This article was written by Alaya Coleman and Zi’ayrha Elijah
Nerves hit you like a lightning strike as you stand to walk into your game. The speaker booms with your name. Then the nerves fade away as you realize you’ve been training for this moment. This is a sensation many athletes experience, especially seniors who are playing their last year of high school.
Being a student athlete takes dedication and hard work, but it is a difficult balancing act. It consists of being a team player and showing your team support. It takes time, focus, and keeping up with grades in school. You have to show up in class as well as on the field or court. It is listening to the wisdom of coaches and teachers while also taking action and improving from mistakes. For seniors, this is the last year to represent Northview and leave their mark.
Beau Peterson, Carmen Cooke and Kara Vanstensel are just a few of the seniors who have been consistent athletes for the majority of their lives. They all are motivated to their sport and have been working hard to get where they are now. They push themselves by going to after school clubs, weight lifting, and camps. These athletes have been working hard for many years and have continued to work hard throughout their high school career.
Beau Peterson started playing football when he was 5 years old and the game just started to get easier and easier. The more he practiced for fun and on a team growing up, the better he improved in his skills.
“I think it’s way easier as a senior you get to just give your time management, and you know how everything goes because you played before,” Peterson said
Swimmer Kara Vanstenzel has been swimming since 7th grade, Vanstenzel shows up for her team and supports them in and out of the pool. She understands the sport is a full body workout and it’s important to keep everyone confident and supportive to teammates.
“My current goal is to get my times as fast as possible and try and get my varsity letter times,” Vanstenzel said. “Sometimes there’s a group of us that go to Tropical Smoothie. We go before our meet, get a smoothie, and bond a little bit.”
Carmen Cooke is a senior volleyball player. Cooke has the social skills and the outgoing passionate attitude. She is easy to work with and build a team with both in and out of games and practices.
“Volleyball takes a lot of leadership on and off the court, just for your team and in practice, and then also a lot of collaboration because you’re getting a new team every year and need to work as one on the court,” Cooke said.
Cooke believes in the value of hard work.She demonstrates this by being a role model and giving advice to new players. She reminds them that you have to work hard if you want to improve and that consistency through the whole season is key. Cooke’s advice to those just starting out in their high school athletic career follows the lines of working hard, being dedicated and a constant want to improve. Using this mentality makes for a great team.
“I’m really happy with the people on my team, and we have a good connection and bond. We’re able to work hard in our practices and I feel like we’re all very determined to be better throughout the season.” Cooke said.
Bob Nowak has coached football for the Northview Wildcats for 9 years now both at the high school and middle school. He has watched these teams grow up and has been there for them on the field and in the classroom, pushing them to their full potential.
“I do a lot of things to push and motivate the players. More than anything, I try to push them to their personal best. So we talk about how that’s always changing and that you’re never really there,” Nowak said. “Beyond that we’re always just trying to encourage the guys to get out and have a better day than the previous day, and when you stack a bunch of positive days, you increase your net output every year, every day.”
Senior athletes and their coaches are dedicated and lead their teams by example. They support new players and show up when it counts. As seniors are in the spotlight, they work hard to shine their light on the upcoming stars too, sharing in the glow of teamwork and success.
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