Twirling through the day 19 Inconsistencies in coaching staff cause concern

Twirling through the day

CALIStA SHoHEt

Freshman Elliana Sabahi is a competitive dancer for Liv DanceArts and a Carlmont dance program student. Sabahi competes from January to May and aims to take home large titles. She trains over 20 hours a week, all while keeping up with school work. While this is hard work, Sabahi finds it worth the effort. “I love to dance because it just feels so right to me. When I dance, I feel connected within myself, and it’s my way of feeling my emotions,” Sabahi said.

6:30 a.m.

Sabahi’s day starts with an early wake-up for school, which begins with zero-period.

4 p.m.

Sabahi carpools with her friends to Liv DanceArts and starts her lengthy ballet class. “My favorite style is ballet because it’s so technical,” Sabahi said. “You can never be perfect, so every day you work to become better and better.”

6:30 p.m.

This is when Sabahi starts her technique class of the day, which is often lyrical. Lyrical combines ballet and jazz styles, with a focus on expression through music lyrics.

8:30 p.m.

Sabahi heads home to have dinner and begin an evening of homework.

1:28 p.m.

Sabahi gets a quick break from academics with Carlmont’s dance class.

6 p.m.

Sabahi has a small break between lessons.

7:30 p.m.

During rehearsals, Sabahi works on her technique and pieces they are preparing. She also practices her routines for competitions, which start in January.

11:30 p.m.

Sleep is essential to keeping up with a busy schedule! “I try to go to bed at this time or earlier because I find it so important to get enough sleep,” Sabahi said.

Inconsistencies in coaching staff cause concern

MADDy MERCADo

At the beginning of the school year, every class starts with an introduction to the course and expectations. A semester is like an ongoing chess match where you learn what your teacher expects from that point on. As a match progresses, chess players set up a winning strategy, but what would happen if someone came in and told you to change the play?

There have been multiple changes in the coaching staff for various sports in the past couple of years. Carlmont’s volleyball program has had a different coach each year since 2019, and the girl’s basketball team had recent changes as well. These modifications in coaching staff could affect the reputation of our teams and how others perceive them.

EFFECTS ON STUDENTS

Student-athletes whose coaches unexpectedly quit mid-season have the hardest time adjusting to the new coach. The beginning of a season allows the team and coach to find chemistry with each other, which is often lost when coaches leave, disrupting the atmosphere. The constant change with coaches also has a possibility of lowering the number of athletes who would want to play for the next season.

“[The coaching change] left us in disarray and kind of lost; we didn’t know what to do and how to move on from it. We didn’t have any motivation to play,” said Jennifer Moy, an opposite hitter for Carlmont’s varsity volleyball team.

According to The Sport Journal, changes in leadership can affect a sports program’s athletes, support staff, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers.

Constant transitions through multiple coaches can affect an athlete’s motivation for the current season and following seasons. Moy wasn’t the only athlete who experienced that feeling; Trinity Chow, a senior who was a setter on the varsity girls volleyball team, agreed.

“I lost a little bit of motivation because it felt like our coach didn’t want to stick with us throughout the season,” Chow said.

EFFECTS ON STAFF

When coaches suddenly quit mid-season, the first question is usually, “What now?”

Someone needs to take the coach’s place to keep the season going — it may be another sports’ coach or a physical education staff member. Irene Oliveria, one of Carlmont’s PE teachers, had to step in for a JV girls volleyball coach during the 2019-2020 season.

Most teachers tend to sacrifice a lot of their time doing the jobs they were hired to do, going further than expected for the benefit of the students. In the Brigham Young University Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, writer Aaron Singh states that the coach must find a balance between helping his or her players and helping their athletes achieve success.

When coaches leave and teachers are asked to step in mid-season, it adds a lot of strain to teachers’ workload and personal life.

THE FUTURE OF SPORTS

Patrick Smith, Carlmont’s athletic director and sports leadership teacher, explains the struggles of finding new coaches for the upcoming seasons.

“There are definitely certain sports where it can be very difficult to find coaches. For instance, our long-time girls’ water polo team stepped down after last season,” Smith said.

Different sports will have a different number of applicants. Smith said he struggled to try to find a new coach to replace the old one, but nothing official has been determined. Volleyball faced a similar situation. On the other hand, the girls’ basketball team has had a number of applicants, so there is a wider variety to choose from.

“It makes personally makes me feel like no one wants to work with or is excited to play volleyball,” Moy said.