Spring Sports Work Towards Successful Seasons Pt. 2
By: Dylan Jennings
Writer
Spring sports are in full swing! Whether you’re wanting to see the track team running for the hills or the men’s volleyball team establish a new program there is always a sport you can watch during this season. There are currently seven spring sports that are all starting up. With the addition of El Capitan High School to the Central California Conference (CCC), the league may be shaken up. This is the second part of the two-piece article so let's preview the remaining spring sports from Buhach Colony High School and see what these teams will bring to the table in this year’s race for the CCC title.
Track
Track is off to the races for the 2017 spring season and this time with new head coach Amandip Kaur taking the reins. Kaur is excited about the talent that this team possesses and where the team could be by the end of the year. “I think it’s a very dedicated team and they want to see themselves go somewhere and that's the good thing. Once they have a goal they always
Writer
Spring sports are in full swing! Whether you’re wanting to see the track team running for the hills or the men’s volleyball team establish a new program there is always a sport you can watch during this season. There are currently seven spring sports that are all starting up. With the addition of El Capitan High School to the Central California Conference (CCC), the league may be shaken up. This is the second part of the two-piece article so let's preview the remaining spring sports from Buhach Colony High School and see what these teams will bring to the table in this year’s race for the CCC title.
Track
Track is off to the races for the 2017 spring season and this time with new head coach Amandip Kaur taking the reins. Kaur is excited about the talent that this team possesses and where the team could be by the end of the year. “I think it’s a very dedicated team and they want to see themselves go somewhere and that's the good thing. Once they have a goal they always
Sophomore Morgan Johnson will work to help the track team win this year.
Photo By: Dylan Jennings |
have that goal in mind,” Kaur says. Dedication will take this team far. Not only that, but Kaur has a goal as a team, however, she also has individual, personal goals for every athlete and she doesn’t stop there. One tradition that Kaur is trying to bring to the team is she has a personal handshake with each and every athlete. Considering that there are tons of athletes out there, this is very impressing and unique. When asked about it Kaur said, “I really like making the connections with my athletes.” She likes to make the athletes come together as a team. Kaur went to Livingston High School and one thing she really liked was the team chemistry that they had. This is one thing that she wants to bring to the team. She want to build camaraderie with all of her athletes. However, this can’t just be accomplished by the coaches. There needs to be leaders on the field to help accomplish this and luckily, Kaur believes that she has those. One athlete who plays a major leadership role is Senior Harrison Hobbs. Kaur says, “Every time he is out there I see a coach and an athlete.” Athletes like these are godsends to coaches and make coaching all of their athletes a lot easier. Another athlete who Kaur feels may be a force in the league this year, if not in the following years is freshman Joshua Silva. Kaur is impressed with some of the techniques that he has shown as he is trying out third-year techniques for track athletes in his first year at Buhach. Not only that, but he has already competed in a few varsity competitions in the first few meets. The last
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athlete that Kaur believes will bring success to the team is senior McKenzie Powell. “I know she has goals for herself that she sees herself getting closer so she works harder and harder to get there,” Kaur says about why she is happy to have Powell. Powell is one of the harder working athletes on the team who will work to make herself and her fellow teammates and athletes better. This track team has the talent, dedication, and energy to go far this year and they could be a force to be reckoned with in this year’s CCC title race.
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Men’s Tennis Men’s Tennis is also in full swing to start off the spring season and this year coach Natalie Benoy feels that this team has the greatest potential to win the CCC title in the CCC title race. The team has 9 seniors graduating who have four years of experience. These players have bonded and experienced playing together for all of these years and Benoy feels that they will benefit from this and they will be hungry for victory. Benoy hopes to fine tune these boys so they can be a powerhouse in CCC. “My coaching goals are to get my doubles team to build their skills back up to being a strength rather than a weakness,” Benoy says. She wants everyone to keep striving and seeing the goal that this team has the best opportunity in Buhach history to win. The team is stacked with talent and the four top single players are up to the challenge of bringing this team wins. For everyone who doesn’t know, the tennis team has matches between all of their players to claim different spots. Currently Senior Adrian Gomez leads the list of singles with the number one spot on the team. Last year Gomez was the number two singles player and |
Senior Vedrik Xiong looks to contribute to this year's team as they go for the CCC title.
Photo by: Dylan Jennings |
this year he is stepping up to plate and with the number one spot. Last year as a freshmen, current sophomore Jenzen Ballesil showed huge potential and was the number three singles player. This year, Ballesil currently holds the second spot in singles and will look to be a major contribution to the team. Senior Vedrik Xiong holds the the third spot and he too will look to make a major contribution to the team as well as more of a leadership role. Senior Gabriel Moreno rounds out the top four with the fourth spot. Moreno has a big heart for the game and he will play in any position that he is told. When asked about Gabriel Moreno Benoy said, “Gabriel set a goal to be a singles player this year and he succeeded in becoming the number four singles position. These four players will be crucial to the tennis program as they look to add a CCC title to Buhach Colony. The men’s tennis team has great potential this year and you could miss out by not going to see this team take the courts and defeat the competition for a CCC title.
The men’s volleyball team will look to establish a program that will be respected in the future.
Photo By: Dylan Jennings |
Men’s Volleyball
Men’s volleyball is brand new to Buhach Colony High School. Coach Andy Hill says, “We are such a new team that we are building our traditions now. They enjoy meshing together and competing.” The men’s volleyball team is looking to strengthen the program and to build one that will compete in league and win in the coming years. Hill says about what he wants the team to accomplish, “Our goals are more long-term than just this year. We are working to build a program that will be known and respected throughout the state, just like the girls.” For the people who are unfamiliar with Andy Hill and his accomplishments at Buhach Colony, he was the coach of the volleyball girls team during the fall season and he not only led them to third place in the CCC, he took them to the semifinals of the San-Joaquin division 3 playoffs and the semifinals for the California State playoffs. He is an accomplished coach and he is ready to build up another winning program. Hill is pleased by the progress that his team has been making. “I am extremely impressed at the speed they pick up the game at,” says Hill when asked about his thoughts on the team. Hill is a coach that is all about the team. He hates singling players out from the team, however, he is really impressed with the efficiency and leadership that both his captains, senior Daniel Navarro and junior Oscar Ramos, have |
demonstrated. Navarro has embraced the sport and has been doing really great, while Ramos has trained with Hill for some time and is really doing well. As the team heads into season, they have heard that Golden Valley and Merced should be tough as they have developed their program for a couple of years. Hill is confident that as they continue to play and improve, they will be able to compete with every team in the league. Don’t just hear about history being made as the men’s volleyball team compete, go make history yourself and be the first fans to watch the sport. Who knows, you could watch them bring home the first CCC title to Buhach.
Softball
The softball season is starting up and they are prepared for a good season and challenge. Coach Nancy Williamson says, “It is a joy to work with these girls, who are constantly challenging themselves and are always working to play strong and do whatever it takes to help their team win.” Williamson is also fond of all of her players’ unique personalities and humor. Each girl on this team brings special skills and qualities to the team which helps for them to be successful. Senior Selena Sandoval is already committed to Notre Dame de Namur University. Her strengths consist of her pitching, first base play, leadership role, and strong batting. Another player who will help this team be successful is junior Taty Anderson. Anderson is another good pitcher and when she is not pitching she is playing shortstop or second base. One trait that she has which is especially important is that she is a very smart and aggressive base runner. Junior Julia Pinasco will bring her catching skills and clean-up batting to the team this year. Senior Mellanie Valencia will bring her strong play at shortstop and second base to the team this year. To round out the top players, the team will also rely on junior Paytin Mercado who is a strong center fielder and is strong both on the defensive end, when batting, and when base running. Mercado was recently selected to the Mexican National Team and is targeting the 2018 Junior’s World Championships. The softball team this year has both young talent and senior talent and they look to succeed in CCC this year. The goals for the team are pretty similar to previous years as they want to win as many games as possible, however, their ultimate goal is to play as a team and to support each other through the process. Team chemistry will be a big part for this team as they look to make a run for the money in the CCC title race. Williamson says, “One tradition that we do after every game is each girl will speak about the positive things the team did together. Then we discuss the areas that we can improve n together as a team.” The growth of this team will be something to watch this season. The softball schedule this year will be challenging as various schools will bring strong pitching. Atwater High School, due to their pitching by Cheyenne Mahy, will be a strong team in the title race, as well as Turlock High School and Golden Valley High School. Buhach Colony Softball could be a force of their own in the title race and they could bring a CCC title to the school.
Softball
The softball season is starting up and they are prepared for a good season and challenge. Coach Nancy Williamson says, “It is a joy to work with these girls, who are constantly challenging themselves and are always working to play strong and do whatever it takes to help their team win.” Williamson is also fond of all of her players’ unique personalities and humor. Each girl on this team brings special skills and qualities to the team which helps for them to be successful. Senior Selena Sandoval is already committed to Notre Dame de Namur University. Her strengths consist of her pitching, first base play, leadership role, and strong batting. Another player who will help this team be successful is junior Taty Anderson. Anderson is another good pitcher and when she is not pitching she is playing shortstop or second base. One trait that she has which is especially important is that she is a very smart and aggressive base runner. Junior Julia Pinasco will bring her catching skills and clean-up batting to the team this year. Senior Mellanie Valencia will bring her strong play at shortstop and second base to the team this year. To round out the top players, the team will also rely on junior Paytin Mercado who is a strong center fielder and is strong both on the defensive end, when batting, and when base running. Mercado was recently selected to the Mexican National Team and is targeting the 2018 Junior’s World Championships. The softball team this year has both young talent and senior talent and they look to succeed in CCC this year. The goals for the team are pretty similar to previous years as they want to win as many games as possible, however, their ultimate goal is to play as a team and to support each other through the process. Team chemistry will be a big part for this team as they look to make a run for the money in the CCC title race. Williamson says, “One tradition that we do after every game is each girl will speak about the positive things the team did together. Then we discuss the areas that we can improve n together as a team.” The growth of this team will be something to watch this season. The softball schedule this year will be challenging as various schools will bring strong pitching. Atwater High School, due to their pitching by Cheyenne Mahy, will be a strong team in the title race, as well as Turlock High School and Golden Valley High School. Buhach Colony Softball could be a force of their own in the title race and they could bring a CCC title to the school.
