Final Buzzer
The End of Football as we Know it?
Page 8
Was That A Foul?
Page 6
Top Five Baseball Stadiums
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Table of Contentspage 1
page 2
page 4
page 6
page 8
page 11
page 12
page 14
page 16
page 18
Biographies
Letter from the Editor
What makes a Soccer
cleat good
Was that a Foul?
The END Of Football
As We Know It?
Fined
Scrapin’ the Pedals
Top Five Baseball
Stadiums
Frank Lenoir : Inside
his Ultimate Life
There Goes the Sixer
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BiosBrian Chen is an athletic nerd, and known to others as a word that rhymes with pinky and starts with Ch. He likes to help people and seeks fun out of doing school work even though he hates it. His most valuable athletic skill is his speed. He likes to use his speed to outrun people and get to the ball, or the frisbee. He plays Ultimate Frisbee a lot, sometimes soccer, and occasionally football. He started playing the violin when he was in the 6th Grade and has kept on with it throughout middle school and will try to play the instrument for the rest of his life. He came to the US from Taiwan when he was 10, but has been going back to Taiwan every summer since then.
Bikramjit Lubana is a 15-year-old Indian who is currently attending LASA High School. He loves to play soccer and is currently participating in the Lasa Cricket Club and plays everyday. He speaks Hindi, Punjabi, and English is his 3rd language (so pro). He is six feet tall [:D], and likes to use his height and size to his advantage. He loves to play COD (Call of Duty) a lot. He plays on the PS3 and will never ever switch to Xboc Lie. He immigrated from India when he was only a 5-year-old boy. He has been in the USA since then. He also likes to say “O YA MIN” a lot, which is man, but in a cooler way, so you say “Min” but you mean man.
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Letter From the EditorsWelcome to the first ever issue of Final Buzzer. Here you will be experiencing the feeling of the final seconds of a game from every single one of the articles. We have stories about sports in Austin, sports at LASA, and other controversial topics that currently exist in the sports world.
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Letter From the EditorsEach story contains the intensity and the excitement that will trigger your inner sport-self. We guarantee that, if you are a true sports person, after you have read some of our articles you will feel the urge to go outside and start playing some physical sports.
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- Brian Chen Bikramjit Lubana
What to Look For in Soccer Cleats
By Bikramjit Lubana
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Buying soccer cleats is not necessarily the easiest choice out there and it can be a big pain because of the hundreds of choices present and. There are a few key factors that you need to look for when making a purchase that will hopefully last you a long time. In my opinion, there are four main things you should look for when you are purchasing soccer cleats; manufacturer, material used to make the cleat, stud types, and size (of course). The three most popular brands out there are Adidas, Nike, and Puma. Nike is starting to come out with great cleats although Adidas has been coming out with cleats forever and they are pretty good. Since the beginning, Adidas has made soccer cleats that are a bit more for wide-feet people while Nike builds shoes more for the narrow footed people. And Puma has just been in the middle, producing nice shoes that fit comfortably and perform well (personally I have a pair of Pumas and I really like them). Material can make all the difference while you are playing in a game. Most people want cleats that fit them perfectly and don’t hurt their feat after they take them off after a long game. The two main types of cleats are synthetic and leather cleats. If you want to have cleats that last you a very long time, if your feet aren’t growing rapidly and if you are willing to spend a bit more money, then leather cleats are the way to go. Leather cleats will shape with your feat giving you the most comfort and better feel when you kick the ball. Another important thing to point is that right now, Kangaroo leather cleats are the best to have as for performance and fitting. On the other hand, there is synthetic material which has a few drawbacks. First of, this type of material doesn’t let your feet “breathe” as much so as you play, it builds up sweet and can cause blisters on your feet. The good part
about synthetic material is that it is cheap. But, there is a new type of “technology” about material and this is microfiber technology which makes the feel very soft but the shoe is very strong and lasts a longer time, and it gives the shoe a natural feel. There are two main types of studs or “cleats” (the bottom part of the shoe). One is the molded studs and the other type is the replaceable stud. There are two sub categories to the molded studs and these are; the original round studs and the X-grip studs. The difference is that the traditional rounded studs are well, round studs under the shoe that can be used on all types of fields. The X-grip studs are more like thin lines under the shoes and have different angles and lengths based on the types of fields they are designed to be used on. I have been talking about “types of fields” a lot and now I will explain. There are three different grounds; Hard (HG), Firm (FG) and soft ground (SG). Hard ground studs are short for the purpose that they do not dig into the ground and help your feet have enough traction. Soft ground cleats are usually replaceable studs because you can adjust the length and height of them if the ground is wet or soft. Firm ground is the most universal out of all and if you can’t afford to buy several cleats and you do play on different types of fields all the time, then buy firm ground cleats. There are a few cleats on the market that are very good right now. As per Adidas, the best cleats that they have as of now is the “Adidas F50 Adizero”. The Nike company have a long line of good shoes that are under the name, “Nike Mercurial Vapor FG” (firm ground). Puma doesn’t have a “best” cleat but they do have many great ones. For example the “Puma Powercat” is really good right now because of it’s performance. FB
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Photos from G
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Adidas F50 Zero cleats Nike Cleats
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By: Bikramjit Lubana
Photo from: Google Images
Was that a Foul?
I was overwhelmed with emotion at that point, pure excitement, full of joy, and then disappointment,”
said Edu, a former University of Maryland midfielder. “I thought that was the moment that we won the game, and then in a matter of seconds, it all changed.” Soccer players
are very good at tricking the referees and getting what they want by over-exaggerating an injury. The referee has to make the right call which is sometimes not the easiest thing to do when you have a player on the ground “injured” and many others shouting at you to give them a free kick. I asked around to some
people who were big soccer fans, and they said that this is not how the game of soccer is played and changing it would mean playing a different sport and the would not tolerate this. So, extra sideline referees and instant replays should be added in soccer games to reduce the amount of bad calls.
Will adding sideline referees help with the controversial fouls?
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To reduce the amount of injuries or fouls called for “injuries”, each sideline referee should have a different job. On one side, one side line referee should have a job as to figure out the off-sides, and the other referee on the same side should call out the fouls for physical penalties (slide tackling, shoving hard, elbow hits, etc…) and so if there are four side line referees total, they should have these two jobs on each side to make it a fair game. “It doesn’t take a World Cup to emphasise that soccer players are much given to feigning injury after innocuous challenges and also quite happy to try to get opponents shown yellow and red cards, both by pretence and haranguing the referee to take action.” says Sean Mason, a reporter on soccer.
Even though the players aren’t really hurt, they manage to fake it in such a way, that the referee is put under much pressure to try and make the call that will put him in the best spot. And because of this the outcome can totally change in a matter of seconds.“The very word “sportsmanship” implies fair and generous behaviour. Yet why do field-sports participants now appear to operate on the basis anything is acceptable as long as you can get away with it?” commented Mason. Now, soccer players deliberately fake injuries, but do so in such a manner that they get the referee to be on their
side and still take the advantage but then the idea of sportsmanship comes into hand. It isn’t exactly fair for the other team to get penalized for something they never did, and in order to help raise the amount of “fairness” in a game, extra referees will help.With more referees, calls will be much more accurate. There will be less arguments with the referees, which in turn would reduce the number of cards (yellow or red) that are given to the players. Also by adding two extra side line referees (one on each side) the amount of running for the referees will reduce and so the amount of effort is reduced, therefore the main focus will stay on the game and not on how tired they are. Amid the bedlam that erupted at Ellis Park, referee Koman Coulibaly nullified the goal. The assistant referee had not raised his flag to signal an offside call. TV replays from every conceivable angle offered few clues. According to the U.S. players, Coulibaly declined to offer an explanation. Somewhere in the mass of players storming the six-yard box, he had spotted a foul. This shows that the communication between the two referees wasn’t great and even though it is the sideline referees job to call the offsides, the center referee decided to call off the goal. “
There should be instant replays from many angles for games so that if a major mistake has been made in a call which could somehow turn around the outcome of a major game (even if it isn’t a pro game, for college students, every game means a lot to them), it would help a lot. On a call that will be reviewed, examined, scrutinized, second-guessed and analyzed for weeks, if not years, to come, Coulibaly waved off Edu’s apparent goal, leaving the exhausted teams locked in a 2-2 draw in front of a pro-American crowd of 45,573. Even though the referees and the players argued for many days, this would have all been saved if there was an instant replay available at the time. Many games have been came out with the wrong outcome due to the referees taking decisions with out being able to watch from every angle.
Extra sideline referees need to be added to help out with making the right calls. Although this might cost a bit extra money, it will be worth it for the fans and the team when they know that the right call is being called. The games will have an outcome that is fair and so both teams will have not cheated and the major outcome would be fair. FB
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Photo from Google Images
People Playing Football
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James Harrison shifts his feet, trying to read the quarterback’s motions. As he sees the quarterback pull back his arm, Harrison sprints towards Mohamed Massaquoi, the targeted receiver by the quarterback, and delivers a hit. He was determined to bring Massaquoi down so that he could
prevent the offensive team from advancing down the field. What he didn’t expect is that as he makes his tackle, going head first, Massaquoi also ducks his head down in attempt to secure the football. The two helmets collide and Massaquoi falls to the ground. Three days later, the NFL fines Harrison $75,000 for the play he made. In the past season a number of magnificent defensive plays made by players are being called null because of the helmet to helmet contact. Even though some players are getting concussions from these hits, it has been and always should be how the game is played. It is time for the players to suck it up and take the hits that belongs in the tough, physical game.By fining the defensive players for making head to head contact with the offensive players, the NFL forces the defensive players to play more carefully and therefore less aggressively, an element that is essential to a good NFL player. Many veteran players have played football the same way for their whole career, and they haven’t been having trouble with it. As Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans told Jeffrey Martin, “I’ve hit the same way for years now, and I’m going to continue to
The END Of Football As We
Know It?The fining of defensive players is
causing players to play soft. By Brian Chen
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players a clear advantage since the defensive players will now have to think even more before tackling their targets. Furthermore, as defensive players, players are in as much risk of concussion as offensive players. Glover Quin, a corner back for the Houston Texans, told Martin, “You go low, [they] catch you with the knee, you get the concussion, and they’re not going to get fined,” Glover Quin, a corner back for the Houston Texans, told Martin. So why give up a perfect hit that will bring the other player down for a risky hit that might give you a concussion? Football is a fast-paced and physical game; there is simply no time to think. During the game, defensive players have to process all the data within the blink of an eye. Will the receiver catch the ball? Can the ball be redirected? Should the tackle be high or low? All of that has to be answered within the player’s mind in the span of less than one second, there is simply no time to think about anything else such as whether you’re going to get
fined for the hit or not. “I need to slow down in the midst of running full speed, adjust because this receiver adjusted by tucking his head…sometimes it seems unrealistic,” Antonio Smith, a defensive end for the Houston Texans explained to Jeffrey Martin. He’s right. Sometimes it is impossible to make a quality tackle on the receiver after you have thought out all the consequences that might follow. The game forces defensive players to take every chance they get to bring the offensive players down, even if it means a head to head collision. Without the urgency in players and physicality in the games, football will become a lifeless sport. And finally, the players ARE wearing helmets and pads. The purpose of the helmets is to protect the players from getting concussions. The helmet that pro football players wear in the modern day is no longer the little old leather bonnet, but a hard plastic helmet accompanied with a face mask, padding, air systems on the inside, and a chin
strap. The helmets are designed and manufactured to be able to protect a player’s head to the best of its ability. In a study done by Timothy Gay, he proves that a modern football helmet decreases the force a player receives to only one-tenth of the original force. This shows that, if a helmet is worn correctly by a player, there is only a very slim chance the player will end up with a concussion after a tackle. If the NFL decides to fine and suspend the defensive players for making the plays that define the game of football, then in a couple of years the game would be totally changed. There will be much less excitement going on in the games. The players will start to get very careful with everything they do, and at the end, the game will just be a ball flying around the field with players timid and afraid to play to their full ability. There is only one way to avoid this kind of tragedy and it is to keep the game the way it is, a sport defined by physicality and hard hits.FB
James Harrison hit on Mohamed Massaquoi
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Defensive players for Helmet to Helmet contact during the 2010-11 NFL season
James Harrison - $75,000Hit on Mohamed Massaquoi during the Pittsburg-Cleveland game on October 17th. It was called a illegal hit on defenseless oppe-nents.
Dunta Robinson - $50,000Hit on DeSean Jackson during the Falcons-Eagles game on October 17th. It was a head to head collison where both players got sustained concussion.
Brandon Meriweather - $50,000Two illegal hits on Todd Heap during the Patriot-Ravens game on October 17th.
Malcolm Jenkins - $10,000Two hits, one on quarterback Josh Freeman around the head area, the other off the field, during the Tampa Bay-New Orleans game on October 17th.
William Hayes - $10,000Late hit on quarterback Philip Rivers around the head area during the Tennessee-San Di-ego on October 31st.Facts from NFL.comPhotos from Google Images
FINED By Brian Chen
Final Buzzer
Thirty years ago Violet Crown had been a young and talented bike group in Austin. The childlike fellows
in their twenties and thirties were just starting to learn sports cycling. They were entering races and riding hard. Now, although many of them are in their fifties, some in their sixties, they aren’t backing down. Most of them still go out every weekend into the country with the club, riding either fifty miles on Sundays, ninety miles on Saturdays, or even both. But many of the members are aging and won’t be able to bike as competitively as they would like to the coming years. Even so, many of them are still competing very hard to stay in shape for the very competitive
sport, and are unwilling to give up their beloved biking.
In 1981, a couple of energetic young men decided to create the Violet Crown Sports Association, more commonly known as the Violet Crown Bike Club. Now, after three decades, some of the riders are riding less and less as the time goes on.
“I get older and slower every year, and I do less and less well in racing” says Jay Bond, one of the oldest member of the club.
Even so, many of the older members are unwilling to give up biking, and are trying to find new ways to
get themselves involved in this very competitive sport. Things like train young and new riders into racing machines is now one of their top priorities.
“Maybe I get to the point where I say, ‘Okay I’m not going to worry about racing now, I’m going to do the junior thing (referring to helping junior riders),” Bond says.
The name, Violet Crown, was what the writer O’Henry used to describe Austin’s purplish sunset, and so the people thought that it was fitting for the club. The club is now 30 years old, and throughout the years it has been recruiting more and more people. From the people that started the club, no less than 20, the club has now grown to an extraordinary number of 70-80 people. One of the reasons that Violet Crown has grown to be such a big bike club is because of modern technology and the ability for information to be passed around quickly and efficiently.
“Back in the old days, we used to put out a newsletter,” Bond explains. “Now, we have email and Internet, and we have, very recently, also been able to make a website.” With the help of email and internet, the club has grown
very rapidly in recent years, gaining ten to fifteen members per year. Although the Violet Crown website is still rather new, the club is
considering contract with a web design company to make it better, and in turn advertise for the company on their website. “And also, probably the most efficient way [for
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Scrapin’ The PedalsViolet Crown: A thirty year-
old Bike Club in Austin
A member of the Violet Crown Bike Club
during a race.
Photo from Violetcrown.orgPhoto from
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Mino GiuntaA Junior Biker
By Brian Chen
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people to know about our club], is ‘word of mouth’, where people know other people and invite them on the rides,” Bond says.
After the club was made, the members wanted it to be a hard racing bike club that will compete in all the competitive races in the state of Texas. Unfortunately, it was not quite as they imagined. “We originally envisioned the bike club as a racing club,” Bond says. “And we sort of have a racing team. Some of the people [who used to race] don’t race anymore and there are some people that have never raced.”
It could be said that the club’s ability to win races now are slimmer than what it had been twenty years ago, the main reason being that there is just too few people now who are able to devote the time into full time racing. Even if the bike club is not the competitive racing club the club members have wished, the club still organizes two to three races per year, one being a big State Crit, or a State Championship.
“It’s quite a lot of work to put these [State Crit] races on, and we lost a couple thousand dollars,” says Bond. “Even if the races were good, it’s very expensive to rent the track, and so we wound up losing money.”
And so the club decided not to be the one organizing that race
again. However, the club does put on a cyclocross race where they have found some success in from the past few years. This race is at a place called Webberville, inside the Travis Country Park. Because the weather has always been good during this race, the club is usually able to get a lot of people to go out there. The club makes about 500 dollars each time they put on this race. Violet Crown is also a bike club known for its hospitality for taking in whoever that wants to ride with them. “We try to introduce people into sports cycling,” Bond explained. “[Biking] is a hard sport, and if you’re riding with people that are riding fast, you have to learn how to ride in a group, and so we teach them that.” Not only does the club teach people how to ride in a competitive way, they also make sure that everyone sets out and returns safe and sound. “If we invite you on the ride, we’ll make sure that you get back,” Bond says. “If you have a flat, or if you fall behind the group, we’ll wait for you and make sure nothing happens to you. Ultimately, we help teach people how to ride like we ride.”
Leet Volney, a teenager from the Czech Republic that have recently came to Austin, is one of the juniors the club is currently
helping to get into cycling.
“[The] club was really helpful on getting me started. Even if I wasn’t able to buy the things I need for biking, the club was able to get the clothing and equipments for me. I have been going to some races now, and I am falling in love with biking,” says Leet. The club also works with other bike clubs and bike stores along with the city to make sure Austin is a “biker-friendly” city. Things the club has helped accomplish include making sure traffic lights recognize bicycles and change the lights accordingly and also making sure more bike lanes are being drawn, and that these bike lanes are safe. While the people in the club are getting old and worn out, most are not ready to give up biking just yet. A lot of them are trying to find ways to continue to fill their life with anything bike related, such as training young riders. “One thing the town needs is a junior club, specifically to develop young riders,” says Bond. “Our club is currently working very hard to achieve that goal. We think that it is very important for kids nowadays to get involved in cycling, as it is a very good sport to participate in with all the competitiveness and also how it helps kids to be more independent.”
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As a guy who likes trying out new sports, I too had once experienced the hospitality of the Violet Crown Bike Club. I was able to make it to one of the rides one day after I had bought my bike, and even though I wasn’t really good, the people weren’t at all frustrated, but instead gave me tons of advice. During the nine months I biked with the club, I had a whole bunch of fun, even if I was only able to ride on the short Sunday rides and was only able to make it to one of the races. The people in the club are extraordinary nice, and are always finding ways to help me become a better cyclist. It is truly a shame that I have to quit biking because of school work, but I will most definitely try to bike with the club again whenever I have the chance.
Writer’s Notes:
FB
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Yankee StadiumAttendence: 50009 ( Avg. 06-10)The Yankee stadium will have to be on this list, not only because the franchise have won many World Series in the past that attract fans to come to ev-ery one of their games, but also because of the unique fan support they are getting recently. The Yankees have a group of fans who call themselves the Bleacher Creatures. Since the 1990’s this group of fans have been calling out all the Yankee play-ers’ names a the beginning of every home game. This role calling have become more and more or-ganized as the team moves into the new stadium, and have caught the sports world’s attention.
Giants AT&T ParkAttendence: 37321 (Avg. 06-10)AT&T Park is a eleven year-old ballpark that have been serving as the home for the San Francisco Giants since 2000. Having just won a World Series last year, the Giants fans are hyped up for the new season, as many of the veterans from last year’s championship are returning to play for the fran-chise. Giants fans have become more and more enthusiastic for this team that have been playing very strong these past few seasons. This is the time where the Giants could keep building up their fans by keeping up the good work they have been doing, and become an elite team like the Yankees and the Red Sox.
Top Five Baseball StadiumsBy Brian Chen
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Fenway ParkAttendence: 50009 ( Avg. 06-10) Fenway Park, the oldest baseball stadium currently in use. This stadium not only belongs to have a very powerful Boston Red Sox team, but also has a very long history. This stadium have been in use since 1912 and since then the franchise have won 6 World Series. The stadium is not only a place to watch and play baseball, but has also become a famous landmark in Boston, and have become a place-to-go for people that visit the city. One of the most famous features the park has is the Green Monster marking the home-run boundary in the left field.
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Citizens Bank ParkAttendance: 32862 (Avg. 06-10)The Philadelphia Phillies have only recently climbed up to becoming one of the elite teams in the league. With their elite pitching rotation, fans can expect excellent pitch-ing to watch for every single night, and that is part of the reason the attendance num-ber of phillies’ fans have soared in the past few years. Citizens Bank Park is a rather new stadium having been built in 2004. It seems like since the franchise have moved to this new park, the number of victories the team wins every year have kept climbing up. There is no doubt that this new stadium have brought new power and strength to a this Phillies team, who many expect to win a few World Series in the next few years. Phillies fans have also been known for being nasty, and ‘mean’ to other teams, and this is just what a teams needs when they are playing at home. These fans are obviously very hyped up and excited every time they enter this stadium, and are ready to help their team out in any way possible.
Wrigley Field Attendance: 39472 (Avg. 06-10)Wrigley Field have been serving as the home ball-park for the Chicago Cubs since 1916. With its long history also comes with the many names it has gone through, from Weeghman Park to Cubs Park, the stadium have gone through a lot with this fran-chise. Although the team have never won a World Series in this ballpark, the Cubs fans are known for being the most enthusiastic for their team. Even when the team is down and losing, fans still go to the games to help out their home team.
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Frank Lenoir : Inside his Ultimate Life
How did you end up becoming the captain of the ultimate team?
I was really the only one who wanted to do it at the end of the year in my sophomore year, so I was co-captain in my Junior year and got promoted to captain in my senior year.
What does the team do at ultimate practice?
For the most part of practice, we do drills which help out the players with running and throwing. We also scrimmage a lot to get better as a team and play as a team. Sometimes, if I feel that the team is lacking somewhere in skill, we do conditioning to improve on it. We also work on our offensive and defense plays during practices as well. We practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week.
How long have you been playing ultimate?Q:A:
Q:A:
Q:A:
I have been playing since 8th grade at Kealing. I started the sport there and brought it on so far and have improved a lot since. My sister was the one who played a big role in me getting into ultimate, becasue she played and that really got me interested.
Q:A:
As the captain, how do you help out the team and develop skills?
For the most part of practice, we do drills which help out the players with running and throwing. We also scrimmage a lot to get better as a team and play as a team. Sometimes, if I feel that the team is lacking somewhere in skill, we do conditioning to improve on it. We also work on our offensive and defense plays during practices as well. We practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week.
Q:A:
How does being a captain over other seniors, challenge your leadership skills?
It doesn’t necessarily challenge this year but last year (when I was Junior) they wouldn’t listen to me as much because of the fact that I was younger, but the other captain was a senior and so they listened to him more. I’m not really objective, I’m very open minded, but if a person has an idea, it’s me who has the last say in something.
By: Bikramjit Lubana
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Do you plan on taking your ultimate career into the future?
I will most likely intend to go to a bigger state school and will play Ultimate in college. In the state schools I will probably play on the B team for my freshman and Sophomore year. If I’m the best on the team in my freshman, then I will not really play on.
Q:A:
Q:A:
Why do you have such an interest in playing ultimate?
I played basketball all through middle school at Kealing, and in 8th when I started to play Ultimate, I really enjoined it. I would have played basketball at LASA, but due to a scheduling conflict, I wasn’t able to play. The reason I went into Ultimate, was because a bunch of my friends were playing and so I joined as well. At the time, my sister was in college playing Ultimate, so she helped me out as well.
Q:A:
How does Tank (a professional Ultimate player) help your team ma-ture and get ready for the tournaments?
He has coached for the UT team and played on the team. He plays for Austin club team (top level competition) and so he is very skilled. He was on the Olympic team for USA and almost won, “Callahan award” which equivalent to the Heisman in football but for Ultimate Frisbee. He comes to practice about once a week and helps the team out. Also, Tank is currently engaged to Ms. Crouch, who is the Ultimate teacher at Kealing. She has also played on the USA Olympic team.
Q:A:
How has the team changed since you were a freshman?
One of the main things, that has really changed is talent. We used to be new at the whole game, but now that many kids are actually learning Ultimate before hand, It’s better for us as a team and so we have improving players all the time. When I was a freshman I was okay but now the talent difference is obvious. “I control practice now really in the past, I was more of a watcher and sat in the sideline. I didn’t have a lot of voice in practice”
Image taken from
Frank Lenoir at the 2011 Tournament at College Station
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There Goes The Sixer By: Bikramjit Lubana
It is 11:30 AM on the tennis courts, people are gathering around. You might normally expect to see tennis rackets,
but instead you will see cricket bats everywhere. People are gathering around to watch the match for the day. Mostly freshman and sophomores come out to play, but there are still a few upperclassmen that show. Everyday about 40 people come out to play cricket in the tennis courts at lunch. They all play on at the LBJ/LASA High School tennis courts. Aniket P. and Danish H. are the starters of the first ever
Cricket Club at LASA. The lack of a flat field at LBJ forces the cricket players to resort to the tennis courts.
“We need a flat pitch to keep the wickets and so that we can bowl well, so the only thing that came to mind was the tennis courts,” Aniket says. This is the newest club at the Liberal Arts Science Academy and one of the fastest growing clubs because in the official club, about 50 people are signed up. Aniket supplies the wickets and a bat, Danish supplies two bats and a few tennis balls covered
in electrical taped, and Ashvin provides the heavy bat and has given many tennis balls to the club. The club is currently sponsored by Michael Scaccia, the freshman Magnet English teacher. After his sudden interest increased, he became the sponsor teacher and helped out in forming the Cricket Club. “I played cricket when I was in Australia and I absolutely loved the sport because it was unique and fun,” Scaccia says. “I really enjoyed it there and the sport itself, and I made many friends through cricket which I would have probably never known had
Danish Hussain
Pictures taken by Bikramjit Lubana
Ashvin Roharia Aniket Patel
19Final Buzzer
existed otherwise.” He [Scaccia] played cricket in the 90s closer to when his high school career was coming to an end. As he played the cricket, he fell in love with the sport and it was a major part of his life. So, Scaccia could relate with the students and their desire to start the club and became the sponsor of the cricket club.. “Danish, Ashvin and I, especially Danish, have worked really hard to get this club going,” Aniket says. “At first, we weren’t sure how many people we were going to get. But then we made announcements and posters about the club. We even made our own bulletin board and started to make a stats list.”The three students behind this have put hours and hours of work into this club just to make it successful. “I spent nights where I could have been doing homework, but instead I was working on getting the papers ready for this club,” Danish says. A diverse group of people that come out to watch and play cricket. So far mostly only freshmen and sophomore boys have been in the mix, but now there have been several girls that come out and just sit around and watch. “As far as gender, age and race goes, we welcome everyone and anyone to come out and play,” says Aniket, “but I generally see that there is a larger freshmen and sophomore crowd that come to play. Upperclassmen is a rare sight out there. But the ones that we have, are here to stay. I have seen many different people play cricket, not just Indians and Pakistanis, but people from all
races and different backgrounds.“Not only people who have an athletic background play cricket, but everyone comes out. At first they may not be good, and this is okay because the sport is not so easy, but if they come out regularly and practice a little everyday, they get better and enjoy the sport. Take Brian C. for example. Brian doesn’t play sports outside of school, and he only started to play cricket recently, and at first he was not the best player, but as he tried harder, he got much better and plays the game well. “At first, I was pretty bad at batting and bowling, but as I played a lot more everyday, I got much better and now I can actually hit the ball,” Brian said. “At this school, cricket is appealing because there is so much diversity,” says Ashvin, “Many people want to try new things and cricket is one of those things. Some students might just seem amused that we play cricket but others will come and check it out. They will usually ask to join the match after they have watched and that is exactly what we want.” There is an in-school tournament that is scheduled for late spring in the second semester. There are five teams and on each team there are about 8-9 people. The games are pretty regular, there are about three to four games per week. Not only is there an inter-school league, but the LASA Cricket Club has given rise to ideas of creating cricket clubs at other schools. “We started contacting other schools and their clubs to see if we could play against them or have them start a club,” Aniket
said. “All we really want is for everyone to have fun and try to make cricket a district wide sport, and that seems very likely by the spring of 2012. If the games keep on going, then in a year there might be many skilled players to play for our school and have matches on real fields.”
The club has already made a major leap as they set up a scrimmage with Westwood high school. The Westwood Cricket Club had been made since 2010 but had remained inactive until LASA created its own club. Both teams went in with many learning players which turned out to be a good learning experience for both teams. “We can only hope for both clubs to do well so we can keep playing each other,” Danish says. “And when more schools make teams, this could be really interesting.” With a thriving club, Danish, Aniket and Ashvin hope that appreciation for the sport spreads across LASA. But for now, they are very happy with their instant success. This club has grown amazingly fast and so in the future it will only thrive more. “I have played soccer and basketball as well as football on teams. I love to play all of them. However, cricket is unique,” says Aniket. “Cricket helps keep in touch with my family and friends back in India and it is very exciting if you have a fast paced game going on. Also, I have never played on a real cricket team, and now I will get that opportunity.” FB
