Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2011)
2011 9 WÊSÊÈm Sparts An elite athlete in two sports, To exemplifies dedication T y C larke The commitment required to be a Varsity athlete for all four years of high school is a concept very few people can truly grasp, and Arthur To, senior, has confronted the challenge head on, while balancing a multitude of other time consuming activities. He is a captain of the Swim Team that is partly defined by its youth. According to Katie Wilson, head coach,To equals leadership. "He adds an element of fun because he also messes with his brothers (Anthony, junior, and Andre, sophomore)," Wilson said. "He also adds stability alongside Adam (Oldenkamp, senior captain)." To participated in club swimming before high school, but did not really enjoy it. However, when he started high school, his feelings towards swimming changed, and now he says he is proud to be a four year varsity athlete. "Swimming is a pretty difficult sport. When I get to see new swimmers try it out expecting it to be easy, it's funny to see them struggle at first, but over the course of the season I'm glad to see them start to respect it and improve at it," To said. Being such a successful athlete has had its drawbacks for To. He called the meets and practices that come with swimming "very time consuming," which has taken time away from schoolwork. This sacrifice does not go he also was awarded a spot on Varsity tennis, but was not able to participate due to other commitments. However, he started competing his sophomore year and has been ever since. Last year, To and partner Ken Tsuruta, senior, made it to State in doubles. "I never thought Ken and I would get a shot at State after picking up the sport in eighth a physician after his scholastic career ends, and plans to attend Oregon Health and Science University for medical school. As for college, the senior says he will be attending Oregon State University, while swimming and playing tennis for fun. Even with such ambitious plans after high school and being a three year Varsity tennis player, To has stepped up as a captain and has remained committed to the Swim Team. "He is one of the ones who comes to optional weight training classes, so his stamina has increased. He has gone to almost every practice which helps," Wilson said. "Compared to last year, he feels more responsible for the team since he is a captain." The Deuce: Providing the heartbeat of interschool basketball Photo by Andre To Arthur To, senior, gasps for air in a recent race against Lake Oswego on Jan. 13. The swimmer has been on varsity all four years while managing a schedule chalk full of challenges, from varsity tennis for the past three years to Advanced Placement Chemistry. unappreciated by his coach. "He is really important to the team because he is one of our only butterfliers," Wilson said. "He is willing to swim without complaining." Swimming has not been the only sport in which To has excelled. As a freshman, The w ords "basketball dy nasty" bring forth thoughts o f M ichael Jordan and the Bu lls, Larry Bird and the C eltics, or M agic Johnson and the Lakers to the m ind but the team is suffering in the process. They have gone w inless in their first seven gam es of play. W hile m any other team s have the star athlete or prim a donna w ho leads the team in grade," To said. Two varsity sports are not the only challenges To has dealt with. He has taken a strenuous schedule over his four years, and lists AP Chemistry along with AP Calculus AB and BC as some of the most challenging classes. To says he wants to be Team 10: W here aspiring dreams greet raw talent «»» ^ T y C larke W ith three secon d s left in the g am e, the score is tie d , 6 4 -6 4 . B o th te a m s have p layed im pressively, the co m p etitio n has b een chalk full of gam e plans and strategic thinking. A coach calls a tim e out to draw up his final play. A ny casual fan can spot the excitem ent in this. H ow ever, this is n ot w hat the fans of intram ural basketball see on a biw eekly basis. G one are the coaches, the p lay s, the fu n d a m en tals. Pure fun has taken the p lace o f th e se so m ew h a t unnecessary things. A nd, in the center of this, as if they w ere if in the eye of the b ig gest hu rricane in history, is Team 10. T ea m 10 h a s b e c o m e som ew hat o f an icon on an international level. The team is carried b y seem ingly im possible am ounts of talent in its players. M iles K ing, junior point center, considers him self "the b est pure scorer in the nation." E vric Jenkins, ju n ior high flyer, com pares his experience to a certain M iam i H eat forw ard. "I fe e l lik e th e L eb ro n Jam es of W est Linn, going from the deuce (JV 2) to a team th at can w in a cham p io n s h ip ," Je n k in s s a id . Talent scouts have recently com pared ju n io r center Seth W eston to D w ight H ow ard, according to W eston. H e is not the only one being com pared to N BA stars. " I t ' s a r d up next A llen Iverson b u t w ith a b et ter crossover," Jenkins said. M a x B lu - m enthal, ju n ior sh a rp sh o o te r, sp o k e o f th e s p ir itu a l lif t in tr a m u r a ls p r o v i d e s it s p a r t ic ip a n t s , sa y in g "T h is te a m is th e only fam ily I have." K asey Fer- rin, senior leader, said, "Intram ural b a s k e t b a ll is n 't ju st a gam e, it is a lifestyle." These strong feelings are present throughout the intram ural com munity. It provides each and every player the oppor tunity to com e out of h is sh ell w hile show casing a broad range of skills, from h alf cou rt shots to n o lo o k p a s s e s H ow ever, w ith this great experience com es pressure. "The pressure is im m ense to p erform w ell under the pressure from the national m ed ia," W eston said. The national m edia does seem to have a taken a special in terest w ith Team 10. A throng of reporters follow s the team 's every m ove. Jen kins recently m ade national h e a d lin e s fo llo w in g one very public breakup. A s the season advances, the expectations and fam e for the team grow. Eight gam es into its season, the chem istry and connec tion is already as strong % as a thousand brick w a lls. S h irts s a y ing "Taylor G ang or play Team 10" have sprung up all over the internet. Even Jam es has ex p ressed d e sire in bringing his talents to Team 10 w hen he inevitably fails to w in a cham pionship in M iam i. Photo by Rachael Woolley Jefferson Chandler and T yler S te e le , se n io rs, attempt "Tag Team Duo" in a recent game. Team 10 has changed the intramural world, in part because of Chandler's ploy to dunk while on Steele's shoulders. Photo by Rachael Woolley Members of The Deuce throw up their sticky fingers in an attempt to distract the opposing team's free throw shooting. Despite the successful distraction by the players, the team lost the game, 69-63 to Team 10. o f any ty p ica l b a sk e tb a ll fan atic. A fter th e recen t d ev elo p m en t in the W est Linn Intram ural Basketball Leagu e, the w ords "Team D euce" now m ake even the m ost avid sports fan rem i nisce about the glory days of professional basketball. T ea m D e u c e w a s th e m asterm ind o f five young basketball prodigies during th eir fresh m en b a sk etb a ll s e a so n . M ic h a e l W rig h t, Zachary Foushee, Eric Lon- sway, Jim D arke and M ax Edw ards, ju niors, w ere the foundation upon w hich the team w as built. The original s ta rtin g lin eu p rem ain ed intact throughout the first tw o seasons o f play, bu t w as recently "shaken up" in a con troversial m ove by Lons way. "I think w e are very similar to the Blazers. Both team s are facing adversity," Lon- sw ay said. "I changed the lineups to better the team 's chem istry and adjust to each individual's skill set." T he n ew ly co n stru cted lineups are still being ad ju sted to find the p erfect balance of height and speed, scoring, Team D euce is driv en by a team -first m entality com prised of chem istry and hard w ork. They have m any strategies that help them to play scrappy and grind out the tough points. "Penetration to the hoop is key," Zachary Strickland, ju nior point guard, said. "Sticky fingers w in gam es for us. They help us get into the m ind and soul of the shooting player," Foushee said. Sticky fingers have been a cornerstone to the team 's p r e v io u s s u c c e s s . N o w , w henever a player from the op p osite team attem p ts a free throw, the D euce and its faithful fans can be seen putting their hands in the air and w iggling their fingers until the player's concentra tion is broken. Even though the team has yet to w in a gam e this season, m ost analysts expect them to bounce back for a strong finish. A fter losing only one gam e before the playoffs last season, the D euce has only to re-gain its com posure to return to dynasty form .
