Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies - Excalibur Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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INSIDE SPORTS I think I can, I think I can — Louis Gigliotli is running in a cross country race at Griffith Park. The run went all over the Park for two and a half miles. It consisted of junior varsity and varsity. Scoreboard Oxidental CSUN Van Nuys Relays Long Beach Wilson Mt. Sac Relays Track and Field Team members are — Larry Reagon. Daron Vinson. Eaaron Oanz. Shawn Lau. Donnel Boss. Chris Girou.x, Lakesia Stokes. Nellin Flowers. Sophia Rivas. Daniel Foster. .Arturo Rodriguez. Bi-Kimba Wright. Bwana Johnson. Chontel Hunter. Javier Hernandez. Kiea Paschal. Louis Gigliotti. Ramiro Garcia. — These are the athletes that are actively competing on the Track Team. We have done very well for being such a new school to compete in Track and Field events. C ' Track 0 J Sports

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Going for the casual ace — Kevin Wright, tenth grad- er, displays his awesome tennis skills. So advanced in his game. Kevin Wright feels quite blase about play- ing with his inferior teammates, but is able to still enjoy his game. Hey you watch out — Here comes the tennis ball. Recklessly playing without a teacher around. Rene Min takes a chance and swings. He is an avid tennis player, who practices daily. P.E. enables him to gain strength. hirtv-love What ' s love got to do with it? Anyone for tennis ' Mr. Becker ' s fifth pe- riod class is and it ' s not just any P.E. class. It is a class full of students aspiring to be- come Wimledon champions, and French and American Open winners. Tennis is a game, partially of stamina, in which the participants must be physically fit in order to play well throughout the en- tire match. One may cover a numerous amount of round running back and forth and side to side throughout six sets. I get tired sometimes when the other guy hits the ball all over the place. You have to be a good athlete to make it to the ball in time to send it back over the net. You also have to outsmart the other guy, said tenth grader, Kevin Wright. One ' s mind must also be alert and re- sponsive. The brain only has a split second to be attentive and take in all data neces- sary to calculate the next move. It must consider distance, velocity, position of the sun, size of the court, size and strength of the racket, and the position of the opponent along with their size and reaction time. Preparing for a tennis match I primar- ily psyche myself up as well as going over the plays in my head, said senior, Tommy Nohavundi. An added incentive for students to join the tennis team is the 3 A league. By playing in this league the tennis team encounters challenging opponents from numerous high schools such as Monroe, Marshall, Holly- wood. Van Nuys and many more. In the future I would like to play profes- sional tennis against the great ones. With all the hard work and practice I think that I ' m good enough. Especially now that our tennis team is 3A, there would be more recognition for me, said eleventh grader Ali Zahedi. Tennis players ' health and minds are also accompanied by the skills they have devel- oped and by the drills Mr. Becker has taught them. But dreams, aspirations, and numerous practice sessions are also key mo- tivators of young tennis players, by Lea Jayasinghe What qualities are needed to be a suc- cessful tennis player and how do they en- hance the sport? Ke in Wright — a successful tennis pla. er must be both an intellectual strat- egist and a strong athlete, many people don ' t realize that. I guess that ' s why I enjo) it so much, it ' s mentally and phys- icall challenging. Come on make it over the net — Michael Barcohana and tennis buddie. .4lon Shamir do some intense prac- tice to sharpen their tennis skills before a competition. Mr. Becker, a determined coach, stands by to watch their every move. Tennis Sports 33

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Get on your marks, get set, go! — Chris Af orris. Donel Boss. Bi-Kiniha Wright are in training or track. They are practicing running out of the blocks for sprinting in the four by one relay. Make it happen! — Deanna Jackson is putting her last reserves of energy to defend his second place holding in the half mile. She is running in the Sprint Medley and doing the half mile. re pan ng runners for an exciting season The Track and Field team has almost doubled in size in the last two years. There are 25 people actively competing this year in the invitational competitions on Satur- days. With the number of people, and all the people training we have had a strong Track Team. Mr. Weathersby, the Track and Field teams coach, has won many med- als at the invitational. I feel that our team will do very well this season. During third period, we have been running the whole year trying to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Track meets. 1 feel that, I personally am physically and mentally prepared for running in the Invi- tational Track meets this season, said Dean Jayasinghe, a tenth grader. The track team was disappointed when the team was not allowed to join the 3A league. We were not able to do this because we do not have a sufficient track and suit- able judges. Personally I was disappointed that we were unable to join in the 3A league. But competing in the invitational meets this year will enable us to become stronger, and become more experienced in competing in Track Meets. Also after this season other schools will see the talent that is at our school and will allow us to participate in Track Meets next year. Even though we don t have a track, said Robbie Hyman, a tenth grader. Coach Weathersby has had the biggest and best Track and Field team since he has been the coaching at this school. 1 feel that we are going to do as well or better than last year. We have more dis- tance runners, but the sprinters are about same. This year I am going to introduce hurdles and a polevaulter. I feel that the program is not progressing like it should because of the lack of true athletes at this school. The Track and Field team has a chance to get into the league Prelimbs, therefore the opportunity exists for someone to ad- vance to the L.A. City School Champion- ships, said Mr. Weathersby, coach. Chris Giroit.x What do you think of the Track Team this year and competing in the meets? C urtis Bedford Since we are now in a league the competition is better; giving us more of a challenge, and a goal to look forward to. Thus making our team more competitive and making our school have recognition. Put your hands on your feet. — Bwana Johnson is leading the third period track class in their stretching exercise before the grueling running. Mr. Weathersby puts them through. This is the time when everyone relaxes before running. Track 7 Sports D I