The office looks more like an after school hangout rather than a medical office, students lounge on cushioned benches chatting to others while casually waiting to be helped, some students help themselves to tape or ice bags. The environment’s loud and active with Denise Grider, KHS athletic trainer, and her staff hustling to help every athlete, yet it provides a breath of fresh air for students who after spending hours confined in classrooms taking tests and scribbling notes, are ready to focus on a physical test rather than a math quiz.

“We jump straight into the after-school rush,” Grider, said. “We go strictly from the list, first come first served. If [an athlete] has a game then we help them first and then we work our way down by who has just practices.”

Along with basic injury prevention methods, Grider also helps athletes with rehab procedures. A large portion of the athletes she helps are football players because of how high-contact in the sport. She said she gets to know the football players better than anyone else with the amount of training help they receive.

“[Grider is] there if there’s injuries suffered during practice or to make a diagnoses or recommendation,” Farrell Shelton, head football coach said. “From there, if [the injury] goes to a doctor and [the athlete] comes back with rehab, [Grider] helps with the rehab. If [the injury is] not something that [requires] surgery, then Denise will provide the rehab and carries out [the procedure] from her professional point of view.”

Grider said she hopes to build strong relationships with all the athletes she sees. Grider helped Emilee Autry, junior, after she injured her shoulder in a soccer game. While rehabilitating her shoulder, Autry said she viewed Grider as a support system and felt she could come to her with any questions.

“[Grider is] like my best friend,” Autry said. “She always has candy and you can talk to her about anything. It doesn’t have to be about sports, it can be school or relationship related or if I need advice, she’s always there.”

Working at KHS for seven years, Grider did not consider working in a high school setting for her career at first. She said saw herself in a clinic doing more of strength and conditioning, rather than injury prevention and healing.

“I started out at Francis Howell High School, but I also [worked with] the River City Rascals, a minor league baseball [team],” Grider said. “It was an overwhelming amount of travel. A high school setting is more rewarding because athletes are seeing their most growth, [especially] during their junior and senior year.”

Grider and her staff attend varsity games, with the most high contact sport taking priority, than going from low contact to JV and freshmen level sports. When attending the games Grider enjoys watching a previously injured athlete return to their sport, and sometimes performing better than before their injury.

“I like that there’s something different everyday and I’m not sitting in my office all day,” Grider said. “I’m going out and visiting all the sports and meeting different kinds throughout the year. It’s rewarding and I feel like a mother hen here.”

Freshman boys’ basketball knocks Parkway South off their feet with a final score of 55-20 at 4:15 in the Denver Miller gym Dec. 12. The first quarter had everyone anxious as the score board sat at 6-4 for a seemingly long time. Kirkwood broke the tie of 6-6 and took the lead till the end. Matthew Connelly, freshman, has been playing basketball for as long as he can remember and is very proud of the shots him and his teammates made. “We shot the ball pretty well,” Connelly said.  We played defense really well. It’s always great to get a win, especially the way we did it by 35 points.”

Slideshow • 4 Photos

TNS

photo courtesy of MCT Campus

Whether it was about student athletes at KHS or controversial news heard around the country, sports staff was not afraid to push the limits in 2016. From profiling a basketball player headed to UCLA after overcoming a horrific injury to putting Stan Kroenke in his rightful place, sports stories intend to leave our readers’ with a new perspective.

Stan ain’t the man– Reese Anderson

An athlete’s kryptonite– Ryan Davidson

I’m out for dead presidents– Sam Balmer

Bruins or bust– Christian Heutel

Acing the deaflympics– Riley Arns

The Pioneers secure a narrow 47-45 win over Wentzville Holt High School during the Denver Miller Tournament Jan. 11. The game marked the first win of the tournament for KHS, and they finished the tournament 2-1 having also playing Ladue and Ritenour. Zach Kohl, sophomore, felt ready to go back to regular season play. “I feel like going back into regular season play we will do really well,” Kohl said. “We just got back some players that have been injured, and we’re all starting to play well as a team.”

Slideshow • 27 Photos

Jairus Maclin, freshman, attempts a layup.

Girls’ varsity basketball pulls away in the second half with a 67-47 win, after a close first half against Nerinx Hall Jan. 23. Lauryn Miller, senior, led Kirkwood with 21 points, followed by Jayla Everett with 16 points. Right before half time, Nerinx began to pull ahead, closing in the lead the Pioneers had. “Honestly at half time I was just frustrated with myself,” Jayla Everett, junior, said. “When we came out in the second half, we were able to get some easy shots and I was able to relax a bit, and then my shots started falling. As a team, we were more positive in the second half, once our shots were falling and we had pulled ahead by so much.”

Slideshow • 7 Photos

Gabi Baker

Jayla Everett, junior

KHS’s varsity boys’ basketball team played Lindbergh January 18. Lindbergh left the game with a win, the final score at 57-39. “We stay motivated [after a loss] by sticking with our motto of ‘next play’,” Isaac Moye, senior, said.

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Audrey Berns

Keyshawn Gilbert, senior, shoots a free throw during warm ups.

After a hard fought game, Vianney pulled away from Kirkwood with a final score of 66-48 on Jan. 24. After a close first half, Vianney slowly built upon their lead. “We did not play our best last night,” said Isaac Moye, senior. “This season has been up and down for us.” Kirkwood’s record this season is 7-7. “In the games we win, we come out with great energy and play well together as a team,” Jonah McDowell, sophomore, said. “We communicate well and we play as a unit. When we lose, we get down and play individually. We do good things when we play together.”

Slideshow • 9 Photos

Christian Baker

Isaac Moye, senior

After a hard fought and close game the boys’ varsity basketball team pulled away from Rockwood Summit on Jan. 27. The boys played together as a team to blow past Summit, winning 63-53. Keyshawn Gilbert helped lead the Pioneers by scoring 16 points. “After I hit my first three I was like ‘Okay, maybe I’ll start heating up,’ then I came down and hit another one and another one,” said Keyshawn Gilbert, senior. “Just watching my shots fall through the net gave me the satisfaction of all my hard work being put to good work.”

Slideshow • 13 Photos

Brendan Sievers, senior

Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots are set to face off in Super Bowl LI Feb. 5, 2017. Tom Brady, the Patriots’ starting quarterback, will be making his seventh career start in a Super Bowl. The Falcons, on the other hand, are led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who will be making his first Super Bowl appearance. The Patriots have been to eight Super Bowls before and won four of them; the Falcons have no Super Bowl wins and this will only be their second experience in franchise history. With odds like that, there’s no way the Falcons can win, right? Wrong.
The Falcons have 12 more touchdowns than the Patriots, 56 more rushing yards, 417 more passing yards, and 473 more offensive yards total. On defense, the Falcons outmatch the Patriots in total tackles by 72 and in yards per interception by 14.8 yards. And that’s just the regular season. In the playoffs, the Falcons beat the Patriots in every single one of the aforementioned categories plus total first downs, third down conversions and sacks.

When comparing the quarterbacks, there is a clear winner. While Matt Ryan has completed over 70 percent of his passes, Tom Brady has completed a mere 62.5 percent of his. Tom Brady was also injured for a few weeks earlier in the season while Matt Ryan has had no injuries and has played in every single game this season. Brady has had ankle problems dating back to week six in the 2014 season and it has been recurring ever since. Another comparison that shows the Falcons’ clear superiority is their running backs. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta’s starting running back, has had more yards in the playoffs than LeGarrette Blount, New England’s starting running back.

The Falcons beat the Patriots in nearly every category. Their quarterback has more completed passes and hasn’t been injured in over two years. Their defense has more tackles and their offense has more yards. Their special teams is stronger and they have more possession time. The Patriots may have had more Super Bowl appearances, but that’s in the past. This is the present and the Atlanta Falcons are the better team; the numbers show it clearly. The only way that the New England Patriots could win is if they cheat, and we all know they’re not afraid to do that.

Patriots
Surprise! Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have led their star studded New England Patriots to the Super Bowl again for the seventh time. Brady and Belichick are like the Batman and Robin of the NFL. The pair have the most wins of any coach and quarterback partnership, at 183, and haven’t had a losing season since 2000, Brady’s rookie season. The crime fighting duo have also grabbed four Super Bowl rings along the way and should have no problem earning a fifth \ ring this year against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Patriots have the best defense in the league, averaging less than 16 points allowed per game, and as former Alabama football coach Bear Bryant so famously put it, “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” The Falcons do have the best offense in the league and have scored the 7th most amount of points in history in a single season at 540 points but that statistic isn’t necessarily in the Falcons favor. Of the six teams that have scored more points than the Falcons, Zero have gone on to win the Super Bowl and only two of them have actually made it to the big game. The 2013 Denver Broncos and the 2007 New England Patriots are first and second in points scored in a single season in NFL history at 606 & 589 points respectively and both teams made the Super Bowl but struggled to score. The Patriots only scored two touchdowns and the Broncos only scored one in a 43-8 blowout by the Seattle Seahawks who were ranked first in defense that year. Having a good defense is far more important than having a good offense when it comes to Super Bowls. Nearly half of all teams that have ever won the super bowl were ranked either first or second defensively and this year the Patriots are ranked first by far with an average of 15.7 points allowed per game. To put that into perspective The New York Giants are ranked second and are averaging 18.7 points allowed per game, nearly 3 more points than the patriots. Considering that the best offensive teams don’t score that many points in the Super Bowl and the Patriots have the best defense in the League, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Patriots hold the Falcons to a touchdown or less., The Patriots aren’t lacking in offense either. In the regular season their offense was ranked third in the league thanks to Brady and their balanced receiving core of Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan who have really stepped it up this postseason. Edelman and Hogan alone have an incredible combined 530 yards and 3 touchdowns in just 2 games. The Patriots are going to have to play without Rob Gronkowski, one of the league’s best tight ends, but it shouldn’t matter because his replacement, Martellus Bennett, is above average and had seven touchdowns this season. New England also has a versatile running back system with three running backs including LeGarrette Blount, who had a spectacular 1,161 rushing yards and lead the league in rushing touchdowns with 18.

The New England Patriots have a great all around team with arguably the greatest quarterback of all time at the helm, a tight receiving core where no one can be left open, a running back who lead the league in touchdowns and the league’s best defense. At this point the question isn’t if the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl, the question is by how much are the Patriots going to win the Super Bowl.

Photos from MTC Campus

The New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Feb. 5 in Super Bowl LI. At the end of the first half, Atlanta was up 21-3. Early in the third quarter, they would widen that margin, making the score 28-3. But the tide turned quickly, and New England scored 25 unanswered points, sending the game into overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history. The Patriots then scored the winning touchdown, completing the biggest comeback victory in Super Bowl history.

Looking at the stats, there’s no question as to how the Patriots won. They had over twice as many first downs as Atlanta, almost double the yards, and 17 more minutes of possession. The only thing the two teams were even close on was rushing yards and turnovers; both with 104 yards and the Patriots with one more turnover. That makes turnovers the only statistic in which the Falcons beat the Patriots, not counting penalties (which aren’t necessarily good thing).

Tom Brady earned his fifth Super Bowl ring, setting yet another Super Bowl record. A total of 23 Super Bowl records were broken that night, making it an unprecedented game. The Patriots had 200 more passing yards than the Falcons. 75 percent of the Atlanta Falcons’ points were scored in the first half. After halftime, their progress grinded to a halt, allowing the Patriots to make quite the comeback. While the Patriots’ comeback was unprecedented, it’s really no surprise they won, seeing as they beat the Falcons in nearly every stat and were projected to win anyways.

I’ve often considered myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. Born from blasts by McGwire and raised on roundtrippers by Pujols, I know nothing else than to worship the Birds on the Bat and everything they stand for.

Talent isn’t everything.

It’s not over until it’s over.

An 83-78 team can win the World Series.

Who wouldn’t feel fortunate to know all that?

But this past Saturday, the “Cardinal Way” was ripped to shreds by its own self-proclaimed “best fans in baseball.”

It all started when Dexter Fowler, outfielder for the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs, signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Cards last December. A student of the game, Fowler scored 84 runs in his 2016 All-Star campaign, finishing the season with a career-high 4.2 wins above replacement (WAR).

While celebrating his recent World Series victory, he tweeted this:

He implies he wouldn’t mind visiting President Trump if the Cardinals won the World Series. In fact, he can’t wait for it. However, Fowler’s wife Aliya is from Iran, and the couple feels unsafe visiting family there, considering Trump’s temporary travel policy banned immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran.

“It’s huge,” Fowler told ESPN Saturday, Feb. 18. “Especially any time you’re not able to see your family, it’s unfortunate.”

Later that day, the St. Louis Cardinals True Fans Facebook page posted a link to a story titled “Cardinals Outfielder Expresses Discontent With President Trump” by 12up.com. This incorrectly headlined news article pushed the “best fans in baseball” to show their true colors. By Tuesday night, the post had 668 comments, ranging from the common scornful rant to the rare encouraging praise.

After scrolling through the entire comment section, I realized a horrible truth. Cardinal Nation is the prime example of a fanbase with members so ignorant it can be tough to identify with. But because so many of “the best fans in baseball” claim to love the game so much, here’s what they’d say to some of baseball’s greatest men.

Jackie Robinson: No, he can’t do that! Keep him and everyone like him out of baseball, it’s a white man’s sport!

Curt Flood: All players are the properties of their organizations, and they should know their places. Who does this guy think he is?

Roberto Clemente: It’s sad that this happened, but as baseball fans, we’re only here to observe his time on the field. He should’ve kept his charity work to himself.

Ted Williams: Great job, you did what millions of other men did too. Now get back on the field and try to win a World Series why don’t ya?

Joe DiMaggio: You’re clearly doing this as a publicity stunt, and nobody’s buying it. You may be retired, but we still look to you as a ballplayer, not a washed up celebrity.

Yogi Berra: Don’t tell me to take that fork in the road, or how much nickels and dimes are worth. I have no idea what the hell that means. Go back to Italy, you greaser.

Lou Gehrig: We’re sorry you have to go through this, but because you can no longer play baseball, we ask that you remove yourself from the field. The baseball diamond is for baseball only, and frankly we don’t care about your personal life anyway.

Baseball wouldn’t be what it is today without these men, and the comments of these ignorant fans adjusted to some of the game’s greats just seem plain stupid. As a diehard, lifelong Cardinal fan, it’s hard for me to read the comments some “fans” directed toward our new star outfielder. However, I recognize these fans have every right to say whatever they wish, just as Fowler has every right to voice his own opinion.

So, Dexter, speak your mind. Tell everything you have to tell, and the day nobody tears you down for it, I may once again feel like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

Five years ago, if I’d been told the NFL may soon see its demise, I would’ve said that’s as likely as the Cleveland Browns sticking to one quarterback. Impossible. Could never happen.

Now, if I were told the NFL won’t exist in five years, I’d flash the same expression as if I’d been told Brett Favre was planning another comeback.

“Uh huh, I can see it,” I’d say.

But this is all just hypothetical, right? We can’t seriously expect the most profitable league in America to just crumble, can we?

We can, and here’s why.

1. Concussion lawsuits have recently hit the NFL like a raging Ray Lewis. Dave Duerson (former Bears defensive back, age 50), Ray Easterling (former Falcons safety, age 62) and Junior Seau (former Chargers linebacker, age 43) were all found dead from suicide between February 2011 and May 2012. They all suffered from CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. You don’t need to master the Wildcat formation or the Statue of Liberty to know that parents now are waiting to let their kids play football until they’re older, or not letting them play at all. If you’re not convinced, check out Will Smith’s 2015 blockbuster, Concussion.

2. Millennials simply don’t care about the sport as much as older generations do. According to Business Insider, 61 percent of millennials identified the NFL as “sleazy,” and teenage interest in the league dropped from 26 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2016. With a growing reliance on technology at their fingertips, they have about as much patience as any logical owner has with Rex Ryan.

3. The biggest reason the NFL could topple is coming from within. The relocation frenzy started by the St. Louis Rams (now in Los Angeles), continued by the San Diego Chargers (also now in LA) and hopefully finished by the Oakland Raiders (who, pending approval from 75 percent of NFL owners in March, will move to Las Vegas) has exiled fans into a state of confusion Ron Jaworski can’t even analyze.

When I found out the Rams were relocating to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, I was perplexed. What did we steady fans do wrong? I attempted to stay loyal to the team, but when the NFL Draft came around in late April and I didn’t even care who they wasted their number one overall pick on, I knew it was time to jump ship.

And after the Oakland Raiders officially filed paperwork for a move to Sin City Jan. 19 and became potentially the third team to relocate since January 2016, I realized it may soon be time to abandon the NFL altogether.

Los Angeles was of course bound to be a much better home for the Rams than St. Louis. The fans there are so considerate, they even decided to leave Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum partially empty during games to remind the team of all their recent success in the Dome.

The Chargers had the lowest home attendance in 2016. Doesn’t it make sense to move a team featuring a potential Hall-of-Fame quarterback and a budding star running back to a city that has no significant connection to the franchise? It’s about as obvious as a goal-line rush in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl, of course.

And how about a city that has not only never hosted an NFL team, but has never hosted any major sports team and has never proven it can support one? Why, Vegas deserves nothing less than a playoff team whose fans have remained loyal through years of miserable 5-11 seasons.

So you’ve lost St. Louis, you’ve lost San Diego and you’ve lost Oakland. That’s pretty low, Roger, isn’t it? While you and the rest of your slimy NFL barons are up to your old tricks, I have some relocation suggestions to consider.

Los Angeles 49ers: The Niners are now the only California team not in Los Angeles. They want to join the party, too.

Louisville Colts: Wouldn’t it be more fitting for the Colts to play in the home of the Kentucky Derby, instead of a rusty stadium that looks like an oversized grocery store?

Guantanamo Patriots: Brady and Belichick deserve nothing less than a good waterboarding after what they’ve done to the integrity of the NFL.

Moscow Redskins: The best way to get rid of a team whose name is racially degrading and offends the native population of our country? Just give ‘em to Russia, red means something completely different over there.

London Jaguars: They play across the pond so often it’s practically their home already, chap.

Baghdad Oilers: The Titans continually rank toward the bottom of the league in attendance, so let’s send them back to their Oiler roots. Maybe playing in the Middle East can help out their defense, too.

Stockholm Vikings: Why not?

West Virginia Browns: Shhhh… let’s see if anyone notices.

All in all, I’d like to congratulate you, Mr. Goodell. Keep this up, and you may soon lose a fan who remained loyal to the worst team of them all, year after year. And that, my friend, is not hypothetical.

Good luck,

The NHL’s newest fan

Keepin’ it original

Experience is something the Cougars, a CYC boys’ basketball team, uses to their advantage. During his sophomore year, Jake Millenbruck, senior, and some of his friends had the idea of starting their own team after deciding not to play for KHS’s boys basketball team.

“A lot of people love to play basketball,” Jack Barbieri, senior, said. “But once you get to high school people either don’t want to commit or they aren’t good enough. It gives us a chance to bring our friend group closer together.”

Originally named “Brothers in Christ,” they decided to change up the name of the team at the start of their second season. Thus the “Cougars” dynasty was born, because a majority of the players are very passionate about animals and like that a cougar is viewed as fierce. And this fierceness is really brought out in practices and games, Connelly said.

“We push the tempo and we like to think we are the most in shape team out there, so we have a better chance of winning,” Joe Connelly, senior, said. “A lot of defenses just can’t keep up with us, so that plays to our advantage.”

This somewhat bold strategy should be credited to Millenbruck, who was given the head coaching position after blowing his knee out last year. The confidence he bestows upon his team and the dedication he shows is what pushes them to be their best every week, Millenbruck said.

“Being a coach this year, I’ve taken on a whole new role,” Millenbruck said. “Being a leader to these guys is something I look forward to every week. Being there for my boys is what it’s all about.”

With a current record of 5-3, the 10-member team is determined to get back to the championship game this season. Getting below .500 is not ideal for a team that loves to win every week. Whether on the bench or out on the court, the Cougars are constantly hyping each other up.

“This league is so fun because it is not serious at all,” Connelly said. “But all the teams in the division we play take it serious enough to where it’s competitive and worth playing.”

In their mind, there is no question that they would beat Cooper’s Hoopers because of the experience and they would beat the Yandas because of their bigger hearts. While the Yandas use nicknames and Cooper’s Hoopers is brand new, the Cougars have been around for three years and can’t find a reason to change anything about their success story.

“We are like Carl’s Drive-In,” Barbieri said. “While all these other restaurants are trying to innovate with these new eating fads, we just stay true to our roots and customers keep coming back and we don’t want to go away from that.”

 Gabi Baker

Ballin’ all day in SJ

Confident. Enthusiastic. Ballers. These are three words Katie Hackett, senior and co-captain, used to describe Cooper’s Hoopers, a CYC basketball team that started this year.

Last year during lunch, a group of Hackett’s friends were joking about trying out for the golf team. After realizing none of them had any experience out on the course, they had the brilliant idea of forming a basketball team. The inspiration behind the team name is none other than journalism teacher Shawn Owens’ son, Cooper, who is a favorite among the girls on the team.

“Mr. Owens is our coach, but Cooper is our mascot and inspiration,” Celia Rose, senior and co-captain, said. “He is our name sake, because he really pushes us to be the best we can be and he’s smarter than us even at a young age.”

While most of the team doesn’t play sports, Rose said she had the desire to be more athletic her senior year and wanted to tap her inner potential of Michael Jordan. With Rose’s confidence leading the team, they are currently undefeated with a record of 3-0. Through chants and cheers, they consider themselves an intimidating squad with a total of 18 players.

“Although the scoreboard might say otherwise, we know that our passion for the sport will keep us going,” Rose said. “We would 100 percent win against the other teams, because we have special skills.”

Even though Cooper’s Hoopers is a new team, they don’t believe it will be a disadvantage. They find time to practice on a consistent basis, whether it is at someone’s house or at the Lodge.

“If we are down points, we really put a lot of work in to get back up to be number one,” Hackett said. “It’s still really fun because in the beginning of our first game you could just hear us laughing at our mess ups because even pro athletes mess up.”

The team’s strategy during games is to use man-to-man defense and full court press, because they are so competitive. But Audrey Kelly, senior, said it plays to their advantage to get on the refs’ good side before the game even begins.

“The refs generally really like us and they give us pointers during games,” Kelly said. “We like to win over the refs and then they help us, because they like to see us having so much fun with each other.”

With no expectations and an undefeatable spirit, they don’t see any team getting in their way, especially not the Cougars or Yandas, who are two other CYC basketball teams from KHS.

“The other teams are just there to boost our confidence,” Hackett said. “If we are down during the game we really push ourselves to get the ‘W’ and I always say ‘Remember to check yourself before you wreck yourself.’”

Although Cooper’s Hoopers will most likely retire after their opening season, they hope their legacy lives on and inspires future teams.

“It brings you closer with people you wouldn’t otherwise be on a team with,” Rose said. “It is a fun way to hang out and do something new, because it gets you out of the house and changes up your schedule.”

Gabi Baker

(Yan)duh we dunk

For Colin Murphy, senior, basketball is something that has always been a part of his life. During his freshman and sophomore year at KHS, he played on the boys’ basketball team. But he decided not to continue his junior year and instead started a CYC basketball team, called the Yandas, with a group of friends.

“It’s a fun way to keep playing the sport,” Murphy said. “High school basketball is really serious and a big-time commitment, so it’s nice to be able to play however you want and whenever you want.”

Murphy was the main instigator of the team and he scouted all the players. He first asked Dylan Funk, senior, if he wanted to help form a team and they never looked back. One day on the basketball court, the two shared a pivotal moment that ended up being fate for their future team.

“Marshal Yanda is an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens,” Funk said. “Colin and I were watching him in the Super Bowl the year before we created the team, and he was actually a really good player. Colin and I went out onto the basketball court one day and acted like we were playing like Marshal Yanda and we got the ball stuck in between the rim and the backboard, so from that point on we called that a Yanda. And we named our team after it.”

After getting inspiration from legend Marshal Yanda, the team knew they needed to bring the same intensity to games and practices in order to be successful. By either blocking from behind or goaltending, the other teams often freak out and don’t know how to respond to such talent, Funk said. This is typically what gets the crowd fired up and part of the game.

“We are actually getting a lot of support this year,” Murphy said. “My grandma is one our biggest fans and supporters so we are very excited.”

The Yandas have come to appreciate their family and friends who come out to support at their games, but after having such an exciting season last year, they are expecting much larger crowds.

“This year the stands are just going to be packed,” Chad Karrer, senior, said. “We expect half the school to be there, including the staff.”

But the factor that really puts this team over the edge is their bold mascot. Although not a very obvious choice, they believe it is a way to psych out the competition.

“Last year our mascot was a wizard, but this year it is an armadillo,” Funk said. “We like to spice things up and switch things around so we keep things hot. We made it armadillos this year, contrasting to our wizard that put the magic on people last year.”

photos by Gabi Baker

As soon as the dancers came tapping and kicking out onto the stage, she was instantly drawn into the rhythms and beats of their feet. Tabby Stowers, junior, saw her stepfather performing on the bagpipes with a procession of Irish dancers in an opening ceremony recital in St. Charles.

At just 7 years old, she knew immediately that is what she wanted to do. Her stepfather’s Irish heritage came from his parents, she said. Jackson Stowers’ practice of the Irish culture, including seeing him perform with Irish dancers made an impact on her.

“Dancing at practice and hearing all the cool beats and how fast people move their feet, that’s what really got to me,” Stowers said. “I just love moving around, I’m a very athletic person, so [I enjoy] moving around the stage.“

Tabby could tell her dad was happy that she chose to Irish dance, she said. What made him happy was that he could tell she thoroughly enjoyed Irish dancing, without feeling pressured to perform.

“Before she started dancing, I thought Irish dancing was kind of boring,” Jackson said. “After watching her, I see how complicated it is with the feet movement and speed. It’s great she chose this dance on her own and is really good at it.”

Over the course of almost a decade, Jackson has grown proud of Tabby’s performances. His most recent proud moment is when Stowers made it to the Mid-America Regional Championships last year, where she reached her goal by medaling in the competition.

“The best thing about her dancing is her smile when she’s on stage,” Jackson said. “Other teachers and parents will come up to me and compliment it.”

Tabby’s dance teacher, Katie Stegeman, has been coaching Tabby for eight years. She has watched Tabby grow as both a dancer and person during this time.

“In the past couple years Tabby has pushed [herself] to reach [her] full potential,” Stegeman said. “She works hard in class, works outside of practice and takes the opportunity to have private classes.”

At the expense of doing a time consuming sport, thoughts of quitting dance came after years of practice and competitions. Some of these competitions included a trip to the World Championships in Dublin to compete with the best dancers in the world and a soloist spot at Nationals last year, in Orlando, FL. “I’ve always had thoughts about, What if I quit Irish dancing? Would that affect me in any way?” Stowers said. “Sometimes I get tired of it. Sometimes I don’t want to go to practice.”

The thought of not hearing her name announced at recalls, where judges calculate points and then call out the names of dancers who pass through to the last round of the competition, still scares her. Anticipation of the treasured medal ceremonies at the end of competitions, helps her return to practice each week, Stowers said.

“[Going] to a competition and working hard, even if you didn’t want to, but you still try your best and [afterwards you go up on stage to receive a medal,” Tabby said. “[When the] medal says you’re one of the best dancers in the nation or region, that’s what really keeps me going. If I didn’t do well in dance then I probably would’ve stopped a long time ago.”

According to Tabby, what may be the most important factor of Irish dancing, second to dancing, is how the dancers look. The “outfit factor” can cost thousands of dollars and take at least an hour to get ready.

“Say you have two people,” Stowers said. “One of them is wearing a regular black dress, no bling, and they have no makeup [or] wig. [The other person] wears bling, has a wig and has outdone themselves. They dance the same, [but] typically the judges will judge higher for the person that put more on because they seem like they put more effort into what they’re doing.”

The freshman girls’ basketball team ends their season with a 46-32 victory against Hazelwood West Feb. 7. The Pioneers led by 10 points or more the entire game. “[The best part of the season was] meeting new people,” Courtnay Terry, freshman, said. “We had a team party every Friday and were able to connect more. I got a lot closer to my teammates over the season.”

Slideshow • 11 Photos

Mary Ralston

Rylee Mulvaney, freshman, shoots a three-pointer while Natalie Sweesy, freshman, pushes towards the basket.

Every Thursday afternoon in a dark classroom at North Kirkwood Middle School (NKMS), Dr. David Holley, former KHS principal, begins class by playing “The Song of Your Heart” which first caught his eye during a drive back from Colorado after Christmas. In a fairly quiet setting, Holley stands in front of the classroom and breathes heavily in and out as he attempts to alleviate stress from a group of seventh grade girls.

 
“At North, I have the same kids every week,” Holley said. “I’ve had these kids since September, and honestly, I think they can’t imagine not doing yoga.”

 
After 35 years of working in KSD, Holley decided it was time to take a step back from education and hand over the responsibility to someone else. He spent five years away from the community, spending his summers at his home in Colorado where he enjoyed walking his dogs, playing golf and volunteering for a school in Denver once a week.

Adaline Bray

 
After taking some yoga classes, Holley received a call from his yoga instructor who said he should go through the training to become a yoga teacher due to the lack of male teachers in the area. At first Holley was opposed to the idea, but he had a discussion with Gina Woodard, KHS health teacher, which changed his perspective.

 
“I had come from a yoga class that I was taking in Oakville, and I went to a cross country meet at Jefferson Barracks Park,” Holley said. “Gina Woodard was there, and she started telling me about the stress level of the girls on her team. It made me think about yoga and how it would help them physically and [mentally].”

 
Holley had to complete 200 hours of certification before becoming a licensed teacher. One weekend a month for nine months he learned about the body, the poses and what the poses do for your body. But after this introduction to yoga, Holley said he still felt like he knew nothing.

 
“The longer I stayed in teacher training and the longer I did tutoring at NKMS, the more I began to see there is a place for [yoga] for kids,” Holley said. “So many kids lives are so stressful.”

Along with teaching at NKMS, he also leads students in the KHS ATLAS program. But Holley said he noticed more of an impact in the middle school girls. ATLAS kids can come if they have finished their work and have time, but these middle schoolers choose to put yoga into their schedules, Holley said. Hannah Moore, seventh grader, has attended Holley’s class since the beginning and has begun to appreciate the importance of coming back week after week.

 
“I do sports, and this definitely helps relax the body and relieve a lot of tension and stress,” Moore said. “It’s nice to know this is a safe place where we don’t have to worry about anything else. Everything that is said here stays here.”

 
Holley’s teaching does not just have an effect on the six or seven girls at NKMS. Every Tuesday after school, he leads a yoga class for the staff at KHS. Regular attendees include Gina Woodard, Randy Kriewall, math teacher, and Dr. June Bourque, science teacher.

 
“As teachers, we are a stressed-out group of people, and it’s nice to have a 45-minute chunk of time that we are not really doing anything,” Woodard said. “It’s also nice to be in a room full of colleagues you don’t typically see during the day.”

Adaline Bray

Even though they have only had the class for a few months, the room seems to get more crowded each time, Woodard said. But no one notices, as the teachers are grateful to have quiet time after sometimes long and stressful days.

 
“A lot of us have a relationship with him, so it’s like getting to see a friend once a week, and one of his many strengths is [being] a relationship-builder,” Woodard said. “He has positive relationships with so many people that it just feels nice to walk into the room.”

 
As a principal, Holley was seen as an effective leader by Woodard and nothing seems to have changed since he retired in 2011. At the start of every class, he first asks about everyone’s well-being and mental health.

 
“He gives people permission to be pretty authentic and to be able to say, ‘I’m exhausted, I’m a mess’ or ‘I’m really excited to be here, this is going to be great,’” Woodard said. “He does this for free, and he’s very generous in his time and talents.”

 
Even though Holley has been teaching for less than a year, his yoga instruction has already made an impact on the KHS community. He has also noticed an improvement in his own health because he found yoga that was fit for a 67-year-old man.

 
“I couldn’t walk down stairs when I started yoga and my back hurt all the time,” Holley said. “It helps me physically and calms me mentally. So if it does it for me, I figured it can do that for the other people too.”

“He’s heating up! He’s on fire! Boomshakalaka!” In an NBA All-Star Game with 374 points, no defense and practically no excitement, I wish I would’ve spent that wasted time playing NBA Jam, throwing down massive dunks with bobblehead Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. I bet I would’ve had more fun than watching Anthony Davis score 52 uncontested points.

The gathering of the NBA’s greatest talents all on the same court would hopefully bring a competitive atmosphere, but what we see, however, is quite the contrary. Scores are increasing year after year, and my attention span to watch games is becoming shorter and shorter. The average score of the NBA All-Star Game has increased 18 percent since 2000. That may not seem like a large figure, but that is an additional 30 more points per team. As well, scores in recent history are running the scoreboard out of digits. The four games since 2014 have all broken the record for most points scored in an NBA All-Star Game.

My frustrations, not only with the NBA All-Star Game, but with all professional sports All-Star Games, boil down to a few key issues. To start, professional athletes aren’t held accountable for having any sort of competitiveness. Players don’t want to get injured mid season, so they already have the mindset to coast and not try hard.

Next, the games have absolutely zero meaning. The MLB All-Star Game at least, up until this season, was played with the winner receiving home field advantage during the World Series. That doesn’t amount to much, but giving it some meaning is better than none.

As a change, leagues began offering cash prizes to the winning team, in my opinion to hopefully try and bring more intensity. Sadly, $35,000 for winning the NBA All-Star Game is merely pocket change to just about everyone who steps on the court. With the MLB’s new changes of moving the All-Star Game away from deciding home field advantage, both the MLB and the NHL are moving toward cash prizes to the winners.

It’s sad to see that money needs to be paid out to the best athletes in the world to compete against each other due to lack of effort. I understand fear of injury is a large deterrent, but only once a year do we see the greatest talents compete on the same court, ice, or field. Our excitement to see them play should be matched by an exciting, watchable game… with defense.

TKC asked eight student-athletes about their off-the-field efforts to ensure a successful spring season. Below are their responses.

art by Lizzie Stobbe

It’s finally here. TKC’s March Madness picks. From reigning champion Villanova to Coach K’s Duke juggernaut to Lonzo Ball and UCLA’s dynamite offense, the 2017 NCAA Tournament is absolutely loaded. Hover over the dots on the bracket below to read the Final Four predictions of TKC staffers Riley Arns, Ben Cohen, Brendan Davidson, Ryan Davidson, Holden Foreman and Michael Teasdale.

Bracket courtesy of Campus Grotto and logos courtesy of Wikimedia under the Creative Commons License.