By Nicole Gonzalez As a result of the pandemic, businesses and schools have not been open, leading to weeks of gyms being closed and athletic practices being canceled. Unfortunately, this affects professional, college, and high school athletes everywhere. However, thanks to the use of technology, people have found their way around the issue and still manage to stay fit while quarantining. In general, exercise is extremely important for both the body and mind. With this said, physical activity is crucial to partake in while being stuck at home because it stimulates the brain even if one is not partaking in our everyday normal schedule. According to healthline.com, the average person under eighteen takes anywhere from 10,000 to 16,000 steps per day. However, without being able to walk from class to class every day, this number drops significantly within high school students. On the brighter side, students have found ways to continue staying active and going outside while remaining social distancing. CNN Health stated, “Online streaming services, the internet, and mobile app stores are loaded with a variety of free and low-cost at-home workouts for all fitness levels and workout preferences, and many don't require any equipment.” Even YouTube influencers like Chloe Ting or Yoga With Adriene have a great deal of informational and walk-through videos on different ways to work out, even in one’s living room. These videos have sparked excitement for working out in students who plan to continue even after quarantine. While at-home workouts are extremely beneficial, those who are used to a jam-packed week of practice, training, and games are having to find other ways to continue staying fit. No matter what sport, all athletes are being deeply affected by the cancellation of all Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) games, practices, and gatherings until June 19. Spring season sports were cut short, and many did not even have a chance to begin. While some practices occurred and teams were formed, a quick bond was created throughout many teams, and they plan to continue working together. Coaches have organized ways to stay connected with their athletes and help keep them accountable for working out. For example, Varsity Swim Captain Junior Allison Parra said, “To stay active, our coach sends us workouts every day. It contains cardio workouts as well as strength training.” Additionally, Junior Austin Burgess mentioned how he has “been communicating with [his] coach by informing him of any workouts [he does].” Not only that but with video conferencing and online communication resources, teams are still able to stay connected. For instance, the application (app) Zoom has been the main platform used for all web conferencing with colleges, businesses, sports teams, and more. Parra stated, “My team and I connect on Zoom twice a week to check in with each other and do projects as well.” By staying connected with teams and coaches, as well as maintaining good physical activity, athletes are ready to be fit and prepared once games start up again. For athletes in quarantine, it has often been difficult to continue training in their sports with business closures and sport season cancellations. However, just as Burgess explained how he has been doing a particular workout consisting of push-ups, curl-ups, and more in order to make up for his time without the pool, other athletes are going the extra mile to stay in shape for the sports that they love.
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By Elisa Trujillo Student-athlete standout Jaelynn Lambert has reached a momentous occasion in her softball career by committing to play softball in her junior year. Lambert is on the Varsity Girls Softball team and is going to continue her softball career throughout high school and on into college, with a scholarship from Brigham Young University. From a young age, taking softball to high school and into college was always Lambert’s dream, and now, that dream has become a reality.  Photo Credit: Jaelynn Lambert For almost seven years, Lambert has been playing softball; she started playing at a young age, and has continued to play throughout her teenage years. Lambert knew she loved the sport at about age ten and that she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. Her father had also played softball so when Lambert had chosen that sport to play there was already a special connection between her career and her father’s. When Lambert needed practice or to improve her skills, they would go to the park to practice playing softball. While she no longer needs to go to the park to practice, she still maintains that special connection with her father through the sport. Lambert loves softball for many different aspects, but the main reasons she plays are the game characteristics “I like the quickness and the competitiveness of the sport,” said Lambert. Since softball is not an individual sport, players largely rely on their teammates and for Lambert, this is a massive part of her success. Another one of Lambert’s motives is the love she has for her team. Relying on a team is a necessity in every game or competition, as any player can win one point, but it takes a team to win the game. With Lambert’s team, this philosophy greatly stood out to her. Lambert’s teammates are not only teammates, but they are her close friends. “Without them, my motivation wouldn’t be there,” explained Lambert. Many of her teammates and coaches have helped her through hard times and kept her drive to play softball alive. Some opportunities Lambert has taken were to better herself or her teammates because a very important responsibility of being on a team is looking out for teammates and keeping their best interests at heart. Overall, Lambert’s teammates and supporters have had a significant and impacting role in her life, having helped her and her future for the better. In the remaining year Lambert has left on campus, she has chosen to give advice for any incoming softball players. Lambert’s advice to any new or incoming softball players is “just to have fun with it, like it’s a sport where you need to enjoy it.” While putting pressure on performing in games is a necessary action every once in a while, it is good to enjoy oneself and have fun doing something one loves. Lambert is a team-oriented and competitive softball player who will follow in her father’s footsteps to keep his softball legacy alive throughout the rest of her athletic career.
By Mason Dearie Junior Karson Martin is both on the Varsity Wrestling team and the defensive lineman for the football team. He has been playing football for twelve years and has been wrestling for thirteen years. He was first introduced to sports at the young age of four and has involved himself in them ever since. In his freshman year, Martin began playing for the football team and then went on to join the wrestling squad in winter. Sports have definitely benefited him physically, but have also impacted his school life. Martin explained, “Sports helped me become more responsible and helped shape my work ethic and how I talk to others and treat them.” With so many years of experience, Martin has risen to the top of his competition and has had many great achievements as a result. Furthermore, with so many years of experience, Karson has had to come over some big obstacles.  Photo Credit: Lisa Jacobsen In the first week of his sophomore wrestling season, Martin broke his ankle. The injury caused Martin to be unable to participate in four months of the wrestling season. He got over it with the help of his family’s prayers. However, he also explained, “I didn’t really take care of my foot because I wanted to wrestle so bad I was still wrestling my friends with the cast on.” As a result of Martin not taking care of his ankle correctly, he was not able to wrestle for another two months. Furthermore, with the stay-at-home order in place, Martin has had to get creative with his workouts to stay in shape. He elaborated, “I’ve been working out with boulders and been going on runs.” Martin also included that not being able to work with his team is stopping them from bonding. Martin has had some large obstacles to overcome, but with the help from his family and friends, he was able to get back on the mat and be the best wrestler he could be. Despite being faced with these challenges, Martin has had some incredible accomplishments in both football and wrestling. In football, he was the defensive lineman most valuable player (MVP) for two weeks in a row. As for wrestling, Martin explained, “I was league MVP, champion southern section MVP, took second at CIF [California Interscholastic Federation], third at masters, went to state, [and I] hold the fastest pin in the state at four seconds.” With all of the work that Martin has put into his sports, he was also made team captain of the wrestling team this year, alongside Senior Alex Perez and Sophomore Anthony Pereyra, which helped him to strive to be a role model for his teammates. The job did come with some challenges, however. Martin explained, “The challenges that come with being team captain is [sic] you are the first person problems within the team come to, and people really rely on you to fix them and if you can’t, everyone sort of looks at you like you are not cut out for it.” Martin will not let this obstacle stop him from becoming the best captain he can. Martin had a great deal of achievements this year, along with some challenges as well, but he will keep striving to be the best athlete he can be. Martin has spent almost his whole life wrestling and playing football, making him an incredibly skilled athlete. With so many achievements to his name, there is no telling what the limits of his talents are. Martin has an impressive record behind him and has no plans of stopping now.
By Alexa Neal For some athletes on campus, sports are not the only thing keeping them occupied day-to-day. Many work hard to keep their grades up, are in clubs that involve time outside of school, and still manage to balance this with athletics. With a 4.4 Grade Point Average (GPA), two Advanced Placement (AP) classes, as well as being a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB), Junior Tyler Schmidt still finds time to be a part of both Varsity Boys Basketball and Volleyball. Balancing his busy schedule has become natural to Schmidt. He will take practices off when he needs to focus on his schoolwork “because [his] mom always raised [him] as a student first and reminded [him] sports are a privilege.” Schmidt is always “worrying about [his] grades” and will focus extensively on them during the season. He also tries to attend every practice that he can before having free time with his friends, “so many weekends were spent doing work after practice or catching up on sleep.”  On the Varsity Boys Basketball team, Junior Tyler Schmidt plays the position of small forward and guard Photo Credit: Tyler Schmidt Schmidt has been playing basketball since he was in fifth grade. “I would play [basketball] in my backyard all the time. . .I ended up liking it so much that I stopped playing football in [eighth] grade to continue playing basketball for a travel team,” he explained. He now plays as the small forward and guard. If sports are resumed in the next school year, Schmidt would like to see his team win in league as well as California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). “This season, we were so close to making it to the playoffs so next year I want to do even better,” said Schmidt. As for volleyball, Schmidt did not start playing for the school as the outside and right hitter until this year. He decided to join once the volleyball coach had confronted him, asking Schmidt to try out for the team. Unfortunately, Schmidt feels that it is hard to really set any goals for himself in this sport, as the season had just barely started before social distancing was enforced. “If anything, I would want to beat all our league opponents because that's always a good way to guarantee playoffs,” Schmidt explained. However, he had fun in the short season the team had, and plans to return next year if sports start up again. In the future, Schmidt said that playing either basketball or volleyball beyond high school “all comes down to [his] senior year and if [he] receive[s] any offers.” He plans to attend college to major in aerospace engineering. Even with social distancing, Schmidt continues to show his commitment to his sports. He plays basketball every day when possible, and follows a workout schedule to keep his body in shape. Clearly, Schmidt is a student who is dedicated both to academics and athletics.
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