¨I’m blessed to be able to get this opportunity to be on the track team, it is not just a sport it is a community. I like being able to run with a lot of other people despite whether we win or lose because it’s a team sport and you’re helping each other pull through but in the end, you do whatever it takes to win.” said an anonymous team member. The cruel heat of the sun on the back after two hard hours of constant running. The feeling that you’re almost there but you want to quit. Lap after lap, hair in your face damp from sweat, cramping everywhere in the body, your stomach feels like it can’t hold it in and then it’s over. The varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field team have been going on for a little over two months. During those months a lot has been going on. Their first track meet (Bellarmine Invitational) was hosted on Saturday, February 19th. The schools that were invited were San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley, Pacific Grove, and other teams.
It’s not a sport to slack off in, ¨if you put in the hard work the practices are hard but if you don’t put in the effort the practices are easy and you don’t learn anything. The coaches are very forgiving and rarely, if ever get mad. y favorite coaches are Johnny Cooper and Jay Avenmarg, they care about who you are as a person and they always try to help you do your personal best, help fix any mistakes, form and push you beyond the limits and help you be your possible best and make you a better person because they are so kind to you.¨ Some of the drills that the players go over are mock 1, falling down sprints, and stride warmups. An anonymous player stated ¨we practice because we want to get better, if you are in sprints it’s a partner activity, and long-distance depends on the type of running activity. I have been doing cross country for one year and track and field for three years, I think that running can change your life because you meet new people and you get to travel across the county to different high schools that are also competing to win, it makes you a better person because you hang out with a lot of nice and kind people.”
Track and field is one of the most favored sports in history. The players have a lot to overcome if they want to win, but if they work hard they can achieve anything. ¨I think we have the ability to be very good because we have a lot of talent.” The team is determined to win and won’t let anything stop them. ¨Three reasons why I think our team is going to do well is because we are very skilled in a lot of different track events, we have the work ethic and coaches to help us get better, and we have a lot of team spirit but we will face a lot of challenges in our future games.” Make sure that you show up to a match and support the San Lorenzo Valley Cougars and help them get through their challenges by encouraging them all the way through.
By Sequoia Loya
The Claw 