![“[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)
Junior varsity boys water polo defeated Fremont High School 12-3 on Sept. 7.
Despite a slow start, Harker soon pulled ahead as Alex Zhong (11) and Aman Chandran (10) scored one goal each to end the first quarter 2-0. The team continued to dominate in the second quarter, finishing 6-0 with David Kelly (9) scoring two goals and goalie Aidan Wang (11) blocking several Fremont shots.
In the second half, the Eagles built upon their momentum. Fremont scored one goal in the third quarter and two in the fourth, but Harker bounced back, with Andre Lu (11) and Terry Xie (10) contributing two points each, and finished the game 12-3.
“Sam [Li (9)] getting a goal was exciting because he’s a freshman and [it was] his first goal this year,” Terry said. “Other than that, playing defense in the first half [went well].”
Over the last few weeks, the team practiced various drills and plays that they successfully executed in the game. Using this game as a chance to develop their strategies, the team hopes to improve their record by learning from each game.
“[The game] went well,” George Yang (10) said. “It was a good chance for improvement because we weren’t against a particularly strong team, so we got to run a lot of plays. I hope we’ll get better than we were last year, and hopefully beat Palo Alto because they beat us a few days ago.”
The team took advantage of their practice with counterattacks to conquer Fremont in the game. Junior varsity boys water polo coach Victor Adler commends the team’s performance and looks forward to a successful season.
“We were able to execute our counterattack, which is something that we’ve been trying to practice, so I was happy about that,” Coach Adler said. “We just have to do what we do well and execute it well. That’s what we need.”
The team, which currently holds a 3-1 league record, will play next Tuesday at Gunn High School.
