Fall Sports Preview

Girls Volleyball Sets Up for their Best Season Yet Volleyball is a sport that requires focus, motivation and hours in a gym perfecting the game. Over the past couple months, coach Liane Sato has been putting her team to work with practices at the beach and conditioning in the gym to prepare for the upcoming season. In the past, Sato has coached two CIF Championship teams and hopes to regain their title this season. “[My hope is to] improve team leadership, accountability [and] get better every time we step into the gym, touch a volleyball [and] practice,” Sato said.Along with summer training, Sato has been trying to get the team to work together in order to succeed this fall by building confidence in each other and themselves. She also added that the toughest challenge is getting the girls to be confident with their skills and recognize the strength that she sees in them.  “[The toughest challenge is] getting players to realize [their] full potential–how to push [themselves] physically and mentally,” Sato said. In the upcoming season, Sato hopes that the girls will use their unique talents to push each other and become a more competitive team.  Boys Water Polo Dives into Plans for an Exceptional Season In 2015, the boys water polo team began with high hopes, finishing with a record of 7-1 and tying for the Ocean League Championship. After losing most of their starting lineup this year, the team acknowledges the difficulty the season may bring but maintains the same, if not higher hopes for their success. So far, the most difficult obstacle in 2016 has been the experience level of the team. Head coach Matthew Flanders looks to develop a younger, newer team that will be able to unite and compete to withhold their championship title. “[The toughest challenge this year has been adjusting to the loss of] 13 graduated seniors,” Flanders said. “So it’s a really new bunch of kids who have some experience, but not as much as the guys had last year.”Due to this loss, the new atmosphere in the pool will be much different from the previous year’s mentality of working hard. Although the 2016 season will differ, Flanders continues to use last year’s mentality to strengthen the boys’ endurance and reach their goal of defeating the competition and improving from last year. “[The team] had a great year last year; the only thing I think I’d change is going undefeated in League and making CIF Finals,” Flanders said.  Football Looks to Kick Off the 2016 Season With a Stronger Punt With an Ocean League record of 1-4 and an overall record of 1-9 in 2015, head coach Ramsey Lambert and the varsity football team strive to fix the team’s relentless losing streak by scoring more touchdowns.“We’ve come strides even though we’re 0-2 right now. [Our toughest challenge this year] would have to be our depth,” Lambert said. “We don’t have a ton of guys on our sidelines playing…[But] we’re almost there game-shape wise.” Lambert goes on to say that another big challenge has been the large proportion of injured players that are not able to help the team where needed. According to him, it is difficult to find a swing in which the team can feel comfortable in and bond as one when there are holes in the team.“In football, it’s always next man up, and we know that our guys can get the job done,” Justin Platt (’18) said.As the team faces stronger competitors, the game plan stays the same in the mindset that every school they face will be good, but Lambert plans on focusing on their strengths to attack the opponent's weaknesses by going back to the basics.“All the way through summer, we really tried to hone in on some fundamentals and just our basics…in order to be successful,” Lambert said. The plan to achieve their goal is based on a foundation of work ethic, time and cooperation as the boys in blue and gold this year do whatever it takes to win. Their overall hope for the season is to focus on going 1-0 week to week.Note: the team is currently 3-2 in a bye week prior to Ocean League play. Cross Country Strides to Break New Records Throughout the summer, the cross country (XC) team has been practicing and working hard to fit head coach Tania Fischer’s motto, “make it happen.” Through the halls of Samo, the streets of Santa Monica and the sand at the beach, Samo runners have been working hard to build a base that will push them across the finish line.In 2015, the girls XC team finished second behind El Segundo and the boys ended their season in third place. However, this year, with the addition of a large group of skilled freshmen and improved times in the upperclassmen, Samo is seeking to win it all. Despite this influx of new talent, their toughest challenge so far has been preventing athletes from having to sit on the sidelines due to a runner’s knee. “Especially the injuries for all the new freshmen coming in...shin splints are a really common effect,” girls varsity captain Anya Sturm (’18) said. “There’s often quite a few injured people that don’t realize how important base training is.” Another obstacle Fischer, Sturm and the rest of the team has faced is team bonding and creating a cooperative atmosphere for every runner.“It’s really important for that camaraderie that everyone feels like they’re a part of it,” Fischer said. “I think our overall goal is to take back league titles.”Overall, Samo XC is preparing for an uphill season, but hopes to pull through by ending up on the top with faster times and more wins. Girls Tennis Hopes to Ace Competition this Fall After a strong season in 2015, coach Wilston Poon is modifying and working hard to develop a championship team for this year. With high hopes to win League and get farther in CIFs, Poon is motivating his girls to come back prepared and ambitious to win. “My varsity girls, a lot of them, have prepared throughout the summer, gearing up for the season,” Poon said. “I have a good new squad of kids and a lot of talent. We have a bright future for the season.”Since practices started in the summer, Poon shared that he can see the potential within each of his players and can feel their improvement since last year. “[The toughest challenge we have faced would be] the effort we’ve had to put into getting back into the competitive mindset and preparing for each match we go into, [also] staying as positive as we can,” Madison Seifer (’17) said. The team has prepared for the season by competing in matches against private schools, such as Notre Dame Academy, and conditioning over the summer to stay in shape. “We've actually become a little stronger. We had a very young team; this year they've grown a lot,” Poon said.According to Poon, the girls have grown in both their mental and physical skills, and with a group that has developed together with the inspiration from the summer Olympics and a ring to bring home to Samo, Poon expects an exciting season.“That's the whole goal…to win the whole [CIF]” Poon said.