Sophomore Phoebe Yeh: 

Novaquatics club swimmer, sophomore Phoebe Yeh takes on extra grueling training to gain an edge in her swimming. In comparison to the team at school, Yeh usually has 17 hours of practice per week for her club team. 

“We train harder and we train more,” Yeh said. When her training gets extremely difficult from the high amount of dedication, and physical and mental strength it requires, Yeh relies on her friends from her club team for motivation during practice. Yeh’s experience at school is much different from her experience at her club team, but she enjoys each for different reasons. 

“It’s more individual than school swimming, and it is just a different feeling. School swimming is more about getting people for the team aspect, and club swimming is about making yourself better.” Yeh said. 

Yeh’s training outside of school gives her an advantage when she races for Woodbridge High and allows her to become a stronger athlete overall.  

Yeh’s future goals in the sport of competitive swimming include getting a scholarship to a division one college, and she strives to reach her goals and challenge herself every practice. Yeh’s competitive fire and motivation to be her best helps her immensely in both club and school swimming. 

“I do it just to prove people wrong. When people say I can’t do something, I want to do it,” Yeh said.

Sophomore Bryce Shaver: 

An avid runner in track and cross country, sophomore Bryce Shaver puts in extra work to get faster and build up his aerobic strength. “It’s important to be dedicated because…if you miss a few days in running, you’ll be at a disadvantage, especially on the weekends when we don’t have practice,” Shaver said. 

Since Shaver’s trainer is a former professional cyclist, he knows what it takes to win and become the best, which is one of the best aspects of training for him. Shaver’s short term goals include making varsity track this upcoming spring season and racing varsity races. Ultimately, he strives to gain an athletic scholarship to college and by spending extra time working out, he knows that he can accomplish it. 

“[My trainer] brings me through this little program that helps me a lot in getting stronger, getting faster,” Shaver said. 

It is apparent that his devotion to constantly trying to become the best version of himself in track is making a difference in the great way that he performs and hopes to perform in the upcoming season. It also fuels his love for the sport, which helps him to be motivated to continue working hard to improve.

Senior Gabriel Zakaryan: 

From shotput and discus in school to powerlifting and karate outside of school, senior Gabriel Zakaryan is a hardworking student athlete who knows the importance of perseverance and constantly seeks improvement in all of the sports he does. Zakaryan mainly focuses on his training outside of school for powerlifting. In this sport, he participates in lifting competitions where he is assessed on his combined strength on movements such as max squat, bench press and deadlift. In track and in powerlifting, Zakaryan is motivated by the numbers that go up as he trains harder and harder to become stronger. “Being able to see objectively by the numbers…I’m getting better, stronger by the week.” Zakaryan said. 

His strength built from powerlifting helps him in shot and discus in school track, as Zakaryan is always trying to gain strength. As he trains, his goals include making it to world competitions for powerlifting, breaking records and getting sponsored as a professional athlete. Zakaryan wants to look back on high school and remember his ambitious goals and motivation in high school and that he wanted to work to be his best in both shot and discus, and powerlifting.

“Don’t be afraid to try, it can be daunting to look at all the people who are stronger but just don’t be afraid,” Zakaryan said.