![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
Phoenix Welcome New Athletic Season with Winter Sports Tryouts
Rock Ridge held its annual winter sports tryouts the week of Nov. 11 through to Nov. 14. Coaches and athletes alike prepared for another great season during tryouts.
December 2, 2019
The first day of tryouts for Rock Ridge’s winter sports was held Nov. 11 after school. All athletes gathered to their designated try out areas and showed off their best skills to coaches from Nov. 11 to Nov. 14. On Thursday, team rosters were sent out.
As the Monday of tryouts rolled around, the excitement for the popular sports of basketball, swimming, gymnastics, winter cheerleading, wrestling, and indoor track began. Tryouts were run differently based on the sport that was evaluated. Junior Niki Oberoi tried out for gymnastics. On the first day of tryouts, Oberoi said that they stretched and the coach told the athletes how tryouts would work. After discussing tryouts, the team was evaluated on all events. After making varsity, which was announced Nov. 14, Oberoi said that she was most excited to “get new skills and hopefully compete them” this season.
Another student athlete, junior Haley Priftis, found out she made varsity girls basketball on Nov. 14 as well. While she was very excited for the season, she had been on the team before, and said that it can be difficult “to balance getting little sleep and practicing for two hours in the morning and then getting ready for games after school.” On tryout week, she tried to focus on getting prepared for the big time commitment. Although there is a lot of time commitment for tryouts and practices, Priftis said, “I like being apart of a team, being an athlete, and I just think the grind in the morning before school is very worth it.”
Tryouts for winter sports is not only a time of excitement for athletes, but also for the coaches and managers of the teams. Senior Ramsha Naiyer was positioned as the manager of the girl’s varsity basketball team this season. Naiyer said that she will be going to all of the team’s practices and that her favorite part about managing last year was “helping out with the girls and everything they need, and setting up everything for them.”
The week of winter sports tryouts was a great way to begin the 2019-2020 season. During the week, athletes worked very hard on showing off their best skills and preparing for the upcoming season. Managers and coaches have also been preparing their schedules for this season and are excited to see what it brings. Go Phoenix!
![On Friday, Dec. 20, the varsity Phoenix wrestling team embarked on a two-day tournament against 32 other high schools spanning from Loudoun County to other states. This year, Rock Ridge High School hosted the highly anticipated tournament and decked out the main gym for the occasion, donning six full-sized wrestling mats with the Phoenix logo and clearing out space for coaches, managers, and administrators alike. Every open seat in the stands was filled with family and friends of the players, making a lively environment for the players.
King of the Rock started at 4:00 p.m. and lasted until 9:00 p.m on Friday. Every player on every team had the opportunity to go up against another player for three rounds, with each of them lasting two minutes. The preparation for this has gone on since the beginning of the season in their practices, and their previous meets have been leading up to this specific tournament. “During practices, I’ve been doing a lot of conditioning [and] making sure my body is [as] healthy as it can be,” junior Julian Serna said. “I’ve been doing [all] the moves and techniques our coaches are telling us to do, [too].”
The second day of King of the Rock started at 9:00 a.m on Dec. 21, and ended at 3:00 p.m. South Carroll High School in Sykesville, Md. took the win for the entire tournament. Martinez and junior Elijah Whitfield both placed in their individual weight classes, bringing in a win for the Phoenix.
✏️ and 📷 by Maya Coleman, Bella Gerardi, and Sophie King](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)