Red Tide

Being a student-athlete is a big challenge at my school, but being that athlete at one of the most prestigious colleges in the world is a task most can’t handle. For Golden Valley graduate and Harvard volleyball junior/economics major Alec Schlossman it’s no different. 

Alec is starting at Libero for The Harvard Volleyball team, a Libero is a defensive specialist. The amount of hard work Alec has put into volleyball is immense and balancing hard classes is difficult. Most days for a college student involve attending class and maybe doing some studying.  That’s not the case for Alec and his volleyball teammates.  “It’s definitely difficult to balance school and volleyball. My schedule, depending on the day, is get up early for lift, eat breakfast, go to a few hours of class in the late morning/early afternoon, eat lunch, then we have practice for about three hours in the afternoon, eat dinner, and then study before I go to bed. That doesn’t include stuff like getting treatment for injuries or going to office hours for extra help in a class. The most difficult thing is getting enough sleep to make sure I’m both physically and mentally rested,” said Schlossman.

For Alec, the academic load doesn’t change just because he’s a student athlete.  All student athletes at Harvard are responsible for maintaining their grades even on road trips.   “When we travel to away games it definitely gets difficult trying to get homework done,” said Schlossman.   Trying to stay confident and prepared for games isn’t  an easy task no matter what college someone attends, but at Harvard it can be a big struggle.  Schlossman said, “I try to get work done during the bus rides, but in my experience with missing class due to away games my teachers  and all teachers are pretty flexible with allowing the athletes to make up missed work.  Sometimes we have to submit papers and assignments while we’re on the road” 

Making the transition to college ball wasn’t easy for Alec, but it definitely wasn’t impossible. Playing club was a huge difference maker for Alec “Club helped  prepare me because of the overall talent. Playing with and against the best players in the country on a regular basis made the transition to college ball much easier.” said Schlossman.

In his junior year Schlossman has seen a lot of very good volleyball and has learned that the level of talent from high school to college is a huge difference.  “The college game is much faster, the players are also bigger, stronger and overall more talented.”  The schedule is a grueling one for the Crimson as they are fresh off a win against George Mason and have a tough road ahead of them with only six conference matches left with first place Penn State and second place Princeton. Harvard is currently 10-8 on the season and 4-2 in conference.

With only one year left to play the sport he loves Schlossman is relishing every moment he has left with his teammates.  When the athletic career of many college athletes concludes they move on to the unknown.  Graduating from Harvard will allow Alec to not worry about that.  A Harvard degree will almost guarantee Schlossman a great future, but for now that future consists of finishing the season strong and hopefully making the NCAA Tournament.

By: AJ Sabedra

Above:  Alec celebrates a point with his team.

Bottom:  Alec, bottom row, far left.

Going Green

In recent years the Santa Clarita Valley has been a hotbed of softball talent with girls heading to top notch colleges like Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee, Oklahoma.  One school in particular has been void in sending kids to some of these colleges, however that’s changing.  Golden Valley High School junior Tatyanah Castillo has verbally committed to Dartmouth University in New Hampshire.  Dartmouth is consistently ranked as one of the top academic institutions in the nation and Castillo feels fortunate to be attending there. “My plan has always been to get a college education from a top Liberal Arts College and the Ivy League was at the top of my list.  I did have my doubts because their acceptance rate is only 10%,” said Tatyanah.  After getting invited to a camp and impressing the coaching staff Taty said, “I realized who I am, where I come from and who I want to be.  Dartmouth changed my outlook on life.  I loved the campus, coaches, players, town, and weather.  Dartmouth is where I want to be.” said the Golden Valley junior.

With a 4.3 GPA, being named a team captain, and of course being the daughter of the head coach there comes a great amount of responsibility and Tatyanah is ready to take that upon herself.   “ Being a captain as a junior is a great honor at GVHS. This is a growing program and I plan to play a significant role in it’s development”, said Castillo.  Even though she was named as a team captain she understands there are those ahead of her who have experience as well.  “I plan to learn as much as possible this season from the examples of our senior captains, Miranda Escalera and Racqual Espinoza,” continued Tatyanah.  Taking the experience from seniors can only help Castillo as she continues to try and earn her school and program respect among the valleys other teams. 

Being a captain is a difficult role but Castillo is a leader both on and off the field.  Off the field and in the classroom she’s a shining example of what a student athlete needs to be.  With a 4.3 GPA and tremendous talents on the field  her father states, “Tatyanah is a strong offensive player, who works hard on her hitting skills, she believes in hitting off a tee and performs the alone work every night.” Working alone can get kind of boring and monotonous but she loves doing it because it’s going to improve her game.  Playing for her father can also present a problem not only for the player but for the coach as well.  Tatyanah likes playing for her dad because, “We meet at an intellectual level, on and off the field.  He’s very direct and knows when to say, NO.  He loves his players and treats us all the same.” 

Coach Castillo also understands the dynamics of the relationship, “We have established rules and we both do a good job of following these rules.  For example, we never leave the field upset with one another.  We discuss things until we we hug each other.  My wife does not allow softball arguments at home.”  Tatyanah also agrees with that but sometimes that leaves a few extra minutes after practice.  “When we get off the field we can no longer discuss my individual softball performance.  Unfortunately this means some long discussions before we get off the field and into the car.  Even with the ups and downs of the father/daughter/coach/player relationship it’s great for both parties.  “The best part for me is the satisfaction of making him proud,” said Tatyanah.  Hugo also thinks there are many positives with coaching his own, This is probably every father’s dream come true.  The opportunity to coach my daughter has created a very strong bond between us.  We are very direct, honest and supportive of each other.  She is my best friend!

In his fifth year at Golden Valley Coach Castillo has tried to change the culture while also giving girls other than his own a chance to further their softball playing careers at the college level.  “Yes my daughter is going to Dartmouth but we’re focused on helping all the girls in our program continue their careers at the next level,” said Coach Castillo.  That statement is supported by the fact that other than Taty there are three girls on the team right now who will achieve that goal. Senior captain Miranda Escalera is committed to Sterling College in Kansas, senior captain Racqual Espinoza is committed to Cal Lutheran, and senior Gabby Thomas is committed to George Fox University in Oregon.

                Every player has goals they want to accomplish and Tatyanah is no different.  “As a team I would like to qualify for CIF playoffs. As an individual, I hope to be viewed as a good role model for future GVHS softball players.”

As the league season approaches the Lady Grizzlies are looking to people like Taty and their senior captains to help make a difference in how other teams view them.  They’re hoping to earn the respect of the Foothill League by doing things the right way.  With the drive, determination, attitude, togetherness, chemistry and desire this group has it wouldn’t shock anyone to find the Lady Grizzlies at or near the top of the Foothill League a month from now.  

Written by, 

Dominic Fernandez.

Above, Taty gives her verbal commitment to Dartmouth University.

Below: Tatyanah getting ready for a game.