VHS Riptide Online

The coaches of the Youth Pirate football program said their mission is to “ stress personal responsibility, making the best of each player’s unique abilities, practicing and playing as a team, and above all, having a positive attitude at all times,” which in collaboration with the VHS mentoring program strengthens these goals for the players of all ages.
“We’re all on the same page, we all have the same goals,” said Walroff concerning the coordination of the high school and youth football coaches. “And hopefully it’ll make the high school kids more responsible as far as their dedication to the sport and when our little kids see that they [say], ‘That’s what I want to be. That’s who I want to be when I get to the high school.’ The little kids that are coming up into the high school; they’re going to be great mentors. We’re looking forward to continue this every year.” Byrne felt the same way.
“I volunteer to be a mentor because I remember being little back in the day and how much I looked up to my mentors,” said Byrne.

Even though the captains’ practices work so well for the lacrosse team, no other sports teams utilize the practices like the lacrosse team does. Franks said the captains’ practices would be beneficial for other teams as well.
“Like I said captains’ practices help build a bond within your team which to me is a very important part of success. And the more time devoted to miniscule drills and conditioning during the pre-season will benefit your team’s practices when the real season rolls around,” said Franks.
While the lacrosse team has some serious work ahead of them, the track team is in a slightly worse situation.
“We don’t have a coach right now,” said junior Aidan Cyra. “We might not have practice on Monday [March 1, the day the season is supposed to start].
While the captains have nothing to do with it, members of the boys’ soccer team participate in kick-around soccer after school or during lunch.
“[Playing kick-around helps] just to get a better feel for the ball or feel for the game, and its helpful just to get more playing time, and that is how you are going to get more experience,” said sophomore Ezra Koenig.
Track and soccer have their first events on March 18. Lacrosse has its first game on March 20.

There is also a concern that the cameras will not necessarily be disabled when the games are over; this is what happened in Beijing. Some cameras are still working on the site of the summer Olympics and some Canadians are worried that the Olympics will begin a permanent loss of security.
Security is not the only concern. Cyprus Mountain, the location of some skiing and snowboarding events, has been closed due to warm temperatures. Olympic organizers say they are not worried.
“We are protecting all the snow we can to make sure we have adequate snow for building the field of play for the games,” said Tim Gayda of the Vancouver Games Organizing Committee in an interview with sports.yahoo
Temperatures are expected to drop, however. If that happens, worries and stress will melt into pure excitement. The Olympics only occur every four years. Countries fight for the honor to host, and like any other event, once everything finally comes together the city will be filled with enthusiasm.
The Olympic Games are not only a celebration of the world’s best athletes, but also the countries and cultures from which they come. According to citycaucus.com, there will be “houses” all over Vancouver each celebrating a different nation. These venues will display cultural representations of the country. This may mean anything from food to products for sale to history displays. Many “houses” will also have musical performances in the evenings showcasing the talents of the country. Canada is expected to show-case itself with a Hydro PowerSmart Village, Canada’s Northern House, the Alberta House, as well as permanent attractions. Even four of the main streets in Vancouver will be closed to cars and designated to Olympic-themed entertainment.
The nightly medal ceremonies are expected to be a popular attraction. Attendees will get to see bands such as the Barenaked Ladies, Nelly Furtado, and Theory of a Dead Man perform. As the opening ceremonies approach, the city of Vancouver buzzes with excitement. Fans will soon gather in Vancouver to form an immense support team for the athletes. TV viewers all over the world will watch for two weeks while athletes gain the most prestigious title of their careers.

The conditions at Snoqualmie are, more often than not, terrible. Solid ice is a frequent occurrence and minor injuries are easy to sustain due to this. What passes for good powder at Snoqualmie is not much more than slush at larger mountains such as Crystal or Baker.
As sophomore Tyler Heit put it, “I’d prefer a different location than Snoqualmie because Snoqualmie’s weather is really bad and I feel like it’s a pretty cheap place to go.”
“Snoqualmie sucks. Other mountains are a lot better, like Baker or Crystal,” agrees Sophomore Andy Hennessey.
But when push comes to shove, Heit and Hennessey would rather go snowboarding in bad conditions than not at all. And Snoqualmie does have its benefits. It has an excellent teaching program, offering both group and individual lessons for beginners and veterans alike. In addition, many students at VHS as well as McMurray are involved in it, which makes it, according to Heit, “A fun social event.”
However, its reputation as a great social event has started to cause problems. The Ski Bus has cut down the number of buses being brought up from three to two in the last few years. This led to a dilemma on the buses. There is barely enough room for all of the people, let alone all of the gear that is required.
Regardless, ski bus is a great way to have fun on a weekend, and is relatively cheap compared to the costs of gas if one chose to drive up on their own. It allows people to have fun with friends, and simply enjoy the great pleasures of snowboarding and skiing. If one wants to participate in this event, a good person to contact would be Anjae Weathers, the organizer of the outings, at 206-463-2772.

Those who debate for the resolution are called affirmative. They get six minutes to speak. The negative, the argument opposing the resolution, gives a three-minute speech. Then the refute. Four minutes to twist the opponent’s logic and reasoning, affirmative against negative.
The first three rounds happen in a classroom where the only people present are the judge and two debaters. Categories are varsity, junior varsity and novice. The coordinators for the first three rounds randomly pair debaters of the same division together. After the third round, judges use ‘power matching’ to pair up those in the final rounds. Power matching stacks opponents of equal strength together.
The scoring categories are of the debater’s records and speaker points. Speaker points are awarded for excellent elocution and politeness. The person with the best record and highest speaker points wins for the division category.
“It’s really fun to win a round and it’s really fun turning an argument made by your opponent,” said Gripp.
She also likes meeting new people. Gripp practices with students competing in the next tournament via Skype.

To achieve these goals, the Seals also take their training to the weight room, where they have dryland practices, additional conditioning that a swimmer does out of the pool as a form of cross training. Dryland works and strengthens muscles to increase the performance of a swimmer.
The Seals also take part in swimming events outside of Vashon. In addition to attending two swim meets every month, the team also has monthly off Island practices in South Kitsap. Every summer, they also participate in the annual Emerald City Open Water Swim in Lake Washington.
The Vashon Seals are not the only swim team on Vashon though. The newly formed Vashon Stingrays offer an alternative opportunity for competitive swimming on the island. A few swimmers from VHS are part of the Stingrays, and one even coaches for the team.
Freshman Amanda Ohmert has been coaching for the Stingrays for three months. Ohmert used to be an avid swimmer, but took the opportunity to coach instead. The Stingrays have about 30 members, ranging from ages 10 to 18. Not only does Ohmert coach the younger kids, but she also gets a chance to coach her own peers.
“I like coaching better [than swimming] because I get to learn more about how I can help them [the swimmers],” said Ohmert. “Coaching is definitely something I want to pursue. I’d like to help coach in college”.
Though fun and rewarding, competitive swimming is an expensive sport. On Vashon, prices average $1100 for one season, which lasts about six months. Information for joining the Seals can be found at swimvashon.org, and information about the Stingrays can be found by contacting head coach Dayna Rodgers, or inquiring at the Vashon Athletic Club. 
“There is also a special moment when a young athlete finally ‘gets’ a skill they have been working on. For some it is a straightforward achievement, for others it is a hard won prize. That moment, when they have successfully worked though the complexities of something, is priceless,” said MacLeod.