![“[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)
Spring sports kick off
Jessica Zhou (10) prepares to hit a bunker shot at a practice round at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club last week. Following the upper school’s safety protocols for athletes, players are required to wear masks and social distance at all times.
March 1, 2021
Despite a delayed start to their seasons, due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County during the winter, upper school athletes in cross country, football, girls golf and girls tennis are currently attending in-person practices and preparing for Harker’s first sports competitions in almost a year.
The upper school has mandated that athletes are to be tested every two weeks for COVID-19, either on campus with a saliva test or elsewhere with a PCR test. Before arriving to practice everyday, athletes must also complete a set of coronavirus screening questions on the Magnus Mobile app to ensure safety and minimize any risk of exposure or spread.
Since Jan. 19, the cross country team has maintained a hybrid format for their practices. Although head coach Mia Purnell leads a small group of runners in-person, many have opted to continue with remote workouts. After warming up all together on Zoom, they use the fitness app Strava when they go on runs to keep track of their progress.
“It’s a completely different experience when running, because usually you wouldn’t want to stop because all your friends are running next to you. Now you have to really reach within and find intrinsic motivation to keep you going,” cross country co-captain Jason Lin (12) said. “I think a lot of people have started breaking distance records, so it’s cool to see people find all this will.”
The team competed in their first meet last Saturday, going up against The King’s Academy and Notre Dame. Their season is scheduled to end on March 19, and they will not be participating in playoffs this year.
Girls golf kicked off their season last Monday with practice rounds at San Jose Municipal Golf Course and Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. All golfers are required to wear masks and social distance at all times, and the team is trying to play as many different courses around the Bay Area before their first match next week. They played at Santa Teresa Golf Club today, with practice at Cinnabar Hills tomorrow, Moffett Field Golf Club on Wednesday and San Jose Municipal Golf Course on Friday.
“I look forward to spending time with the girls again, meeting the new golfers and working on our game,” junior Andrea Thia said. “With no fall season, not seeing my teammates and practicing alone felt a little discouraging, but I’m really grateful we have an in-person season ahead of us.”
Before the girls tennis team began practicing last Monday on Blackford campus, senior Fonda Hu experienced a similar feeling of anticipation, describing the announcement of her season as a “happy surprise.”
“Most of us haven’t touched a racket in a while, so there were a lot of things to get used to,” she said. “But after the first few days, everyone was back in their comfort zone, and it pretty much felt like normal, other than [the safety precautions].”
In addition to filling out the daily questionnaires on Magnus, the players are required to get their temperatures checked before every practice, wear a glove on their non-dominant hands and remain masked at all times. During drills, they only play in singles matches to stay as socially distanced as possible, but regardless of these changes, practices still resemble those from before the COVID-19 outbreak.
“In my opinion, I don’t believe that there has been much of a change in the way that we’re preparing for the season, because most of our playing is basically just how we would play in matches,” Fonda said. “[Practices] are sticking to normal circumstances, in that regard.”
The varsity football season officially started yesterday and is scheduled to end on March 27 without playoffs. While the team is planning to organize intrasquad scrimmages, it is still unclear whether they can host games against other schools.
The swimming season will begin on March 8, followed by track and field season on March 15 and boys golf and boys tennis on April 5. Following CIF guidelines, if the county moves into the red tier before March 15, girls lacrosse and softball will also kick off within the next two weeks.
For more information on how to register to play a sport, see the form here. Reach out to Director of Sports Medicine and Sports Performance Jaron Olson or upper school athletic director Dan Molin for specific questions.
Additional reporting by Vishnu Kannan.
