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![“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)
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AP Statistics students to compile fall football stats
KJ Mulam
AP Statistics students will have the opportunity to track the experiences of the Varsity football team to help them better understand their strengths and weaknesses. Students will be focusing on tracking their catching and passing ability, game records, and how many yards were run among other areas of focus.
Approximately a dozen AP Statistics students will be participating in an unprecedented extra-credit project merging the Mathematics and Athletics departments.
Students will chart the various plays made throughout the course of each Varsity football game in order to better understand the team’s tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses. By recording information such as how many yards were gained, or whether the ball was run or passed, students can help the football team expand its scope of strategy.
“Coach Forbes and I have often spoken about the interdependence of academic and extracurricular activities,” AP Statistics teacher Troy Thiele said. “This project is really a result of many informal conversations over the years that we have known each other.”
Students can decide the amount of time they are willing to invest for the project, contingent upon their levels of interest in both football and data. As the first official collaboration between the statistics program and a sports team, much of the project is relatively open-ended.
Former football player Allen Huang (12) will be taking part in the project this school year.
“Since I’m not playing I guess I wanted to help the team anyway I could,” Allen said. “It gives a glimpse into professions dealing with sports because I know there are football analysts who use statistics to deal with football and it’s kind of cool to do those things myself”
Data collection is a major component of the assignment. The statistics teachers hope that students will gain critical insight as to how difficult data collection can become.
“Poorly collected data is worthless, so this will be a major learning experience,” Thiele said.
After a sample of data is collected, students will have the opportunity to delve into the actual process of statistics – they will help uncover the football players’ inclinations in an effort to make the team’s plays more unpredictable against opposing schools.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on August 29, 2014.
Tiara Bhatacharya is the Opinion editor for Harker Aquila. She is a senior and has been part of the journalism program since her sophomore year. Her favorite...