When the season starts to change from fall to winter, the sports being played also shift. Towards the end of October, fall sports play their last couple of games and winter sports begin their tryouts and practice. There are five different sports that students can try out for this winter: girls soccer, boys soccer, girls basketball, boys basketball, and wrestling.
JV boys basketball is coached by Babak Tahernezhadi and varsity is coached by Tony Kikuta. Last year the varsity team had 12 wins and 13 losses and finished fifth in their league. The JV team finished with four wins and 10 losses. The basketball varsity team does not have their first game until the end of Dec. and the JV team at the beginning of Jan.
Wrestling is coached by Erik Duus and Daniel Mccune. The wrestling team does not keep team scores but rather individual player scores based on how their team competes. The wrestling team has different weight categories so that the athletes are only wrestling against other people of the same strength. The weight categories vary in the range of pounds in between each category.
Girls soccer is coached by Payam Hajjarian and Rudy Suarez. Last season the varsity team had a score of eight wins, nine ties and two losses and the team was fourth in their league. The JV team had a win-lose score of zero to seven. Girls soccer coaches look for specific attributes in players during tryouts.
“We always look for players that are committed, have good communication, they work hard to have a good attitude.” Hajjarian said.
Boys soccer is coached by Dennis DeSousa for JV and Demba Diallo for varsity. The varsity team finished the season with 11 wins, five ties and four losses, placing the team in first for their league. The JV team had a score of five wins and one loss. Different players have different ways that they prepare for games.
“I like to show up early just to get into the moment of it. And then I would just work with the team and just try to keep myself in the game.” FHS varsity soccer player Jandel Atayde Santillano said.
Lastly, girls basketball is coached by David Rognas for JV and Miguel Castillo for varsity. The varsity team won 15 games and lost 11 games this season, also finishing first in their league. The JV team won four games and lost seven. Girls basketball starts much earlier as the varsity and JV team’s first game is on Nov. 25.
Winter sports are just beginning. Soon, teams for all sports will be finalized and official practices and games will begin. Be sure to go support our teams and check out some of their games.
