By Kaylin Tran

Staff Writer

Sophomore Elton Chan’s contagious energy and sense of humor never fails to make his teammates laugh. Chan’s personality is described by his teammates as easygoing and jovial, but “once he gets in the water, he gives 100 percent of his effort and then some,” according to junior Kent Hua.

Despite his outgoing personality, the biggest obstacle Chan has faced so far this season has been himself. During the start of the season, he was plagued with self-doubts and a lack of confidence, but after learning to have faith in his capabilities, he realized that the only way he could improve would be to have an optimistic outlook.

“[In swim], I get to [improve] myself as an athlete and a person in a safe community of people,” stated Chan. Chan’s hope for this season is to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs, but in order to do so, he must constantly push himself in and out of the pool.

“He works extremely well with his teammates,” said Coach Amber Tan. “He’s learning how to encourage them and keep them accountable for their goals.”

Sophomore Vanessa Wu can sometimes be described as quiet and shy, but her positive energy around her team speaks volumes.

“She’s a supportive, amiable, and very dependable person,” stated Coach Amber Tan.

Wu found that the most challenging aspect of this season was trying to beat her personal records. She has been determined to do so, and has worked hard to achieve her goal.

“I really took my coaches’ advice and believed that I could reach my goals this year,” stated Wu.

Several of these goals were met at the Mount Sac Invitational meet which took place from April 14-15 with the help of Coach Tan, Coach Waldo Yan, Coach Lillian Chen, and her club coaches.

Wu aspires to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs this season in at least one or two of her individual events and to continue to beat her best times. To achieve this, she plans on continuing to listen to any criticism given to her by her coaches and teammates, as well as being optimistic and looking forward to the rest of the season

Sophomore Osiris Sesma may be an underclassman, but make no mistake of underestimating his capabilities on the golf course.

With hard work and constant motivation, Sesma has worked his way from being the 11th best player on the team in the year prior to becoming the best player currently.

“He’s very goal-oriented,” stated junior Ryan Cheng. “[Sesma] is almost never satisfied with his game, so he keeps striving to score better each time.”

Cesma loves the independent aspect of golf, along with the idea that the only one responsible for his performance at every match is himself, win or lose.

“He’s a loud, unique, and very motivated player,” said Coach Steven Swan-
son.

Competing as a varsity player in his second year on the team, Sesma knows his emotions tend to get the better of him. However, he plans to overcome his obstacle in order to achieve his goal of being the most valuable player of the league this year by “getting better at [maintaining my composure] and practicing as hard as I can,” stated Sesma.

Talented, intelligent, and inspirational. These are the words that boys’ volleyball Coach Nolan Tchang uses to describe senior Tedrick Gula.

To say that Gula loves the game of volleyball would be a major understatement.

“[Gula is] a hard worker and has a very large passion for the game of volleyball,” stated Tchang when asked about the star player. “He always looks for criticism from his teammates to improve himself.”

Gula also uses volleyball as an outlet to relieve any pent up stress or emotions he has from school.

He works to maintain a strong work ethic and goes to great lengths to stay in shape in order to be productive during practice and perform at his best during games.

His goal for the team this season is to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs.

His strong friendship and bond with his teammates has allowed the team to work and play as a cohesive unit and given them a shot to make the playoffs.

“We just have to continue to work as a team and [be optimistic],” stated Gula.