Friday, December 11, 2009

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Valley

1960-2010Celebrating

The Christian

See Page 15 “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” Ephesians 6:10 Volume 27 Number 3

Lady Warriors Battle Against WCAL’s Best

See Page 11

VC Reaches Out for the HolidaysSee Page 4

Deeper than EmotionsSee Page 2

What do you know about slavery? Think about it. Do you know that there are more people in slavery now than at any other time in human history? How about the fact that slavery still exists in the United States? An ever-growing group of Valley Christian High School students are well aware of this fact and are determined to change the statistics.

Senior Natasha Jha, president of the Abolitionist Society, holds meeting every other week as she organizes events and fund raisers with the help of other society members. The goal of the club, in Jha’s words, is to “provide abolition organizations with funds and support as they set out to abolish slavery.” In the first few months, the society has succeeded at meeting their goal.

On November 13, the society organized a movie night in the film room and played the movie “At the End of Slavery,” which was produced by International Justice Mission, a leading abolition organization. The movie

showcased today’s battle for justice and included true stories of former slaves and undercover footage from police operations as they rescued children from brothels. The movie clearly displayed that there is nothing inevitable about slavery and it demonstrated the real possibility of an end to this trade. Mrs. Lindsay Marshall, advisor of the society, claimed that the movie night was a success as students, along with adults came to learn how to abolish slavery. Along with the movie, the society sold products from BeadforLife and sold food items to raise money for their cause.

The society also organized a BeadforLife sale. The BeadforLife organization provides entrepreneurial training for Ugandan women in poverty as well as facilitates savings accounts and makes business funds available. By buying a necklace, earrings or other products, a supporter is helping a woman who was once a slave, stay out of poverty and provides them the opportunity to be able to support themselves within the Ugandan economy. The sale was successful as it

raised funds to send back to Uganda. In addition to bake sales, the

society is preparing for VCHS to be a Trade as One post. The Trade as One organization provides an opportunity for people to purchase unique, high-quality products with the guarantee they were made by fair trade, or rather, made by people not involved in slavery. Once the post is set up, students and adults alike can purchase much needed items at a reasonable price with the guarantee they are not supporting slavery.

Club aid, Mrs. Marshall, also shares great excitement with the students, regarding their quest to not only raise money but to help raise awareness.

As the club prepares for next semester, it is clear they have huge expectations for themselves. But when there is a chance to end what is described to be the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, who wouldn’t try to put an end to a horrible crime such as slavery? It won’t be easy but ending slavery is possible and the group, Free the Slaves, believes it’s possible to put an end to the crime

Tarah DuarteFeatures Editor

Young Philanthropists Create AwarenessVCHS Abolitionist Society

1st Annual Christmas Spirit Week

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During a club meeting, President Natash Jha discusses future plans for the students.

within the next 25 years. Though the tasks seem daunting, each of the philanthropist societys have a plan. Are you up to the challenge?

It’s been said that Christmas time is the most celebrated time of the year. Valley Christian High School students proved that fact true the week of November 30 - December 4 as they came to school decked out in Christmas apparel to celebrate Valley Christian’s Christmas Spirit Week.

Returning from Thanksgiving break, students immediately began celebrating the Christmas season as they came to school in red and green apparel. Red and green colors could be spotted all around the school as many people were wearing red and green shoes, scarves, and a variety of other apparel. Christmas grams were for sale during lunch for friends to buy their classmates and teachers, wishing them a Merry Christmas.

On Tuesday, students were able to participate in a funny holiday tradition- Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Donning sweaters owned by grandparents, parents,

or students themselves, many laughs were made as students admired their peer’s taste. Students, and some teachers, walked around school along with Snoopy, Disney characters and a variety of different shades of red and green adorning their sweaters.

Wednesday marked Christmas Movie Day and students were seen dressed up as Buddy The Elf, Rudolph, charac te r s

Head to MistletoeStudents Deck the Halls for Christmas Spirit Week

Tarah DuarteFeatures Editor

from The Nutcracker and an endless amount of other Christmas movie characters. This day also allowed for more freedom for the students as some even added color to their hair and decorated their face with face paint. Winter Wonderland Day was on Thursday and colorful scarves,

beanies, boots, earmuffs

and winter coats were scattered around the school. The favorite day was kept for last as Friday was Christmas Pajama Day. With the ability to be out of dress code, students loved wearing their most colorful and comfortable Christmas Pajamas. Some students wore colorful sweats while some wore outfits adorned with Santa, reindeer, snowmen or famous Christmas Characters. It was obvious this day was a favorite as most of the student population came to school wearing their pajamas of some sort. A Freshmen Christmas party was organized by the Leadership classes and was held during 7th period. A variety of food was available to be eaten along with a Christmas Trivia game, played between different mentor groups and room for decorating cookies. The freshmen also met with their mentors to pray and talk together. After a week of fun, students can now focus on everything the end of the semester has to offer, including finals.

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Spirited students, Alex de la Cruz, Olivia Crayton, Ashley Saenz, Jessica Picone, and Nick Staub, dress up for Christmas Spirit Week.

2 The Warrior NewsDecember 11, 2009

2009-2010Warrior Staff

Want to advertise in The Warrior?

Contact Diann Fugate at dfugate vcs.net for information.

Note: The Warrior is a nonprofit publica-tion which is published throughout the

school year by the associated student body of Valley Christian High School. Views

expressed in The Warrior are those of the studentwriters and do not necessarily

represent the views of the school, staff, and/or its students.

All type and layouts are created in The Warrior newsroom, room 215.

The Warrior is printed at Fricke-Parks Press,

Union City, California.

Jon LampkinEditor-in-Chief

Taylor FineAssistant News Editor

Kaleb TuttleAssistant News Editor

Joyce ChenPhoto Editor

Nathan FarrokhianAssistant News Editor

Melody MakhifiCo-A&E Editor

Erica ParkerCo-A&E Editor

Dom TaguinodAssistant A&E Editor

Zayn KirkendollJunior A&E Editor

Joe GarciaSports Editor

Arazue ZadehJunior Sports Editor

Danny HittlerAssistant Sports Editor

Ryan LoweAssistant Sports Editor

Darelle JonesJunior Sports Editor

Tarah DuarteFeatures Editor

Arman ZadehAssistant Photo Editor

Tommy ZellnerAssistant Features Editor

Warrior Staff WritersClaire Karlsson

Danny Davis

Drake Bloom

Hannah Lozinski

Katherine Zhao

Matt Carroll

Parul Jandir

Shanti Reddy

Sonya Shin

Taylor Tanton

Austin Davis

Bryan TrieuAssistant Sports Editor

Dancing in a Square On November 14, 2009 the quad of Valley Christian High School was transformed into a dance floor and students, decked out in costumes, came and danced the night away at the 2009 VCHS Square Dance. The dance floor was canopied by a large midnight black tarp, with glowing planets and stars suspended above. In the falling darkness of the night the dace floor filled and the “Houston, we have a dance” themed event came alive. Anybody watching the Valley Chris-tian campus around 7 o’clock that night would have seen the sudden influx of traffic and if they would have looked closer, seen costumed

people making their way up the long quad of the school, per VC tradition. From match-ing shirts, to full-on spacesuits, the campus played host to creativity unlike any other year. Every year the creativity and ingenuity of the students continues to grow. Under the stars and glow-in-the dark lights, the dancing students were a sight to behold. Of course, this event would never have taken place without the efforts put into it by the VC ASB. A dance is not the easiest thing to plan for professionals, but the ASB students had schoolwork and other scholastic endeavors to work around. The day of the dance, the ASB spent several hours preparing the campus for the fun to come. The glowing planets and sparkling stars were painted and hung from the tarp. The strings of lights were hung, the food tables were filled, and the DJ station set up. The total preparation time: four hours, leaving just enough time for ASB to hurry home to change and come back. Af-ter all their hard work, nothing pleased the ASB more than seeing and hearing the enthu-siastic reactions of their fellow students. Few people in the US can say what the historical significance of the Sadie Hawkins dance is. The term is derived from a character in the classic Lil’l Abner comics

named Sadie Hawkins. The comic set in the fictional town of Dogpatch, where on No-vember 17, all the unmarried women got to chase the bachelors of the town for a chance to win a husband. The rule was, if any wom-an caught any man, they would have to be wed that night. This concept got integrated into American society as the Sadie Hawkins dance, where the women could invite any man of their choosing instead of waiting to be asked. Since the occurrence of the 1st event in 1939, American high schools and middle schools have been keeping the tradition alive. Valley Christian has been one of those schools and will be for years to come. The 2009 Square Dance has come and gone, but the school cannot wait for the next one.

Emotions: “Destinations” The lights begin to slowly dim and the crowds’ dull roar goes into a silence as their view is directed forward. The 16 choreogra-phers file out and take their places as the first song of the show begins. Each dancer wears a shirt that represents a major city and the songs with the theme of destinations, the theme of the show, fills the theater. From the beginning of the show, it is clear that this show will repre-sent a variety of journeys. Junior RachelEllam, choreographer for “We’re On the Run” and 5 other talented dancers hurried around the stage matching the fast tempo of the song, “Wasted” by Cartel. Using the effects of lighting and the prop ad-dition of gloves, Ellam’s dance presented the idea that we need to “make the best out of life and head in the direction of strength, excite-ment, and optimism no matter how difficult the journey becomes.” Seniors Amari Collins, Julia Shi-kashio and junior LaurenTrevino each gave moving solos that would give any admirer the goose bumps! Collins’ natural talent shone

forth as she danced to “Closer” by Goapele; her body movements gave striking feeling and fluid motion. She wrote about her piece that, “it is about the woman I am now and the woman that I will become… this dance is a reflection of me, becoming closer to my dreams, thoughts and ambitions.” Soon after, Shikashio came out and danced to “I Believe” by Fantasia. Through Shikashio’s talent and the powerful vocals of Fantasia, emotion shone through as the theme of believing became clear. Shikashio believes, “ God knows what is best for us so if we let Him direct our destiny, we will see our lives change for the better.” Trevino followed later with a performance titled, “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Dancing to the song “Ain’t No Sunshine” sung by TyroneWells, Trevino gave a fantastic per-formance filled with fluid motion and beautiful choreography. Trevino expressed that the dance spotlights the certain “lights” people have in their lives and “reveals the effect people have on us and how dark and different your life can feel when you lose someone.” “Find Your Own Way,” choreographed by senior Aly Young, metaphorically repre-

sented the daily struggles we face as we are in the world. Dancing to “You’ll Find a Way” by Santgold, the 12 dancers repre-sented the constant fight and tension we are at with the world. Shikashio choreographed another brilliant dance titled “The Understudy.” Dancing to “Smooth Criminal” by Mi-chael Jackson, the dancers gave a bril-liant performance as they presented the idea that we must “resist the devil and the temptation to hurt the lead actor for the understudy’s own selfish desires.” Juniors BrianaAhmed andAshley Dinger cho-reographed the moving performance titled “The Awakening.” The dance showed how one per-son can be a leader to help others find their destination: God. In the end, when one seeks God and allows His Spirit to move, the enemy shall not prosper against us. “Emotions: Destination” “in-spired, challenged, encouraged and enter-tained” many through brilliant talent, out-standing choreographing and an inspiring message.

Valley Christian has alwaysbeen a campus that has pushed tomaintain a safe environment for itsstudents. Valley Christian High Schoolprovides its students, teachers,andstaffwitha safe campuswith its stateof theartcamerasystemandsecurityguardsonduty 24 hours a day.Butwhat happenswhen all this changes, and this changeaffectsthesafetyofthecampus? On November 9, atapproximately 9:00 p.m. the ValleyChristiancampuswas runningasusual.Girls were dancing in the theater,students were studying with teachers,busytrafficwasdirectedbysecurity,andthebandhad justfinishedpracticingon

thefootballfield.Whowouldhavethought,thatwhiletheValleyChristiancampuswasgoing about its normal nightly activitythatsomethinghorridcouldoccur,withsomanypeoplearound? Yet, around 9:00p.m., seniorDanielle La Da Route, aswellastheotherfifty plus dancers, finishedup their dancepracticeonlytoseeEmotionsdanceshowtechie and class peer, Brandon Jacques surroundedbyparamedicsandstudents.Hehad been attackedwalking to the parkinglot.LaDaRoutesaid.“WespentthewholedaywithBrandon;hewastechingandwegottoknowhimbecausewehadsomanyrehearsalswithhim.Itwas just reallysadwhen I saw him just sitting there. It justtookmybreathawaybecausetwominutesearlier I was with him. That’s never

happenedtomebefore,whenyourtalkingtoapersononeminuteand then thenextminutethey’recompletelynotokay!” After much love and support,Brandon Jacques returned to school theMondayfollowingThanksgivingbreak. Officer Joel Gonzalez, headof security on campus had this to say inregards to the newest safety proceduresValley Christian has implemented.“Wehaveaddedpersonnelsothatwecanhave amobile patrol vehicle at all timeson campus. For us, it’s between six andten o’clock; we have darkness and highpedestrianactivitysowehavepeoplewhoare driving around the campus, either ina security van or security truck. We’veincreased personnel in order to provideserviceintheareaofmobilecontrol,traffic

Taylor FineAssistant News Editor

Tarah DuarteFeatures Editor

Katherine ZhouStaff Writer

Keeping the Campus Secure

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MingeeDoandAlanTruongposeforthecameraduringthedance.

LaurenSanchezshowsherLatinoheritageattheSquareDance.

control, and pedestrian safety inside themall.” Gonzalez commented whenasked what his greatest piece of advicewas for students’ safety? “My biggestadvice:practicewhat if thinking.What ifsomethinghappenedtomerightnow,whatamIgoingtodo?What ifitwasmewhowaswalking?What if Islippedandfellandcouldn’tgetup?Alwaysbelieveitcanhappentoyouandnevertakeforgrantedthat it can’t happen to you,” Gonzalezwarned. Security cards have been madeavailabletostudentswithsecurity’sphonenumberprintedon them (408-639-6865).Students are encouraged to call for anescortbeforetheywalktotheparkinglotsalone,especiallyatnight.

3The WarriorNews December 11, 2009

Debate Team Shines at Tournament

one. During the awards ceremony, their names were announced as one of only two undefeated JV teams, and they received an award for their fantastic performances.

After spending time in practices after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the team was excited for the first tournament of the year. Coach Aaron Cannistraci has the team working hard to prepare for tournaments as well as improving their daily lives. Their hard work has paid off so far and they look forward to a long and successful year. With veteran talent still atop the team, particularly in the form of seniors Jessica Terry and Andrew Luu, and newcomers that are revitalizing the team, the Debate Team looks forward to what is sure

to be a fantastic year and highly successful year.

Kaleb TuttleAssistant News Editor

AP Biology Class Travels to Moss Landing

Taylor TantonStaff Writer

On November 9, the AP Biology class, led by Mr. Scott Vander Veen, took a field trip to Moss Landing to tour the facilities.

Moss Landing is a small fishing village on the coast that attracts tourists for its quaintness and beautiful views. It contains the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a branch of the popular Monterey Bay Aquarium. The AP Biology classes’ interest in it stemmed from the fact that there is a variety of marine life to study. They collected mussels in the water to extract and study their DNA and researched other sea creatures.

“It was a fun, educational experience,” Mr. Vander Veen said when asked. His students agreed with this sentiment. “We had a great time,” junior Kaitlyn Nguyen commented.

After months of practices, the Valley Christian Debate Team went to a tournament Sunday, November 15 at Milpitas High School. They sent three teams to the tournament, and all three performed well. Eugene Lee and Sashank Tatipamula was the only team r e p r e s e n t i n g Varsity, and by a stroke of poor luck, ended up going against three undefeated teams, posting a final record of one win and three losses. The two are only sophomores and have a bright future ahead of them. Vu Tran and Daniel Chiu went representing JV, losing a heartbreaking first debate due

to some questionable judging, but bounced back to win the last three. Meanwhile, the one completely new team representing Valley, consisting of junior Alex Ortiz and senior Kaleb Tuttle, dazzled in their first

debate tournament. They dominated all four of their debates, winning every single

Up, up, and away! The James Webb Space Telescope is officially set to take off in 2014 to replace the Hubble Telescope. Ms. Leigh Ann Ryder, a representative of the James Webb Space Telescope, gave a presentation at Valley Christian High School, introducing the new telescope to the eager minds of high school students. Ryder is a staff engineer of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company and a principle engineer of the James Webb Space Telescope’s optical lenses. Over 500 Valley Christian students filled the gym for this presentation. Ryder was bombarded with questions because the eager students wanted to learn more about the magnificent technology of the James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope is the new technology of pace telescopes in the modern generation. This telescope is able to obtain research far back into the past and help support theories of the Big Bang. This is a magnificent scientific achievement! The project to develop this telescope started in 1988. After 11 grueling years of development, the telescope is finally ready for launch. This project has cost a total of four billion dollars. After its launch date, it will take three months before it can take pictures. The students of Valley Christian High School were astonished by Ryder’s presentation. But then again, who wouldn’t be? The James Webb Space Telescope is 25 years more advanced than anything else that is in space at this time. Over half of the Valley Christian population skipped their lunch to attend this presentation. The buzz about the new telescope stayed on campus for a few weeks after the presentation. Senior Bryan Trieu related his excitement for the technology of the future, “I can’t wait to see what the James Webb Telescope has to offer. This telescope proves how advanced our technology is and it also shows that our world has no limits in science and development.”

Houston, We’re Taking Off!

After much anticipation, Valley Christian has finally begun a Creative Writing Club, a place where students can shine and express themselves. Creator and founder of the club, junior, Taylor Tanton, has wanted to start this club since her freshman year, but has never found the courage to launch her idea. But Tanton is not the only excited student. Many cannot wait to get writing. “A Creative Writing Club is something I’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time. I have tons of ideas, and I can’t wait to see those ideas come to life,” declared Angelique Hollstorm, the vice president of the club. Hollstrom was extremely excited when she first heard about the club and was happy to be a part of it.

However, thinking of ideas for the club was not as easy as the girls imagined. With the help of their sponsor, Mrs. Freda Silva, the girls are starting to come up with

creative writing games and activities. One idea Hollstorm and Tanton have, is to have creative writing and slam poetry contests. The girls want members to be able to write freely, however they also want the club to be organized and planned. The Creative Writing Club is designed to help writers improve and learn important skills to better themselves as authors.

The club met on November 23, to brainstorm activities and ideas and everyone was welcomed. The club even gave free brownies and cookies to those who came. After the meeting, the club was much better off; they even came up with a T-shirt design. They hope to see more members next time and welcome students from all classes.

Creative Writing Club: Imagination Meets Paper

The members of Valley Christian High School’s chapter of the American Cancer Society came together to volunteer at the Strides for Breast Cancer Walk in Downtown San Jose on October 31, 2009. Boyce Sanders, the Youth Coordinator of the Northern California Division of ACS led the team in putting up the Youth and Activities Tent. With more than fifteen thousand walkers, and hundreds of eager children, the VCHS team took it upon themselves to entertain and educate the young minds with regard to the various dangers of cancer. While some of the team members helped set up and carry out the youth games, others spent approximately five

As a treat before finals, the club will be showing a movie, based on a classic novel. The movie is still to be decided, so if you know of a good movie, make sure to catch the club’s next meeting. If you enjoy writing make sure to head down to the Creative Writing Club in Mrs. Silva’s room (108G), every Monday at lunch.

hours painting countless faces. The games included “Tomato Toss,” “Citrus Hike,” and “Carrot Hop.” These health-focused activities not only served as a fun and interactive method of entertainment, but also informed children about making healthy eating choices and promoted frequent exercise. Even though the team was covering the Youth Tent, hundreds upon hundreds of adults wanted to participate in the many activities and wanted the breast cancer bow painted on their faces. Valley Christian ACS also participated in the promotion of raising tobacco tax. A station at the Youth Booth was strictly focused on petitioning for this purpose and many signatures were obtained. This effort will be continued by

the team throughout the year. Furthermore, they informed children of the detrimental effects of tobacco. Many of the young ones were amazed to see the photographs of a normal lung in comparison to one that was fundamentally destroyed by the usage of tobacco. This not only informed them, but encouraged them to stay away from the injurious drug. The fun-filled day included various activities that could not have been possible without Valley Christian’s ACS team. By the end of the revitalizing walk, almost everyone had their face painted by one of Valley’s painters. Mr. Sanders confirmed this by saying, “Thank you to Valley Christian High School’s amazing ACS Youth Team! You guys are awesome!”

Making Strides for Breast Cancer

Longtime members, Kyle Stagnaro and Alex Ortiz listen to the every word of Debate Team coach, Mr. Cannistraci during a typical practice.

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Junior and president of the Creative Writing Club, Taylor Tanton has a brainstorming session with junior Claire Karlsson.

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Hannah LozinskiStaff Writer

Arman M.ZadehAssistant Features Editor

Parul JandirStaff Writer

4 The Warrior NewsDecember 11, 2009

the children and their families with the help of Valley Christian students, parents, and family members. Many end up adopting a family or a child, and buying supplies, toys, or gift cards to give to the family in need. The Outreach Class at Valley Christian is in charge of bringing toiletries for the deprived families.

Similar to Project Santa Claus, is Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child, a part of Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s organization, asks students to make care packages to send to countries where there are many unfortunate children. Valley students empty shoeboxes and filled them with toys, school supplies, and games. These shoeboxes are then sent to a facility where volunteers help wrap the boxes and then they are sent to other countries, where they are given to the less fortunate children.

“There is something about giving; you know it’s the right thing to do,” stated Ms. Vivian Pipkin, who actively participates in community service at Valley. This year, Ms. Pipkin organized the chance for Valley students to write to soldiers defending America. Sophomore, Claire Karlsson noted, “Writing letters to the soldiers was so heartwarming and I feel like it is a very special thing for Valley to do.” The letters will be sent with care packages, and will reach the troops right around Christmas time.

Under the watchful eye of Mrs. Cindy Nardi, Valley Christian’s Community Outreach class is greatly affecting people’s lives in a positive way this holiday season. The Outreach class’ major focus this year is Kids Club, which is an after school program at Hayes Elementary School. In the program, children learn life lessons and about Jesus’ love. Right now, Kids Club has officially 145 students. When asked about her students, Nardi remarked, “I am extremely proud them. They are fantastic, hard working creative, and most importantly, they show God’s love to the children!” As well as Kids Club on Tuesday, the Outreach Class goes to Hellyer school to tutor children. Many of the children have mental disabilities, but the Outreach students still try their best to teach and educate them. Soon the Light House program, very similar to Kids Club,

Christmas is a time to reach out to those in the community, and with the holiday just around the corner, Valley Christian is participating in service opportunities to show the school’s love and care for the neighboring communities. This year for the Christmas season, Valley volunteered in the Second Harvest food drive, Project Santa Claus, and Operation Christmas Child.

The Second Harvest food drive is a program that asks students to bring nonperishable foods and place them in the various barrels around the school. All of the food collected goes to people who are in need of food in the surrounding communities. The drive at Valley Christian began in mid November and ended on December 4, but students are still encouraged to give food on their own after the school food drive is over. Students are asked to bring nonperishable foods such as canned soups, vegetables, and even sauces. The Second Harvest Food Bank’s mission is to “provide food for people in need in our community” and Valley Christian Schools, as well as many churches, are participating in this drive that will benefit people all around the community. In addition, Valley was involved in Project Santa Claus, which was started by Cheryl Laven, a Valley mom. This is Valley’s second year participating, and many students were extremely thrilled to be helping again. In Project Santa Claus, Laven blesses the poorest students at Hellyer Elementary and provides them with a Christmas they have never had before. Laven has made a large impact on

will open at Hellyer. Like always, the O u t r e a c h s t u d e n t s cannot wait to teach the c h i l d r e n about Jesus’ love. “We just want to be a positive influence in their life,” stated Mrs. Nardi.

Valley Ministers in the CommunityTaylor Tanton & Joyce Chen

Staff Writer and Photo Editor

Life

Caring,Life, You

Karen Chang: 8th grade “Christmas symbolizes Jesus’s birth; it’s not about the presents or the gifs, but Jesus’s holiness.”

Tyler Reynolds: 8th Grade “Christmas is a time to be with your family and appreciate thing you have and the things you enjoy...to be thankful for your family and the people who are always there for you.”

Wynne Stagnaro: 8th Grade“Christmas means to me that God came for us and it’s the time we can remember that, and the start of His journey for us to be able to have a relationship with Him.”

Allen Speers: 8th Grade“It’s a time to just get together with family members and see people as of-ten as you would like. Christmas gets everyone into a giving spirit.”

A student a Kids’ Club shows of his art project.

the futurePromise of

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Zach Vainna helps his elementary buddy with a Thanksgiving project at Kids’ Club.

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Melody MakhfiA&E Editor

Warrior.ValleyChristian.net

arts andentertainment

Dance is an art form which many can achieve however Valley Christian’s very own Chelsea Chiappe has the amazing talent of taking this form of art to another level.

Roaming through the Valley halls, senior Chiappe struts her stuff as a known dancer on the campus. Many know of Chiappe’s talent that’s been presented throughout the years in dance shows like “Emotions” and student- produced Brown Bags.

Chiappe began dancing at the age of five years old. She took classes at a studio and quickly began picking up on ballet and tap. She said, “I fell in love with dance immediately, and haven’t stopped dancing since. I have been dancing in a studio and at Valley. I have continued taking ballet and tap, but have also taken Hip Hop and jazz classes.”

Being actively involved both in school and out, Chiappe mentioned that her experience at the Valley Christian dance program has been one she will never forget. She has been involved with VCDA since sixth grade where she took Jazz I and Jazz II throughout middle school. Following that, Chiappe participated in Hip Hop during her freshman year, and has taken Tap III the past three years at Valley. Right now, Chiappe is on Valley’s Charis Dance Company which is a ministry dance team coached by Mrs. Mortenson. Chiappe stated, “I have grown so close to

Artist Focus:A day in the life of Chelsea Chiappe

the girls on the team this year, and I love performing with them!”

Just a couple of weeks ago, the VCDA held the annual Emotions: Destinations show where Chiappe choreographed a jazzy tap piece for the show. The meaning behind the dance was as

mentioned, “Our song was “Higher Ground” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. We chose this song because we thought it fit perfectly with the theme Destinations. The song focuses

on the struggles we have to face in order to succeed in life and reach our own final destination, our higher ground.”

When asked “what must a dancer have?” Chiappe boldly stated “a good dancer must be fully devoted to what they’re doing. Passion radiates

through a dancer when they are performing, which gives them a shining stage presence. Technique is important, but passion and performance quality is what makes a “good” dancer.” Regardless of where she goes, Chiappe is ready to perform thanks to the training she has been doing for many years. With the wonderful years spent at Valley, Chiappe finished by saying that she will continue performing within the next few years because of her drive and passion for dance. The techniques that Chiappe has learned are some she plans on taking with her into her future of dancing. She said she is extremely thankful for everyone who helped make her dream possible. Chiappe wishes that future dancers take advan-tage of the wonderful dance program at VC and have a great time making memories like she has done. Be sure to catch the next performance coming up which will be the final perfor-mance to see Chiappe present

her unique dancing techniques. The high school’s next performance is to be held next semester when the dance classes perform what they have been learning throughout this year.

BROWN BAGS Showcase Variety of VCHS Student Talent

Tarah Duarte& Joyce Chen

Features Editor & Photo Editor

The honors theater class presented another Brown Bag this semester titled, “The Black Box,” directed by senior Nicky Slavich. Starring senior Gabe Weitzman and sophomore Jessey Oxford, the comedic performance featured a black box which could talk. As Oxford’s character was running to catch his bus, the box began to talk to him. The box and Oxford had a long conversation as they bantered back and forth. Eventually, the box persuaded Oxford to give up his wallet, socks, shoes, jacket and cell phone. On top of all that, the box also caused Oxford to miss his bus. At the end of the short performance, the box persuades Oxford to come closer to see the pink velvet and proceeds to eat Oxford. The performance ended with success as the audience laughed and clapped at the

amusing performance. As the opening night of Emotions came closer and closer, the dancers performing in the dance show came up with a preview of Emotions during lunchtime to help attract a bigger audience. Nu Delta Alpha president, Acacia Walls, hosted the lunchtime showing with the help of many performers from the show along with dance teacher, Mrs. Autumn Mortenson. The first dance performed was produced by sophomore Janae Stewart, and junior Amy Flohr, and titled “Bongo Song.” Stewart and Flohr are two of the sixteen choreographers featured in Emotions. The two are best friends and have been dancing since they were children. “Bongo Song” consists of tap-dancing, which compliments the background bass of the bongos. Another dancer participating in

this student production was junior Diane Ekhyolt. Following the tap-dancing was a solo jazz dance performed by junior Taylor Hix. She danced to “So She Dances” by renowned singer, Josh Groban who released this particular song on his 2006 album, Awake. Hix has been dancing since she was a little girl and is now involved in Emotions to further her dancing career. During the lunchtime preview of Emotions, Hix improvised most of her performance but incorporated a couple of pre-rehearsed moves. After Hix’s moving performance was an upbeat hip-hop dance to the famous “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. This bubbly dance consisted of eleven dancers including junior Ashley Dinger and senior Amari Collins. Next up was a performance by

Taneisha Woodard and friends. They danced to “Nicest Thing” by popular singer Kate Nash who released this song on her album, Made of Bricks in 2007 in both the United States and in the United Kingdom where she lives. There were a total of 4 dancers in this performance. Woodard choreographed this dance and practiced diligently with friend Lindsey Sexton and a couple of other students. Wrapping up the Emotions dance show preview was senior Julia Shikashio. She performed a solo dance to “I Believe” that ended the Emotions entertaining lunchtime preview. Shikashio has been dancing since she was a little girl and continues to bless God through her wonderful talent of dance.

Zayn KirkendollA&E Writer

Video Games 1. Call of Duty Modern

Warfare 22. Uncharted 23. Assassins Creed 24. DJ Hero5. Guitar Hero 5

Technology1. New iPod Nano2. Nook (Electronic Book

Reader)3. Flip Video Recorder4. NetBook5. iPhone 3GS

Top Gifts for the Holiday Season

Senior Chelsea Chiappe has been dancing since childhood.

Emotions Dance Show

See page 6

Marching Band and

Color Guard

See page 6

DVDs1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of

Cobra2. Star Trek3. Disney’s Up4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop5. Terminator Salvation

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6 The Warrior A&EDecember 11, 2009

Drake BloomStaff Writer

Withtheendoftheseasonaroundthe corner, the band prepared for a finalpushthatwouldimpactthebandprogramfor years to comewith their show,From the Ashes. On November 21-22, 2009, theWestern Band Association finals wereonceagainheldinFresno,California.Thiscity has deep ties to theWBAand all ofthe bands involved. Over fortymarchingbandsfromallacrossCaliforniacompetedforthetitleofchampionoftheirownclass.This year was a precipice of excellence.The taleof this saga canonlybe toldbyexaminingtheeventsleadinguptoit.

The week before finals wasintense; instructors shouting commandsand themembersof thebandobliging tothese commands.Therewas a fire in theeyesofeverymember,thebandpracticallyownedthechampionshiptrophy.Theyhadbeeninfirstplacefortheentireseason.Itwouldbeanupsetiftheylost.

Tuesday was full of challenges;

the night went by fast as the glow fromthestadiumlightsresidedoverapotentialchampionshipband.Asthenightendedthebandleftwithchangestotheprogramandchangesofattitudes.Peoplewhowerenotquiteaspassionateabouttheprogramgrewtoloveit.

Thursdayfollowedwithonehourof practice; this practicewas refining thework that had been ingrained into theheadsofthesefinemarchers,followedbytwo performances for the parents of themembersandstudentsfromthejuniorhighband. After the run-throughs were over,theairwasfullofscreamsandcheers.Thecrowdwantedmore,butthatwastocomeinthefollowingweekend,finalsweekend.

November 21. Saturdaycame quickly, and with it, preliminarycompetition. The band got to the homefieldateightinthemorningandpracticedfortwohoursbeforegettingonthebussesandcontinuingontoFresno.

As the band arrived in Fresno,the air was bitterly cold, and the bandsuniformscruellythin.However,thefireintheir eyes remained, theywanted towin;they needed to win. The band marched

outontothefieldandwaitedforthegreenlight,andsotheshowbegan.

The show started well enough,however,a fewmajor incidentsoccurred.Somethingwenthorriblywrong;thetimingin the beginning began to tear, causingpeople to march to different beats. Thiswas corrected without a second thought,however, it was too late, the judges hadnoticed.Theperformanceendedwithmoreaccidents than just that.But, as thenightdrewonandtherestofthebandsatinthestands as the seniors stood on the fieldwaitingtoacceptaplacingthattheywerenot exactly anxious for, the announcerstated the scores, as fourth place creptup and another bandwas announced, theVCHSmarchingbandsighedwiththereliefthat they had not been called yet. Thirdplace, and yet another band was called,luckily notValley. Second place, and thenameoftheschoolcompetingforfirstwascalled.And finally,Valley Christian borethe title of first place in divisionAA.Asreliefswelledthroughtheheartsofmany,theyknewthiswouldnotbeall.

Finals day, Sunday November22,2009.Thebanddawnedtheiruniforms

onandwaitedeagerlyforthefieldtobetheirs.Thefireintheireyesbrighterthanever,thebandsteppedontothefieldwithapassionmatchedbynotanothergroupofindividuals.Theshowwasgold,perfect;itseemedtohaveendedalmostassoonasithadstarted.Thecrowdscreamedandshoutedas thebandfinished their showandglidedoffofthefieldleavingalltheyhadworkedforinthepastfourmonthsinfrontofthataudience.

Bymidday, the band had beenannounced the champions of divisionAA.And as they got on the busses toget home and back to their lives, therealization dawned on them, this bandwillneverbecompletelythesame,withtheseniorsleaving,thisbandwillnevertrulyexistagain.

Instead, a new, younger,hopefully stronger band will take itsplaceandthenewseniorswillteachthenewfreshmen,andstriveforglorysothattheymaygive it toGod,because in theend,that’sallthatmatters.

Dance

Flight of the Phoenix: The Marching Band Saga

December 14: Charis Dance Team performs at Booksin School. Charis also performs at Kids’ Clubs in San Jose.

December 15, 16, 17: “A Cinema Christ-mas” in the theatre, a dance and theatre col-laboration. Purchase tickets online at www.valleychristianconservatory.org

December 18: Nu Delta Alpha trip to see the San Francisco Nutcracker.

All Visual Art Conservatory minors and majors must make an appointment with Mr. Torode before the end of the semester to go over the development of their Conservatory portfolios. There is an appointment book in the front office for Mr. Torode. Just ask the High School attendants.

The photojournalism and AP 2D classes had a wonderful field trip to the SF Mu-seum of Modern Art’s Richard Avedon exhibit. They also had a “Peace in the City” photo contest while in San Francisco. Photo 1 & 2 classes attended the San Jose Museum of Art’s Ansel Adams exhibit.

Over 800 students from Kindergarten through 12th grade performed in the VCS Christmas concerts the first week of December at the California Theatre and The Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose.

Elementary, junior high and high school bands, choirs and string orchestras, as well as harps and junior conservatory students performed beautifully in the spectacular settings, as family and friends enjoyed the luxurious setting. Although rain threatened, the chilly weather and beautiful Christmas music put people in the mood for the upcoming holidays.

Folsom Jazz Festival: The jazz bands will travel on January 29 & 30 for this highly acclaimed festival.

ACSI Solo Ensemble Festival: Saturday, January 30. VCS will host this annual festival for judging of solo and ensemble performances.

Visual ArtsVPA Happenings

Christmasisjustaroundthecor-ner, and all the students atValley Chris-tian High School areeagerlywaitingforthearrival of Christmasvacation. The practiceof putting up specialdecorations at Christ-mashasalonghistory,anditisstillcontinuedtoday in many places.TherearemanyeventsintheBayAreawhichfeatureChristmasspir-itfrommorningtoeve-ning! These gorgeouslights can be seen onChavez Street andnear the HP PavilionindowntownSanJose.Onewaytogetintosea-son is The Lights of the Valley, which displays lights throughoutCalifornia. Its gorgeous decorations andholidayspiritcanbeseenthroughthevari-oushousesondisplay. Alsoanothertreedisplaycanbeseen in downtown San Jose at SantanaRow’s very own Annual Tree Lighting

Celebrating Christmasin the Bay Area

Shanti ReddyStaff Writer

Warrior.ValleyChristian.net

Teacher FeatureMr. Judge

Features

TheBayAreaoffersmanyopportunitesforthecommunitytocelebratetheChristmasseason

Steppingintotheclassroom,theanticipa-tion is tangibleas studentsflip through textbooksand hastily scan notes. In Mr. Graham Judge’shistoryclass,thereisasensethatanythingcanhap-pen. Sincehewasyoung,Mr.Judgehaslovedhistory.His appreciation for the language,music,art, literature, and identity of a group of peoplemoved him to become a history teacher for highschoolstudents. ItisapparentthatMr.Judgefindsdeepjoyin exploring the significance of history. “Historyshowswherewecomefromandwherewearego-ing. History isdynamic,”hesaid. Sitting inMr.Judge’sclassroom,thereisafeelingthatheknowsmuchmorethanhecansayabouttheintertwiningeventsofhistory. SomeofMr.Judge’sfavoriteTVshowsaretheWashingtonJournalandchannels likeC-SpanandBBCNews.AnydocumentarybyKenBurnshewillwatchandofcourse theHistoryChannel.Incontrast, Mr.JudgealsowatchesBrothersandSistersbecauseofitsgreatportrayaloffamily’sin-teractionandGrey’sAnatomybecauseofitsgoodstorylines. Ifhecouldhaveonething,Mr.Judgesaiditwouldbetotravel.Hewouldbeontheroadvis-itingIndiaandChinaandwouldliketorevisittheMiddleEast.Hesaidthattravelingisaboutfindingagreaterappreciationforanotherculture’shistory.“Wecannotbeisolated,”hereflected. Afteralltheseyearsofteachinghistory,itwouldappear thatnothingcouldpossiblysurpriseMr. Judgeabout teachinghigh schoolkids. As ateacher,hesaid,itsometimesfeelslikehislecturesgoinoneearandouttheother.Buttherearetimeswhenweeksorevenyearslater,astudentwillcometohim,rememberingthewordshesaid.Thatlittleimpactstillsurpriseshim.

Claire KarlssonStaff Writer

Sonya ShinStaff Writer

Q:Whereareyoufrom?A:IcamefromChina.Q:Howlonghaveyoubeenhere?A:IhavebeenintheUSfor2years,1yearatVCHS.Q:DoyouhaveanyplansforChristmas?A: I’mplanning togoskiing inTahoewithmyuncle.Q: Is Christmas here the same as in yourcountry?A: No, it’s totally different.We don’t haveChristmasnorcelebrateit.Notonlybecauseofareligionbutbecauseweuseadifferentcalendarfromhere.Q:HowdoyoufeelaboutChristmas?A:Even thoughpeopledon’tcelebrate it inChina,someChristianscelebratethemselves.SinceI’mhereandIamaChristian,I’mre-allyexcitedforChristmas!

Q:Whereareyoufrom?A:I’mfromKorea.Q:Howlonghaveyoubeenhere?A:Ihavebeenherefor3years,and2yearsatVCHS.Q:DoyouhaveanyplansforChristmas?A: Since I’m a senior and preparing for thecollegenextyear,I’mplanningtovisitseveralcolleges.Q:IsChristmasherethesameasinyourcoun-try?A: Yes, it is almost the same as it’s here.Christmas is a big holiday in Korea. Every-onelikesit,celebratesit,andexchangestheirgifts.Q:HowdoyoufeelaboutChristmas?A:Ialwayshavelikedallthelightsduringtheseason.I’mexcitedtoseeallthetrees!

Q:Whereareyoufrom?A:I’mVietnamese.Q:Howlonghaveyoubeenhere?A:ThisismyfirsttimeinAmerica!Q:DoyouhaveanyplansforChristmas?A: I’m going to go back toVietnam just forChristmasbreaktoseemyfamilyandfriends.And there will be my mom and my sister’sbirthdayparties.Q:IsChristmasherethesameasinyourcoun-try?A:Almosteverythingisthesame,however,wecelebratelessthanhere.Q:HowdoyoufeelaboutChristmas?A: Christmas is my favorite holiday. I’m sogladthatIcanmeetmyfamilyandfriendsforChristmas.Ican’twaittoseethem!

International Students Ring In Christmas

WaystoSpendChristmas Break

SeePage10

GettingintheChristmas Spirit

SeePage8&9

Ceremony! The event coordinator ofSantana Row Lights said, “SantanaRow shopping complex welcomesthe holidays with a tree lighting cer-emony as the dazzling lights, sounds

ofmusicandspecialentertainmentfillthecoolSanJoseeveningswithsong,celebrationandwonder.”Thisspecialdisplay can be seen throughout thetwelvedaysofChristmas!Also,San-tanaRow’sband is another reason toattendforitsholidayandwideappeal

music,whichis,featuredrightaftertheTree Lighting Ceremony. Colette Lee said,“IlovegoingtoSantanaRow,anddoing Christmas shopping, and at thesametime,lookingathowbeautifulthe

presentation is with all theChristmas decorations andlights!” TheSanJoseChrist-masHolidayParadewillbefeatured in Downtown SanJose from December 12,2009toDecember27,2009.Volunteers of all ages willbewelcomed,andtherearemany things you can do tohelp out in the preparation.TherewillbeaspecialToysforTotsDrive,whichgivestoystounderprivilegedchil-drenintheBayArea.Also,the Raffle Drawing will beespecially fun this year, as

many kids will be participat-ing. The Valley Christian’s

Dance Department will be featuredthere: fromHipHop toJazz toTap toBallet. Valley Christian High Schoolstudents are really excited to spendtheirChristmasholidayswiththeirfam-ilyandfriends,withsong,worship,andhappiness.

SophieXu

DonnahKangPamNguyen

Manybrilliantlightedhousesarebeingdisplayedthisseason.TheLightsoftheValleypinpointsgorgeoushousesthatareamustsee.

Top 10 Christmas Lights

8 The Warrior FeaturesDecember 11, 2009Page Layout and Design

10. 1279 Hearst Avenue, Pleasanton9. 6840 Ione Way, Dublin

8. 666 Lakefair Drive, Sunnyvale7. 7453 Mitchell Drive, Rohnert Park

6. 6408 Lone Way, Dublin5. 6408 San Anselmo Way, San Jose

4. 1401 Glacier Drive, San Jose3. 5208 Olive Drive, Concord

2. 375 Lose Padres Boulevard1. 709 Sheraton Drive, Sunnyvale

Top 10 Christmas Jingles:

Top 10 Jingles

1Jingle Bells2 Silent Night

3 Deck the Halls4 This Christmas

5 Run Run Rudolph6 Oh, Christmas Tree

7 O Come All Ye Faithful 8 All I Want for Christmas

9 Dashing Through the Snow10 Rockin’ Around the Christmas

Tree

top12Christmasmovies:

The Polar Express

Home Alone

Miracle On 34th Street

Elf

It ’s A Wonderful Life

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

The Santa Clause

Frosty the Snowman

White Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

A Christmas Story

...........................................................

.............................................................

Deck The HallsFor unto you is born this day in the city of David a

Savior, who is Christ the Lord.Luke 2:11

9The WarriorFeatures December 11, 2009by Tarah Duarte

This year’s prominent CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK

will include Santa’s storytelling time and ornament making, a Toys for Tots drive, raffle drawing, and much more. Christmas in the Park is an organized annual

event led by volunteers who donate their time and energy to

make the exhibit a reality each year.

This DOWNTOWN ICE event brings Christmas and paradise together. With people skating in a ring of

palmtrees, it is a guarantee for nonstop fun!

The Fantasy of Lights comprises a one and a half-mile drive through Vasona Park, which has been dressed up with thousands of colorful light and light

themes on its trees and bushes and in free-standing displays. The outstanding

VASONA PARK’S FANTASY OF LIGHTS improvements over last year’s event include more lighted vegetation, more

animated displays, an in-park music simulcast and concession areas.”

Considered the Bay Area’s number one ballet performance, the

SAN JOSE BALLET/ NUTCRACKER has become a yearly festive tradition. This treasured holiday classic returns for an extended run with full orchestra, stunning lobby decorations, and carolers

and characters from the show meeting and greeting guests before every performance.

Christmas Events

1. Preheat oven to 325. Mix flour, butter, granulated sugar, and salf n the bowl of a stand mier on low speed until just blended. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together.2. Press dough evenly into a 9 in. round cake pan. Sprinke with coarse sugar.3. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Cut still-warm shortbread with a fork, tines down, into 16 wedge-shape pieces wit shaggy edges. Cool completely, then invert pan onto a work surface and carefully separate cookies. 1. Prepare the glaze (whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 1/2 tsp. milk), and dip the cookies face down in it. Let them dry. 2. Using a plain. super fine pastry tip, pipe on ribbons of your favorite homemade royal icing or use ready-made icing in a small tube, sold at the grocery store.

Cookies4SantaMAKES 16 cookiesTIME 1 1/4 hours2 cups flour1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed1/2 cup granulated sugar1/4 tsp. salt2 tbsp. coarse sugar

By:Erica L. Parker

Deck The Halls

10 The Warrior FeaturesDecember 11, 2009

Making Memories at ChristmasMelody MakfiCo-A&E Editor

Lake Tahoe has the state’s greatest slopes.P

hoto

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With the best time of the year right around the corner, students have been planning ways to spend their time off school for the holidays.

A casual way to spend free time would be checking out the newest flicks. Tons of new movies are released right around the holidays so there is something you’re bound to want to see. A list of upcoming movies include, Made for Each other, Armored, Brothers, Everybody’s Fine, Serious Moonlight, Transylmania, Up in the Air, Until the Light Takes Us, Inviticus, and Avatar. The theaters are expecting tons of movies to follow the month of December so be sure to stop and watch at least one! If going to the movie theater isn’t something that interests you, take a different route and rent a family classic and watch with friends and family in the comfort of your own home. Another Christmas activity which many VC students are taking part in would be hitting the slopes for adventures in Tahoe. There are many ski/snow resorts just a few hours away from the Bay Area, which is a popular location for the holiday season. Senior Lauren Reiling said how much she enjoys spending time in Tahoe, “I love going to Tahoe over the holidays. It’s so beautiful and I love spending time with my family, especially in the snow!” Many students are excited to spend time in Lake Tahoe to play in

the snow. A few of the resorts include, Squaw Valley USA, which has 34 lifts and over 170 runs with over 4,000 acres of snow. Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort holds approximately 17 lifts and 89 runs with a wonderful beginner program to learn how to ski or snowboared.

If you want to stay in and avoid dressing for a night on ice, think about cooking some fun treats with your family or friends. You could make your own chocolate with your parents, make some Christmas cookies or other tasty treats. Refer to the recipe article to learn new

tricks to try out in the kitchen and have a blast spicing up typical Christmas treats! Most Importantly, the Holiday Season is all about spending time with your family and the people you love. The Christmas Season is a time to give, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Make sure to share the Christmas Story with all the people to whom you give presents this year. Regardless of what time of year it is, you can always find a way to spend time with friends and family but during the holidays, it is a fantastic time to spend extra time together!

Snow Flake Cocoa

Ingredients:2 cups whipping cream6 cups milk1 teaspoon vanilla1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chipsGarnish:Whipped creamCandy canes

Directions:Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and white chocolate chips in a slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted.

Stir again before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and candy canes, as desired.

Warrior.ValleyChristian.netSports

Inside the

Lines

Miracle Man Six feet tall, all muscle, and makes 3 point shots like layups are attri-butes that senior Kyle Travis embraces and as he is ready to lead the varsity basketball team to a winning record for the first time in his 4-year career. From the picture of the 2006 var-sity basketball squad, there is only one familiar face. This is the face of Travis, the only remaining member of the varsity basketball program including coaches and players. Travis, a four year starter, has been injury plagued in past seasons but is ready to take charge of a team who lost its 2 lead-ing scorers. “I am excited to help this team really thrive in a tough league in which we are doubted by the majority,” commented Travis. In some of his best games in which he was healthy, Travis averaged double doubles in assists and points. “I feel I am ready for the next level. I am uncertain what the Lord has in store for me, but I hope to follow His Will.” commented Tra-vis when asked about future college inter-ests. Last season, Travis suffered car-diac arrest during a practice session in which he was very ill. His father, Coach Forrest, the VC training staff and the fire department were quick to come to the aid of Travis as the team watched him fight

for his life. Sophomore Cameron Stew-art commented, “It was one of the hardest experiences I have ever had to go through and I hope I never have to see something like that again.” The tear-filled team hud-dled around and prayed for Travis. Travis’ father, Lyle Travis said, “I thank the Lord for giving Kyle a second lease in life. The Lord has a purpose for bringing my son back.” Travis is amoung the 5 percent of victims of sudden cardiac arrest who sur-vive in the United States. He made a full recovery and 7 games into league play, he returned to the team during a game against the Serra Padres. Coach Steve Cotton said, “It was really a miracle seeing Kyle come back out and playing again.” The team all rallied around Travis and prayed and supported his recovery. Doctors could not find the cause of the cardiac arrest, as Travis has a very healthy heart. His parents elected to have a defibrillator monitor his heart 24/7 for insurance. Travis has played with some of the best teams in northern California. One of the first teams he played on was the Bay Area Elite who was ranked number 1 in northern California. They often played 2 grade levels above them in local tourna-ments and still competed. Travis was the starting point guard for the team who made regular trips to national championships. Also, Travis participates in bas-ketball camps around the nation. He made

Varsity Boys Basketball

See Page 13

Athlete signings

See Page 15

Photo by SPORTSWURLZ.com

Around the Nation

Basketball:Harrison Barnes

Height: 6’6’’

Weight: 190

Position: Small

Forward

Just a few weeks ago Harrison Barnes from Ames High School in Iowa signed with North Carolina. He had about every other college waiting for him to make his decision on the signing day at his High School. Barnes is about six sev-en and has been the blue devils target for about two years. Barnes is talked about be-ing a great wing in the NBA, but we will see how he competes in college first.

Football:Jackson Jeffcoat

Height: 6’ 4’’Weight: 233

Position: Defensive

Tackle/Defen-sive End

Jackson Jeffcoat a 2010 gradu-ate has the potential to play both football and basketball in college. His bigger focus is on football, and getting stronger to be the best he can in it. He is being recruited many school but only has interest in six of the Arizona State, Florida, Houston, Okla-homa, Texas, and USC. Jeffcoat has a wide future, many eyes will be on him within the next few years.

Baseball: Tim Beckham

Height: 6’2’’

Weight: 190

Position:

Shortstop

Tim Beckham overall number one pick in the 2009 MLB draft. Beckham attended Griffin High School in Georgia and graduated last year as a 2009 gradu-ate. Tim signed with the Tampa Bay Rays with a signing bonus of 6.15 million dol-lars. His signing day was on June 19 just a few weeks after he graduated. Beckham will be playing minor league ball for the Rays and will be trying to make his way to

the big leagues in the next few years.

The Best of the Best

put points on the board taking the lead 7-6.After a turnover, Miller put the Warriors in a tight spot, completing a touchdown pass to Braden Bishop. Now down 14-6, the Warriors needed to make some big plays to reach back into the game. After a well crafted drive by quarterback Zach Vaiana, and a slick catch by James Yoder, the young scatter back Marshall took the Warriors to the end zone. With just over 3 minutes remain-ing, the Warriors elected to go for 2. With-out a doubt, it was the only option VC was left with. Vaiana’s pass to WR Bryan Fobbs fell incomplete leaving the Warriors just 2 points short of a tie game. The Warrior’s defense was able to force the Lancers to punt the ball leaving only 11 seconds left. Despite the potential story-book ending to the game, no miracle was in the Warrior’s fate that evening. The Warriors lost 14-12.

Middle linebacker Trevin Craig led the Warrior defense, a backer that many WCAL analysts consider to be top-notch. Craig directed the defense, only allowing 14 points and forced a few turnovers. Yoder performed well on both sides of the ball, combining for over 100 receiving yards with Marshall. As the St. Francis players knew, any game could be their coach’s last. Head Coach Mike Mitchell had announced that he would be retiring after the season. Mitchell had an illustrious career, most specifically known for his fast paced of-fense, exciting Bellarmine rivalry games, and even cameos in infamous player-made videos. The Lancers faced Bellarmine in the CCS Championship game. The game was noted as the 63rd installment of one of California’s most competitive rivalries. Though Miller and Co. played a great game they still came up short against the Bells.

Linebacker Trevin Craig chases down the Lancer offense.

The Warriors were being given an opportunity that presents itself on rare oc-casions, to say the least. Valley Christian had lost 3 times during the season, and was just off of a clutch playoff win over Arch-bishop Mitty. The Monarchs were the first culprits of the regular season to serve the Warriors a win. As the Warriors checked the Division II California State-Bowl fa-vorites off their list, they looked toward their next past wrong. Glaring them direct-ly in the eyes were the St. Francis Lancers, another State-Bowl Championship favor-ite. Valley Christian drew first blood as sophomore RB Byron Marshall gal-loped in for a 29-yard touchdown. Marshall was back after not being able to play the prior game, and quickly made an impact on the CCS Semi-Final game. The Warrior’s extra point attempt was failed, leaving the Lancers only down by 6. The Lancers brought to the table a wealth of talent, only lacking execution in the first half. The Lancers attempted two decently ranged field goals and kicker Spencer Rogers missed both. Quarterback Kyle Miller led the Lancers much more effectively during the second half. Miller threw for over 100 of 157 yards on the evening, much below his usual stats. During the regular season, the highly recruited senior averaged over 200 yards per game. Though the Warriors went into the half leading 6-0, but couldn’t hold onto the slippery point advantage. As both teams walked out after half time, it seemed as if an air was surrounding the half that hadn’t been present earlier in the game. Finally taking advantage of all the gift-wrapped opportunities, the Lancers

Down to the Wire

Kyle Travis looks to play in a role in team leadership this year.

Pho

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taff

the all star team and a coach at the camp noted , “Kyle Travis, 6-foot-1 guard, 2010, Valley Christian - A strongly built guard who competes on the court. In the mold of former Santa Clara Bronco guard, Brody Angley, Travis can knock down open shots, pass the ball well and command the court. Even though Valley Christian may not win the West Catholic Athletic League, he should be able to keep Valley Christian in a bunch of games.” Valley Christian looks forward to what this young man might achieve this season.

Jon LampkinEditor-in-Chief

Joe GarciaSports Editor

12 The Warrior SportsDecember 11, 2009

I had made it to the promisedland. No end zone or touchdown dance,nopreviouschampionawardingmeabril-liant green jacket, no sacredly protectedStanley Cup, and most of all, no river ofmilkorhoney.Theonlythinginmysightswere cubical-like structures as far as theeye could see, a bowl filled with snacksbeing frantically devoured by ravagingjournalists,andSharksemployeesrushingthrough the alreadycrowdedwalkways. Ipinchedmyselfonelasttimejusttocheck,andtookamentalsnapshot.Iconstructedamentalscrapbookincludingsomeofthemoreostensible feelings Ihad feltduringtheactionpackedeveningIwasintheSanJoseSharkspressbox. I was awestruck.And most of all, Iwasexcited.Checkthat,electric.NowletmetellyouallofthethingsthatIwasn’t.Iwasn’tinajanitor’suniformwithbroomin hand. I wasn’t committing any sort offelony,duetothefactthatIwastoldjour-nalism schools don’t think too highly ofbreaking and entering.Andmost of all, Iwasn’tcontinuouslysweettalkingmywaythroughlevelsofsecurity.DidmyheartjumpasIroundedthecorner?Yes.DidIfeelasifIwasakidinacandystore?Yes.WasIwalkingstrideforstride next to Comcast Sports Net broad-

castdynamicduoRandyHahnandDrewRemenda? Struck dumb would be the bestway to describe the feeling. I said, after

greatmentaldeliberation,“Hey.”OutofallofthethingsIcouldhavesaidorasked,IusedtheonethingthatIprobablyhadal-readyusedatleast40timesthatday.I’llbehonestthough;thisonewasalittlediffer-entasIdidstutter.Fitting,huh?Remendaquicklyrespondedwith

JV Basketball Shoots For Wins

a contrastingly sharp, “How are you do-ing?”.BythetimeIrespondedwithaslop-py,“Good”, I realizedhewasnowoutofearshot.Thoughtnotmyproudestmoment

ofthenight,itwasamemorableonetosaytheleast.Yetifanythingwasmemorable,itwas,well, the restof thenight.From theinterview with Dave Pollak, beat writerfortheSanJoseMercuryNews,whereheinformedusabout the stressesofbeinga

Frosh Basketball Looks to Start Fresh

If there is one word to describetheValley Christian boys basketball pro-gram’sgoal,itwouldbethewordredemp-tion. This year, the boys look to for-getthestatsfromlastseasonandworkonimprovingtheirskillandnumbersforthisseason. With a 13-133 overall combinedrecord of the program, the Warriors arelooking ahead to make their scores im-prove.They are working extremely hard,andso farhave improved theirskills150percent. They strive to win the prize, asstatedin1Corinthians9:24,“Doyounotknowthatinaracealltherunnersrun,butonlyonegetstheprize?Runinsuchawayastogettheprize.”

ValleyChristian’sboysbasketballsetsaprogramwidegoalthisyear-andthatgoalistowin! VC’sbasketballprogramisbeingcompletely re-organized this year as theylooktostartnew.Theirnewcoachingstaffknowswhatittakestowin.Newfreshmencoach, Abram Estorga, is very excitedforhisupcomingseasonandcommented,“Ihaveneverseenateamwithsuchgreatchemistryrightfromthestart... theyhavean amazing work ethic and they are likeonebigfamilyoutonthecourt!” Thisyearthefreshmenbasketballteamislookingtocomeoutfighting.Theyare full of talented new athletes such asTy Gardner, Anthoni Rueca, and Rohit

How good does glory feel? TheLadyWarriorscouldanswer thisquestionwithdelight.Comingoffofastrongseasonlastyear,thegirlsvarsitybasketballteamisinsearchforanotherspotforplayoffs.Lastyear, the season ended with the Warriorsontopoftheworld,although,arecurringthemearoundtheValleyChristianteamsisthatkeyplayerswillbe lost,and thebas-ketball teamisnoexception.Despite thatfact,therearereturningkeyplayers.Starter Jazmine Davis will lead the Warriors intheirprospectivewinningseason. Lastyear,Davisrotatedinat thepointguardpositionandsurpassedmostoftheopposingplayersasasophomore.AndseniorAJ Newton,willbuildastrongcorefortheWarriorsthisyear.

Thecompetition thisseasonalsoseemstohaveheightenedsincethelast.Inthepreviousseason,theLadyWarriorsfin-ished third, justbehindArchbishopMittyand No. 1 Sacred Heart Cathedral, whowon the Round Robin Championship intheWCALconference.Withoutconsider-ingthestandingsoflastseason,theLadyWarriors topped the Monarchs, but com-pletedtheseasonjustonewinshortoftheNo.2spot. On December 2, the Lady War-riorstraveledtoPioneerHighSchoolanddefeatedPiedmontHillsina56-28game.Italmostseemedlikeascrimmageas theWarriors scored left and right the wholenight. The two consecutive games after-ward,theLadyWarriorsremainundefeat-edscoringover69pointsinagameagainstMontaVista and 74 against Santa Teresaclaimingthetournamenttitle.

professionalsportsjournalist,noting,“Thelast5minutesofaonegoalgameiswhereI reallygonuts,” to theclutchgamewin-ninggoalscoredbyDanBoylewithonlyahandfulofticsleftontheclock.Afterthegamewasover,Iwasgiventhechanceofalifetime.Myjournal-istic prowess flew rampantly through mybody. I was interviewing Sharks defense-menRyanDemers.ThoughIwantedtoaskEveryonewasawinnerthatnight.EachoftheHighSchoolWriter’sDaycon-testantsweregiventheopportunitytolearna few tricks of the trade, back up goalieThomas Greisshad23saves,andjustre-turningfromaleginjury,Devin Setoguchi pokedinaclutchthirdperiodgoalRememberingthementalscrapbookIhadcreated,IrealizedIwaslackingsome-thing:atitle.Onthedrivehomefromthegame,itcametome.Nothingfancy.Noth-ing gimmicky. Just an extenuation of theloveaffairthatIhadhadwiththeinspiringeventonthatchillyNovembernight.“AnOde to High School Writer’s Day” waswhatIhaddecidedon.ItwasperfectandIlovedit.ThenIheardthehonkingbehindme,sawthegreenlightinfrontofmeandrealizedImighthavebeenthinkingalittletoohard.

Girls Basketball Begins Strong

Jon Lampkin Editor in Chief

Zayn KirkendollJunior A&E Editor

Matt CarrollStaff Writer

Darelle JonesJunior A&E Editor

JuniorJonLampkinenjoyedpressboxaccessaswellasexperiencedinterviewingSJSharksplayers.

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The program shows strongpromisethisyear.TheJVteamhasmanyup and coming promising players whohave great potential. Sophomore guardsNick McGrew, Colin Warner, and Jo-seph Lampkinledtheteamtoaseasonofmultiplevictories,andtotheultimategoalofsuccess.Theleaguethisyearisinclosecompetition, and many other schools aredeterminedtowinthechampionship. Valley can maintain a steadypacetowintheraceiftheykeepprayingfor their basketball teams, especially JV.WithBobby Williams,headcoachofJV,the team has already had a close win of39-35 points against Sacred Heart Pre-patorySchool. Makesuretocomeoutandsup-port theboysJVbasketball teamas theypushtowardtheirgoalofsuccess.

Tiggawhowillhelpleadtheteamtoasuc-cessfulseason. Two of the tallest players everseenonthefreshmenteam,Ryan Wood,6’2, and Austin Mueting, 6’7, beast thepostpositionandtheboyshavealreadyledtheteamtotwowinsthisseason. Thefirstwin,withaclosescoreof46-44points,theboysdominatedthecourtagainstSantaCruzHighSchool.Thenforthesecondwin,theValleyfreshmansnow-plowed Sacred Heart Preparatory as theywon37-17. Withastartofsuccess,theseboysareontheirwayintoagreatseason.TheycontinuetolivethesportsversethatmanyplayersatValleyChristianHighSchoolareinspired by: “I can do all things throughChristwhogivesmestrength.”Philippians4:13.

AnExperienceLikeNoOther

13The WarriorSports December 11, 2009

Mens Varsity Soccer Kicks OffDanny Hittler

Assistant Sports Editor

It’s that time of year again. The soccer field is littered with student ath-letes practicing the world’s most popular sport. With the varsity team now selected, the team is now preparing for the season opener. “The program is once again deeper than the previous year,” head coach John Basanese said. “We are continuing to reap the benefits of stressing fundamen-tals in our program, and the parents and fans should see an exciting product on the field this season.” The Warriors will be without Austin Mansker, as he has elected to re-main with his club for their games. Sopho-more Patrick Colombana will step in and fill the role he’s been groomed for. “Hav-ing Austin play club is a tremendous loss to our program. He’s been an impeccable leader, and is obviously very talented as a goalkeeper. That said, we have great faith in Pat, and I know he’ll be solid in goal for us. We’re very lucky to have him,” coach Basanese said. Patrick, nicknamed Sweazey, has grown in size, and confidence. In training so far he’s shown that he’s improved on his already strong shot blocking abilities, and will be a great distributor out of the back. Last year, Sweazey got some time for the varsity team, so there is a great base to build on. On the back line, VC will be deeper than in recent years, returning sev-

Last year, the JV Valley Christian Golf team had a rebuilding year. They grew together as a team and built a strong foundation for the future of Valley Chris-tian Golf. But one of their most important achievements was the flawless integration of both guys and girls. Two girls were on that team, Hannah Lozinski and Shaye Locatelli, and they proved their mettle. But an all girls team was a distant possibility, and with enough girls in the 2009 season with interest in the team, it became a reality. With those two as the foundation and Ken Shamanski as the coach, the team was built for success this season. With a team almost completely comprised of freshmen, and many of them new to competitive golf, expectations were uncertain, particularly going up against teams that have been in existence for years.

eral players. Justin Berding, Danny Hit-tler, Will Pitman, Kyle Grayson and Cody Leal all played last year, and they are joined by several talented youngsters who are look-ing to make their mark on the varsity side.

The team has been looking to stabilize in the back, something this team should be well on its way to accomplishing. “We’re very deep. We know what we’re getting with the returners, and they are going to be pushed by the new guys coming up. It’s new for us to have 6-7 players who can start for us back there. This, coupled with Sweazey’s emergence, should make us pretty tough to breakdown,” said Basanese. As deep as the team is in the back, the other stable of stars plays is in the mid-field. There are several players who played or started last year, and they’ve all come into the season better than before. “Let’s start with Justin Cordeiro,” Basanese said. “I beleive that he’s one of

the top defensive mids in the CCS. He’s a junior this year, and he’s bigger, stronger, and quicker... it’s pretty scary.” Combine Cordeiro with Bal-lard, Ramirez, Karlsson, and the excit-ing newcomers, and you have what should be a very dynamic midfield. “If we can stay healthy, those guys will turn a lot of heads this year. Chas Michael is big, and Phil Ramirez has a crazy shot. I’m also expecting this to be a breakout year for Lars. We’re excited to watch these kids this year,” Basanese said. The Warriors will rely on a sol-id throng of forwards up top to score the goals. Last year’s leading scorer, Alex de Leon, has also decided to stay with his club team instead of playing high school. Losing Alex is another tough loss, as Alex was preparing to challenge the all time goals record for VC. Even without Alex, however, the team has plenty of firepower. Jordan, Zack, Sam, and Spencer are returners who will all compete for the starting jobs. “We have a lot of speed up top, and these are guys who want to score. I’m excited to see the energy those guys have spread across full games instead of coming off the bench. With Ronnie Jenkins joining our staff, we have another offensive coach who will push these guys to score goals. I’m excited about it,” Basanese said. Basanese has selected 2 fresh-men for the team this year, and they are both field players... something he has never done as the coach at VC. “We de-cided to keep Jacob and Zack on varsity,

and we’re pretty eager to get these guys out there. Both love the game, and play like it... that’s why they’re here. I love hav-ing talented underclassmen on varsity, and this year is going to be another example of that,” Basanese said. The team will also feature sev-eral sophomores, including 3 likely start-ers. “It reminds me of the year we won the WCAL,” Basanese said. We had Ben Han-sen, and Jeff Coggan leading our team as younsters. I’m stoked to see these kids rise to the challenge.” It looks like another exciting year for the Warriors. For updated scores and in-formation about the team check out vcsoc-cer.com.

But the team did well despite being under-manned and inexperienced, surpassing even the most hopeful fans expectations. They went undefeated, dominating in nearly every match.

Women’s Golf Finishes UndefeatedKaleb Tuttle

Assistant News Writer

This year the Valley Christian JV football team finished their season with a record of 5-5 and 2-5 in league. At the be-ginning of the season the team was uncer-tain how many players were going to come out, but they came together and had about 30 players. To open up the season on Home-coming night, they played Mitty and lost in a close game 28-24. Sophomore Sean Da-vis did a wonderful job running the ball and throwing it too, with 70 yards rushing and 9 carries. Then throwing the ball, he threw 7 passes with 5 completions for 80 yards. The next game was a team that had beat the JV last year and they really wanted to come out with a win. During the week, the team didn’t really practice be-cause of the rain so they went into the game with less prepration than they wanted. The team played hard and sophomore Jerod

Senior Will Pittman traps the ball.P

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Junior Andrew Kim gets ready to kick the ball.

The girls spend the day practicing at the range.

Lawson gained 170 yards with 17 carries. They came out with a big victory with the score of 23-18. The following week the team went up against St. Francis who handed them a loss, 25-14. But they didn’t leave there with heads down, they battled hard.The team lost their next two games in San Fransico, to Sacred Heart 21-14 and St. Ig-natius 31-24. With determination in their hearts, the team came out to play against Riordan, with sophomore Tyler Champlin having his best rushing game; he had 60 yards with only 5 carries with an average of 12 yards per carry. The last game of the year the JV football team played Serra who had been a solid team through out their season. The JV Warriors went down by 3 touch downs in the first half but came out fighting in the second. They battled back but lost it in a tough one, 36-33.

Austin DavisStaff Writer

A JV Season to Look Back On

14 December 11, 2009 SportsThe Warrior

San Jose Sharks Return Back to Their Mission Lady Warriors Gain Experience,

Learn Lesons

The Lady Warriors restlessly sat in their seats waiting to arrive at the courts. As the eleven girls walked off the bus, they saw their opponents in different stripes. They saw the gold and black Monarchs, the green Irish, the blue Panthers, and the red and blue Bobcats. The Valley Christian girls stayed strong “repping” their school colors, as the intimidation attempts did not change their mindsets. The game of tennis, tests the metal strength. The Warriors faced the other four teams seeking the WCAL champion-ship. The West Catholic Athletic League included the Valley Christian Warriors, Archbishop Mitty Monarchs, Sacred Heart Cathedral Irish, Presentation Pathers, and St. Ignatius Bobcats. The WCAL tennis association hosted a singles section and a doubles section of the tournament. For the Valley Christian Lady Warriors, Cuong Duong, varsity head coach, chose three single players and three doubles team to compete. In terms of singles, junior Joyce Chen, junior Erica Parker, and sophomore Samantha Chong were chosen to represent Valley Christian. Seniors Katherine Sanine and Janna Oswald, junior Lauren Speers and fresh-man Amanda Chin, and senior Kimberlie Anderson and sophomore Daniella Holm represented the Ladie Warriors’ doubles team.

CCS Rookie Athletic Director of the Year

High School Athletic Direc-tor, Jolene Fu-gate has been honored as the Central Coast Section Norm M a c K e n z i e Rookie of the Year. The Central Coast Section is comprised of 139 public and private schools located between San Francisco and King City. Working in the athletic office, Fugate is seen frequently across the Valley Christian campus, espe-cially at the sporing events. By directing the athletic department, Fugate uses her position to minister the gospel of Christ to the students at Valley. In an interview, Fugate stated, “ Be-ing able to use sports as a ministry is awe-some! I am able to combine two of the things I enjoy most, and use them to share my love for Christ with students.” Fugate, a former Division I soccer play-er at San Jose State University, came to Valley Christian as head women’s soccer coach in 2003. She had led the Warriors to multiple CCS titles in 2004 and 2006. In 2007, Fugate was named Mercury News Soccer Coach of the Year after guiding the team to a WCAL championship, and CCS Division II final. Fugate said, “I love going to work and interacting with the students who play sports.” Whether its delivering uniforms, or speaking during award ceremonies, she is an exciting face to see during the sports seasons, and an all around inspiration to students and faculty across the Valley Christian campus.

Currently the San Jose Sharks are performing at their highest level, and it is reflected in the standings. They have the most points in the NHL and are looking like they have a strong chance at defending the President’s Trophy they won last year, an award for the team racking up the most points at the end of the season. Despite being the best regular season champs last year, they could not continue that success into the playoffs. Last year was not the first year they failed to fulfill their potential in the playoffs. Since the Sharks came into the NHL in 1991, they have made the play-offs 12 times, and have only made it to the

General Manager Doug Wilson introduces the newly acquired winger, Dany Heatley.

Bryan TrieuAssistant Sports Editor

Erica ParkerA&E Co-Editor

CONGRATULATIONS

Danny HittlerAssistant Sports Editor conference finals once in franchise history.

They have lost in the first round 4 times, and have failed to get past the second round 7 times. The Sharks were picked as favor-ites to win the Stanley Cup many of those years by members of the media, and with their consistent failure, are already being written off as a team who simply won’t be able to succeed in the playoffs. However, this may be the year to re-write the franchise’s playoff history. The Sharks high profile players were the ones put under the microscope when the team stalled in the playoffs. However, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson did not lose faith in his top line players. The major change took place in the bottom two lines. The emergence of

some rookies, and the signings of a few gritty veterans have completely changed the dynamics of the sharks roster. Players like Manny Malhotra, Jamie McGinn, and Scott Nichol, just to name a few, are not only scoring more than the 3rd line did last year, but they have also provided con-sistent, high-intensity, shifts that spark the rest of the team, and put opposing teams on their heels. In addition, the Sharks’ top line is performing the best in the NHL, with Joe Thornton atop the NHL leaders in points, and Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley in the top 5 in goals and top 10 in points. Be aware when the Sharks enter the playoffs, as they look to take a bite out of their opponents!

15The WarriorSports December 11, 2009

Athletic Signings Nathan Farrokhian

Assistant News Editor

OnWednesdayNovember11stu-dentsfromValleyChristianSchoolsignedtheirlettersofintenttoplaysportsincollege.Withtheprivilegeofacceptingoffersfromavarietyofschools,thestudentswereen-thusiastictofollowtheirpathstothefuture. The Warrior baseball programhad four student-athletes signing Na-tional Letters of Intent. Matthew Car-roll, Trevin Craig, and Danny Davis

LadyWarriorsKickOfftheSeasonArazue M. ZadehJunior Sports Editor

PSAT

P r e p C o u r s e s f o r t h e

SAT • Mat h Level II • Biology • Chemistry • Physics •

SAT II

“Iabsolutelylovedtheprogr am .The instructorgave metheindividualatten tionInee dedbo thinside andoutside thec lassroomt oexcel. The methodstaughtm elittletricks for theSATtha tIusedfor school aswell.Nootherprogram offersthat.”

- Arjun Nas kar ’05, MIT

Phone: (510) 490-7000 www.exceltest.com

will stay local and compete for theSpar-tansofSanJoseState.Ontheotherhand,Thomas Reynoldsdecided togo toNewYork and play for Cornell University.However the guys are not the only onesin the spotlight. AJ Newton signed toplaywomen’sbasketballatSanJoseStateand Rachel Alvey signed with UC SanDiego to play for their volleyball team. All the students are on the rightpath to pursue their dreams of playingthe sports for which they are passionate.

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SeniorNicoleLordfightsforpossessiononthefieldduringthevarsitygirlssoccergame.

TheValleyChristiangirls soccerteamsarepracticingdiligentlyandplayingenthusiastically to prepare for a difficultupcoming season. There are high hopesfor this hardworking group of girls andtheyhavealreadyexceededexpectationsintheirfirstfewscrimmagesandgamesofthe2009-2010season. Summertimeprovedtobeatimeof rigorous conditioning for the girls asthey worked out with all the girls sportsprograms.Fivedaysaweek,from7to9inthemorning,thesoccerLadyWarriorspar-ticipatedincardioandstrengthexercisestokeep in shape over the summer vacation.Althoughitwasstrenuoustowakeupearlydayafterdayoverthesummertoworkout,juniorLindsay Colethoughtthat,“itwasworthitbecausenowthatschoolseasonisstarting, I am in shape and ready to playandkeepupwiththeotherteams.” Followingthesummercondition-ing was more conditioning. Starting onSeptember28andendingonOctober27,thegirlsdidcardioandstrengthworkoutsMondays through Thursdays every week.Forforty-fiveminutes,theseLadyWarriorswouldconditionaroundthetrackandbuilduptheirmusclesinthenewandimprovedweightroom.“Imaynothavelookedfor-ward to running after a long day,” juniorMariah Gutierrezstated,“butafter,Ial-ways felt reallygoodandnowI feelpre-paredfortheseasontostart!” Aftermonthsofconditioningandpreparation, on November 2, tryouts be-gan.EndingonNovember9,fortwohours

aday,aroundthirty-fiveladiesplayedhardtofightforapositionontheteam.Atypi-cal day at tryoutsusually consistedof anhour of conditioning and the remaininghourdoingbigandsmall-sideddrillsandgames.VarsitycoachesJolene Fugate andBill StrykerteamedwithJVcoachesTroy Carson and Megan Brown to place thegirlsonappropriateteams.Varsityplayer,junior Ashlee Saenz, said that she felt“anxiousandtenseduringtryoutsbecausetherearesomanygoodgirlstryingoutthisyear.”Intheend,however,thevarsityros-terconsistedoftwentyhard-workinggirls,ranging from sophomores to seniors.TheexcitingnewJVteamismadeupofaboutfifteen diligent freshmen, sophomores,andjuniors.Withtherostersandteamsinplace,bothvarsityandJVbeganpracticingtotrainfortheupcomingseason. The varsity team now estab-lished, Coach Fugate set up preseasonscrimmages toprepare theLadyWarriorsagainstdifficultupcomingopponents.ThefirstscrimmagewasatValley’sownsoccerfieldonNovember25,2009.Kickingoffat2:00pm,theLadyWarriorsbattledagainstLeland’s Chargers and came out victori-ous.Itwasanimportantgameforthisteambecause it established the team’s goals,strengths,andweaknesses.Itwasalsovitalforthegirlstomeshasaunitandlearntoplaystronglytogether.Witha2-1victory,theWarriorswalkedoffthefieldexcitedtocontinuetheirproductivepracticesandvic-toriousgames.Aweeklater,onDecember2, theVHCSWarriors tackled the MonteVistaMatadors.Although itendedwitha2-3loss,theteamfoughthardandworked

together.WithgoalsbyseniorCari Cron-quist and junior Taryn Ng, the Warriorsplayedverywell.“Iwasreallyproudofourteam,”saidseniorErica Villarreal.Over-all,thefirstfewgamesoftheseasonweresuccessfulinestablishingafoundationforthishardworkingnewteam. On November 25, the JV LadyWarriorsalsobattledtheLelandChargersat theVCHScampus.Playing in thecoldbreeze,theWarriorsdominatedthefirsthalfofthegame.WiththeballonLeland’ssideofthefieldforthemajorityofthetime,theWarriors worked offensively to get a fewshotsongoal.Comingintothesecondhalfof thegame, theWarriorsweakened theirattackandtheChargersbeganworkinginthe middle to produce an effective play.However, theWarriors defense shut themdownalmosteverytime.Unfortunately,thegameendedina0-1loss,althoughtheWar-riorsweredefinitelythedominantteam.Itwas a productive scrimmage to establish

eachplayer’sstrengthsandweaknessesinvariouspositions.Asthegameended,theWarriorswalkedoffthefieldproudoftheiraccomplishmentsandreadytotackletheirweaknesses. TheLadiesnextbattlewasagainsttheMonteVistaMatadors.Ittookawhilebeforetheladieskickeduptheirenergyandunfortunately,theMatadorsscoredtowardtheendofthefirsthalf.However,fromthestartofthesecondhalf,theWarriorsdomi-natedtherestofthegame.Attackafterat-tack, theWarriorsdefeatedMonteVista’smidfieldersandoutsidedefenderswiththehelpoffreshmenColbie CarsonandAn-drea Zenere.Thefirst fewgamesfor theJVgirlswereessentialtocreatingastronggroundworkfortheWarriorstobegintheirpromisingseason. Afterstrenuoussummertimecon-ditioning,intensefallworkouts,andvigor-oustryouts,theLadyWarriorshavebegunapromisingseason.

16 The Warrior December 11, 2009

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.”Elf

Happy Holidays

Anewcoach,anewsetofstarters,andmostim-portantly,anewseason.Thevarsityboysbasketballteamis looking to turn heads around the BayArea.With thestart of their promising new season, the talentedValleyChristianboysarepracticingdiligentlyand shooting forexcellencethisyear.Newheadcoach,Eric ScharrenbergislookingtochangethecultureofValleyChristianbasketball.Aprevi-ousfootballcoach,Scharrenbergisintroducinganewtypeofplayandisworkinghardtogethisplayerstobecomeatrueteam.ReturningstartersophomoreCameron Stu-artsaid,“Thisteamlooksverygoodandourgoalsaresethigh.”Aftergoing0-14inleagueplaylastyear,theWar-riorsmadeasmallrunintheCCSplayoffsandwereonegameawayfrommakingatriptostate. Although losing7players, includingsuperstarTim Harris,aplayeratSt.MarysCollege,andshootingspecialistMax Hooper,theWarriorsaddedafewtalentedplayersoftheirown.HarrisandHooperweretheleadingscorersontheteamaveragingalmost40pointscombined

Joe GarciaSports Editor

WarriorsShootfortheStars

Sports

in preseason last season. However, senior Matt Carrolland many JV players including juniors Jonny Parkerand Jonathan Pereira are ready to step up this season.TheWarriorshave5returningstartersincludingfour-yearstarter, senior Kyle Travis. “I am ready for this season.I’ve never been more ready in my life,” commented theyoungstar.Amongothernotableplayersreturningarese-niorsAndrew RobbinsandErnesto Contreras.ThevarsitysquadalsoaddedafewnewcoachesincludingMarcus Martinez,whosaid,“Iamveryopti-mistictostartthisseasonandIknowourteamhasalotofpotentialandwearelookingtogoprettyfarintheplay-offraces,”whenaskedabouttheseason.Thewholeteamis extremely happy with the vibe that the new coachingstaffhasbroughttothetable.Martinezsaid,“Therearebigshoeswehavetofill,butourplayersarelookingforwardtohelping this teambecomeanotherWCALcontender.”WiththegraduationofMitty’sBrandon Scott,Bellarm-ine’s,Niyi HarrisonandSacredHeart’sJerry Brown,theWarriorshaveanopening tocompete in theWCALandlookforwardtoapromisingseason.

Freshmen Football Team Finishes

Season 5-4Hannah Lozinski

Staff Writer

On November 13, the freshmen football teampreparedfor theirfinalgameagainstSerraHighSchool.Althoughtheyfellshortintheirlastgame,theystillfeellikeitwasasuccessfulseasonfortheteam.

They finished 5-4, a good record, especiallyconsideringthatmanyofthemhadnotplayedbefore.Theylearnedhowtoplaythegameastheseasonprogressedandastheybondedasateam.“Everyonehadgreatattitudesinlearningthegameoffootball,”Jefferson Morris,afirsttimeplayersaid. These attitudes were reflected both on and offthefield.Theteammatesformedlastingbondswitheachother,andlearnedvaluesalongwithhowtoplay.“Itwasagreatexperience,”Don Leesaid.

Unfortunately, the freshmen football team losttheirfinalgame27-14againstSerra.Despitebeingup14-0athalftime,thefreshmenWarriorswereunabletosustaintheir leadinthefinalquarter.Itwasahard-foughtgamethough, and the freshmen team gave it their best. Thisdefeat came right after a36-21victoryoverArchbishopRiordan, a great game that showed just how much theplayers learned with months of hard practice, running,weighttraining,andexercising.

The previous game was a 12-26 lossagainst Saint Ignatius, a school known for its toughfootballprogram.Theyearbeganalittleshaky,howeverthrough diligent practices and hard work, the freshmenboysfootballteamprogressedandprovedtobeastrongerand better team than what was expected. “A few gamesintotheseason,”seniorvarsityplayerTom Zellnerstated,“I could really see progress and a successful future fortheseguys.”

“Yes, I’m definitely continuing,” Brett Hausmann, a running back and quarterback said whenasked. Many of his other teammates plan on playingfootballthroughouttheirtimeatValleyChristianaswell.ThesefreshmenarethefutureofValleyChristianfootball,andareonlygoingtogetbetterastheyearsprogress.

from the Journalism Class!

SeniorpointguardKyleTravisleadstheteamoffensivelytocontrolthecourt.

Theteamtakesabreaktodiscusstheirgameplananddeveloptheirstrategy.

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