The Standard - Volume 8 Issue 4

rappers on the rise local soundcloud rappers share their experiences

feature pages 10-11

standard the

blue valley southwest | volume 8 | issue 4

2 | contents / the standard / dec. 2017

contents feature 06 | 08 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 27 |

iPhone X KC coffee guide rappers on the rise t-wolf traditions blast to the past hoops for hope

sports

08

15 | winter sports preview 30 | life of the game 32 | out for the season

news

12 | time well spent

opinion

04 | the better millenials 07 | navigating naviance 24 | curriculum confinement

15

review

on the cover 20 | students use SoundCloud to promote their music

photo illustration by jonah mccormick

I swear I’m not a Yelper volume 8 / issue 4 www.bvswnews.com

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editor’s note Passion is what drives us. It’s not the thought of the history quiz you forgot to study for the night before or the fact you have to work right after school that wakes you up at six o’clock every morning; it’s the motivation you find in your daily life that drives you. Whether it be creating music to share with others or playing basketball to help families in need, we all have our passions.

Ever since I could understand the concept of a future, I have listened to the adults in my life about where I should end up. With endless talks about careers in medicine or any other job that earned the most money, I began to convince myself that that was where my passions lie. This year, much to my parents’ dismay, I have gone beyond this facade and found my passion in writing. Of course, it had seemed to always be there, but I never considered it as something that drove me. But, as I walked into room 118 every week and I am surrounded by this community of passionate people all working together on the issues you receive during advisory, there is no doubt in my mind writing is a passion that I will not be giving up anytime soon.

On staff this semester, we have all managed to find our niches. We have found what we are good at and what we could improve on. But, most of all, we have found what motivates us to continue to write the stories enclosed in these pages.

No matter if we despise the ink staining our fingers when shuffling through the papers after print or the way we have to write 20 minute interviews down word-for-word, we create issue after issue because of the passion we all hold.

the standard editor-in-chief arielle singer online editor emma olinger writing coaches megan flood summer lyon social media manager elianna oliver staff writers samrina acharya aubrey birk brooklyn macdonald victoria palmer isha patel lauren urschel justin wingerter graphic designers jonah mccormick isaiah tarwater adviser rachel chushuk

The Southwest Standard is published seven times a year for students, faculty and surrounding community of Blue Valley Southwest. It is an open forum for student expression. Therefore, the opinions expressed within this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration of Blue Valley Unified School District #229.

Letters to the editor and reader responses are encouraged for publication. The Southwest Standard reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content and encourages letters to be no more than 350 words. All letters must be signed and names will be published.

| writing coach

The Standard 17600 Quivira Road Overland Park, KS 66221 Website: bvswnews.com Email: bvswnews@gmail.com

THE BETTER MILLE

4 | opinion / the standard /dec. 2017

how generation z is going to

A

s every new generation is told that they are going to be the future leaders of the world and that they will guide their country through new developing problems and technology, there are generations that separate themselves from the rest and improve upon their elder generations’ accomplishments. But there are also generations that go forgotten because of their lack of an impact on the world.

Generation Z, or as some know the “iGeneration,” is a multitasking, entrepreneurial, group of early starters ready to make an impact in the world as soon as possible. Gen Z is a very determined generation with their expectations set high and their goals set higher.

In a survey by the Huffington Post, 72 percent of Gen Z teens want to start their own company. This is the type of innovative spirit that will propel this generation past all others. A Gen Z in defined by someone born inbetween the years 1996-2010 while a Millennial is someone born between the years 1977-1995 according to GEN HQ. Science teacher Lynn Martens said Gen Z will make an early impact in the world due to their problem solving skills.

“Gen Zs are really good problem solvers and really creative because their world is more expanded at an early age and they bring more to the table in discussions, in thoughts, in projects, because they are more global students,” Martens said.

This type of creativity and problem solving abilities is what Martens said will propel Gen Z in the future and help more and more teens make their dreams of starting their own successful company possible.

Most elders characterize Gen Z and Millennials as similar generations, but they are far from it. After teaching for 29 years, Martens said she has dealt with both generations.

“Millennials are very unique,” Martens said. “The Millennials grew up in a very cushioned environment and they were not told ‘no,’ they were not told ‘you need to do it again’ or ‘you didn’t do great but you get a gold star for breathing.’ It’s kind of required for life; you may get a gold star for doing something, but so do a lot of other people, so they tend to not see their place in society. They tend to think everything revolves around them.”

Martens, who said she only had praise for Gen Z, said she believes Gen Z is going to make a more positive impact on the world.

“Gen Z is more global-centered, so they grew up with the technology that linked them to the rest of the world,” Martens said.

“They weren’t in the phase of ‘Oh, now I can talk to someone in Japan’ they were in the phase of ‘And do you know what’s going wrong in Japan?’ They took that next step, and since it is so background for them to be able to contact other place, they know

Millennials: Gen Why?

a heck of a lot of things on the other side of the planet.”

English teacher Marin McCrossen has been teaching for 30 years and said she does not like to stereotype generations into a certain personality.

“I think [Gen Z’s] openess to whatever is a tremendous strength, because technology and the 24-hour news cycle is so prevalent with their generation,” McCrossen said.

“They know a lot more than I ever did, and they understand more about the world than I ever did at your age.”

Not only is their openness to learning and to everything in the world a large strength, Martens said their ability to recognize social situations is vital for their future success.

“They are technological, but everyone after Millennials will be technological, of course,” Martens said. “They understand the downfalls of technology … [they] understand if I want a quality conversation with a friend at a coffee shop, they are going to put their phone away.”

But when Gen Z decides to use their phone instead, sophomore Brock Duty said using his phone at times also makes him more sociable.

“I think we are more social because we use our phones a lot more,” Duty said. “We talk to different people around the world and it helps us stay much more connected.”

Duty said this unique ability to connect with others all around the world with just

NNIALS

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take over the world one click of a button will help Gen Z make differences globally.

According to the Huffiington Post, 58 percent of adults worldwide ages 35 and up agree that “kids today have more in common with their global peers than they do with adults in their own country.”

While Duty said phones help Gen Z, sophomore John Price said the ability to make close relationships is in jeopardy because of phones.

“I actually don’t think Gen Zs get along as well,” Price said. “In the past, all the communities were super tight and all the kids were friends with each other, but now everything is so spread out and so technology-based that kids aren’t developing the same relationships that they would in the past because they are just doing everything on text or through their computer or phone so they aren’t able to really see the people as much, and they aren’t forced to have face-to-face conversation.”

Despite this weakness, Price said he takes pride in being a Gen Z. Duty said Gen Z is “clutch under pressure situations.”

“I think Gen Zs have a lot more pressure on them than any other generation to do well,” Price said. “That leads to them being hard-working.”

This is one of the main qualities that

In contrast, Gen Z is prepared for the real world because of their financial responsibility. Because these teens grew up during the Great Recession of 2008, they have learned these qualities necessary to thrive.

According to Pew Charitable Trusts, during the Great Recession, the median net worth of Gen Z’s parents fell by nearly 45 percent.

This ability to stay fiscally responsible is only one of the many traits that will make Gen Z a superior generation to the Millenials in the future.

“I think Gen Z will be better prepared for the future especially with education now and such a push for STEM education,” Price said.

“There is a ton of work with technology and computers, which is where the jobs of the future are going to be, things like programming and technology-based jobs. I think schools are doing a really good job of preparing kids for the technology-based future that we are going to work in.”

“Gen Zs are really good problem solvers and really creative because their world is more expanded at an early age. They bring more to the table in discussions, in thoughts, in projects, because they are more global students.”

| scienceteacherlynnmartens tends to set Gen Zs and Millennials apart from each other. Gen Zs tend to be able to put in the work toward their goals while Millennials expect their goals to come to them. “[Millennials] think that power is everything, and power comes at a cost, and every privilege has responsibility, and they didn’t see the other side of that,” Martens said.

Gen Z:

| justinwingerter

The iPhone Generation

6 | feature / the standard / dec. 2017

iPhone X

100 students surveyed about newest Apple product

Camera with built in lighting analysis 5.5” or 4.7” display Splash, water and dust resistant

“I have heard that the new iPhone doesn’t have a charging cord. It has a face scanner which will be really cool and interesting to test out; I am really excited to see how I like it.” | juniorallisonbehrens

Wireless charging Barometer functions Superimposing constellation on the sky

Features preferred at BVSW:

37 %

pla n

63

a

g or want to

upgradin g

not upgr

din

on

%

are

The face ID can animate your face and take a message of you talking into many animal characters

| brooklynmacdonald

30% of students’ favorite feature is water resistance 40% of students’ favorite feature of is wireless charging

30% of students’

favorite feature is the face identification

opinion / the standard /dec. 2017 | 7

navigating naviance

college resources for students should be better explained

T

hursday afternoon, 20 students shuffle from their advisory room to the library.

Seated at the computers, they log into Naviance and follow the instructions to take the same quiz they took the year before.

After mindlessly clicking answers, the bell rings, they log off and file out for their next class, knowing they won’t open Naviance again for at least a month, if not longer.

In advisory freshman year, students are introduced to Naviance — a website aimed at career and college readiness solutions, according to naviance.com — and told they will become familiar with it over the course of the next four years. However, the benefits Naviance has to offer are largely lost on students because they either don’t understand how to use it or use it so rarely.

Junior Jacqueline Keith said that so far, Naviance hasn’t been particularly useful to her.

“I view it as a little bit of a hassle, and I know that it can be helpful, but I definitely don’t use it very much,” Keith said. “I feel like it’s something that’s just there that I haven’t used as a resource.”

Keith said she has been planning for college and doing college research since her freshman year, however Naviance hasn’t been a resource she has used in this process.

“I don’t feel like they say a lot about the college application process, at least not anything that I’ve heard, because I’m only a junior, and they definitely might provide this information later, but they’ve never really told us much about the college application process and what we need to know,” Keith said.

Students are often encouraged by parents and teachers to begin their college search early, but it can be confusing to know where to start. This confusion is only added to when they have tasks thrown at them like the Naviance career quiz, which Keith said was fun at first, but became tedious and repetitive after doing the same quiz multiple times. Beyond the quiz, though, senior Gabby Ochoa said her contact with Naviance was minimal up until this school year. “[I used Naviance] when I was forced to up until this year when it was ‘I need to go in and send a request for [recommendation]

letters, better go fill out the counselor information survey,’” Ochoa said. “That was a little easier to do because I understood that there was a purpose to it.”

Similarly, senior Nick Castle said he didn’t use Naviance at all the first three years of his high school career. This year, it has been beneficial in a few aspects, but as far as college applications, he said it felt more like an extra step to have to connect Naviance to his Common Application, which he used to apply to colleges.

“It’s really, to me, been another step I have to follow, another hoop I have to

I view [Naviance] as a little bit of a hassle, and I know that it can be helpful, but I definitely don’t use it very much. I feel like it’s something that’s just there that I haven’t used as a resource. | juniorjacquelinekeith jump through,” Castle said. “It has shown me some scholarship opportunities, which has been helpful, but in the applications themselves, it hasn’t really been helpful. I did not use Naviance whatsoever to figure out what colleges I wanted to apply to.”

Naviance stands to offer many resources for students, such as scholarship opportunities, college representative visits to the school and resume templates, to name a few, but in order for these to be utilized, students need to be aware of them and should be taught how to use them properly, not just be forced take a quiz and then left with meaningless results. Especially when doing college applications, where there is a lot to organize for those who are applying to multiple colleges, knowing what resources are available would minimize stress.

“I think that [help is] probably available,

I just wasn’t aware of it when I needed to be,” Ochoa said. “Now, I’m starting to understand that there are meetings to go talk to your counselor and stuff but when I was doing all of my applications over the summer, I had no clue that the school had resources available. They need to advertise them a little more, especially to juniors, because a lot of people fill out their applications over the summer because that’s when they have time to do it because they’re due in the fall.”

Castle said while he took the initiative to talk to the counselor and find out what he needed from them or asked his sister, a current college student, he’s helped peers who were confused as to what they needed to complete and when.

“I feel like because I went in and talked to my counselor, I was able to receive the information that I needed,” Castle said. “I feel like the school could probably stand to provide more information, because I know some of my friends, they didn’t know what all the due dates were or some of the essays they needed to write with enough time to write a good essay in time with the due date, so I feel like if the school was a little more proactive telling the students what they need done, when it needs to be done — it’s not the school’s responsibility to do that, but it could be helpful.”

The resources are there, and the counselors are always ready to help with any questions, but it would reduce work on the counselors and stress on students if tools like Naviance and the Common Application were explained, as well as reduce the feeling that Naviance is a nuisance or altogether pointless.

“Don’t take us down, make us sit at the computer, and look at Naviance, make us look at the Common App, and let us look at what we actually need to be doing, instead of sitting in the advisory rooms and playing charades,” Castle said.

| meganflood

8 | feature / the standard / dec. 2017

KC COFFEE GUIDE coffee lovers explore local cafes

monarch coffee

3550 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111

1

“

I really enjoy the area Monarch is in and the overall aesthetic.

I love how simple the color scheme is as well.

I usually go to cute coffee shops downtown once every other week.

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2

junior savannah king

3 (1) Customers at Monarch Coffee in downtown Kansas City relax on a Saturday morning.

(2) The baristas at Monarch Coffee use the foam of lattes to form designs on the top of various drinks. (3) Monarch Coffee features a large seating area for customers to drink their coffee.

|9 2063 E Santa Fe St, Olathe, KS 66062

sweet tee’s (4) The walls of Sweet Tee’s Coffee Shop in Olathe are lined with coffee mugs, which customers select when they order drinks. (5) Sweet Tee’s offers a variety of coffee and tea beverages. Senior Ashley Schumacher ordered a caramel and vanilla latte.

5

“

4 senior ashley schumacher

post coffee co.

“

”

senior marcus hedstrom

6 | ariellesinger

”

200 NE Chipman Rd, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063

(6) Post Coffee Company photo courtesy of Marcus Hedstrom.

My favorite coffee shop is Post Coffee Company in Lee’s Summit because it [has] a really great atmosphere and the staff is really nice and they have really good coffee.

Sweet Tee’s has a cute and cozy environment. I like how you can pick your own cup. It is different from many other coffee shops in the area.

10 | feature / the standard / dec. 2017

Rappers on the rise

S

local SoundCloud artists share their experiences on the app

oundCloud has produced many of today’s top rappers such as Lil Pump, Chance The Rapper, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. The music streaming industry is on the rise as well. Every year, SoundCloud accounts for many of hip-hop’s newest artists.

Students like junior Aidan Bates (username AiDank) are joining the trend and starting to produce music on the streaming app.

Bates said he found the inspiration to start rapping from senior Ethan Diedel (username A$AP Allah), and after that, he found the time to start producing his own rap music on SoundCloud.

“When A$AP Allah started producing music, it started sounding pretty heat, so I figured that I needed to hop on that train,” Bates said. “It was all Ethan Diedel. He was the reason I started producing my music.”

One of Bates’s best known songs is the single “Garfield,” featuring junior Ben Hawkins (username B. Huns). Although Bates said he always tries to produce great music, he only wants to rap as a hobby and for fun, and does not intend to pursue it after high school.

“I want to make some really good music, but also I just want to get a few laughs out of

some people too,” Bates said. “Sitting around and thinking about lyrics and stuff like that with friends, that’s my favorite part about rapping.”

When asked about how he had made his song “Garfield,” Bates said he and his friends just went into the studio and started writing lyrics, and before they knew it, the song was a hit.

“At the time, me and my friends just wanted to produce a super icy track, so we went to the studio and just started vibing, and before we knew it, ‘Garfield’ was there, and AiDank had been born,” Bates said.

| 11

However, rappers are not the only artists on SoundCloud. Freshman Jake Rafanan, a producer, said he has high goals for his music in the future, and said he even wants to sign with a record label, if the opportunity arises. Even though he said he is already working with other producers, he hopes to continue to gain recognition.

“Right now, I am just making music to try and get it recognized by producers and record labels,” Jake said. “I am going to do a collaboration with a producer named Sevito soon because he asked me if I wanted to.”

Separating himself from most artists, Jake said he specializes in genres like electronic dance music (EDM), big room and progressive house. He said he found an interest in making EDM when he saw young artists like Martin Garrix making a living out of music.

“Once I saw that Martin Garrix was on the stage at age 21 and was one of the top producers in the world, and knowing that he started at my age, that’s when I wanted to start producing music,” Jake said.

Jake also said he finds the motivation and inspiration to make music from big goals, like becoming one of the top producers in the world, as well as from smaller achievements, like finishing a “fire track.” Jake can also find inspiration from time to time from his older brother, junior Luke Rafanan (username Lil Juke), who is a SoundCloud rapper. With Jake being a producer and Luke being a rapper, one may think a collaboration would be obvious for the two, but it is not that simple for Luke.

“We have both tried hard to do a collab with each other, but the problem is, with him producing EDM or big room, that makes it really hard for me to rap over it,” Luke said.

Luke said he also defines himself as a trapper, which requires a much different beat than that of an EDM song. Similar to Bates, Luke found his inspiration from A$AP Allah, and said his music is “straight heat.”

Luke’s trapping partner, junior Aidan Lopez (username Lil Tom), said that he not only is inspired by local artists like A$AP Allah, but also is influenced by famous SoundCloud rappers like Lil Pump.

“Lil Pump, Lil Purpp, they all influence me because they just make great music, you know, I have never heard anything like them, and songs like ‘Gucci Gang’ go hard in my opinion,” Lopez said.

Bates also said he aspires to become as good of a rapper as famous SoundCloud rappers like Lil Pump and Lil Uzi Vert, and being able to produce such great music would be a blessing.

“Lil Pump and Lil Uzi Vert’s music is heat and goes pretty hard, and if I could make music like they do, that would be like a dream,” Bates said.

Along with influence from famous rappers, Lopez said that he also finds

motivation from within from the feeling he gets when putting together some “fire lyrics.” He said the feeling is unmatched and is his motivation to produce more music.

“I really love trapping because it makes me feel super hype and lit,” Lopez said.

“When I can get a good rhyme going it’s the best feeling ever.”

Lopez also said although good verses motivate from day to day, he found his original inspiration for rapping in a song him and his friends made in eighth grade.

“In eighth grade ... we made a song about somebody, and even though we all got in trouble for it, it inspired me to start making more music because just listening to the fire track we had created was inspiring to see what I could do in the future with rap,” Lopez said.

But as all of these artists have different motives and aspirations, they all have the same passion for making music and trying to inspire others to make music, too.

“Making music inspires me because it gives me the belief that I could be something big in the future,” Jake said. “It’s also amazing just starting out with absolutely nothing and then, all of a sudden, having a whole track.”

| justinwingerter

12 | news / the standard / dec. 2017

time well spent

changes to advisory encourage student involvement in community

R

oughly 62 million Americans volunteer in some way, shape or form for their community every year. Of those 62.6 million, 15.5 million are teens, aging 12 to 18 years old, reports the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Teens serve both locally and globally in an attempt to help communities grow, and students here are contributing to that effort.

Some changes in advisory this year have been made in order to promote a growth in this effort. Junior Mallory Peterman, who is involved in community service both inside and outside of school, said she has noticed the change in advisory this year.

“I think advisory this year is . . . more focused on community service,” Peterman said. “Last year it was more of just a class to check in with you. It almost acted as our weekly homeroom. I think it has evolved. I think it’s gotten somewhere, slowly, but surely.”

The plan for the school’s focus on community service was implemented before the school year began, according to gifted teacher Julie Hess.

“I believe [principal Scott] Roberts, at the beginning of school during our pre-planning week, shared with us that we would all be working together toward a common thing during advisory time and that our school-wide theme would be community service,” Hess said.

As the school year has progressed, many advisory classes have begun to brainstorm ideas for projects and have even begun helping the community, as exemplified by Hess’s advisory class. Hess said many students contributed ideas they were passionate about, and it was difficult to pick one. Hess said the time constraint was an issue, but eventually a decision was made and a plan was created under the leadership of Peterman and junior Christie Seyl, who are both in Hess’s advisory.

“I am working with my friend Christie and my peers to start and conduct a coat drive at the school that is going to give all these coats to a homeless shelter called Hope Faith down in KC, Missouri,” Peterman said.

Sitting at the coat donation table for the first day of the coat drive, junior Christie Seyl waits for coats that will help those in need this winter. “I think it’s important for those that actually care about it,” Seyl said. “I care about it, because I believe that we’re all humans and we need to work together to better ourselves and to better each other. I think giving people help is very important.”

Laughing, juniors Mallory Peterman and Christie Seyl sit and wait for coat donations. “We are having a class competition, so whichever grade brings in the most coats will win spirit points for their grade, which is great because it’s raising awareness for a good cause and there’s a friendly competition to motivate students to really get involved,” Peterman said.

| 13

During advisory on Nov. 16, senior Benjamin Divelbiss enjoys putting together his box with Cade Forrest.“We got this cool gumball machine over here. I got some extra candy to put in there. And then we got fidget-spinners, and a bunch of other candy,” Divelbiss said.

Wrapping her box, senior Julie McKinsey focuses on making her box look perfect. “Right now, we are wrapping boxes and filling them with little Christmas presents for foster boys and girls. We just wanted to be able to give gifts to kids who wouldn’t exactly have a lot for Christmas,” McKinsey said.

Peterman and Seyl offered candy and a Chick-fil-A gift card to anyone who brought coats, as well as spirit points. The coat drive was carried out from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10, with a total of 67 coats collected. Peterman said the grade who won the most spirit points was the junior class.

In addition to the coat drive, broadcast teacher Steve Cortez and his class recently put together boxes of toys for poor children.

Cortez said him and his advisory students do a community service project every year, so this one was an addition to the tradition.

“It’s pretty neat seeing them grow up and still giving all this time and you know, they’re my seniors,” Cortez said. “I feel really attached to them. I’m really proud of them and they’re great kids.

It’s been driven by them, not me, so I’ve only been there to help.”

Senior Cade Forrest, part of Cortez’s advisory class, said while he was skeptical before the project began due to the fact that it was outside of school, it turned out to be successful.

“My favorite part was going and finding all of the things that I need to put in the box, because it kind of reminded me of all the things that I liked to do as a kid,” Forrest said.

Another student in Cortez’s class, senior Saketh Bhavanasi, said he enjoyed the project as well.

“Our advisory has a community service project every year, so [we’re] just continuing the tradition,” Bhavanasi said. “I think it’s

cool how we’re helping the community and disadvantaged kids who would not normally get presents for Christmas and now they can.”

Hess said she thinks people will be influenced and inspired by seeing other students working on helping the community both through advisory and outside advisory, and that she hopes the impact will reach all students.

In addition, Peterman said community service is an important aspect in a person’s life, and that there are many ways to be a part of a project that’s interesting and unique to each person. She also said students should focus on the opportunities they see around them and start there if they want to get involved.

“Community service makes you a better person, first and foremost,” Peterman said. “It adds something that you can’t possibly get from school or at home. It adds interactions with people you never would have met before and you may never meet again because that’s just how it works and those interactions are crucial to becoming a good human, a profound human, and a generous and compassionate human. I don’t think that can be forced. I don’t think those qualities can be earned or developed overnight.” | laurenurschel

Dr. Lauren Kyle

14 | ads / the standard / dec. 2017

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sports / the standard /dec. 2017 | 15

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW

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On Monday, Nov. 13, the boys swim and dive team, the wrestling team and the girls and boys basketball teams all held their tryouts. Here are the team’s upcoming games, tournaments and meets.

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girls baskebtall Dec. 7 — Varsity Tournament @ Olathe East Dec. 8 — Varsity Tournament @ Olathe East Dec. 11 — C Team Game @ BVNW Dec. 11 — JV Game @ BVNW

BOYS basketball

Dec. 7 — Varsity Tournament @ De Soto Dec. 9 — Varsity Tournament @ De Soto Dec. 12 — Sophomore Game @ Olathe West Dec. 12 — Freshman A @ Olathe West BOYS SWIM AND DIVE SENIOR WALLACE DANIEL

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4 BOYS BASKETBALL SENIOR CALVIN RICKS

6 GIRLS BASKETBALL SOPHOMORE SAHA AHMADIAN

sports / the standard /dec. 2017 | 15

BOYS SWIM AND DIVE Dec. 8 — Varsity Meet @ HOME Dec. 8 — JV Meet @ HOME Jan. 4 — Varsity Meet @ BVN Jan. 4 — JV Triangular @BVN WRESTLING SENIOR NICK AREND

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8 BOYS BASKETBALL JUNIOR TYLER AHO

WRESTLING Dec. 8 — Varsity Tournament @ MA Center Dec. 9 — Varsity Tournament @ MA Center Dec. 9 — JV Meet @ Olathe Northwest Dec. 12 — JV Mixer @ Baldwin Jr. High

GIRLS BASKETBALL SENIOR BECCA GARRETSON

9 1). Surrounded by future teammates, senior Brannoc Borowiak-Miller pays close attention to coach Cody Parks, awaiting his instruction to begin.

2). Junior Cole Cruce stands at the diving board as he is coached on how to perform a pencil dive. Cruce is one of the two boys on the diving team.

3). During drills, junior Abigail Garretson calls for her teammate to pass her the ball while being blocked off by an opponent.

4). Senior Calvin Ricks shoots a basket at the beginning of tryouts, warming up as he waits for coach Dustin Lechoner to give them their first drill.

5). Making his way across the pool, senior Wallace Daniel performs a freestyle stroke before making a kick turn to flip in the other direction.

6). Sophmore Saha Ahmadian makes a basket after being passed the ball in a three man weave drill.

7). Senior Nick Arend sits close to the front of the room at the first day of wrestling practice. “You have to prepare yourself to put everything you have in practice every day and really just make sure you’re doing what you can to make yourself better,” Arend said.

8). Before drills, junior Tyler Aho takes a running start to sink a basket to warm up.

9). Standing with her teammates, senior Becca Garretson waits for her coach to describe the next play.

“I come off really jokingly outside of practice but once practice hits, it’s all serious,” Garretson said. “It’s not about not having fun, it’s about being really concentrated on the game.”

18 | feature / the standard / dec. 2017

T-wolf traditions students and teachers share their traditional holiday recipes

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Ingredients: • • • •

“I assume that my mom learned it from her mom because my mom’s dad was German and it’s [a German dish]. The sweet and sour cabbage is one of my favorite things. It just reminds me of the holidays. My mom liked to have a table that had lots of color so we always had sweet potatoes, red cabbage, a green salad, turkey and a green bean casserole. So there was always lots of colors on the table; it was really pretty.” | spanishteachercarolynzeligman as made by aubrey birk

One head of cabbage Salt and pepper (to taste) Apple cider vinegar (1 cup) Sugar (1/2 cup)

Instructions: • • •

Chop the cabbage into leaves and place them into a pot of boiling water.

Once the cabbage softens and breaks apart, add salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and sugar.

Serve.

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Mediterranean Date Cookies Ingredients: Dough: • • • •

2 Ibs semolina (fine) 3 sticks butter (softened unsalted) 1/2 cup whole milk 1 tbsp rose water

•

1/2 tsp yeast

and

Filling: • A container of mashed, pitted dates

Instructions: • • • • •

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Start by creating 1 inch balls of dough.

Use your thumb to form a bowl like shape out of each ball, keeping thickness consistent.

Put a ball of mashed dates into each bowl of dough, then secure the dates by enclosing them with the dough.

Cook on a non-stick sheet pan for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

“I think it’s been around for years and years because my dad got [the recipe] from my grandma and she got it from her parents and it’s just kind of passed down. We usually make it during one of our religious holidays. So every time you smell it being baked in the house, it just brings the vibe of happiness during the holidays.” | seniorhoudaderbas photo courtesy of houda derbas

Biryani Instructions: • Marinate chicken in yogurt and chili powder.

• Fry with cardamom.

• Add onions and tomato. “[The recipe has] been around for four generations. It • Add other spices tastes really good and it’s just a classic recipe that a and chicken. lot of Pakistani people make and eat. It’s a party food.

It brings me back to hanging out with my friends. I’m • Stir and let simmer. going to keep it in my life forever; I’m going to pass • Serve. it on to everyone. It’s delicious and it represents our culture.”

| sophomoresaadiasiddiqua as made by aubrey birk

Ingredients: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Basmati Rice Chicken Mint Garam Masala Salt Saffron Coriander Ginger Garlic Green Chili Tomato Paste Chopped Tomato Onion (fried) Milk Yogurt Chili Powder Cumin Cardamom Turmeric

| aubreybirk

20 | review / the standard / dec. 2017

I swear I’m not a Yelper local ice cream shops serve up sweet treats

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3 (1) A name, written in chocolate syrup, is rolled up to be placed into a cup before it is handed to the customer at Freezing Moo. (2) A Dairy Queen cashier places an order in her computer, highlighting the difference between the fast food and ice cream parlor experience.

(3) A patron at Sylas and Maddy’s ice cream parlor enjoys his cinnamon waffle cone. *Restaurants are scored on an index from 1 to 10, 10 being the loudest, tastiest or most expensive

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Dairy Queen noise: 3/10*

cost: 3/10*

An American Classic opening in 1940, according to their website, Dairy Queen has represented the American dessert for over 70 years.

When you first enter a Dairy Queen, it seems as though you have entered every Dairy Queen built in the last 15 years. However, the decor through the restaurant is what you would expect in any fast food restaurant. This outdated decor is made up for by Dairy Queen’s famous soft-serve ice cream.

food quality: 5/10* Although Dairy Queen is famous for their soft-serve, their menu is much more expansive than your traditional ice cream joint, ranging from fries to burgers, along with traditional desserts.

I ordered a Tripleberry Smoothie and a soft-serve chocolate cone. The Tripleberry Smoothie was, in my opinion, nothing special. It tasted like something that you would buy at any ice cream place in the country.

On the contrary, the chocolate

soft-serve seems as though it would be found anywhere, when in reality a good chocolate soft-serve, like that of Dairy Queen, is a rarity. When other components such as the food’s low price for mediocre food are factored in, Dairy Queen is, overall, a good ice cream joint.

Sylas and Maddy’s noise: 7/10*

cost: 5/10*

Opening their first location in Lawrence in 1997, Sylas and Maddy’s is a popular local dessert hot spot, acting as a go-to ice cream shop in the Kansas City area.

Sylas and Maddy’s is a traditional ice cream parlor that serves a plethora of unique flavor combinations along with their seasonal flavors like lilac in spring and pumpkin spice in the fall.

Before you even reach for the front door, the first thing you notice

food quality: 9/10* is the classic neon sign that reads “Homemade Ice Cream.” When you enter through the front door, you immediately notice the ice cream counter that stretches onto two sides of the room with countless flavors in each section.

I had a cinnamon waffle cone; this was by far the best traditional ice cream I have ever had. The cinnamon ice cream was the perfect combination of sweet with the classic spice of cinnamon. This flavor mix

combined with the crunch of the browned waffle cone creates a taste the same of cinnamon breakfast cereal, morphing a famous breakfast into an even better dessert.

In total, as an ice cream joint, Sylas and Maddy’s exceeds expectations in every way, overall leading to an increase in ideals for ice cream.

Freezing Moo noise: 6/10*

cost: 7/10*

Freezing Moo is the home of the latest dessert trend to hit the Kansas City area: rolled ice cream. Rolled ice cream has been a popular warm weather treat in Southeast Asia for around 1,000 years, according to the New York Times, but has just hit the Midwest’s dessert scene in the past few years.

A restaurant clearly made for Instagram, Freezing Moo seems to be engineered to appeal to high school customers. From walls covered in

food quality: 8.5/10* photos and notes from customers to the customer’s name written in the cream before rolling to the aesthetically pleasing rolls of ice cream, this restaurant is never short of photo opportunities.

While visiting, I enjoyed a chocolate and raspberry ice cream, topped with vanilla wafers, graham crackers and fresh strawberries.

Starting with the base, the ice cream, there were no imperfections; the pairing of the raspberry and

slightly bitter chocolate laid the perfect framework for the toppings.

The wafers and graham crackers were exactly as expected but the strawberries were what truly shined over the whole dessert. The berries tasted as though they were just picked during peak season, even though it was November in Kansas.

Overall, Freezing Moo exceeded my expectations, providing a unique sweet treat.

| isaiahtarwater

22 | feature / the standard / dec. 2017

blast the to past students discuss the impact the 90s have on modern fashion taste

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ashion comebacks are something many people are used to throughout the years. Whether it be mom jeans, chokers or even jean jackets, there are many 90s trends that are slowly working their way back into everyday fashion. Senior Tiffany Pan likes taking ideas from many of the styles from the 90s, and making them into her own.

“I really like early 90s styles,” Pan said. “Current styles now are a lot more muted, but clothes from that era are a lot more bold. A lot of the things that I buy that look 90s have that sort of muted coloration.”

While a lot of the clothing styles, like T-shirts tucked into mom jeans, got revived in the current era, a lot of the colors, like the bright neons, stayed in their original era. Many times, these sort of clothes have soft tones, like pastels, in order to achieve what many call an “aesthetic” fashion sense. However, Pan’s definition of “aesthetic fashion” doesn’t fit the norm.

“I’d describe it as someone who can coordinate colors, first of all,” Pan said. “It’s something that describes people who are confident in what they’re wearing. You could wear clothes just like this, but if you’re slouching and you don’t look comfortable, it’s not going to have the same effect.”

Pan said most of her inspiration comes from other people, whether it be complete strangers, or ones she’s close to.

“I always go into my mom’s closet and steal some of her clothes, even my dad’s closet if I like his clothes,” Pan said. “I get a lot of inspiration from social media. I follow accounts with a certain feed that matches the style that I like.”

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lot of students can’t remember the hassle that was changing in-and-out of clothing for gym nearly every day. Freshman Sahar Baha manages to combine comfort with style, while still finding things that make it easy to change.

“I love to wear leggings,” Baha said. “They’re comfortable, they’re easy to change in and out of, and they pretty much go with anything.”

Merriam-Webster defines aesthetic as “concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.” However, Baha said that aesthetic style is different for each person, since aesthetic can have different definitions for different people.

“The clothing looks all put together,” Baha said.

“You don’t have just ‘random’ pieces of clothing that don’t go together. But everyone’s personal aesthetic is different.”

Baha also said fashion is slowly becoming more individualized, and that a lot of people in the past dressed very similarly to each other. “[People] had a similar fashion sense,” Baha said.

Nowadays, I feel like people have more individualized ideas for their clothing. Mine really isn’t that different from a lot of other people’s, but it still is its own thing.”

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hile a lot of people get their “vintage” clothing from their parents, some students find their clothing from a combination of name-brands and thrift stores. Junior Faith Kim rarely gets things from her parents, and instead chooses to buy them.

“I thrift a lot of my stuff,” Kim said. “[I get clothes at] Maj-R Thrift, and if I’m going brand name, I go H&M or Forever 21.”

Kim said she tries to use modern brands in order to achieve her 90s looks, rather than using things that were actually in the 90s.

“I kind of dress with more brand name clothes,” Kim said. “They didn’t exactly come from the 90s. I like to make it my own. Like, 90s fashion is very baggy, and I don’t really wear that many baggy things.”

Kim also said she likes combining the best of both worlds and dressing for both comfort and style.

“I really love Vans, because they’re so comfortable” Kim said. “The old-school ones are the best. I really love mom jeans; I wear them all the time, and they’re super comfortable too.”

When asked if she thinks that 90s fashion is making a comeback, Kim said this type of fashion is becoming a lot more common in today’s fashion world.

“Nowadays, people are getting into a more vintage style,” Kim said. “A lot of people are thrifting. A lot of people are wearing really unique clothes, but it’s also kind of evolving. I think it’s because the style is becoming a trend, because I think that stores are putting more 90s-esque clothes back in stock, and so people are just buying them and styling them.”

| victoriapalmer

24 | opinion / the standard / dec. 2017

Curriculum confinement assigned reading is too restrictive on students

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ost high school students at one point or another have had to prioritize school over their own personal interests.

Free reading is no exception.

Whether it is wanting to check out a book that was recently made into movie adaptation or just escaping into an alternate reality for a little while to destress, reading is a pastime that many enjoy. However, it has also become a luxury that teens can no longer afford with the demands that come with their everyday lives.

According to The Washington Post, new studies show that reading literary works by choice has declined over the course of several decades. What was initially a reading rate of 57 percent of Americans has declined to 43 percent and continues to follow this downward spiraling trend.

Additionally, Time Magazine goes on to say that the amount of children that read for fun decreases with increasing age,

with an estimated 45 percent of 17-year olds reading only once or twice a year.

These statistics exist for a variety of reasons, from the heavy workloads that students face to the way reading is taught in classes. Rather than encouraging reading and the benefits that comes with it, free reading is stifled and replaced with textbooks, homework assignments and assigned reading lists.

In the Blue Valley School District in particular, the policy that dictates which books are approved for assigned reading is No. 4600 which states that it must exemplify “connection to the curriculum … benefits to the course, and ... appropriateness for the targeted student.” However, according to English teacher Shauna Rinearson, these reading guidelines are not up-todate.

“It’s a 15 year old policy. All of the books that are listed on it have been approved and there’s

a rationale for our study of them kept on file at the district office,” Rinearson said. “The problem is that it’s very difficult to get new books added to the list so we’re not continually updating it by adding contemporary works. I have not seen a lot of changes to the book reading list. I would like to see some changes.”

Although additions are possible, the process for approval by district is tedious, which can be discouraging to teachers, despite how strongly they feel a book should be taught. It took Rinearson four years to get the novel “The Things They Carried” onto the approved list.

Rinearson said she believes adding modern-day works can further engage readers, as connections from the text to today’s society is more readily available without the added challenge of archaic diction.

Although this connection can be present in many classics such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Scarlet Letter,” the themes

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within many other books on to the reading department, the reader, however finds the the approved list are not always reading list is not the only thing class structure of frequent relatable to high school students limiting the freedom students assignments or projects to in the current era. This real life have to read. Another flaw in be tedious. connection is what she aims for the system is the painstaking “Sometimes I don’t like in class discussions even within way that assigned reading is how in depth we go with the framework of the approved often taught in the classroom. assigned reading because.. classics.

By doing mindless busy work I’m like, ‘Just get it over “I try to find ways to make to simply improve basic reading with, I’m done with this’,” the stories, characters and issues comprehension rather than Hansen said. come alive in ways we can allowing discussion to expand on This sentiment is shared by understand,” Rinearson said. “We a deeper meaning, students also Meier, who said she thinks it have to find ways to bring that begin to lose interest and become interrupts the flow and prevent into the 21st century.” overwhelmed with full immersion to answer Senior Faith Meier questions while reading. said she also thinks “We don’t get to “I try to find many more recently [read] in our own time published books could or at our own pace,” ways to make be implemented in Meier said. “I think the stories, a school setting and that when we have to characters and held to the same stop in the middle of issues come standard as any reading something and alive in ways we | englishteacher classic. She said she look something up or can understand.” shauna defines a classic answer questions that rinearson as any book that aren’t directly from contains substance the text that is difficult and a deeper to get back into the meaning. book” “I believe there If done incorrectly are books from any in classrooms, assigned time period that don’t contain the workload. They instead turn reading can wither the enjoyment substance and there are books to countless websites such as of reading and discourage from any time period that do SparkNotes which focuses solely people from become readers contain substance, but it’s the on providing students with for pleasure, entertainment or ones that contain substance that detailed summaries of books they information outside of school. survive all the years because cannot understand or do not have This kind of reading has many people enjoy reading something time to read entirely in order to benefits including overcoming that’s deeper,” Meier said. “There complete their assignments. This stress, increasing empathy and are books that are coming out is counterproductive to what the stimulating the mind, according today that will survive to be English class is trying to teach to Huffington Post. By promoting classics.” and can cause more harm than free, independent reading, schools Although these contemporary help. can expect to see an increase in works have the potential to bring Junior Anna Hansen test scores and a less anxietysome much needed excitement considers herself to be an avid filled student body.

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However, with busy schedules from various activities and homework for other challenging classes, finding the time to pick up a book can become nearly impossible. Students are forced to prioritize grades in difficult subjects and practices

“But I feel like reading is a way for me to relieve stress and I need that at least once a week, if not more than that” | seniorfaithmeier for extracurricular activities over time to wind down and voluntarily read a book of their choosing.

This is a problem for Meier, who said she uses reading as an escape from everyday challenges.

She said as her course load grew heavier, reading was placed on a back burner.

“With my current schedule and amount of time I have to use for homework, I do not have much time to read on my own unless it’s homework for school,” Meier said. “But I feel like reading is a way for me to relieve stress and I need that at least once a week, if not more than that.”

For Hansen, rather than being constrained by school work, her extracurriculars prevents her from her typical reading habits.

Hansen finds that compared to her previous number of books, how many she is able to complete is significantly reduced.

“I try to make time [to read]” Hansen said “But between school work and the stuff I do for theater, I feel like I do not have as much time as I would like” It would be beneficial to implement independent reading of the student’s own choice in the high school setting. Rinearson has her own plans for the future of free reading.

“For example, if there were… some sort of forum for kids to talk about the things we read for pleasure or make recommendations for one another... everyone would stay engaged” Rinearson said. “By nurturing a love of reading [we] could increase reading outside of school.”

| samrinaacharya

Hoops For Hope

feature / the standard / dec. 2017 | 27

charity basketball tournaments continues as leadership changes

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wo thousand seventeen marks the seventh year of Hoops for Hope, an event that originated in the heart of Southwest.

Hoops for Hope is a fundraiser to raise money for pediatric cancer and bring hope to families that are struggling. Because of success in previous years, Hoops for Hope was looking to increase its size, however, the plans were derailed when management issues arose. Chris Jenson, science teacher and founder of Hoops for Hope, said the event underwent a structural change this year.

“Hoops for Hope USA has disbanded, but the event is still allowed to continue at any interested high school, and we have a Google Drive online that we share with any interested high school, for that matter, across America,” Jenson said.

With this shift in structure, only a few schools in the area decided to continue with Hoops for Hope, including Southwest, Blue Valley Northwest and Shawnee Mission South. According to Jenson, their initial goal related to expansion was inhibited by a lack of staff.

“The supporting team that helped all the seven schools last year just had a lot of stress and pressures and so, although we all couldn’t make it work, we wanted to make sure we created a good hand-off back to the schools to allow them to make it work,” Jenson said.

Hoops for Hope 2017 was led by math teacher Neal Doolin rather than Jenson. Although this year brought about change for Hoops for Hope and the structure of the event, Doolin said the purpose of the event remains constant.

“The core idea’s still the same,” Doolin said. “We want to have a bunch of kids get together, dress up in silly costumes, have a fun time [and] raise some money for children’s cancer.”

Although Jenson stepped down in a leadership role this year, he said he did so with the intent of passing the baton on to someone with new and fresh ideas.

“I thought I had taken it as far as I personally could and I was looking for someone with enthusiasm and new and fresh ideas to continue to take it further,” Jenson said. “[Doolin] had expressed interest, and so I feel like it was just a blessing that he took it over, and I know he’s going to do a good job.”

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Senior and student leader Rachel Wolf has been a part of Hoops for Hope for three years and has helped run the event for two. Because of modifications of the event, Wolf said “the team worked really hard and spent a lot of time creating this new structure.” However, Wolf said her focus wasn’t solely on the organization of the event, but rather on its impact.

“It’s taught me a lot about doing things for other people and stepping back and really doing the best I can to help someone else instead of just doing everything for myself,” Wolf said.

With Hoops for Hope’s mission statement in mind — “kids helping kids” — Doolin said the team of student leaders has put in a lot of time and effort.

“From a message standpoint, it really is kids helping kids,” Doolin said. “We have a very talented team of student leaders who have done so much of the leg work.

Honestly, my primary role was just to organize them, say, ‘Hey, this is what I

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need all you guys to do, here are the bullet points that we need to achieve within the next month,’ and then delegate those out.”

Although on the surface Doolin said his role is a lot of organization and delegation, he said Hoops for Hope has affected him personally as well.

“I feel like doing Hoops for Hope has given me an additional sense of purpose,” Doolin said. “I feel like, ‘Yeah, this is why I’m here.’ I’m here to coach up our calculus students, our physics students and get them to perform at the top level, but I’m also here to put smiles on faces and bring hope to some families that are really struggling and going through a hard time.”

With Hoops for Hope’s decrease in size, Wolf said the team still remains positive about their impact in the future.

“We won’t be raising as much money this year, which is a little disappointing, but we’re hoping we can make [the event] grow again,” Wolf said. “We’ll start over and make it again, like we had in the past.”

Less money was raised overall for the Hoops for Hope event, however fundraising increased from last year’s $7,200 to $12,000 at Southwest. At the end of the day, structure change and all, Jenson said it is important to realize that any contribution of any size will help a family.

“Your silly, fun time on the basketball court, dressed up as whatever ridiculous costume you can think of, is going to literally change a couple families’ lives,” Jenson said. “Please go home with a big smile on your face because that’s what you did. Maybe you won a prize, maybe you won a game, hopefully you had a good time with your friends, but you are guaranteed to change a kid and family’s life when you take that stress away from them and pay that bill.”

| eliannaoliver

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(1) Focused on the basket, senior Madi Fritz shoots a three-pointer in hopes of advancing her team to the next round on Nov. 7. (2) With two minutes left in the game, math teacher Neal Doolin jumps up to shoot while his teammates cheer him on. (3) As the rest of the bunch awaits a pass, freshman Katie Charest catches the ball feet away from the basket. (4) Jumping up to shoot a layup, ISS coordinator Keith Taylor fends off junior Taylor Walton as she tries to block him. (5) Looking to pass to a teammate, senior Brent Shinkle dribbles around senior Payden Hart. (6) In attempt to save the ball from going out of bounds, senior Darby Rolf throws the ball back in to play to the other members of Jurassic Park. (7) Jumping into the air, senior Julie McKinsey squeezes in one more shot before the buzzer beeps.

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30 | sports / the standard / dec. 2017

Life of the game students discuss different injuries they have received through sports

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here are about 1.35 million children receiving sports related injuries a year from common sports such as basketball, football and soccer; it has been shown most injuries related to the body affect a person’s head, fingers, ankles, face and knees, according to usatoday.com.

Shelby Matchette:

For senior Shelby Matchette, it all started in eighth grade when she first dislocated her kneecap at track and field practice. Since then, she has dislocated her kneecap two other times. Matchette said she was involved in swimming her freshman year, boys swim management and band up until last year when she was still having knee problems.

She said she then decided to go through with an extensive knee surgery where part of her tibia was cut off and realigned the summer before her junior year.

“Post-surgery, [the doctor] ended up doing my surgery wrong and I ended up getting a rare type of chronic pain, so I couldn’t walk for about seven months after my surgery,” Matchette said. “I ended up

having 11 spinal injections to ease some of the pain, [and] then I was diagnosed with this chronic pain.”

Matchette said she was diagnosed with a rare type of chronic pain called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). According to mayoclinic.org, CRPS is a nerve damage that causes the signal that connects her nerves to her spinal cord to her brain to release signals of pain, swelling and heat changes.

Matchette said she is currently recovering by doing post-surgery physical therapy six hours a week for seven days and all together has been in physical therapy for the last three years due to her other injuries. Since there is no cure for CRPS, she said she has to watch out for the certain restrictions she has.

“I think everybody knows the risk of going into a sport,” Matchette said. “You see all of these professional athletes getting hurt all of the time [and] you don’t think it’s going to happen to you, but it’s a common thing. Girls especially, our hips are so wide that our knees aren’t aligned, and all of these coaches don’t do exercises to strengthen

their knees, so you’ll find dislocations in the knees [are] really common.”

Matchette said if she wasn’t diagnosed with CRPS, then she would still be involved in the activities she used to do. Additionally, Matchette said her chronic pain has “limited [her] quite a bit” to where she can’t play sports anymore. However, she’s “progressed significantly over the summer, with physical therapy and breathing exercises,” which have helped her to regain her walking ability.

Peyton Moore:

There are about 150,000 ACL injuries that occur in the U.S. every year. Of those 150,000 injuries, about 70 percent of ACL injuries in athletes occur due to awkward landings, pivoting, sidestepping and more, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Sophomore Peyton Moore said she had been involved in soccer for as long as she could remember, up until she recently injured her leg during a game.

“I was playing soccer [when] I jumped up and I came down on it, and my knee just twisted and popped,” Moore said.

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She ended up tearing her ACL and partially tearing her meniscus. Moore said this injury has had a lot of impact on her because she is now unable to play soccer and can’t partake in some activities with her friends. As a part of her healing process, Moore had to have surgery on her leg to repair the torn muscles.

“I think [this injury] is kind of annoying, kind of a bummer,” Moore said.

“I think I have four to five more months [to heal]. I do physical therapy and, at home, I do home exercises.”

From all of her time playing soccer Moore said she’s had a few other sprains and injuries but didn’t realize how easy it is to hurt yourself.

“I always think [getting hurt is] definitely going to be a factor whenever you’re playing a sport,” Moore said. “I know, when I go back to playing soccer, that I’m definitely not going to take anything for granted and I know that it’s definitely going to be a possibility for [something like this] to happen again.”

Moore said anger and aggressive playing methods can increase your chances of an injury, along with being involved in contact sports. However, she said she believes there are ways to help decrease the chances of someone getting injured while playing out there on the field.

“I definitely think there are exercises you can do that can strengthen certain parts of your body,” Moore said. “I know, for soccer, there’s a lot of choppy movements, so my coach was always really strict on doing knee workouts.”

While she said she is currently doing physical therapy to strengthen her leg back up, Moore said she hopes she will be cleared soon to play for the school in the spring.

Eli Dickerson:

Junior and varsity football player Eli Dickerson recently tore his ACL in a football game vs. Blue Valley High.

Dickerson said he was trying to plant his outside leg when his knee shot out and he heard a couple of pops.

“At the time [it happened], [there] was a lot of pain and a lot of tears, just

knowing that it was one of [those] things that [the] moment it happened, I knew it wasn’t [going to be] good,” Dickerson said.

“I just kind of was in a lot of shock and experiencing a lot of sadness, and it was kind of overwhelming that I’m not capable of contributing anymore.”

He said he is currently doing physical therapy to strengthen up the ligaments around his knee and will receive surgery on his leg to replace part of his ACL with his hamstring. Dickerson said it’s best to play within yourself and not get angry or upset about the game, that’s what happened to him he said, and it created an affect on his goals for the remainder of the season.

that I think I should have taken better care of is stretching and being really loose before the game; it [helps] prevent any pulls [and] tears.”

Additionally, he said athletes tend to have a mentality of pushing themselves when playing any sport, especially when they see a possible injury happening.

“I think it’s just a high level of mental toughness and mental grit, just wanting to push yourself as hard as you can through the injury because football is what we do, what we’ve tried to do and love to do,” Dickerson said. “No one wants to be taken out of the sport they love or anything they love just because of an injury.”

| ishapatel

“I don’t think everyone expects to receive an injury, but everyone [has the] potential for getting injured, whether it’s a minor injury or something major, it’s not expected, but if it happens, it happens.” | juniorelidickerson “[My] injury is a minor setback, but it’s something that really upsets me, because of what I really wanted to do the rest of the season,” Dickerson said. “[My goal was to] make a state run and then, going into my basketball season, I really wanted to play.

So, because of the injury, I’ve got to sit out for quite a long time.”

Dickerson said he has had a few broken bones before but nothing impacting his legs, although knew he knew there was a potential for it to happen, whether it’s expected or not.

“I don’t think everyone expects to receive an injury, but everyone [has the] potential for getting injured,” Dickerson said. “Whether it’s a minor injury or something major, it’s not expected, but if it happens, it happens. One [of the things]

32 | sports / the standard / dec. 2017

Out for the season guide to the most common sports injuries and how to prevent them

For runners, athletes have high chances of having problems in the Achilles tendon, the shins, and the knees.

Lower leg problems are mostly caused by shoes.

Running shoes should be replaced every 300-500 miles, according to runnersconnect. net.

Athletes who participate in martial arts can be affected in a variety of ways.

They can be subject to injuries all across the body, but most commonly around the upper torso and neck.

Knee, head and lower-back injuries are the most common in football. To prevent these, athletes should stretch their meniscus region before rigorous activity and try to reduce constant changing movements.

According to nytimes. com, head gear is not proven to prevent concussions, but they can reduce the impact force by up to 50 percent.

In soccer, players may be subject to injuries in the legs and feet, as well as facial and cranial injuries.

facts according to stopsportsinjuries.org