![“[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)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[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)
Varsity girls basketball begins season with scrimmage against Aptos High School
The girls basketball team huddles during a time-out. The team played its first game today in a scrimmage against Aptos High School today.
November 15, 2016
The varsity girls basketball team began its season with a scrimmage against Aptos High School today at Blackford.
The desk did not formally count the score for the entire game, instead resetting the score at the end of each of five periods. The girls trailed Aptos in each period, with scores of 8-13, 5-22, 11-25, 0-16 and 7-14.
Due to the informal nature of the game, many players saw it as an opportunity to practice and recognize areas to improve in.
“Since this is a scrimmage, it was more just getting our nerves out and practicing and implementing our plays and our defense,” Prameela Kottapalli (10) said. “It was a really good opportunity for to just get out there and play and work hard and see what we need to work on for our first actual game which is next week.”
Head coach Tomas Thompson saw strengths in his team’s play, but also potential for improvement.
“I think early in the game we were attacking the basket and doing some good things on offense,” he said. “I think we have a lot of things to work on on defense, especially help-side off the ball, and definitely blocking out because we don’t have a lot of size on our team, but we’re quick so we just know that we have to play a really fast style and we need to make sure that we’re a lot more physical and more vocal.”
Thompson also recognized the effect of the team’s offseason training on their performance in today’s game.
“I think that we played really physical which is a big part of the offseason weightlifting training program we have at Harker,” he said.
Team manager Kunal Bhandarkar summed up his thoughts about the game.
“It was a good effort. They played as a team and showed potential for the upcoming season,” he said.
The team next plays in their first formal game against Greenfield High School away next Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
