New League, More Pride ARTICLE BY MIA GUEVARA • PHOTO BY CHELSEA NGUYEN • DESIGN BY EMMA FULTON Initially, UPA’s main focus was tied to academics, but after 12 years, the school has begun to prioritize the sports program and its development. With new Athletic Director Tommy McMahon, the sports teams have transitioned into a more advanced league of play and now have the opportunity to face more challenging teams and better competition. “It’s settling into a nice spot where there’s pretty good competition,” McMahon said. “There are multiple divisions for some of our sports, which is just another sign the league is growing; it’s getting more competitive in certain aspects, so the league’s developing based on talent, not just location now.” This change in leagues means playing more competitive schools that have JV teams, prompting the reintroduction of UPA’s own JV teams. “With the addition of junior varsity, we’re now able to grow leaders from within the program earlier to develop leadership at the freshman and sophomore levels so that it’s more mature leadership by the time it gets to varsity,” volleyball and basketball coach Tom Guevara said. The school started out in 2007 with only JV teams because the school’s only students were juniors. The JV program ended when more grades, as well as a varsity program, were added and UPA was unable to keep up with both teams, ultimately choosing to keep varsity. “Many kids, especially underclassmen, were hesitant to try out and compete for a spot on a varsity team,” Guevara said. “and with the increased opportunities, a lot of people are more comfortable learning, growing and trying out for a sport.” In past seasons, players paid for their own sports apparel, such as sweatshirts and warm up T-shirts. However, this year’s
varsity volleyball and basketball teams had apparel paid for by the school. This prompted more student-athletes to wear apparel around campus and publicize the sports program to the entire school. “We get a certain amount [money] per year, and then basically it’s up to us to fundraise as well as use the money that’s allotted to our athletics budget to be able to cover the cost of a program,” McMahon said. “That goes into the cost of tournaments, referees, equipment and apparel.
with sports and are excited to watch upcoming games. “Getting new apparel and wearing it around motivates kids to tryout because we have such a limited wardrobe,” senior varsity volleyball player Chanelle Snead said. Changes to the sports program have also affected school spirit. “Based on what I’m used to seeing, as a coach, there’s a lot more students in the stands in the last three or four games here than I’ve seen in my 15 years of coaching, so I would say there’s a strong spirit of wanting to support each other,” Executive Director David Porter said. The UPA environment has slowly been shifting into a more sports-oriented school. “We’ve seen increases in people attending the games and cheerleaders are getting involved, and I’ve seen people really enjoying themselves at some of the volleyball contests,” Snead said. Now that the sports budget has been taken over, new sports are being added to UPA. The next expected addition will be track and field. Details regarding the new sport were discussed in an open meeting on Jan. 26, some of which included start dates, official practices and gathering an official team. “Having the school play a more visible and vital role in athletics, making athletics more of a priority, [impacts] school culture and climate, and I think that’s great for the long term,” Guevara said. Chanelle Snead loves wearing the new UPA apparel rather than the uniform, and her favorite is the grey quarter-zip jacket that says Girls Varsity Volleyball. “I’m a Golden Eagle!” Snead said proudly.
“We’re now able to grow leaders from within the program earlier...” - Tom Guevara Before the school took over athletic funding, sports teams relied primarily on TeamSnap, a fundraising app, to earn money. Although they still use TeamSnap, the costs now are primarily covered by the school. In the beginning, UPA’s only source of funds for athletics came through the PTSO and parent-student donations, but this year the school has taken over budgeting for all athletics in the interest of growing the sports program. “As a public institution we have to provide everything for students and it has to be free,” Porter said. “The cost of hiring coaches and paying for referees, like the human resources costs, have been removed from the expectation that [sports] boosters have to fundraise for that. What that means is that any dollars raised by the boosters or by a team go directly into that team.” Recently, more kids are getting involved
Photo: Eryn Duong (12) jumps up to tip a volleyball over the net. 6 | NEWS
