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Coming home LEAD IN: Juliet Fuhrmann doing step 3 of the arms trapped defense move with Craig Chiles at UFC Gym. She puts her left leg behind his legs to take him down. PHOTO BY VICKI FUHRMANN

The importance of self-defense Craig Chiles from UFC Gym extols virtues of learning to self defend.

By Juliet Fuhrmann

Entertain Editor Q: Why is it important to take this self defense class?

Chiles: Because the world is an imperfect place and there are some cruel people out there that will hurt you, so you need to know how to protect yourself and others around you.

Q: What are the benefits from going to the class over a certain period of time?

Chiles: If you consistently do it, you’re gonna have improvements of how you use your body and you’re gonna have a instant reaction to if someone is trying to hurt you.

Q: Why is it a free seminar for the public and not just for a membership?

Chiles: Everyone needs the knowledge and needs to know how to protect themselves, not everyone has enough money to buy a membership, and anyone can hurt you at any time. And to show that this place isn’t just about becoming a mma fighter, it teaches you skill and strength Q: What are the basic steps to defending yourself?

Chiles: Being aware of your surroundings (not having your face in your phone), keep your head up when you are out and about, trying to avoid the situation of being attacked.

Q: What are the statistics of women being attacked?

Chiles: One out of six women are violently attacked or abused in America Q: What are some other classes to take after taking the self defense seminar for so long?

Chiles: There are plenty of classes you can take that they have every week. Ones that will go along great with self defense is the Brazilian ju-jitsu class and the standard boxing class.

Read Juliet’s personal experience learning selfdefense techniques at FHCToday.com

Renowned girls basketball star Shakara Jones returns to the court once again, only this time in the role of coach

By Abbie Bartell

Coach Leake said..

Staff reporter Many people are excited to see her rejoin the Once a Spartan, always a Spartan. This is program so many years later as a coach for the something Francis Howell Central hopes program. itsgraduates will be saying for years to come after “To see her come back to the building where graduation and a statement they hope graduates she made a name for herself, I am sure it is special can always connect to. For some graduates, for her and I think it’s great for Howell Central, something about that statement draws them because she is a role model. I think kids can only back to Howell Central. Several alumni are still here benefit by being around her,” Coach Ricker said. today teaching and coaching students and still Current players are also anxious to be able sporting that spartan pride everyday. Fortunately to work with her and share what they have for the girls basketball team, that list grows one experienced all ready. Sophomore Yani Curry, person longer with the return of Shakara Jones. member of the varsity team, has been able to Graduated in 2007, Jones was one of FHC’s work with Jones during the preseason workouts. most renowned athletes in the girls basketball “I don’t feel pressure to play better around program. Jones was a force to be reckoned with her, but I am definitely more motivated. She’s on the basketball court. Measuring at six foot really comfortable to be around because she and two inches tall, she played all four years knows where we are coming from and she’s of basketball at the varsity level with a total of been through what we are going through.” Curry 2,439 points, 849 rebounds, and 282 blocks. said. “Her coaching style is very to the point.

Brian Ricker, former varsity coach for the girls She does expect good things out of us and she basketball team, had the chance to see Jones knows when we aren’t doing our best. She has play first hand. expectations and she will push us towards ours “It was a pleasure to coach her,” Coach Ricker best. Once we show her our best, she expects said. “It was probably one of the highlights of my that every single day.” career. She was great to work with and tried to Eager to get the season started Coach Jones get better every year and was a team leader. She believes she will be able to bring new information was kind of epitomized with being what a great and new skills to the girls this basketball season. player is all about.”

“I think I can bring a lot of energy, a lot of fun From the beginning, Coach Ricker saw and just a lot of knowledge and experience to the potential in Jones, and girls.” Coach Jones said. he got to see her grow She is also eager to and learn throughout work alongside Coach her years playing.

Leake. The two of them “She was kind of an had talked about coach around the basket Jones coming back to player when she first coach in the past. started, and as she “It’s kind of a funny developed from yearthing. Me and her have to-year, she got better talked about it before, Shakara Jones, assistant girls and better at playing about a year and a half basketball coach away from the basket ago, and I kinda waited and utilizing different around because I played skills she had not shown for my semi-pro team as a freshman,” said Coach Ricker. “Every year she and then my sister was still playing in college, so added to her game, so finally by her senior year, I couldn’t quite decide what I wanted to do, but she was a Missouri State Player of the Year.” then we got back in contact and we said that this Coach Jones success did not come easily, she year would be perfect,” Coach Jones said. had to work hard every year to earn the title of She explains how Coach Leake and herself Missouri State player of the Year. both have similar coaching styles that mesh “She got there by hard work and dedication together, something that made Coach Jones and a desire to be great,” said Coach Ricker. that much more excited to join Coach Leake and After high school, Coach Jones continued her the program this year. success at the University of Missouri and played “Both of us have an energy, a focus, and a work basketball all four years for the Tigers. Coach hard mentality. We both have played Division 1 Jones opened her career as a Tiger against Murray basketball so if kids want to go to that level we State with the most points scored by a Tiger for know what it takes to get there,” Coach Jones a debut game. said. “Our philosophies are the same.”

After college, coach Jones went on to play With all of this excitement and anticipated professionally for three years in Greece, Finland, success with Coach Jones return, many people and Germany. After that she became an assistant still wonder what made Coach Jones want to coach for the USA D-2 Women’s Basketball return to the place that started her career. Coach Select Team, whom she helped coach through Jones similarities to Coach Leake’s experience the Brazil Tour in 2015, and currently Jones plays and philosophy helped fuel that decision along for a semi-professional women’s basketball team with her being a former player at Howell Central named the Midwest Flyers out of Elsberry, Mo. but most of all, it was the Spartan pride that Coach Jones has been helping with all levels brought her back to Howell Central’s court. of the program during the preseason workouts “I got to know Coach Leake, and I really liked how and once season begins, she will serve as the JV she runs her program, and I like her philosophy, girls coach. Current varsity coach Hayley Leake and it seemed like we kind of meshed on a lot of noticed a difference the second Coach Jones things basketball wise and experience wise. Also came back.

I went here for high school and I played here for “Coach Jones had an impact on our program four years, so that makes me a Spartan for Life. the first day she stepped back in our gyms,” That is why I came back,” said Jones.

“I played here for four years, so that makes me a Spartan for life. That is why I came back.”

Nov. 11, 2016

High school record

Played all four years as a varsity player.

849 rebounds 282 shots blocked Scored 2,439 points Won

Awarded Missouri State Player of the Year

College career

Played at the University of Missouri.

Played all four years as a Tiger.

27 points and had 14 rebounds.

The most points scored by a Debut game scored

Tiger in their debut game

Professional career Currently

#20

Played in Europe for three years, specifically Finland

Greece and Germany

1,206 Career points Quick facts!

Member of the Point Club.

1,000 5

Currently there are alumni from Francis Howell Central that coach the sport they used to play at FHC.

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Top six success

Members of the girls tennis team share what they did different this year in order to have such a successful season

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Haley Anderson

Maddie Gunnell Senior

“We knew that anyone could be beat including ourselves, but we kept our composure and came out with the district title.”

Bryce Lee

Senior

“We won districts this year because we focused on the overall goal, and pushed each other to complete our goal.”

Staff reporter After having one of the best regular season records in girls tennis, the varsity tennis team won a district title for the first time in school history. The team won 10 of their 12 games. This season, the team also gained a new head coach.

Coach Rohrbach, last year’s assistant coach and this years head coach, was very proud with the season’s outcome.

“This season was probably one of the best records the school has had, we won our first district title, we finished with 14 wins and only three losses and we had a doubles team that was able to move on to the state tournament,” said Coach Rohrbach. “The girls did a tremendous job giving it all every single match.”

Giving that the team won districts, but came short in the state tournament, Rohrbach elaborated more about why the team wasn’t able to go all the way.

“The girls played the best of the best, they were playing teams that spend a lot of money and time playing year round tennis, and the majority of our team play other sports which I think takes away the time from playing year round as well,” said Coach Rohrbach. “When you’re going against the best of the best, you just go out there and give it all you got and sometimes you reach your goal and sometimes you don’t.”

Senior Maddie Gunnell and junior Jennifer Ferry went to state after winning districts and sectionals, but sadly lost their first and second rounds.

Photos by Emily Hall and Molly Ebert

Jennifer Ferry Junior

“Winning districts was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.

It was a feeling I don’t know that I could ever recreate.”

Tori Ikeda

Mackenzie Jones

Sophomore

Freshman

“This year being a higher ranked I felt gave me more confidence in myself but also I knew that I had to continue playing at a high level.”

“The coaches really helped us by just making sure that we were mentally prepared and that we had confidence in ourselves going into districts.”

Angel Ikeda Senior

“I felt that with the new coaches we got this year, it helped bring the team together more which increased our chemistry and that was a huge factor in winning districts.”

LEFT: Senior Haley Anderson serving the ball during a season match against St. Charles West. The team beat West by 7-2.

PHOTO BY GEA HENRY RIGHT: Senior Angel Ikeda returning the ball while playing Fort Zumwalt East during season. Ikeda won her match, helping the team beat FZE 7-2.

PHOTO BY SYDNEY ROBBINS

Nov. 11, 2016

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WATCH IT LIVE!

Basketball starts in December!

FHCtoday.com will be at the court to broadcast the following games: UPCOMING BASKETBALL GAMES: Nov. 18: Preseason Jamboree Dec. 2: Boys basketball v.

Liberty Dec. 5: Boys basketball v.

Timberland Dec. 6: Girls basketball v.

Parkway South

Colleges ask too much of their overwhelmed applicants

Lukas Mendel Copy Editor

University of Never Getting Into

Manage to sleep for maybe 4 or 5 hours Find teachers who might like you Find time to begin a single essay

College of Maybe, Possibly, Might Get Admitted University of Unreal Expectstions

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t finally comes to the end of another long, grueling week. I find myself just managing to keep an A in all of my classes for the however many consecutive weeks in a row, staying up every school night studying and finishing up homework at the perfect bedtime of 12 am, and spending almost my whole weekend and a couple school nights at the place I love the most, my part time job. Finally, all is done and I find myself able to enjoy some of my Sunday, the whole one hour left after completing last week’s remaining homework. But what is this, there is more to do? I tell myself that is impossible, but then I remember I am a senior, in fall, which means one thing: college applications.

November of senior year, this is when colleges start to expect students to submit their applications for wherever they hope to be admitted.

Applying to colleges has never been simpler now through the use of the Internet and the common app. But when it comes to some of the more competitive universities in America, their applications all share one major flaw: they expect too much.

These selective schools expect students to be working their absolute hardest all throughout high school, rising over the rest in their classes.

They also expect a unique personal statement, one that gives the admission officers a reason to consider the student over other applicants.

If this was the only essay required, there would not be any sort of problem, but the colleges also expect applicants to complete specific responses and essays unique to each university. These universities already expect applying students to be star examples, be involved in extracurricular activities, and to find time to clone themselves so they can possibly enjoy part of high school and maybe have the occasional friend or two.

Writing is an essential part of the application process because it truly shows what makes students unique. There are other students who can earn the same grades and obtain the same test scores, so the colleges want to see individually how they think, and why they want to be a student at their university. This is not an issue every single senior will or does stress about, many state universities require a college transcript and the student’s ACT or SAT scores, and that’s it. The issue with no writing though, is the student now loses their chance to stand out.

Too much writing requires time that simply is not there, and no writing means losing a voice in the process. There has got to be a middle ground in between the two extremes, and that is to require writing but a more reasonable amount. Let all students voice their reason of why they wish to attend the school of their dreams, and let students trying to get into the selective universities submit recent essays they have written in class.

Many times the college want to analyze not just the students grades, not just their test scores, not just why they want to attend the university, but to analyze how the student thinks. The submission of formal essays from various classes can offer a example of how a student works and thinks because it was written by the student for an actual grade.

The way colleges run their application most likely will not change overnight, so it is great to dream of what it could be, but that is not what it is. They simply expect too much as these essays hold just as much as weight as grades and test scores. When finding time to finish homework seems impossible, the added on thought of college essays seem like literal gibberish. The only solution to it all is time management, make the time that is not there. Don’t procrastinate with homework or other essays, buckle down and get it done then move on. Learn to become a hermit until you’re finally done with your applications. Most importantly, write them, stressing out about writing them will not help further the progress.

Finally, after you have written them and submitted them, reward yourself and sit back and relax, and try to ignore the crippling fear that no matter your hard effort you might still get rejected.

Nov. 11, 2016

What do colleges want from my personal statement?

What should I avoid in my application?

Who should write my recommendation?

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