![“[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)
Status report: Sports leagues prepare to reopen
An empty 49ers stadium on Feb. 1. At this time, the team was in Miami, finishing their last practice before the Super Bowl LIV game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
May 20, 2020
Many professional sports leagues across the United States have suspended their seasons indefinitely in light of COVID-19’s continued spread, and in this dormant time for the world of sports, fans are growing more eager than ever to see their favorite leagues resume play.
“I can’t wait for [sports] to come back because the atmosphere and the vibe you feel walking into the stadium is just a great feeling, and it’s always a distraction from whatever else is going on in your life,” Nageena Singh (10), an avid Warriors fan, said. “You don’t have to think about anything else, you can just watch your favorite players play.”
Fans should remain optimistic, however, as some officials across the United States, including California Governor Gavin Newson, said that professional sports returning by the first week of June could be a real possibility. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, echoed Newsom’s opinion, saying that there is a chance that sports will be able to resume this summer, but only if games are played without fans and the players involved are confined to certain locations and tested regularly.
To summarize the latest news in the professional sports world, here is a quick update regarding the status of five of the major sports leagues in the United States.
National Football League (NFL)
The NFL regular season is still on course to start on Sept. 10 as scheduled. Offseason programs for teams are currently happening in a fully virtual format, and as of Tuesday, teams will be able to reopen their facilities, as long as reopening doesn’t violate their state or region’s regulations.
In terms of measures taken to combat the spread of the coronavirus among players and staff, the NFL has moved the five international games scheduled for next season, which were going to be played in London and Mexico City, back to the United States. In addition, the league is currently working with sports equipment company Oakley in developing protective face masks made out of N95 material for players to use when the season begins.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
The MLB has suspended its remaining Spring Training games and indefinitely delayed the start of the 2020 season, which was initially scheduled for March 26. A, and any games that will be played after the season resumes will occur in empty stadiums to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.
The MLB gave players and team personnel a 67 page document last Friday on health and safety protocols that will be put in place should the season resume, which even includes details such as players not being able to stand shoulder to shoulder during the national anthem and the league discouraging post-game showers. The document also included diagrams regarding acceptable player and team personnel positioning before and during the games, which went as far as laying out how to do team stretches while maintaining physical distancing.
In addition, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced last Thursday that the league has made a deal with the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, located in South Jordan, Utah, which will provide teams with the option to process thousands of tests each week when the season resumes.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The NHL regular season, which was originally scheduled to end on April 4, has been suspended indefinitely, along with the Stanley Cup playoffs and all international events, after an Ottawa Senators player, who has not been named, was the first NHL player to contract the coronavirus.
The NHL 2020 draft was initially scheduled for June 26 and 27. The league has made the case to hold it before the season resumes as a way of engaging fans during the hiatus. In addition, they are reported to be currently working on a 24-game playoff format that will give teams who were on the bubble of entering the playoffs a fair chance of making their way in.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
The NBA season was suspended indefinitely after news broke that Utah Jazz center and former defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert had contracted the coronavirus. The season was 65 games in at that point, and there have been some rumors and talk around the league about bringing all players, their families and team personnel to a location to play out the rest of the season. MGM resorts in Las Vegas recently proposed that the league could play out the rest of the season in a quarantined block on the Strip, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
The NBA announced last Friday that the draft lottery and combine, which were set to begin on May 19 in Chicago, have been postponed to a later date. The draft itself, which was scheduled for June 25, is also up in the air as a result of this. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said, however, that the league is currently working with health experts in creating safety protocols to ensure safety for players when the season resumes.
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Like the MLB, the WNBA is indefinitely delaying the start of their 2020 season, which was initially scheduled for tip-off on May 15. Despite this, the WNBA draft still went on as planned on April 17, albeit in a virtual format, as per the plans laid out in a statement released by the league on April 3.
![An empty Davis Field, home to Eagles' athletics. “As long as school is in session and we feel everything’s in place, we’re business as usual until we’re told otherwise,” upper school athletic director Dan Molin said. “We’re anticipating [game cancellations], and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there with each individual game.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IMG_3680-300x200.jpg)
![The tennis courts at Westmont High in Los Gatos remain locked up. “It’s sort of hard to transition from playing tennis every single day to just not doing anything and sitting around,” varsity tennis co-captain Ramanand Vegesna (12) said. “Sometimes when you’re doing your own workouts it’s hard to stick to something and you kind of get lost in what you want to work on, so I think [Volt is] a really good tool, and people who don’t have a lot of experience working out can use it and figure out what exercise they want to do.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_3499-300x225.jpg)
