The Word7October 2016SPORTS

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team has accomplished many achievements not only for them-selves but for Kennedy as well. Golf is a sport that requires

a large amount of prepara-tion in order to compete. The girls devote three days a week for three hours to physi-cally and mentally strength-en their skills and refine their strategies for the game. At the Knollwood Country Club, the girls practice rain or shine.

They practice their putting by getting four golf balls in a hole from a distance of five feet, and once they have

achieved that, they continue to move farther and farther away. In addition to putting, they also strive to improve their swings, which begin with half swings and then progress into full swings. Each girl on the team use dif-ferent types of clubs, and each club has its own swing to master. In order to learn these dif-ferent forms of swings, a

large capacity for patience and mental strength is needed. Although they are a team, each girl focuses on her own indi-

Kennedy’s varsity girls golf team has been classified as unde-feated for four years straight and are constantly improving their performance to keep it that way. Through their dedication, pa-tience, and perseverance, the

vidual performance and is re-sponsible for her own score. To attain the best possible score, the girls prepare and strategize for different sce-narios that could take place. For example, they train to fix a bad shot in a short gap of time or how to prepare them-selves for moments of fatigue. “It may not seem like much to others, but golf is a sport that if you practice too much than your mind won't be on task and your practice will seem useless,” commented senior Cynthia Alvarez. The dedication for practice each week has been a driving force for the girls to be-come triumphant in their games. The leadership skills from captains Jazmine Mejia and Ana Sampedro also takes part of the girls path to success. As captains, Mejia and Sampe-dro encourage the girls to always do their best, and if assistance is needed, they are always present to help their fellow teammates. Coach Larry Wagenbach, who has been in charge of Kennedy’s golf team for almost twenty years, and volunteer coach Rob-ert Mejia both teach, support, and help the girls in any way they can so there can be individ-ual and collective improvement. Sophomore Emily Chun stated, “Success is due to the ambition and effort put forward to get bet-

ter at our sport by ourselves and by our coaches.” With the en-couragement from their coach-es, captains, and each other, the girls are given the fuel they need to keep advancing forward. In early November, the city championship tournament will begin, and the girls are hoping to make it as a whole team and remain undefeated in league. “I expect the girls to go un-defeated in league since we have the experience and most of the girls have been on the team for several years, and the younger girls are very talented as well,” expressed Wagenbach. Next year, newcomers will have the task of continuing to do well and keep the undefeated streak that the girls from these past years have worked so hard for. Over the years, practice and the games have become more in-tense, however, because of this change in pace, the team has been able to improve even more. In these past weeks the girls have already defeated Syl-mar, Reseda, and Birmingham. Mejia stated, “We are just as hardworking and passionate as any other team in the school, and I hope the girls will al-ways show pride in their sport.” The team is rising above their expectations and are mak-ing accomplishments for Kennedy and the sport golf.

by Sophia Reyes

Out Fore VictoryGirls golf continuing to keep undefeated status

Staff Writer

by Enrique Ormeno

Setting Up a Different ApproachThe changes that head coach John Maluyo is executing

Staff Writer

With a spring season loom-ing ahead for the Kennedy boys volleyball team it has only meant one thing this year: hard work. Since the second day of school they have been con-ditioning, practicing, and educating themselves for the start of a great season. Head coach John Maluyo be-

by Carlos Camacho

Athletic Fundraising FrenzySports fundraising becoming essential in the department

Sports Editor

Since more and more schools are facing budgetary shortfalls, there is an ever increasing need to turn to fundraising to help keep high school athletic programs alive. Equipment, transportation, uni-forms, and tournament fees are a few of the things that fund-raising will potentially cover. Kennedy coaches are very much aware that their respec-tive programs need to support their school as much as pos-sible with these hefty expenses. Coach John Maluyo from boys volleyball explained, “In order for any program to flourish, these things that are seen by the public may seem very minuscule but are huge in helping to carry a program to the next level.” Maluyo stresses the importance of collective student and parent involvement in order for the fund-raising project to be a success. If the parents or students are not on board, there is a risk of the fundraiser being a failure. In order to ensure that the ef-forts are not fruitless, a strategy proposed by Coach Justin Vink from girls water polo and boys and girls swim has neen planned. “We organize the athletes so each one has their own responsibili-ties and is accountable for their own part in order to execute the process,” revealed Vink. If an athlete does not do his or her part, then the program needs to work harder to cover for whoever does not participate. In order to initiate the fund-raising process, the team pro-

poses an idea, and as long as the proposed idea to fundraise is ap-proved by the school, then the group can conduct it accordingly. Another way athletic teams can gain some financial capi-tal is if a company volun-teers to sponsor or donate. If that is the case, they sim-ply fill out a form and the fi-nancial amount is placed in the account for the team. If the fundraiser is on campus and consists of selling a pre-determined product such as chocolates or cookie dough, 50% of the revenue goes to the student body and the other 50% goes to the athletic program. Athletic teams have come up with several different ideas to raise as much money as possible. Vink remarked, “Things like setting up an allotted time at a restaurant where a percent-age of the purchases go to the program have been profitable. There isn’t necessarily one good extremely profitable meth-od, but if we can do several fundraisers then it is beneficial.” Coach Raphael Carlos from boys soccer plans to team up with a laser tag establishment and sell passes to attend an evening of fun where 100% of the pro-ceeds will go to the soccer team. Fabricio Alvarenga, junior on varsity soccer, comment-ed “We all need to work to-gether to help out our coach. I feel like if we have multiple fundraisers we can come up with a significant amount of money to help pay for better equipment that will help our team improve.”

Ana Sampedro practicing her swing at Knollwood Country Club before a competition

lieves there isn’t room through-out the year to take a break and set aside practicing fundamentals. The program has had a makeover since last year. There are new additions which include morning prac-tices every other day, 6th pe-riod practices, and some af-ter school practices where the players focus on fundamentals such as setting and passing. In contrast to last year, where the boys started about two weeks

prior to the first game of their season, which was the begin-ning of a 2-9 record because of the little exposure players got playing in game-like situations. Andrew Nguyen, varsity all-around player, looks at the future of Kennedy vol-leyball in a positive way. Nguyen is ecstatic because of how many players are sacrific-ing their time and energy to go to

mentioned, “... I feel less moti-vated in becoming better when I see the small amount of people who come in the morning. It just makes you ask yourself if they’re going to show the same lack of effort on the court.” Maluyo explained that he wants his team to come out ex-plosive and ready to compete. He says that he wants to build a family atmosphere with his team. The Cougars are looking forward to seeing what they can do against

some of the workouts he conducts. “Many have shown how they’re willing to get better, and I feel that with time and lots of game-like situations, we can build a strong team.” An anonymous source con-fessed that he also thinks the program Maluyo is trying to build is going to have a success-ful outcome, however he feels that the team is missing a certain type of bond among themselves. The anonymous source also

the teams in the Valley Mis-sion League this upcoming year. Maluyo has repetitively said that certain individuals who re-ally want to be on the team are going to have to step up. At the end of it all, it will come down to those individu-als who will lead by example, by sacrificing, staying commit-ted and remaining enthusiastic. There are six spots on the court, Maluyo asks, “Who will be those six?”

Andrew Nguyen, Christopher Chao, and Nico De La Fuente practicing at an open gym