DIVING

Friendly competition Athletes dive against club teammates

Emma Tomlinson tomliemm000@hsestudents.org

2 D ivers from FHS often cheer on divers from HSE and Carmel. This is because some divers from different high schools dive for the same club, the Fishers Dive Team. +lubs exist for athletes who want to dive year round, instead of Rust during high school season. It allows them more opportunities to compete and work on their skills. “?hen we go and compete against Cclub teammatesE, we treat them like they are part of our team,” freshman /retchen 7smun said. “?e cheer for them and support them Rust like we would for any other diver on our team.” Instead of sitting exclusively with their teammates, the competing teams mingle during the meet. *efore the teams begin diving, some .HS athletes invite the opposing teams to pray with them. “I like how the team isn’t craby competitive because I feel like it becomes more fun in a sense that you’re not only thinking about winning the whole time,” sophomore 8aul Kelly said. ,iving club is a gateway to diving in high school. 7smun began diving for the club in the summer of 21 after watching the 7lympics. 8reviously, she did gymnastics for 12 years, until she lost the love of the sport. )fter watching the games, 7smun realibed she wanted to try something new. Many divers begin with backgrounds in gymnastics and tumbling. This season is Kelly’s first year diving, but he has a background in tumbling and parkour. “My flipping background has helped me dive tremendously because I don’t have that fear of doing the flip or dive for the first time,” Kelly said. “The thing I struggle with the most is the diving form, since I learned how to do flips in a very different style.” 8racticing safely is a key factor in decreasing inRuries. Stretching is essential to both diving and gymnastics, especially for progressing from position to position. )ccording to the Seattle ,ive +lub, having a flexible back is considered an asset in gymnastics but unsafe in diving, as it can lead to serious back and spinal inRuries. “In gymnastics, the landing is always something you have to be careful about because landing wrong has a risk for broken bones,” 7smun said. “I think people assume that in diving we don’t have to worry about that because we aren’t landing on a hard surface, but smacking the water hurts and could make your skin bruise for weeks or bleed.” 2unior Morgan +asey believes that this year’s workouts have built up their strength and flexibility so that dives are more clean and consistent. “7ur team looks stronger and more technical and cleaner than in years past,” +asey said. “8lus, we have more people so that adds way more points in the ending score.” )ccording to Kelly, at least one or two divers consistently place in the top three at meets. “8robably out of all three years I’ve been on the high school team, this year we’ve developed and improved the most with our skills,” Runior 6atalie *ryan said. The next girls meet is IHS)) regionals at .ort ?ayne South Side High School on Feb. 11, and the boys sectionals is Feb. 22 at FHS.

1 Junior Ethan Weiss does a back one and a half tuck into the water at a home meet against Carroll High School and Homestead High School on Jan. 24. The boys team beat Carroll 129-106 and Homestead 132-104. Photos by Emma Tomlinson.

Shooting for more fans Players discuss popularity of sport, experience of joint team with HSE

Ellie Albin albinele000@hsestudents.org

Hockey pucks move at 105 mph. On top of that, players are covered in head-totoe gear, skate at 2 mph and can suffer from violent injuries. Playing this game may seem daunting, but sophomore Frank Thomas and the HSE hockey team, which is a joint team with both FHS and HSE players, are willing to take that risk.

Popularity and publicity

For players in the school, many of them started playing hockey at a very young age.

“I started my hockey career when I was four years old, and I’ve loved every second of it,” Thomas said. “I went to an Indianapolis Ice game with my father, and according to him, I said, ‘I want to do that.’ And that’s how I ended up where I am now.”

According to ESPN, the most played sport by kids is basketball; hockey does not place in the top ten on the list in terms of kids who play the sport - but numbers are on the rise.

In 2010, the number of registered hockey players in the U.S. was 500,579, according to Statista. Since then, hockey registration has seen an increase, with 567,908 people as of 2019 registered to play. Thomas believes the hockey community can be doing more to attract new players.

“A way I think hockey can increase its popularity is maybe having players in the NHL do visits at schools to try and get the kids interested in it at a young age,” Thomas said. “That way the kids can get the pros’ point of view and thoughts on the sport.”

Sophomore Matthew Fischer agrees. He also believes that more support for the school team would result in good publicity.

“I do wish the school would support the hockey team more,” Fischer said. “We wear the same logo as the rest of the school, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t be as supported as any other sport. Almost nobody even knows we have a hockey team.”

Injuries

Even with more publicity, some kids may still be scared away from hockey for various reasons. One of those reasons includes injuries. For instance, Fischer cut his ankle and had to get stitches. Thomas has suffered from a concussion, but some of the worst he has seen includes a dislocated shoulder, broken fingers and broken collarbones.

According to Stanford Children’s Health, more than 20,000 kids per year between the ages of five and 1 are treated in emergency rooms for their hockey injuries. Even with these statistics, Thomas says that injuries are often still mundane, and the injuries are still few and far between if you play safe and are fully padded.

“I assure you, the amount of gear you’re equipped with protects you plenty,” Thomas said. “And, if you learn to take a hit right, you won’t have to worry about that either. The physicality doesn’t start until you’re about 1 or 1, so the younger ones don’t have to worry about it as much.”

High school hockey

In Fishers, there is only one high school team for players: the HSE Hockey Club. It consists of two teams, HSE A and HSE B, and they play at the Fuel Tank. For senior Colin Stewart, playing with HSE students is not a problem.

“I do like being a joint team with HSE,” Stewart said. “It gives me a chance to play with a lot of the kids I grew up playing with.”

For many of the players, they started at a young age. Fischer started playing when he was five because he wanted to be like his dad, who played in high school. Thomas hopes everyone finds their own reason to play, but restates that more support from the high schools would be beneficial.

“I believe that having the school promote the hockey program would be amazing. It’s always good to get involved in something, and hockey is really great. You get to train your body, have fun, and, most of all, build great relationships with new people,” Thomas said. “Hockey has an astonishingly good sense of comradeship. The trust you have to have in your teammates certainly boosts the bonds that you build with them.”

The team’s next game is .eb. 1 in +olumbus, Ind.

Wimmer ends tenure as football head coach End of an Era

Benjamin Grantonic grantben000@hsestudents.org

Longtime head football coach Rick Wimmer is stepping down. He announced this decision on Dec. 3. Wimmer coached a total of 42 years, with 37 of those being as a head coach. He worked at /reenwood, Bionsville and Merrillville, and fi nishes with a 2-1 record. “I feel good about the decision I made,” Wimmer said. “You know it’s not an easy decision, I’ve been doing this my whole life….my entire professional career has been about this, so it’s kind of diffi cult to step out and make that decision.”

He Roined .HS in 2anuary 2 and brought the program from 1-1 his fi rst year to winning the state championship in 21. ?immer was also nominated for ,on Shula 6.4 High School +oach of the Aear in 21 and won the Indianapolis Star’s Metro Coach of the Year seven times, in 1! , 1! , 2, 2, 2, 2!, and in 21. .urthermore, he won the National Federation of High School Coaches Association Football Coach of the Aear in 211.

“+oach ?immer aff ected my life positively, mostly on the football fi eld,” sophomore Jaxon Hyatt said. “He always pushed all of his players, including me, to improve. He wasn’t soft at all in the way he talked, but I don’t think he could be and still get to the team the way he did. Of course, he was only my head coach for a year, but he was a good man on the side and a mentally strong man, and I think he made me a better man in general through the way he coached.”

)s head coach, he showed his strength in developing players by the 1 students who went on to play college football. He also impacted many with his teaching of physical education.

“I would say that +oach ?immer was a positive infl uence on me because he was my APC coach as well as coach,” sophomore Jake Gates said. “You could see that he tried to make all the people in his class faster and stronger rather than just care about football.”

For Wimmer, FHS has been a special place. Looking back, he remembers everyone he got the chance to work with.

“I am thankful for everybody that made football a part of their educations,” Wimmer said. “I think football is part of an education. You know, there’s a lot of things you can do to get an education besides go to class. I appreciate all of their eff orts# it’s not easy to play football.”

A TIMELINE HisTime at FHS

Wimmer is recruited to be the head coach for FHS's football program.

2006

2006 Wimmer starts his first year with no seniors on the team and a record of 1-10.

Wimmer strategizes with players at the Mudsock in 2006. HSE won 24-6. Photo Courtesy of Tiger Tracks yearbook.

Wimmer won a variety of awards including the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s Dave Land Coach of the Year Award. He also brought the Tigers to victory in the 2010 Indiana state championship.

2010

2019 Wimmer announces he is stepping down .

2009 FHS wins against HSE in the Mudsock for the first time 10-6.

2011

Wimmer talks to a commentator at the Indiana State Finals against Lawrence Central at Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 27 2010. FHS won 38-19. Photo Courtesy of Tiger Tracks yearbook.

Wimmer named the Indiana Football Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School Coaches Association.

Wimmer talks to senior quarterback Marcus Roux during a 27-6 win over HSE on Sept. 13. Photo by Mya Ball.