Give me a break

Student athletes stuggle to find time to recover from overworking their bodies

Laynie Stroup • Sports Editor

High school athletes have so much pressure to be the best, some often forget just how human they really are. “The most important thing as an athlete is to be yourself and to go hard for the person next to you,” varsity football junior Michael Barrow said. The competition of these sports has intensified so much in the previous years, the overall need for training has escalated. “I practice soccer Monday through Saturday every single week,” varsity soccer senior Grace Reddic said. These workouts are perfectly designed for these athletes and the program itself. “Our football workouts are a variety of eccentric body workouts to hypertrophic workouts meant to work on a specific muscle group day to day,” varsity football senior Ernest “R.J” Cooper IV said. However, all the time spent in training may be the cause of injury. Overworking your body can occur when you spend too much time working out but do not give yourself enough recovery. “The number one thing for recovery is rest, aka sleep,” athletic trainer Johne’ Booty said. “Trying to get as much sleep as possible, foam rolling, stretching, eating healthy, and drinking plenty of water can help your body recover faster.” Overworking puts a strain on your body and the continuation can result in injury. “My coach has had to talk with me because I hate taking off,” Reddic said. “During the summer I load up on workouts and my coach has pulled me aside and told me to not go as hard to prevent burnout.” It is an athlete’s responsibility to take care of their body and take the steps to recover. “More often than not you will see me in the training room trying to recover my body by either ice or Normatec compression sleeves,” Cooper said. Booty said she treats anywhere from 30 to 50 student athletes a day all ranging from different sports and injuries. Some student athletes said they have trouble balancing their time between school and athletics. “Thinking ahead is the most important thing to help me stay on top of my assignments,” Reddic said. “I know that If I have a game at night I need to get my homework done before the game because I will be tired and can’t trust myself to finish it after.” Booty said some of the sports at Martin may be overworking their athletes. She said a great way to reduce some of these injuries is by adding a few recovery days into a program. “If I feel like my body is being put in a bad situation, I’m able to converse with the coaches and see what’s best to ensure my body stays healthy,” Cooper IV said. One of the biggest problems student athletes face is trying to produce more than they are putting into their bodies. Athletes are depending on their skills but are not taking the proper steps to keep their bodies injury-free. “Your body signals to you when you are hurting,” Booty said. “So if you come in and get treatment when you feel a little pain, you can get it worked out before it gets too bad and hopefully be back to competing.”

Dodging a tackle, junior Michael Barrow runs the ball in hopes of scoring a touchdown against Bowie on Oct. 15. Barrow went on to recieve Utilty Player of the Year. Photo by Aysha Mirza

’ ‘Just because we think differently doesn’t mean we have to be rude to each other’

Students navigate political discussions with peers

MacKenzie Estes • Reporter

Nowadays, politics can be a very heavily spoken topic. Respectful agreements and discussions on political views have now turned into disagreements, arguments, and even physical fights among one another. People have even started basing their friendships and relationships solely on what other peoples’ political views are. The maturity level to speak on the topic of politics also comes with a wide level of respect towards others’ opinions. “I always feel that my opinion is overlooked when conversing with people on the other end of the spectrum,” sophomore Landyn Nichols said. “I do feel comfortable sharing my political opinions the majority of the time. Sometimes if I know that the other person has a different opinion than me, I try not to share all of my thoughts to avoid arguments.” When wanting to speak out and have a voice on political topics, having maturity and respect towards other people plays a big role in being an active part in politics. “My political views are definitely a major priority to me,” Nichols said. “I believe that it is a very beautiful thing to be able to express my opinions freely. I try to respect everyone’s opinions because I want to be treated with respect when talking about my feelings. When someone would disrespect my opinions and try to make me feel like I was worth nothing because of my political opinion, I would be quite uncivil. I now try to remember that we are entitled to our own thoughts and feelings and just because we think differently doesn’t mean we have to be rude to each other.” It is a good idea to be educated and have an opinion, but with that comes the maturity level to be courteous and keep in consideration both political sides. “I personally do not care what your political affiliation is,” Nichols said. “If we are friends before I find out your political stance, there is no reason that we cannot be friends after. However, I have lost many friends due to politics. I have been blocked, called horrible names, publicly harassed, and slandered on social media, which obviously leads me to not wanting to be those people’s friends. I would never say to anybody that we cannot be friends because of our difference in political opinions.” “In most political conversations, most people are open to hearing my thoughts, but as a conservative straight, white male, my opinion doesn’t matter to some people as they believe that people like me are ‘privileged,’” sophomore Nash Sanders said. “I am comfortable with sharing my political views to others because I’m aware of what I stand for and what I value, so I am able to openly state how I feel on certain situations.” Playing an active part in politics is very important to most people because they want to be educated and have a voice in what is going on in political discussions. “I stay active in politics and what is going on in the world as I believe all people should, but it shouldn’t control our lives,” Sanders said. “I respect other peoples’ views and opinions but I give them mine in hopes of them understanding how someone else from a different background may view a political standpoint differently. I do participate frequently in political debates, but I do not let political opinions determine my relationship with others, unless someone’s beliefs are extreme and endangering.”

“I would never say to anybody that we cannot be friends because of our difference in political opinions.”

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Healthier eating in 2022

How to stick to your resolution to eat healthy

Sirinity Hubbard • Reporter

As we ring in the new year, people try new things. They make resolutions and try their hardest to stick to them. Although it may be hard to stick to a new year’s resolution of eating healthy, with a few different options, it could possibly be easier.

To accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets, restaurants have started to bring in more veggies and other healthy options that avoid the use of meat. It’s common knowledge that you can keep meat in your diet and still be healthy, but eliminating meat on occasion could possibly help you hold to your resolution. Instead of ordering a beef hamburger when going out, ordering a veggie burger could be a better and healthier option. Places that offer veggie burgers are: Chapps Burgers, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Twisted Root Burger Co. and many other places. Another food to help you stick to your resolution is pizza. Yes, pizza. The thought of pizza being healthy might seem absurd, but pizza can be made healthful. Instead of getting a pizza full of meat, try getting a pizza with meat and veggies, just veggies, or even a vegan pizza. Doing that can increase your intake of all the nutrients meat and vegetables give rather than just meat. Places that provide such pizzas are: Mellow Mushroom (offers vegan pizza), Papa Johns, Dominoes, Pizza Hut, Marco’s Pizza (offers crustless pizzas and cauliflower crust) and most other pizza places. This one might be less of a shock, but another food to help stick to your resolution is anything at Chipotle or Subway. At Chipotle, you can get a complete veggie bowl or one with meat and veggies. They also offer sofritas which are braised tofu. You can make a lifestyle bowl, salad, quesadilla, taco, burrito bowl, and a burrito healthier. Subway, much like Chipotle, offers a variety of healthy options such as sandwiches, wraps, bowls, melts, and salads, all of which can be made healthy. Who would’ve thought things like burgers, pizza, Chipotle and Subway would help you keep to your new year’s resolution? Making little changes like inviting more vegetables into your life can make a big difference and benefit you greatly. Putting a twist on foods you regularly eat to make them healthier can also do the same.

What’s up with...?

Art NHS Art NHS is focused on doing murals around the school. They are also working on Painted Tree commission where they are doing a mural for a local retail shop and several areas around the campus with interactive murals. “We work with people and bring the arts to them and show them what art can be,” Art NHS sponsor Sharon Miller said. Roboboat Roboboat is a club at Martin that designs and builds a robotic boat that can navigate and complete a number of tasks on an aquatic course for a competition in June. “The great thing about Roboboat is that it’s a learning experience for everyone,” junior Rebekah Lara said. “Everyone that is in the club is learning together and no one knows exactly how to do 100 percent of everything.”

Show Choir The Varsity and JV show choirs are preparing for their UIL competition at the district’s annual Show Choir Showcase. The following night is the traditional spring “Pops” show highlighting seniors, “The next month and a half is going to be pretty busy, but it’ll all be worth it once we wrap things up with our final performances,” senior varsity dance captain Simon Kowalski said. FEATURES • 15

Before your bottle overflows

Easy ways to manage stress in your day to day life

Zizi Belvin • Reporter

Seeking out support when your emotions are trying to get the best of you can be difficult for many people, especially when it seems like you won’t have time in your schedule to do so. But even when you feel like it’s an impossibility, if you bottle up your emotions, the bottle will eventually overflow. Here are a few ways for you to vent in order to help yourself out:

Pets:

Sometimes it’s too hard to say what you need to say or even ask for a hug from another person, so a friendly alternative could be a pet. Whether you have a dog or cat to play with, or a fish to admire, talking to them about what’s weighing on you would give you an opportunity to voice what you’re thinking, and could help you to move on a bit from a situation or at least accept it. They could also help you avoid feeling alone when you want some space from other people, and give you a sense of purpose or responsibility while caring for them. Sitting in a room with only a fish to talk to may turn out to be better than sitting alone.

16 • features Junior Arlie Coker writes in a journal for stress relief. Journaling, pets, and interactions with trusted friends and adults can help regulate emotions. Photo by Mark Regalado Journaling:

Journaling is another great option. It can allow you to rant and express your feelings without the worry of other peoples’ opinions while getting creative. Not to mention, it’s easy to flip back a few pages and see how much you’ve progressed or changed since you began the journal. At first, it may seem terrifying to fill the first page or even to buy the journal, but once you start writing and expressing yourself, it tends to come more easily.

Friends:

There’s always the classic option of talking with your friends, which I’m sure most students here have done, but some tend to forget that your friends are there for a reason. They care about you and may be able to give you an opinion on your situation or emotions without overly clouded judgment because you don’t always think clearly when you’re stressed. On top of all of that, they could also help you make some fun new memories.

Trusted adults:

Another person you could turn to to get advice or just talk to is a trusted adult. It could be a family member or even school staff. Any grown-up would work. It may seem uncomfortable to approach them and express your thoughts, but once you have it all off your chest, you’re sure to feel at least a bit better and both you and the adult might find that you trust each other a bit better. It could also help that they may have personal experience with the topic, which could make them more qualified to help you through whatever you’re working through.

Martin support:

A few organizations at Martin have begun to realize the importance of mental health and how it can affect not only academic performance, but our everyday lives as well. During the week of December 6 through 10, Psi Alpha held a Wellness Week. In addition, a new club for girls called Shift meets after school and during lunch to provide emotional support. By creating these safe spaces, opportunities for students to be themselves and make friends open up, allowing students to relax for a moment to keep their stress and unwanted emotions at bay. It is these moments that get students from one day to another and allow them a chance to sort out their emotions when their minds are otherwise too crowded to process what they need to. The most important part of this, however, is to make yourself feel better. If one of these processes makes your situation worse or doesn’t help much, then you could try another or come up with your own. Getting creative can provide a distraction and can allow you to find the method best for you. While some experiences are universal, solutions are often individual.

39 years of making a difference Ready Set Teach and Principles of Education teacher makes the hard decision to leave teaching mid year

Aysha Mirza • Editor-in-Chief

Ateacher touches lives every day. The number of impacts made in just a year is countless. But for Ready Set Teach and Principles of Education teacher Linda Fetters, her 39 years of teaching have made incomparable impacts. With so much experience in the education field, Fetters was given the opportunity to teach Principles of Education and Ready Set Teach three years ago. With this job, she has helped hundreds of students become teachers of the future. But after suddenly being given a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity, Fetters has decided to retire in February and move to Georgetown, Texas to be a private nanny. “My husband and I met Christopher (who I will be working for) eight years ago through my son, and since then we have become like parents to him and his wife Courtney,” Fetters said. “They now have a son named Finn but need someone to take care of him after Courtney started having pregnancy complications with their second baby. So we will live in a house that Christopher has bought for me and my husband and will work together taking care of Finn.” Leaving in the middle of the year was a hard decision, but Fetters explained to her students how right this decision felt and has received full support since. “My husband’s health gave me the big push,” she said. “He had his first heart attack in 1999 and is the first in his family to survive a heart attack. More recently, my husband had openheart surgery three years ago. We have also been dealing with health issues with my youngest son since he was three when he had cancer. So when this opportunity came up, it just felt the safest.” A teacher’s schedule can become very time-consuming, especially with how dedicated Fetters has been to make sure her students are well prepared. “I live, sleep, and breathe my job,” Fetters said. “In my mind, I have all these years of experience so I have had to be a model teacher to teach my students how to be the best teacher in the future that they can be. So if I am not ready, how is that going to affect my students?” Although the schedule is tough, the effort Fetters has put in has helped her students in so many ways. “Mrs. Fetters always comes to class with a smile on her face and it shows that she spends so much time and effort on her job,” senior Ready Set Teach student Kendal Rushing said. “You can tell she truly loves what she does and cares about all of her students. This has impacted me because she spent so much time and effort getting me my placements for RST and teaching me everything I need to know to be successful in the field site.” While Fetters plans for her big move and prepares for the rest of the year’s plans for the next teacher, her students reflect on their favorite memories with her. “My favorite memory with Mrs. Fetters is the first day of Principles of Education and Training my freshman year,” senior Lina Ruiz said. “I wasn’t aware of it then, but that’s the day when I got to know what kind of exciting experience I would have for the rest of my high school experience thanks to her motivating attitude.” Part of being such a welcoming teacher like Fetters is genuinely loving the job. Fetters said she has known since high school that teaching is what she wanted, and now she helps encourage her own students in their future teaching careers. “Her teaching has helped me reflect on what kind of teacher I would like to be in the future,” Ruiz said. “I want to be a kind, respectful, and flexible one, just like Mrs. Fetters.” Fetters said she gets to interact with students in ways most teachers don’t get to. “I have a wonderful position at Martin,” Fetters explained, “And as upset as I am to leave, I know that I am giving this amazing position to someone else, which has helped me let go a little bit.” But to Fetters, being in the class and interacting with her students has been the most memorable part of her career. “This position has been the cherry on top,” she said. “Having young people care as much as you do about doing a good job has been the best gift because you guys are such amazing people in who you are and to see all the amazing qualities of amazing teachers in each of you. You are going to make a difference. And the fact that I was a part of that has been the most memorable.” Students said that Fetters has always made sure to make her class an exciting and welcoming environment. While she makes sure to prepare her students for their future careers, she also makes sure to have fun with her students. “We were doing a game and Mrs. Fetters had to climb on top of the desks to close the blinds and we all just thought it was so funny,” sophomore Lea Connerly said. “It just showed that she can be a really fun teacher.”

Photo by Mark Regalado

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