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PHOTOS BY CYMRY HIERONYMUS BY SUMNER WALLACE DESIGN BY MADDY EPHRAIM

Emma Furlong ’21 lets us in on the details of her tight bond with her 2014 Ford Focus, Ziggy. “My car breaks down a lot but you know, she’s still going. She’s not reliable; she’sresilient.”

The West High parking lot has a wide variety of cars — from clunkers to Camaros — but their appearances can be deceiving. This rings especially true for junior Emma Furlong’s car. “My car is super cute ... but like, it’s broken on the inside,” she said. Over the two years since she bought her car, it has deteriorated, but her love for it has only grown. The car has become a solace for Furlong. “Sometimes I’ll get to school early before my open, and I’ll just sit in here and listen to music … You know when you’re going home, you get to your house, you’re in your garage and you’re like, ‘I don’t wanna go inside because getting up is a lot of work.’ And you just sit in your car for a while … I do that.” She has lovingly named the car Ziggy after the David Bowie song “Ziggy Stardust” as well as the character from “LazyTown” of the same name. “I just think it’s a cute name … It fits the personality I think.”

“The biggest thing you can’t even see, but like, it’s broken on the inside. It’ll just stop in the middle of the street … The engine light comes on and the oil light comes on and we’ve tried getting it fixed three times and it still

does,” Furlong said. “I don’t have money for another car, so I’m just kind ofletting it happen.”

“It’s stressful whenever it breaks down because like it broke down in the middle of the Coralville strip and I was just chilling there for 15 minutes and then people kept stopping and asking me if I was okay and I was like, ‘Yeah, this happens all the time you guys. It’s okay.’”

“MY CAR IS SUPER CUTE... BUT LIKE, IT’S

BROKEN ON THE INSIDE.”- EMMA FURLONG ‘21

“Last winter, I bumped into someone,” explained Furlong. “My bumper kinda fell off and then we just put packing tape on it and it stayed together, which is good.”

“It’s scratched [on the side]. It’s kinda scratched everywhere. I think sometimes I bump into people or people bump into me. I don’t really know,” Furlong said.

Athletes wanting to elevate their games in the off-season are looking towards club athletics.

“PLAYING OTHER SPORTS IN HIGH SCHOOL IS VITAL TO MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR AN ATHLETE. - NIKKI KOENING, BASKETBALL COACH BY CAROLINE CHANDLER W hether it’s a frosty winter morning spent weightlifting in the gym before school or practicing drills in the scorching heat of summer, the typical life of a club athlete is demanding. Athletes that choose to participate in both school and club athletics often have a hectic schedule balancing sports, school and social lives. With school athletics requiring hard work and commitment from athletes, club sports are a great way to elevate their game to the next level.

Nikki Koening, who coaches the Lady Martin Brothers Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 2021 team, knows the commitment her players have to basketball.

The players are expected to have a ball handling or shooting workout on a daily basis. One of the many benefits to club sports is the added skills that players learn.

“AAU can teach new skills and refine what the athlete already has. Basketball IQ is enhanced as the athlete will have more game experience during AAU,” Koening said.

While some club coaches discourage their athletes from training in multiple sports, Koening does not.

“Playing other sports in high school is vital to mental and physical development for an athlete,” Koening said.

Club season at the high school level is typically whenever the high school schedule is not in session. The long season allows athletes to take visits to schools and attend basketball camps. Oftentimes, club basketball keeps players from participating in other school sports, as they feel that they have to play AAU the entire off-season.

Playing outside of the high school season can look different for every athlete. Michele Conlon, the assistant director of tennis at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex, sees the improvements her players make to their games through tournament play, private lessons and group classes in the off-season.

“I think tournament play is key to success for experience, because tournaments present a lot of different challenges that you’re going to have in the high school season. It can be strategic or understanding yourself and what you need to work on. The mental and emotional aspect needs to be practiced as much as the strokes,” Conlon said.

With tennis being heavily technique and coordination based, practicing in the off-season is of much importance.

“I think that you can reinforce those techniques by playing in the off-season, but you can also add elements to your game. Maybe you want to work on some slice or defensive balls, or specific serve placement,” Conlon said.

Training in the off-season allows for players to refine their skills and strategies to enhance all aspects of their game from volleys to serves.

David Rosenthal coaches club soccer at the Iowa Soccer Club as well as the varsity girls soccer team at West. Rosenthal says that extra insights are one of the added benefits that comes with club soccer.

“They’re playing the other nine months of the year so they’re gaining soccer knowledge. They might have different coaches and they get different knowledge from different coaches,” Rosenthal said.

Many players take advantage of other practice opportunities by practicing for an age group lower or higher. Iowa Soccer Club offers a program called Super Skills, which any age group can attend, and has an emphasis on individual skills.

Julia Bernat ’21 participates in both school and club soccer. For Bernat, technique is one benefit from club soccer that has elevated her level as a goalie.

“I have trained with many coaches over the years that have taught me valuable techniques and strategies that have helped me become the goalkeeper I am today,” Bernat said.

With the high school season and club soccer taking up much of her time, Bernat feels as if there isn’t a set time for the off-season.

“Winter is the off-season for high school, in which I’ve been participating in an indoor league and doing private goalkeeper training around five days a week to better prepare myself for spring soccer,” Bernat said.

Participating in high school and club volleyball has helped Emma Dunlap ’22 to further develop her volleyball skills.

“Skills that I’ve gained from club volleyball would include more advanced volleyball fundamental skills than what I work on during the school season,” Dunlap said.

While the constant hours of drills and tournaments have heightened Dunlap’s level, wrestling is an unlikely component that has also helped her to improve.

“I have found that although they are quite opposite sports, wrestling has helped condition me for volleyball and also has greatly built my mental toughness,” Dunlap said.

Club sports and school sports require a hefty time commitment, leading to many athletes specializing in a sport at a young age rather than exploring all the sports available. Brendon Panther, the strength and conditioning coach at West, recognizes that while athletes who specialize with club athletics might rise to the top quickly while honing in one sport, they might be missing out on something more.

There can be lots of pressure to excel at the one chosen sport, and the athlete can miss out on playing other sports. Specialization can often lead to higher burnout rates.

“To expect kids to be interested in the same sport year round is unrealistic. It is likely that the athlete will no longer be interested and need a break,” Panther said.

If the athlete truly loves the sport that they’re participating in, the pros of club athletics and specialization outweigh the cons.

“My advice would be as a freshman, play as many sports and participate in as many activities as possible,” Panther said. “Cast a wide net. You can focus on one sport while still playing other sports. By the time you are a junior you can start to whittle it down.”

$2000 + 250 + national championship fee

ADRENALINE

15-17 NATIONAL TEAM

2-3 2.5

weekly practices hours per practice Dec. June

TIME + out of state

TOURNAMENTS

HTA SEPT.-MAY Monday-Thursday 2 hour classes Source: Adrenaline Volleyball Union Source: Hawkeye Tennis Academy

cost

members non-members

2

290 250 405

345 500

420

3 4

average number of hours spent training per week

TOURNAMENTS $20-130

range anywhere from

2-4

workouts per week days/week for five weeks membership fee

$400-2,000 TOTAL EXPENSE

varies based on team, tournaments, travel, equipment, etc. SOME TEAMS ARE SPONSORED BY

MAJOR SHOE COMPANIES ISC AAU

Source: Amateur Athletic Union & Joe Goodman ‘20

June

March hour practices 185+690+366 registration staff facilities

2

OUTDOOR

3 practices per week competition every weekend

$1,241 annual fees per player

INDOOR

2 practices per week occasional league game

A D VANTAGE WEST VANTAGE WEST With plans to retire from coaching soon, head boys tennis coach Mitch Gross reflects on over a decade of championship-level success and the relationships he has built.

In a school renowned for its state championships, perhaps none have made winning look easier than boys tennis coach Mitch Gross.

A former history teacher at West and current Northwest Junior High administrator, Gross, like many other coaches at West, has created a winning tradition with teamwork and trust.

“The thing that really separates us from other programs around the state is that we put a huge emphasis on team,” Gross said. “The other thing we have is what I call the ‘championship mindset’ [which is] really never letting off, going all out all the time.”

Gross’s system has certainly been proven. Since his arrival in 2002, the Trojans have posted a 287-30 record, including six state championships since 2012 with a record of 93-3.

For the players, winning wasn’t always expected, however. Taking over a 3-12 team in 2001, Gross certainly didn’t turn the team into a powerhouse overnight. Or maybe he did.

“When I saw them I thought they were better than a 3-12 team. People had said that players were showing up Saturday mornings hungover or had partied too hard the night before,” Gross said. “The way that we’ll fix that is that [I thought] we will just have them be with me on Friday nights. We still do every Friday night team night together.”

The nearly 20-year-old tradition that began as an alcohol deterrent has become one of the core pillars of Gross’s program and something he attributes much of his players’ camaraderie and success to.

“I do believe at this level every coach knows X’s and O’s ... but if you can’t connect and motivate your players, it doesn’t matter,” Gross said. “Same with teaching. You can be the smartest teacher, but if your students don’t like you they’re not going to listen to you.”

While Gross strives to create meaningful relationships with his players, there’s also a level of expectation and demand that comes from producing so many championship players like junior captain Mukundan Kasturirangan.

“[Gross] will give you a lot of advice about life and stuff like that, but also there’s a clear distinction that when you’re on the court, he’s your coach,” Kasturirangan said. “There’s no question about that.” BY JOE GOODMAN

-MITCH GROSS, HEAD TENNIS COACH “I DO BELIEVE AT THIS LEVEL EVERY COACH KNOWS X’S AND O’S ... BUT IF YOU CAN’T CONNECT AND MOTIVATE YOUR PLAYERS, IT DOESN’T MATTER.”

As many players like Kasturirangan have found out, the stress that comes from playing for such a highly-touted program is a challenge unmatched in club tennis.

“I didn’t expect there to be that much pressure on me as a freshman,” Kasturirangan said. “It’s just a different pressure to play for other people and for your team and for your school.”

Most of Gross’ players train through the Hawkeye Tennis Academy (HTA), a high-performance training program run through the University of Iowa. Additionally, the athletes compete in individual tournaments against top competition from around the Midwest.

The long-standing relationship between West and the HTA has been symbiotic, with both Gross and the Academy benefiting from the abundance of high school talent in the Iowa City area.

“I think overall everybody works well together because if our program is successful, [the HTA] program is successful and vice versa,” Gross said. “I think we helped that program because a lot of young players — because we’ve been so successful — want to be a part of our program.”

BJ Wolf ’21 has been playing competitive tennis for eight years and looks to contribute on the varsity team this spring. Wolf, who plays in the HTA with Kasturirangan and most of the other varsity players, has grown up practicing alongside former West High greats like Jack Wenzel ’19 and David DiLeo ’15.

“[The older players] definitely had a presence because I was in the same academy with them … so I definitely knew who they were,” Wolf said. “They … were what I wanted to be.”

For Wolf and the rest of the varsity players, however, it may be another year until they are able to showcase their talents playing in Gross’ program. The widespread COVID-19 outbreak has suspended the team’s season, leaving the athletes, especially lone senior Piero Ortiz Cruz, devastated.

“In my case, as the only senior on our team this year, I was very excited to have an interesting and memorable season with my teammates,” Ortiz Cruz said. “Hopefully ... we can be back outside enjoying playing sports very soon.”

The suspension also impacts Gross, who was planning to retire from coaching after this season but has vowed to return in 2021 following this unprecedented turn of events.

“There’s no way I’m going to have this year be my last year,” Gross said. “I was 99% sure it was going to be my last year but I can’t go out like this.”

While Gross empathizes with the concerns of players and fans, there is also a bigger concern for the health and safety of the game’s players and coaches that extends beyond the court.

“I really think medicine and science has to dictate when and if we resume,” Gross said. “I feel horrible that this is where things are but I also ... would not want to be a part of anything that ends up being socially irresponsible that could contribute to something much bigger than high school sports.”

DESIGN BY BRENDA GAO