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| ATHLETICS |
Marching to their own beat BY DAVID VAZQUEZ
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THE MIRROR STAFF
s halftime arrives, the Crimson Marching Band illuminates the field with their gleaming brass and silver instruments. The audience drifts their attention towards the marchers and their faces light with excitement as they grow louder and cheer for the band. The stadium lights glare off the instruments leaving everyone blinded, but not enough to keep them from watching the long-awaited show. After formulaically getting into position, they raise their instruments and play melodies loud enough for everyone across the field to hear. As the performance continues, they march with their steps and music in sync. “To prepare for a football game, we have rehearsals Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and a little bit on Friday,” sergeant-at-arms Lissette Gallardo said. “We go over the football game music and go over things we need to improve on.” Aside from performing at football games, most of the Marching Band’s time is occupied by preparation for their own rivalries. In particular, the ensemble is getting ready for the LAUSD Marching Band Championship, which is set to take place on Dec. 2. “Last year we did pretty good,” Gallardo said. “Even though we got third place out of the five bands competing, it was so amaz-
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THE MIRROR | GIANNA IOVINO THE MIRROR | NICOLE TOVAR
ing seeing the audience clap for us after our performance. I almost started crying of joy because the feeling was just awesome.” In preparation for the competition, marching band members are going to be rehearsing on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays leading up to the event. “We work very hard to learn drills and our show music,” Gallardo said. “I think we are gonna do better this year.” According to woodwind captain Mireya Pacheco, the group has been meticulously honing their abilities. “The day of the competition, we normally have anxious energy because we’re excited to show off our skills, but scared we might mess up or not get the score we want,” she said. ‘We are preparing to take things slow and make everything perfect so we are prepared to compete on the day of.” Music teacher Mr. Robert Eisenhart operates as head of the marching band. “I’m the director of the marching band program, and I’ve been doing that here at Van Nuys High School for 32 years,” he said. “I write the music, I write the field formations and, of course, I’m involved with educating the students and guiding our older students to help educate as well, so they’re part of the teaching team.” According to Mr. Eisenhart, learning to play an instrument is no easy feat. “It’s horrible, it’s incredibly difficult and it’s a struggle, but it’s one of the most amaz-
TUNING IN The Marching Band plays
their instruments at half-time during the Homecoming game against San Fernando High School.
ing and beautiful struggles there is,” he said. “On one side of it you can say to yourself that this is the most ridiculous thing, I’m blowing my air and spit in a tube and it makes no sense that I would be doing this. But then you put 13 different types of tubes in a room with 40 people and you can make some pretty amazing art. It can be pretty challenging, but it’s a great struggle and I embrace the struggle.” Teamwork comes naturally to these students. “My favorite part of being in marching band is mainly being a part of an awesome
community,” trombone player Adrian Rodriguez said. Many students, including Pacheco, have grown as a result of their experience in band. “Being in marching band has taught me about having good communication with others, supporting one another in everything we do and learning to be confident in yourself,” she said. Despite the stress that comes with perfecting their craft, the band is determined to be the best they can be. “One of the things that I love about Van Nuys High School and I’ve really enjoyed about the community here is that the students walk in through the door eager to participate and eager to work with other students and learn from each other,” Mr. Eisenhart said.
Girls volleyball: Rebuilding what’s broken BY ISABEL VALLES
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THE MIRROR ATHLETICS EDITOR
t would be an understatement to say that the girls volleyball team has had a rocky season. Out of the 23 games played, the team has won six. This is a great decline compared to last season, in which the girls had a record of 14 wins and 10 losses. From the very beginning, the team faced a five-game losing streak. In the season opener against Vaughn High School, they lost 2-1. “Losing that first game of the season, a lot of us were frustrated because we did try our best,” Varsity captain Bella Mokhtari said. According to Varsity outside and opposite hitter Samantha Sirichai, the team’s first loss was eye-opening. After seeing how effectively other teams communicated and worked together, it was apparent that the girls weren’t prepared for what they were up against. “We were still getting used to working together as a team,” Varsity setter Ranisha Patel said. “We were missing a lot of players so we had a lot of people playing different positions that they weren’t used to.” Varsity setter Alyssa Islas graduated last year. Losing Islas has left a gaping hole in the team. “Alyssa was our everything,” Varsity middle block Kenzey Jones said. “She helped all of us out and I don’t think any one person could ever do what she did for us. I feel like all of us together need to learn how to be that person for each other.” Islas was invaluable to the team’s morale.
“It’s an unrecognizable environment now,” Mokhtari said. “Losing Alyssa definitely made us feel like we didn’t know what else to do and we really needed to build off of that. We’re all learning individually and as a team how to adjust to the changes and just trying to be able to manage.” Patel agrees with this sentiment. THE MIRROR | CHRISTOPHER MONTERROSA
ALL IN The girls volleyball team rallies together in a huddle in the Big Gym before their game.
“After losing an authority figure like Alyssa, we don’t really have accountability anymore,” Patel said. “We tend to slack off and get in our heads a lot rather than trying to move on.” According to varsity outside hitter Adrienne Mita, the team’s chemistry is also suffering as a result of Islas’ absence. “I think we just lack a lot of team chemistry,” Mita said. “Alyssa was the mom figure for a lot of the team and everyone looked at her as a friend. She helped build team chemistry and
I think this year we just lack a certain person that is holding us together.” This year, the team doesn’t have an official leader and is dependent on returning players to help guide the team. “We rotate the leaders now,” girls volleyball manager Devon Brown said. “We don’t have one consistent person who runs this.” Two years ago, the team was led by a very demanding coach. As a result of his leadership, the girls were able to win many games against teams that they have lost to this season. The coach was later fired at the end of the boys season, with no reason given to the team. An evident issue the team notices is a severe lack of commitment because they felt like the team wasn’t the same without Islas. “Last year, I noticed that nobody missed practice,” Patel said. “Even if you did miss practice, you would have to send a note explaining why you were missing practice. This year, a lot of the team is just not as committed to the sport, so that’s a very big factor in how we play at games and how our team works.” Having reflected on their season, the girls volleyball team plans to use their losses as motivation to improve and come back stronger than ever. Though the team’s fate is uncertain, the future looks bright. A player who has really stood out as a leader is Mokhtari. She has been on the team since her freshman year and has coached the boys JV volleyball team. Various players, including Mokhtari, show immense promise and may be the glue that puts the team back together in coming years.
