Strong Start for the 2011 Girls Varsity Soccer Team

“The team really just now started to play as a team,” said Coach Hester. She is talking about the Varstity Girls’ Soccer team, who has a 3-1-1 record. Bolton delivered the only loss and “played a great game from the start of the whistle,” Hester said. The Lady Panthers played hard and made good decisions later in the game. “This game was a great learning tool for the team,” Hester said.

The team can learn a lot from Captain Treasa Ho, senior, who is  currently the strongest player on the team. “She plays sweeper and gets the plays going starting from the defense.” Soccer plays begin from the back and move forward toward the opposite goal, so a sweeper’s job is to get the ball to the right midfielder. With strong leadership from Ho, the mostly younger varsity team should have a strong season.

A year of school flies by fast

Eight months of schooling can cause change inside its buildings and outside its four walls. While the 2010-2011 school year is coming to a close, looking back on it the changes are more obvious now then they were at the time.

“It’s weird how much can change in only one school year,” said freshman Brianna Jackson.

The first day of school was Aug. 9th, as new freshmen bustled in, the new seniors took their place. Schedules were handed out and throughout the day friendships were forged between people who had only just met each other.

Students came back into school, sporting the newest fashion trends such as off-the-shoulder shirts for girls and the v-necks for guys.

But while school was coming back into focus, Operation Iraqi Freedom was reaching it’s end. President Obama declared it over on Aug. 19. Soldiers would finally be coming home after seven years of war.

Picture day fast approached students and teachers; the picture taken on that day would live on for generations in a yearbook. While the girls primped and prepped, the boys smoothed and tucked for just one good picture to be taken on Aug. 26.

More important than a school picture; sports such as football, golf, and volleyball roared to life in the first month of school. The first pep rally was held on Aug. 27, where the seniors beat everyone out with their “battle cry” and the freshmen got their first taunting.

Girls broke out their pea coats and UGG boots, which were plentiful around campus, and the guys brought out their leather jackets and tennis shoes as the cooler weather settled over the city.

The first week-long break emerged on the scene with much anticipation on the week of Oct. 18-22. Students took the time to relax their brains from the new knowledge being poured into it and teachers got to relax their nerves with no students to watch over.

On Oct. 29, the school participated in the blood drive, hoping to beat out Bolton for more blood giving. That day was full of fainting, mass blood loss, and sleepy students from the pints of blood given from those who participated.

The day that many avid baseball fans wait all year for finally came. On Nov. 1 the World Series game was played and the New York Giants took the title for the first time since 1954.

“I was so nervous for that PLAN test when I heard it was like the ACT,” said sophomore Cassidy Cook.

The PLAN Test may have freaked the sophomores out but on Nov. 2 they overcame the test. Though it was not nearly as hard or long as the ACT, it helped sophomores know what they needed to work on to be prepared for the next year.

On Nov. 13 the annual dance Snowflake commenced, and while relationships began there, friends were also found. This was the last all-school dance for seniors and it hit a melancholy key.

Nov. 22 the annual Miss BHS pageant came into play, where Grace Burgess passed on her crown that she had won only as a sophomore to senior Reykisha Stewart. The night was full of girls decked out in their best dresses and the baseball team dressed as sharp as a tack.

The three days of Nov. 24-26 came as a welcome of family and bonding when Thanksgiving Break set in.

After gaining 10 lbs., students and teachers returned to tackle mid-year exams. While the freshmen got their first taste of high school exams, most seniors hoped it would be their last. The exams were held on the 16 and 17 of Dec., in which the 17 was shortened after completing all the exams.

Then came Winter Break. The temperature was colder, the days seemed to fly by, and sleeping in became a constant. As the passing of a New Year came and went, school reared its ugly head. Only this time it didn’t anticipate the weather would rear its head too.

Another fashion trend popped up after the holidays, a trend that helped more than the buyer. TOMS spiked in popularity as a shoe that not only helped those less fortunate get shoes, but also held comfort and thick, warm material for the cold months. They popped up over campus in every color from bright blue to sparkly black.

School resumed Tuesday Jan. 4 with no delay, but that very next Monday snow hit the world and left Shelby County all out of school. While many were thankful, some were trying to re-plan lessons. It really didn’t help when school was canceled the next day either, a rare treat in the Memphis-area.

The day of return, on Jan. 12, report cards were sent out for parents to see how their kids first semester went. While some kids had to be pulled from classes, others jumped with glee at making it by.

Students and teachers got another day off that next Monday on Martin Luther  King Jr. Day. To make this week shorter the weather had a trick up its sleeve, on Friday Jan. 21 another blanket of white covered our town bringing shouts of joy from small children and worry for school administrators in Shelby County. All hope was not lost because they announced a few months later that the snow days did not have to be made up.

On the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, Winterfest commanded the school. Nerd day was a popular hit, as well as red-and-blue day. People’s school spirit began to shine through and as the pep rally came it was a sad one. The seniors realized this would be their last one, and their time at high school was closing off.

February was a quiet month compared to the months ahead for school, even though basketball was riled up and taking the court.

A day a football fan lived and breathed for came about on the calendar. Football fans gathered from all around on Feb. 7 to see the New Orleans Saints take the Super Bowl XLIV championship.

Then a crash back to reality sent many reeling in disbelief. On March 10, Japan was struck with an 9.0 magnitude earthquake which caused a tsunami to hit the island country. The tsunami at it’s highest point was 124 ft tall and traveled nearly 6 miles into the country. The National Police confirmed 14,238 deaths, 5,314 injured, and 12,228 people missing as well as 125,000 destroyed or damaged buildings.

Spring Break lifted everyone’s spirits in the month of March. Students took on the break with excitement, taking family trips, visiting colleges, and sleeping the day away. Teachers took their time and relaxed, as they had finished their grades the week before.

The blood drive came back to Bartlett on March 30 and more fainting, blood loss, and sleepy students ensued. Those that did not get the chance to be involved last time took glee in finally being 16 and able.

The dance everyone had anticipated came to school at last, Prom. Where the seniors felt the anxiety of their final farewell and the two people were selected for the coveted title of Prom King and Queen. Domenic Martini and Janyl Iganda were selected to have these honored titles.

“It just went by too fast!” said senior Xavier Lawrence.

Even with a year of ups and downs, it is easy to look back and see the unshakable memories and the new friendships forged.

Sports Brief: Soccer boys aim for the district win

Although the boys’ soccer team has had a rough season with an overall 1-11 record, they are hoping to turn this around with a tradition that has continued for many years in the past.

“Whoever wins the season always loses district,” junior Domenic Martini said.

Relying on this slim chance, on top scorer sophomore Josh Ballard, and on coach Layne Hardin, the Panthers are kicking their heels up with the hope of improving their season by winning district championships.

Boy’s soccer fights for seat in district tournament

The Bartlett High School boy’s soccer team has started off the season with a record of 1-3. The boys have faced off against Cordova, Bolton, Munford, and Raleigh-Egypt so far.

Due to losses against Cordova, Bolton, and Raleigh-Egypt, the boys are now fighting for a good seat in the fast approaching district tournament.

Although they were off to a rocky start, the boys pulled a win over Munford on April 1, with a final score of 4-3, after keeping a lead over Munford thoughout the entire game.

In the game against Bolton, sophomore Josh Ballard scored the only goal and also two goals in the Munford game.

The boys still have a chance to earn a good seat in districts because they still have a game every Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of April.

One of the team’s strengths is how well they play together.

“In my opinion our strengths would be how we are and team and we work as a unit. Yeah, we have our struggles, but as long as we know we’re a team and there for each other, then we can pull through,” sophomore J.T. Forrester said.

Sophomore John Ward also said that one of their major strengths was how they share the ball.

“We don’t just try to keep it for ourselves, we pass it to everyone,” Ward said.

But like every team, the boys also have their weaknesses.

“A big weakness of ours is how we get when something goes wrong,” Forrester said. “Like if we get scored on, we get all down and stuff.”

Ballard agrees that the boys can put themselves down.

“We get ourselves down and give up when we should just play harder,” Ballard said.

Ward added that another weakness is that they have not played together since last season.

“Everyone’s been on their club teams and stuff and we just haven’t played together as a team in a while,” Ward said.

Also, the loss of 5 senior players last year affects the team as well.

The team has their fair share of strengths and weaknesses, and they remain positive and look forward to the rest of their season.

Soccer girls kick it up a notch

Face paint, chants, crazed fans, and bullhorns can only mean one thing, football. But what about other sports like soccer, tennis, golf, and volleyball? Due to the lack of student support that these sports receive, one might assume that students would find it difficult to remain motivated about their games, right?

Wrong.

In fact, most players use the lack of the support that they get from their peers and other methods in order to stay pumped for their games. When it comes to the girls’ soccer team, they are able to find the support and motivation that they need from each other and from their coach.

“The entire team is very close,” freshmen mid-fielder Morgan Shelton said. “The coach is also really nice, and even though he works us hard, he still tries to make our practices fun.”

The girls made it all the way to the regional games last year before they lost to Houston. This year the team lost several valuable seniors; however, they are working hard in order to make it back to the regional games.

According to the players, the team is off to a rocky start thus far, and they are unhappy with their record. Many of the girls feel that they will be able to step it up in time to land a spot in the district tournament.

“I think that we have the potential to make it all the way this year,” senior forward Alyssa Sparks said. “ We have a lot of new girls this year, so we are having trouble adjusting to them. Until we overcome this problem, we might continue to lose to the more challenging teams.”

They have a 6-2 record as of Sept.15, with seven more games and two challenging teams left to play. The girls are concerned about their chances of defeating Bolton, because they have a new coach.

“All we have to do is beat Bolton and Cordova this year and we will have a spot in the district tournament for sure,” Sparks said. “Unfortunately, Bolton will definitely be a challenge this year because they have improved a lot. Even though it will be a challenge, we have made it to the regions before and I know that we can do it again.”

In order to reach their goals, the team practices everyday. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday they have intense workouts because their matches usually take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“At practices we usually run a lot, especially if we lost a game the day before,” senior defense stop Erin Munn said. “Because of Coach Isaac’s harsh coaching style, we are not allowed to lose focus. He is working hard to improve our weakness, which is our offense.”

According to the players, the defense is effective, so if they get the offense under control soon, they should have more scoring success.