Viking Volume 10

Volume 10, Issue 4 February, 2017

Viking

Reaching New Heights As skiing season hits its peak, Viking takes a look into what makes the sport so popular through the accounts of avid skiers and research into the most highly regarded skiing destinations.

p. 38

Line Up 04

Zooms

14

Inside the Mind

16 18 24 26 28 31 34 36 38 44 47

Issue 04

Boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, and boys’ soccer of Natalie Maloney (‘17)

Star-Studded Streets

Viking looks into the athletes that reside on two historic streets.

Assistant Coaches

Shining the spotlight on the coaches behind the scenes.

Viking Tries Gymnastics!

Freshmen Phenoms

Freshman varsity athletes earning their stripes.

Paly vs. Gunn

Viking delves into the infamous cross-town rivalry.

Viking Science

with Carly Leong (‘18)

What’s in your Sports Bag?

Take a look into the hidden gems in athletes’ bags.

E-Sports

On-screen athletics

Skiing

Inner perspective into skiing experiences and destinations.

New Years Resolutions

Take your New Years Resolutions to the next level.

Last Word

The negative effect “Participation Awards” have on competition.

Aim

Bryant Jefferson (‘18) aims his shot for the basket against a Gunn defender. The Vikings went on to defeat the Titans 80-50.

Photo by Christian Rider

Zoom

Zoom

Defend

Lauren Koyama (‘17) defends a Homestead player from dribbling towards the basket. The Vikings beat the Mustangs 73-46.

Photo by Christian Rider

Zoom

Pass

Derek Schoenberger (‘17) passes the ball to a teammate through several Monta Vista defenders. The Paly Varsity boys triumphed over Monta Vista 6-0.

Photo by David Hickey

Viking

Volume X, Issue 4 February 2017

Happy New Year and New Semester from Viking!

Staff List

Editors-in-Chief Skylar Burris Steven Marinkovich Features Editor Quinn Knoblock Design Editors Samantha Guillet Talia Malchin Multimedia Editors Ryan Chang Peter Snodgrass Copy Editor Jamie Cullen

Staff Writers Lauren Daniel Sabrina Hall Max Jung-Goldberg Hayley Levine Tess Preising Dillon Scheel Yue Shi Nick Smallwood Will Strauch Wes Walters Mara Zenger Matan Ziv Photographer David Hickey

News Editors Ben Cleasby Ethan Stern Photo Editors Haley Chalmers Christian Rider Head Columnists Ben Cleasby Peter Snodgrass Business Manager Bryan Look Staff 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 Fricke-Parks Press in Fremont, Calif.

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

From the editors Dear readers,

Hello Vikings!

From everyone here at Viking Magazine, we would like to wish you all a happy new year as well as a happy second semester!

Temperatures are warming back up and it’s a very busy time of the high school sports year. Winter sports are getting to the business end of the season, while spring sports are just picking up.

Viking is looking forward to following everything as it goes down over the next couple months, starting with this: our fourth issue of the year!

Congratulations to all you seniors who should now be totally done with all your college apps! Don’t slack off too much this semester, trust us. For the rest of you

Paly students, keep up the good work and keep grinding for the rest of the school year!

Regardless of what you have going on with your life, our latest issue of Viking gives you a good opportunity to sit back, relax, and read some very interesting articles that have a lot to do with what’s going on at Paly today.

Our cover story, “Reaching New Heights,” is written by Tess Preising (‘17), Will Strauch (‘18), and Mara Zenger (‘17). Not only do they discover the best slopes for skiing, but also interview avid skiiers at Paly to get a better look at the fun of the sport and intricacies behind the technique.

Our second feature this issue, “Assis-

tant Coaches,” takes an in depth look at the coaches behind the scenes of Paly’s sports teams. Lauren Daniel (‘19), Bryan Look (‘18) and Yue Shi (‘19) interview the coaches to get a better understanding of what it takes to be an assistant coach.

Another stand-out piece this issue is “Inside the World of E-Sports.” Christian Rider (‘17) and Matan Ziv (‘18) leap into the new world of competitive video games played via computer and console. Viking interviews Paly students with connection to the up-and-coming world of E-Sports.

With just a few months left of school, keep grinding Vikes; we hope you enjoy our latest issue of Viking! And, as always, continue to bleed green and white!

Happy New Year and Sko Vikes Skylar Burris Steven Marinkovich

Staff view

On cutting weight for wrestling

Everyone wants to lose weight. We all know that, we all want to look our best and feel our best, but at what cost?

For many high schoolers that cost is food, and food when your body needs it most.

Every year, the wrestlers at Paly, and other high schools alike, are forced to starve themselves, and at the worst possible time.

The wrestlers are forced to stop eating regularly around the time of first semester finals, a time crucial for many students’ grades. Not doing so can result in the athlete fOn top of that, they are depriving their body of food and nutrients during a crucial time of growth during adolescence.

Some people may ask why they do this.

The reason high school wrestlers stop eating for so long, is simply so that they can “make weight” for a certain weight class. In other words, they’re forced to stop eating so they can fight at a lower weight class for an easier matchup.

The logic for doing so is simple: every

athlete wants to win. However, for young athletes in high school, the risks may not be worth the reward.

Professional fighters such as Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather are required to diet because that’s their job and their livelihood.

High schoolers, however, have other focuses and other priorities, and cutting out food should be at the backseat of their list.

For many of these student athletes, the harsh reality is that they won’t make it to the Olympics for wrestling, or fight professionally for UFC. Instead, the Viking staff believes that these young athletes shouldn’t have to cut weight for wrestling season, especially around the time of finals. With many athletes on our staff, we all understand the drive to win, and the extent to which we will go to in order to get the victory, but not if the price is an athlete’s well being.

It’s simply not worth it, in our eyes, to gain a slight advantage over the compe-

tition when these athletes will lose even if they win.

Food gives athletes a huge amount of energy and it allows them to perform their best in both athletics and the classroom. Without food, fatigue and exhaustion set in easily and quicker, which can lead to poor performance in the classroom or any task at hand.

Alternatively, the Viking Staff believes that high school wrestling teams - not just at Paly but around the nation - should work to find healthier alternatives to cutting out part of a student athlete’s diet.

One option is to have wrestlers losing weight slowly, prior to the season, so it’s not necessary to be hungry during finals week. This allows the athlete to perform at a high level during finals week both in the classroom and on the wrestling mat.

If the wrestling programs of schools around the nation can take action against strict diets, student athletes can benefit from healthy diets both physically and mentally.

pop culture grid PALY ATHLETES SAY...

The Super Bowl was...

Spencer Rojahn (‘18) Neil Verwillow (‘17) Boys’ Soccer Boys’ Basketball

Seth Goyal (‘17) Wrestling

Tommy Smale (‘17) Baseball

Elle Jeffries (‘19) Girls’ Basketball

Hard to watch... I hate the Patriots

Exhilerating

A clown fiesta

Tom Brady

Disappointing

SAT

SAT

SAT

SAT

I’m a sophomore

3

3

3

Lost

Game of Thrones

Sherlock

Reno 911

Criminal Minds

6’1”

5’7”

5’9”?

8 inches

6’ 8”

SAT or ACT

How many rappers are in Migos?

Favorite TV show?

How tall is Big Sean?

(5’8”)

HOT

5

3

Trusting the Process

National Signing Day

The Philadephia 76ers are a perennial bottom feeder in the NBA and this season started out no different.

However, over the month of January, the Sixers have been on a roll led by superstar Joel Embiid. For now, it’s simple, #trusttheprocess.

February 1st marked National Signing Day and Charles Oakley this year was an impressive haul for the Vikings.

Knicks legend Charles Oakley was arrested There were 16 student-athletes signing letters of at a recent New York Knicks game after an intent that day highlighted by Peter Snodgrass altercation with team owner, James Dolan. (‘17) for Northwestern Football, Bennet Huang After a shoving match in the stand, Oakley (‘17) for University of Iowa Gymnastics, Mason was removed from the game by security Wittman (‘17) for North Carolina Soccer, and charged with assault. and both Alec Liang (‘17) and Grace Roger Goodell Zhao (‘17) for Stanford It’s hard to argue that there has ever been a more hated comSwimming. missioner than the NFL’s Roger Goodell. After banning Tom Brady for the first four games of the regualr season, the Patriots went and won the Super Bowl. Goodell was treated to a chorus of boos as he handed Patriots Owner Robert Kraft the Lombardi Trophy.

NOT

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Viking Magazine

sat down with Paly Baseball’s own Niko Lillios (‘18) and asked him 10 questions. We then also asked his coach, friend and teammate how Niko would respond. Here are the results...

10 questions with

as told to Ryan Chang

Niko Lillios (‘18) Baseball

?

nikoLILLIOS(‘18) Ryan Degregorio Assistant Coach

Ole Erickson (‘18) Teammate

Adrien Tompert (‘18) Friend

Questions Nick Melvin

Funniest teammate?

Max

Myself

Max JG

Snapchat

Intsagram or Snapchat?

Snapchat

Snapchat

Snapchat

Antonio Brown

Favorite athlete?

OBJ

Maria Sharapova

guy on the Yankees

Scarlett Johansson easy

Celebrity crush?

Scarlett Johansson

Caitlyn Jenner

Kate Upton

Jeremy Akioka

Best Fantasy Football owner?

George

Jeremy Akioka

Niko

Bacon egg and chi muffin.

Hold the chi

Pregame meal?

PB and J

Chicken with extra protein powder

Greek Yogurt

Favorite sport to watch?

Basketball

Football

Bowling

Green

Green or White?

White

Green

Green

June bug

Best nickname on the team?

Chopstick Arms

Nintendo DS

JUNE Bug

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

30%

50%

40%

Football

K.Dot

Kendrick Lamar or Chance the Rapper

FEBRUARY 2017

inside the mind of (‘17)

Natalie Maloney as told to Steven Marinkovich

ON THE GIRLS’ Soccer season so far The season has been amazing, even better than I thought it was going to be. We recently beat our rivals, Mountain View. Something the seniors have been waiting to do since freshmen year. And then we smacked Santa Clara in our last game after tying at their field. If we keep this great work we’ll be the next league champs!

ON being a second semester senior As a second semester senior it’s super hard to actually go to class and get your work done, but having soccer has motivated to me to do at least some work because you have to go to school to play in the games. After the season ends though...we’ll see.

on college and the future I’m super super excited for college, it’s going to be a great educational and social experience. And even better, playing college soccer might be in the books for me, we’ll see, but that’s also super exciting.

On senior prom and the location Also super pumped for prom, the location is going to be amazing because many of the exhibits will be open for students to look at and play with. The food and dessert are also going to be great. Overall, senior prom is going to be sick!

by MAX JUNG-GOLDBERG and PETER SNODGRASS

TA S

SO

ST

RE

ET

“Every year we have our annual 4th of July party where all the kids participated in games like a water balloon toss and Chubby Bunny and you could see the competitiveness and good nature fun from it... Kids would also watch as their neighbors would work out and get ready for their upcoming sports seasons which would motivate everyone else to work harder at their sport.”

- Anne Anderson (Mother of Jack, Kevin, and Michael)

Other Notable Tasso Street Athletes: Will Glazier (‘11)- Tufts University Baseball Jonny Glazier (‘13)- Northwestern University Lacrosse Peter Snodgrass (‘17)- Northwestern University Football

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The Anderson Family sports three collegiate football players: Michael Anderson (‘08), who played at Yale University, Kevin Anderson (‘11), who played at Stanford University, and Jack Anderson (‘14), who plays at Dartmouth College.

Other Notable Garland Drive Athletes: Scott Witte (‘10)- Claremont McKenna Baseball Ally Kron (‘12)- Member of back-to-back State Championship Volleyball Team (2010-2011) Jack Witte (‘12)- Claremont McKenna Baseball Austin Kron (‘15)- Cal Poly Baseball Max Jung Goldberg (‘18)- University of San Diego Baseball

Star Studded Streets

GA

RL

AN

D

DR

IV

E

An introspective look into two streets that have created a pipeline of Paly sports stars. Their success at Paly, on and off the field, allowed them to follow their dream and play collegiate sports.

“When TJ and Ozzy were in elementary school there were several friends their age on the street to always do something with...

From playing basketball at the old Garland elementary school to playing football and baseball at the Jordan field. There was always something to play and always someone their age to play it with. There have always been older athletes to look up to, as well. I remember some of the younger Garland kids cheering on the Little League All Stars and Paly athletes from our block.”

-Jon Braff (Father of TJ and Ozzy)

The Raffel Family sports two collegiate athletes: Grant Raffel (‘13), a golfer at Williams College and Becca Raffel (‘14) a volleyball player at Middlebury College.

8

The number of state championships that have been won with Garland and Tasso athletes on the team.

The Braff family sports two collegiate baseball players: TJ Braff (‘11) who played at Santa Clara University and Ozzy Braff (‘12) who played at Whitman College and San Jose State University.

“It’s random luck that so many sports-loving kids, so close in age, ended up living on the same block. But the fact that our section of Tasso Street is only one block long, with virtually no traffic, meant that the street could be your playing field, and there were plenty of kids around to get a game going. So maybe that contributed in some way to why so many Tasso Street kids stayed involved in sports.”

- Liz Raffel (Mother of Grant and Becca)

5

The number of athletes who attended a top ten ranked University (according to USNews)

***Please note only athletes that have competed at the collegiate level are included in this article. These two streets have produced even more Paly stars than one can count on their hands.

FEBRUARY 2017

ASSISTANT

s e h c a o C

When a team has success, often the head coach gets credit. Even though head coaches have a lot to do with the teams’ achievements, much of Paly’s sports teams’ success is also due to their assistant coaches. Viking profiles ten of Paly’s infamous assistant coaches.

by LAUREN DANIEL, BRYAN LOOK and YUE SHI

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FEBRUARY 2017

Steven Foug Football

This year is the nineteenth year of Steve Foug’s coaching career at Paly. He has been a dedicated assistant coach and has spectated Paly football teams’ many successes, as well as the team’s downfalls.

Foug started playing football back in high school, and for a short period even considered playing in college.

“I wanted to play in college, but I just didn’t think I will ever have the talent to play,” Foug said.

He began his career coaching a high school team while he was a sophomore in college.

“I was very lucky to meet many experienced coaches there. I felt like I l knew nothing about this sport in high school. I learned everything as a coach,” Foug said.

Foug always had a passion for coaching. He has been an assistant coach for Paly football, lacrosse and baseball. He was even once the girls’ golf head coach.

“Being an assistant coach is all about the strategy to win

Caroline Roma Girls’ Lacrosse

Caroline Roma will be going into her second season of assistant coaching Paly girls’ lacrosse team. However, she is no green hand when it comes to lacrosse. Roma started playing in sixth grade. “It [lacrosse] quickly became a love of mine and I was captain of my team senior year. Then I went to on play college lacrosse for Tufts University as a low defender,” she said.

Roma was the also captain of the team at Tufts University; she led the team winning the conference and finished top 8 in the NCAA. The experiences of being a friendly team captain made Roma approachable to the girls on the team and she quickly developed friendships with all the girls on the team.

“I call them ‘cheeks’, short for chicas. You need to know that they’re the best out. [My favorite part of coaching is] the relationships you form. It’s all about being a part of a team and the friendships and bonds that comes with it. I think the girls would probably say the same.”

Even off the field, the happiness remains.

“I can’t tell you how much fun they are. [We have] dance parties before games, dress up practices.”

To Roma, being the assistant coach involves a lot of

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where the head coach does more organizing.”

Foug enjoyed football since the day he started playing.

“There is a spot for everyone in football.

That is also the main reason I played football. I am definitely not an athlete, but I could enjoy this sport as much as everyone else,” he said.

To Foug, there is nothing more exciting than the weekly Friday night football game.

“It is like when you prepare for a test for an entire week, and you can finally reveal how you did over the week,” Foug said. “The best part of the game is definitely to win. I feel like as a coach, I want to win much more compare to when I was a player.”

Foug has pursued his dream of being part of football, as he said, “I want to tell my players that everything can be achieved with persistence because that’s how I got here.”

hard work, but is also very rewarding.

Head coach Jamie Nesbitt focuses more on the versatility of each player.

“The biggest difference between head and assistant coach is that she [Nesbitt] focuses on the team, the plays, how she wants players to respond to different types of situations, what type of attack or defense to play,” she said. The assistant coach on the other hand focuses on a small aspect of the play. For example, Roma specifically targets on the defenders and their skills.

Roma’s passion has driven her to continue with the sport that she truly loves.

Assistant coaching at Paly is becoming an inseparable part of Roma’s life, she said, “My favorite part is being able to laugh and play a sport I love with some amazing girls. They crack me up every day. ”

Emilee Osagiede -

Girls’ Basketball

Emilee Osagiede (‘12) has been helping coach the girls’ basketball team since 2014, but has been involved ever since she graduated from Paly in 2012.

Osagiede played basketball at Paly for four years before going on to play at Ohlone College and Sonoma State for three years.

Osagiede enjoys being an assistant coach because she gets to be the ‘good guy.’

“Where the head coach has to be knit picky and has to yell and be strict at times, the a s sistant coach’s job is to give energy and be positive,” Osagiede said.

She believes the main difference between being a head coach and an assistant coach is that the assistant coach does not always have a specific role or job, they are whatever the head coach needs them to be.

Osagiede shares a special bond with the girls on the team because she has known many of them since they were in third or fourth grade.

“They’re just really cool, nice people who are selfless and encouraging to one another and you don’t find that everywhere,” Osagiede said.

Basketball has been a really important part of Osagiede’s life.

“My favorite part about basketball is that it brings people together,” Osagiede said. “It sounds cheesy, but since starting my basketball career at Paly in 2008 I have met so many amazing, life changing people that I probably never would have met if it weren’t for basketball.”

Pete Colombo Baseball

Pete Colombo has been coaching the Paly baseball team for 14 years, now specializing in the infield. Colombo also teaches P.E. at Jordan Middle School so he gets to know Paly athletes before they even get to high school.

At practice, Colombo is intense and focused. He frequently singles out athletes and challenges them individually to be the best that they can. Colombo gets the most out of every athlete he coaches.

“I love the kids at Paly,” Colombo said. “They’re coachable; they’re teachable and I just love working with them. Trying to get the most out of them as players and as people. Trying to teach them life lessons using

and Girls’ Todor Manchev - Boys’Tennis

Tennis has been on Todor Manchev’s side since he was eight years old. By the age of fourteen, Manchev was ranked fourth in Bulgaria. He then moved to the US and competed in college.

Manchev has only coached at Paly for five years, but he has been a professional coach for 25 years. The most appealing aspect of coaching that he discovered is the interactions with students.

“I like the interaction with kids and gently giving direction whether is tennis or other top- i c s involved.”

Manchev is the assistant coach for the girls’ varsity team as well as the boys team. The varsity teams tend to face more pressure since they are the teams who really represent each school.

“The fun part about being an assistant coach is that I take part of building the future Varsity team. I am a motivator of sort and a guide for the players,” he said.

The role of head coach to Manchev entails much more responsibilities.

“He or she [the head coach] has to organize the match schedule, transportation and other issues during the season. Also the varsity team is the one representing the school, so there is more pressure to do well and to play the best lineup,” he said.

Manchev describes tennis as complicated and enjoyable at the same time.

“It’s [tennis] physical, technical, and mental meaning.

A player could lack a strong body, but compensate with the other two and still win,” he said.

sports.”

Colombo grew up playing baseball and went on to play college baseball at the University of San Francisco. He always loved being a part of a team and comradery that entails. “[Baseball] is a team sport,” Colombo said. “Later on when [these kids] go to work in the real world everything is in teams. Everybody is on the same page striving for the common goal as a team.”

Colombo is well known amongst the players as a goofy guy who loves the game and is all about hard work.

He is frequently heard shouting essentially nonsense on the baseball field; he just gets so caught up in the excitement of the game.

FEBRUARY 2017

Ben Batory -

Boys’ Basketball

This season marks Benjamin Batory’s second season as a varsity assistant coach for the boys’ basketball team.

Batory has lots of experience with the game as he played in high school, college, and professionally overseas.

“I owe the sport of basketball, more or less everything,” Batory said. “It got me into schools I shouldn’t have gotten into, it got me jobs I shouldn’t have gotten, and I got to see the world playing it.”

Even though this is only his second season at Paly, Batory has been a varsity assistant coach for over 15 years and was even a head coach for one season. He is drawn to giving back through coaching and introducing others to the game that has done so much for him.

As an assistant coach, Batory makes suggestions to the head coach and offers options of possible things he can do next.

“I try to think a couple steps ahead and lay out things that might be happening down the road so then he can make the appropriate decision from that,” Batory said.

Batory’s favorite part of basketball is the camaraderie and being part of a team.

“Truth be told, when I got out of college I wanted to play overseas not because I wanted to say that I did,” Batory said. “I just wanted to continue the experience of being on a team, being part of something, being in a locker room, the banter, the fun, and the sense of community.”

Laura Mitchell Girls’ Swimming

Laura Mitchell has been a coach in Palo Alto for over a decade. However, last year was her first season coaching at Paly. Mitchell is also the co-owner of PASA - Cardinal, and works year-around with club program.

To Mitchell, coaching simply makes her happy.

“I enjoy building a positive group dynamic and coaching athletes who are interested in working hard and working together. I believe that the team comes first; striving towards common goals brings out the best in everyone.

Being on deck is the best part of my day and I always look forward being energized by a group that is excited

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Tony Brewer -

Baseball, Wrestling

Former Paly graduate Tony Brewer (‘75) has been assistant coaching at Paly since 1994. He has coached baseball for a total of ten seasons and wrestling for 14 seasons.

Brewer was a multi-sport athletes growing up; he played baseball, wrestling and football in high school at Paly. “[Wrestling] makes you uncomfortable,” Brewer said. “It takes you out of your comfort zone… You’re putting yourself out there to wrestle somebody one on one… You have to deal with a lot of mental things that kids don’t usually want to deal with. And that helped me in baseball, because I went through that in wrestling and always felt like if I had gone through that I can pretty much do whatever I want.”

After high school he focused on baseball and wrestling. He played both at Foothill College and won a state title in wrestling.

After much success in both sports at Foothill, he was offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Miami. He continued his success there and was eventually drafted and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB. His major league experience came in the form of 24 appearances in the 1984 season.

As someone who succeeded at a high level in both wrestling and baseball, the players really look up to Brewer. Brewer also really enjoys coaching.

“My favorite part about coaching is being a part of someone’s progress to reaching their potential,” Brewer said in an interview with Viking.

to learn and improve,” she said.

With her experiences in coaching, Mitchell is comfortable interacting with all the age ranges. She directs both senior swimmers as well as beginners.

Varsity swimmer Emily Hong (‘19) thinks of Mitchell as an approachable coach, she said, “She [Mitchell] is a very friendly person. Even though this is her first season, I can tell that she is very experienced. It might be different from what her used to be. An assistant coach focuses on the game itself more, but the head coach definitely has more responsibilities.”

The connection between Mitchell and her swimmers goes is much larger than just talking strategy.

“Beyond the training and racing improvements I see across a season, I love watching athletes develop confidence and leadership through swimming,” she said.

Dan Odishoo Girls’ Basketball

Dan Odishoo, known to the players as Coach Dan, has been an assistant coach for the girls’ basketball team at Paly for four years.

Odishoo played basketball in high school and played in college at DePaul University.

He has been coaching for 30 years including coaching at Castilleja and in NJB, for ten and five years respectively.

“I actually like teaching more than I like coaching the games,” Odishoo said. “Coaching the game is not as much fun for me as skills. I could be a head coach, and I have been, but it’s not as much fun for me.”

According to Odishoo, the head coach is the one who makes the decisions and the assistant coach executes those decisions. He pointed out that an assistant coach can have many different jobs such as scouting opponents, working with specific players, or taking down stats.

Odishoo is loved by the players and is someone they look up to.

“Coach Dan is one of the smartest people I know, and

Dave Goldman Baseball

This baseball season will be Dave Goldman’s tenth season as a varsity baseball assistant coach at Paly. With Goldman in the dugout, Paly’s baseball team has seen great success.

In the nine full seasons Goldman has coached, the Vikings have won five league titles and a CCS Championship. The players have always enjoyed playing for him, and Goldman really enjoys coaching at Paly. “[I like coaching because of] the players,” Goldman said in an interview with Viking. “It is the energy and optimism of each year’s players. It’s the highlight of my day.”

As an assistant coach, rather than a head coach, Goldman gets less direct responsibility and instead gets to build more personable relationships with specific players on the team. “[My favorite part is] the interactions with the players,” Goldman said. “They’re so diverse. There’s always a bunch of interesting kids.”

has helped me with my confidence, decision making, and ability to stay calm,” basketball player Maya Lathi (‘17) said. “He is an amazing role model, and is one of the people I look up to most in my life.”

One of the things that draws Odishoo to coaching is helping players develop their individual skills and confidence.

“I love to take kids that don’t have confidence in themselves and show them how good they can be. That’s my favorite part,” Odishoo said.

Odishoo has been coaching for years and feels as though he learns as much from the kids as they learn from him.

“It keeps me young,” Odishoo said. “There’s this great saying, ‘age wrinkles the skin, but to lose one’s spirit wrinkles one’s soul,’ and young kids don’t let your soul get wrinkled.”

In his nine previous seasons coaching at Paly, he has coached under multiple head coaches and coached multiple positions including pitching coach and bench coach.

In the past ten years, Goldman has been the most consistent contributor to the Paly baseball program.

Goldman has been around baseball his whole life; he played baseball growing up and coached Little League Baseball for 19 years.

“The strategy, the batter against the pitcher, the situational decisions that have to be made, that’s my favorite part.”

FEBRUARY 2017

photos by Haley Chalmers

Tries:

Viking

S C I T S A N M GY

by SABRINA HALL and ETHAN STERN In this installment of Viking Tries, we attempted to balance on beams, flip in midair, and gracefully hang on uneven bars at the Stanford Gym.

A

s we walked into the gym with positive attitudes and a slightly intimidated stare, our eyes were met with an expansive space filled from wall to wall with every piece of gymnastics equipment imaginable. Everywhere we turned we faced a gymnast, not someone who had little-to-no gymnastics experience and was attending this “open gym” for a fun time like your trusty Viking writers, but people who could go from standing to flipping at the drop of a hat and seemed to be able to balance their entire bodies on a fingertip.

Initially, we were confused; we had believed that we would be a part of a beginners’ class and would be coached

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through our hour in the gym, but were not greeted with a teacher or a class of fellow beginners. After wandering around aimlessly near the entrance waiting for signs of a class, we were soon made aware that no such thing existed and we were on our own.

Once we learned that there would be no instruction and that we had the entire space at our disposal, it became a matter of what to try first. It was suggested by the gym’s manager that we not try anything that had the possibility of resulting in injury, but that was promptly ignored when it was decided that our first feat was going to be rocketing off of a trampoline, over a vault, and flipping into the foam pit. Though we were subject to a few questioning (and possibly judge-

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mental) glances from some more practiced gymnasts, they were quickly disregarded as we became m o r e a n d m o r e wrapped up in the p u r e joy of

the sport.

After mastering the vault, we moved on to the beam. Mounting the beam was an accomplishment on its own, a n d

mainti n g your balanc once on top of it was an entirely new level of difficulty. In our short time on the balance beam, we quickly became experts, displaying our expertise with tricks like walking down the beam backwards and hopping from one end to the other.

The trampoline caught our eye the minute we entered the gym, but was being used by people who actually knew what they were doing for the majority of our first moments in the facility. But, the minute the real gymnasts left, we seized our opportunity to bounce. The sheer height that we were able to reach with extremely minimal effort amazed both us and our trusty photo editor turned gymnast extraordinaire, Haley Chalmers. Haley stunned

us with her ability to do a back handspring, and tried to teach us, sadly neither of us were able to reach the level of grace and precision that she demonstrated. There were a few instances that could have resulted in injury, but thankfully our delicate landings and balletic demeanors prevented such an outcome.

Our next endeavor was the uneven bars, something that was just truly perplexing; how do gymnasts jump over what seems to be a six foot separation from one bar to another? How do they jump ten feet in the air just to grab onto a bar and proceed to do multiple flips in a row?

The most we were able to accomplish was hanging off the bar from our knees, and that was just on the one bar we were able to reach. Needless to say, we will not be winning any medals in Tokyo for the bar in three years.

Once we made our way around the gym and became comfortable with the various bars, trampolines, and beams, it was time to find an expert. One of the biggest takeaways from this experience was how friendly the fellow gymnasts at Stanford were. Yes, they were top tier gymnastic specimens, but they graciously took time out of their training to help us become the gymnasts we set out to be.

With countless individuals reaching out with support, we stumbled upon a man in his mid thirties (we’ll keep his name disclosed) who generously showed us the ropes with a couple of maneuvers of his expertise. Our new friend’s specialty was in the art of parkour. We started our casual lesson with the basics of a cartwheel and from there expanded our gymnastics prowess to levels we couldn’t have imagined.

We were introduced to an ensemble of moves including running side flips, handsprings into rolls, and many more.

Our friend wasn’t just a gymnastics extraordinaire but a solid guy. This welcoming atmosphere is what we were met with throughout our time at the Stanford gymnasium.

In addition to the man mentioned

above, w h e n our gym session ended, we met a former Division I gymnast who, as it turned out, had been training right alongside us. When he introduced himself, he was not condescending or discerning, but incredibly friendly and genuinely excited to see new people interested in the sport he loves so much.

The kindness that he showed us after having an already fun night made us that much more excited to return to the gym.

Our destination for this installment of Viking Tries is an experience that might seem a little intimidating, but could not be farther from it. A trip to Stanford’s gymnastics facility is an eye opening experience for a small price that equally acts as a great workout. Go with a group of friends and there is a likely possibility that a gymnastics workout will become a regular thing in your week of exercise.

With a welcoming ambiance and limitless opportunity to learn, the Stanford recreational gymnasium is an excellent location to expand one’s gymnastic ability while having fun with friends.

OPEN GYM INFO:

365 Galvez Street, Stanford Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:00-10:00pm $5 per person FEBRUARY 2017

Freshmen Phenoms Being a freshman on a Varsity sports team is an honor. Most underclassmen play on Junior Varsity (JV) for their first years in high school, but the most elite freshmen get to play in the ‘Big Leagues’ right off the bat. In an effort to get to know some of Paly’s youngest star athletes, Viking profiles freshmen phenoms.

by QUINN KNOBLOCK and WESTON WALTERS Chloe Japic - Soccer Freshman Chloe Japic (‘20) has been playing soccer for years, practically since she could walk.

“I started playing soccer when I was about two years old,” Japic said.

After picking up her first soccer ball, Japic never stopped playing. Advancing her play, Japic competed for the club team PSV Union FC for seven years, and was part of the select group of underclassmen to make the girls’ Varsity roster.

“I play on a club team called PSV Union FC along with Varsity players Caroline Furrier [(‘19)] and Claire Chen [(‘19)], I’ve been playing at PSV for seven years,” Japic said.

Japic’s experience with the sport, coupled with her dedication and ability, gives her great insight into the the world of soccer. More specifically, insight into why she loves soccer.

“There are many things that I love about soccer, but the two things I love the most are the teamwork along with the individual creativeness.”

When speaking about her new spot on the Varsity girls’ soccer team at Paly, Japic explained that her teammates have welcomed her with open arms.

“Each and every person on Varsity has been so great to me. Our two captains, Natalie [Maloney (‘17)] and Emily [Tomz (‘18)], have really brought the team together and have been such awesome leaders on and off the field,” Japic said.

“Though all of my teammates have in-

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spired me in some way and they have helped me grow. Being a freshman on Varsity has been an amazing experience because of everyone’s support.”

Looking ahead, Japic sees soccer in her future for a long time.

“I’m aiming to play Division I college soccer and possibly go pro or play for the US National Team,” Japic said. “When I was younger I heard about the memorable US Women’s National Team players: Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Carla Overbeck, etc.

Hearing about their achievements inspired me to work hard and hope to one day become a top soccer player.”

Viking wishes Japic the best of luck!

was the perfect time for the young wide receiver to shine, which is exactly what he did.

However, during his transition from JV to Varsity, Shepard looked to more experienced players to understand how the Varsity team operated. He credits the ease of his transition to the senior leaders who pushed him and helped set him up to end the season with a strong per-

“Each and every person on Varsity has been so great to me.”

-Chloe Japic (‘20)

Jamir Shepard - Football Freshman Jamir Shepard (‘20) only started playing competitive football this year as a freshman, but has been an outstanding receiver since strapping on shoulder pads.

As the weeks passed, Shepard got better and better and became an unexpected star for the JV team. By mid-season the Varsity coaches took notice of the newcomer’s outstanding play and decided to pull him up for the most important games of the year. It

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formance in the playoffs.

“Some seniors that were role models for me were Peter Snodgrass [(17)] and Jordan Schilling [(17)],” Shepard said.

Shepard says the older players were always checking in on him by making sure he was getting his school work done, making good decisions, and bringing out the best of him on the field.

While the young player is just starting his career as a football player, he has big dreams.

“My goals as an athlete are to work hard in school and make it out like Davante Adams [(‘11)] and Eli Givens [(‘16)],” Shepard said.

His love for the game is simple though, it’s fun and keeps him competitive.

“Football is a fun sport to play but really competitive and I love

those types of sports because it’s a challenge on winning the game,” Shepard said.

Shepard has a bright future with the Vikings and Viking cannot wait to watch him play next season!

Chesnie Cheung - Water Polo Chesnie Cheung (‘20) also began her water polo career on the first day of the Paly season. Cheung made Varsity off the bat and was thrust into a new and challenging environment.

“I first started playing water polo on the first day of the Paly season [and] right now, I am playing at Norcal,” Cheung said.

Starting a new sport and being put on Varsity might be a challenge for some, but Cheung thrived from the beginning.

“I like learning a new sport and connecting with my teammates,” Cheung said.

The young athlete went from a ‘newbie’ to a regular starter for the team. She thrived in the pool and started every game of the season according to MaxPreps.

Cheung attributes some of her success in the pool and on the team to the girls who took her in.

“Haley Chalmers [(‘17)] is my role model because she is always super supportive of her new teammates and always trying to improve,” Cheung said.

Chueng is only a freshman and will have three more years to play Paly Varsity water polo, giving her time to advance her play even further. To stay in shape for water polo season, Cheung also swims for Paly and plays for Norcal Water Polo Club.

So, Cheung is not only a water polo player, but a well-rounded athlete. Cheung is excited for her future as a Paly athlete.

“My goal as an athlete is to be the best I can be,” Cheung said. “What inspires me to play water polo is the team environment that supports each other no matter what.”

Viking can’t wait to see all the things Cheung will accomplish!

first rodeo.

“I play tennis outside of school [and] I participate in a lot of tournaments that go on, so I practice a lot for those,” Li said.

Li explained that she loves tennis because it allows her to have fun but also be competitive, a reason that many athletes enjoy sports so much. She also appreciates all of the friendships she has formed through tennis.

“I like how it’s really fun and intense and there are lots of options within the game such as choosing doubles or singles,” Li said.

“Also, I get to meet a lot of new people and hang out with my friends through tennis.”

On the court teammates say Li is a force to be reckoned with. Li attributes much of her improvement this season to coach Andy Harader.

Dexter Gormley - Water Polo Dexter Gormley (‘20) began his water polo career in 6th grade when he started playing for Stanford Water Polo Club.

He was a swimmer from an earlier age but enjoyed water polo because it was something more fun and competitive.

“I have been a swimmer my whole life and it can get boring but water polo incorporates swimming into a much more fun ball sport which is why I really enjoy water polo,” Gormley said.

Gormley was the only freshman to make Boys’ Varsity water polo this season, an impressive feat. While the team didn’t have an outstanding season, Gormley says they had great chemistry and jived well together, making him feel right at home.

“The seniors of the team last season had a huge amount of talent that really helped me become the player I am,” Gormley said.

However, the team Gormley played with this season will lose a number of valued senior talent, so, along with the other experienced players, he will soon have to take the lead.

“We graduated eight seniors from the team so next year their leadership that they showed and level of play that they had will really set the tone for next season,” Gormley said.

As a lifelong athlete, Gormley appreciates the discipline and responsibility that he has learned f r o m water polo over the years.

“Being an athlete is not only fun but also teaches you a lot about self motivation and how to work with a group,” Gormley said.

Most of all, Gormley appreciates the friendships he has gained from sports.

“I am inspired to play water polo because it’s not only a fun sport but the people I’ve played with have become some of my best friends,” Gormley said.

A true freshman phenom, Viking is excited to see what Gormley will bring to his sophomore year!

“Being an athlete is not only fun but also teaches you a lot about self motivation and how to work with a group.”

-Dexter Gormley (‘20)

Claire Li - Tennis Tennis player Claire Li (‘20) was the only freshman to make Girls’ Varsity Tennis team this fall season. However, stepping on the court for tryouts was not her

“My coach, Andy, really helped me improve my tennis skills and reminders during the matches,” Li said.

Though she was one of the youngest players on the team, Li’s teammates made her feel welcome from the beginning. She says the older players are great role models, people who she thinks highly of.

“I look up to Mailinh [Truong (‘18)] and Mer [Cummings (‘17)] because they are always positive and work really hard during the matches,” Li said.

Li’s future as a tennis player is promising and she is a true team player.

“My goals as an athlete include helping the team as much as I can and helping us win matches, especially in getting us to CCS and winning there,” Li said. “I’m motivated to play tennis through trying to achieve my goals and watching famous players inspires me to continue the sport because it shows me that you can always improve.”

Viking will be rooting for Li!

FEBRUARY 2017

Cross-Town

Smack-Down Viking looks back at the five decade long rivalry between Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School, and explores why the schools rivalry might be higher now than it has ever been.

by HAYLEY LEVINE, DILLON SCHEEL, and NICK SMALLWOOD

W

hen looking at Palo Alto from afar, an outsider would likely see a great deal of successful businessmen and a town that has pioneered the technology world. However, from an insider’s perspective, there is one big divide in the town: and that is among the young students at Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School. Since 1964, the year Henry M. Gunn High School was founded, the cross town tension has boiled to the brim in Palo Alto.

Almost every sport at Paly, ranging from badminton to basketball, plays their crosstown rival, Gunn High School. The overall record Paly has against Gunn in all sports is 155-55-3 since 2004 according to maxpreps.com. No stage is more riveting than the Quad Night for boys and girls basketball. School spirit is at an all time high.

All four basketball teams, the girls’ JV, boys’ JV, girls’ Varsity and boys’ Varsity teams, play under the rafters of the Gunn gym. Students from both teams begin to fill the bleachers just before the Girls Varsity game. By the time the Boys Varsity game starts, the stands are quite literally overflowing with students, who are pushing each other just to find a seat. This is when the team cheers begin.

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During the first meeting between Boys varsity squads, the Titan fan base tried to imitate the cheer of a small college in Upland, Indiana by doing what is known as the “silent night.” The idea is that the fans of the team are supposed to stay completely silent until their team scores ten points. At that point, the crowd is supposed to detonate with noise and cheer for an insanely long amount of time. The result is an incredibly spirited atmosphere for both sides for the remainder of the game. The silent night recently gained a huge amount of attention when CBS released a video of the students erupting during an Indiana college game.

Unfortunately for Gunn, Paly had shut down the Titans for the majority of the first quarter and already had a double digit lead by the time Gunn eventually reached 10 points. Nonetheless, the Gunn student section erupted in spirit.

Still, Paly was unfazed by the burst, and went on to demolish the Titans. In their first meeting this year, on January 6th, the Vikings took down the Titans with an impressive score of 80-50.

As the season wore on, the Vikings improved. When they played their rivals once more, the result was an even larger victory for PALY; they trampled Gunn 79-36. The girls’ varsity team won both of their meetings against Gunn this year

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as well, both by healthy margins of nine points in their first encounter, and 16 points in their second.

It hasn’t always been this way, however.

In fact, just last year, Gunn beat Paly in the second quad night meeting. In recent years, Basketball has been the most energetic rivalry between the two teams.

Paly has been the reigning “champ” of other highly valued rival games, like football. Since 2004, Paly has a clean record of 9-0-0 against Gunn, with their last loss coming 15 years ago.

In the last few years, Paly and Gunn haven’t played each other since Gunn football has been moved down to a lower division - there hasn’t even been a matchup between the two since 2012.

Since the last matchup in 2012, a game in which the Viking obliterated Gunn 48-0, Gunn has seen their roster dip to just 18 players on varsity, a number that is less than half to what it used to be in earlier years.

“The reality of it is, until our product is a little better the student body isn’t going to want to participate in this (rivalry against Paly),” Gunn’s first-year head coach Tony Kelly said in an interview with The Mercury News. “And I’m not going to put these kids in a position to fail every time so they can be the community stepchild.”

One of the most famous incidents on

the field between Gunn and Paly was in a league matchup in 1990 at Gunn High School in their classic rivalry game. The quarterback Marvin “Dito” Harrison took the snap and was pushed out of bounds on the Gunn sideline with 4:45 to go in the fourth quarter. As he ran out of bounds, Harrison collided with a Gunn player that resulted in both teams emptying the bench for a fight that lasted multiple minutes. On video players can be seen kicking, punching, and tackling one another on the sideline, before they are finally separated by both coaches and referees. At one point, Paly fans began to file out of the stands to come to the aid of their fellow Vikings on the field. After the incident finally concluded, the referees decided to end the game where it stood with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter. This resulted in a Paly victory 32-20 against their rivals. As the Paly team was walking away, the Gunn coach ended their send off by giving the Vikings “the finger,” summarizing the emotions of both teams at the end of the game.

While the football rivalry has come to a halt, other rivalries have come into the spotlight of the Viking versus Titan rivalry, especially that of basketball. Over the past 13 years, the boys basketball team has a 21-2-0 record while the girls have an 18-10-0 record against Gunn. In years past, Paly has also seen themselves

consistently be heralded as the better basketball team, but in the 2016 year, both the Titans and the Vikings each won one of the two games. Prior to that, however, Paly boys’ basketball hadn’t lost to the Titans in over seven years, despite consistently competitive and close games between the two.

While the Paly/Gunn rivalry is best known for the tensions between sport teams, both Paly and Gunn are also known as some of the top academic schools in California, while Paly has been known to typically dominate the sports rivalry, that hasn’t always been so in the schools ranking within California. In recent years, Gunn has begun to edge Paly out academically within the state of California. Regardless, both schools are elite not only in the state, but all around throughout the nation.

Paly has dominated in both boys and girls soccer as well. According to maxpreps.com, Paly has a 14-2-0 record against Gunn dating back to 2004.

The Lady Vikings last loss to the Titans coming in the 2011-2012 season. On the boys side, the Vikings hold a strong 112-3 record against the Titans. Their last loss coming in the 2009-2010 season.

On the diamonds, Paly has a 14-4-0 record in baseball against Gunn while the softball team has an 11-6-0 record. The Lady Vikings have struggled lately losing at least one game against the Titans in

each of the last three seasons. The baseball team has fared much better having not lost since 2007-2008 season.

In the pool, the Vikings have a 9-13-0 against the Titans and the Lady Vikings have struggled as well having a 2-11-0 record. The only two games that the Lady Vikings have won against the Titans were in last years season. The Vikings haven’t fared so well either only winning two games in the last six over the past three seasons.

On the lacrosse field, the Vikings haven’t loss to the Titans having a clean 8-0-0 record while the Lady Vikings have a 17-3-0 record. The Lady Vikings last loss to the Titans was in the 2013-2014 season in a nail biter score of 12-10.

The boys lacrosse team has dominated against the crosstown rivals with their biggest win coming in the 2014-2015 with the score of 20-1.

On the volleyball court, the Vikings have a 21-2-0 record against the Titans.

Their most recent loss came in the 20142015 with a score of 3-0. Before that loss, the Vikings had a winning streak dating back to the 2005-2006 season.

While Paly has dominated the court so far this year, Gunn has a retribution ahead with many sports, including lacrosse and badminton. Make sure to catch the games later this spring, and watch as the rivalry is taken to its new boiling point.

PALY STIFF ARM (Below) Now an NFL receiver, Davante Adams (‘11) stiff arms a Gunn defender in a crosstown showdown.

VS

STEP BACK (Above) Max Dorward (‘18) takes a baseline jumper on Jeffrey Lee-Heidenrich (‘17) and Alex Gil (‘16) in one of two games vs Gunn in 2016.

GUNN

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viking science with

50

De

g

CARLY LEONG e e r

s

by SAM GUILLET and BRYAN LOOK In her junior season and third year on the Girls’ Varsity Basketball team, Carly Leong (‘18) has been playing extremely well. The 5 foot, 9 inch guard has been an absolute star as the team’s leading scorer. To learn more about her skills, we put her to the test in the third installment of Viking Science.

Leong has been dominant this year for the Vikings. She leads the team in points and plays a big part in Paly’s offense. Using the sharp shooting of Leong and her teammates, Paly spreads the floor nicely and dominates from the three-point line.

15.4 points 2.3 assists 5.4 rebounds

per game

To learn more about Leong’s shooting ability, we put her three-point shooting to the test. We asked her to shoot 25 three-pointers, five from five different locations around the arc, and gave her just one minute to do it. Leong impressed us by hitting 14 of her 25 shots for a 56% shooting percentage.

0.504 second shot release time

FEBRUARY 2017

kicking ou FIFA’s recent location choices for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups exhibit the organization’s incompetency when it comes to fairness and equal consideration for all the bidding countries. Here, we expose some of the reasons that the upcoming World Cup destinations should be deemed inappropriate.

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by HALEY CHALMERS and TALIA MALCHIN IFA’s World Cup tournament is the second-largest tournament in the world of sports, after the Olympics themselves. With such publicity and success revolving around the tournament, its chosen location speaks to FIFA’s deeming fit of that country to host an event that is watched by and engages over three billion viewers. As an event meant to represent and unify people all around the world since 1930, one would hope that it would also uphold values that support its own fans.

These hopes have proven to be much too ambitious, however, as FIFA’s priorities are seen to be placed on materialism rather than a moral code, evidenced by its decisions to locate the tournaments in unequipped countries. Most relevantly, the the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar serves as a representative example for such hasty arrangements.

This is not the first instance in which FIFA has been under fire for their selected World Cup location. In 2010, the tournament was hosted by South Africa, and it was later revealed that FIFA executive

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Chuck Blazer, Jack Warner and other Executive Committee members were paid over $10 million in bribes in order to promote South African bids in both 1998 and 2010. In 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Morocco had actually won the vote, but South Africa was awarded the tournament instead.

The upcoming Russian World Cup has also gotten negative attention for their victorious bid. The head of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee stated that “Qatar and Russia [won] only because of bought votes.”

Aside from the corruption, Russia has attracted a lot of unfortunate attention when it comes to their fans game-day behavior. UEFA fined the Russian Federation $150 million for in-stadium violence, and Russian fans have been in trouble for shouting racist chants in stadiums, causing some black players to threat boycotting their hosted World Cup unless Russian officials take action against such chants.

Regarding Qatar, a multitude of factors effectively deem it an unsuitable venue.

Quite obviously considering the precedents, there have been several bribery allegations from Qatari officials to FIFA executives to boost their chances in the

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bidding pool. Evidence was submitted that FIFA Senior Vice President Issa Hayatou and Executive Committee member Jacques Anouma received approximately $1.5 million from Qatar, and unsurprisingly, both members cast their Qatar-favored vote.

Corruption aside, the Qatar is candidly unfit to host a sports tournament due to its many inappropriate conditions. FIFA has no policy for extreme weather conditions past encouraging players to drink water, and this Middle-Eastern venue will inevitably be uncomfortably warm for the players and fans. In reaction to the heat, the tournament has been postponed from its traditional time in June or July, when temperatures can reach up to 120°F degrees, to a slightly cooler time through November and December when average temperatures around 89°F and 91% humidity.

Still, such conditions can be considered dangerous. Heat stroke among players can begin to kick in when one’s internal body temperature exceeds 104°F, and becomes a concern as outside temperatures reach 80°F; a unavoidable situation in Qatar.

To further their bid, Qatari executives proposed plans to air condition the sta-

out qatar diums and provide “cooling helmets” for players in effort to mitigate the heat.

However, these undeveloped plans have been presumed “too expensive and notoriously unsustainable for the environment” by the World Cup stadium’s architecture firm.

Despite the seeming accommodation for these brutal temperatures, the new timing conflicts with the players’ regular seasons, and even some of their day jobs. European teams, who make up the majority of the tournament, will have to begin their season, stop in the middle of it to participate in what could be the most important tournament of their careers, then later return to their domestic teams.

Fans will also suffer from this unprecedented time change, specifically Americans. The World Cup is the most watched soccer-related program in the United States, conveniently taking place during a general lull in the traditionally popular sports seasons. November and December, however, mark the peak of both the NFL and the NBA’s seasons. Having the World Cup competing will nearly inevitably ruin American fan involvement.

Tangentially, the country of Qatar is simply not equipped or developed enough to host such a massive event.

Qatar has little to no soccer history, so there is literally no real infrastructure to provide for any soccer events, no matter how small or large. Total costs to accommodate the World Cup will exceed $220 billion, which, relatively to Brazil’s $15 bil-

lion in 2014 or South Africa’s $3.5 billion in 2010, makes it an unbelievably expensive undertaking for a country so small.

What could be most shocking considering their under-preparedness, however, may be the fact that the city scheduled to host the final match–Lusail City–does not yet exist. Plans to build an entire new city are underway to hold the game.

Since Qatar won the bid, approximately 400 Nepalese migrant workers have died during tournament-related construction. The Guardian’s political writer Jim Murphy says that the conditions faced by these workers “fall within the International Labour Organisation’s definition of forced labor,” what with employers being accused of withholding pay, not providing water, only providing below-par residence camps, and even confiscating worker’s passports to prevent them from leaving the country during construction.

Finally, the social norms and expectations in Qatar are not welcoming of participants and viewers of such a globally emphasized event. Social laws include the banishment of short dresses, sleeveless clothing, and crop tops for women, while men are also discouraged from wearing shorts or shirts that reveal their torso. There is currently an active campaign for “Modest Dress Codes,” including a leaflet stating “If you are in Qatar, you are one of us,” indicating the expected application of such social laws for touring fans.

Additionally, public drinking is also

illegal and punishable by flogging–a method of torture consisting of violently beating the accused with a wooden stick.

International dress codes are unmistakably nonexistent and even frowned upon in Western and more developed countries, and consumption of alcohol at sporting events have been weaved into the tradition of the games. Yet, foreign fans paying thousands of dollars to experience the World Cup in 2022 will have to adhere to these rules.

One may ask why Qatar would even want to be liable for such a huge undertaking considering the massive amount of resources that are being used. The World Cup is the largest single-sport event in the world, which brings a lot of attention to the host. Media coverage of the tournament enhances partnerships with greater commercial activity, and encourages sponsorships and advertisement work with high-caliber corporations. Alas, as we’ve seen, it comes with great responsibility.

There are obvious signs of foul play when it comes to the bidding process that granted Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup. This irresponsible considering solely the unfairness of the voting system, and is especially so when one contemplates in the other factors contributing to the unsuitability of the country to really host anything of such magnitude. People all over the world are directly affected by this decision, and FIFA–a highly acclaimed and regarded organization–must acclimate.

FEBRUARY 2017

What's in your

sports bag?

by LAUREN DANIEL and SAM GUILLET Viking took a look into the sports bags of wrestler Sara Aguilar (‘17), basketball player Will Schmutz (‘18), and soccer player Caroline Furrier (‘19) to see what these varsity athletes need for their game.

“I’ve had this [journal] for a year and this is where I write my goals for the season or for off season technique that I learn or need to work on,” Aguilar said.

“I probably have 20 cliff bar wrappers [in my bag] and I have one before almost [every] game,” Schmutz said.

“I usually take [hot shot] before every game and it helps my circulation in my legs because I get really bad cramping and tightness. It also tastes really bad but it gives me a boost,” Furrier said.

Inside THE OF

WORLD

E-SPORTS

by CHRISTIAN RIDER and MATAN ZIV

C

Viking takes a look at the ever increasing coverage of E-sports.

ompetitiveness can come in all different forms. For sports, you can find competitive nature on the court, or on the field. However, there is a new medium for this competitive nature, and it can be found on the computer. Video games, or E-Sports, are rapidly growing in popularity with the coverage of these games on all sorts of media ranging from Twitch.tv to being covered on ESPN. While some E-sports can be played on consoles, there are not

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as many players with as much skill on a console, due to the fact that the precision on the computer and the keyboard and mouse allows for much more precise and accurate movement. Whereas a controller on a not as powerful console limits the player. While sports like football or basketball require a sense of athletic ability, all that E-sports require is a computer that can run the games.

There are all sorts of games that can be labeled as competitive, but there are three main games that are much more popular than the rest, the first one being

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League of Legends. League of Legends is the most popular game in the world from a competitive standpoint. League of Legends is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and is the most popular of its kind. League is the the most viewed game on Twitch.tv and is covered on ESPN. While ESPN covers other games as well, the Legends Championship Series (LCS) is the most covered E-Sport event. The objective of the game is to pick a team of five out of 134 champions (and Riot is still adding more to the game) and split them among three lanes

to destroy the enemy base. The champions are all unique with no single one having any similar ability as another. The meta is to have one champion in the middle lane who does magic damage (with some exceptions of some mid-lane champions doing physical damage).

Another champion in the top lane must build tank items (increase how much health by buying health, armor, or magic resistance items). Then there are two champions in the bottom lane; one is called the attack damage carry (ADC) where they mostly get the kills on enemy champions so they get the most gold to buy items faster, and the other is called the support where they help get the kills for the ADC and make sure their ADC doesn’t die. The last champion goes in between the lanes in a place known as the jungle where they kill monsters in order to gain experience points and they do so by ganking (flank the enemies) lanes in order to help that lane get kills or push their lane.

League of Legends has taken the gaming community by storm with over 11.5 million accounts active each month, so it is not uncommon to find someone who

plays League of Legends at Paly. Viking went out and asked Frederic Maa (‘18) about his prefered method of gaming and what he thinks about the games coverage.

“It’s really about having a good time with friends, not so much about the gameplay and winning,” Maa said.

“League of Legends provided me a community where I feel accepted and free to communicate with others who have sim-

er-terrorist. The objective of the game for the terrorist is to get into one of the two bombsites on the map (different maps call for different strategies) and plant the bomb or kill all of the counter-terrorists.

The objective for the Counter-terrorists is to protect the bombsites until the time limit runs out, disarm the bomb if planted, or kill all of the terrorists. There are 30 rounds in a game, and to win one team has to win 16 of the 30 rounds.

Each round starts off with each team buying guns, as money is acquired by killing enemy terrorists, winning a round, and losing a round. The economy must be managed in order to ensure a victory. For example, if a team loses a round, it would be wise to not purchase anything the next round in order to save money for a better gun rather than to buy a cheaper gun. The strategy of the game is to make sure that everyone on the team is able to buy a rifle, mainly the AK-47 (for the terrorist side) and the M4 (for the counter-terrorist side).

A third game that is beginning to gain momentum is also the newest: Overwatch. Overwatch is the best of both worlds between CS:GO and League of Legends. It has FPS and the point control features of CS:GO and the champion selection of League of Legends. In Overwatch, a six-person team must be chosen to either capture a point on the map or escort a payload to its predetermined destination, to defend the destination by holding off the escort, or defend the points. The heroes you can choose from are arranged in different categories such as tank, damage per second (DPS), support/healers, and defensive. Since its release, Overwatch has become one of the most popular online multiplayer games.

On the first week of its release Overwatch sold over 7 million copies and just now has sold over 25 million copies.

“It’s really about having a good time with friends, not so much about the gameplay and winning.”

-Frederic Maa ('18) ilar interests.”

Another game booming in popularity is one of the oldest E-Sports out there: Counter-Strike. The newest edition of Counter-Strike is Counter-Strike Global Offensive, or CS:GO. CS:GO is an first person shooter (FPS) and one of the only FPS game to include recoil. Every weapon has a different pattern when the trigger is pressed. There are two sides of five players, the terrorist and the count-

FEBRUARY 2017

Some of Paly’s elite skiers explain their experiences and relationship with skiing, as Viking takes an in depth look at all of the different aspects of the activity.

Reaching New Heights Text by Tess Preising, Will Strauch, and Mara Zenger Design by Sam Guillet and Talia Malchin

Photo courtesy of Jorg Angeli

Photo courtesy of William Hope

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kiing, or traveling over the snow on skis, has been a popular activity for at least 5,000 years. While this pastime first served as a means of transportation, it now acts as both a recreational activity and as a competitive sport. Skiers have endless possibilities to explore and discover as there still remains trails left to be blazed. As reported by the National Ski Areas Association, in 2011 there were approximately seven million skiers.

This hobby has taken people to new heights–literally–and during the season, has caught on as a nearly weekly occurrence among teens and families living near the slopes. Its global popularity may be due to its infamous adrenaline rush that comes with gliding down the mountain, but it also deserves recognition for its athletic benefits. One can enjoy the scenic mountain tops and get a cardio workout that could burn up to 700 calories in just one hour.

According to the Forbes Magazine, Jackson Hole, Wyoming is ranked number one on the list of best ski resorts in North America for 2016. According to contributor Christopher Steiner, Jackson has recently experienced a rise in its snowfall levels. Last year, Jackson received over 435 inches of snow, which is approximately three times more than the amount of snow that Tahoe received. The resort contains 2,500 skiable acres and 116 trails that range from small bunny hills for the beginners and steep chutes for the experts.

Due to the growing popularity and astounding snowfall in Jackson, access to Jackson Hole is improving. United, American, and Delta Airlines have all increased the amount of flights arriving in Jackson daily. Following in their lead, 13 other cities now have direct flights into Jackson during the ski season. Ski pass prices are roughly

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$1800 for adults and $600 for juniors at Jackson Hole. After the sun sets, Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole offers advanced skiers the option to continue skiing - a unique opportunity which allows people to watch the lights come up in the town of Jackson.

Outside of ski activities in Jackson Hole, the guests also have access to various recreational options off of the slopes, including dog sled tours, sleigh rides, and wildlife and nature tours. According to jacksonhole.com, visitors primarily spend their spare time on the the Alpine Slide, a ride that allows them to ride a chairlift to the top of the Alpine Slide Track and bobsled down 2,500 feet of snow through wildflowers and forests on Snow King Mountain.

There are no skills required when riding down on the bobsled, so people of all ages are highly encouraged to participate.

Another popular ski resort for skiers is Northstar California Resort, located in Truckee, California. The resort has a total of 3,170 skiable acres, 100 trails, and its 20 lifts provide access to both the ski slopes, as well as snow tubing.

The Village at Northstar includes a 9,000 square foot ice skating rink, a bungee trampoline (open during the summer), yoga, movies, and live music. Winter platinum members can enjoy lockers conveniently located in the heart of the Village, a members-only lounge with a fireplace and complimentary food and drinks, and concierge service that provides assistance with lift tickets and season pass needs, at a rate of $2,800 per season. This winter season, Northstar has received a total of 414 inches of snow, providing skiers with fresh powder to enjoy as they head down the mountain.

The mindsets that skiers bring to the slopes can affect their time on the

mountain. Skiing can be very peaceful and relaxing, but it can also be very intense and thrilling if one goes down the mountain freely and without speed restrictions. Robbie Nixon (‘17) recognizes this and has learned that the mix of emotions and sensations skiing brings is what makes the sport so unique.

“I like skiing because it is the perfect mix of beauty, relaxation, and adrenaline,” Nixon explained. “When it goes right it’s like a euphoric excitement, when it goes wrong it can ruin your day... and your skis for that matter.”

Sherwin Amsbaugh (‘17), an avid skier, can also attest to the thrill that comes about while skiing, explaining the true uniqueness of the sport and the variety of emotions that come about while skiing.

“I love skiing because it provides such an adrenaline rush whether you’re cruising down groomers, bobbing in and out of trees, surfing through powder, or taking on massive moguls,” Amsbaugh explained. “Going on your edges and flying down the mountain, nothing compares to how fun and amazing that experience is.”

Amsbaugh expresses the necessity of skiing in his life and explains that he does not plan on quitting the activity anytime soon, as he will continue to

“[Skiing] provides such an adrenaline rush... Going on your edges and flying down the mountain... nothing compares to how fun and amazing that experience is.”

-Sherwin Amsbaugh (‘17)

Photo courtesy of Andrea Casali

pursue skiing wherever he goes.

“It’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life...wherever I go to college I plan on joining a race team or a freestyle team because I want to keep skiing throughout all of college and past that,” Amsbaugh said.

Where there is thrill and adrenaline, there is usually danger and risk. Benjamin Poupin (‘18), who frequents the ski resort El Colorado, in the mountains of Chile, expresses his alarming experience on the slopes.

“I remember one time I was going down this ridge and there was a 20 foot cliff and I didn’t check out the landing before hitting it so I just jumped down and landed on ice,” Poupin confessed.

However, for Poupin the benefits he receives from skiing greatly outweigh the possibility of injury. He loves skiing so much that these scary moments do not keep him away from the slopes.

“I keep coming back every year because it’s something I’m very passionate about, I love freezing my butt off, sliding down the mountain going as fast as I can, catching air off anything, and just enjoying nature with my best friends,” Poupin explained.

Amsbaugh himself had a scary incident while skiing as well, and like Poupin, he hasn’t let that stop him from enjoying the sport he loves.

“The worst [fall] was [when] another skier ran into me and drove me into a tree which I fell into head first. But even then I had a helmet on so I just popped up and kept skiing,” Amsbaugh admitted.

Amsbaugh’s fall did not hold him back from skiing either, but it did undoubtedly remind him of the dangers of skiing.

Many times skiers have seen other skiers

wipe out on the slopes, break bones, or knock into each other. These situations have built up a lot of fear in many active skiers. However, in almost any sport, athletes are required to take risks, and if a skier is in constant worry about getting injured, they will most likely miss out on the great opportunities that skiing offers.

Falling is part of the sport, and it helps people to be more cautious in situations such as debating whether to engage in

work in all different types of terrain.

“I have my own pair of skis, they are 172 cm 2013 Atomic rituals,” Nixon said, “they have a wide base so that I can ski thick and deep snow, but it isn’t too wide so that I can still do the moguls and hard pack. They are my babies.”

There are many skiers who can have a lot of fun just cruising down the mountain at their own pace, but some skiers take a more aerial approach by hitting

mountain. One goal for many of these skiers is to get picked up by a brand and be sponsored. Different sponsors are always looking out for new, young skiers so filming yourself while skiing is a good way to get these sponsors to notice you.

“It’s always nice to be able to put together a nice video to showcase your skills since sponsors are always on the lookout for young skiers to represent them and push the sport,” Poupin stated.

Photo by Mara Zenger

Photo by Mara Zenger

Photo by Mara Zenger a hazardous jump or not. Despite all of that, skiing really pushes people to their full potentials and capabilities.

For many seasoned skiers, renting skis is not the most conventional of strategies. The skis available at rental places do not provide the necessary advanced equipment needed for advanced terrain.

Some skiers enjoy a wider base on their skis that will keep them afloat in the deep powder. Other options include longer skis that are built for speed or shorter skis that give the skier the option for greater control off jumps in the terrain park. All-Mountain skis provide a happy medium for skiers because they combine elements from all different types of skis to create a pair skis that can

jumps and doing tricks on their way down the slopes. These skiers are usually what make up the freeride teams at different ski resorts. Aiden Chang (‘19) is a skier who enjoys the adrenaline of soaring off jumps so he joined the Northstar Freeride team in 2014.

“We are in the North Tahoe series so we travel around North Tahoe and then compete,” Chang explained. “People who make nationals get to go to Park City.”

Chang goes up every weekend for both days during the winter so he can practice his tricks before the competitions. This kind of commitment is required for athletes that compete for ski teams because they need to perfect their different tricks by practicing on the

“I’m always pumped up to ski because I feel so free...I can just look down the mountain and choose exactly what I’m going to do, like a blank canvas with all my ideas.”

-Benjamin Poupin (‘18)

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Poupin is not part of an official freeride team but is planning on joining one in the coming year. He still enjoys going up to Lake Tahoe most weekends and filming himself as he goes through the terrain park so he can look back on the cool tricks he landed and share the footage with all of his friends.

Skiing is a sport that is different from many other sports because of the freedom someone can get while going down the slopes. Skiers have the opportunity to pick and choose the different lines to get down the mountain. This feeling of freedom is what draws so many people to the sport because there is not a set of guidelines that must be followed at all times as there are in other sports around the world. Skiers have the option when picking a line to choose a more technical line with more obstacles or a route that is built for speed with a steep, open slope.

Skiers are always looking for new lines because there is an amazing sense of accomplishment when completing a line for the first time. There are always more lines to be discovered as skiers get braver and venture into steeper terrain.

“I’m always pumped up to ski because I feel so free I guess,” Poupin said. “I can just look down the mountain and choose exactly what I’m going to do, like a blank canvas with all my ideas.”

Finding powder is very big among the ski community because skiers enjoy the effortless that is needed while skiing powder and enjoy creating the first tracks on a certain run. Compared to skiing on wind blown, icy slopes, powder offers a mountain that is much more forgiving when crashing. Powder also creates a beautiful landscape of freshly fallen snow blanketing the ground as well as covering the tree limbs in beautiful white pillows of snow.

For skiers who only occasionally head up to the slopes, renting skis is a great option, and saves a lot of money. More specifically, renting skis in one’s local community is a great way to avoid long lines, while also saving money by avoiding the high prices at resorts. The Ski Renter in Cupertino offers very great deals for those looking to rent ski equipment for only a few days at a time. Their “Adult Basic Ski Package” includes skis, boots, and poles. A one day rental costs $35.99, two days is $41.99, three days is $47.99, and each additional day is $6.

specific layers to buy, avoid purchasing cotton because it soaks up water and loses all insulating capacity once it gets wet.

If the weather is not extremely cold, long johns and ski pants would be the most suitable attire for the bottom half of an outfit.

The final outer layer of a skier’s outfit should consist of a waterproof jacket, and according to welove2ski, Gore Tex is the best type of fabric for jackets and pants. Although, this specific gear is only necessary for advanced skiers or for those skiing in deep snow.

Aside from clothing layers, skiers should also look to wear goggles, gloves, and a helmet in order to stay extra protected from the snow. Goggles with interchangeable lenses will protect a skier’s eyes when the sun comes out; lenses that offer UVA and UVB protection are the most suitable styles of goggles for protection.

For a skier looking to prepare more for changing snow conditions, there are also other forms of clothing arrangements that one can use: a high collar that can

be pulled up over the chin is beneficial with the cold and wind, venting zips on clothes can help one to cool down when it gets too hot, and lastly, taped seams are useful to ensure heavy duty waterproofing.

Skiing is a sport that appeals to many people, as it can be very relaxing, but can also provide an adrenaline rush to those who seek it. The lifelong aspects of skiing lures many people to participate in the activity. People can master skiing for decades and eventually pass on their skills to their children by allowing them the opportunity to participate at a young age.

Skiing is also one of the only sports in which children, parents, and even grandparents can all enjoy at the same time, without the pressures of who wins or who loses, but rather just the challenge of getting down the slope. Through all the aspects that skiing carries, including finding the most suitable location, the various activities, or the proper clothing attire, the thrill of traveling across snow covered terrain will continue to be a favorite pastime for people of all ages.

Photo courtesy of Andrea Casali

HITTING THE SLOPES On the other hand, Sports Basement in Sunnyvale is one of the best options for renting skis for a longer period of time.

Their basic ski package also includes skis, boots, and poles. It costs $35 for one day, $55 for a weekend, $90 for a week, and $190 for the season.

Skiing also requires different types of clothing to keep warm and to stay safe while going up and down the mountain.

The first layer of clothing is usually a base layer of long johns and a long sleeve shirt. The base layer provides warmth as well as a way of wicking away moisture to keep dry. Man-made fabrics are good for keeping dry, but they can start to smell quickly, so wool base layers are more suitable for withstanding several days of use before washing them.

After the base layer, fleeces and sweaters are great thin layers that allow for changing and adjusting to weather conditions easily. One thick layer is not recommended because it will result in being stuck wearing it all day, regardless of weather conditions. When deciding on

Photo by Mara Zenger

FEBRUARY 2017

It All Starts With Motivation...

by JAMIE CULLEN and CHRISTIAN RIDER

2017 is here and everyone wants to start going to the gym and eating right, so we’re back to motivate you to get in shape. In the first edition of the Weight Lifting Tree we taught you how to perform the most basic lifts so you aren’t totally lost when you’re in the weight room. This issue we are going to teach y’all about different muscle groups in the body and eating right. We know you’re all unmotivated and lazy so you’re probably only going to go to the gym for two weeks and then quit, but here’s what to do for those two weeks! After a lot of arguing and verbal abuse from our editors, we went against our own morals and even included some leg exercises, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it; rather just look at it and ignore them like you usually do.

Water: Water is important to keep you hydrated and energized.

Carbs: Carbs fuel your body and provide you with the energy to workout and recover.

Chicken: Chicken is another food high in protein to help fuel muscle synthesis.

Milk: Milk is high in calcium and protein, to help strengthen muscle and bones.

Protein Powder: Protein powder is a great post-workout fuel that gets your body the protein it needs to build Vegetables: While they don’t taste the muscle after a workout. best, vegetables improve your health and contain many valuable nutrients.

Biceps

Triceps

Traps

Pectorals

Deltoids

Lats

Core

Quadriceps

Glutes Hamstrings

Calves

Biceps:

Deltoids:

Triceps:

Lats:

Dumbbell Curl Barbell Curl

Military Press Dumbbell Side Front Raise

Hamstrings:

Squats Leg Press Leg Curls

Calves:

Dumbbell/Barbell Shrugs

Pullups Lat Pulldown Dumbbell/Barbell Row Low Cable Row

Bench Press Incline Dumbbell Press Dumbbell Flies Cable Pec Flies

Squats Leg Press Leg Extensions Wall Sits

Core:

Skull Crushers Tricep Pushdown/Extensions

Traps:

Pectorals:

Quadriceps:

Heel Raises

Glutes:

Squats Leg Press Sit-ups V-ups Planks

Let us

paly madrono 2016-17

KNOW...

The Madrono staff [you know, those guys ^] would love to hear from YOU: • Have an idea for something we should cover? Let us know!

• Take a cool photo we might want to put in the book? Let us know!

• Interested in joining us on the staff next year? Let us know!

• Want to just see how the yearbook is put together? Let us know!

Stop by MAC 104 during 6th period and say hello! or email us at: madronoyearbook@gmail.com

The Last Word...

Participation Trophies; Why Do They Exist?

by BEN CLEASBY and PETER SNODGRASS

Last issue we decided to touch upon something that had more to do with Paly, specifically Paly sports boosters and their allocation of funding, which overall had a much more of a serious tone. This issue, as Prophets, we decided to discuss something that we also believe to be very serious: participation trophies. Participation trophies are parents’ way of getting out of awkward situations where, otherwise, they would have to explain to their kid that not everyone wins in life. Participation trophies are pointless, a skid mark on the face of competition, and an overall disgrace to athletes everywhere.

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iving a kid a participation trophy only teaches that kid that everything in life will be perfect, and no matter how well or how poorly they do, they’ll be given a reward. It’s these early moments in life that you have to learn you’re not always going to win and that sometimes you lose. It’s those losses that help you create true character and real savagery. Sylvester Stallone once said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

Without losing, people are led to believe that life is just a bunch of rewards and that there’s nothing but happiness and success. This ideology is a fallacy. Life is not full of rewards and happiness; it’s not all gumdrops and lollipops. You lose. There’re losses everywhere, whether in school on a test, in a sport letting your team down, or in a relationship when somebody cheats; you’ll always come across them.

It’s participation trophies that only makes these hard times harder than they have to be. At least when you learn to lose early on the repercussions are smaller and it’s in a safe environment with loving family and friends. A famous line that almost every athlete has heard at least once before is, “Win with pride

and lose with pride.” Do kids a favor and teach them how to lose so they don’t just give up later.

Not only do participation trophies turn perfect young men and women into soft, mentally-weak softies, but they also disrespect what really makes sports exciting: competition. If everyone gets a trophy then who cares who wins and who loses. The will to succeed and to beat an opposing team is lost in the world of “everybody wins.” As somebody who craves competition, participation trophies take away everything that brings people and sports together.

Without competition athletes would just show up to the field, not give a single hoot how they perform, and nearly kill a spectator from boring them to death. If everyone in the NFL was given a trophy, the billion dollar industry that we all know and love would be dead.

Sports rely on competition for not only the athletes playing, but for the spectators as well.

Sports are for the fans as well, you know.

Well now we’ve established that participation trophies teach kids to be soft and ruins competition for real athletes. However, what do other athletes tend to think of these so-called “trophies”? Well, to

give it to you straight, they hate them.

Terrell Suggs, defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens, takes away all of his kids’ participation trophies. Athletes today look back at what they’ve had to go through and feel disrespected and even feel pity that these kids are being told that they’re winners even when they lose. These athletes have gone through blood, sweat, and tears to earn rewards. They have plundered and have fought through losses only few could bare; these participation trophies spit in the face of the hardships athletes around the world have gone through.

These hideous trophies should be melted and recreated into something worth winning. As long as they exist, athletes everywhere will feel disrespect, young children will grow up in a non-existent “everybody wins” world, and competition everywhere will diminish ultimately leading to the death of sports. Both of us believe we should take up arms and cut out participation trophies. If the citizens of America really want to “Make America Great Again,” then we should destroy participation trophies and teach our youth how to win with grace and lose with grace.

FEBRUARY 2017