the viking: volume 7, issue 2

THE J

OHNSON

BROTHERS

pg. 30

November 2013Volume VII Issue 2

THEULTIMATE

FANDEDICATED. LOYAL. TRUE.

pg. 40

The Viking Magazine would like to thank our sponsors...Gold

Zoom SystemsJonathan Patrick

The Kinnaman FamilyThe Bhargava Family

SilverPamela J Sherwood

Chryst FamilyValencia, Wilberding & Tompkins

BronzeJim Mclennan

Suzanne & Bert Bell

Promoting different methods of hatha yoga since 1994!

Located at:158 Hamilton AvenuePalo Alto, CA(650) 328-YOGA

Class schedule can be found at:www.yogasource.com

KICKOFF

ZOOMS

LINEUPVolume VII Issue II

SHORTSDrawing the line

KICKOFF

THE MOUNT RUSHMORE OF PALY

Inside the Mind

Strike a pose

Kerr-plunk!

Blockstar

BLOCK, LUNGE AND STRIKE

CALENDAR

ALL LINED UP Keller Chryst (‘14) calls out a play to the Vikings’ offense on October 11. The Wilcox chargers went on to defeat the Vikings 42-39.

Royce Wang (‘15) ranked 22nd in the world, aspires to reach the pinical of fencing, all the while

having fun.

Similar to the four influential American men engraved in Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Paly

has four historic figures of its own.

THE ULTIMATE FANDan Starrett’s (‘85) commitment to

the Paly athletic community motivates and drives student athletes.

by TORI DeSTEFANO

November 2013

ZOOMS

by ALEX MURRAY by ANNA DUKOVIC

COLUMNSAn apparent problem

WINTER TEAM PREVIEWSA preview to all the upcoming winter sports teams with insight

from the players.by OLIVIA SCOLA and

IDO GAL

A FAMILY COMPANYBrothers Brandon, Matt and Aaron all

started their water polo careers in Palo Alto and have returned to coach rival schools.

by PRISCILLA BELL and HAYLEY POORE

10

12

13

14

15

18

24

28

16

46

4

6

8

3820 36

40

45

of Bryn Carlson (‘16)

ON THE COVERPhoto of Dan Starrett (‘85) by Paul Bienaimé.

30ph

oto

by P

aul B

iena

imé

Hot or not & Pop culture

Ten Questions

Staff view

Last word

with Andrew Jozefov (‘17)

Viking Tries

He said... She said...

by ROWAN McEVOY

by PAIGE BARA and MEGAN VALENCIA

by PAUL BIENAIMÉ and JOSH STERN

by GILLIAN CHYRST and CLARA HARRINGTON

by SHEILA SUBRAMANIAN

by ZACH RIZK

Reaching for new heights

NOVEMBER 2013

Paly’s cheerleading squad finishes up its performance at the football game halftime. The Vikings fell to the Wilcox Chargers 43-39 later that night.

photo by Paul Bienaimé

ZOOMSTRIKE A POSE

Varisty middle blocker Lauren Kerr (‘14) soars for a spike. The Lady Vikes fell to the Homestead Mus-tangs in five sets later that night.


ZOOMKERR-PLUNK!

Jake Weinstein (`14) attempts to block a shot from a Gunn Titan. The boys’ var-sity water polo team went on to lose to Gunn 14-7.

photo by Tara Lawrence

ZOOMBLOCKSTAR

10 | T H E V I K I N G | w w w. v i k i n g s p o r t s m a g . c o m

Staff AdviserR. Michael McNulty

From the editorsDear readers,

The VikingPalo Alto High School

50 Embarcadero RoadPalo Alto, CA 94301

650-329-3837Email contact: [email protected]

Advertising and Sponsorship Contact:[email protected]

Letters to the editorThe Viking, a sports magazine published by the students in Palo

Alto High School’s Advanced Magazine Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The Viking is distributed to its readers

and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length,

grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity.

Advertising in The VikingThe staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with The Viking,

please contact the The Viking by email at [email protected] Printing Services

2,000 copies of The Viking are printed, six times a year by Fricke-Parks Press in Fremont, Calif.

Editors-in-ChiefPippa Raffel

Josh Stern

Design EditorJulia Saul

Managing EditorsAudrey DeBruine

Ami DrezChris Smith

Photo EditorsPaul BienaiméTara Lawrence

ColumnistZach Rizk

Multimedia EditorPaul Bienaimé

Business ManagersTara Lawrence

StaffPaige Bara

Priscilla BellZoe BhargavaGillian Chryst

Tori DeStefanoAnna Dukovic

Katie FougIdo Gal

Clara HarringtonMaddie Kinnaman

Rowan McEvoyAlex MurrayNiall Patrick

Hayley PooreOlivia Scola

Sheila SubramanianMegan Valencia

Sincerely,Pippa and Josh

We hope your first quarters went well and you had a great Halloween with a gourd-geous costume! As fall sports seasons are wrapping up, we are, as al-ways, astounded by the work ethic and athletic capabili-ties of our fellow Vikings. We can’t wait to see what the winter athletes will do in their 2013-2014 seasons and have included previews to the five winter sports: wres-tling, boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball. In this issue of The Viking, we highlight Dan Starrett (‘85), also known as Superfan Dan. Starrett has consis-tently supported the Vikings over the past couple de-

cades, and his dedication to Paly is an inspiration to us all. Additionally, we feature the stories of brothers and Gunn graduates Brandon, Aaron and Matt Johnson. Matt and Brandon display rivalry as twins and as head coaches of the Paly and Gunn boys’ water polo teams. Lastly, we’d like to thank you once again for your readership. Go Vikes!

Staff view:Athletic teams at Palo Alto High School compete at

high levels across the board. This is great for the athletes who are talented enough to don a Paly jersey; however, for those that do not make the cut, do not wish to make the commitment to a varsity team or cannot participate due to time restrictions, there are few options for orga-nized play in a relaxed environment.

An intramural sports program at our high school would provide an arena for friendly competition amongst Paly students that promotes all of the benefits of exercise while eliminating the extra stresses associated with competitive sports.

Intramurals, recreational sports played for fun amongst teams from the same school, are a staple of col-lege life in the United States. Nearly every university in the country has an intramural program in place. Intra-murals also exist at middle schools in Palo Alto. With intramurals at the middle school and college level, it seems logical that high school, sandwiched between the two, would have intramurals as well. However, this is not

the case.Intramurals do not require significant planning or re-

sources. Teams need only show up for their scheduled games, which would be set up round-robin style. Games would be self-officiated, with presumably minimal teacher supervision necessary.

Paly students would benefit from an intramural pro-gram in a variety of ways.

Exercise is known to reduce stress levels and actually increase energy through the release of endorphins, po-tentially leading to better performance in the classroom. Intramural sports could be a great escape from a mo-notonous school day for all levels of athletes.

Because competitors only play games and do not of-ficially practice, intramurals require a very small time commitment that would be manageable for many stu-dents.

Last but not least, intramural sports are fun. What bet-ter way to blow off some steam than with a few friends engaged in friendly competition? <<<

NOVEMBER 2013

NOT

HOT

Images taken from

Winter is...

DreddLast movie you watched?

Favorite winter sport to watch

Best pump up song

Gotts or Kirks?

Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Cold

Snow mobile jumps

Gotts

The BreakfastClub

None

Rainy

Football

Kirks

The Pink Panther

We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus

Awesome

Skiing

Gotts

Skiing

Stronger by Kanye West

Basketball

Kirks

Forrest Gump

Angel by Akon

Cold

Soccer

Kirks

Wedding Crashers

The op ulture GridP C

Cardinal beat out BruinsThe Stanford Cardinal ended UCLA’s hopes for an un-defeated season as they defeated the Bruins, 24-10, at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, October 19. Cardi-nal running back Tyler Gaffney rushed for a total of 171 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Paly HomecomingFor the first time in years Homecoming at Palo Alto was a thing. With public askings and a higher attendance rate, hopefully this year’s Homecoming will set a precedent for future years to follow!

The 49ers at WembleyThe 49ers played a league game against the Jack-sonville Jaguars on Sunday, October 27 at Wembley Sadium in London. The game led to disappointment among many fans who felt disconnected with their home team not playing at in the United States. The game was an attempt made by the NFL to increase their international audience.

The A’s are outThe Oakland A’s ended an impressive season with a disappointing loss in the ALDS on Thursday, October 10. The Detriot Tigers de-feated the A’s 3-0.

Zac Rosenbaum (‘14)Water Polo

Katie Passarello(‘17)Volleyball

W H A T D O P A L Y A T H L E T E S S A Y ?

Sophia Robinson (‘15) Golf

Alys Olmstead (‘16)Cross Country

Justin Hull (‘16)Football

Andrew JozefovThe Viking asked Paly water polo player Andrew Jozefov (‘17) 10 questions about himself and then compared his responses to that of his coach Brandon Johnson, teammate Kian McHugh (‘14) and twin sister Lauren Jozefov (‘17). Read on to discover who knows Andrew best!

40%

Favorite thing about winter

Favorite senior

Favorite thing about Paly

Pregame meal

Favorite sport to watch

Celebrity crush

Worst part of being a freshman

Morning practice is...

Dream vacation spot

Scimmaging and shooting

My birthday

None

Being harassed by Kian McHugh (‘14)

Gluten free

Water polo

Sam Kelley (‘14)

Football or water polo

Not that bad

The Grand Canyon

The best thing ever

Cabo

Practicing in the rain

Meatballs

Early

Being very tiny

Water polo

The worst

Hawaii

Questions Kian McHughTeammate

Brandon JohnsonCoach

Lauren JozefovTwin Sister

The cold

Scrimmaging

Scarlett Johansson

Beating Gunn

I don’t know what he eats

Ethan Look (‘14)

The rain

Swimming

Disneyland

Having to clean up

as told to Maddie Kinnaman

Images taken from

10with

Questions

20%

Andrew JozefovVarsity Water Polo


Drills

Kian McHugh (‘14) Ethan Look (‘14)

Me I don’t think he has one

30%

Water polo

Water polo Sports

Trying to throw spin lobs

Gluten free

He gets made fun of

Favorite part of practice

Inside the mind of

Bryn Carlson

Questions

NOVEMBER 2013

Inside the mind of

Bryn Carlsonas told to Maddie Kinnaman


“I eat a lot of foodbut I also eat

really slowly, so it seems like I’m

eating all the time. I guess I

eat pretty healthy. I don’t know I just

like healthy food, but I also like sweets.”

On eating

“Over the past few years I’ve had a lot of injuries. Last fall I had two surgeries; I have been injured a lot because of soccer. I actually just quit my soccer team because I wanted to focus on running; it’s not worth the injury.”

On injuries

“I’m starting to look into different schools for running because I

want to run in college.”

On the future

On running

“It’s a very fashionable look; thats kinda why I [wear them]. Really any socks do the trick; I usually wear high socks.”

On wearing Birkenstocks and socks

“I love running. Most people hate running, but for some reason I love it”

“It has its ups and its down; I love

Griffin.”

On being a twin

(‘16)

Learn more about The Viking’s day spent competing in the San Jose Muddy Buddy Adventure Series against hundreds of other Bay Area competitors.

tries

Muddy Buddies

plat! Mud flies as The Viking’s very own Josh Stern and Paul Bienaimé dive into the final mud pit that separates them from the Muddy Buddy Ad-venture Series finish line. Over the San Jose trail, the two, competing against hun-

dreds of other duos, completed multiple ob-stacle and terrain courses by trading off biking and running. Although the statistics of the 10k

race don’t substantially jump out on paper, the accomplished feeling that each runner can at-test to upon crossing the finish line is unfor-gettable. Muddy Buddy was founded in 1998 by then-schoolteacher, Bob Babbitt. Babbitt, an induct-ee of both the Ironman and Triathlon Halls of Fame, came up with the idea wanting others to experience the feelings of accomplishment that he did, coming across the finish line in each of his competitions.

“The whole idea for the Muddy Buddy is that anybody can do it,” Babbit said. “It’s not like you need any special skill set. You don’t have to be a 6’4” basketball player; you don’t have to be a 300 lb lineman. If you wore arm floaties as a kid or delivered papers on your bike, or even just played capture the flag, you have the skillset to do it.” Only $60 to participate, the Muddy Buddy was modelled by Babbitt after an original ad-venture challenge he had come up with in the

S

by PAUL BIENAIMÉ and JOSH STERN

ALL SMILES Viking members Josh Stern (‘14) and Paul Bienaimé (‘14) smile for the camera before taking on the Muddy Buddy Adventure Series race held in San Jose, Calif. on September 28, 2013.


Learn more about The Viking’s day spent competing in the San Jose Muddy Buddy Adventure Series against hundreds of other Bay Area competitors.

Muddy Buddiesby PAUL BIENAIMÉ and JOSH STERN

NOVEMBER 2013

mid 1990s called the Ride-and-Tie, centered in the San Diego area. Babbitt’s intention in cre-ating this adventure series was to have a non rigorous and fun event for intense triathloners during the holidays. A 29-mile-race, the Ride-and-Tie was completed by dual competitor partners who would take turns leapfrogging from horseback to running. Trying to promote the fun nature of the race, Babbitt hid hun-dreds of stuffed animals around the courses as prizes; each collected animal was worth 10 minutes off the competitor’s overall time. Babbitt’s events gained more and more public-ity, eventually leading to its elevation into the Muddy Buddy. “In 1999 we had about 150 teams show up for this underground event with no permits,” Babbitt said. “We decided we were going to do one for real. We had about 250 teams show up for the first event in San Diego in 1999, and it’s been growing ever since. Now we do 8 events around the country and we’ve been as high as 2,500 to 3,000 per event.”Increasing in popularity, the Muddy Buddy has become a national event that any athlete can participate in. Offering individual races, partner races and the Mini-Muddy Buddy, a competition that involves children ages 4-12, the Muddy Buddy is an event that anyone can compete and have a great time in. Finishing in the overall 9th spot in the San Jose advanced Muddy Buddy Bike & Run, Josh and Paul competed against hundreds of others (ages 18+), switching from biking to running. This respective race commenced as Josh start-

ed on the bike, climbing a steep 1 mile incline. Paul was held by the announcer for six total minutes after Josh was released. Throughout the race, a series of checkpoints were set up for Josh and the other starting bik-ers to drop their bicycles off. After doing so, they completed the obstacle course set up at each specific station, and continued to the fol-lowing checkpoints by foot. Paul and the other

partners who began the race by foot reach the same checkpoint several minutes later. Upon completing the obstacle course, Paul and co. picked up the bikes that Josh and the other partners left behind, continuing onto the next checkpoint by bike. Moving at a faster speed, the bikers always pass their running counterparts, reaching the next checkpoints first. Playing a game of ‘leap-

NO BRAKES Paul and Josh pick themselves out of the mud pit and sprint toward the finish line. The duo fin-ished ninth overall in the race out of hundreds of competitors from around the Bay Area.

LEAP FROG Paul and Josh pose with founder the of Muddy Buddies, Bob Babbitt, an inductee of both the Ironman and Triathlon Halls of Fame.

frog’ throughout the race, each competitor splits up the 10k into bike and run portions. Details of Josh’s and Paul’s Muddy Buddy ex-perience are as follows: Once Josh took down the first uphill mile on his bike, a ropes course awaited. Only taking a few minutes, Josh climbed over and down the rope wall, quickly continuing on to the one mile running stretch that awaited next. Right behind him, Paul finished up the 1-mile-stretch by foot. He too sprang over the ropes course, splashed down some water provided by the aid station present at each checkpoint, and hopped onto the bike that Josh had left behind. A few minutes later, Paul passed up Josh at a high speed on the downhill stretch, finishing at their next checkpoint: A wooden climbing wall. Consisting of three sets of wooden walls and platforms, Josh and Paul’s upper body strength were tested for the first time during the race. The vigorous course was then followed by a mellow one mile stretch of flat terrain. The next checkpoint challenge that Josh and Paul would face: A deadly muddy tunnel crawl. Sliding through the tunnel, the two competi-tors managed to push their ways through a few other racers, quickly continuing on the next segment of the race. With only a couple of miles left, Josh and Paul have yet to face the toughest of the ob-stacles: several wall climbing structures and

the notorious final mud pit. After the half mile path in thin forest, the team scaled the rock climbing wall, and began the longest stretch, 1.5 total miles, of the race. Coming to a bouncy house slide, the two were relieved by the seemingly easy obstacle. However, having used most of their energy, the

climb was harder than the two anticipated. Only a half mile was left until the finish line. Josh arrived at the finishers area on foot a few minutes before Paul, and had to wait to con-tinue on to the last obstacles as each team is re-quired to finish the race as a pair. Paul arrived shortly, and the pair grappled the ropes course

PLEDGE Paul and Josh pledge allegiance with the rest of the Muddy Buddy Bike & Run competitors before the race.

LAY OF THE LAND The course map of the San Jose Muddy Buddy competition. Paul and Josh leapfrogged from mountain bike to running in the Bike & Run competition that spanned a total of 6.3 miles.


photo provided by Muddy Buddy

NOVEMBER 2013

UPHILL GRIND Josh sprints uphill on his bike for the first 1 mile stretch of the Bike & Run race.

HANG LOOSE Paul poses as he approaches a check-point where he will drop his bike off.

and tower toward the highly anticipated mud pit. Plunging themselves into a two foot deep mud pit set on a rock base, Josh and Paul mili-tary crawled under mesh for 20 feet through the muck.Brendon Wood, a radio DJ and the Muddy Buddy announcer, praised the two Vikings as they crossed the line; each volunteer working at the event then gave each racer a medal be-fore the weary competitors hosed their dirty bodies off. After a long race, Josh and Paul joined the hundreds of other finishers, devouring the free energy packs and health bars provided by the REI sponsored tents. Set up under the tents, free snacks, lunch and beer (for all aged 21+) are offered. Socializing with the rest of the Muddy Buddy community, Josh and Paul’s spirits rose quickly. The Muddy Buddy is a great race for in-dividuals looking for a challenging level of competitions that requires no prerequisite training. Seen in the crowd of flamboyantly dressed competitors are teenagers, parents and their children and even grandparents. Babbitt, who is into his thirteenth year with Muddy Buddy, recognizes that there’s some-thing special about the event. “There’s just a feeling you get when you cross that finish line that changes you,” Bab-bitt said. “It makes you a better father, son, employee, employer. It makes you better at everything you do.” <<<

COOL OFF Josh uses the high power hose to wash the mud off his body after he and Paul crossed the finish line at the Muddy Buddy race.

Walking across the quad in the after-noons, students can make out figures on the soccer field throwing colorful,

spinning disks back and forth. These individu-als belong to the Paly Ultimate Frisbee Club. Although some members of the Paly Ulti-mate Frisbee Club appreciate the non-com-mittal nature of the club, others feel cheated of the resources granted to school sports and wish that Ultimate was recognized as a varsity sport. The establishment of Ulti-mate as a varsity sport at Paly would create an outlet for athletes to engage in competi-tive play with minimal player qualifications. Originally started as an athletic club a few years ago, the Paly Ultimate Club plays games

against local Ultimate teams in a Bay Area league. Recently, the Ultimate Club has played in competitive tournaments around the state. “We’ve played a round robin tournament at Valley Christian,” club co-president Bryant Ver-gara (‘14) said. “We play all of the [California] teams at the state championship tournament.” Regarding player experience and prac-tice attendance, the Ultimate Club has an inclusive, laid-back attitude. With only seven players needed on each team, the Ul-timate Club plays in scrimmages against each itself to practice for their games. “We take everybody,” Vergara said. “You show up, and if you show up more you get to play. When the season starts getting competi-tive, we know who is actually going to play.” Ultimate players appreciate the inclusive spirit of the sport and the teamwork involved in success.

“[Ultimate] is one of those sports that you can’t really dominate by yourself,” Ver-gara said. “There are always those domi-nant players, but you can’t really carry a team by yourself. That’s the best part of Fris-bee, that it’s more team oriented. It’s not just like, ‘This guy can run 80 yards so he’s fine.’ You have to work as a cohesive unit.” Although good-natured heckling often occurs in Ultimate, players remain cautious of harmful taunting, and encourage fair, com-petitive play. An intentional foul is consid-ered to be against the sportsmanlike attitude that comes along with Ultimate. There are no referees to preserve the non-contact guide-lines of the sport, and this self-officiating na-ture makes Ultimate reliant upon integrity and honesty in the calls which players make. “We’re not out there to hurt each other,” Ver-

Making the cutby MEGAN VALENCIA and PAIGE BARA

SOARING Jeremy Dao (‘14) dives for a Frisbee™ at the Paly Ultimate Club practice on the soccer field. The Ultimate team has to fight for their field space, as the Paly varsity sports are favored for field reservation.

Although they consider themselves a team, the Paly Ultimate Frisbee Club has not yet made the cut as a varsity sport in the Palo Alto High School athletic department.


photos by Paul Bienamé

The Ultimate team faces the challenge of adding Ultimate Frisbee to the Paly athletic program. When considering the transforma-tion of the Paly Ultimate Frisbee Club into a varsity sport, Farina looks to other high school Ultimate teams as models for the future. “There are a number of high schools that already have [Ultimate] as a varsity sport. It is a growing club, so I think that [the idea of Ultimate as a varsity sport] will at some point be coming down the pipeline.”

gara said. “We have respect for the other team.” Club advisor Christopher Farina has played Ul-timate since his senior year of high school, and considers himself both a coach and a manager. “My role with the club is two-fold,” Farina said. “One is to teach [members] the skills and rules [of Ultimate]. The other is to help them connect with opportunities to play.” Farina appreciates the limited quali-fications for the club, and the self-determined level of commitment. “If [stu-dents] want to come and just throw around, cool, come and throw around,” Farina said. “If you want to see if you can get really good at it, then come and see if you can get really good at it. I really like the fact that it’s wide open in that sense, it’s really accepting.” Although the members of the club en-joy its laid-back attitude, they find that there are many downsides the Ultimate team’s status. Not only do players have to fight for adequate practice time on the Paly fields, they also receive no school funding. “We are a team, but we are just called a club at school,” Marcus Edholm (’14) said. “We want to be recognized as a varsity sport at Paly.”

We are a team, but we are just called a club at school.We want to be recognized as

a varsity sport at Paly. “

”

NOVEMBER 2013

THE SQUAD The Paly Ultimate Club members after practice. The club wishes for the benefits that come with varsity sport recognition, including: school funding, game transportation and team uniforms.

about [Ultimate being a club],” Farina said. “The good things are that there’s no predeter-mined culture of that sport, or it’s less so than you’d find in a lot of other sports. We’re free to take anybody with any sort of commitment level to the sport. The negative side to it is that obviously you don’t get the kind of support, the resources, the funds that come along [with being a varsity sport].” Vergara agrees, noting that the many oth-er popular sports, such as field hockey and

men’s volleyball, have no place at Paly. “I think that the athletic program as a whole could ex-pand, but it will take time,” Vergara said.Until such time, the Paly Ulti-

mate Club will continue to practice theirskills and play competitively as a team. “My favorite part of the sport is the reliance on the other people on your team,” Edholm said. “The feeling of connecting a pass se-quence between half the team that ends in a touchdown is such a rush that is unparal-leled in other sports. In other sports a single person would have been the reason for that drive being successful... In frisbee every player is forced to use their team members because the rules of the game dictate it.”<<<

As the team expands year by year, they find it more difficult to transport themselvesto games and tournaments without school support. “If the team were to grow enough to where we were taking a large number of people around, then we’d have to start looking at vans or buses,” Farina said. “It would be nice to have that kind of support so that kids wouldn’t have to drive each other.” Farina sees the pros and cons of Ulti-mate as a Paly club versus a varsity sport. “There are good things and bad things


by SHEILA SUBRAMANIAN

An apparent problemParents comprise the majority of the fanbase of Paly sports events for years. Join Sheila as she challenges their involvement in athletics.

Let’s start off with some statistics. Did you know that over 50% of the Palo Alto High School student body is composed of student athletes? That’s about 950 kids who

run, jump, swim, shoot and compete as Paly athletes. That means there are over a thousand parents who are in one way, shape or form associated with their child’s sports team over the course of the school year. Whether heavily involved or not, these parents make a significant impact on the team. These parents are separated into distinct

groups. Some choose to stay independent of their child’s athletic life and keep to them-selves, some choose to volunteer occasionally to help out the team and others insist on being a powerful component of the team. This final group of parents tries to influence the players, coaches, and the overall team atmosphere. When it comes to parental involvement, there is a fine line that must not be crossed. Parental intrusion in Paly student-athlete ter-ritory can be harmful to the team dynamic. It was time that I examine the good, the bad and the ugly of parental involvement in high school athletic teams: Is it really all that

worth it? And how much is too much? Now, from a financial standpoint, without parental involvement and investments, Paly’s athletic teams would not be thriving the way they are now. Parents bring in a sizeable amount of money to the sports boosters. In addition to donations, many parents are socially involved with the team, albeit in a reserved fashion. Parents are responsible for organizing team dinners, providing transpor-tation to games and even throwing post-season parties to honor the coaches. Such actions aid the team and exemplify the appropriate amount of parental involvement in high school sports.

SUPPORT Parents and other fans sit on the bleachers, cheering on the competing players during the Paly Homecoming football game.

PALY PULSEWho has the toughest serve on the varsity girls’ volleyball team?

NOVEMBER 2013

Alas, some parents not only become financially and socially involved, but are also overcome with competitiveness and become emotionally involved in their child’s sport. Parents frequently attempt to live vicariously through their children. Though not all students wish to compete in post high school athletics, much is placed on the line for those who do. Many student-ath-letes continuously await awards, scholarships and college recruitments. Many motivated parents place a significant amount of pressure on their children through intense additional training and private coach-ing. Sure, looking out for your children is necessary and being ambitious for them is encouraged; however, it can at times be over-the-top and can be communicated in a controlling and discouraging manner. Admit it. There always seems to be that one parent at a sporting event who thinks he or she is an extra coach stuck in the stands. It’s quite noticeable among the other parents who choose to simply sit down to root on their child’s team. There is a clear difference between cheering on competing players and being a back-seat coach. Cheering on players exemplifies the positive support needed from parents, but being a back-seat coach further intensifies drama. The sole responsibility of any and all coach-ing should be left to the coaches who are

hired by an athletic director or administrator at the start of the season. Regardless of the parent’s experience with or knowledge of the sport, coaching from the sidelines can be distracting to the athletes playing the game. The athletes’ lack of focus can be detrimental to their success. Conflict-ing viewpoints can even spark negative rela-tions between the “heavily-involved” parents and the hired coaches. Along with coaching from the sidelines, some parents seek to actually be a part of the coaching staff. This position, too, should not be tolerated because it will lead to awkward situations between the parent coach and play-ers. Athletic director Earl Hansen discussed his views on parental coaching and why it should not be allowed. “I’m not generally for it...It has happened in a positive way before, but I have also seen favoritism the other way too. If they are a professional coach, it is different than if they are coaching their child on the team for just that one year.” Parents complaining about coaches is another problem that occurs far too often. Though it depends on the severity of the issue at hand, parents shouldn’t complain about coaches; they’re not actually on the team. Unless they attend practice daily and observe the coach, parents should not be given the op-portunity to denounce anyone without valid authority.

The athletes themselves are the ones who should complain if there were to be a serious concern on a particular issue regarding the coaching of the team. Parents who make derogatory remarks to a coach or to other parents or members of the team are too prevalent in high school sports and are often uncontrollable. This can tear apart a team and ruins the positive relation-ships built over time between teammates. Rules pertaining to parental association with a team must be outlined in a parent meeting held before the actual season starts. This will help to prevent any damages done to the team dynamic and the emotional states of the athletes. A positive environment where parents serve as supportive role models to their children is what is really needed. They must encourage their young athletes to feel confident about themselves and their team’s performance. So, is parental involvement in high school sports really all that necessary? To a certain extent, sure. Are there boundaries that must be set in place? Definitely. It is our job as athletes to recognize parents for their continuous effort to support our sports teams. At the same time, it’s impor-tant that we encourage parents to separate themselves from the game and to take a step back so the classic ‘tiger parent’ scenario can be avoided. <<<

Percentages based on votes from the varsity girls’ volleyball team.

Keri Gee (‘14):

Becca Raffel (‘14):

Katie Passarello (‘17):

Claire Krugler (‘16):

Kabria Dame (‘15):

69%

13%

6%

6%

6%

WINTER As the fall season for each Paly sport wraps up, The Viking gives insight on what’s to come for Paly varsity winter athletics.

PREVIEWS2013

-201

4

by IDO GAL and OLIVIA SCOLA


Boys’ basketball

Girls’ basketball

Projected Line UpPG: Clark Schmutz (‘14)SG: Kevin Mullin (‘15)SF: Noah Phillips (‘14)PF: Justin Hull (‘16) C: Matthew Fogarty (‘14)

Projected Line UpPG: Maddy Atwater (‘16)SG: Courtney Lovely (‘16)SF: Siggi Benson (‘16) PF: Alexis Harris (‘16) C: Charlotte Alipate (‘14)

The Lady Vikes will be coming back from a disappointing previous season. Last year four starters were injured, and three additional players quit. The loss of graduates Josie Butler (‘13), Annie Susco (‘13), and Stephanie Al-len (‘13) will greatly affect the team, which means the underclassmen will have to step up. “We have a really young team,” Point guard Maddy Atwater (’16) said. “We’re supposed

to have about 6 freshman on varsity, and only two seniors.” The team will be led by only two upperclass-men, with one possibly injured. This will cause many underclassmen to start and lead the team. Despite the youth, the team still remains encouraged going into this winter. “We have a great deal of potential and if we work hard we can have a really fun year,” coach Scott Peters said. <<<

Last season, the Paly boys’ basketball team accomplished a lot. The team finished their season with a record of 23-4 overall and a 12-0 league record, including impressive wins against Milpitas, Saratoga and Homestead. This year, the team will have to overcome the loss of six seniors from last year, includ-ing key players such as Aldis Petriceks (‘13), Scotty Peery (‘13) and Aubrey Dawkins (‘13). “We were a pretty experienced team last year.” Charles Schmutz (‘14) said.

“This year we lost a lot of seniors from last

year, so we’re naturally going to be less expe-rienced. We learned a lot of things from them though, and that should help us out.”

Because of these losses, the Vikings will have to adjust their game plan accord-ingly. Without the inside presence of Aubrey Dawkins, the team needs their guards to step up and score points. Despite key losses, the team is still confident going into the upcom-ing year, hoping to improve specifically on defense.

“We need to get better defensively.”

Schmutz said. “We’re not going to be as big this year so our defense needs to be solid all around.”

Led by Schmutz, boys’ basketball looks to have a very exciting and entertaining year. >>>

Major LossesAnnie Susco (‘13)Stephanie Allen (‘13)Josie Butler (‘13)

Major LossesAldis Petriceks (‘13)Scotty Peery (‘13)Aubrey Dawkins(‘13)

2012-13 Record Overall: 9-14League: 5-7

Who To Look Out ForMaddy Atwater (‘13)Charlotte Alipate (‘14)Courtney Lovely (‘16)Alexis Harris (‘16)

Head coachScott Peters

Who To Look Out ForKevin Mullin (‘15)Alex Dees (‘15)Jonathan Rojahn (‘15)

2012-13 RecordOverall: 23-4 League: 12-0

JUMPER Charlotte Alipate (‘14) at-tempts a jumpshot during the 2012-13 season.

SWISH Clark Schmutz (‘14) shoots a three-pointer in the 2012-13 season.

NOVEMBER 2013

Boys’ soccer

Girls’ soccer

2012-13 RecordOverall: 12-5-2 League: 2-1-1

Who To Look Out ForMegan Tall (‘14)Jacey Peterson (‘16)Aoi Sugihara (‘15)

The girl’s varsity soccer team returns to the field to take care of unfinished business after last year’s CCS disqualification. After mis-communications between different organiza-tions, the team was not allowed to participate in the CCS tournament. In the 2012-2013 season the team went 9-2-1 in the league, which might have led to later success before their season was cut short. In addition, the

Major LossesNina Kelty (‘13)Erin Chang (‘13)Katherine Maniscalco (‘13)

Projected StartersFW: Jacey Pederson (‘16), Jessica Branson (‘14)CM: Sunny Lyu (‘14), Aoi Sugihara (‘16)CB: Livi Musil (‘15) Lena Chang (‘15)GK: Kelly Branson (‘16)

Head CoachKurt Devlin

2012-13 RecordOverall: 11-6-2 League: 9-2-1

Who To Look Out ForPreston Kuppe (‘15)Paul Mewes (‘15)Tony Maharaj (‘14)

team will also have to deal with the loss of key players, including goalie Erin Chang (’13), and defender Nina Kelty (’13).

“We’re coming back smarter and more determined after last year.” Midfielder Alys Olmstead (’16) said “It will definitely give us a lot more drive to prove that we can compete in an even higher league and make it to CCS again.” <<<

Projected Line UpFW: Fernando Rodriguez (‘16) Eduard Chen (‘15) CM: Preston Kuppe (‘15), Steven Blatman (15‘), Cina Vacir (‘14)CB:Theo Zaharias (‘15)GK: Tony Maharaj (‘14)

Major LossesPaul Stefanski (‘13)Kirby Gee(‘13)Chris Meredith (‘13)

Head CoachDonald Briggs

CHIPSHOT Cina Vazir (‘14) boots the ball during the 2012-13 season.

CHARGE Sunny Lyu (‘14) sprints with the ball down the field during the 2012-13 season. Her team looks to make a statement after CCS disqualification.


After moving back up a league and losing eight graduated seniors, the boy’s varsity soccer team will be returning to the field for a new season. In their 2011-2012 season, the team moved down to the De Anza League af-ter losing every single game. After winning 12 games in the 2012-2013 season, they will be moving back up to compete in the El Camino section of the Santa Clara Athletic League (SCVAL). However, the team will have to

adapt to the loss of many key players, includ-ing forward Christopher Meredith (‘13). “We’ll have to find a different way to score this year without Chris,” center midfield Pres-ton Kuppe (‘15) said. Regardless, the team is still anxious to get on the field. “Our coach organizes open gym every Tuesday after school.”Preston Kuppe said. We get to play a lot of pickup games in order to get prepared for the upcoming year.” <<<

Wrestling

This year, the Paly wrestling team at has put forward huge expectations.

“We want to place top three at sectionals.” James Giaccia (‘15) said. “A lot of us want to make it to state.”

In order to achieve their goals, the team has been putting in a lot of work in the offseason. The team runs on the track for an hour and a half on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and spends the rest of practice in the

weight room. However, the team will have to overcome the loss its best player, Gary Ho-bach (‘13), who graduated last spring.

“He’s a huge loss.” Giaccia said. “He was the only player to make it to state last year. We still have players like Andrew Frick and myself so we’re still confident.”

The team is also confident in its coaching staff this year, with five different coaches who all have prestigious backgrounds.

“We’re going to be a pretty young team this year,” Head coach David Duran said, “but we have kids who are willing to battle.” Regard-less of preseason confidence, the team still understands that the year could turn out very unpredictable.

“It’s going to be a very exciting year be-cause none of us really know what to expect.” Giaccia said. <<<

James Giaccia (‘15)Andrew Frick (‘14)Gunner Felt (‘14)Seth Boyle (‘17)

Who To Look Out For

Head Coach:David Duran

STEPPING UP Erik Anderson (‘13) prepares for a match. He placed fifth in the 170 lb weight class in the 2013 CCS Boys Wrestling Cham-pionship. He now attends Claremont McKenna College.

NOVEMBER 2013

STAND OFF Andrew Frick (‘14) grab shis opponent during a match in the 2012-2013 season. The wrestling team looks to finish top three at sectionals this year.

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Jim

And

erso

n

Dear Major League Baseball,

The rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers has al-ways been passionate. Fans make the rivalry passionate through constant support and devotion, but recently this passion has been amplified beyond a level of acceptability. In 2011, two Dodgers fans attacked Gi-ants fan Bryan Stowe after a Dodgers game outside the Los Angeles stadium. Stowe sus-tained severe head injuries and was put into a medically induced coma. He may never fully recover. In addition, an attacker stabbed Dodgers fan Jonathan Denver to death after a Giants game earlier this year just outside AT&T Park in front of his father and brother. Violence merits no place in any rivalry. To some fans, sports represent more than a game, becoming an all-consuming devo-tion. Yes, this kind of enthusiasm makes the Giants-Dodgers rivalry special, but when it causes fans to disregard morals and ha-rass opposing supporters, a line needs to be drawn. When rivalries turn to violence and permanent injuries, you go too far. The fact that America’s pastime now prompts devoted fans to resort to violence must set off an alarm somewhere. That alarm now sounds here. As is apparent from your endless stream of disagreements over anything relating to baseball, fans argue at the drop of a pin. But what does make them argue so avidly over matters such as these? If you haven’t managed to notice, the element in sports that makes them chasms of confronta-tion is the nature of the games themselves. Unlike almost all other forms of enter-tainment, sports contain two potentially controversial qualities: regional ties and

competition. A Taylor Swift concert, on the contrary, does not. Since sports origi-nated, teams have represented groups of people. Because of this representative fac-tor, people feel closely tied to certain teams. This is where competition ties in. Sports contests decide a winner and a loser, and as evolution taught humans, success is favor-able. In the days of early man, the hunter who killed an animal got to eat, while his un-successful acquaintance gnawed hungrily on the bark of a tree or didn’t eat at all. Between a team and this success stands only the oppo-nent, making the opponent the natural en-emy. When this urge to succeed eclipses the boundaries of the sports contest and turns into real world feeling within the people whom the teams represent, rivalries are born. The Giants-Dodgers rivalry formed in such a way. Many years of high stakes games turned into real world emotions, and created numerous fan altercations such as the ones involving Bryan Stowe and Jonathan Denver. But the fact that vio-lence now permeates the honorable mem-brane of baseball is why I must implore you to stop for a second and contemplate what is best for the future of the game. While supporting their team, fans often forget their place in the systems that are sports. Players are the ones who play the actual games. Players battle each other to win championships. Players control what happens. Fans simply root for their team. When exceeding their intended role in sports, fans overlook the consequences of their actions. While arguing over a ri-valry bears the potential to add to the

fun, violence is where the line must be drawn. Violence adds absolutely nothing to a rivalry except for medical bills, law-suits and potential life-long consequences. Sadly, the Giants-Dodgers rivalry now contains this violent element. Attacks such as those on Bryan Stowe and Jona-than Denver may continue if something is not done. Because of this, I offer a solu-tion: take the rivalry down a notch, and start punishing fans who don’t comply. Players are punished for unruly behav-ior during games, so why shouldn’t fans be as well? Fans congregate in the great-est numbers at games, so teams can ramp up security both inside the stadium and out. Officials can monitor and if neces-sary detain fans who cause violent con-flicts as far away from the stadium as the parking lots. Since both the Bryan Stowe and Jonathan Denver attacks happened in the vicinity of a ballpark, they could have been prevented with increased security. Although both the Giants and the Dodg-ers represent entire cities, the contests be-tween them are no more than games. The Giants-Dodgers rivalry is important, but more important than someone’s life? No. At the end of the day, you need to set your priorities straight and acknowledge this. If baseball’s future is to remain bright, you need to institute some serious changes.

Drawing the line

a letter by Rowan McEvoy

November 1, 2013Major League Baseball245 Park Ave New York, NY 10167

Sincerely,

Rowan McEvoyStaff Writer

The recent violent trend in the Giants-Dodgers rivalry demands attention and needs to be fixed by Major League Baseball.


Logis taken from

Rowan McEvoy

T: CCS 2nd Round 2:30

NOVEMBER 2013

C A L E N D A Rsunday MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY saturday

1 2

4 5 6 7 8 9

16151413121110

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

302928262524

4321 5 6 7

NO

VE

MB

ER

GS - Girls’ SoccerBS - Boys’ Soccer

BB- Boys’ Basketball

F - FootballV - Volleyball

T - Girls’ TennisGW - Girls’ Water PoloBW - Boys’ Water Polo

XC - Cross-country

F: @ Mountain View 3:15

V: @ Gunn 6:45T: SCVAL

Championships 1:00GW/BW : League Championships

XC: SCVAL Champsionships

V: vs Los Gatos 6:45GW/BW : League Championships

F: vs Los Gatos @ Paly 7:30

GW/BW: League Cham-pionships

F: vs Santa Clara 7:15

GS: Scrimmage vs/ @ Sacred Heart 3:30

BB: Scrimmage vs/ @Bellarmine 5:00

BS: vs Bishop O’Dawd@ Foothill 6:30

BS: vs Antioch @ Foothill 4:30

GS: vs Menlo-Atherton @ Paly 4:00

V: Spikefest 2 Tourna-ment 8 am

XC: CCS Champsion-

ships

XC: CIF State Cham-

pionshipsBB: Scrim-

mage vs Berkeley @ Paly 1:00

GS: vs Carlmont 4:00BS: vs Freedom @ Foothill 4:30

BB: vs/ @ Serra 7:30

3

Images taken from

T: CCS 1st Round 2:30

27

GW/BW : League Championships

T: SCVAL Semis & Finals 1:00

GW/BW : League Championships

GW/BW: League

Champion-ships

GS: vs San Benito @ Paly 3:00

DE

CE

MB

ER

thleticSNO

VEM

BER A PALo

LTO

On yoga pants

On best hairstyles

by GILLIAN CHRYST and CLARA HARRINGTON

He said...

“It’s a gift from heaven. Guys

should thank the greater beings every day for such a beautiful thing.”-Ethan Look (‘15)

“The best thing girls can do

with their hair is put it in a pony-tail.”

-Dan Su (‘15)

Yoga pants are a great piece of clothing for girls to stay comfortable in year-round, but also to work out in during the fall.

“A braid of some sort.”-Riley Schoeben (‘16)

28 | THE VIKING | www.vikingsportsmag.com

“ It makes it hard for me

to work out.” -Maclean Mansfeild (‘16)

“I think that it’s unfair that girls

get to wear such revealing clothing while guys are left with

nothing.” -Omri Newman (‘14)

Students and athletes alike have recently been spotted working out in various apparel. The Viking asked twelve Paly athletes for their opinions on styles the opposite gender wears.

“Just do what you need to do.”

-Justin Rittman (‘14)

On Breast Cancer Awareness month swag

On bro tanks

“Guys wear bro tanks to work out, but I

feel like it’s cute because they have nice muscles.”

-Kabria Dame (‘15) On sweat pants

“Easily the most attractive thing

a guy can wear.” -Kelly Swanson (‘15)

“Only certain guys can work

them. If you know you can work it, go for it; if not, stay away.”

-Maya Benatar (‘16)

“It doesn’t really bother

me. I don’t really notice ... sometimes it’s attractive,

sometimes its not.” -Katie Passarello (‘17)

“I think it’s good to show your

support for breast care awareness, but there’s also a lot of other diseases we

should bring awareness to as well.”-Meredith Kinnaman (‘16)

Our Paly athletes honor Breast Cancer Awareness month by wearing pink throughout October.

NOVEMBER 2013

Bro tanks give male athletes more room for movement and to show off their buff muscles.

“I really like going to the

games and seeing the guys in pink Under Armour ... It shows that they

care.”-Sophie Robinson (‘15)

“I can dig that laid back

look as long as they don’t wear them super-high up and with running shoes.”

-Alys Olmstead (‘14)

Phot

o by

Kat

ie P

assa

rello

and she said...

Images taken from

photo courtesy of Keith Peters/Palo Alto Weekly


Twins often grow up doing a lot together - wearing the same clothes as kids or playing the same sport. It wasn’t any differ-ent for Matt and Brandon John-son. From junior high to the Na-

tional Team, the two were always playing water polo together. Now, coaching jobs at rival high schools have caused them to look at each other as competitors instead of allies in the pool. The rivalry between Gunn and Paly is pres-ent in every sport, but with Matt and Brandon coaching opposing teams, the clash is even bigger. Brandon is the boys’ varsity water polo coach at Paly, while Matt is the coach at Gunn. Growing up, the Johnson kids all swam at

Greenmeadow Swim Club in Palo Alto. When the twins were in seventh grade, they heard about water polo and decided to try it out. “I would hang out at my neighborhood pool all day, and I wasn’t a big swimmer,” Brandon said. “So one of the lifeguards suggested that I start playing water polo.” Despite not a lot of knowledge about the sport, the twins participated in a session at Stanford Water Polo Club. “They really liked it a lot,” mother Celeste Johnson said. “It just clicked with them.” Around a year after Matt and Brandon joined a team at Stanford, their younger brother Aar-on Johnson decided to try out the sport as well. “They had a pretty big in-

by HAYLEY POORE and PRISCILLA BELL

Brothers Brandon, Matt and Aaron John-son all started their water polo careers in Palo Alto, and have returned to coach rival schools and start their own water polo club.

AFamilyCompany

NOVEMBER 2013

BROTHERLY LOVE Matt (left) and Brandon (right) Johnson played wa-ter polo at Gunn High School and now coach at rival high schools in Palo Alto and at Shoreline Water Polo Club, which they started.

fluence on [me],” Aaron said. Their younger sister, Lauren Johnson, a se-nior at Gunn, started playing only recently, after watching her brothers play for many years. “Lauren wanted to wait as long as she could, because she was kind of sick of it, because she grew up watching us play the whole time,” Brandon said. “She finally gave in and started playing. We were definitely an influ-ence on both of them.” Brandon and Matt went to Gunn and played water polo for four years there. When Aaron started high school, he joined them on varsity. “Brandon, Matt and Aaron were all on the same team Aaron’s freshman year at Gunn,” Celeste said. “Aaron started as a freshman, and so all three of them were in the starting lineup for the Gunn team.” While playing at Gunn, both Brandon and Matt won awards showcasing their high skill level. “In high school they basically made it to the

top of as far as you could go in high school,” Ce-leste said. “Matt was the league MVP goalie one year and Brandon was the league MVP player. There’s only one in the entire league of each of those, and they made it to those positions.” After graduating from Gunn, Brandon and Matt went on to play together for Uni-versity of California at Irvine (UC Irvine).

Originally looking at different schools, they ended up joining the team together. “When the coaches started contact-ing them back and they would go on re-cruiting trips, the coaches would ask, ‘Where’s your brother?’” Celeste said. At UC Irvine, the twins success only in-creased. Brandon was a three-time All-Amer-ican and scored a total of 196 goals in his time there, and Matt was a one-time All-American

and saved a total of 571 goals. In their senior year, UC Irvine was ranked fifth nationally. “[UC Irvine] was a great program - a hard working program, and I think that’s re-ally where they learned most of what they have for coaching, and how to play the game and how to teach the game is through the people they worked with at Irvine,” father

Kevin Johnson said. During col-lege, they also were part of the National World University Games Team. Brandon started train-

ing with the team his sophomore year, and Matt joined him starting his senior year. When they graduated from UC Irvine in 2011, the twins had to look abroad if they wanted to continue their career as water polo players, because there is not a professional league in the United States. “They wanted to keep playing, and that’s the only thing you can do because there is nothing similar in the United States,” Celeste said. “Ev-

THROWBACK Brandon (top row, far left) as a senior, Matt (top row, third from left) as a senior and Aaron (middle row, forth from left) as a freshman all started on the Gunn boys’ water polo team. All three brothers now coach in Palo Alto at high schools and Shoreline Water Polo Club.

They really liked [water polo] a lot. It just clicked with them.“

“photo courtesy of Celeste Johnson


erybody that they talked to that played in Aus-tralia had a great time and said they loved it.” Before they went off to play, Brandon was an assistant volunteer coach for UC Irvine, and Matt was a junior varsity and assistant var-sity coach for a high school in southern Cali-fornia. Then, in the spring of 2012, they both went to play professionally in Australia, but for the first time, Matt and Brandon were on separate teams. Matt went to play for a team in Brisbane, while Brandon went to play for a team in Perth. “ D i f f e r e n t teams were looking for dif-ferent things,” Kevin said. “It’s a little harder for the goal-ies because there are two or three inter-national play-ers in water polo, and a lot of [the teams] will take home grown Austra-lian players and bring in field players.” That year, Matt’s team did well, while Brandon’s was not as successful. “Matthew worked with a team in Bris-bane and it ended up being a very good high quality team,” Kevin said. “A lot of Australian Olympians on that team.” Matt played for the Brisbane Barracu-das, and Brandon played for the Univer-sity of Western Australia Torpedoes (UWA Torpedoes). When their teams came up against each other that season, Matt’s won. “We’ve lined up against each other in prac-tice many times, but this was the first official game that we were on opposite teams,” Matt

GO ANTEATERS Brandon Johnson takes shots in games while playing for the UC Irvine Anteaters. Bran-don played at UC Irvine from 2007-2011 and totaled 196 goals and was a 3 time All-American.

wrote in an email to The Viking. “It was a home weekend for my team, so we played them Fri-day night and Sunday morning. Those were my two best games of the season and I held Bran-don to one goal in two games as my team swept the weekend series. I still bring that up to him.” Brandon was able to go back to Australia for a second year with his same team. The UWA Torpedoes won the silver medal in

the Australian National League and Bran-don was the team high scorer. Matt, how-ever, did not return to play a second season. “[Matt] couldn’t find a team that need-ed a goalie the second year that he actu-ally wanted to play for,” Celeste said. “He was contacted by a couple teams, but they were not teams that he wanted to play for.” Brandon enjoyed his international experience. “Australia was awesome,” Brandon said. “It was a lot of fun. Some good competition. It was a lot different than here. It was a really good experience.” Early this summer, both Matt and Brandon were also part of the Men’s Senior National Team, after being on the National World University Games Team in college. They par-

ticipated in the World League Preliminaries in Los Alamitos, CA. After the World League Preliminaries, Brandon went to the World League Super Finals in Russia in June, while Matt did not make the roster. After Rus-sia, Brandon did not make the roster for the World Championships that were in Barcelona. After participating on the National team, both Matt and Brandon’s careers as players

finished, but their careers as coaches were just beginning. Orig-inally, both did not consider coaching as a career, but it has shown to be something that they both have a passion for. “ I never thought of coaching for a living until I was working

at Stanford the summer after I got back from Australia,” Matt wrote. “I had interviewed for some office jobs and was planning on coach-ing until I landed something. But after talking with Jon Barnea [(‘98)] I realized that coaching was something I could make a career out of. Once Brandon and I started Shoreline, Aaron started helping out and we soon realized we all shared the passion and skill for coaching.” Barnea is a Paly alumni, former water polo coach and current Stanford assistant coach. He had a large influence on leading them to coaching. Brandon and Matt coached together at Paly in the fall of 2012 when they became co-head coaches at Paly. But after just one season of coaching together, Matt was offered the head boys’ water polo coaching position at Gunn.

[The rivalry] definitely keeps it interesting. It makes for a little better competition. Talk-

ing to the opposing coach for days before the game makes it a little bit more intense, and you definitely have a rivalry going with fam-ily members, so it makes it more interesting and competitive.

“

“

NOVEMBER 2013

photo courtesy of Celeste Johnson photo courtesy of Celeste Johnson

He took the job, leaving Brandon to coach the Paly boys’ water polo team by himself, and Aaron to coach the boys’ junior varsity team. Brandon enjoys coaching at Paly, but it is also difficult because he is coach-ing against his former high school. ‘It’s fun [being rivals],” Brandon said. “Definitely fun, it’s kind of hard at first be-cause I went to Gunn, so I have a little bit of Gunn pride still in me, but I like coaching at Paly, coaching against Matt, coaching against Gunn. It’s pretty fun.” Aaron sees that the game is more competitive and intense than usu-

al because Matt is on the other side. “[The rivalry] definitely keeps it interest-ing,” Aaron said. “It makes for a little better competition. Talking to the opposing coach for days before the game makes it a little bit more intense, and you definitely have a ri-valry going with family members, so it makes it more interesting and competitive.” Although the brothers played together and have coached together, they have different styles of coaching their own high schoolers. “Matt’s a goalie, so he has a defensive per-spective,” Brandon said. “Aaron’s a two-meter player, so he’s more of the in the

trenches, grabbing and doing all those moves. I’m more of the outside shooter, so we all hit on different aspects of the game.” Matt and Brandon’s coaching styles differ more than just the perspectives they have from the positions they played. Their personalities also greatly affect the types of coaches they are. “Matt shows his emotions a lot more than Brandon which comes out in his coach-ing a lot,” Lauren said. “Matt tries to rally his team together with his words. During games he’s more loud and off the bench try-ing to talk to the refs and talk to the team, where Brandon is not as loud. He’ll still say stuff but he seems more conservative when he’s out there, and lets the team play more.” Kevin agrees with Lauren about the different coaching styles Matt, Brandon and Aaron have. “Matt’s a little more outgoing, and a little more outspoken in his opinions,” Kevin said. “Brandon’s a little bit quieter. Aaron is just intense. He’s the perfection-ist, he requires his players to do every-thing the right way; he’s the perfectionist.” Since Matt coached at Paly last year, some players had both Matt and Brandon as coaches, and saw the differences as well. “During practice, Brandon has always been the more serious one,” varsity cap-tain Omri Newman said. “He wants to get work done. Matt also is serious, but he’s a little more nonchalant about it.” However, being twins, Brandon and Matt are more similar than alike. “It’s kind of hard to think of two different adjectives [to describe them],” Lauren said. And even though Aaron started play-ing after his brothers, his coaching phi-losophy is similar to his brothers. “The similarities in our coaching style include passion and energy,” Matt wrote. “We all really care about the play-ers we coach and the success they have.” When they are not coaching at high school, they coach club teams, and even created their own water polo club. Shoreline Water Polo Club is a club that the brothers started together and coach together. They created it so that Paly and Gunn players would have a club other than Stanford club to play for. “When I was growing up here and went to Gunn, all we had was Stanford, so ev-eryone played Stanford,” Brandon said. “Now there’s all these other clubs popping up, and the Paly and Gunn kids don’t re-ally have the option of having a club that’s based in Palo Alto that’s not Stanford.” Through Shoreline and Stanford, they stay involved with the game as coaches. “I love the game,” Brandon said. “I want to be a part of it somehow by do-ing something. My playing is coming to an end so I’m starting to get into coaching

WORLD PLAYER Brandon shoots the ball in a game while playing for the UWA Torpedoes. In his second season he was the leading scorer and the team won the silver medal in the National Australian League.

photo courtesy of Celeste Johnson


a bit, and I just want to be around it still.” The Johnson brothers see themselves coach-ing for a long time because of how much they enjoy playing and coaching the sport. Both Matt and Brandon think that one of the best parts about coaching is hanging out with the players and seeing them improve. “The best part about coaching is recogniz-ing improvement and being able to see that what you are teaching is being learned and executed,” Matt wrote. “It’s a great feeling.” Brandon echoes Matt’s enthusiasm. “[Coaching] is a lot of fun and I really en-joy it; hanging out with the guys, coaching the team and stuff, so it’s something that I’m going to stick with for a little longer at least

NOVEMBER 2013

NATIONAL TEAM (Top) Matt (left) and Brandon (right) get ready to play in the World League Preliminaries in Los Alamitos, CA this summer. TWEET (Bottom left) Brandon coaches the boys’ varsity team during a prac-tice at Paly. TEAM TALK (Bottom right) Brandon crouches down to talk to the team during coaching practice.

and see where it takes me,” Brandon said. Aaron also sees a long ca-reer in coaching ahead of him. “I really enjoy coaching, and always wanted to get into it,” Aaron said. “I don’t ever want to be away from [water polo], so not being in the water playing physically, the only other thing I would want to be doing is coaching.” The Johnson family shows just how much sports can bring a family together. “It’s something that they all do together, and then they all go to coach Stanford Club after these practices every day, so they’re all always together,” Lauren said. “It gives some-thing for us all to talk about now that I’m play-ing also, and my parents are really big fans.”

Their parents are also greatly in-volved in the game, despite that the boys are no longer the ones in the water. “Water polo is definitely a big part of our family,” Matt wrote. “My parents still go watch college and other high school games even though we aren’t playing any-more. They are just fans of the game..It’s fun that water polo plays such a big role in all of our lives and that they share our passion.” The Johnson’s love for the game has been with them since the beginning, and has car-ried with them to their passion of coach-ing. Palo Alto can count on seeing the Johnson brothers around for a long time. <<<

photo courtesy of Celeste Johnson

photo by Tara Lawrence photo by Tara Lawrence

ressure is something that many Paly students are very familiar with. Between the pressures of keeping a high GPA, fitting in with friends or getting into a quality college, students at Palo

Alto High School face a lot of stress. For a cer-tain student, however, there is an even greater pressure. A pressure that few people, let alone high school students, could handle. Royce Wang (‘15) is that student. His pressure? To maintain his ranking as 22nd in the world in Sabre fencing, for his age group.

Continuing on his current success, Wang may reach the highest pinnacles of his sport. As of now, however, Wang is solely focused on just improving his skills in the sport that he loves. Wang first started fencing when he was nine, and ever since he first picked up a sword, he has been enamoured with the sport. “It’s a hobby because I enjoy fencing and the physical thrill, the pressure and the fear of get-ting defeated,” Wang said. Wang’s style and weapon of choice is known as, Sabre. In Sabre fencing, everything above

the waist, excluding the hands of the Sabreur, is a valid area to earn points. Cutting, hitting your opponent with the side of the sabre and jousting your opponent with the point of the sabre, is allowed. It is a faster style of fencing that, according to Wang, is much more excit-ing to execute. Wang believes that fencing stands out from other sports because of the mental and physi-cal intensity fencing requires. “It requires mental training and physical endurance, and you have to know what you’re doing in every moment, so you can face your

Block, lunge and strikeRoyce Wang (‘15) aspires to reach the pinnacle of fencing, all the while having fun and thriving off of the pressure. by ALEX MURRAY

P

FACE OFF Royce Wang (‘15) concentrates on his opponent during a practice bout at the Arillaga Center of Sports. Wang is currently ranked 22nd in the world for his age group in Sabre fencing.


opponent without being defeated,” Wang said. Mental training, such as playing simple games. They games are designed to increase a fencer’s concentration, decision-making, and reflexes. Although these games are sim-ple, they are the building blocks for winning matches and becoming internationally ranked. Sasha Lepiashinski, Wang’s coach at the Cardinal Fenc-ing club, echoes Wang’s thought on the sport. “People call fencing physical chess; what does this mean?,” Lepiashinki said. “It means to be a good fencer, you have to be strong athletically, have a good upper body, plus be very, very smart. It’s the combination of physical traits and mental traits.” Former teammate Rafael Viluan started fencing around the same time Wang started; although they are on different teams now, Viluan says that Wang’s work ethic has not changed. “He’s been fencing since he was nine, and he shows up to practice every day, for the entire week,” Viluan said. Lepiashinski believes that this method of de-liberate training is the only way that Wang, or any other fencers, can get better. “The way to reach a high level fencing, it’s hard work,” Lepiashinski said. “Of course, the highest level of fencers in the world have a combination of talent and hard work.” There is a common theme at Cardinal Fenc-ing, the club that Wang fences for. Almost all of the coaches and students compete on the highest international level. Lepiashinki, for ex-ample, is a twelve-time Champion of Belarus, has coached World-Cup winner and Olympic finalist, Dmitry Lapkes and coached at the

National Olympic Center. Walking around the fencing facility located at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation on the Stan-ford campus are Olympic fencers representing Panama, Spain and Ukraine. But Wang is not shell-shocked, seeing these men and women who have reached the highest pinnacles of his sport, because he has been there before.

Earlier this year, Wang finished nineteenth in a tournament in Godollo, Hungary, an ex-tremely difficult tournament that he antici-pated doing poorly in. Wang then went to the fencing World Cup in Konin, Poland, where he finished eighth, earning a spot on the podium. But according to Wang’s dad, Regal, Wang al-most was not there to earn his trophy. “He was asleep in the hotel room when his coaches called him, asking where he was and telling him that he needed to get down to the podium as soon as possible, he needed to be there,” Wang’s father said. Despite constantly competing at a high level of fencing, Wang still comes off as an incred-ibly easy-going guy. At practice he is often seen joking with his practice partner, constantly with a smile on his face. But as soon as he pulls on his mask, he is all business. Viluan says that Wang has been that way ever since he began the sport. “He is more quiet and focused when he’s fencing, he’s thinking about his next move,” Viluan said. “[Off the court] he’s really hyper, definitely a lot more easy-going.” It’s this rare combination of personality and focus that has led Wang to success, both na-

tionally and internationally and will lead him to success in the future. Wang hopes that fencing will help with the college process, but he also realizes the benefits that fencing gives to him now. “It can help you get into college because fewer people do it, so it’s easier than some other sports to do collegiately,” Wang said. “To

be real good and compete in that small circle, you have to be well rounded in all of your actions. From each of

your defeats, you can learn a lot. Like not being over confident, and being able to come back from your failures and learn from your mis-takes.” Wang’s training and personality has got him to a high level of fencing, but Lepiashinki be-lieves he can take himself even further. “His potential is very, very high,” Lepias-hinki said. “Everything depends on him. He has great facility [at Stanford], we have very good and experienced coaches. He can reach very high international level. In Poland, it was World Cup and he got tenth place, which is not bad.” Wang may be a long way off from his goal, but he is getting closer to it. Still, the pressure is on him to become the best that he can be-come. But Wang not only enjoys the pressure, but he thrives off of it. “It motivates me to do better,” Wang said. More than anything, Wang competes in fencing because of the feeling he gets when he fences. “You feel pressure but it feels good because you’re in your own little space inside your mask,” Wang said. “When you win, you feel a great sense of relief and accomplishment.”<<<

People call fencing physical chess, what does this mean?... It’s the combination of physical

traits and mental traits“ “

PARRY Wang blocks his practice partner’s attack by flicking his wrist

ATTACK Wang thrusts forwarded, attempting to earn a point in a practice bout

TAKING IT EASY Wang laughs be-tween his practice bout with his partner

NOVEMBER 2013

The Mount Rushmore of Paly

Adrenaline rushing, hearts pounding, crowd cheer-ing; it’s game time. With sweat dripping, play-ers anticipate a single sound. Cleats grip the turf

as players sprint across the field. The game takes way. As fans gather around to watch two teams face off, the focus is all on the players. The field is often an afterthought. The setting for the game is what makes it all possible. The facilities allow a sound level of play, whether they are a field, a pool, or a gym. Behind each of these facilities is a name: Howard C. “Hod” Ray, Norton Thorn-ton Sr., George Frank Hur-ley and George S. Stewart. The namesake of Paly’s foot-ball field, Hod Ray joined Paly’s athletic department in 1921 and he stayed at Paly until he passed away 30 years later. Ray led the football team to its first ever Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) champi-onship, a newly formed league at the time. During his football coaching career, the foot-ball team won a total of eight PAL cham-pionships and 17 second place finishes.

In addition to coaching football, Ray coached basketball, track, swimming and baseball. He led the track team to four PAL championships and an overall 42-16 dual-meet record. His basketball team won twelve PAL championships and his baseball teams won a total of six league titles. On top of coaching the various sports at Paly, Ray also taught Physical Education from 1937-1951. Although Ray enjoyed basketball the most, he was most known for his coaching success

with the football team. From 1950-1951 he led the team to back-to-back perfect seasons. Unfortunately, only a few weeks later, he died of a heart attack on the morning of Dec. 17, 1951. Ray had suffered from a heart attack in late 1945, but he had continued to coach even though doctors recommended he stop. Before his death, the football field was

named after Ray in 1937. That year he had coached the team to a 10-0 record. In an article, Hod Ray: Mr. Paly sports, writ-ten by Dave Kent in the Palo Alto Weekly from 1980, a player of Ray’s from the 1940s, named Bill Simons, spoke about Ray as a coach. “He taught clean sports and held that ideal above everything else,” Simons said. “He would never tolerate any cheap shots by his players.” Swimmers, water polo players, and div-ers would be lost without a pool. Paly is for-

tunate enough to have a pool and this pool is dedi-cated to historic coach, Norton Thornton Sr. He was born in England and came to the U.S. in 1914 during WWI. He graduated from Stan-ford University in 1930. Thornton was a

goalie on the All-American wa-ter polo team from 1928 to 1930. He was picked to be an alternate on the 1928 Ameri-can Olympic Team and was elected to the American Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1994. Two years after he graduated from Stanford, he decided to return, to coach swimming and water polo.

He taught clean sports and held that ideal above everything else. He would never tolerate any cheap shots by his players.

“”

by ANNA DUKOVIC

BACK IN TIME Four historic Paly coaches/teachers smile for the camera. From left to right: Hod Ray, Nor-ton Thornton, George Hurley, and George Stewart.

Similar to the four influential American men engraved in Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Paly has four historic figures of its own that were a crucial component in shaping Paly athletics throughout the years.


During the interim years he coached swim teams at Menlo Junior College. Eventually, Thornton moved on to coach at Mountain View High school in 1942. Three years later he made his way to Paly. Thornton coached water polo and swimming at Paly, as well as three physi-cal education classes, a history class, and a hygiene class. He also coached basket-ball. He continued coaching until 1960. His son, Norton Thornton, followed his father’s coaching career. He was the Men’s Swimming coach at the University of Cali-fornia, Berkeley from 1974-2007. He was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995 and the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Another influential, historical figure at Paly was George Frank Hurley, other-wise known as “Coach Hurley.”The base-ball diamond is dedicated to Hurley. He was born in San Francisco in 1909. He graduated from Washington State University, where he was an All-American football player. He went to three bowl games. He then went on to play for the Boston Braves and the Wash-ington Redskins in 1932 and 1933, as a guard. Hurley coached basketball in the 1950’s. In addition to basketball, Hur-ley also coached football a few years later. Earl Hansen, Paly’s athletic director, played football for Hurley in 1967 and 1968. In ad-dition to coaching, Hurley was also a driv-ing instructor. Hansen recaps a specific memory he had when Hurley was sitting in the passenger seat during one of his lessons. “We were driving along Alma,” Hansen said. “In those days in driver training, they had a break on their side. I [was] driving straight, minding my own business and he was snoozing. All of a sudden he [woke] up and hit the break... I will never forget that, that was hilarious.” Hurley was involved with Paly un-til his death in April of 1995. “He was a good coach,” Hansen said. “He loved to get everybody involved and he was positive.” Paly’s soon to be remodeled gym is dedi-cated to George S. Stewart. Stewart was Vice Principal of Paly from 1922-1953. Additionally, Stewart coached lightweight track and basketball teams until 1932. He served as a commissioner of the PAL league and a sec-retary of the PAL Coaches’ Association up until his death. Similar to Ray, when Stewart was 57 years old, he died from a heart attack in 1953. Watching the next Paly football, water polo or baseball game, one might focus on the players competing at hand or one might look past the game and think about the history behind it all. Many people contributed to the construc-tion of what makes Paly’s athletic program so highly praised; Ray, Thornton, Hurley, Stewart and so many more. Without these individu-als, Paly would not be what it is today. <<< FLASHBACK Paly’s buildings and athletic facilities back in the day.

SKYVIEW Paly’s campus and the surroundings in 1939.

GROUP SHOT Ray’s 1922 foot-ball team smiles for a picture. (1)HUDDLE UP Hod Ray looks off into the distance. Ray coached at Paly for a total of 31 years. (2)

21

NOVEMBER 2013


The UltimateFan

by TORI DESTEFANO

photos by Paul Biename

Dan Starrett’s (‘85) committment to the Paly athletic community motivates and drives student athletes

NOVEMBER 2013

It’s Friday night and Paly football is playing the San Benito Haybalers for their home opener of the 2013 season. Students are pounding on the bleach-ers, cheering as loudly as they can to support their team. Parents are watch-

ing attentively, hoping their kids play their best game. However, among the sea of fans in at-tendance, one fan stands apart from others. He sits alone staring intently at the game. This man is perhaps one of Paly’s most dedicated fans, attending almost every Paly game for nearly 20 years. His name is Dan Starrett (‘85), although most Paly students know him as Su-perfan Dan. Starrett attends numerous Paly games each season for almost every sport. His school spirit and dedication to Paly athletics has been rec-ognized by many parents and athletes who watch him give advice and cheer for the play-ers at almost every game. Although most Paly athletes are acquainted with Starrett through his constant presence at athletic games, not many students know his background story and what sparked his passion for high school sports. Starrett graduated in the class of 1985 at Paly. During his high school years, he claims that he

was not that interested in Paly sports and was nowhere near as spirited and dedicated as he is now towards the athletic program. “I was not a big fan back then,” Starrett said. “I wasn’t into that sort of thing [in high school], but my interests changed over time. … I started being a fan eight years after I gradu-ated.” Starrett blossomed into Superfan Dan, not because of a sudden interest in sports nor con-nections with the Paly athletes. He was facing challenges in his life, which resulted in him turning to high school sports for a newfound joy. “Family crisis struck in August of ‘94,” Star-rett said. “The previous school year I had been a fan, but that’s what pushed me into [being a fan] big time, as a way of overcoming grief… It helped me get over the suicide of my dad.” Starrett’s mother, Pat Starrett, is happy that her son found something he is so passionate about, because she understands it gives his life joy. “We had a situation in our family, and there was a lot of grief, and his father died,” Starrett said. “He started going to the games to have a good distraction and it [became] part of his life. It was something he really enjoyed doing.”

Still grieving his father, Starrett decided to attend the Central Coast Section track meet at San Jose City College in 1995. According to Starrett, it was here where he discovered his joy in attending Paly games. Starrett loves to support the students and their passions by going to all of their games. For him, it is less about the sports and more about supporting the students. “I’m a fan because I love high school stu-dents,” Starrett said. “Rooting for the sports is my way of showing my love for the students.” Starrett also believes that showing encour-agement to others and cheering for student athletes make him a better person and im-proves the value of his life. “It gives meaning to my life when I support others,” Starrett said. “It’s a good quality [and] it beats being selfish.” Going to Paly games slowly helped Starrett recover from the loss of his father and helped him get on with his life. The excitement of the games and his love for high school students distracted him from his sadness so he contin-ued to attend the games. As he cheered for the athletes and became a more prominent mem-ber of the Paly athletic community, he over-came the sadness of the family crisis and fo-

SUPPORTING WOPO Dan makes sure to keep up with Will Conner and Nelson Perla-Ward, water polo players who transfered to Sacred Heart two years ago.


cused on his positive support for the students. “It made me forgetful and kept me from being overcome [with] self pity and [falling] apart,” Starrett said. “It [helped me] get over it very quickly and get on with life and [Paly games] gets me off [myself] and into things again.” According to Starrett, his fa-vorite sports at Paly are cross country, track, water polo, swimming, soc-cer and lacrosse. However, he is witnessed at al-most all the games for most of the sports at Paly because he wants to make sure he shows support for all of the athletes. Starrett often sticks around after the games to congratulate the players on their success or just to socialize with them. Zac Rosenbaum (‘14), a player on the varsity boys’ lacrosse team, recognizes Starrett’s enthusiasm in the sport of lacrosse. According to Rosenbaum, even parents love Starrett and will sometimes offer him a snack after the lacrosse games. “Dan’s always a really supportive guy: a good

influence on the sidelines,” Rosenbaum said. “He likes to go around and give us high fives before the games and listen to our pregame speeches. A lot of the time the coaches will say, ‘Try to win it for Dan.’” Starrett’s support not only extends to home games, but also to away games as far as 2-3

hours away. “He’s a die hard fan,” Rosenbaum said. “He goes to all our away games.” Rosenbaum also believes that his teammates find joy in seeing him at all of their games. “My team always greets Dan when we see him and thank him when he wishes us good luck,” Rosenbaum said. “We even take photos with him sometimes.” Bowen Gerould (‘14), player on the var-sity baseball team, is also impressed with the amount of baseball games Starrett attends dur-

ing the season. According to Gerould, Starrett not only cheers for the players, but also gives them advice such as “aiming for the gap” when they’re up to bat. Starrett also goes to some of the away baseball games and has traveled the two hour drives to Carmel and Campolindo to cheer on the Paly baseball team.

“Dan is eas-ily our most sup-portive fan,” Ger-ould said. “He is at every game and even went so far as Carmel to watch us last year. Most parents didn’t even do that. He always

has something nice to say about us after each game.” In appreciation of his constant presence at Paly baseball games, the team invited him to attend their end of season baseball banquet at the Gerould family’s home. Gerould thought he deserved the invite and was glad to have him at their dinner. “It meant a lot to him,” Gerould said. “I’m glad he came. It was nice to have him there and it was the least we could do for his ongo-ing support.”

Dan is easily our most supportive fan. He is at every game and even went so far as Carmel to watch us last uear. Most parents didn’t even do that.

“”

CHATTING Dan chats with Victor Hatziefstratiou (‘13) in the big gym during the volleyball senior night game.

NOVEMBER 2013

Gerould also believes Starrett’s support at the away games gives the team some motiva-tion because he goes to the effort to drive to the games no matter the distance. “When he comes to away games, he moti-vates us because sometimes he is one of the only fans there to watch us even though he doesn’t have an obvious connection to the team,” Gerould said. “He is disappointed when we lose, just like we are, so we try to get the win to make everyone happy.” According to Starrett, Paly athletes appreci-ate his support when he comes to their games because it gives them motivation and spirit. Starrett believes his presence sometimes help them play better against competition. “I see a wide range of responses to my sup-port system,” Starrett said. “I’m grateful for it. Athletes tell me when they’re running they say that when I say to run faster or it just helps [them] play better and inspires them and gives them an extra motivation that they wouldn’t have if I was not there.” One may wonder why Starrett is always at high school athletic games instead of dedicat-ing his time to college or professional sports. Starrett feels that in college sports you can-not connect with the players as much as high school. Professional and college athletes are separated from the fans during and after the games so one never really learns who the play-ers are as people. In high school however, most student athletes love attention from fans. “You can congratulate the athletes more [in high school sports],” Starrett said. “They’re not as fenced off as they are at college [and] profes-sional [levels] so you can interact with them. It’s a lot more personal and you can talk to par-

SAY CHEESE Dan smiles for his 1985 yearbook photo for Palo Alto High School.

CLASS PHOTO The class of 1985 (when Dan as a gradu-ating Senior) poses for a photo.

POOL TIME Dan stands at the St. Francis pool where he is watching wa-ter polo, which he says is one of his favorite sprots to watch.


ents. It’s really easy to do that sort of thing in high school sports. If you’re in a college crowd it’s a lot bigger and you don’t make as much of a difference. You don’t stand out as much.” Starrett also has a preference for attending high school sport games instead of middle school and younger because they are more mature and easy to talk to. “Middle school students are going through changes and are harder to get along with,” Star-rett said. “High school students are easier for me to get along with because they’re more mature.” Paly physical educa-tion teacher and Junior Varsity football coach David Duran has noticed Starrett’s more re-cent commitment to athletic events, even at the lower levels of play. “The last couple of years, [Dan] has been at some of the bigger wrestling tournaments away, one in Gilroy and one in Fremont,” Du-ran said. “He came to some of the frosh-soph and JV tournaments as well, and he has been to many of the JV football games.” Duran also invited him to the wrestling ban-quet, to thank him for his passion for the team. “It’s nice to have him there, especially more on the road,” Duran said. “He likes coming, and I hope he keeps coming.” According to Duran, Starrett is supportive of the teams, win or lose. Because Dan is con-

sistently present, Duran believes that the Paly athletes think highly of him and look forward to seeing him. “They expect to see him now because hes been around so much,” Duran said. When he’s not there, [players] usually ask. The kids look forward to seeing him.” Usually when Starrett is spotted at Paly games, he is not with his family. In fact, his family overall does not find the same kind

of entertainment in high school games as he does. “My family is more into college and profes-sional sports,” Starrett said. “But I do have an uncle in North Carolina who goes to his lo-cal high school sports like me. My mom has been several times over the past few years but in general [she] doesn’t come. She retired re-cently and plans to come to more stuff.” According to his mother, Starrett has many hobbies besides attending Paly games in-cluding spending time with his friends and brothers, writing, helping high school teach-ers grade papers and working as a substitute special education aide for Palo Alto Unified School District. Starrett is also active in a lo-

cal political organization and works at voting polls. “He’s a very intelligent man and he enjoys his life,” his mother said. Starrett also believes that the spirit and ex-citement of high school games motivate him to participate in other activities in life and pursue his goals. “It’s a great way to be inspired to do other things in my life,” Starrett said.

Despite his busy schedule in his personal life, Starret rarely misses the chance to watch Paly athletes play. Paly games foster an environment full of support and excitement for Starrett. The games

give him something exciting to look forward to. “I love high school students and [going to their games] helps give my life meaning and joy,” Starrett said. Starrett also loves the feeling of being a part of a community as strong as that of Paly’s. His constant encouragement and support inspires many athletes to be more passionate and dili-gent in their games and life in general. Sup-porting the athletic teams is one of his passions and it gives his life more excitement. “Overall, I have a sense of purpose,” Starrett said. “I have a sense of belonging to something and a sense of meaning.” <<<

WATCHING Dan stands on the PALY pool deck during the boys water polo senior night game. The boys went on to win that match 14-7 as Dan cheered them on.

It’s nice to have him there, especially more on the road. He likes com-ing, and I hope he keeps coming.

“”

Columns: The Last Word

On October 10th, tragedy struck. The striking news that Adrian Peterson’s two year old son, Tyrese Rob-ert Ruffin, was reportedly beaten to death broke out.

To add on to the shock, Peterson announced that he’d play in the Vikings game against the Panthers the following Sunday despite his tragic loss. That this man had it in him to go on and play a game of professional football just a few days after such an event demonstrates the in-credible amount of character “All Day” pos-sesses. Peterson went on to rush for 62 yards in The Vikings’ 35-10 loss to Carolina. Although not his typical Peterson numbers, the fact that he was able to overcome such disheartening news and to compete in the game – simply as-tonishing. Despite losing his son, Adrian Peterson was able to go out be the Adrian Peterson the world has come to know, averaging 6.2 yards

per carry in the matchup with the Panthers. I commend Peterson for having such iron will to go out and perform the way he did, in wake of such an emotionally taxing tragedy. But could we really expect any less from AP? Peterson has grown accustom to over-coming adversity by competing in games, using football as a way of escape to diminish the tragedies life has thrown at him. Through football, Adrian Peterson has managed to put the deaths of two brothers, a childhood sur-rounded by poverty and the fact that his father was a prison inmate, all behind him. Tragedy has continued to chase Peterson, but all AP seems to do is turn that into fuel to continue breaking records. However, critics have emerged in wake of the incident - something I think to be incred-ibly insensitive. The media has claimed Peterson’s decision to play as rash and that he demonstrated a lack of care for the child “he never got to know.” To say that Adrian Peterson doesn’t feel for

the death of his own son is ignorant. No other way to put it. Sure, Peterson did not have the strongest relationship with his late son, but he made it clear that he had strong intentions to rekindle and strengthen that connection be-tween the two before the tragedy unfolded. It is incredibly unfortunate to see that the oppor-tunity to improve this relationship with his son has been stripped from Peterson. Despite all the hardships Peterson has faced in his life, the sheer amount of perseverance that he possesses is what has made him so suc-cessful. Peterson’s level of resilience is argu-ably unmatched in the league because of all that he’s gone through. By continually push-ing forward instead of cowering in the face of adversity, AD has placed himself in quite the spot: The NFL’s reigning MVP. Matched with an outstanding work ethic, I believe it is rea-sonable to say that if it weren’t for the tragedies Peterson has put behind himself, he wouldn’t be the player he is now. Adrian Peterson’s situation is the epitome of how great adversity can shape someone. The obstacles AP faced in his marathon of a life has made him the outstanding football player he is today. So my message to you, Paly community, is this: Times will be hard. But when you are faced with hardship, your reaction to how you choose to respond to the given situation will epitomize your character. There are those who choose to simply give up, and conversely, those who roll up their sleeves and who get right to work improving their own character. In some ways, adversity is a blessing in itself. It knocks us down, making us believe we’ve failed. But failure is always the first step to suc-cess. In the words of Malcolm X: “There is no bet-ter than adversity. Every defeat, every heart-break, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your perfor-mance the next time.”

Victory in the face of adversityby ZACH RIZK

When you are caught between a rock and a hard place and adversity knocks, how will you respond?

ALL DAY Facing such a tragic loss just days before his game against Carolina, Adrian Peterson rushed for 62 yards, overcoming adversity.

Master California Watercolor ArtistFine Art Reproduction

Don O’Neill AWS

Prices start at $95

See our display at Los Gatos Framing Company: 220 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Los Gatos, CA (408) 395-2022

Shop online at www.DonONeill.com and a 20% donation will be made to the Viking Magazine!

Domes of the Mission Inn, Riverside, CA

You do your best to live healthy.We do our best to keep you that way.

pamf.org

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

A Fine and Dangerous Season In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Palo Alto businessman Nate Michaels takes off from Moffett Field for an emergency meeting with President Kennedy. Four days later, he’s rac-ing across the rooftops of the nation’s capital in a desperate effort to avert nuclear war.

Available in print and as an e-book from Amazon.com

by Keith Raffel

“Unfolds with frightening veracity”Palo Alto Weekly

Keep score of Paly Sports 24/7From game coverage to scores, schedules

and Athlete of the Week videos, stay on top

of Paly Sports on PASportsOnline.com, the

sports website of Palo Alto Online and the

Palo Alto Weekly.

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTPALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL50 EMBARCADERO ROADPALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA 94301

Non-profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit #44

Palo Alto, CA

the viking: volume 7, issue 2

Documents