![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
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![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Kerr named coach of the Golden State Warriors
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Steve Kerr was named Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors on May 14. He won five NBA championships as a member of the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. (Creative Commons)
Despite their successful fifty-one win season, the first fifty plus win season since 1993-94, the Warriors management fired Coach Mark Jackson three days after their playoff loss, and hired Steve Kerr as the new head coach.
Jackson expressed disbelief in reaction to the way he was fired.
“The unfortunate thing is I go in an office with an owner and a general manager, just us three, and while in our office it’s tweeted out that I’m in a meeting and I’m about to be fired,” he said in an interview with 95.7 The Game.
Several reasons were given by team management for the firing, among them Jackson’s disinterest in game preparation and his clashes with management. For all his failings, Mark Jackson did bring excitement to the Warriors and Bay Area sports. There were plenty of skeptics who questioned the management’s decision to fire Coach Jackson.
“I felt that the firing of Mark Jackson was somewhat unfair. I believe that after leading the Warriors to some of the best years they had in decades, he had a right to stay,” David Jin (10) said. “Although many trust the Warriors organization, making a decision that isn’t too popular with the players is risky.”
The uncertainty regarding the future of the Warriors continued as the Warriors management muddled through their coaching choices. It appeared that they had lost out on both Steve Kerr and Stan van Gundy for the head coaching position. Kerr seemed headed to New York to coach the Knicks and van Gundy signed a contract with the Pistons.
Kerr, whose close friendship with the general manager of the Knicks made him the perfect candidate to coach the Knicks, was named head coach of the Warriors ten days after they fired Mark Jackson.
The new coach sounded excited about the team the Warriors had and in a phone interview with NBA.com said, “it just felt like the right move on many levels. They have a good young team.”
Kerr’s resume is impressive. He is a five-time NBA champion and has played with legends such as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He is also known to have very keen basketball acumen and has had to face quite a bit of adversity in his personal life as well.
His father was gunned down by extremists in Lebanon while he was a freshman at Arizona. A few days after his father’s death, he had to deal with rabid Arizona State fans ahead of a game, who taunted him with chants such as, “PLO, PLO.” He responded by drilling six three pointers and leading an upset victory of Arizona over rival Arizona State.
The hiring of Kerr brings back excitement to the Warriors. Time will tell how successful of a coach he will be, but he does seem to possess the mental toughness and the basketball background necessary for the job.
Vineet Kosaraju (12) is the STEM Editor for both Harker Aquila and Winged Post. He is a senior and has been part of the journalism program for the past...