Page 2 - March ARB Beacon 6-19-15

2 June 19, 2015
BEACON
THE
Volume 80, Number 24
452 AMW Public Affairs
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March ARB, CA 92518-1852
DPZSDZRUNÀRZ#XVDIPLO school and not knowing a single student,
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EDITOR
Ms. Linda Welz
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Facebook.com/TeamMarch
Teamwork, commitment, goals, success
by Mackenzie Welz
Temescal Canyon High School class of 2015
The start of my freshman year, at a new (Courtesy photo/Linda Welz)
was terrifying. Going from a small, pri- Mackenzie Welz with the ball during a water polo game. She was co-captain for the
vate, Christian elementary school and Temescal Canyon High School Lady Titans Varsity team her senior year.
middle school to a public high school was
going to be a life changer. I wasn’t a very little more work and help from my coach I goal. I was fast, strong, and good at water
social person and making friends was go- could achieve my freshman goal of playing polo and I did not need to be one of “those
ing to be a challenge for me. My mom like one of “those seniors,” and be captain. seniors.” I was a senior in my own right
told me the easiest way to make friends Devastation hit when my team and I found who had younger girls looking up to me for
and feel like a part of something was to out our coach was leaving to take a job at advice and help.
join a sport and get involved so, that is ex- another school by the end of the summer.
actly what I did. He had rallied us and brought the team to- I didn’t know what the future season
gether while he was with us. Sadly, once held or what our new coach would be like
I was never the athletic type and did not again my team and I were left wondering but I did know that I reached my goal. I
want to be the laughing stock of a sports who would coach us and when for the sec- couldn’t wait for the new season, my senior
team. Regardless of my fears, I took the ond year in a row. I felt my goal sinking season. I was still going to work hard and
risk and joined water polo. I instantly fell below the surface. improve as much as I could but I knew that
in love with being in the water and work- I didn’t need to compare myself to “those
ing out as a team. I was not the best, but I The 2014/15 season was my final year seniors” anymore.
had a positive attitude and learned quickly. of high school, my senior year, the year
I made amazing friends that always kept I planned to achieve my goal. Not ev- This experience has helped me grow
me laughing and excited to go to practice. erything had gone as planned but going into a young, confident adult and become
As a freshman, water polo taught me how through constant, crashing waves of team my own person. I am proud of the chal-
to manage my time and stay dedicated to drama, and new coaches, taught me to just lenges I conquered, the friends I gained,
things I had committed to doing. Having keep swimming through the rough waters. and the person I have become. Water polo
I suddenly realized that I was one of “those is a life journey I will never forget.
school to jump into the freezing depths of seniors” that everyone looked up to. Sure,
the school pool gave me discipline, and maybe I was not as good of a player as the (NOTE: In spite of having a new coach
taught me to breathe and swim through ones I had idolized, but I still had younger each year, Welz and her teammates re-
the hard times. The most memorable thing girls looking up to me. Seeing this made mained the undefeated, varsity girl’s water
for me as a freshman was seeing all the me realize that I had indeed reached my polo team in the Sunbelt League through
seniors play in league games. I idolized her four years at TCHS, where she was co-
them as they swam through the pool with captain of the team her senior year.)
amazing speed, and shot the ball in the
They always seemed so in-sync with one
another and so aware of their surround-
ings. I was inspired to play like them by
the time I was a senior. Little did I know,
I had just set one of the biggest, toughest
goals of my high school career.
I worked hard on JV my freshman year,
and by my sophomore year I was on the
varsity team, practicing with the varsity
coach. The season was long and difficult,
and by the end I was glad it was over. I had
not reached my goal of playing like one
of “those seniors” but I was not stressed
because I knew I still had one more year
to improve. Then I found out our coach
was quitting.
Going into my junior year without a
was falling apart and playing like one of
“those seniors” I had idolized so much
seemed almost impossible. Before the
season started, a new coach was hired and
we managed, along with the help from
our new coach, to pull our team back to-
year thanks to our coach, and was on my
way to being captain of the team my se-
nior year. I was stoked and knew that with a