Sports
Students dive into Senior Project
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By Toby Kemp
hree students completed courses for their Senior Projects in order to earn their scuba diving licenses. The students plan to use their new skills for both recreation and work. “I am majoring in ecology and biology, and these go hand in hand with the ocean,” senior Jeff Stump said. “The ocean is the world’s largest playground as far as science is concerned because it has the largest amount of species. Hopefully, I can use it in my major if we ever have to study in the ocean.” The scuba diving license also provides an advantage for students going into certain military positions. “With a scuba diving license, there are more job opportunities in the Marines. I want to go into a specialty unit,” senior Kyle Donald said. “Force Reckon (a Marines specialty unit) jumps out of planes into oceans and has extra survival and medical training.” Scuba diving can provide a fun source of recreation for anyone not planning to enter a field which might require this license. “Most of my brothers are certified, and it seemed like a fun Senior Project,” senior Ben Clark said. “Any time I vacation, I am going to try to go scuba diving.” Locally, the three students all spoke about Diver’s Supply Indy West: an Indianapolis area scuba diving outlet, near Ben Davis High School, which offers courses in addition to equipment for scuba divers. Courses are $250 to become certified and $50 to rent equipment. Divers wishing to purchase their own equipment may have to pay $200 or more for items: snorkels, regulators, gauges, BCDs (Buoyancy Control Devices), masks, fins and wetsuits are just a few of these items. “I had three classes on Saturdays and two open water dives. The classes are a lecture then a quiz, and after that, you go into a pool and apply,” Clark said. “I learned about basic scuba diving precautions, how to work equipment and problems with scuba diving.” Clark and Stump both stated one part of the class was the most difficult. “It is tough to learn how to use dive tables; they tell you how much time your break needs to be between dives,” Stump said.
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By Brittany Sheedy
ootball players have been working out since December with a Fall 2008 focus. Junior Kyle Dawe, linebacker, will return from a back injury. “I had too bad of a back to play last year. I severely pulled a muscle in my back,” he said. “I am really looking forward to getting out there and playing this year.” The team will need to work together to perfect. “We are a strong team,” junior Nick Smale, left tackle said. “We are not that fast, but that is something we will try and work on over the summer. We will do a lot of conditioning.” Coach Mike Campbell is ready to get back into full swing with his team. “I am looking forward to getting started and back into full workouts,” he said. “We are always looking to raise the level of expectations. We need to focus on our wins and losses and our effort.” The football team puts hours into practices before and after school.
Senior Matt Thompson works out in the weight room power cleaning during APC. The weight room will be open almost every day during the Summer. Tyler Hensley photo
Athletes start summer workouts
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By Macey Moreland
his summer, GHS sports teams will be working hard for the upcoming Fall season. Students will be attending camps and training sessions during the summer months to keep their skills up to par. “This summer, I will be attending a tennis camp at with my father, sister, and other college players; it should be a great learning experience,” Dane Kawamoto, sophomore tennis player said.
“This is due to nitrogen in the air; it is just hard to understand.” These tables help to prevent illnesses: decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity, which are commonly caused by scuba diving. After completing the class, students complete open water dives; however, Indiana is not an ideal place for scuba diving. “The open water dives were in an old limestone quarry that is about 55 feet deep; it is not very exciting,” Stump said. “I went scuba diving at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida; the water there is a lot warmer and has a rich diversity of life. Divers who stay in Indiana to dive are in for a surprise. “I went to Blue Springs, Indiana, near Waldron with two of my friends. It was very, very, very cold; it was probably the coldest thing I have ever experienced,” Clark said. “In the summer, it is warm near the top and cold towards the bottom. In more tropical places, you don’t need a wetsuit, but there is no place like that in Indiana.” In order to combat extremely cold conditions, manufacturers create wetsuits using neoprene, which has small gas cells trapped in it during the process; the poor conductivity of neoprene reduces the loss of body heat by conduction. The suit also traps a small layer of water which heats to help insulation. For this reason, wet suits must be tight and well-sealed to prevent heat loss by convection. “Putting on and taking off the wetsuit is my least favorite part of scuba diving,” Stump said. “They are really tight on you, and you have to soap up to make it easier.” Clark stated about getting on the wetsuit, “You have to be lucky.” Once divers were in the water, they encounter various situations they have been taught to deal with. “Clearing my mask if water got in it was difficult at first,” Donald said. “You have to tilt your head back, hold the top of your mask, and blow air out your nose to get it out. A lot of people are paranoid about water on your face, but I am not.” However, the divers know what to do. “It wasn’t really scary to scuba dive; it was just the thought of if you ran out of air,” Donald said. “You have to trust your knowledge
and know what your doing; it is pretty much all mental.” Scuba is actually an acronym for Self Controlled Underwater Breathing Apparatus. “I like being able to breathe underwater; it’s pretty nutty,” Clark said. “It is different at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.”
Senior Jeff Stump dives in a pool well with a friend from his scuba diving class. Stump completed the scuba diving course over the summer as part of the Senior Project Early Bird program. Jeff Stump photo
“We actually have already started working out for next season,” Dawe said. “It takes a lot of hard worl and dedication. Teamwork is something all players see in line for their season. “I really want to focus on teamwork and working together on our team chemistry,” Smale said. “I also want to focus on winning.” The weight room is an important part of a football player’s life. “We need to continue to commit to the weight room,” coach Campbell said. “That is one of our strengths and weaknesses.” Players always look forward to after game fun. “I am really looking forward to Friday nights,” Smale said. “They are the best, we can hang out and have fun.” Mr. Campbell has a goal for his team next year. “One of the team goals is to improve on our conference standings,” he said. “We won two conference games last year, and I am hoping to improve our record.” Sports camps arranged by GHS coaches sometimes travel to get the best out of their workout time. For example, the cross-country team goes to McCormick’s Creek “Cross-country camp starts the first week of August. It is about four days long, and each day, we do two or three runs. When we are not running, we will spend our time together eating, playing cards, but most of all, playing ultimate Frisbee,” Kevin Cox, sophomore cross-country runner said. Camp for football players consists of team camp and two-a-days, although each are not required it is recommended that football athletes attend. “Practice consists of warm-ups, individuals, special teams and other skills,” Garrett Neesen, sophomore football player said. “Towards the last few days of summer, we start actual practice and the workouts become more intense.” Although camps are an important part of any teams exercise, summer also includes a term that every athlete loves to hear, two-a-days. “Two-a-days for tennis begin usually around the end of July,” Kawamoto said. “During camp we run in the mornings, jump rope and play matches.” Usually, coaches give their athletes extra workouts to do to keep up on their games. “I workout during the off season, and during the summer when workouts aren’t mandatory, I go to weights every morning at 6 a.m. to lift,” Neesen said.
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Kayla Straw graphic
The Woodman face off against Pioneer. The team will be lifting weights to gain strength for the next season. Sam Richardson photos
Students turn to rodeo fun
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By Rebecca Newbrough
reshman Ashley Milburn spends her weekends in a different environment. Milburn does barrel racing and rodeo riding every weekend at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. She has only been taking riding lessons for a few years and is already up to the second and third fastest divisions in her races. “My aunt bought me my first horse when I was 12 and I started taking lessons right after that,” Milburn said. “I have been taking my lessons for the past three years at Taylor Turn Stables up in Southport.” Barrel racing is not as easy as it sounds. “I race every weekend against other riders from Indiana as well as Illinois and Kentucky,” Milburn said. “There are three barrels set up, and the horse must alternate, going right and left, sort of in a triangle pattern. The race is finished when the horse passes the time box. It is all a race against time. The fastest horse and rider is the winner of their division.” Milburn does more than simply race. “I ride in NBHA shows at the Fairgrounds,” Milburn said. “Each show serves as extra points for your division. My goal is to get up to the NFR, which is the National Finals Rodeo. It is for those in the first division, so I need to get a
faster race time.” There is plenty of work behind the scenes that must be attended to when owning and riding horses. “It is a lot of work to prepare my horse for a show or race,” Milburn said. “For every show, I have to give her a bath, brush her hair, and get all the equipment set straight such as the saddle and reigns.” Milburn has many hopes for herself in rodeo riding as a future career. “I would like to go pro and ride for a living,” Milburn said. “My goal right now is to get up to the NFR, which is the National Finals Rodeo. It is for those in the first division, so I need to get a faster race time in my division right now. I should be getting another horse soon, so it might be able to go faster when I race.”