Student athletes share how they began playing their sport and what keeps them interested. Reporting by Sora Mizutani.
Fotumai’afe Taufa, football (11)
I started playing because of my friends, and I kind of got addicted to working out because of them. Also, my uncle told me to join because they thought it was going to be a good sport instead of playing basketball. So I just took their word…The reason why I still play football is because of the physicality, the leadership that we have to put through, and just the bond that I used to have with all the seniors and underclassmen.
Anderson Wong, wrestling (12)
My second year I became one of the co-captains, and I felt that I owed it to my team to be a better more successful wrestler than I was at the moment because…I felt like I wanted to show Aragon this is where champions can be made. I wanted to show people that we can win. … I try to be the captain that I never had. I try to be the teammate I never had, I try to be the training partner that I never had, I try to help them as much as I can, that’s how I achieve it.
Yuna Irokawa, cheer (11)
Once I started doing it, first of all it was fun, and because cheer is a team sport, being a part of the team and continuing for my team motivated me a lot. [Something special about cheer is] the friends that I made in cheer, and all of my teammates. In cheer you have a special bond with the team, and outside of cheer too, I would say “Hi” to my teammates at school, so there’s a bond.
Marcus Rife, hurdling (11)
I started originally because I heard that it was the hardest track event. And I was up for a challenge, and I was kind of dumb for it, but I had a good time. I like PRs, I’m a little addicted to it, so I [constantly] chase PRs.
