Newspapers / Grimsley High School Student … / Feb. 28, 2007, edition 1 / Page 15
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February 28, 2007 Soorts High Life Page 15 Athletes score contracts with universities BYBI.AIRF, BLOOMQUIST Staff Writer Numerous high school athletes imagine playing their sports at the college level, but few will ever get the chance. Many will chase their ambi tions and climb up the sports moun tain, but they will fall short. Carey Goodman, Erin Sykes, and Lionel Shoffner are part of an elite group of high school athletes that are hoping to make their dreams a reality. These se lect athletes are earning partial scholarships to play their sports at Divi sion 1 schools. All are imticipating that they wall be able to contribute to their respective teams their freshman year. Goodman, who always dreamed of playing as a Blue Devil, will enjoy that opportunity. She will be attend ing Duke Univer sity next fall and FT— play soccer as a for ward. Although, balancing academ ics and athletics at a prestigious univer sity wi 11 prove chal lenging, Goodman has maintained a balance between sports and academ ics ever since she started playing on a club team in eighth grade. She hopes to continue this balance through out college. " Work as hard as you can to achieve your goals, because any dream ri . Top, L-R: Coach Herk DeGraw, Interim Principal John Eldridge, and Coach Kevin Conaway. Bottom, L-R: Mr. Goodman, Carey Goodman, and Mrs. Goodman pose after Carey Goodman signed an official letter of intent to play soccer at Duke University. Goodman led the Whirlies in both goals and assists last season. can become a real ity with har d work and effort," said Goodman. She in tends to study either math or eco nomics while me eting the demands of the team. Goodman has al ready selected a roommate, who is a member, of the team. Additionally, she is excited to play for head coach, Robbie Church, be cause she experi enced a very posi tive recruiting pro cess with him. Shoffner will continue to play football at Eton University as a full back and line backer; he has ten years of football ex perience. In order to play at the next level, Shoffner has been training harder while work ing to maintain and improve his grades. His most memo rable athletic expe riences of playing at Grimsley rvere: having a chance at the State Champi onship title last year and playing an un defeated regular 'iop, 1 -!: Ml. Miirpln, Mi. amt Mrs. P.iirisii, M,. and Mis. Shoffner. Bottom L-R: Kelvin Murphy, Joseph Parrish, Lionel Shoffner. The boys all signed contracts to play football at the collegiate level. Adter finishing their undefeated season at GHS, they will compete at Campbell, Campbell, and Eton respectively. season this year. Shoffner's deter mined his choice of schools cifter a long and stressful pro cess of considering all the possibilities with his parents and narrowing dowm his options. "Don't decide too quickly, play the field with colleges and make sure it's w^ell-suited for you," said Shoffner of his decision. Shoffner is eager to contribute to the Phoenix in the coming season. Sykes will attend Duquesne Univer sity in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a swimming scholai- ship. While attend ing Duquesne, she plans on studying History and Inter- national relations. "My decision to attend the univer sity was based upon the liberal arts program, the loca tion of the campus, and the swim team," said Sykes. She will continue to swim long dis tances such as the 500 and the 1000 yard freestyle.New team mates will join her from all over the country, one being a friend from Raleigh. All three of these Grimsley athletes represent a select group. It will be interesting to track their progress in college and per haps even as par ticipants in the Olympics or profes sional sports. It is not easy to win an athletic scholarship to col lege. Competition is fierce, so counse lors recommend students make their choice on academ ics foremost. Skateboarding ranks high among teens Students experiment with an unusual sport in an effort to escape the ordinary. BYDMNFOX Sports Editor Students who do not experience the adrena line rush from popular sports like foofcall and basketball often seek more extreme activities like skateboarding. In fact, serious skaters spend several days a w'eek honing their skills through practice. "I skate every day of the week," said fresh man Tommy Malekoff, who has been skating for over two years. One reason why skaters tend to enjoy their pastime is because it involves no regula tions or officials. "I like skating be cause there is no point except to do whatever you want," said senior Stuart Mize. "Tradi tional sports aren't as much fun because they have rules." Skaters consider their performances as art forms open to experimentation and creativity. "There's always room for innovation in skateboarding," said Malekoff. "It will con tinue to change and progress, wdiile regular sports tend to stay the same." Some even take pic tures and film videos of each other for fun. "Video and photog raphy are two of the biggest parts of skate boarding because they extend the creative as pect," said Malekoff, who explained his video clips eventually become part of full- length videos com prised of several tal ented skaters. Also important, skateboarding provides a social activity. "I started skating five or six years ago be cause a lot of my friends skated, and it seemed like fun," said senior Julian Groover, who enjoys the casual aspect of the sport. Skateboai'ders can chtK)se from a variety of places to perfect their art. Some enjoy skate parks, where ramps and other skating struc tures are set up, and others prefer to skate in more "natural" places, such as in parking lots or around buildings. "I usually skate at local businesses and colleges, and I occa sionally go to the skate park," said Groover. The par k, located on E. Lee St., is namesd 915. Youth of all ages, from four or five to twenty or even older, come in to 915 skatepark to skate. The older youth also use 915 as a meeting place to skate around the city. 915 also has a shop of skateboar ds and shoes. While skateboard ing is most commonly a casual sport, compe titions do occur in skate parks or venues consid ered good skate spots. Mize, on the other hand, has participated in a competitive event. 'At 915, when I was a freslrman, I skated in a contest and took fourth," said Mize. j udges of such con tests consider the skat ers' skill level, the num ber of tricks performed, and overall technique. Though the consen sus among skaters is that the sport is fun and innocent, some indi viduals view it as a counterculture and a community problem. Business owners call police when skaters gather for sport near their buildings, as do officials at universities. Skating is illegal in many parts of towm where it impedes com merce or traffic; there fore, those partaking can be legitimately forced to leave the areas in which they were skating. "I've had the cops called on me dozens of times, and friends have been arrested for skating before," said Groover, Mize and Malekoff hav'^e each had run-ins with police as well, but they agree it is not a big concern because they believe there is nothing wrong with skating, and no law should pre vent them from enjoy ing their sport. Juice SMOOTHIES £.S0 W^ Any Sntoe^ls Expires March 28, 2007.
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Feb. 28, 2007, edition 1
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