By Christine Tran

Staff Writer

Girls JV Soccer

With every new season the girls JV soccer coach, Anthony Jimenez, is dealt with a new hand of cards. This season, Jimenez’s team is comprised of a mix of young returners and newcomers. Since the varying range of experience can cause miscommunications on the field, the girls are working on using this to their advantage.

 “It is a very young team, but they are open about learning and passionate about the game,” complimented Jimenez.

Coach Jimenez’s main goal for the team is to teach the girls to improve on reading the game so that they can better see open shots.

The girls started their season off strong on Dec. 12 with a 2-1 win against San Gabriel High School. With their recent 1-0 win against Mountain View High School, the girls have remained undefeated with a record of 5-0 in league.

“Each player has their unique individual skills, we just need to improve on putting it towards the team,” stated Bahia Zarate, sophomore.

Girls JV Basketball

While the girls JV basketball season seemed to start out rough with one of their starting players getting injured, the team pushed on to win their first league game against Rosemead High School. With only a loss against Arroyo High School blemishing their record, the team is projected to take first in league.

The team’s biggest issue this season is maintaining a positive mentality and remaining aggressive under pressure. To combat these struggles, the girls have bonded over time and have come to depend on each for moral support.

 “With Arroyo, we saw we were losing and we gave up, but near the end we came back together.” stated freshman Angela Jimenez.

 While the girls still have a ways to go, Coach Paul Limas’ goal for them this season is to be prepped for varsity next year.

 “They’re progressing as I had hoped, and doing everything I asked,” said Limas. “It’s a team sport and they’re playing as a team, so that’s the important thing.”

JV Boys Soccer

This year the boys JV soccer team has been faced with a tough season. Their latest game against El Monte ended in a 0-3 loss, giving them an overall league score of 0 wins, 2 ties, and 2 losses.

 “They’ve had opportunities to score, but it’s just lady luck isn’t on our side,” expressed Coach Eric Alvarenga.

  While each player on the team is skillful, their young ages proved to work against them at times. There were moments where their lack of game experience hindered their performance, and sometimes they simply paled in size compared to the other teams.

   Alvarenga’s goals for the team is to land a couple wins as the season progresses and to keep them working hard so that they can play for the varsity team next year. While the boys have yet to win a game, their willingness to keep fighting and improve remains stronger than ever.

“No matter what happens, I want to walk off of every game feeling like I did my best,” said freshman Dominic Gonzalez.

JV Wrestling Boys

The boys JV wrestling team has had a solid start to their season, with their most recent win against Rosemead putting them on the winning side of the racket in league. While the team is young, their capacity for improvement impresses JV wrestling coach, Ivan Carvajao.

 “Most of the kids are catching on really quick, and it makes me excited for the next few years,” commented Carvajao.

Carvajao’s main goal for the team is to teach the boys  how to better balance school and wrestling, so they can finish off a strong season. With only a loss against Arroyo High School, the team is likely to finish second overall in league.

For many wrestlers, the key to winning is conditioning themselves to last longer in matches and developing a positive mentality.

“From there, we just need to execute the moves in our heads onto the mat,” said freshman Darren Banhathai.

Boys JV Basketball

The beginning of season for the boys JV basketball team was not ideal, but as the season progressed, things began to fall into place. With a current league record of 2 wins to 3 losses, Coach Omar Garcia hopes that the boys can win the rest of their games to finish the season,  9-3.

 “As long as we continue to play harder every game and do what we have been doing, we should finish the season strong,” said Garcia.

The team originally struggled with being compatible with each other on the court. The lack of team chemistry hindered their performance on the court, but they have been able to learn from their mistakes.

As opposed to before, in recent games, the boys made better passes and trusted each other when it came to scoring. They have picked up their defense and are determined to show how much they have improved in the second round of league games.

“I’ve gotten more confident, and now I want us to beat the teams that beat us in the first round of league,” stated junior Hien Huynh.