of her uniform shorts. The referee proceeded to stop the game, forcing Shah to be substituted off the court, and she was unable to re-enter until her shorts were fixed.

“When I was taken out of the game it made me absolutely infuriated, since the amount of rolls in our shorts does not affect how the game is played whatsoever,” Shah said. “There is no reasonable explanation for why this is a rule.”

Around the United States there have been many protests on the matter.

Similar to California, in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Colorado, high school athletes have attempted to take a stand by creating petitions on the Change.org website. Shea Jernigan, a Texas resident, created a petition titled “Let Texas UIL Basketball Players Roll Their Shorts” which has received over 17,000 virtual signatures. Despite their best efforts, a change has yet to be made.

On the internet, talk of the rule is controversial. On discussion platforms such as “The Sawmill” and “CoachT. com,” many question the importance of such strict enforcement for a seemingly pointless regulation, while others agree with the NFHS reasoning.

If the main problem with rolling shorts is having the drawstrings exposed to the outside, there are many simple

solutions that would create less of a hassle for players. Yes, it is possible for an opponent’s finger to get stuck in the loop of the strings resulting in injury, but this could be resolved by tucking the strings into the waistband. The second reason players are not allowed to roll their shorts is because multiple logos would be displayed at once. If this is the case, the tags that have logos could simply be cut off.

At Paly, the boys basketball team has also been affected by the sudden enforcement of the rule.

“I think it is dumb because some of the basketball shorts are pretty baggy, and they make you look silly if you don’t roll them up,” varsity player Matthew Marzano (‘20) said. “I can’t really think of a reason for the rule except to just make the players mad.”

Organizations such as the NFHS should not be allowed to dictate how players wear their uniforms. Shorts are not rolled for stylistic reasons, but rather for the fit, since many high schools fail to provide enough uniforms in the sizes that the players need. It seems as if they would rather have a pantless player on the court than allow players to fold their waistbands. No matter the reasoning, players at Paly and around the United States hope to be heard and see a change in the recent future.

Stan de Martel Maria Fletcher Ellie Jeffries

Staff

View Rolling Shorts

Members of the basketball community across the country are puzzled at the referees’ sudden push for the unrolling of the waistband of uniform shorts. In the 2018-2019 basketball season, the rule has been strictly enforced on courts all across the nation.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) 2017-18 Basketball Rules Powerpoint, “No shorts may be turned over with exposed strings to the outside. No exceptions,” (13). While this rule has been in place for quite some time, many referees chose to ignore it due to the rule’s seemingly pointless nature – until it was imposed by the state.

It was not until recent years that Palo Alto players began to notice a change.

At times it felt to them as if the referees cared more about the way they styled their uniforms than the way the game itself was played. A member of the girls varsity basketball team, Annika Shah (‘21), had an eye-opening experience when she was forced to exit the game after an official spotted the folded

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

POP CULTURE GRID March Madness Winner?

Pre-game Song?

Secret Ability?

NBA Rookie of the Year?

Shake Shack or Five Guys?

Duke

Eye of the Tiger

by Survivor

I can touch my nose with my tongue

Luka Doncic

Five Guys

Esme Stotland (‘19) Girls Basketball

Duke

Leela Srinivasan (‘19) Girls Soccer

Villanova

Villanova

Ella Jauregui (‘22) Girls Wrestling

Duke or Villanova

Dreams and Nightmares

by Meek Mill

I can freestyle rap and low-key sing

Beautiful

by Bazzi

A Milli

by Lil Wayne

Memorizing lyrics

Cooking

Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand

I can eat a tub of ice cream in an hour

Luka Doncic

Neither.

Anthony Yu In-n-Out got (‘20) the best burgers Boys Basketball don’t @ me.

Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic

Neither.

Health grind.

Five Guys

Dara Heydarpour (‘20) Boys Wrestling

Five Guys

MOMENT OF THE MONTH boys and girls basketball beat los gatos on the same night

Photos by David Hickey

Jamir Shepard (‘20) had a monstrous block against the Wildcats.

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Photos by David Hickey

Annika Shah (‘21) scored 28 points against the Wildcats.

10 Questions With

Viking Magazine had the chance to ask Paly Boys Soccer star Juan Aguila (‘19) 10 Questions. We then asked his coach, teammate and friend what they thought he said.

Here are their responses...

JUAN AGUILA

as told to Eric Aboytes, Josh Lai, and Jason Shorin

Juan Aguila (‘19)

Don Briggs Coach

Kenzo Morabia (‘19) Teammate

John Labib (‘19) Friend

Questions

Marc Mbia

Funniest Teammate?

Kenzo Morabia

Marc Mbia

Eric Aboytes

Chicken and Rice

Pre-game Meal?

Steak and Eggs

Goldfish

Apple

Singing in the Shower

Secret Talent?

Plays flamenco guitar and sings

Dancing Skills

Singing in the Shower

Shakira

Celebrity Crush?

Taylor Swift

Shakira

Jennifer Lopez

That ‘70s Show

Favorite TV Show?

Big Bang Theory

That ‘70s Show

The Office

Friendships

Best Thing About Paly?

Soccer Teammates

The Campus

Friends

YouTube

Favorite App?

YouTube

Snapchat

YouTube

Shooting

Favorite Soccer Drill?

Shooting

Shooting

Shooting

Changes by David Bowie

Favorite Song?

Changes by David Bowie

Lemon Tree by Fool’s Garden

Untitled by Simple Plan

AP English Language

Favorite Class?

Econ

Astrophysics

Math

40%

40%

40%

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Inside the Mind Of

carly martin

Best Part about the Girls Basketball Team?

The best part about the basketball team is the bonds that that we create with each other.

Do you have a pre-game ritual?

My pre-game ritual is listening to music.

If you weren’t playing basketball?

If I didn’t play basketball, I would either be watching Survivor or playing soccer.

Free Time Activities?

My favorite free time activities are watching YouTube and jumping on a trampoline.

Plans for next season?

My plans for next season are to improve individually and win!

Photo Courtesy of Karen Hickey

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Viking’s Top 5: 5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

bottled water brands

smartwater voss dasani aquafina fiji

2

1

3

match the athlete to their sport answers on bottom

1. marco tan

A. boys basketball

2. matthew marzano

B. girls soccer

3. al lee

C. boys wrestling

4. caroline furrier

D. Boys soccer

5. peter graham

E. girls basketball

6. annika shah

F. girls wrestling 1)D 2)A 3)F 4)B 5)C 6)E

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

CONSPIRING COMPETITION Are historically epic sports moments really as heroic as once thought?

by TINA LAGERBLAD, JOEY PASSARELLO, JACK SUCH & WES WALTERS

F

rom the Pyramids of Giza (built by aliens) to our own Earth (it’s flat) to Mark Zuckerberg (secretly part of a shape-shifting lizard cabal that rules the world), wild conspiracies run rampant through the minds of the curious, with some turning out to

be true. The sports world is no different.

The nature of modern day sports revolves around attention and money, and when time and money are invested into something, controversy always ensues.

Conspiracies range from simple altering of outcomes by the league to more

advanced theories involving poisoning players and even the mafia. In this article, we’ll break down some of the most infamous conspiracies in the sporting world, from the official story to the deeper conspiracy, and detailing how likely it is that the conspiracy is true.

Likelihood of conspiracy

RIGGS - very unlikely

RAMS/SAINTS - very likely

FLU GAME - unlikely

I

PHELPS - likely

RIGGS' LOSS, OR A RIGGED LOSS?

n 1973, tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs played a match dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes.”

King, 29 at the time, was the number one ranked female player in the world and a determined advocate for women’s rights. Riggs, 55 at the time, was a retired tennis pro who brashly paraded the match as an opportunity to prove men were better than women.

As Riggs himself wrote in Court Hustler, “[Since women don’t play tennis as well as men do, they don’t deserve to be paid as much as men.” Despite his confidence, Riggs lost the match in straight sets, playing abnormally bad compared to his string showing just a few months earlier against female tennis pro Margaret Court, where he won decisively.

King’s victory was not just a win for herself, but the feminist movement itself.

However, some theorize that there was a darker side to the glorious victory.

Due to a strangely poor performance

by Riggs during the legendary match, some say that he intentionally threw the game. But why would Bobby Riggs, who had so forcefully promoted the game as the proof needed to definitively say that women were inferior to men in the world of sports, purposefully throw the game and thus very publicly shame himself? Well, not shockingly to those who knew him, as he was known as a brash,

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chauvinist showman and a more than social drinker, Riggs was rumoured to be in debt to the mafia, to the tune of up to $100,000. In theory, Riggs threw the game because the mafia told him to in exchange for his freedom from their debt, as the mafia bosses would heavily bet against Riggs, cashing in large sums with full confidence he would lose.

Riggs, however, denies any alleged conspiracy behind his loss in the battle, stating that “Billie Jean beat me fair and square”.Despite his claim, believers of the theory stay firm on the sentiment that Riggs would never admit to having rigged it for fear of repercussions from the sport and from the mafia.

More recently, even more evidence has come to light in favor of the conspiracy. In 2013, Hal Shaw, who was an assistant golf instructor at the time of the monumental match, provided new evidence that provided further substance to the theory that Riggs had thrown the match. He claims to have overheard conversation between mob attorney Frank Ragano and notorious crime bosses Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello one night at his golf club. The trio were allegedly discussing the logistics of the game, and detailed how Riggs was going to beat the aforementioned Margaret Court, who at the time was the top-ranked woman in tennis, in the first

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part of the battle (which he did), in order to make the second game against King worth so much more. Then, Riggs would throw the game against King, allowing Riggs to pay off his substantial gambling debts to the mob when they would cash in their bets against him.

Victor Billie Jean King also firmly denies any claims of the games being fixed, citing these claims to the bruised egos of men who didn’t want to accept the fact that a woman had actually beat a man.

However, this speculation has not been nearly enough to derail those who believe there to have been deep internal interference in this momentous Battle of Sexes.

This sentiment even extends to our own campus “I think that [Riggs] definitely threw it out”. Declan King (‘20).

Whether or not the mafia was involved, King’s victory was monumental in advancing women’s equality in tennis. Her efforts helped women gain equal pay in prize money, and she also testified to Congress in the epochal Title IX case that helped women’s equality in all federally funded institutions. Regardless of whether or not the game was thrown, King will and should go down in history as a fierce and successful advocate for women’s rights. However, King’s success on and off the court does not derail the possibility of the mob rigging the famed “Battle of the Sexes.”

O

RAMS-SAINTS: JUST A BAD CALL?

n January 20 2019, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship. With the game tied nearing the end of regulation, Rams corner Nickell Robey-Coleman defended a pass that would have set the Saints up to win the game. After the game, the league officials deemed his pass breakup a missed pass interference call that, if called, would have essentially given the Saints the win. It wasn’t called, however, and the Rams would end up winning in overtime.

The first part of the deeper conspiracy behind the Rams-Saints game actually revolves a r o u n d Rams fans hating the referee crew.

Since 2012, prior to the game against the Saints, the Rams were 0-8 with Bill Vinovich’s crew officiating their games. In 7 of those

I

8 games, the Rams had more penalty yardage than the other team, with equal yardage in the 8th. In all 8 games, the Rams average penalty yardage was both above the Rams’ seasonal averages in the respective seasons and above the league average over the span of the seasons. The seemingly unfair treatment of the Rams by Vinovich’s crew caused Rams fans to sign a petition to remove them from the game, which amassed an impressive 8,000 signatures. Could the referees have wanted to give the Rams favorable calls to either make up for the previous wrongs against them or to cover themselves from future scrutiny? It’s unlikely, but certainly a theory being frequently circulated around the beignet shops of New Orleans. The conspiracy doesn’t end there, however.

In the subsequent weeks after the game, ESPN reported that there was growing concern around the league over the NFL’s judgement in staffing the Rams-Saints game with four residents of the Greater Los Angeles area. Vinovich himself is a resident of Newport Beach, along with assistants Patrick Turner, Dan Arnold, and Todd

Prukop who live in LA county, Santa Barbara, and Mission Viejo, respectively.

Assigning officials from a team’s general area is against the extensive background checks, which ensues a fair game. The league ga,ve no explanation as to why they were hired, or why the so called “LA crew” wasn’t assigned to the Kansas City-New England game. The conspiracy goes deeper yet. This theory has shades of the Patrick Ewing controversy involving the league manipulating outcomes for money in bigger markets. The Rams moved to LA from St. Louis three years before this year’s Super Bowl bid. The Rams had struggled to gain a fanbase in their recent years in LA. Emory University professor Michael Lewis did a study on NFL team popularity and concluded that the Rams were 31st out of 32 teams in popularity. A growing theory among Saints sympathizers is that the league could have intervened to help the Rams reach the Super Bowl to increase fanhood in one of the league’s larger markets, LA, and tap in to the profits that lay just behind the door of popularity. None of this, of course, is proven, yet all of this circumstantial evidence is hard to ignore.

"FLU" GAME: WAS IT POISON?

n Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, Michael Jordan had one of his most memorable performances of his career. He scored 38 points and hit the eventual game sealing three point shot. This victory would go on to lead the Chicago Bulls to victory in the the NBA championship in Game 6.

He was deeply sick and was barely able to stand on the day of the game and only showed up to the arena only an hour before the opening tip, many people were unsure if he would even play. The NBA and Jordan himself believed he had the flu or maybe got food poisoning from a bad piece of pizza the night before the game. But some fans believe that there were other causes of the alleged illness. Many believe he was either hungover or he was poisoned by a rival fan.

Some believe that the reason for Jordan’s visibly weak and sickly state in the game could be attributed to a major hangover caused by a long night of excessive partying, and that the supposed food poisoning was just a front to cover up Jordan’s hungover state, some firm believers even agree with that any other

theory, including other conspiracies, were just covering for Jordan. However most disregard this, believing the more popular theory that has been confirmed by Jordan’s physical therapist Tim Grover.

This theory revolves around the presumption that Jordan may have been poisoned by a pizza delivered to the basketball star the night before the momentous game, presumably by Utah Jazz employees or fans, a pizza which nobody but Jordan ate.

Adding to the suspicion, it was also reported that 5 people came to deliver the single pizza to Jordan’s hotel, to which his personal trainer Grover raised immediate concerns, even telling Jordan: “I got a bad feeling about this.” While Jordan shared some of these concerns, his pizza craving overpowered his unease. Later that night, Grover recalls receiving a frantic phone call from Jordan pleading

for help, and upon entering his room he allegedly found Jordan shaking in the fetal position, sicker than he had ever been before. Despite doctors strongly recommending that he sit out the game to rest up and regain his strength, he still played, thus risking extreme dehydration and temporary kidney damage.

Jordan scored 38 points that night, and at a break in the action late in the game, the famous scene of teammate Scottie Pippen carrying the almost too weak to walk Jordan off the court after delivering such a phenomenal performance led the media to dub the game the “Flu Game”.

A deeper investigation was ever conducted on the event nor has any proof that Jordan had the flu ever come out, so most believe the poison pizza theory to be the only possible explanation for the Jordan’s state at the game.

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

OUTTOUCHED OR RIPPED OFF?

O

n August 16th, 2008 during the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, American swimmer Michael Phelps beat out Serbian Milorad Cavic by the incredibly close margin of just one hundredth of a second in the 100 meter butterfly final to win the gold medal.

With such a close race and finish, controversy over the results naturally appeared in the news. Serbian Olympic Officials initially protested the results, but soon withdrew it, citing that Cavic was grateful for claiming a silver medal on the most competitive level of sports.

“I was destined for this race,” Cavic said, looking back on the results a few years later.

Although Cavic was not awarded the gold medal, he still is proud of his silver medal. “[The silver medal] is one of my most precious possessions,” he said.

A popular conspiracy behind the outcome of the race is that it was rigged in favor of Phelps by the timekeeping company, Omega. Omega has stated that although Cavic probably touched the wall first, Phelps was the one who pushed on the touchpad hard enough to stop the clock from running. “[There is a difference]

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between touching that pad and pushing the pad,” said Omega in statement following the controversy.

Why would it be rigged in Phelps’s favor?

At the time, Phelps was a spokesperson for Omega, who also makes watches and other assorted timepieces. In theory, if Phelps were to win, it would give Phelps publicity, especially over winning in such a close race, which would thus indirectly give Omega more publicity and marketing value from Phelps.

“I still think Phelps is that best, but the fact that he was employed by the timekeeping company is certainly fishy, no pun intended,” said Madi Gold (‘19).

With billions of people tuning in to watch the Olympics, Omega would surely have been able to get a great amount of notice and free advertising from just the publicity surrounding the controversy itself.

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“Everybody told me I was cheated out of the gold, everybody,” Cavic said.

However, in the days surrounding the controversy, a photo emerged of Phelps, who appears to be touching the wall more than Cavic. However, there still is the possibility that Cavic touched the wall first, but did not apply enough pressure on the touchpad to stop the timing.

“I think he won because he is hands down one of the best swimmers ever,” said swimmer Hana Erickson (‘21).

Erickson still acknowledges that the race may have been too close to call.

“Maybe they should have done a rerace because no one could really know [who won],” she said.

No one denies that Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers of all time, but there is cerainly some doubt surrounding his photo finish with Cavic.

SPRING

SPORTS PREVIEWs

by JOSHUA KASEVICH, WILL ROBINS, COLE SOTNICK, & NICHOLAS WELCH

On February 4, 11 varsity teams entered the field, court, or pool. After changes to last year’s rosters, how do these team expect to perform during the upcoming 2019 season?

BASEBALL

The varsity baseball team has won four straight SCVAL championships but has yet to advance further than the first round in the CCS tournament during the same time span. Despite the disappointing turnouts in their CCS runs, the boys feel confident about the upcoming season. Behind University of Oregon commit Joshua Kasevich (‘19) and Johns Hopkins commit Hyunwoo Roh (‘19), players in the program have accomplished teammates to look up to.

“I’m generally pretty excited for this year’s team,” Roh said. “I feel like after last year’s really solid roster people’s expectations dropped for our season this year, but I definitely don’t think that’s true. We have a lot of great talent in the freshman and sophomore class, so I think the talent is there, we just need to put in the work.”

Photo courtesy of Karen Ambrose Hickey

SOFTBALL

Photo courtesy of Karen Ambrose Hickey

After a tough 8-11 season last year, the girls softball team is looking forward to bouncing back in 2019. The team has a lot of good chemistry and is working towards winning a league championship this season. The team has had success in CCS in the past posting two championships in the past 15 years. Varsity captains including returning infielder Ella Jones (‘20), pitcher/infielder Lindsey Kim (‘19), and catcher Sydney Liu (‘19). The team has four senior starters to lead them, but also has some advanced young talent. This includes Victoria Souludre (‘21), Noel Brunell (‘21), and Kayla Sheppard (‘21), and Lauren Cheung (‘22). Kim (‘19) shared her thoughts on how they expect the season to go.

“My expectations are to be first in the league and make our young team more cohesive,” said Kim.

GIRLS LACROSSE After a disappointing loss against the Gunn Titans in the SCVAL championship last year, the girls are looking to bounce back and have yet another strong season. Although the team took a major hit by losing an incredibly talented senior class during their 2018 campaign, the girls have the foundation for another championship run.

“I definitely think there is going to be a huge adjustment in terms of team compatibility because we lost so many seniors that really jelled on the field. I think the talent is there but especially with winter sports coming in late we are missing a lot of time to make that happen before games start,” Lia Salvatierra (‘19) said.

With time winding down before the season begins, team chemistry is essential, but with younger talent like Laney Henry (‘21) and Heidi Mcintosh (‘21) accompanied with veterans like Abby Ramsey (‘19), the girls are hopeful they will be able to mesh together before it is too late.

Photo by David Hickey

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

BOYS LACROSSE Coming off back-to-back SCVAL championships, the boys varsity lacrosse team has high expectations for the upcoming season. In 2018 the boys went 16-4 and closed the season with a 13-3 championship victory against Los Gatos. This year the team has an impressive roster, with a strong, young defensive core and dominant offensive players. The senior class containing 10 returning players such as Aidan Gans (‘19) and Ryan Strathearn (‘19) is exciting and inspiring for the younger boys. The team has high hopes for this season and the younger talent that proceeds them.

“We’re looking for another title this year as a base expectation and we are hopeful to beat some of the really competitive prep schools in the area,” Gans said. “The younger talent is really exciting, we have a really great freshman class that will continue the tradition of winning that we’ve developed.”

BOYS TENNIS

Photo by David Hickey

Photo by David Hickey

In 2009 the varsity team took home the state championship. Sadly Rome falls and the team had a losing record last season which caused them to be relegated into the El Camino league. Luckily the advantage of playing in a lower league is dominating against easier competitors. This will also increase the chances of making CCS. One of the returning varsity players is Antony Georgiadis (‘19). Georgiadis commented on last season “As an overall season it was solid, but we often played without players which led to a lower placement than our team deserved,” Georgiadis said.

Although things are not ideal at the moment, the team is still excited to play and they hope to return to the SCVAL by the end of the season.

GIRLS SWIMMING Girls swimming was another dominant team last season. Like the Boys team, the Girls also won CCS and had an undefeated season. However, like many of Paly’s sports teams, the girls swimming team has lost vital players who graduated last year. Despite the loss of some key players, the girls team is still loaded with talent. One the returning stars is Kate Milne (‘20).

Milne is the captain and look forward to this season, “We are focused on a supportive environment as a team and we’re going to be focused on personal goals more so than team goals- it’s going to be harder to be undefeated in the league this year, but we want to remain focused on the team and personal development,” Milne said.

Although last season’s record may be hard to meet, the team is still confident about this coming seasons performance.

Photo courtesy of Karen Ambrose Hickey

BOYS SWIMMING

Photo courtesy of Karen Ambrose Hickey

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Boys swimming was dominant Justin Cheok (‘19). last season. Swimming won CCS Gunn is a very worthy opponent/ and did very well in leagues. Thanks rival and will be one of the toughest to great talent opponents and depth, the “I think we can win both CCS Paly will face team was able and Leagues, but it depends this coming to finish with season. Luckon how we prepare” an astounding ily, the teams record.

The still has great -Cheok (‘19) team hopes to talent and a repeat this levstrong lineup, el of excellence this coming season. which should be more than enough One of the key players last season to defeat Gunn and plenty of other and a returning Varsity swimmer is schools.

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DIVING

After winning a SCVAL championship last season, the diving team looks to continue their success in 2019. Two leaders of the club over the offseason committed to continuing diving in college.

Jack Callaghan (‘19) over the offseason committed to diving at NYU, and new addition to the Paly team Jeanpaul Ditto (‘19) committed to Yale.

“I don’t have expectations for this year, but I am hoping to make it to state, and to not mess up my dives at SCVAL, and CCS, so I can place for state.” Ditto said. Adding to the strong core of divers is Junior diver, Max Valasek (‘20). With this team, they look to make another state push.

Photo courtesy of Jack Callaghan

TRACK & FIELD

Photo by David Hickey

Speed and determination are the team is still full of skill and pothe two primary reasons why Paly’s tential. track and field team was excellent “I have been running Paly track last season. for four Dozens of Paly’s “...I believe this year we have years and I athletes won believe this the best overall team” first place medyear we -Kagiri (‘19) als last year. have the Several stubest overdents prestigious schools including all team,” Kagiri said. “As a full track 400m star Reed Foster (MIT) and team we are hoping that everyone Long Distance Specialist Sam Craig qualifies for SCVALS and hopefully (University of Chicago). Although even CCS.” many top talents have graduated,

BADMINTON After a close loss to cross town rival, Gunn High School, the badminton team has their eyes set on beating them this year.

“As a team we would like to maintain our spot in the upper division. In addition, we would like to beat our rival Gunn, who barely beat us last year.

Also we would like to develop our new talent, so that we are competitive in all events,” Zakir Ahmad (‘19) said. This new talent that is being talked about consists of quality underclassmen who look to carry the program in the right direction in years to come.

Last year the team tried to focus on matches as a whole instead of individual games. This lead to close matches being lossed in late rounds. The team’s main goal for this year is to beat Gunn, and continue to build a solid reputation for Paly as a whole.

“I think we want to try and lock down individual games that we know we can win because we left a lot on the court last season,” Ahmad said.

Photo by David Hickey

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Photo courtesy of Karen Ambrose Hickey

In 2018 Palo Alto High School added a boys volleyball team to their athletic department. With a young and new team in 2018, they still managed to finish at 17-18. Last year the team’s expectations were not high going into season.

Now the team is looking forward to a quality season. Seniors Miles Schulman (‘19), and Raymon Chang (‘19) have played competitive volleyball before their high school team. With that experience, the two provide an example for the underclassman to look up to.

“Expectations are a little better than last year, hoping to win more games than lose. We are also hoping to improve the team energy and vibe. My goal is to yell more this year. Last year we seemed a bit quiet and more communication will help with our success this season,” Schulman said.

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Stepping into the Limelight

by SANAZ EBRAHIMI, DAVID HICKEY, ZACH PHILLIPS and YAEL SARIG

E

The spotlight of sports media has always shone brightest on athletes and coaches.

Behind the scenes, tucked in the shadows, lie some of the hardest working, most essential personnel to team success. It’s time to shed light on their role.

ric Housen was 45 when he won his first championship ring.

He wasn’t on the court, nor was he on the bench.

He couldn’t be seen on television, and fans weren’t wearing his jersey.

Why then, surrounded by the flashing blue-yellow strobe lights and screaming fans, did Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, himself giddy with excitement, present Housen with a ring?

Before answering that question, it only seems appropriate to start at the very beginning. In 1973, Housen, then a 7th grader, found an opportunity for work in the Warriors organization as an equipment manager. By 1999, he had become a full-time staffer. And in those 26 years, Housen has, almost unbelievably, missed a grand total of one day. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, that one absence was to go see the birth of his daughter, Sadie – and even then, he was practically forced to stay home by Steve Kerr and Bob Myers, who threatened to fire him if he stepped foot in the arena. Otherwise, he would certainly have shown up bright and early before 7 a.m., while the rest of the team was still sound asleep.

Housen’s vast duties under the umbrella of “equipment management” include booking hotel rooms and planes, washing gear, packing for road trips, buying groceries for a 15-man roster of athletes, managing player schedules, and generally knowing the ins-and-outs of player preferences ranging from wine to food allergies to cold-weather clothing. In a New York Times profile,

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Housen expressed disappointment over his inability to book a private helicopter on one-hour notice to get David Lee home when the highway closed. All this he does in the name of reducing the stresses of the athletes, allowing their thoughts to be consumed only by the game itself. Housen can worry about the rest.

This second-hand stress and preoccupation over the team have characterized Housen’s involvement in the Warriors program. He cares about the team, its health and its performance.

If 45 years seems old to get an NBA championship ring, it is. But Housen isn’t your average NBA team member either, so perhaps it’s fitting that he gets his recognition 33 years into his career.

Under the heat of those flashing lights and the glory of those screaming fans, Housen received his ring, not for his in-game performance but his magnanimity, his selflessness, and his overwhelming dedication to the program. Housen receiving a ring was more than just another kind gesture.

Most teams wouldn’t buy a 74 sapphire, 74 diamond, and 17 karat gold ring as a gesture, especially since there is already an expectation to buy one for all core players, general managers, and coaches.

NBA teams are wealthy, but they won’t spend thousands on just anyone.

But then again, Housen isn’t just anyone, and the Warriors know that. Through his work, Housen became indispensable.

The Warriors acknowledgment of this is ground-breaking, largely due to the simple fact that equipment managers are often disrespected and unappreciated.

To a franchise as large as a basketball

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team, the work that goes on beyond the narrow scope of the camera is often undervalued; fans, consumers, see the coaches and players. And not for completely unfair reasons: hearing the words “equipment manager” doesn’t exactly inspire the sense of awe that “allstar basketball player” or “decorated veteran head coach” does. But while the glitz and glamor of sports tend to center on the action on the field, with spectacular dunks and coaches breaking clipboards, much of the magic that allows the program to perform at its best happens behind the scenes, underrecognized and underappreciated.

Work like Housen’s, that takes place out of the limelight, isn’t under that same media spotlight for a reason. Live action is entertaining, and the drama of a tense matchup between players with history is unmatched. There’s little public desire to watch athletic trainers repair patellar dislocations for three hours. The central problem is not that the hard-working staff who support the team do not get equal media coverage. What’s problematic is just how little credit they’re given for the team’s success.

In Housen’s case, the Warriors took an important step in the right direction. Through the beautiful gift and ceremony, he was getting some of that same recognition for his immense contribution to the team’s success.

The ring represented a declaration of Housen’s importance to its staying afloat through the regular season, keeping its head above water during the playoffs, and fighting off the rapids of the finals in order to win the championship. He had worked just as hard, providing for the

team, and thus, he was getting what he students have trashed it. Unfortunately, deserved.

Paly’s students are not unique in their Housen, of course, is just one example treatment of the custodial staff. They, like of the extraordinary commitment taken the majority of people, leave garbage by those out of the limelight. Just as everywhere. They wince when asked to players put in countless hours at the gym, pick up trash. They rarely say thank you. watch tapes upon tapes of game film, While there is relatively little outright and scrutinize disrespect, every flaw in there is no their game, the admiration nor “They are here literally roles of staff accolade.

The every night, and I do not think like Housen is custodial staff I have ever heard someone just as timeis dismissed, consuming, without a say ‘Thank you,’ or even really and equally second thought, acknowledge the service they critical to team despite the role provide us.” success.

But they play in the rarely do their cleanliness of Mary Fetter (‘19) efforts get the school, let recognized. alone in the Studentexpansive world athletes, and professional athletes for of athletics. There is no malicious intent, that matter, know the extensive, tangled but there is also no thought. web of people working tirelessly to Students have grown used to not satisfy their needs and keep their team cleaning up after themselves, and healthy and happy. Curry was practically regardless of the previous day’s activities, bouncing off the walls, so eager to see they still wake up to a pristine campus; Housen’s reaction to the surprise ring the thought of who is spending those because of the unique connection they arduous hours cleaning up, ensuring that possessed. It is clear that working with Paly’s fields and courts stay beautiful, the same man for 10 years, as Housen never crosses a student’s mind. did for Curry, changes one’s perspective.

But whether we think of them or not, Curry had gained a special appreciation the janitors are there, giving their all for for the man who knows his superstitions, us; it’s high time we recognize it. his locker room preferences, and his During each evening at Paly, the shoe schedule (Under Armour sends a campus is a ghost town. However, the monthly calendar, directly to Housen). pool, among other bustling facilities, But our student body lacks that same is steaming, and the mechanical-like appreciation. We could certainly stand to slapping of water can be heard from the gain some.

Media Arts Center. It is at this time when Even for someone who doesn’t watch student-athletes relieve the day’s stress sports, the names Tom Brady or Lebron on the athletic fields.

James will be instantly recognizable. But Mary Fetter (‘19) exits the pool after an the odds of someone being able to point exhausting swim set and rushes toward out, by name, the team photographer? the equipment shed. She drops her Or even the janitors, trainers, and backpack off before making a final sprint parents, who must arrive hours early to the swimming locker rooms, located and stay hours late at each game to set on the pool deck. Along with her, 30 up and clean up the mess of 2000 high other girls shower, dry their suits, put on schoolers? Unlikely. clothes, and get ready to go home. The real problem, according to Fetter, stems from shoes.

Custodial Staff “Lots of people, everyone actually, In order for Paly’s legendary athletics to function properly, so many people wears shoes into the locker room, which must come together and give all of their is not a big problem when we get to time and energy to make the student- the locker rooms after school, because athletes’ experience unforgettable. At everything is dry,” Fetter said. “But as the top of that list of people lies Paly’s we get the plastic floor wet, that same custodial staff. For hours each day, they dirt turns to mud. It’s really slippery and move heavy equipment, set up courts, disgusting.”

Just last season, the custodial staff and clean locker rooms, among hundreds became aware of this problem. Within of other jobs. Each day, they arrive with the expectation that, throughout the day, days of the issue, they had a solution.

Each night, sometimes more than once, a janitor would come in – after practice – and mop the floors of both locker rooms and on-deck bathrooms.

“They are here literally every night, and I do not think I have ever heard someone say ‘Thank you,’ or even really acknowledge the service they provide us,” Fetter said.

The custodial staff provides this same service for both water polo and swimming, allowing each team to practice at their full potential. However, despite their essential service, so few students give them the recognition that they deserve.

Javid Alasti (‘19) is different. A water polo player since freshman year, Alasti has grown close to the program and its facilities. Each night, after practice, Alasti can be seen chatting with many different members of the custodial staff.

Alasti sees them as more than just staff members.

“The guys are seriously funny,” Alasti said. “They also encourage me to speak to them in Spanish, because they know that I am taking the class at school. They certainly do not have to be nice to me; it is not part of the job description. But they are, and I really like letting them know that I do appreciate what they do for me, and for this school.”

Alasti hasn’t given the custodial staff a ring, yet he has done something just as good, with no price tag attached.

To his fellow water polo players, Alasti had shown just how approachable the custodial staff really was. He had also shown how good it felt to thank someone who truly affected the livelihood of the team. Alasti started a movement on the water polo team.

Each night, upon the arrival of a custodian, the water polo team, regardless of whether they were in the middle of a drill, would scream “thanks” and other related phrases in Spanish.

“It just feels good to congratulate someone on a job really well done, and these guys have done it for years,” Alasti said.

Unfortunately, Alasti’s gestures have not reached other sports.

Just because Paly’s custodial staff works out of the limelight does not mean that they deserve any less recognition.

Custodians don’t often stand in the spotlight. Truth be told, they may never get the recognition that they truly deserve. Why? Because they are some of the great people who work in the dark.

The dark may seem like a quiet and scary

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

place, but it is in the dark where some kids playing football, Giffen believes of the most effectual work takes place. that it is her responsibility to support the Achievement is often anonymous; some team in more extensive ways than simply of the greatest people have done the showing up to games and cheering them greatest things in the dark. And even on. though our custodial staff works out “I think if you have a child that plays of the limelight, often out of sight, they a sport, you should do what you can to deserve thanks help out,” Giffen and accolade said.

“Many from the entire hands make light Paly community: it work.” “​ I think that being is their work that Even with involved in sports is so allows us to do kids on the team, important and teaches ours.

Giffen doesn’t Unfortunately, pinpoint her many life lessons. I want Paly’s custodial intimacy to the to be a part of that and staff is not the only sport as the sole help coaches and the team group whose work reason she feels goes unnoticed. an obligation succeed.”

Instead of merely to help. Rather, Fatima Giffen supporting their her interest kids from the stems from the stands, these lessons that can parents also take be learned from on the responsibilities of organizing helping the teams. the other parents, sending out emails “​I think that being involved in sports with relevant information, organizing is so important and teaches many life team dinners and outings, and doing lessons,” said Giffen. “I want to be a part everything they can to make the coach’s of that and help coaches and the team job less stressful. Team parents make sure succeed by doing my part as a team the snack shack is operating smoothly parent, and stepping in when needed.” or cameras are recording the game to And the coaches need all the help be used for film. Without these parents, they can get. Trying to manage upwards the infrastructure of Paly’s sports industry of 15 teenagers requires an abundance would be liable to collapse. of time and effort from coaches, so Giffen does all she can to help minimize the stress of planning the snack shack and Team Parents One parent leading the way is Fatima team dinner from the coaches.

“There is something for everyone, Giffen, team parent for football as well as school auditor. Giffen has assisted whether it is being the team parent, the team the past four years. With two helping out at the snack shack, ticket

sales, driving players to events,” Giffen said. “I always say, ‘Let the coaches coach, and volunteers can take care of the other stuff.’”

As for job responsibilities, team parents take responsibility for a wide variety of jobs in order to help the team succeed. The largest responsibility the team parents have is making sure all the other parents are updated with what’s going on. “​ I am responsible for the weekly communications with parents,” Giffen said. “I keep parents up-to-date with important information and also ask for volunteers when needed. My job is to help the season run smoothly from a volunteer standpoint.”

Another job the parents have is ensuring the fans can grab a bite to eat during a break. Although this responsibility doesn’t fall under the team parents, Giffen still makes sure that the snack shack is always operational.

Besides helping the coaches and making sure other parents are contributing, team parents also make sure the the students and fans can have the best experience possible at Paly home games. Many of the parents also contribute to the ticket entrance, selling tickets and letting people in.

The time put in by these parents, comes close to the time put in by their kids-the hours required for setting up team dinners, helping organize transportation, running the snack shack, coordinating team photos and senior nights, and cheering for their respective teams quickly add up. The effort each parent puts in is a vital part of Paly home games.

Photographers

Always visible on the sideline during Paly sporting events, photographer Karen Hickey has spent the last four years taking photos of teams and posting them on her website.

Currently, she shoots photos of all Paly sports and sends many to the Palo Alto Weekly, increasing the exposure to Paly sports. Starting off as a band and football photographer, Hickey eventually started taking photos of other sports.

“Way before Paly, I started taking photos of my kids, but since they are part of a team, I started to take photos of all the kids and would share them with the team,” Hickey said. “I started to take photos of the football games, along with [David Hickey’s] freshman games. Then it became fun to go to games where I knew

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the parents or kids from previous schools and teams.”

Eventually, her reputation preceded her, and she became known as one of the main photographers at games and her success spread through Paly fields and beyond.

“Pretty soon people were asking me to go to different games,” said Hickey.

She even went out of her way to help the publications, first by letting them use her photos and later by letting some of the photographers trail her and giving them tips.

Unlike team parents, the only responsibility for the photographer is to take photos. But this still comes with some challenges, especially with the amount of time spent getting ready, which is a task in itself.

“It’s a little harder these days as we have more photographers than gear, so I have to share a little more,” Hickey said.

Besides getting the gear ready, Hickey also has to plan ahead for what photos she will take.

“I do spend some time at the venue to see how many players [there are], whom I might know, what the light is like if it’s outdoors, and where I might want to be for some key moments during that game,” Hickey said.

The game is where a majority of her time is spent. In order to have enough time to get ready, Hickey will try to arrive 30 minutes early to set up cameras and scope the lighting. ”If it’s an important game or one that I’ve decided to shoot [in its entirety], I like to be there at least 30 minutes ahead of time,” Hickey said. “Sometimes I can get photos of some athletes in warm-ups, particularly if they don’t play much.”

Besides getting the most known and appreciated photos of the quarterback dropping back, the goalie diving for the ball, or the basketball player driving for a layup, Hickey also spends an equal amount of time on the lesser photographed aspects of the sport. She makes sure to get photos of the offensive lineman blocking, the soccer coach pacing on the sideline, and the basketball bench exploding with excitement after witnessing a blocked shot.

“Just because they don’t play or they’re a lineman doesn’t mean that they don’t have an important job to do,” Hickey said. “Those athletes are still making a huge commitment of their time and if I can get even a couple of photos of them I feel much better that I’ve captured a fun time in their lives. Those

athletes and parents want something to “There’s the time to get there and have and share too.” get set up, but there’s also the photo “It’s actually a challenge to not put processing time after the games,” said in all the great photos of the team’s star Hickey. “I can take 2000 to 4000 photos athlete,” Hickey said. “They may make a during a football game, along with lot of amazing plays but I want to make cheer and dance, and need to have an sure to give time and space to all the immediate set ready for the paper that other athletes on the team as well.” night after the game.” Hickey said.

With four years of experience at Paly, Some days Hickey even has multiple Hickey knows most of the players and games to attend. “Sometimes I will see coaches. Her knowledge of lighting and a game going on as I finish up another,” spots at Paly arenas allows her to be Hickey said. “I could run from softball to more relaxed when attending games. lacrosse.”

“For Paly, I don’t need extra time to Thankfully, help has arrived for Hickey, get in or to know where to sit since I’ve cutting down her hours spent taking photographed almost all the sports,” photos each game.

Hickey said.

“Because I have other commitments Her amount of experience proves and my kids also shoot now, I’m perfectly beneficial besides photography. In happy shooting a quarter of a game addition to knowing all the coaches or getting what I can,” Hickey said. through team photos and sports “Sometimes I don’t get to the photos for boosters, Hickey also knows most of the processing if my kids were also there, but players on the teams. The relationship it’s fun to shoot with them.” goes both ways, as many of the athletes With her photos easily downloadable on the court recognize her and often by anyone, Hickey helps promote the pose for photos on the sideline or after teams as she works for Sports Boosters. the game. Although the freshman and Many players and their families also sophomores are download the less familiar with photos for personal her, chances are use or occasionally “Just because they the juniors and posting them on seniors have seen social media. don’t play or they’re a her at least at one Even though lineman doesn’t mean game.

Hickey is visible that they don’t have an on the sidelines, “[Upperclassmen] her extra work important job to do.” do reach out if before and after they are looking the games are Karen Hickey for a photo,” unseen but worthy Hickey said. of recognition.

“That’s what Constantly working makes it so worth on game photos, it: the hellos that I get at school or around planning team photos, and working in the city.”

San Francisco, Hickey is always busy The challenge, however, occurs and still finds the time to support all the once a Paly team reaches CCS playoffs, teams at Paly. which have much stricter rules and often require floor passes. Most games are Athletic Trainers in entirely different buildings, meaning A sort of middle ground between her normal lighting tricks and key spots the fields of physical therapy and sports aren’t as easy to fall back on. medicine, athletic trainers make up a “Championship games can be tricky smaller – albeit burgeoning – field in with passes or access, so being early is terms of athlete care. They care for the helpful,” Hickey said. welfare of student-athletes, a broad As for the hours spent on each game, task encompassing everything from it varies from sport to sport, with football injury prevention and rehabilitation being the most extreme. Arriving at to emergency care in-game. Paly, for around 4 o’clock, Hickey immediately its part, has gone out of its way to hire starts taking photos of JV, works on several full-time, in-house athletic photos in-between games, and then trainers, something uncommon for the takes photos for varsity. The total time majority of schools, even those in the per varsity football game adds up to Bay Area, whose financial capacities to eight hours a game. go above and beyond the average high

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

school are well documented.

“Some high schools I know do not have [a hired athletic trainer], or they outpatient, or all they have is the emergency response on site instead of having an actual trainer,” Mark Hwang, one of Paly’s graduate assistants, said.

Hwang himself was inspired to follow the career route after his high school athletics career. As is the case for many athletes, he tended to have chronic injuries-the extensive wear-and-tear on tired joints proving to be too much.

While the frustration of being told the fastest route to get back in uniform is an eight-month rehab program, he cited the close connection with, and respect he had, for his athletic trainer as a central motivator for him to pursue the job.

“I had a torn labrum, but I opted not to get surgery and go the conservative route,” Hwang said. “[My athletic trainer] helped me with a bunch of exercises, what to do to stabilize my shoulder, and it’s been six, seven years since high school and I haven’t had any shoulder pain since.”

Although Hwang remembered his trainer being so busy he could only see her sporadically, he says she was an essential part of his success as a high school athlete.

“I’m really thankful to her for providing me with the backbone to [be] where I am right now, even though I didn’t pursue an athletic career of high school,” Hwang said. “Just having [my] well-being and knowing my body and how it works and what to do with it – I think that is pretty invaluable for me, and [being able to] pass that information along to the students here.”

Being a former athlete himself doesn’t just mean Hwang knows the high points a trainer can provide. It means he knows the lows, or more accurately, the chasms that a trainer can reluctantly open up in the lives of the athletes. Among their

responsibilities include what Hwang says is the hardest part of the job: delivering the bad news when it arises.

“For me personally, the hardest part of the job is having to see an athlete get injured and not be able to play,” Hwang said. “I can sympathize with that as a former athlete myself.”

But injuries also give the trainers a chance to maintain the athlete’s safety and well-being when normally, a highschool player motivated to seize a scout’s attention won’t fully consider the consequences of playing through a concussion or a nagging ache.

“Even if we’re taking them out of the game, which is pretty tough, it’s for their well-being,” Hwang said. “So we have to make hard choices, even if the student doesn’t necessarily agree with them.”

Hwang knows from personal experience how broken the human body can become without consistent medical attention; having an athletic trainer gives them a trusted figure, maybe someone long run. less intimidating than a white lab coat “[Chronic injuries] aren’t something spewing scary statistics about recovery that you can cure over a single moment,” rates.

Hwang said. “You “I was lucky I have to constantly didn’t get any do your rehab, your season-ending “Obviously when people exercises. And it’s injuries, but I think athletics, they don’t understandable did have a lot of why students can’t really think about the chronic injuries always do them so I had to go trainer. But we don’t really consistently, or if to the trainer a need that attention. The they’re confused. lot to take care They need the coaches and the athletes of me,” Hwang right guidance and said. “Otherwise understand our value.” assistance.” my body would If Hwang could fall apart.” offer them any Mark Hwang Even though piece of advice? the process of Time heals all. treating an injury “Another thing is often drawn [athletes] need to out, and arduous for athlete and trainer realize, especially, is that there’s no quick alike, the sign hanging above the trainers’ cure for anything,” Hwang said. “Injuries desk summarizes things nicely: missing take time.” one game to While the process of creating a get treated treatment program for an athlete (and is better than ensuring they follow it) can be rewarding missing your – Hwang himself, on his first case out entire season. of college, got to see an entire ankle The message reconstruction from start to finish – the may seem job is equally time-consuming as it is obvious but gratifying. Similarly to a doctor staying it’s a necessary on-call, athletic trainers don’t have set reminder for hours, and depending on the number of most who games in a week or the number of severe visit that their injuries suffered, they’re relied on to be months of available from early morning practices to patience will after late night games. pay off in the

Pictured: Mark Hwang searching for supplies in the athletic trainer’s office.

“We have to consider the size of the high school, which has sometimes over a thousand registered athletes to take care of,” Hwang said. “It’s hard to balance how many people are inside the room, so we have to work and be able to manage our time very well. There are a lot of hours, and sometimes I don’t go home until very late. If you really like what you’re doing and don’t mind working long and grinding through it, it’s for you.”

Even his own colleagues tended to underestimate the demands of his job, likely due to the reputation of a trainer being an easy job. Hwang knows it’s anything but.

“My friends never took seriously how long my hours were,” Hwang said. “This is not a standard 40 hour, five-day job.

This job can demand your weekends, 50, 60 hours plus if you’re not careful.

And it’s also not the ‘highest paying’ profession out there compared to a PT or chiropractor or a doctor, but I’d say in terms of working with the athletes, since we’re the closest ones to them and at their sport, just being able to know that information makes us a valuable asset. They’re beginning to understand how it works, even if they may not really understand the time and energy and effort that has to be put into it.”

Despite the intensity of the job, and the exhausting responsibilities, Hwang says he doesn’t envy the attention that athletes and coaches get. He’s just fine working behind the scenes, keeping his athletes healthy and happy. Their knowledge of his worth, he says, is enough.

“Obviously when people think athletics, they don’t really think about the trainer. But we don’t really need that attention,” Hwang said. “The coaches and the athletes, whether they choose to chat us up in the public or not, they understand our value.”

He doesn’t feel the need to make grand proclamations about the credit his work deserves. To him, his work speaks for itself.

“It’s not really about telling [those who don’t know much about what goes on behind the scenes] how awesome we are. I think I know how awesome I am, and I’m pretty sure my co-workers know how awesome I am, and the athletes I work with know how awesome we are.”

And at the end of the day, he believes the job is better suited just outside the spotlight.

“The best time to do our job is not to do our job.”

13 QUESTIONS WITH AN NBA EQUIPMENT MANAGER Vince Ford of the Memphis Grizzlies explains the ins-andouts of equipment management at the professional level.

1. What do you do? What are your responsibilities?

I manage equipment for the Memphis Grizzlies and help coordinate events on the practice court and locker room for the building.

3. How many people does it take to get ready? Is it hard work, when working alone?

I have part time help to assist me with game preparation. I usually pack for road trips alone. It’s not hard if you’re organized in everything you do.

5. What’s the hardest part of what you do? Conversely, what’s the best part?

The hardest part is managing all of the coaches, players, and trainers, and the best part is to watch games while I’m working.

7. What was something frustrating you encountered during your work?

Not a ton of frustration for me, it’s tough losing sometimes. That’s really all though.

9. Are you happy working behind the scenes, or would you enjoy some of the limelight that coaches and athletes get? Do you think compared to them, you may be undervalued?

I love what I do and wouldn’t want to do anything else.

12. How do you generally feel after a day of work?

Tired after a game or travel day, any other day is cool.

2. How much time does it take getting everything ready for a game, or even for travel/road trips?

It varies, it takes probably a couple of hours at least to get ready for a game or a road trip. It depends on your schedule.

4. If you could tell students who don’t know anything about how much work goes on behind the scenes to keep teams winning, what would you say?

I would tell anyone interested in working in sports to make sure you love what you do. It makes it fun and not work.

6. Do you have a personal connection to the athletes? Do you need to know their schedules, preferences, etc? Is it hard to keep track of?

I do have a personal connection, and I basically just need to know their schedule as it pertains to the team.

8. What’s a memory you have of a particular athlete you’ve worked with?

I had an athlete who was super absentminded, he was always forgetting to put stuff on his laundry loop, always losing his phone, wallet, etc. I always had to try and help him find his stuff.

10. How long have you been working?

15 years.

11. Are you happy with what you do?

Love what I do and it’s a dream come true.

13. Is the job more difficult than people might think?

The job is definitely time consuming, and maybe harder than some people may think.

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Pictured: Rebecca Passarello works the snack shack.

Sports Boosters

Paly is known for its expansive athletics department and unique privileges, such as advanced recovery technology and plentiful equipment, within those sports.

The budget fits the bill: $360,000 yearly to spend on improving the athletics program-the majority of which comes from student contributions. But an inability to pay the recommended $200 shouldn’t prevent a talented athlete from playing. This is where Sports Boosters come in: the parent-run group makes it possible for students to participate in sports.

The Sports Boosters Club at Paly is run by President Rebecca Passarello and works around campus and with other parents to raise money for all sports.

Most students take their athletic experience at Paly for granted. Playing a sport is almost a rite of passage, with about half of the school playing for at least one sport, not to mention twoand even three-sport athletes. However, without Sports Boosters raising money

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through ticket sales, season passes, and snacks, a lot of comforts we have in terms of athletics – including the sheer number of athletes that can play – would not be possible.

In simpler terms, Sports Boosters allows for every sports event and team to run smoothly.

“Team parents typically help with communication, reminding parents about the Participation Donation (donation to Sports Boosters that each player’s family is asked to make), coordinating carpools and meals, and planning senior nights and end of season celebrations,” Passarello said.

Despite the efforts, Sports Boosters is always scrambling to get donations before the school year starts. The need for donations may seem strange, especially to athletes who have never considered that our school’s experience is not shared by other districts, let alone by other schools within our same district.

Up-to-date equipment, professional level jerseys, and transportation fees are one thing. But Sports Boosters doesn’t just cover the financial logistics of high school athletics (although, with the lack of help from the school district, this should certainly be lauded) They volunteer their time as well, and as the saying goes, time is money. Without the willingness of parent volunteers to assist in such events like senior nights and staffing the snack shacks, our in-game experience would look a good deal different.

Sports Boosters, takes care of both of those tasks. Our senior nights stand out particularly as some of the nicest in the area; the opportunity to have such a beautiful send-off for senior athletes is bolstered by the efforts of Sports Boosters.

“The head varsity coach decides how much the team can spend from their account on these events,” Passarello said. “Usually a program has a tradition of what they do for senior night and end of season events, so we usually start with that, and for varsity events, ask junior parents to help organize and set up the event. This year we tried something new for football which I think went well, so we may have a new tradition.”

This year, the team took photos at 5:30 instead of practicing before hand, they then ran onto the field and took another photo on the field with their families.

Lastly, instead of naming seniors one by one before the game, they named people throughout the game. None of this would have happened without

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Sports Boosters.

Sports Boosters is also a wellintegrated part of the athletic system at Paly. They work with coaches, janitors, teams, and athletic directors to ensure everything plays out well. While they are a huge part of a behind-the-scenes team that most people easily forget about, they make Paly athletics both feasible and worth attending.

Within this organization, parents also have the opportunity to earn leadership positions. However, having such busy lives already, it is sometimes hard to fill in all these jobs. This was a minor issue this year because as the former president retired since all her children graduated, no one else was really willing to fill in the job.

Thankfully, current President Rebecca Passarello took this responsibility upon herself when no one else could, and ensured another year of success in Sports Boosters.

“The president is always voted in-it’s in our bylaws that this must be done.

I stepped in as president right before school started because we didn’t have anyone to fill the spot vacated by last year’s president due to graduation of her kids. It’s a big job, as are our treasurers, spirit gear sales team, website manager, communications, and all the other tasks that volunteers do to keep Paly athletics’ funding. I think some people may think it’s too big of a job, but we all do what we can to help and encourage others to join us.”

Conclusion

Some have the awesome responsibility of working in the public eye. They can be seen, giving their all, on television, in books, and in every other aspect of our culture.

Some, however, work out of the limelight. Their work is often unrecognized, and unappreciated.

However, some students have shown that this does not have to be the case.

By forming a culture that gives credit to those that work extremely hard, we stand to encourage and appreciate those that operate on our behalf each and every day.

We may never see those that work in the dark, but that does not mean we can’t feel their effects on our lives. They allow us to perform at our best, in a trying environment. For that reason, they deserve the light, the same appreciation garnered by those who leave their all on the court.

What happens when athletes face scrunity?

Backlash W

by Ryan Bara, Dexter Gormley, and Griffin Kemp

ith a chance to beat the defending Super Bowl champions and continue the best season the Bears had seen in a long time, Cody Parkey lined up to kick the game deciding field goal. With a 75% score rate between 40 and 49 yards, Parkey was set to score and put the Bears into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in eight years. The stadium held their breath as the ball left Parkey’s foot and traveled through the air. The ball hit one goal post, then another and bounced out.

Although the call on his missed kick was later changed to a block, the chorus of boos from the stadium was overwhelming. The look on coach Matt Nagy’s face said it all. Teammates and fans left the stadium in disbelief.

Back in the locker room, Parkey took the full blame of the loss.

“I feel terrible,” Parkey said. “I let the team down. That’s on me. I have to own it. I have to be a man. Unfortunately, that’s the way it went today.”

Coach Nagy responded to Parkey’s interview, calling the game a team loss.

“We always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing [...] we win as a team, we lose as a team,” Nagy said.

Unfortunately, both Eagles and Bears fans saw another side of the loss. It was Parkey’s fault. Eagles fans used a cash-sending app, Venmo, to pay Parkey.

“One dollar per goal post. Thank you, sir,” an Eagles fan said on Venmo, sending Parkey $2.

In the digital age, fans and athletes are much closer and backlash on biffs like Parkey’s become magnified in places like Twitter and Instagram.

“Thank you for sucking! Go birds!” one Eagles fan said on Twitter.

For some athletes, the backlash has become so severe that they have to stop showing their faces in public.

Safety and return specialist Jabrill Peppers was the first round draft pick for the Browns, but began the season miserably.

After receiving many threats that nearly led to physical altercations, Peppers

reported that he had to stop going to downtown Cleveland.

“For me, I have way more to lose than the average guy. So it puts me in kind of a funky situation where I can’t even go get daily toiletries or things without having to worry about something like that,” Peppers said.

Another NFL player who suffered from backlash is former Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh. He missed a 27 yard field goal against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs with just 22 seconds remaining, ending the Vikings' season.

Like Parkey, Walsh was devastated.

“I didn’t come through for us, and that hurts,” Walsh said.

Although Walsh carried some of the blame, his holder Jeff Locke experienced major backlash including many death threats over Twitter. “@Hoff05 Jeff Locke can go jump off a bridge,” Twitter user tmohr_19 said. Walsh went on to play another lackluster season for the Vikings, missing four of 16 field goal attempts and four of 19 PAT’s (Point After

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Lebron expresses his frustration with Smith's lack of awareness in the 2017 NBA Finals Touchdown).

Being a professional athlete in this day and age carries a lot more weight than just being a person who excels at their sport. Often the hopes and dreams of fan bases and teams lie on these individual athletes. When they inevitably slip up, the wrath of fans comes back to bite the hard working athletes.

In addition to the fan retaliation in instances like Parkey’s and Walsh’s, teammate and league reactions also add to the pressure. In the 2017 NBA finals, a slip up by J.R. Smith lead to the frustration of Lebron. Tied at 107 with two seconds to go and the ball in his hand, Smith turned and left the offense until the buzzer sounded. Fans and teammates were in disbelief and confused as to why he left the offense. At a post game conference, he admitted he thought they were up by one.

After scoring 51 points just to watch his teammate blow their chance to get a lead on the Warriors, Lebron exploded.

He yelled at Smith, fuming at his lack of game awareness.

This confrontation between teammates spread, becoming a meme and showing the complex relationship between teammates when absolute perfection is expected.

The backlash that athletes experience from both teammates and fans tends to be much more public than a type of backlash that Colin Kaepernick

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experienced after his famous kneel during the national anthem.

Although there was a plethora of public backlash, the NFL quietly closed off Kaepernick’s options in an attempt to eliminate the controversy he was creating.

For those that are unfamiliar with Colin Kaepernick, he arrived on the NFL scene as a quarterback for the 49ers making his mark during the 2012 season by putting his team into the playoffs and gaining a reputation for his strong arm and agility.

He also broke the league single-game record for rushing yards and the 49ers postseason rushing record.

He became a loved quarterback by Niners fans until a reporter photographed him sitting during the national anthem in the 2016 season. The photo spread and the media went wild. Many called him unpatriotic and a disgrace to American citizens everywhere. In response to the backlash, Kaepernick explained he kneeled in solidarity with those affected by the police brutality incidents across America. Even though he was exercising a constitutional right of freedom of speech, the backlash was unreal.

In addition to the public backlash online, a more shady and disturbing attack on Kaepernick was being orchestrated.

Teams across the NFL put him on their blacklist, closing off his options and refusing to draft him. This systematic suppression of Kaepernick’s freedom

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of speech by the NFL is a worrying response to activism.

Current NFL athletes sometimes use their influence and leadership to inspire change in the world as Kaepernick intended, but with the NFL threatening to cut players who speak out, athletes feel silenced.

Being a professional athlete in this day and age carries a lot more weight than just being a person who excels at their sport: often the hopes and dreams of fan bases and communities lie on their shoulder.

Because fan bases in professional sports are very expansive today, athletes who suffer setbacks or struggles will find themselves getting pointed at by fans (and the sports community) for the team’s failures. However, as Jabrill Peppers and others have proven, coming back stronger and better in the future will erase a lot of the negativity surrounding the player. Peppers has gone from being considered a “wasted first-round pick” to beloved after having a great season this past year, most notably recording two interceptions and a game-sealing sack against the Broncos.

Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, was in the league for seven years before breaking through and winning a championship.

His words about failure highlight how struggling is a part of not only sports but life, and still resonate today. “My failure gave me strength, my pain was my motivation.”

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Recruiting Robbery Powerhouse college athletic programs reach their ranks of glory by mastering the recruiting process, but there are consistent problems in this process that leave future athletes and colleges questioning their every move. Many talented high school athletes often dwo not receive equal opportunities in the recruiting process to that of their competition due to many factors. Throughout the process players who have more money and larger social media platforms tend to gain a larger spotlight, often obtaining more offers and opportunities than other players that have equal, if not more

talent. During the recruiting process players are also given ratings based on a star system, one star being the worst and five stars the best. It is more often than not that this rating is deemed to be an inaccurate representation of the athlete leading to the misjudgment of the value of the player. In addition to the unfair advatnages many athletes receive in the recruting process while in high school, many recruting rankings have and have not correctly predicted the future success of many former high school players and the teams they play for.

Pay for Play

by SAM CLEASBY, KEVIN CULLEN, JACKSON CHRYST, and DANNY RABELLO

U

nsurprisingly in the tech craze of the 21st century, technology has become the epicenter of the college recruiting process. Coaches trying to connect to a younger audience have resorted to Twitter, and launch the basis of their recruiting from this social media platform. This results in a biased form of recruiting in which the more popular you are the more attention you will receive from coaches around the nation.

A small town player in the midwest whose parents think Twitter and Tinder are one and the same can draft a stellar recruiting profile and gather a following of his entire town… which resorts to a grand total of four people. His profile will never pop-up on a recruiters radar because Twitter is based off of popularity.

Besides the 5 star recruits, recruiters find a variety of players when their profile flashes on their page from a retweet.

This method does not grant equal opportunity of exposure across the athletic community, and often leads to players who spend immense amounts of time building their social media profile gaining better opportunities.

While high school athletes should be dedicating the majority of their time toward their sport and education, this new era of recruiting makes a players online popularity just as much of a

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priority. In addition, athletes in lowincome families that may not have access to recruiting camps in which they can display their talents, due to the relatively high cost. Not only due camps require an entry fee but there’s very little chance that the most important camps for you to attend are actually local.

Jamir Shepard (‘20), a Paly star widereceiver has a very good chance of playing football at an elite level. After a stellar performance in the 2018-2019 season, Shepard became accustomed to camp invites from all across the nation, including recognition from one of the top schools, the Washington Huskies.

Sounds great, right?! Nooooootttttttt *Borat voice*. In order to be offered a scholarship or even have a chance of making the team, Shepard would have to attend the prospect camp in Washington that would require a huge monetary contribution to his recruiting process.

The cost of plane ticket alone can be up to $300. Doesn’t sound like that much, right?!

N o o o o o o tttttttt *Borat voice*. It is necessary for athletes to go to a variety camps if he wants assurance that

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

he will make it onto one of those teams. Going to just one camp gives you a very minimal chance of making it onto an elite college team.

This pay for exposure approach puts these players that need recruiting the most at an inherent disadvantage. Sports are an opportunity for student athletes to get a college education. For players coming from families that can’t afford college, athletics provide a chance for them to receive scholarships and get an education that was otherwise unattainable.

In addition to camps, players from a lowincome family don’t have access to the recruiting sites that require you to pay for a membership. There are a large number of recruiting services that will do everything in their power to help you get a spot on a college roster. From exposing you to coaches, to creating a strong highlight

Jamir Shepard

Class of 2020

Class of 2021

Total Yards: 1152

Total Yards: 955

Receptions: 55

Receptions: 25

Touchdowns: 20

Touchdowns: 17

Offers:

Offers:

None Yet

CCS WR

tape, to finding the perfect teenagers to connect camps to display your skill set, with the internet and college recruiting sites give you their friends to the most “I feel like players get a lot a huge advantage in the recruiting important recruiting tool game. And yet, the players that need for any aspiring football more recognition based on it most, can’t access this essential tool. player. Before 2015, it the followers on their twitter Before the internet colleges would was against NCAA rules have scouts across the nation go to to publicize recruited accounts rather than their games and evaluate talent, coaches before signing. This play on the field” and colleges back then found talent by means coaches word of mouth. Recruiting back then was could not like or - Jamir Shepard ‘20 done more locally and there were not as share posts from many national recruits, but USA Today recruits, however, still published an All-American team. But the enforcement of NCAA proposal attention that they deserve, major the invention of the internet has allowed 2015-48 changed all of that, now athletic programs are sending out scouts coaches and colleges to access a coaches are allowed to like and share to areas that don’t get the right exposure. players stats and film instantly This will potentially give more players posted recruits. making the recruiting This has change the college the opportunity to showcase their skills process available and recruiting scene drastically but it still won’t fix the issue. Twitter accessible. leading to the recruiting and online profiles will still be the most Coaches look for process to become more important part of the recruiting system specific athletes that of a competition between that coaches will evaluate. If high school fit into a certain set who can build a better social coaches could create profiles for players measurables (i.e. media page rather than an who don’t have access to social media, it height, weight), and evaluation of a talent and could change the process. will never give athletes intagabiles. that don’t fit into those However, the enforcement measurables a second of NCAA proposal 2015-48 look. For example, an changed all of that, now coaches Offensive line coach are allowed to like and will ask the recruiting Nike’s “the opening” camp is one of share posted recruits. coordinator for a guy the most prestigious camps to attend.

This has changed the with a height between college recruiting scene 6’2-6’4, weighing anywhere between drastically leading to the recruiting 250 lbs and 275 lbs. Rather than scouting process to become more of a competition talent, coaches now simply scout a between who can build a better social players physical appearance. media page rather than an evaluation of Over the last couple of years twitter talent and intangibles. With most high has turned from a place for young school athletes not receiving the right

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Ranking Wrongs

by ZACH BAUMGARTEN, WILL DeANDRE, and NATHAN ELLISEN

E

very year, sports news outlets across the country produce rankings for high school football and basketball players. The rankings are organized into overall individual player rankings, individual position rankings and program rankings based on the players in a recruiting class.

With so much attention and hype surrounding the ranking of high school athletes, the question becomes: how predictive are the rankings of success for both individual players and college sport teams?

If you look at the college football landscape as a whole, one common pattern is that Alabama has dominated recruiting and the game on the field. In the past decade Alabama has had five national championships and has averaged as the number 1 recruiting class per year per 247sports. However, the correlation between recruiting and winning is not as clear as it may seem.

Programs like USC have had major success recruiting in the last decade and have little on field success to show for it. Just this year, USC have had the 4th best recruiting class in the nation, but failed to even make a bowl game, something considered unacceptable for a powerhouse school like Southern Cal. On the other hand, there are programs like Wisconsin that rarely land big names out of high school but seem to always find success. Wisconsin had the 44th ranked class in 2018 and failed to break the top 50 in 2017. Yet, the Badgers reached the Big Ten Championship in 2017 and have

Jeremy Lin dribbles the ball up the court for the New York Knicks. Lin was a two star recruit while at Paly.

gone five times and won it twice in the past 12 years. Team recruiting rankings don’t always have legitimate value in predicting on field success.

When it comes to individual rankings there is definitely more of a disparity between stars and real success on the field. In the recent Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots there are eight total former five-stars and along with 28 former four-star prospects. This means that out of the two 53 man rosters, 79 players were a three star or less coming out of high school. There are countless examples of players who were not highly touted in high school and became all time greats in their respective sports.

Current Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Adam Thielen went unnoticed and was not recruited in High School.

He attended Detroit Lakes High School (in Minnesota ironically) and was solely

Other high school recruting rankings J.J. Watt (2 Stars) Ed Reed (2 Stars) 34 | V I K I N G M A G A Z I N E |

Julian Edelman (2 Stars)

Chris Johnson (2 Stars)

Antonio Brown (Unrated) w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

offered a $500 scholarship to attend Minnesota State University. He was unranked while in high school. However, after a successful career at Minnesota State, he decided to pursue a career in the NFL. He sent highlight videos to all 32 NFL teams, but went undrafted. Finally, the Vikings pulled Thielen to the practice squad, and the rest is history. Thielen was 4th in receiving yards in the NFL this year, only a few years removed from being an undrafted former division two player. The rankings certainly misjudged Thielen’s potential.

Another player that has proven his high school recruiting ranking wrong is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, widely considered to be the most talented quarterback of all time, was given a three star rating out of high school and did not receive any scholarship offers. The pro-style quarterback turned down his sole offer of walking on at the University of Illinois

Tony Romo (Unrated) Steph Curry (3 Stars)

to attend Butte Community College.

Finally, after leading Butte to a Northern California Conference championship, Rodgers would go on to win a Super Bowl as well as multiple NFL MVP awards.

Many former Paly athletes have been misrepresented in national rankings. This includes current professional athletes Jeremy Lin and Davante Adams. Lin was a two star recruit in high school, and only received five Division One college offers.

Lin attended Harvard, went undrafted, and was signed as a bench warmer by the New York Knicks. It didn’t take long for Lin to incite “Linsanity” and make a name for himself with his successful run in 2012. Lin continues to play on the Atlanta Hawks as a valuable role player.

Davante Adams had a similar path to success. Adams was also a two star recruit, but only had two Division One offers. He attended Fresno State alongside Derek Carr, and after a successful college career, he was selected with the 40th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. Adams is now one of the top wide receivers in the league, finishing seventh in receiving yards and second in receiving TD’s in the 2018 season.

Some players have ended up on the other side of their predictive rankings. One recent player who did not reach his expected potential was former Duke point guard Trevon Duval.

Duval was the fourth highest ranked recruit in the class of 2017. He was the starting point guard at Duke for his freshman year of college and declared for the NBA draft after the season.

Duval was not selected in the draft after being an expected star as one of the top recruits. Although Duval still has plenty of time in his basketball career to make the

NBA, he did not live up to the hype surrounding himself out of high school.

High school recruiting is an imperfect system. Although there is a definite correlation between recruiting rankings and on field success, many individual players and teams end up performing differently than their high school recruiting rankings.

Alabama’s 2018 championship run was heavily reliant on their top recruiting class of 2017 including six out of all 32 five star recruits.

Russell Westbrook (3 Stars) Drew Brees (Unrated) Joe Staley (2 Stars)

Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are one of the best QB-WR connections in the NFL. Both players were not big name recruits in high shcool.

Kyle Juszczyk (Unrated)

Bobby Wagner (2 Stars) Damian Lillard (3 stars)

Khalil Mack (2 Stars) @vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

WEIGHT DEBATE

Stories about cutting weight in wrestling have lived on the dark edges for a long time, rarely discussed openly. For Paly’s team, discussions about weight are commonplace. But, there’s an emphasis placed on healthy ways to achieve their fitness goals.

By Summer Daniel, Nathan Seto, Sofie Vogel Athletes of all different sports are familiar with the sacrifices and training it takes in order to best prepare for their upcoming matches, but few have to go so far as to drop a significant amount of body mass to stay competitive in their sport, like wrestling.

Cutting weight is a standard practice that wrestlers take part in that entails fast weight loss prior to competition. However from this knowledge, many misconceptions about cutting weight in modern times have been dramatized according to Paly wrestling coach, Johnathon Kessler.

“I guess it’s a dark spot in our sport that people think that all these wrestlers are cutting a ton of weight and they’re not,” Kessler said.

The idea of cutting weight is simply to allow the wrestler to have an advantage over their opponent. For example, if there is a very strong opponent in one’s weight class they might cut to get into another less competitive weight class, making them naturally bigger and stronger than their opponent.

Additionally, the advantage of cutting weight might pose true within a team itself. On a high school varsity team, only one person is allowed to compete per allotted weight category, resulting in high school wrestlers cutting weight to secure their spot on the team, something that the Paly wrestling team has had experience with. The most common solution for competing at the desired weight class is cutting.

“They want to be the guy or girl that’s competing in a varsity spot so I don’t see [eradication of cutting] happening,” Kessler said.

A couple hours before each match, wrestlers are weighed by officials to be categorized into a weight class. At the high school level, each team may only have one wrestler count toward the team

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score in each weight class, forcing wrestlers to gain or lose weight in order to partake in matches. To do so, they are advised to consult their coach first.

“They check in with us and they say ‘what should we put in our bodies?

What’s the best food? How much can I drink tonight? How much can I eat in order to maintain that weight so I can weigh in the next day and be on weight?”

Kessler said. “Because if you don’t make weight, then you can’t wrestle.”

In order to to make weight, Paly wrestlers participate in moderate practices of dropping weight such as the day before a meet, having a conditioning practice that entails sweating more than the average person.

However, cutting weight is not just a free-for-all. Paly wrestlers have to pass certification, which entails an approved process.

“At the beginning of the season right before weight certification [the wrestlers] might try to maintain weight, but are not really taking steps towards cutting weight,” Kessler said.

The way that Paly students cut weight is regulated through a series of physiological tests. The day of weight certification, the wrestlers have to take a hydration test in which their urine has to be at a certain hydration level, or they have to come back a different day to complete their certification process.

From there, a wand is used to measure body fat in different locations. That information is then input into calculations to determine how low the wrestler can go in dropping weight.

“Everyday from the first day you weighed in the certification to the last day of competition, you have a specific amount of weight you can lose per day,” Kessler said. “So it’s not like you can drop all that weight in one day which is beneficial to the wrestler because it’s not that

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good to cut that much weight in a short period of time.”

It’s also crucial to Kessler that the parents are aware of the the cutting regiment that their child participates in, and that the wrestlers know the coaches are never requiring people to lose the weight.

“We’re not forcing anybody to drop any weight, but we can sometimes ad-

off, they get that weight off.”

Although more regulations and safety measures are being put in place to ensure the healthiest and most effective way for wrestlers to cut weight, the practice was not as dependable a few decades ago.

Paly Human Anatomy teacher Randy Scilingo wrestled all throughout high school and coached the Homestead High School wrestling team for nine years. Scilingo cut weight his senior year in high school, thinking it would help him perform the best he could in his final year.

According to Scilingo, cutting weight in high school gives wrestlers a massive competitive advantage.

“If you wrestle a guy with a frame of a 170 but wrestles 40’s, they still feel like a 170. It doesn’t matter what the scale says,” Scilingo said. “[Being in a lower weight class,] that seven pound difference; all of a sudden, I’m bullying people. Versus, they’re knocking me around [in a higher weight class].”

After the initial preseason, Scilingo continued to try to stay lean and cut even more weight. At the time, Scilingo felt stronger, but unhealthier.

“I had no doubt that I was stronger. No doubt I was more confident,” Scilingo said. “But what happens is when you do this for a year, I started to get sick pretty consistently and I didn’t finish well. In fact, I finished terribly.”

In Scilingo’s wrestling days, high school wrestlers were a lot more reckless with cutting weight and went to extreme lengths to get the biggest competitive edge possible. In his senior year, Scilingo used some of these tactics to shed off what little fat he had, and took some muscle in the process.

“I would run four miles, go to wrestling practice, and do weightlifting afterwards.

And then have a bite of an apple and half a sandwich,” Scilingo said. “I could cut 30 pounds in three months and I was not fat [to begin with]. When you’re talking about losing 30 pounds, you’re talking about losing muscle and fat. We used to do stupid stuff like go to saunas; it’s illegal now. They made plastic sweat suits. If you’re working out in sweat suits in 100

degrees, you’re gonna lose a lot of water weight; and that’s unhealthy,” Scilingo said.

Wrestlers have also turned to supplements and drugs to lose more weight.

“People in desperate times, college wrestlers more than high school wrestlers, have done diuretics, meaning you’re pooping and peeing everything else. This is dangerous because you’re dehydrating yourself to the point where it’s not healthy,” Scilingo said.

Diuretics are used to increase the amount of water released when urinating. Instead of losing fat or muscle, losing weight can be achieved by getting rid of water and waste inside the body regularly.

Other than drugs, supplements are also used, one of them being creatine. Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in muscle cells that helps your muscles produce energy when weight-lifting or exercising. Weightlifters often take it pre-workout to get that boost of energy to lift more or heavier during their workout.

“Creatine gives you a little bit of extra energy during a [weight-lifting] set.

That extra rep is small, but over time that rep makes you stronger,” Scilingo said.

“Creatine draws more water than normal into your muscles. So if you’re already dehydrated [when cutting] and you take creatine, your heart can stop.”

Although creatine is still used, Scilingo believes that wrestlers are smarter about the usage. Wrestlers and their coaches are more aware of the dangerous effects and are more likely to continue drinking water while working out on creatine.

Overall, Scilingo believes his wrestling successes could have been achieved without cutting weight. The results were effective, but the success came with drawbacks.

“All of a sudden I have this success. It was worth cutting all this weight, but I was always angry and hostile because I was just unhappy and unhealthy, but I’m winning tournaments and seriously kicking butts,” Scilingo said. “Big picture, I probably would’ve done better if I wrestled my weight. I would’ve been healthy, strong and tougher at the end.”

“I could cut 30 pounds in three months and I was not fat [to begin with].”

-Randy Scilingo

vise them to go down a weight class and do it the right way,” Kessler said. “And I’ll say [to the parents], ‘We think your child will do better at this weight and we think they’d have a varsity spot if they went to this weight so we always get parent consent.”

It’s important to Kessler that his wrestlers cut weight safely “so they can work hard and if they have to get that weight

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

Takes On

Cutting

...with Stanford pediatrician Hayley Gans and Paly Wrestler Zoe Wong-Van Haren (‘20)

“It can be difficult when you’re trying to think about whether or not you can have dinner tonight or whether or not you should have some water but it shouldn’t affect somebody too much because we’re really careful about how much we’re cutting and doing it healthily”

“People aren’t forced to cut weight but most of the team does it because it is a pretty big part of the sport.”

“All teenagers including athletes should try to maintain a healthy body weight and exercise is a great way to establish a healthy habit early on.”

“If done incorrectly, [cutting] is not healthy and not worth the slight strength advantage if the athlete is fatigued “Sometimes it gets dramatized when you and dehydrated.” hear ‘I’ve dropped 8 pounds in the last week’ it sounds really crazy, but when you think about it and when you do it all “Many athletes try to the time it really isn’t such a big deal.” cut quickly, which can be done through fasting, not drinking, increased sweating, and all these can lead to dehydration, fatigue, and confusion.”

Zoe Wong-Van Haren

Dr. Gans

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@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

path to paly

by LAUREN DANIEL, MALLORY KUPPE and CONNER LUSK New boys varsity basketball coach, Rodney Tention, brings an abundance of coaching experience and basketball knowledge to Paly.

Tention played basketball for the Air Force Falcons for his Freshman year where he averaged 6.9 points.

1983

Out of college, Tention became assistant coach at Skyline Community College.

1988

1985

For his next three years of college, Tention played for the University of San Francisco

Then he moved on to Notre Dame University where he assistant coached until ‘95, when he was moved to head coach.

1991

1989

Tention then went to South Florida to assistant coach.

“I still emphasize fundamentals, playing together and playing hard, all philosophies that Lute Olsen used”

1997

Tention became assistant coach at Arizona, helping lead his team to compete in the 2001 NCAA Championship against Duke.

“I wanted to give back to the game

and coaching was the way to do so...

It kept me as close to the game as possible without playing”

He then became head coach at Loyola Marymont University coaching Paly assistant coach Brandon Worthy .

2005

Starting this season, Tention replaced Diepenbrock as the Boys varsity head coach.

Tention became an assistant coach at San Diego for the next four years.

2018-

2011

2008

Tention went on to assistant coach at Stanford up until 2011.

2015

He then moved on to San Jose State where he was assistant coach. He became interim head coach for the summer of 2017 before resigning.

“He was able to make us buy

in and believe... once he got everyone to believe everything fell into place” -Brandon Worthy

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

by LINCOLN BLOOM, TYLER FOUG, and RYAN STANLEY

F

rom the breakneck speed of Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver John Ross (4.22 second 40 yard dash) to the mountain-moving strength of Carolina Panthers’ defensive tackle Dontari Poe (44 reps of 225 lb bench press), the NFL combine has been the place for league hopefuls to showcase their skills since 1982. The combine is a massively important event for players where they undergo various drills and workouts to prove their athleticism for the league scouts, coaches, and general managers in attendance. Generally, each position focuses on a different drill that targets what is necessary for them to be good at; wide receivers and corners are most keen on doing well in the speed drills as pace is important to their position; offensive and defensive lineman are observed most heavily in the strength; quarterbacks in accuracy, etc. There is also an intellectual aspect to the combine that includes the Wonderlic

intelligence test, something that Viking tried in a previous issue. Partaking in the months just before the NFL draft, the combine is a huge determinant of how high players get drafted. Based on how well or poor players do at the combine, their position in the draft can drastically improve or fall depending on their performance, as the combine is the only place where all athletes will be competing together at the same time for all team scouts to see. Despite being in the middle of the offseason and having almost zero competitive football played, April’s combine has historically been home to some vastly entertaining moments. Home to famed blooper moments, such as cornerback Shamarko Thomas faceplanting after his forty yard dash attempt or defensive tackle Chris

Jones’ accidentally exposing his private parts. Home to athletic marvels such as Bo Jackson’s unofficial 4.12 40 yard dash time or defensive back Byron Jones setting a world record broad jump at 12 feet three inches. Home to eyebrowraising drama such as linebacker Reuben Foster’s meltdown where he nearly punched a scout or quarterback Josh Allen having old racist tweets resurface.

Home as well as to the ever important off the field questionnaires that included quarterback Drew Lock being interrogated about a math test he cheated on in the ninth grade, defensive end Austen Lane being asked what weapon he would choose to murder someone, or perhaps most blasphemously, the Falcons asking a few players whether they thought their mother was attractive or not. The combine certainly has it all, so here at Viking we thought we would test it out to see if we had what it takes to compete with premier league talents.

Inside Take In light of the NFL combine, former Paly quarterback Keller Chryst is currently preparing for his pro day at the University of Tennessee. We reached out to him asking for his thoughts on if pro days and the NFL combine truly measure the skill set of a player, “In general the testing has a ~15% relation to being a good football player” Chryst said.

However, Chryst later went on to say “for under

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the radar players, impressing scouts, coaches and teams with good testing numbers can get them to take the time to even evaluate their game film because so many players go unnoticed because teams don’t even watch their game film.”

Hearing this makes the NFL combine sound like a great platform for underrated players to show scouts their athletic ability and potential.

However, the combine can also weed out

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players who may have great game film by putting up very bad numbers.

We also asked Chryst what he was doing to prepare for his pro day. “I’ve been running shuttles day after day and explosive drills and exercises in the weight room,” we wish the best of luck to Keller as he is grinding for a shot at the NFL, however, we know he doesn’t need luck because he has hard work and experience.

Despite our otherworldly athleticism, we were not able to secure invites to the NFL combine, so we set up a slightly adjusted version right here at Hod Ray stadium. Our version included the ever important speed test of the 40 yard dash, an accuracy test displaying quarterbacking skill, broad and vertical jumps to test air abilities, a 20 yard shuttle to test agility and reaction times, and the famed bench press, although slightly lowered in difficulty due to our lack of strength.

Ryan STANLEY

40 Yard Dash

5.35 s

QB Accuracy

9/10

Broad Jump

8’6”

Vertical Jump

28”

20 Yard Shuttle

5.1 s

Bench Press (115)

19 reps

“I wish I prepared better for the combine. I wolfed down a Kevin’s before a few of the events and I feel like it hindered my elite athletic ability, otherwise I feel like I would have dominated.”

TYler Foug

Lincoln Bloom

40 Yard Dash

5.13 s

QB Accuracy

8/10

Broad Jump

8’3”

Vertical Jump

33”

20 Yard Shuttle

4.9 s

Bench Press (115)

20 reps

“The combine’s validity is discredited by too many greats - Brady, Brees, Suggs, Antonio Brown - it’s hard to say that the combine is a good indicator for success in the NFL.”

40 Yard Dash

5.42 s

QB Accuracy

7/10

Broad Jump

8’10”

Vertical Jump

30”

20 Yard Shuttle

4.5 s

Bench Press (115)

21 reps

“When I stepped on the field my legs were feeling dangerous, and they say all of the power comes from the legs so I got after it putting up the best numbers in the group.”

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

ww

Athlete Apparel

Constantly in the limelight, the clothing and style of athletes are judged and idolized just as well as their athletic performance. Whether their choice of clothing is the result of compulsion or personal experession, the clothing athletes wear has a large societial impact. by

Gerzain GUTIERREz, ELLA JONES, AND RYAN STRATHEARN

W

hen we think of the athlete, we may not immediately think of their “style”. When we primarily see them on the court donned, effectively, in the same garb as most others around them, what professional athletes wear may not even cross our mind, but minds talented in sport often find an outlet in personal style. Many ahletes are known for wearing outlandish outfits, like Oklahoma City star guard Russell Westbrook. In fact, Westbrook is the Marketing Creative Director for True Religion jeans.

Dallas Wings guard, Skylar Diggins, appreciates the role style plays in her life. “I think fashion is another form of creative expression and the more designers I’ve discovered,the more I found my creative voice,” Diggs said.

Athletes are evaluated for more than what they wear, but how they wear it, where they wear it, and why they wear it, whether it is because of designer collaborations, social media presence, or endorsements.

In 2005, the NBA implemented a dress code, the first and only league to do so thus far. It banned sleeveless shirts, shorts, sports apparel that doesn’t correspond to the player’s team, headgear that isn’t appropriate for the event, chains, and sunglasses while indoors. Many players, like former NBA player Jason Richardson, felt that the dress code was racist. “Just because you dress a certain way doesn’t mean you’re that way. Hey, a guy could come in with baggy jeans, a ‘durag and have a Ph.D. and a person who comes in with a suit could be a three-time felon,” Richardson said.

Other players, like Andre Iguodala, had an alternate view. “The NBA added the dress code and it rubbed a lot of guys the wrong way. But being creative is what makes us great athletes and we took that same skill and applied it to our styling, which is really good for the game. Now every guy goes to the game with the mindset that it is an occasion,” Iguodala said.

This dresscode permeates through Paly as well, where the Boys Lacrosse team has a mandatory dress code on their game days. “It is a tradition/requirement to wear business casual,” Quintin Dwight (‘20) said.

“I think fashion is another form of creative expression and the more designers I’ve discovered, the more I found my creative voice.”

-Skylar Diggins

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“There are two things I really like to do: whoop ass and look good. I’m doing one of them right now and on Saturday night, I’m doing the other.”

- Connor Mcgregor

Iverson pre-NBA Dress Code

“This year [Nike and I] celebrated the beauty of power and strength: how you can be both at the same time. The outfits I wore really celebrated that: the woman’s silhouette.

They were just really uniquebold, but yet really beautiful.”

-Serena Williams

Iverson post-NBA Dress Code

“Guys is supposed to be able to be original and dress like how they want to dress.”

-Allen Iverson “I was bothered by the dress code], because I felt like they were targeting people that dressed like me,” -Allen Iverson @vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

info@danceconnectionpaloalto.com

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IN CEOS WE TRUST

Final Word...

by NATHAN ELLISEN and WES WALTERS

Your honorary CEOs are back. In this issue’s Final Word, we discuss the diminishing effect technology has had on all levels of sports. Different leagues continue to try and implement more and more modern technology into their sports, effectively ruining the actual athleticism and subjectivity we love in sports.

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter of the NFC championship game, Nickell Robey-Coleman laid out Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis but no penalty was called.

Thousands of people swarmed social media, stating this was one of the worst missed calls in NFL history, and that the league must change their penalty review rules to truly send the right team to the Super Bowl. This would not only have the obvious effect of longer games and unnecessary replays, but actually makes both the refs’ jobs and players‘ jobs too easy, softening the game of football once more.

Technology has continually become more and more a part of all levels of sports. From the instant replay debate in traditionalist baseball to Twitter users demanding a replay of the NFC championship game, the debate over the introduction of technology into pro sports is certainly extensive. There is already too much technology within sports, and even more will make the violent and aggressive sports we love more suited for preschoolers than professional athletes.

In the NFL, allowing referees to take back the calls they make will eliminate the hatred of officials. Part of the fun of football is creating an image of a penalty

CEO’S Nathan and Wes complain to an instant replay official for taking excessive time during a review. The call was upheld, wasting their valuable time. in addition to poking fun at referees who make the incorrect call. Although generally the outcome of the game should be fair, a small amount of missed calls which exist in the NFL today is more fun than a completely robotic game. It has certainly been more entertaining to poke fun at the Saints, whether or not there was a game-changing missed call.

In addition, if the referees in this year’s NFC championship were able to review the missed pass interference at the end of the game, they would also be able to review many other potential missed calls throughout the course of the game, turning what is supposed to be one of the biggest sporting events into a slug fest.

It took years for the MLB to introduce the video instant replay, and many still complain it shouldn’t be a part of the game. The common argument is that a player should be able to manipulate the image of being safe to an umpire, and that it requires skill to do so. The umpire should be able to make the final decision whether or not instant replay is needed, and it should only be used if they could not see the call.

Others also argue that being able to review so many plays during the course of a game will slow down play far too much. In high intensity sports like football and basketball, a two minute break for instant replay can be the

difference between having enough energy and mental preparation to make a game winning play and being too winded to perform in the clutch. If replays are continually used in professional sports, players will become softer with the extra time to rest and to think while referees over-think a decision that could be made in a split second.

High school tennis has also had a debate over the use of technology. Players aren’t provided a referee, so the opposing players call each other’s shots in or out. League officials have considered integrating a piece of technology that decides whether a ball has landed in or out.

However, this piece only works some of the time, and it will create lots of delay in tennis matches. It is also more intimidating and enjoyable to get in an argument with your opponent rather than running to the camera to see about a call.

All in all, every level of sports has discussed whether or not technology will benefit or hurt the play of their sports.

In nearly every case, technology will not only harm the playing of the sport, but will encourage more and more soft behavior in our already overly soft sports world.

@vikingsportsmag | FEBRUARY 2019

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vikingsportsmag.com “It felt amazing scoring the goal that gave us the lead against Los Gatos and celebrating with my teamates was even better.”

- Marc Mbia

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The Paly Boys team beat Los Gatos 3-1 on February 1st.