Cross Country – Katerina Modrzejewski (25)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“I just want to do the best I can with my team. Also just trying to see where I can end up in the races and trying to improve each year.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“My original reason was to get in shape for soccer, I then had my concussion and then that’s when I fell in love with the sport of running. So I just decided to keep on running and then quit soccer.”

What makes you train hard?

“It’s like a stress reliever. If I put in effort in my running I’ll feel satisfied and each night I’ll be like,  ‘I worked hard today.’”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I’ve always just loved it and I just want to keep on getting better. I don’t want it to end kind of thing.”

Girls Golf – Madeline Kim (26)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“We’ve been undefeated for like, four or five years, so I would like to keep that record.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I’ve played golf since third grade. So I wanted to continue the sport at school.” 

What makes you train hard?

“Wanting to be a good player on my team and making sure that I can help my team succeed motivates me.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I love the people on the team and I think our dynamic is really great.”

Dance – Katie Comprorato (27) 

What motivates you to try your best?

“My love for dance makes me really motivated, because it’s my favorite thing to do. I can lose myself when I dance and find myself at the same time.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I was just dancing around the house, so [my mom] put me in a dance class, and I loved it ever since.”

What makes you train hard?

“The want to get better every day. Advancing and improving myself as a dancer.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I love it and I can’t imagine doing anything else, especially after doing it for so long.”

Boys beach volleyball – Alex Newman (25)

What motivates you to try your best?

“I think it’s just more fun to play the game at a higher level. My motivation is having as much fun as I can.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“It’s just something that has been consistent throughout all my high school years.”

What makes you train hard?

“I just like to prepare well, so when it’s time to play a game, I’m ready for it.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“It’s fun and I like to do it.”

Football – Oliver Gonzalez (25)

What motivates you to try your best?

“Definitely my teammates and my coaches. I try my best for my coach who is currently injured. I play for him a lot.”
What is your reason for joining your sport?

“It was a sport to play and I had friends that joined. I really love the sport, it means a lot to me.”

What makes you train hard?

“Back to my coach, it’s a big contributing factor. I train hard to play the best for my teammates. The goal is to play D1 hopefully.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I like the community. I like the team. It’s something to be a part of and again I love the sport.”

Cheer – Marissa Kalan (26) 

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“Seeing everyone else on the team that’s working just as hard as I am, it makes me want to put in that much more effort to make our team just that great and support everyone else.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I joined cheer to meet new people in eighth grade, and then I actually just found a love for it and decided to stick with it through high school.”

What makes you train hard?

“My teammates push me to be better, and so I want to show up for my teammates the way that they show up for me.” 

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I have stayed in my sport because I truly love what cheer is and what cheer embodies and I hope to continue it throughout my years.”

Girls varsity tennis – Abigail Li (26)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“Working together as a team. I think that motivates me because you don’t want to let your teammates down – especially because we might win league this year. It’s on everyone’s mind to try really hard so we can get that league win.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I’ve been playing tennis since I was like six years old. It’s just always been really important to me. I used to play tournaments when I was younger and I didn’t want to stop playing since then. Also I think that everyone should join a sports team at school cause I personally have gotten very close with my teammates and I think that’s one of the best parts about sports.”

What makes you train hard?

“Motivation to push myself. I feel like I’m self-driven for tennis because I’ve been playing it for so long. It’s something that I want to do, so that motivates me to work harder.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I stayed in my sport because I genuinely love it. I feel like it’s a way to relax and get my feelings out. It’s just a different way of relieving your stress. I’ve done other sports but tennis is just the one sport that I truly like … The first sport that I tried was tennis, then I started trying multiple sports. But I stuck with tennis because I loved it.”

Girls Flag football – Riley Scupine (26)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“Helping my team. I want to do good in our record and league.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I started last year, so I was just going to do it as a fun sport with my friend. But then playing softball and other sports helped me play flag football and be better at the sport. Like catching the ball and coordination, stuff like that. Then last year’s team was really fun because everyone was learning at the same time and were all super close. Then my sister is doing it this year so now we can be on the same team.” 

What makes you train hard?

“Helping my team. I like other sports, which help me train, like softball. [Flag Football] helps me train in all sports. It’s just fun to go to practice, to be honest, it’s a sport I actually like.” 

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“For flag football, last year’s team was super fun, and I knew a lot of the girls. I knew a lot of the girls were going to come back again this year.”

Boys varsity water polo – Trey williams (26)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“I’m motivated by just the idea that I can get better every time I play. As well as I also enjoy the sport. I’m not really looking for any success in whether I win or lose the game, rather just how much I improve on my own playing style. I think the whole point for me is that as long as I enjoyed the game and I think that I played well that’s all that matters to me.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I originally joined my sport over COVID as it was the only type of sport you were allowed to play during that time. From then on I just really enjoyed it. I already surf so getting into water polo wasn’t that hard.”

What makes you train hard?

“I train hard because I just really enjoy the sport and it doesn’t feel like work to me, it just feels like something fun that I like to do in my free time. So I just enjoy it like that.” 

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I stayed in my sport because I got pretty good at it. I’ve always wanted to go play for a college team and then hopefully if I can go division one that would be really awesome. I just like getting better at it.”

Marching Band –  Jay Gomez (27)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“We have a great community here, great culture. One of the great things about music is getting together to make something with a group. To do something beyond yourself. That’s one of the things that motivates me to play well.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“My friend made me join. They told me I should try it, and I did, and here I am.”

What makes you train hard?

“I love what I do. I love music. Also, I like the people here. I have a lot of friends from marching band. They’re great people who inspire me to work hard because they share my passion for music.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“Lots of memories, good people, great achievements and music. Personal growth, not just as a musician but as a person.”

Girls Volleyball – Natalia Galstian (25) 

What motivates you to try your best in games?

“My teammates motivate and push me to always give my 100% effort. I know they are giving their all, and that inspires me to always bring my best energy and focus to the court.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I was put into volleyball as one of the many sports my parents had me try at a young age. At first I hated it because I sucked. But as time went on, I started loving the days I had practice. I fell in love with everything the sport has to offer, from playing with a team that’s like a family to learning leadership and mental toughness.” 

What makes you train hard?

“I’ve gone through my fair share of injuries, especially a couple season-ending injuries, so whenever my body is healthy and well-functioning I always give my 100%.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“There are so many reasons I will always love volleyball, and cherish what it has shown and taught me: The unpredictability of the sport, and excitement that comes with never knowing what will happen next. The tight-knit family each team has, and the support and love that comes with that.”

Girls varsity water polo – Eden Chirchik (26)

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“Honestly it’s like a fun sport and I kind of like the team mentality. Just cause I love the water and it’s fun to play in the water.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I started playing in eighth grade. A rule in my household is you have to play a sport…so then I went on my iPad and searched up ‘what’s the hardest sport’ and water polo came up. So then I joined it. It was really hard in the beginning, but it’s just so much easier now that I know how to move around in the water. And it’s just a cool sport to play … I wanted to prove my parents wrong. They were like ‘you probably want an easy sport’ and I was like ‘no I don’t want an easy sport.’”

What makes you train hard?

“Honestly just my friends, the people I play with in my club. It’s just fun to compete against each other, do our best.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I knew how to do it. Starting water polo in the first place was so hard. If I had to choose a different sport, I don’t think I would be good at it in any way. So I stayed in a sport I knew how to do, and it’s fun.”

Girls soccer – Bella Harder (26) 

What motivates you to try your best?

“My teammates. The goal is to play well and also encourage everyone else to play well and to work as a team.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I’ve been playing for a long time. I enjoy going to practice. I enjoy playing games. I’ve also just found fun in it too. It has also helped me create friendships with new people.”

What makes you train hard?

“The motivation of the outcome. If I train more, the outcome will be better and it will be what I want.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I have fun and I enjoy playing with everyone in high school. I’ve learned a lot and had fun experiences.” 

Girls Basketball – Delaney White (25) 

What motivates you to try your best in tournaments?

“I feel like just having a team that feels like a family motivates me. Wanting to do good for them, wanting to good for myself and just wanting the best outcome that we can all produce and do well. Having a good coaching staff, they deserve all that they can get. They put a lot of effort into us so they deserve that reciprocated.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I mean at first I just did it because I had older siblings that did it. But as I got older I feel like I started to find what I love about it. Just having the team aspect of like a second family, I really like that. I’ve been in love with it ever since.”

What makes you train hard?

“It motivates me that I can still get better, not even just me but I can help my team to be better than we were last year. I think that’s the main goal. We want to be better, we want to prove to everyone that we’re still gonna grow and we’re still gonna win and be better than all the years before.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I think there was nothing else that felt like it. There was no better feeling than just being a part of it. I could have tried every other sport but it wasn’t going to feel like how basketball feels. It’s just so much fun … I’m trying to go to college for it.”

Boys basketball – Jadon Holmes (26)

What motivates you to try your best?

“Seeing my team succeed is what makes me the happiest in life. I think our success as a whole is what leads to success on and off the court. When we work as a team, it motivates me as a player to do my best.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I’ve played my whole life and I found a love for it. I want to continue to play and do what I can to be the best player I can be.” 

What makes you train hard?

“Every day, inside and outside of school, I practice. I continue to work to try to eventually reach the goal of playing in college.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I love the environment and my teammates. I just enjoy going to practice every day.”

Boys Soccer – Carson Casella (26)

What motivates you to try your best?

“My teammates and my parents. My goals are to one day play in college and to keep getting better. I want to continue to advance in my soccer career.”

What is your reason for joining your sport?

“I started playing soccer when I was four and at that time, it was kind of just because I was a kid and wanted to play a sport, but then I fell in love with the sport.” 

What makes you train hard?

“One thing that helps me is my parents, who are always pushing me to get better and always encouraging me to never give up and keep practicing. Also, it’s for my personal journey as in I want to play college soccer, which also motivates me to keep practicing to be able to reach that level.”

What was the reason you stayed in your sport?

“I fell in love with the sport. It helps me take my mind off stuff and it’s something I really enjoy and is a passion of mine. It also helped me develop as a person as well. It’s taught me lessons about teamwork, not being selfish, hard work and never giving up.”