Bishop Amat High School - Tusitala Yearbook (La Puente, CA)

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Strategy Making Means Time Outs During a game, as the team got winded or fell behind, a time-out was called by the coach. The time-outs were usu- ally to the team's advantage and were only used in emergency sit- uations. Water bottles were passed from player to player in order to quench their thirst, and a seat was relaxing to those wea- ry bodies. Although time-outs lasted for only one minute, it was just enough time for the players to catch their breath and get ready for the remainder of the game. Sitting on the sidelines, the coach could often see little idio- syncracies within the team. They also kept a watchful eye and took mental notes on the opponents strategies. Coach lim Terrey explained During a time-out we usually have ob- served a weakness in our oppo- nent s plays and we set up a play to capitalize on that weakness. During a time-out the team collaborated to learn exactly what they should do. At this crucial moment the coach and team drew up a winning play. Wisely used time-outs made the difference between victory and defeat. Taking time-out with his volleyball team Coach Brian Mathews sets up a new strategy. e as , 1 1 1 as 1 7 v Going For The Gold Winning. Everyone wants to be a winner! Normally when we think of winners, we think about the sports program. That's probably because our sports program was full of win- ners. Even though not every team took a league championship, they gave every game their all. In the words of junior Irma Mo rales Winning was doing the best you could to help your team and knowing you tried hard It didn t necessarily mean making your opponent lose In other words winning was achieved through effort A team could be defeated but still consider their effort a win because they gave their all Winning meant something different to everyone Each in dlvidual had different goals which they strove to attain To Junior Gabriel Valencia winning was being the underdog, coming up from behind and proving yourself to everyone, es- pecially yourselff' In this case winning was proving to yourself that you could get the job done. To junior Kurt Szalonek, Win- ning isn't just a score, but itls a feeling that you get when you know you did your best and put your heart into something That s when you re a winner It seems that all agree winning was more than a score It was the total effort put into each game Winners were found on every team all year round Everyone who gave their best in team play on every team was a winner whether or not their record showed it As long as players reached for the gold they were winners in the true sense of the word The Varsity Football team upholds the victory banner The winning tra- dition continued at Bishop Amat cz ' ' ' 1 7 ' as , . 1 . , . . . vs 1 7 ' - 7 , . , 278 Sports

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Balancing Two Heavy Loads r M9530 Playing team sports involved more than just actually partici- pating at practice and games. Athletes were required to keep their grades at a satisfactory lev- el. If they failed to do so, they risked being eliminated from the team. The rule regarding a satisfac- tory grade level was that each athlete must maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Many ath- letes were forced to change their study habits. Junior Anna Con- treras played on the varsity vol- leyball team and maintained a grade point average of 3.2. Anna felt, uPlaying sports made me Work faster on my homework. Athletes found themselves doing their homework at the od- dest times. Some did their homework on the way to games while others waited until they arrived home. Concerned coaches arranged study periods before practices making sure that their players kept up their grades. Their concern showed that athletes not only had to learn to concentrate on their sport but they also had to main- tain concentration on their much important school work. Junior Anna Contreras maintained a 3.2 grade point average and re- mained on the first squad of the vol- leyball team. 1 r-X. .K a l i r i ill .ff fi f' l - 1 . 1 . s X l 1, fl iq gn. lf i M ,.fr 'K 1 H V, Second String Scores Winners Sophomore football players ob serve their starters run the ball a few more yards Being second string meant watching from the sidelines A team is only as good as their second string, stated Coach Alex Acosta. This held true for all sport teams and were words to live by in the athletic world. Although the second string didn't play as often as the starters, they possessed as much talent. When the team was down by 20 points, the second string was always there to lift their team- matels spirits and rally their emotions They inspired them to keep golng and relingurshed some of the confidence they may have lost in the earlier min utes of the game Even though some players had to sit the bench they still practiced and worked just as hard as the players who started Second string had to learn the same plays so that they would be prepared to go into the game when necessary. Junior Brian Collins asserted, 'AEven though I sit the bench for most of the game, I am still part of the team. I practiced with them, I traveled with them, and I worked just as hard as the starters. Seniors who were second string sometimes had a harder time accepting the fact that a junior or sophomore could start over them. I was just happy that I could be on a winning team First string or second real ly didn t matter exclaimed senior Peter Beck Having been chosen as a play er on the team was what count ed most The good of the team outweighed egos for enthusiastic athletes First string and second string were equally winners after all v ti - M - - Behind The Scenes 277

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Pep Talk Mystery Unraveled Did you ever wonder what went on at half time behind the closed doors of the locker rooms? Since there was always two sides to every story, several coaches and various team mem- bers were questioned to find out what coaches were honestly say- ing or perhaps yelling behind those closed doors. Varsity football coach Mr. Mark Paredes explained that at times he would give a short pep talk and at other times he wouldn t say anything at all. He added No matter what I say I always end on a positive note. To verify Mr. Parades state- ment football player senior Charlie Cook was questioned. He agreed saying The coach alwa s tried to calm us down that we had another half of a game to play. In complete contrast fresh- man volleyball coach Fr. Jim Anguiano had a different story. Hesitantly he admitted I yelled at the volleyball players Coach Tom Salter gives the team a pep talk. Pep talks were a strategy used by coaches to incite a team to work together. to get them excited and upset. I especially expressed to them to move and communicate. Freshman volleyball player Mi- cole Figueroa jumped at the chance to say, f'He yelled and he did it Very loudly! Freshman volleyball player Felicia Nava added, He told us that we had to want to win in order to winf' What was said during a pep talk entirely depended on the coach. Coaches used pep talks as a strategy either to excite the players or as a chance for them to slow down and focus on win- ning. They used the method that was the most effective with their team. Did the pep talks actually work? Did all of that yelling or did the words of encouragement mance? Senior varsity basket- ball player Peter Beck replied, The pep talks had a great im- pact if we were losing otherwise it really didn t matter what our coach said. The truth was re Jealed. The question has been answered. Pep talks were inspiring upset- ting or sometimes just non-exis- tent. 7 7 Y 7 L6 , 77 7 , if , , y. , . . and didn t say too much except help improve their perfor- 77 Li 7 7 7 ll 77 7 7 7 Learning From Losing Although winning was a posi- tive factor in sports, losing had to also be taken into consider- ation, especially by the team. Most players saw losses as an important way of learning to play with more strategy and skill. Generally, team members concentrated on the future by working toward solutions to their weaknesses. A few losses now and then proved to be use- ful to athletes by giving them an opporitunity to analyze their performance, recuperate, and begin working again. How did they cope with Watching the other team win, ju- niors James Thomas, Kerry David- son, and senior Leonard Ruiz con- centrate on their own strategy. losses? Junior Jess Sandoval of the Varsity Soccer team found one method effective. If we were losing beyond situation, I tried to keep going anyway to keep the team alive. Kevin Wilson, a junior on the Varsity Wrestling team, recalled, I worked at out-wrestling my op- ponent. This way my game was not really affected. What about after the game when the agony of defeat sank in? Shawn Schle- gel, a sophpomore on the Junior Varsity Wrestling team, ex- plained, I go over my mistakes and start practicing againf' As their attitudes proved, winning was not everything. Winning was the major goal but if we were out-classed, there was no reason to be disappointed if we played our bestf, Jess comment- ed. A heavy loss could shake up a team's confidence but they did not worry about the next game. Instead, they perfected their good points, and analyzed the causes of their bad ones. These included injuries, members quit- ting, and lack of team effort and unity. It's the whole team that determines wins or losses, Jess pointed out. Players agreed that a more effective team would re- quire a stricter program, more school coverage, and more inter- est from students. If these teams continue to get their deserved recognition, the fans could look forward to a better future for the sport. , Behind The Scenes 279