Sweet victory: The story of Jay Leeuwenburg
By Tom Mueller, Kirkwood High School
October 21, 2020
There’s a word people use to describe football players who eat candy or drink soda during games: retired. That wasn’t Jay Leeuwenburg. Before the nine NFL seasons, the unanimous All-American selection and even the inaugural snaps of his organized football career, Leeuwenburg, 1987 KHS graduate,...
The bottom line
By Sally Parampottil, Coppell High School
October 21, 2020
The modern perception of football would not exist without linemen. The thuds of bodies slamming into one another, the grunts and huffs of players as they grapple, the iconic row of squat poses as the ball snaps and the play begins - the imagery most people associate with football is all dependent...
Bonding through swords
By Soomin Koh, West High School
October 21, 2020
Peering through the iron bars stretched across her mask, she takes one look at her opponent as she prepares her next strike. Sweat drips down her face as her gloved hands tightly grasp the sleek bamboo sword. With an ear-splitting scream, she thrusts her sword downward rapidly, striking the opponent...
Broken season
By Krisha Kapoor, Hanah Kitamoto, Tosh Klever, and Alaina Greenlee
October 19, 2020
As the summer heat fades into an autumn breeze, the cool weather is normally met with roaring crowds on the bleachers of West High and the excitement that comes along with the fall sports season. The cheering voices of the student section signify the start of another year of West High athletics. ...
Free kicks and free throws: Students spearhead sports clinics
By Cameron Cox and Kaley Kwan
October 16, 2020
Among the many summer plans derailed due to COVID-19 were youth sports camps — long days of sweaty scrimmages, sack lunches and water gun fights seemed completely out of the question. However, four LAHS students recognized the need for these classic summer experiences and decided to launch COVID-safe...
Playing like a girl
By Ericka Apolskis, Tomball Memorial High School
October 15, 2020
Kicking for the varsity football team had always been a running joke with senior Lorelai Stramrood and her friends, but when the team's kicker suffered an injury before the upcoming season, Stramrood decided to take her shot. “I’ve always had a very good range of kicking in soccer,” Stramrood...
ACL injuries challenge high school athletes
By Archer streelman, Henry W. Grady High School
October 15, 2020
Sophomore Hayley Chamberlain tore her anterior cruciate ligament in April while playing a pickup soccer game. Chamberlain was dribbling down the field when she injured her knee. “A person came from behind and another person came from the front,” Chamberlain said. “My knee twisted and then it...
With Privilege Comes Responsibility – three soccer players take a knee, protesting institutionalized racism
By Julianna Russ, Highlands High School - KY
October 14, 2020
Blue soccer uniforms lined up in a row. One, two, three… twenty-one Highlands varsity girls soccer players standing with their open palms placed upon their chests. Their heads are turned towards the American flag as it waves above the entrance to the Tower Park field. Only three players differ,...
Athletics, activism: an intertwined history
By Jasmin Taylor, The American School in London
October 13, 2020
“Sticking to sports” or being told to “shut up and dribble” has never been easy for athletes. Sports are often connected with current events, as athletes are people beyond their sport and are deeply affected by what happens in the world. In every discipline, athletes have been some of the...
Game Ball: After setting record swim times for Sunny Hills in her first year in aquatics, senior commits to UC San Diego
![Then-sophomore Katie Cho swims toward the finish line in the 2019 Division 3 California Interscholastic Federation [CIF] finals for the women’s 100-yard Butterfly held at Riverside City college in Riverside. Cho set three Sunny Hills records for the varsity swim team.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG-0210-475x322.jpg)
By Andrew Park, Sunny Hills High School
October 9, 2020
When senior Katie Cho was 14 years old, the athlete found herself in a yearlong slump. Even in the absence of any physical injuries, Cho found her skills declining, and so in a session with a physician who specializes in the respiratory system, she learned that severe asthma had taken a toll on...
College athletic recruitment adapts to COVID pandemic
By William Palmer, Henry W. Grady High School
October 9, 2020
Many high school athletes hope to one day represent a college team. Recruitment is the process that gets them there, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, that process looks different. Atlanta Public Schools policy doesn’t allow spectators to be in-person at any sporting events, including any recruiters,...
Student athletes to be assigned to separate learning groups so they are only with teammates, coaches
By Samantha Powers, McCallum High School
October 8, 2020
McCallum English teacher Nikki Northcutt said that it was clear from looking at pictures on Instagram that student athletes and coaches are putting themselves in a more high-risk environment than she is comfortable exposing herself to in learning groups, which began today. She wrote a letter to the McCallum...
From the stands to the sidelines: Colclasure sisters cheering together despite past sport experiences
By Victoria Hertel, Coppell High School
October 7, 2020
A decade ago, marching into the crowded football stadium at the University of Nebraska, the Colclasure family could be spotted cheering for the Cornhuskers from the stands. In these moments, the charisma and advanced tumbling skills of cheerleaders caught Coppell senior Tenley and freshman Tali Colclasure’s...
Crowd limit rules change again, drawing mixed reactions from athletes, parents
By Purbalite Staff, Baldwin High School - PA
October 5, 2020
Reactions today from athletes and their parents ranged from anger and frustration through understanding to Thursday’s court decision that at least temporarily reinstates crowd limits at sports events. The state originally set COVID-19 crowd restrictions at 25 people for indoor events and 250 for...
Schroeder defeats major setback with a race to victory
By Haley Luersen, Highlands High School - KY
October 2, 2020
The weather is cool as the sun is hidden behind dreary clouds. The crowd cheers louder and louder as the exhausted runners race to the finish line - pushing harder than ever before. Parents line up at the finishing chute as the runners come into view. The bright green clock ticks down the most important...
An Emotional Roller Coaster for Fall Athletes
By Noah Weiskopf, Beachwood High School
October 2, 2020
Athletes were looking forward to their fall season throughout the summer. But in late July, Beachwood Athletic Director Ryan Peters emailed students to notify them that the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) recommended that sports discontinue until students are allowed to go back to school...
Collegiate athletes react to COVID-19 restrictions
By Cole Parker, Henry W. Grady High School
October 1, 2020
Although alumnus Josh Wolfe had been anticipating it, the news was still a let down for him. Wolfe had just finished his freshman year at Lafayette College and was home for the summer, working his usual shift at Paolo’s Gelato Italiano, a local ice cream shop based in Virginia Highland. The day...
An Unexpected Year Unites Athletes from Coast to Coast
By Cameron Levasseur, PRESQUE ISLE HIGH SCHOOL
October 1, 2020
September 21st, 2001. Mike Piazza launches a blast into deep center to send Shea Stadium into pandemonium just 10 days after the tragedy at the World Trade Center. April 17th, 2013, barely 48 hours removed from the bombing at the Boston marathon, the TD Garden crowd erupts in a goosebump inducing rendition of the national anthem a...
COVID-19 uncertainty affects mental health of fall sport season athletes
By Keira Coverdell, Lafayette High School
September 28, 2020
Since the first outbreak of COVID-19, there has been overwhelming confusion for athletes and coaches alike. Both had to cope with a lot of setbacks and frustration concerning the delay in their seasons and they definitely had to learn to adapt and roll with the punches. Sports have always been a huge...
Athletes use high tech to improve their skills
By Andrew de las Alas, Cathedral High School - IN
September 28, 2020
“The future’s not coming. It’s already here” says a U.S. Air Force ad. And they’re right. Technology, one of the most obvious indications of this future, has steadily inundated our lives. Packages can be delivered in hours, video calls allow for face to face connection across continents...
Bryant wins 150th game as head football coach at Canyon High School
By Blake Loria, Abigail Bell, and Hannah Backus
September 28, 2020
Whether they are on or off the field--in high school or several decades graduated--a Canyon Eagle is always a Canyon Eagle. After 21 years of coworkers becoming family and students becoming friends, the relationships built with his team reflect his character. More than just an individual accomplishment,...
Athletes applaud decision to increase crowd size at games
By Purbalite Staff, Baldwin High School - PA
September 28, 2020
Allegheny County’s decision to lift strict limits on crowd size at sports events will not only make most athletes and parents happy, but also may lead to better performances at games, Baldwin students said on Friday. “As a whole, I think our team works better together with the atmosphere feeling...
Taking stride
By Madi Olivier, Marcus High School
September 25, 2020
If anyone glanced through the window of the cross country team’s bus in July 2016, they wouldn’t have seen anything special. They were on their way home after training in the Woodlands. Athletes leaned across the seats to joke with one another. Others stared at their phones with earbuds in. The coa...
Sports regulations provoke strong reactions from Lafayette community
By Vijay Viswanathan, Lafayette High School
September 25, 2020
"The counties around us [St. Louis County] have been going to school and playing sports and nothing has happened to them, so why can't we play if they can? That is my main question," senior cheerleader Maddy Burnet said. St. Louis County has announced new regulations concerning youth sports. The regulations allow youth sports with players under 14 years of age to start p...
STL County High School Athletes and Parents Petition Against Cancellation of Fall Sports Competitons
By Annie McGinnis, Marquette High School
September 24, 2020
After St. Louis County Executive Sam Page cancelled competitions for moderate and high contact high school fall sports effective Friday, Sept. 11, a student-made online petition quickly gained attention. Executive Order 17 states that athletes participating in soccer, volleyball, field hockey, softball and football can’t take part in a...
Overcoming Online: Physical education classes face obstacles, prioritize safety amid Remote Learning
By Nicholas Hanscom, Downers Grove North High School
September 23, 2020
“I was always the type of student that needed to be in class to be able to interact,” physical education department chair Courtney White said. “[As] human beings, that’s what we crave, and to not be in the building and have that social interaction is going to be tough to overcome.” This...
Match Point
By Mia Dudek, North Allegheny Senior High School
September 18, 2020
No one can doubt that North Allegheny is packed with excellent student-athletes. Ranked the top school district for sports in Pennsylvania, NA routinely nurtures young athletes who bring forth state championships in their high school year. But only a select few, however, take their skills far beyond s...
Trainers keep their cool
By Matthew Dearolph, Hagerty High School
September 18, 2020
As she dragged the cold-water immersion tub behind her, junior student athletic trainer Sophia Ramirez struggled across the football field, face mask shortening her breath. Behind her, fellow athletic trainer, senior Addison Smith, rolled a cart weighed down with 60 pounds of ice. Finally arriving at...
Varsity Football and Soccer Affected By Positive COVID-19 Cases
By Zara Tola, Marquette High School
September 18, 2020
When Christopher Kenny, varsity boys soccer coach, learned that one of his players tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday Sept. 2, he immediately called off practice for the team. Coach Kenny is unsure how the standard 14-day quarantine will affect the varsity team when they return to practice...
Girls soccer, football players quarantined after positive test results
By Alli Schroeder, Grace Hampton, and Lindsay Bonetti
September 18, 2020
In the first four days of hybrid learning, the district has seen three positive coronavirus cases, with two at the high school level that also have disrupted the seasons of two sports teams. A second-grader from Whitehall Elementary was the district’s first positive case, followed by the reporting...
Competitive nature makes fantasy football fun for all
By Joshua Baxter, Carlmont High School
September 17, 2020
With the first pick of the 2020 fantasy football draft, Happy Golladays selects Christian McCaffrey! The time has come. With the conclusion of week one of the 2020 NFL season at the end of Monday night's games, fantasy football season has officially begun. Fantasy football involves managers drafting...
Opinion: Fans need to stop attacking athletes for taking a stand
By Cole Pressler, Lincoln High School - OR
September 17, 2020
Before the NFL Kickoff on Sept. 10, the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans linked arms and stood together in silence in a “moment of unity,” announced inside Arrowhead Stadium as being “dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country.” As I watched, I felt two emotions. On one ...
Potential False-Positive Tests Thwart Athletics
By Peter Jones, Latin School of Chicago
September 17, 2020
Note: the names of the students in this article who tested positive for COVID-19 are kept anonymous for reasons associated with Latin’s nondisclosure policy on private health information. Ever since Latin and the Illinois High School Association announced that golf, cross country, swimming, and tenn...
Man on the street: MVHS fall athletes on playing in a different season
By Jayanti Jha, Monta Vista High School
September 16, 2020
On July 21, the MVHS athletic department released the new schedule for athletic teams for the 2020-21 school year. Sports typically played in the fall season will now be either in the winter or spring, likely only if students can return to in-person school. From having tryouts during finals week to experiencing...
A Rally to #LetThemPlay
By Shane LaGesse and Owen Auston-Babcock
September 15, 2020
Around 6:30 in the evening of Sunday, September 13, cars began to trickle down N Spoede road, searching for the residence of St. Louis County Executive Sam Page. After being turned away by police upon trying to turn onto his private street of residence, they continued on and parked in the nearby Spoede...
Arson at Chabad near U Delaware gives Div. 1 athlete a platform to oppose hate
By Benjamin Gamson, Shalhevet High School
September 11, 2020
When Nathan Benyowitz saw pictures of an arson attack burning the Chabad Jewish Center serving the University of Delaware, he realized he had a platform to take a stand against hate. Nathan, who graduated from Shalhevet in 2017, is now a senior at the university in Newark, Del., where he plays Division 1 tennis for the Blue Hens. Although the fire had not yet bee...
NBA players’ boycott resonating through Coppell
By Anjali Krishna, Coppell High School
September 4, 2020
The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to strike on Aug. 26 - announced just moments before their game against the Orlando Magic - began a domino effect including every remaining playoff team in the NBA. In just one day, league play came to a standstill in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement...
Alumnus voted top Georgia boys hurdler in last decade
By Cole Parker, Henry W. Grady High School
September 4, 2020
In a virtual tournament created by MileSplit Georgia, 2017 Grady alumnus Christian McNair-Jones was voted the top Georgia boys hurdler in the last decade. Going into the tournament, McNair-Jones was the 12th seed. As a result, many were surprised when he won nearly every poll matchup by a landslide. It wa...
Restroom break turns into breaking the door
By Remi Williams, Liberty High School - TX
September 2, 2020
What most people consider a quick break turned into a little over an hour long ordeal when soccer player and senior Kallin Brown realized she was locked in a bathroom Thursday morning with no one around. “I asked to use the restroom and [head coach Kyle] Beggs gave me the key to use the bathroom...
Firehawk athletes support pros’ Jacob Blake walkouts
By Noah Elad, Shalhevet High School
September 1, 2020
Shalhevet Firehawk athletes were unanimously supportive of professional athletes’ boycotting games in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, an African-American man, by police in Kenosha, Wisc., Aug. 23, recognizing the importance of battling racism to many players across the various leagues. ...
The story behind Josh Weinberg’s rise to prominence in Whitman basketball
By Matt Mande, Walt Whitman High School
May 28, 2020
Six years ago at Pyle Middle School, head basketball coach Bobby Polley called over senior Josh Weinberg, then in seventh grade, to talk to him at the end of his second day of basketball tryouts. When Josh heard the words “not quite there” and “try out next year,” he was crushed. The following...
Holtz completes journey from WPIAL to NFL
By by Dominic DiTommaso, Shaler Area High School
May 21, 2020
With the Dallas Cowboys up 7-0, on Thursday Night Football, the Chicago Bears had the ball, first-and-ten, at Dallas’ 39-yard line at the start of the second quarter. The Bears threw a screen pass to Shaler Area graduate JP Holtz, who roared his way inside the ten-yard line. The Bears went on to win...
Music serving as key player for sports
By Angela Yuan, Coppell High School
May 21, 2020
The player scores a touchdown, and a tune blasts across the bleachers and field, sending adrenaline rippling through the roaring crowd. Music is not associated foremost with sports, but the two intersect in ways that leave lasting influences on each other and entertainment culture as a whole. There...
‘Last Dance’ follows Jordan on his hero’s journey to greatness
By Jaiman White, Baldwin High School - PA
May 19, 2020
It can be hard to put the legacy of Michael Jordan into words. He looms large for the diehard fans who watched every Bulls game in the ’80s and ’90s. And for the younger generation of fans who watch his highlights on YouTube today. Then there are those who don’t watch basketball, but still covet...
Soccer works with IntelliGym technology to sharpen skills
By Remi Williams, Liberty High School - TX
May 8, 2020
Over the years technology has been accepted as useful in the classroom. However, in recent years technology has been developed to help athletes excel on the field with the Redhawk soccer teams using IntelliGym, a computer software program that looks like athletes are playing around with spaceships, but in reality they are doing a lot m...
Leaving a legacy on and off the track
By Madi Olivier, Marcus High School
May 8, 2020
The school is mourning the death of long-time Head Cross Country, Track and Field Coach Steve Telaneus, who died on Thursday, April 30 at age 60. His winning legacy and dedication to his students and his school made Telaneus, who was known as “Coach T” across Texas, a beloved member of the school...
The Climb
By Megan Percy, Francis Howell Central High School
May 1, 2020
Junior Stephen Derenski is splayed across a flat wall 35 feet in the air. Clinging to it, breathing heavily, he can feel his ligaments tighten. He’s so close. He shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath and looks towards the ceiling. He sees the next colored stud coming out of the shear slate. He pulls...
Abrupt end cannot sever bonds made
By Ben Barkley, Starr's Mill High School
April 29, 2020
The whole world has gone into a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With that brought an end to the spring sports season at Starr’s Mill before it really even began. Lacrosse was shaping to have a great season, as the boys were undefeated before the season was shut down, and the girls were ...
A burnout story: what it takes to break an athlete
By Nadia Fedotova, Carlmont High School
April 27, 2020
She didn’t get to have a normal teenage life. Beyond the gym, where she trained six days a week for 24 hours, she didn’t have any close friends. How could she when gymnastics came before everything else? She watched little girls accept comments like “you can’t do that because you have too much weight” and “you look like a gummy bear because you are so squishy” the sam...
Teachers use workouts to lose weight, stay fit
By Crosslin Silcott, Kingwood Park High School
April 23, 2020
With the amount of hours teachers and coaches spend at school, it is often difficult for them to find time to focus on their own personal fitness. Many have additional after-school commitments and families to come home to. Despite the limited hours in a day, many teachers and coaches have had much...