The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

“My goal for soccer this season is not only to improve in skill, but also to improve my way of communication. [To] not always put the blame on myself since a team [improves together]. So my goal [coming into the team] was to not be so harsh on myself and to know that not the whole team  depends on [me]. We all work as a team, and everyone [plays] a different [role]. The most exciting game this season was the first game, even though we lost it was like an exciting experience because it was the first game and it was nice seeing all my friends playing on the field together. I really improved my communication [skills]. My goal is to continue to strengthen my [ability of] communication [with the team] and to also improve my skill [at playing soccer].” - Ali Abdulsattar, 9

Ali Abdulsattar

Quinton Wallace, CJ1 Writer March 14, 2024

“I like that Im able to socialize with all my friends at sports practices. I would say one of my biggest setbacks has been the summer between seventh and eighth grade when I injured my foot and I was unable to play with my soccer team [during] state cup for two games. My soccer team. That [experience] was definitely [a bad time for me] and it really did not make me feel good. [During this period of my life], A piece of advice [was given to me by] one of my soccer coaches who told me to ‘have the memory of a goldfish’. So the idea of this is that its good to learn from your mistakes, but you can learn from them too much [and not value the life lessons in the midst]. Thats really changed how I go about school sports, friendships, all that sort of stuff because you cant live in the past [and will have to move on to the future]. I think that getting past mistakes and moving on from them can really benefit you in the long run.” -Cal Kampelman, 9

Cal Kampelman

Dono Qualls, CJ1 Writer February 7, 2024

”High school so far has been fun. Its not as stressful and Im not as nervous as I thought I would be. My favorite part about high school so far has been journalism. I like journalism because it gives you the freedom to use your strengths in different ways. I also enjoy algebra. Not a lot of people like math, but I find it really fun. I have a really good teacher and I think that helps a lot with liking a class. I play golf, soccer, and volleyball. Soccer probably [means the most] because Ive played it for a very long time. [It is special] because I can relate to people in my family. My brother plays soccer, my dad used to play and its fun for the whole family to go watch it or play it together. Something thats important to me is getting good grades because I want to go to college. I want to have the best grades that I can [have] so I can set myself up for success. As of right now, I want to be some sort of photographer. Right now Im really into concert photography [because] it looks really fun. Photography is special to me because you just get to capture moments in time and you can share things that people don’t get to see.” - Laney Thomas,  9

Laney Thomas

Ramielle Sanna, CJ1 Writer December 1, 2023

A recent scandal has rocked the world as soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has been accused of abusing his role of power by forcibly kissing star player Jennifer Hermosa on the lips on national television. The aftermath of the event has surged the media’s criticism of a divided and repressive athletic sphere, initiating a parley on the aversion to the proper respect of female success in the sports world. “In a perfect world, everyone would respect womens sports like they would mens,” health teacher Katelyn Arenos said. “Seeing these things in the media shows that we still have some growth to do to get there.”

The kiss heard around the world

Risa Cidoni, Features Editor October 6, 2023

Moments before disaster, families watch their televisions as Spain’s women's soccer team clamors and cheers at their victory over England for the coveted Federation Internationale de Football (FIFA)...

“I really enjoy playing soccer and I want to go far with it. Its hard especially during my fall 
season because I was playing softball through school and club soccer for three teams. It was a challenge because a lot of weekends I was going out on tournaments, then coming back was really hard with the lack of rest and everything. I really want to go far and I want to go to college and play a sport in college. I know the next step is playing in high school and then playing in college and then just continuing on. You need to make sure that youre living life to the fullest. A lot of my challenges in sports are injury based and those are the hardest. You have so many people telling you that you shouldnt play because you should want to heal before you do. But the hardest times in my life are when Im injured. When I cant play and then I feel like Im letting down my team. But you have to take that step back though and realize if anyone else was in that situation you wouldn’t want them to possibly hurt themselves just to keep playing. You would want them to take care of themselves and get better.” - Stephanie Fussner, 9

Stephanie Fussner

Amelia Bothmann, CJ1 Writer May 16, 2023

Senior Julia Liguore looks for a pass on the soccer field

The net ninja

Ruthvi Tadakamalla, CJ1 Writer May 8, 2023

Arms pumping, heart pounding and sweat dripping, senior Julia Liguore dribbles toward the goal. She spins around one, two, three players before shooting the ball, which swooshes up against the back of...

“After I had surgery on my ACL, I was told the recovery process was going to be eight months to a year. That meant I wasnt going to be able to play soccer for a while. When high school season was coming up, my doctor said I could try out. But my doctor also said that he wouldnt recommend it, because if I wasnt 100% ready I could get hurt and then be out another year. Once high school season started it was harder to accept that I couldnt play because I would see everyone playing or talking about it. But the coaches definitely supported me when I told them about my injury and helped me not feel as stressed out or disclosed from everything. When talking to the coaches they mentioned that I could be the team manager, but I decided not to because I want to get back quickly and being a manager would take up recovery time. Now that I’m starting to play soccer again I’ve noticed I am playing a lot more timid now because I don’t want to repeat my injury. But my injury has also made me more aware of my surroundings when I am playing.” - Hannah Hampton, 9

Hannah Hampton

Nora Fussner, CJ1 Writer April 25, 2023

“The best advice I’ve learned from a sport is that the sport depends on you and so does your team, but it doesnt define you. I learned this about a year ago, when my team [the AFA Fillies] was having a chat on the way out of a tournament. I recently played goalie [for soccer] and I took a lot of the blame on myself but I cant let that define or stop me. So I have to work harder to get back to my original position. It changed my perspective from not wanting to go to practices, or not wanting to put in the work at home to motivating myself to do those things. My mom also told me something similar [making] me think that if two people are telling me to do it for me, then they’ve got to be right. People should learn that you should work hard at your sport, but make sure that it doesnt affect what you do in your life and [how you] play. Ive been putting in work nonstop and it’s paying off. So I would also [tell] to anyone struggling with getting motivated that if you just push yourself to do it, you’ll eventually have to depend on it.”
-Faith Mosher, 9

Faith Mosher

Juli Moellenhoff, CJ 1 Writer April 24, 2023

“I need to get better at time management and spending my time wisely because I have to go to soccer after school and I find that I don’t have enough time to do my homework or study for my tests. I need to get my schoolwork done before I watch TV or go on my phone so I can get my work out of the way and relax. I want to keep everything organized to keep my grades up. My grades are important to me because I feel like your high school life are the stairs that bring you up and make you able to go to college and do what you want in your life. So, if you don’t do good in high school then you might not be able to follow your dreams.”
-Julia Kiffer, 9

Julia Kiffer

Juli Moellenhoff, Staff Writer April 19, 2023

Now presenting, Athletes of West, a podcast featuring Longhorn athletes each session.​​ We bring you stories from the players, both on the ground and behind the scenes, covering individual accomplishments, records they set and break, endurance and fitness, sports leadership and many more. Stay tuned!!

Athletes of West: Episode 4

Raj Jaladi, Newsletter Editor January 26, 2023

  In this episode, meet freshman Cameron Spangler and Hugo Ortbals who are playing on the varsity soccer team as freshmen. Listen on to learn about the secret behind their success.   Raj...

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