Cougars Show Off Their Talent - My High School Journalism

The Chronicle
Baseball Players Look Forward
to Successful Season
By Rachel Bongiovi
Staff Reporter
The baseball team is
at the start of it’s second season.
William Thorpe returns
as varsity coach and has high
hopes for the season.
The Kettle Run baseball
team’s goals for this season
are to improve this season,
win districts, and ultimately
win regionals.
Kettle Run baseball
players have high expectations
for their team this year.
“We were a young team last
year and still did well, so now
that we have that experience
under our belts, we’ll be even
better,” commented first
baseman Riley Caito.
“I always have high
expectations, whether it be
for myself or our team,” said
utility player Justin Rodriguez.
The baseball team
expects to do a lot better this
season versus last year. “Yes,
[we will do better than last
year because] we’re all more
experienced than last season,”
stated Caito.
“Yes, [we will do
better than last season because]
all of our players have
excelled exceptionally this
year,” said catcher David
Stuart.
Players say they
very much enjoy playing on
this team. “Everybody on
the team is cool with one another,
and we have a good
time at practices and games
but still get work done,” commented
Caito.
“I love how close our
team is. We are all friends off
the field, and we believe that
helps with the team chemistry,”
said Rodriguez.
This may only be the
baseball team’s second year,
but many players have a lot
of prior experience. “[I have
been playing baseball] since
I was six,” said Caito.
“[I have been playing
baseball] since I was three,”
commented Stuart.
“I started playing
about 12 years ago,” stated
Rodriguez.
Coach Thorpe played
baseball from age five
through college and said,
“When I stopped playing I
knew coaching was for me.”
Coach Thorpe says his coaching
method is, “relaxed, fast
paced, and I expect my guys
to work hard every day.” His
coaching method seemed to
work well last year considering
the team went to the district
semi-finals.
The teams’ next
home game will be on
April 13 th against Warren
County High.
Sports
By Marcus Toms
Staff Reporter
March is National
Athletic Trainers months.
Kettle Run’s athletic training
staff is made up of 17
students. These students
are on the
sidelines of
every home
game treating
injured athletes.
These
students are
lead by professional
athletic
trainer Natalie
Swick.
Prior to coming
to Kettle
Run, Swick
worked as the
head athletic
trainer for the
girls’ basketball
team at
Northwestern
State University.
She also
served as an assistant trainer
for the football team.
Trainers say they
have learned a great deal
from Swick. “I have been
trained to treat abrasions,
anulsions, lacerations,
punctures, contusions, ankle
sprains, pulled muscles,
and broken fingers,” boys’
soccer trainer Emily Kono-
February & March 2010
March is National Training Month
za said. “We’ve studied injuries
all over the body, but we
usually call Swick over for
the serious ones.”
“Trainers are taught
how to treat multiple types
of injuries, such as open and
closed wounds, sprains and
strains, shoulder and knee
injuries and many more,”
said boys’ soccer trainer Morgan
Roush.
Trainers had different
reasons for entering the
field. “Before I was a trainer,
I always got hurt and I was
always in the training room,”
Konoza said. “The trainers
always seem to have a lot of
fun, and Sports Medicine has
always interested me, so I
decided to become a trainer.”
Trainer Kaitlyn Cunningham
said, “I’m an athlete
who gets hurt a lot, so I
figured why not learn to treat
myself?”
Some of the
trainers are
also thinking
of a future
in Sports
M e d i c i n e .
“I’m going to
do something
having to do
with sports
m e d i c i n e
when I get out
of school, like
creating physical
therapy
equipment,”
said Cunningham.
Konoza said, “I
would love to
go into sport’s
medicine and
be a trainer,
but if I don’t, I’m definitely
going into medicine.”
“I would love to become a
trainer,” Roush said, “but I
still have a lot to learn.”
Students who are interested
in becoming an athletic trainer
are encouraged to talk to a
current trainer or Ms. Swick
for more information.
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