As winter sports are coming to an end the spring season of sports are starting to warm up and get some practice in. Brecken Haynes, who is a sophomore at BRHS, plays linebacker for the football team. His season was cut short last year due to a dislocated elbow that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. “I couldn’t do much at first, but when I could I started training right after my injury.”His goal for this season is to lead the team in tackles. His favorite thing about football is the competition. Being on defense means having to learn new plays and knowing what to do. “With being a linebacker I don’t really have to remember plays, but when I do I have to read plays and know where everyone is at all times.” When he has to remember plays he goes home and studies them so he doesn’t forget what he’s supposed to do. He lifts weights with the football team on and offseason in the weight room. “Lifting helps build strength and helps build a sense of confidence and competition.” He keeps going to lift weights because he wants to be the best person he can be, and wants to beat everyone else. One of his goals for football is to have a winning season. Another BRHS sophomore student, Jaxson Theurer, plays quarterback for the football team. To get stronger in both the offseason and during the regular season he also goes and lifts weights with the team. “Weightlifting helps us on the field to become stronger and to compete with others.” He’s motivated to keep going to lift weights because he wants to help others on the field. Being the quarterback means having to learn plays and get them right. “There’s mental things that I need to know like where to throw the ball, when to throw depending on reads, a lot of pre-snap things and watching film before practices,” says Jaxson. He goes and studies the playbook for the season and watches film on top of it so he won’t forget them. Sometimes football becomes hard but there are always some positive things that come out of it. “My favorite thing about football is the brotherhood and getting closer to the team and the relationships you get from playing.”His goal for the season is to finish with a winning record and make it to the state championship. When playing football, injuries are always going to come at the wrong time. “How I handle injuries is going to Shawn who is the athletic trainer; he helps a lot and helps us get better when injuries come up.” Playing football always has challenges but these guys work hard both on and offseason to become better and it definitely shows when playing out on the field. They are always ready for challenges or injuries that come their way and try to conquer them. Written by: Cayson Potter, and Addistyn Burrup
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Getting a pin is how a wrestler wins, but it is not easy by any means.Payton Wood,a sophomore at Bear River High School, has been on the wrestling team for 2 years.Last year she got discouraged when everyone but her were getting wins so she stepped up her game. Payton said, “it’s discouraging watching everyone else win when you aren’t winning.” A first pin in wrestling is “very exciting and feels good”, says Payton. When Payton is wrestling, the rest of the team is “jumping for joy… when I got my very first pin even the girls on the other Bear River dual tournament mats came over and started cheering so loud.” Pinning someone is more difficult than defending a pin, says Payton. To get a pin, first you have to get a takedown; this is when you get the opponent on the ground from the standing position. Getting a takedown is worth 2 points but that's not all. In order to get a pin you need to have the opponent flat on their back with both shoulders down between you and the ground. In order for Payton to get where she is now she has had her coaches Sophie Miller and Teia Gonzales by her side.They have been by her side and helped encourage her to be the best wrestler she possibly could, Payton says.“I have worked really hard every day during practice to be able to pull off a win. My teammates and coaches push me every day to be better. They have helped me get to where I am today.” Payton has been working hard to get to where she wants and to do her best. We want to recognize all the hard work Payton has put into her performances as a wrestler on the team. Congratulations to all of the wrestlers on their season and how they have performed. By: Avery Cazzell, Shayna Higley, & Croydon Pebley Every year between January and March, the Bear River Color Guard team competes in competitions around the state. Each weekend, the team is up early to begin their competition day. Joey Hunter, a senior and a member of the team with three years of experience, says, “ Waking up on a competition day is always a little stressful, but exciting overall.” The team meets at the natatorium to load all of the equipment that is needed. Sage Hook, also a senior and color guard member explains, “It usually takes around 30 to 45 minutes to get the floor, props, and people all loaded and ready to go.”
Joey says, “ Honestly, riding with a bus full of hyper teenagers can be rather loud, but the distraction helps with everyone’s nerves.” During the drive, it is the time to calm down and relax. Once the team arrives, Sage says, “ The first thing that happens after check-in is unloading all our stuff into the designated area for our team.” “ The team arrives between 9:30 and 11:00 depending on how far we have to travel.” Sage says. There are many teams that participate at these events, all at different times. Joey says, “Everyone at the competitions are super nice and supportive. They are even willing to help other teams with their props, before, and after the performance.” Throughout the day, many teams perform. Joey says, “ Right before our performance, we do a perfect runthrough, and then we head to the practice rooms to run through the routine a few times. Then we head to the gym entrance with our stuff and watch the team before us finish up their performance.” Watching the other teams is a chance to see what the competition is like. Sage says, “ Our perfect run though is where the team sits in a circle, we all close our eyes and our coaches play the music. We run through the routine and imagine doing it perfectly. This is so that we can see how it will look when we do it right.” Meagan Sorensen, the color guard coach, explains “A perfect run through is a great way to focus the mind and relax the team.” In between performances, each team does something exceptional. “During winterguard there is a clap that everyone participates in while the next team is pulling out their floor.“ Joey says. On the ride back home, Sage says, “ We always stop and grab some food on the way back home. After we get back on the road most of the team eats then goes to sleep. We all unload the trailer then head home.” Joining the Bear River Color Guard team presents amazing opportunities for any student who is willing to try new things. Quotes : Joey Hunter, Sage Hook, Meagan Sorensen Picture: Farmington Utah, ColorGuard Team, Linnea Thomas Photo credit: Millieah Price Writer: Ash Snyder BRHS Students and coaches hope to score big on the Soccer Field by Cayson Potter and Addistyn Burrup2/15/2024 As the warm weather is coming up, spring sports are also gearing up to start their season.
A Junior at Bear River High School, Camron Norton plays defense for the soccer team. Having an indoor gym definitely gives the soccer team an advantage against other teams because some high schools like Box Elder do not have an indoor gym to practice in. ”We mostly practice dribbling, certain drills with short time passes,” Cameron says. He says his soccer goals for this year are to try and become a team captain, and to start in all of his games and play varsity. He and his team hope to compete with the Cache Valley teams and do well this soccer season. He also says that balancing playing soccer, having a home life as well as school work can get really difficult at times. Kelson Hale also plays defense on the high school soccer team. When at open gym he practices the fundamentals like passing so he can move the ball around to his teammates and work as a team. His goal for this season is to be able to help the team as much as possible. Shawn, who is BRHS soccer coach, said that it’s not easy being a coach and also wanting to spend time with family. “With juggling life, it’s just making sure you prioritize the most important things each day. I'm never just on the couch doing nothing. Being busy is part of who I am. But it's hard juggling my family, my wife, work, and soccer”. He said that getting players to learn the new plays for the season is easy because it’s not like other sports that are played here. “Soccer really doesn't have new plays such as football or basketball. We teach fundamentals and formation through demonstration and reputation until they learn the concepts. We encourage players to practice outside of training.” Shawn said, “ Having the Bear Center is definitely an advantage for spring sports. The disadvantage is that we have multiple teams and local clubs who are fighting for the time in the Bear Center”. The soccer team practices so they stay in shape all year and they will be ready when tryouts start, says Coach Miller. Some players play soccer year round on competitive teams and travel around for tournaments to help them get better. They just want to play, have fun, and have lasting friendships. Coach Miller has open gym sessions every Tuesday night from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and on Thursday nights from 6pm to 8pm. The Bear River swim team finished competing at region Saturday, February 3rd and now they are getting ready to compete at state. State swim is on February 16-17 down at BYU. In order to qualify for state the athletes prepare all season aiming for their best times. Brodie Rowley, a junior at Bear River High School has been on the team since freshman year. He has qualified for state every year. Brodie said, “The way you get to state is based on the times you get when you swim. They take your best time from the whole season.” Making it to state is going to be difficult for both the boys and girls. Cordell Cluff, a junior, has been on the swim team for 3 years. Cordell said “Out of the 4A schools in Utah only the top 30 best swimmers get to go to state.” Nearly every member of the swim team worries about qualifying for state. If they didn’t make it to state, their swim season ended right after the region competition. Preparing for state is no easy feat. First, the coaches take the times that the team earned at region and compare them to the times of the rest of the state teams in 4A. Then they look at the top 30 swimmers to see who may have qualified for state. Two weeks before state, the swim team performed at region 11 as the last meet to have the best chances to make it to state. After region, the coaches look at the top 30 swimmers that get to make it to state, then they start practice. They start out with harder sets and workouts then everyday they start cutting down the yards that they do; this is a process called tapering. Danny Esplin, the coach of the boys swim team, said “The purpose of tapering is that all season we have broken down the muscles and tapering is just to back off and give the muscles time to heal and save energy so they can perform their best.” In order to get ready the team does some mentalizations, and works on the necessities like their starts and flip turns. Right after region the team goes back to longer, harder sets and then they go back to tapering to help prepare them more for state. This year there were 6 people from the team that made it to state; Aaron Betourney, Jace Hamblin, Jaden Hyer, Brodie Rowley, Bryson Winkler, Jason Winkler and then the three relays, which haven’t been selected yet. When you see a swimmer wish them luck for when they go to state. And off they go to state. By: Shayna Higley & Croydon Pebley Cordell Cluff doing his 100 Butterfly race. Photo by: Shayna Higley State cheer was on January 26, 2024. Josie Brown, a senior on the Bear River High School cheer team, said, “It is very hard to place at state. There are usually 15-20 teams.” While the competition itself is a challenge, there are a few things the team needs to do to get ready to perform. The cheer team has practiced for 6 months prior to state, in addition to the pressure of their final showcase on February 22. They have been practicing 3 times a week after school, every other Saturday, and whenever else they can, Josie said.
For Josie Brown and Avery Steinman the upcoming performance is the end of their high school cheer experience. For the seniors they can continue onto college cheer if they want. College cheer is a little different from other college sports. Josie said “Schools don’t reach out with scholarships. The person needs to try out in order to make the college team.” The other juniors and sophomores have cheer tryouts very soon after the season ends which is February 22nd. Avery Steinman says, “Cheer tryouts are usually the last week of March the 25-29th. ” Tryouts consist of a cheer and a dance that are taught to the athletes. They send out a video of the cheer and dance and it is the athletes responsibility to learn them both. When the day of tryouts comes the individual will go in and perform the cheer by themselves. For the dance, they will go in a group and perform to the coaches. The night of tryouts the athletes will find out if they made the team or not. Even though this is the end for Josie and Avery, there are still many more cheer generations to come. By: Shayna Higley & Croydon Pebley |
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February 2024
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