Wednesday, February 12, 2020 Sports 11 School updates policy on team spirit days HIGHLIGHT REEL The latest developments in sports.

Reese Wang When senior and boys bas- TACKLES Design Editor ketball captain Connor Steele was told of the change at a On Feb. 2. the Kansas City Chiefs In past years, the girls’ captains’ meeting with Pechin, beat the San Francisco 49ers swim team held its annual he didn’t think that his team’s and won the Superbowl with a suits and spandex spirit day usual spirit days of whiteout score of 31-20. before its meet against Cen- and jersey day would be af- tral League rival Radnor, at- fected by the change. As a re- tending class while wearing sult of the change, Steele not- DEFEATS leggings with their swimsuits ed that he would think twice over top. before doing anything risky. In their last home game of the sea- “It was a funny (spirit day) However, boys swim captain son, the girls’ and boys’ basketball that we always did, and it Miles Whitaker realized that team defeated Lower Merion High promoted a lot of team bond- the change would affect team School. ing because we’re all walking bonding. The team’s popular around in our bathing suits,” lazy weatherman spirit day, ATTENDS senior and girls swimming wearing formalwear on top captain Jamie Semmer said. with sweatpants, was initially The wrestling team attended the However, spirit days such axed due to the change before Interboro Invitational at Interboro as wearing suits and span- being brought back upon fur- High School. The team placed dex were banned shortly ther review from Pechin. third among eight teams in the after the beginning of the “We’re not like the other tournament. winter sports season. In an teams because we can’t wear our announcement sent to coach- jerseys, and we use the other es through email and posted (spirit days) like lazy weather- STROKES on Schoology, athletic direc- man day or beach day to make tor Kevin Pechin stated that up for that fact,” Whitaker said. The boys’ and girls’ swim teams teams may only wear team Junior Ava Collin remem- beat Springfeld on Jan. 31. They jerseys and business casual bers when Pechin notified the won win the scores of 99-86 and attire for spirit days with no rest of the swim team through 105-73 respectively. themes or props, explaining a Schoology post. The swim- Photo courtesy @stogaw_swimdive in the email that “our theme mers’ GroupMe chat explod- Beach Day!: The girls’ swim and dive team wear beach attire for a beach themed spirit day, which will no longer be allowed under updated policy. In the is Conestoga.” ed with messages, ironically future, propless spirit days such as U.S.A. Day or color spirit days will be allowed. According to Pechin, the encouraging team bonding as change occurred as a result the swimmers conspired to get of a concern about the attire around the new rules. Whitaker, Semmer and uniform to wear and (that) After several meetings Although Semmer wishes that Pechin is also grateful for the worn in class brought up by a “We were like, ‘What hap- their fellow swim captains de- we don’t practice togeth- with Pechin, the two sides the team could have gotten back opportunity to work with the teacher at a faculty meeting. pened to our spirit days? We all cided to meet with Pechin to er. This is one of the biggest reached an agreement. All more spirit days, she understands swimmers. “We support the spir- hate these new rules,’” Collin understand why the spirit days team bonding things that we teams are now allowed to par- that certain spirit days such as “We’re here to learn frst and it days, and if they want to said. “(The change) forced us were taken away and to nego- do, and we’re not breaking the ticipate in non-themed and suits and spandex could be seen foremost, and if something’s be- wear their jerseys, that’s fine,” all to plot with each other. We tiate a deal for the swim team. dress code. It’s not really fair propless spirit days, such as as inappropriate for school and coming a distraction from some- Pechin said, “but it shouldn’t were all like, ‘Oh, if we can’t get “Going into the meeting, to just say that because you’re U.S.A. day, twin day, and col- is grateful that Pechin agreed to one learning and we can we can take away from the educa- our spirit days back, we’re gon- we just wanted to make the a team, you can’t wear any of or spirit days such as white- work with the captains to reach a help with that and still support our tional setting.” na dye the tips of our hair red.” point that we don’t have a this,” Semmer said. out and blackout. middle ground. teams, I’m all for it,” Pechin said.

HonoringHonoring aa legend:legend: CommunityCommunity remembersremembers KobeKobe BryanTBryanT by ananya kulkarni and gavin merschel designed by ananya kulkarni, Audrey Kim

On his way to his daughter’s game, ed to embarrass Kobe. That was my whole basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his mindset,” Coles said. daughter Gianna Bryant fell victim to a According to Coles, while Bryant’s tragic helicopter accident that took their talent was undeniable, it was his dedica- lives and the lives of seven others on tion to the sport that set him apart more board Jan. 26. than anything else. The accident came as a shock to not “Our mutual friends would go out and only the basketball community but the party Saturday nights. Kobe would never entire nation. While Bryant will forever go. Kobe would go to the gym and prac- be known for his incomparable success tice. He showed up to the gym, 5:30 in in the world of basketball. Bryant was the morning before school, took a show- more than a basketball player- he was er, and went to class in high school,” also a father, a writer, philanthropist and Coles said. “He always had that in him businessman, succeeding in all his en- and we always knew where he was head- deavors both on and off the court. ed to, but to be honest, we didn’t think he As an alumnus of Lower Merion High would be this big.” School, Bryant’s death had a great impact Conestoga alumnus (2006) LeRoi Leviston on the local community. Upon receiving met Bryant at two separate games between the news of his passing, hundreds of stu- Lower Merion and Conestoga High School dents added to a memorial outside of the when Leviston was in 3rd and 4th grade. Le- school, attracting fans from everywhere viston went to the games because his brother to pay their respects. The high school was on Conestoga’s basketball team. Leviston also held a 33-second moment of silence says he was inspired by Bryant then and now. to honor Bryant. “Kobe was just more than a basketball While Bryant is known for his time player. He was a person that wanted to with the Lakers, his first victories came tell stories. So right after he retired, he Public photo via Wikimedia Commons from his time playing at Lower Merion won an Oscar Academy Award. And he Remembering Bryant: The public creates a memorial to Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. Bryant played for the Los High School. is the perfect definition of a person who Angeles Lakers for 20 years. Bryant led the Lower Merion Aces to is more than an athlete, a person that can the first State Championship in 50 years as do multiple things,” Leviston said. “Being a senior in 1996, ending the season with a a teacher and then a coach and a mentor record of 31-3. His success on and off the and personal trainer, it really makes me court built the “Mamba Mentality” that believe that I can not only do all those Bryant will be known for going forward. things, but continue to push myself and The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bry- work hard and keep reinventing myself ant as the 13th overall pick in the 1996 and keep evolving.” NBA draft directly out of high school. Despite the competition, however, Coles will Conestoga Class of ’97 alumnus Dan- remember Bryant as one of his idols. Bryant’s te Coles played against Bryant and the relationship with his daughters is inspiring to Lower Merion Aces during his sopho- Coles as a father and a coach as well. more and junior year. Coles remembers “I feel like me and my daughter got clos- stepping up to the challenge of playing er. We were already close, but the way we are against the best player in Pennsylvania. now it’s like we don’t want to miss any moment “Instead of backing off that challenge, I because of what happened with Kobe and Gi- wanted to go right at Kobe’s neck. I want- anna,” Coles said.

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