Football (noun): A form of team game played in North America with an oval ball on a field marked out as a gridiron.
The truth is, football is so much more than a weekly game that takes up 3 hours. It’s a lesson in disguise.
“Football has taught me a lot,” Varsity Football Player Ben Youssef said. “Just stay focused [and] have the energy. You have to have the dedication to keep on going.”
Over the years, Youssef has learned to “never give up.” Even when he’s down, he said he realizes that life is fluid, and that he needs to persevere through hard times.
“Even when you’re so beat and so tired and hurting and aching, you gotta get up and do the same thing again because that’s what you got to do,” Youssef said.
Youssef recognizes that winning is important, but also realizes that a person’s entire mindset shouldn’t be focused on just winning.
“I don’t care if I win or lose,” Youssef said. “If it is close, I’m obviously going to try harder. I’m always trying to keep myself relaxed and realize that it’s just a game. It’s supposed to be fun at the end of the day.”
Youssef has been playing football for most of his life. Football is very close to Youssef’s heart, and since he doesn’t plan to play collegiately, this will be his last year wearing the #55 jersey.
“I’ve been playing since I was six years old,” Youssef said. “I’ve always thought, ‘oh, I got next year, oh, I got next year.’ But now this is it.”
Cheerleader (noun): A member of a team that performs organized cheering, chanting, and dancing in support of a sports team.
Varsity Cheer Captain Soniya Athavale may be easily recognized by her blue uniform, her pom-poms, or her bright smile. But cheerleaders are so much more than that – they need optimism, confidence, and grit.
“One of the main challenges we face is to keep that level up throughout the whole game, even if we’re tired or it’s late at night,” Athavale said.
Being a cheerleader means being involved in the game at all times. Even though they are cheering from the sidelines, the cheerleaders still feel the same wave of emotions as the players.
“Cheerleaders feel both the excitement and loss of the football players throughout the game,” Athavale said. “One of my most favorite things to do is just to keep the hype energy up and that excitement up during the whole game.”
Athavale has been a cheerleader for 13 years, and cheer has been a big part of her life growing up. Her parents frequently come to games, and she said that her parents have been her calming force throughout her years of cheering.
“I’m just trying to make the most out of this year because now that it’s senior year, I’m looking back and realizing that these past four years have gone by so much faster than I expected,” Athavale said.
Athavale’s last football game of her high school career was on November 9th. Even though the cheer season hasn’t ended yet with an upcoming trip to nationals, her football game experience has ended for good.
“I’ve learned the importance of perseverance,” Athavale said. “I feel like a cheerleader embodies someone who pushes past adversity and just keeps on going and serves as a role model for those who are struggling and just lifts others up.”
Dancer (noun): A person who dances or whose profession is dancing.
A dancer showcases strength, poise, and discipline. To make sure that their performance is up-to-par, the Stars dance team spends countless hours practicing their performance.
“During the summer our officers will choreograph the dance and then we’ll teach it to the team during team camp,” Stars Officer Aubrey Berman said. “After that, we spend about a month with our directors cleaning, changing things, and making sure that everybody’s ready.”
Before they perform at halftime, the Stars have to show spirit and excitement from the bleachers. Along with cheering, they get to watch the entire game play out.
“Watching the game itself is fun and energizing,” Berman said. “Most of us really enjoy being there so it’s fun no matter what.”
Performing a routine that takes such skill is demanding itself, but there are many other challenges that the team faces during the game.
“We practice to a recording of the music, so we have to continue counting throughout the dance because if the band is playing faster or slower, we have to catch up to tempo and make sure that we’re on count,” Berman said.
Throughout her eight years of dancing, Berman has learned many lessons that she will take on with her as she goes off to college.
“I’ve learned a lot about discipline,” Berman said. “If you’re not consistent, you’re never going to improve. Having discipline and being able to collaborate with others is really important.”
Marching band (noun): A group of musicians who play instruments while marching, typically in a parade or at a sports event.
One of the most important parts of a football game is the music. Whether it’s during the kickoff, halftime, or at the end of a game, the sound of the marching band is heard. The band makes the entire game come to life. Trumpet Section Leader Ameya Shah describes the atmosphere as “electric.”
“I feel a sense of pride and happiness knowing that we are doing something that people enjoy,” Shah said.
Band has rehearsals four times a week, making sure that everything is clean so that their performance is up-to-par.
“On the day of the game in class, we’ll kind of play parts of the show that we’ve had struggles on, and then right before the game, we’ll kind of do the same thing with the full band, and then each individual instrument section,” Shah said. “We’ll just kind of hit those spots, make sure they’re clean, so that way they are ready for the actual show.”
On game day when halftime comes around, no matter how many kids are marching, the goal is to perform as one. During the show, everyone comes together to form The Tides of La Mer.
“We have a saying in band that when you put the hat on, you shouldn’t be able to tell a freshman from a senior, they should all look the same,” Shah said.
Shah has been in band since sixth grade, and it has been an important part of his identity and his upbringing. He has created friendships, made memories, and learned countless lessons.
“Band gave me a lot of things during my seven years,” Shah said. “But one of the biggest things I saw that was a consistent factor was the correlation between how much you practice on and off the field or at school. It’s completely correlated to how you perform.”
