April 2018

16 sports APRIL 13, 2018
W
Chances ahead to rebalance record
BY NANA AGYARKO
reporter
Preparing for a busy week at
home facing Rolling Meadows on
Monday at 4:30 p.m. and Warren
on Wedneday at 5 p.m., badminton
hopes to close out the last weeks of
the season with more wins on the
board.
With a 2-3-2 record to start the
year, the girls were hopeful that
they could use last weekend’s Maine
West Varsity Invite to get ahead of
some of the area’s best girls badminton
teams, including Fenton, Glenbard
East, and Hoffman Estates.
“I enjoy hosting the MW Invite in
Spec Gym where our players have
the chance to play several different
schools in front of their fans,” head
coach Michael Murin said.
With a similar team from last
year, the girls will look to use their
experience to help them through
the three games and an invite in the
week ahead. “We have nine seniors
on the team and their familiarity
with the routines of practice, the
skills needed to be successful on the
court, and the bonds they have with
each other should help this team
through any perceived difficulty,”
Murin said.
With their years of collaboration,
the girls are comfortable with
helping each other adjust strategy
in-game. “We have more experience
and when we coach each other
during games it really feels like our
games are being critiqued,” senior
captain Shaira Pascua said.
The April 23 game against Elk
Grove will be the seniors’ last moment
to shine on the West court,
and they are excited to go out with a
win. “If I were to pick a meet [that
matters most], it would be our very
last home game since that will be
my senior night,” Pascua said.
What are the most anticipated
set of meets throughout the years,
though, are the marquee match-ups
vs Maine East, which they beat earlier
this season and will face again in
the CSL meet. “I always look forward
to playing the other District
207 schools, because of the Maine
rivalry,” Murin said.
The Warriors also posted an early-season
win against East Aurora.
Junior Jocelyn Jacob, playing in the
number one doubles slot with senior
Juhi Patel, took the lead early by winning
their first match against Glenbrook
South. “GBS is one of the top teams in
the state. We lost several split matches”
that were difference-makers in the overall
team loss, coach Mike Murin said.
FINDING VALUE
IN WHAT YOU
ALREADY HAVE
In France, like in the United States, public
schooling is essentially free: the government takes
money from citizen taxes to fund public schools.
However, French public schools aren’t funded to include
the menagerie of extracurricular activities that
we, here at Maine West, have grown accustomed to.
We feel that it is more of a right than a privilege
to be offered clubs, sports, and activities. I don’t
think it’s necessarily wrong or right to think this
way since I believe this perspective is established by
the environment one grows up in. Yet in the United
States generally, Americans feel entitled to an endless
amount of things, including the possibility of
having sports programs available at school.
In contrast, while visiting France this past year,
I learned that the sole purpose of French public
schools is to provide an environment in which
students will be able to academically succeed, not
succeed as athletes. Although there are facilities that
students may use to play soccer or basketball, it is
only during free time students are permitted to use
these facilities, unlike our regular
access to equipment during P.E. and
extracurricular sports.
The notion of equal opportunity
seems to underlie the vast support
the United States offers to students
pursuing their ambitions. More so
than in France, U.S. schools make
it is more accessible to individuals
to pursue a talent or to enhance
their potential. The fact that as students
we can join the fencing team,
basketball team, football team, and
more, all at school without having
to enroll in that sport outside of
school, is truly incredible!
At times, we take this for granted.
Most West students who wish to further their
abilities will play their sport at school and outside
Vive le sport!
of school, thus
allowing them
to gain more
experience in
their sport. On
the other hand,
French students
only have
the option to
enroll in a program
outside of
school, which
pressures parents
to spend
more money
and time out of
their schedules
BY DESTINY ONYEISE
sports columnist
50
percent say
students take the
facilities and
opportunities at
Maine West for
granted,
according to a
Westerner survey
of 211 students.
26 percent were unsure.
for their children. It can become a large expense and
inconvenience.
We complain when we have to buy our own
warm-ups or that our uniforms are from the prior
seasons. If you want to play a sport in
France, you’d better be prepared to pay
for not just the warm-ups but the field
rental, coaches, officials, and training facilities.
Plus the uniforms, too.
Consequently, one would think that
Americans are more successful and talented
at sports than French athletes. Yet,
this is not necessarily true, especially not
in every sport.
Specifically, soccer is the most popular
sport in France and many student athletes
devote much of their time in soccer
programs outside of class time. Parents
spend lots of money to allow their children
to attend high end private programs
which can lead to successful athletes.
At Maine West, students should take full advantage
of all opportunities that are available. That
means actively
participating in
P.E., trying out
for a sports team,
and committing
to it, even if you
don’t harbor Division
1 ambitions.
Commitment is
something many
people struggle
with, abroad and
right here in Des
Plaines. Committing
means giving
all of yourself, being
vulnerable, and being exposed.
Committing requires one to sacrifice, especially
their time and energy.
It is known that hard work and dedication
breed success. I firmly believe that this is true, both
in France and at Maine West. Even without school
extracurricular programs offered in countries like
France, their level of competitiveness when playing
sports such as soccer is very high. It is instilled in
young athletes that raw talent is not merely good
enough and that to play for an exceptional team,
one must possess the qualities the private team is
looking for. Therefore, one must train and practice
extremely hard to attain success since schools do
not offer programs that will help make student athletes
better.
As students at Maine West, we need to change
our own mind sets and not be held back by the
thoughts that others have it better than us. We
should be thankful for the position we are in and
the resources we have. We are able to have sports
programs available directly at school. Yet, we should
also strive to achieve more with what we have.