Math and English tutoring center opening in South Gym

Gameday experiences at a Pierce College football game will feature a new and energetic atmosphere this season due to changes brought by head coach Carlos Woods.

Woods has hired a DJ to play music during breaks in the game, and there are also plans to use smoke bombs, rally towels, t-shirt cannons, and miniature footballs to try and pump up the crowd and bring more fans to the games.

Creating a top tier fan experience at an affordable price is one of the main reasons for the gameday changes, according to Woods.

“My whole mindset is for a family that doesn’t have the money to pay for a USC or UCLA game, why can’t they get the same experience here at a Pierce College game, at a more economical price,” Woods said.

Keeping fans involved in the game and getting them to come out is another one of the main reasons for the change.

“I want music playing in between a series. I want music playing on the kickoff, I want us to have some type of rally song when we score touchdowns,” Woods said. “All those things increase the fan experience and you have more likelihood of them returning for the next game.”

Woods also believes that having more fans in the stands can provide the energy to boost a player’s performance.

“It just helps them elevate their game to the next level,” Woods said. “It makes them want to play that much harder.”

Former Brahmas cornerback Jonathan Tinajero, who played with the team from 20082010, winning back-to-back championships with the team, agrees that having more fans during a game can help the players.

“They have to get loud, not just for the person they’re here to see, but for the team,” Tinajero said. “Getting the fans loud brings a comfort to the team. And if the sideline gets loud, the crowd gets loud.”

Athletic Director Moriah Van Norman sees the positive work Woods is doing to connect the college community and the football team.

BLAKE WILLIAMS Reporter @BlakeMWilliams_ CHRIS TORRES Reporter @chris_t_torres

“I think coach Woods is doing a great job trying to bring the community in,” Van Norman said. “I think he’s really working to appeal to our student population and that’s just a great addition for our games.”

Besides the benefits for the fans and players, Woods also believes it can help the school from a financial perspective.

“It’s only going to drive revenue,” Woods said. “Drive more students to our school and make more people more aware of our student athletes and our school itself. So I think that’ll be a win-win.” bwilliams.roundupnews@gmailcom

The Center for Academic Success and the Pierce College athletics department have collaborated to create a new mathematics and English tutoring center for student athletes in the South Gym.

According to Moriah Van Norman, athletic director, athletes are required to be full-time students along with attending practices, and some even working part-time jobs outside of school.

Van Norman said they have the Center for Academic Success at their disposal, but their times vary throughout the day. By having this facility, it makes tutoring more accessible to the athletes because they have a larger workload than the average student.

Having had experience as a student athlete at USC, Van Norman understands the importance of having academic resources available to them. She said that she knows what it takes to get the student athletes to the next level so they can transfer to a four-year university, and help them become adapt academically and athletically.

“My goal for the athletic department is to really build the holistic student, and that means making sure that student athletes understand that they are more than just great athletes, but also great in other areas of their life,” Van Norman said.

Van Norman already has plans to expand their tutoring services outside of English and math.

“The big picture would be to have workshops,” Van Norman said. “So they are learning more than just academic stuff. So they can also learn life skills bringing that into center to help prepare them for life after athletics.”

The staff at CAS also helped bring this idea to fruition. According to Van Norman, all the tutors that are offering their services are students that work at the tutoring center.

“The Center for Academic Success staff, Crystal Kiekel, Brad Saenz from English, and Edouard Tchertchian from math did such an amazing job helping us,” Van Norman said. “The tutors are excited, so we want the kids to use this service.”

Athletic counselor Joseph Roberson said that Van Norman saw the need for the new facility immediately upon her arrival, and has been working hard to gather the resources necessary to make it happen.

“It most definitely takes the leadership to step in and try to get the wheels turning and acquiring the resources to fulfill that need,” Roberson said.

Morgan Wadlow, outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team, is planning on using the tutoring facility because it will help him create a more consistent study schedule.

“I think it’s a good thing for the sake of the student athlete’s education and future goals,” Wadlow said. Van Norman’s goal for the first year of this facility is to get student athletes to utilize it and see them get tutoring for both subjects.

“I want to show that this tutoring center has actually helped these students academically with GPA, completion, retention, all that stuff and I hope that this is the place to start,” Van Norman said. English tutoring will be from Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Math tutoring will be from Monday to Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. except for Tuesdays which will be from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. It is walk-in tutoring so no appointments are required.