Off the field

Touchdowns, tackles, fumbles, punts, first-downs, time-outs.
A lot happens on the field.
Ticket-taking, gate-keeping, cheering, watching, marching, announcing, fundraising, setting-up, tearing-down, cleaning-up.
A lot goes on off the field, too.

Every Friday night during football season, as the players work hard to play their best, others — mainly volunteers — are working just as hard to make sure everything goes smoothly on and off the field.
At Yakima’s Davis High School, for example, athletic director Bob Stanley, 44, estimates at least a dozen people are needed to run the game — and that’s not including the people who help with setting and cleaning up or selling concessions for the hundreds of fans that typically attend games at Zaepfel Stadium.
Hosting a home football game is no small task. The players on the field are only a portion of the action. Lines must be painted and tickets sold. Popcorn must be made, cheers must be shouted, and fight songs must be played. And at the end of the evening, garbage must be picked up and gates locked.
The Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team recently tackled these aspects of Friday night football festivities, the activities that happen off the field, before, after and during the game. Here’s a look at the hubbub happening off the field.
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School

Athletic trainers
Before the Rams take Clasen Field, Jeannie Martin and her team of West Valley High School students trainers are already working to prepare the players and carrying medical supplies, water and ice to the sidelines.
Martin usually arrives two hours before game time to assist injured athletes, supervise stretching, tape ankles and ice strained muscles. The 37-year-old has served as the school’s athletic trainer for 11 years.
She teaches courses in beginning and advanced sports therapy, and some of her students plan to pursue a career in this — or a related — field. During games, she works with seven to 10 student trainers, all of whom have taken her class and some of whom are members of the school’s sports medicine club.
What does she like most about her job? “That it’s different every week.”
What does she like least? “The long hours.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

Ticket-takers
In a small wooden shed at the gates of Zaepfel Stadium, Debra Reis and Julie Stephens are ready to take tickets.
Even though it feels freezing cold inside the little shed, they both seem enthusiastic and energetic, ready to welcome people to the game.
Their shift starts at 7 p.m. and lasts until half-time. The busiest part is the first hour, between 7 and 8, when lines stretch past the ticket booth and back toward Eisenhower High School.
Stephens has been a staff member at Ike for more than 20 years. Reis has worked at the school for four. Both are in their late 40s and work as registrars. When Ike has home games, they work the ticket booth.
High school students who are members of the Associated Student Body — and have ASB cards to prove it — can enter home games for free during the regular season.
Most of the people in line are students and their families wishing to show their school spirit and support their team.
However, parents of former players, family friends, community members and other school supporters who just enjoy football come to buy tickets and watch the game, too. Reis and Stephens get to know the regulars and share jokes with them as they go by.
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School

Safety and security
Ready to hold the line between high school rivals stand security guards and police officers.
Their presence serves as a deterrent to potential problems. Usually, there are no serious conflicts; most students are happy to wander across the field to talk with their friends that go to the rival school.
In fact, the worst offense Yakima police officer Jonathan Cordova, 39, says he has ever seen at a game was a drunken spectator.
In addition to officers and guards, there’s an ambulance ready to take care of any injured athletes or spectators at every football game at Zaepfel Stadium.
On cold nights, paramedics are in an enviable position compared to the officers and guards providing security. While security staffers have to walk around to make sure students and spectators are following the rules, paramedics can spend their time watching the game from inside the warm ambulance, ready to provide first aid and support if needed.
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School

Marching band
The host team’s marching band performs at every home football game.
These performances provide entertainment during the game and serve, according to 15-year-old Keelan Smith, a trombonist and sophomore at Eisenhower High School, as practice for competitions.
For band members, the appeal of performing at the game is the live audience. The student musicians take pride in the band and work hard to perform well. In fact, their preparation starts during summer when most students are enjoying vacation. In fall, the Ike band practices after school twice a week and numerous Saturdays.
Game days, the Ike band arrives at the high school at 5:30 p.m. and leaves after the game ends, typically after 10 p.m. The only time the band leaves early is when there’s a band competition the next day and members need to get a good night’s sleep before leaving as early as 5 a.m. the following morning.
Seventeen-year-old Ike senior Darion Roth, a saxophonist and the senior drum major, says he would like to see more people coming out to attend the games and support — not only the football players — but the marching band.
Before the start of a home game at West Valley High School, band director Ron Gerhardstein is as busy as the head football coach, overseeing his own players — the musicians — as they warm up.
Unbeknownst to many football fans, the band practices as often as the football team.
“Marching band takes a lot of time,” says the 44-year-old Gerhardstein, who’s served as West Valley’s band director for five years. “We rehearse during first period each morning, and we rehearse on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8:30.”
And on game nights, the West Valley band’s 111 members arrive an hour before game time to change into their uniforms, stretch and warm up.
About 45 minutes before the game starts, they line up and march over to the stadium. They perform the national anthem and school fight song for the pre-game show, give a half-time field show, and play at other times throughout the game itself.
“My least favorite part of game nights is trying to get 111 students to pay enough attention to the game so that we can play music when the time is appropriate,” Gerhardstein says. “If they don’t pay enough attention we (lose) our opportunities to play.”
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School, and Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

The announcer
High in the stadium, up in the announcer’s booth, Adam Eldridge isn’t visible to football fans. But he’s certainly heard by them.
The 34-year-old is the voice of the Rams.
He’s announced athletic events for 12 years altogether, including five at West Valley High School. In addition to football, he announces soccer and basketball games, too.
Eldridge arrives 45 minutes before game time to check in with coaches on the pronunciations of players’ names and touch base with other folks working the game.
He says he doesn’t do the job for the pay.
“I get great seats, and it’s a covered area,” he says. “I enjoy the spirit and just watching the student athletes perform.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

The photographer
Though a recent leg surgery keeps Jim Hauske at field level, shooting pictures, the 63-year-old spent more than 20 seasons as a spotter for the Rams.
As a spotter, Hauske reported the numbers of the players who made tackles and caught passes to the announcer in the booth. But the past few years, since retiring from teaching, Hauske has become the unofficial photographer for many West Valley High School teams.
He’s a mainstay at football and other games, wandering the sidelines taking action shots of players. These photographs are often given as gifts to student athletes at team banquets.
A true fan of football, Hauske enjoys watching the game, cheering for athletes, and seeing people he knows.
Hauske says, “My least favorite part about the job is when fans get knit-picky on games and times, and when they argue about mistakes.
“Everyone makes them.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

Concessions
Popcorn and candy bars go out, and money comes in.
Surrounded by a variety of treats, and stepping around boxes of Lightning paraphernalia, volunteers in the concession stand work to keep fans fed and happy.
“The most popular item tonight was the caramel suckers,” says 52-year-old La Salle High School parent Mary Adkins, following the Oct. 2 home game against the White Swan High School Cougars.
She works the booth to help complete the 30 volunteer hours required of each family that has a kid or kids who attend the Catholic school. Plus, she says, it’s fun.
However, concession workers arrive at home games as early as 3 p.m. and often stay until 10:30 p.m. for clean-up.
“It was basically nonstop,” Adkins says of customer-flow during the game.
But the work reaps a worthy outcome. The thousand or so dollars that come in each home game from concession sales goes to help La Salle athletics.
The candy itself helps energize the crowd on cold football nights.
“They just want anything sugary,” Adkins says.
Same thing is true at White Swan High School, where junior Alex Craig, 16, serves as one of the two concession stand managers. Students from different grades get to work the booth during designated home games, earning money for their class.
Funds raised go toward activities such as each grade’s senior trip.
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Cheerleaders
As the final gun sounds, Grizzlies fans explode with cheers, relieved to pull out a 21-20 victory over the Davis Pirates. And these ecstatic cheers are led, of course, by the Sunnyside High School cheerleaders.
Throughout the entire Oct. 9 game, Sunnyside’s homecoming, the crowd was way into the game and cheering with excitement, just the sort of crowd cheerleaders hope for.
“It means a lot to us when you cheer along,” says Sunnyside cheerleader Sydney Wutzke, a 15-year-old junior. “It makes us feel like we’re doing our job, and it helps out with the guys a lot. It makes them feel better when there’s a spirited crowd.”
The Grizzlies were down the entire first half of the game, making a huge comeback in the second. Still, the score was touch-and-go for much of the fourth quarter.
Says Wutzke, “You just have to push through it and keep everyone positive … ”
On the football field at White Swan High School, when the Cougars are down, cheerleader Brigida Walker, a 16-year-old junior, says the same thing: You gotta stay positive.
“I just encourage my fellow cheermates to keep cheering because even if we don’t win we’re still winners at heart,” Walker says.
There are those times when the home team walks away without the victory. But after any game, 18-year-old Sunnyside cheerleader Taylor Daniel, a senior, says, “I feel tired and excited, and I usually have fun whether we win or lose.”
Wutzke agrees, saying she loves “everything” about cheer. “I have a lot of fun with everyone in the crowd, and dancing and stunting,” she says.
These aren’t the only reasons to cheer, however.
Wutzke is dating Sunnyside quarterback, Andrew Daley, a junior. She says she tries to cheer for the entire team equally. “I try to keep it even,” she says, “but of course I have that soft spot for him.”
— Hannah Besso, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Fans
The deafening roar from the crowd is immediately followed by the equally as loud bang of a cannon, signifying a touchdown.
“Boom!” a fan calls loudly as the cheerleaders begin to lead the standing student fans in a cheer.
Bundled in blankets and letterman jackets, breathing warm air onto their numb hands and staying close together for warmth, they still yell with gusto.
Flashes of blue and silver collide as students bounce along, waving their hands chaotically in the air even after the echo of the cannon dies away.
For football fans at Marquette Stadium during Friday night home games, the cannon is essential. It’s La Salle High School tradition to fire it after each touchdown. Just ask Jeff Hayes.
“My soul purpose here is shooting the cannon,” says the 45-year-old, who’s watched his two children graduate from La Salle, but still faithfully returns for the cannon every football season.
What can he say? He likes “big bangs.” And he’s not the only one.
“My favorite part is when we score touchdowns, and the cannon goes boom!” says 17-year-old La Salle senior Chelsea Adkins.
Victoria Gonzalez, also a 17-year-old senior, agrees: “When I hear the cannon, I get all excited and scream!”
Along with the home team, the cannon keeps fans coming back.
“As long as we have the cannon,” says Hayes, “I’m gonna be here shooting it.”
Now, there’s no cannon on the football field at White Swan High School. But, walking up the stairs on the bleachers, the school colors — red, black and white — flash underneath the Friday night lights.
Chelsey Sheppard is usually up there, too. She hardly ever misses a home game.
The eighth-grader at Mount Adams Middle School goes to football games with her parents and older sister, a White Swan sophomore.
“I love the White Swan Cougars for so many reasons,” the 13-year-old says. “They are my life. When the team loses, I lose. They have been my team since I was 3. … I love the Cougars, and we are strong.”
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Cleaning up, tearing down
At Marquette Stadium, where the La Salle Lightning play home games, clean-up relies mainly on volunteers — and Teresa Barry, the Catholic high school’s dean of students.
While many fans flood the field for post-game prayer and coach Jack McMillan’s “atta-ways,” or shout-outs, Barry makes herself responsible for tidying the seating area.
She has some help. Before the game ends, the announcer usually asks people to clean up the area around them. While parents usually manage to comply with this request, Barry says, oftentimes, “the students forget.”
The amount of time it takes — and size of the mess left behind — depend on how many people attend the game. And the more people that help, the faster clean-up goes.
“If I have some people who help out I can finish in 10 (minutes),” Barry says. “It takes longer when there are things like nachos that make a mess because there’s more to clean up.”
Other elements of post-game clean-up involve emptying trash bags, a job that parents typically take on, and storing the cheerleaders’ boxes behind the stadium. Family members and friends of cheerleaders help with this. And the job usually requires two people to carry one box.
Barry’s grateful for all the help she can get.

“It’s our responsibility to clean the stadium,” she says. “And I kind of miss being able to go down for the prayer time.”
— Kateri Town, La Salle High School

Where The Wild Things Are

Since the day I first found out a live action film based on the book “Where the Wild Things Are” was in production, I began following the news and trailers for months.
When the day finally came that I was able to see it, I walked out of the theater with mixed emotions. I felt joy and entertainment, but I was also a little overwhelmed.
The movie takes the basic frame of the book, in which a young boy named Max makes mischief and is sent to his room without supper, and inserts a darker plot. In the book, Max dreams the island as an imaginary escape from his time out.
The movie makes the island real. And it includes real-life issues such as turmoil between the monsters and their hope that things will be better with their new king, Max. As you watch, you see Max struggling with his own issues, as well as the new burden of the happiness of the monsters.
I was impressed that director Spike Jonze managed to take a book with about 10 lines and make it into a full-length movie that reflects the emotions many children feel. Although the movie’s plot is wonderful, it felt slightly out of place within what’s known as one of the most beloved children’s books of all time.
My main complaint with “Where the Wild Things Are” is that it was incorrectly billed as light and carefree, as well as appropriate for children. The plot runs extremely deep, using the Wild Things to portray issues going on in Max’s own life, such as the separation of his parents and neglect he feels as his sister grows older.
Not only does the plot go above children’s heads, certain parts of the movie were extremely frightening and disturbing even to me. Viewers are made to fear for Max’s life and watch as the Wild Things of the children’s book ruthlessly fight both physically and verbally. Many parents have complained about the scary nature of the film and felt it should have been rated PG-13 instead of the PG rating it received.
On the other hand, in the same way my younger self was impressed by Maurice Sendak’s illustrations, the visuals in “Where the Wild Things Are” were stunning. I was happy to hear the monsters were not solely computer-generated imagery, but instead played by actors in enormous suits with computer-generated faces and some animatronics.
In addition to great visuals, the music was so catchy that I bought the soundtrack the next day. Composed by Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids, the music worked with every scene. The credits end with the extremely catchy single “All is Love,” which I’ve found myself singing for the past few days.
In the end, I enjoyed the darker direction that Jonze and Sendak took for the film adaptation of “Where the Wild Things Are.” However, I’m 17 years old. Like many people, I was a little miffed by how opposite the film was from the carefree and happy trailers and advertisements.
While the movie felt perfect for me, I would not take my 3-year-old nephew to see it nor would I recommend it to anyone with young children.

— Kateri Town is a senior at La Salle High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Behind the scenes at an Unleashed meeting

What’s it like at an Unleashed meeting?

Take a look.

Here are some photos from the first Unleashed meeting of the new year, taken Sept. 16, 2009, by Kateri Town, a senior at La Salle High School and a veteran photographer on the Unleashed team.

The captions are listed in the order the photos appear.

Yakima Herald-Republic editor Bob Crider addresses the 2009-2010 Unleashed team.

David Goehner from Educational Service District 105 talks to the team.

Colleen Fontana and Mia Walsh, seniors at Davis High School and veteran Unleashed writers, listen to David Goehner from ESD 105 talk to students during the first meeting of the new year.

West Valley Junior High ninth-grader Lindsay Burns shares a laugh with her new Unleashed team mates.

Hannah Naughton, a senior at Davis, and Amanda Marquez, a freshman at Grandview, compare answers during the first Unleashed meeting.

A second chance

When it was announced last February that Unleashed was ending, I was sad knowing that I wouldn’t be able to be part of the program during my last year of high school.
I had been on the team as a photographer for three years, and Unleashed had played a big role in my life. Through Unleashed, I had become a better photographer as well as more involved in the Yakima community.
When the program ended, I had been looking forward to using my new camera on assignments and writing my senior year goodbye column.
It didn’t seem fair.
Now, Unleashed is being given a second chance. And I am so excited to represent Unleashed, as well as La Salle High School.
I plan to continue doing photography. But I’m also looking forward to developing my writing skills in the coming year. Through Unleashed, I have learned important skills for a career in journalism, like time management and the ability to talk to strangers.
Some of my experiences with Unleashed so far have included hunting ghosts in the Capitol Theatre, interacting with amazing kids, watching firefighters drill, photographing members of two local bands, visiting the humane society, and feeding the homeless.
With Unleashed as a starting point, I have done things I never imagined myself doing as a high school student.
Unleashed has also inspired me to apply for and attend high school journalism workshops in Seattle and Albuquerque.
At the 2007 Journalism Summer Workshop at Seattle University, I dropped into a tunnel wearing a hardhat and vest to photograph a road construction project. I also photographed the Seattle Pride Parade and — my personal favorite — a Mariners’ game from the photo pit at Safeco Field.
That summer, I had my photos published in the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
This summer, I participated in Project Phoenix, sponsored by the Native American Journalists Association and hosted by the University of New Mexico. I worked on our student publication, “Rising Voices,” and found myself telling other kids about journalism ethics, things like why it’s not OK to interview your cousin for a news story, things that I had learned from working on Unleashed.
When I joined Unleashed, I was a 14-year-old girl who enjoyed taking pictures.
Today, I start my fourth and final year of Unleashed confident in my future as a photojournalist.
I never realized the places Unleashed would take me until Unleashed was taken away from me. Through Unleashed, I have figured out my goals for the future as well as started developing the tools necessary to succeed in journalism.
Every person I’ve met through the program has had a story that I have been able to share. It is a privilege, and it is also extremely fun.
I am very thankful for the chance to finish my senior year in Unleashed.

— Kateri Town attends La Salle High School.

Unleashed photographer goes to New Mexico

Unleashed photographer Kateri Town attended Project Phoenix in Albuquerque, New Mexico this summer. She was one of 15 students from around the country to participate in the student journalism workshop, sponsored by the Native American Journalists Association and held July 25 to 31. During the workshop, students practice journalism and produce the “Rising Voices” newspaper. Kateri, a senior at La Salle High School, is in her fourth year on the Unleashed team. Check out her work from Project Phoenix at http://naja.com/nativevoice/

Teen gains new perspective by going on immersion

By KATERI TOWN
UNLEASHED STAF

A lot of people miss out on great opportunities because of fear of failure or something different than the norm. I have always tried my hardest not to be one of those people.
That’s why I began applying for the service immersion trips offered by my school, La Salle High School.
Each year, students at La Salle are given the opportunity to apply for one of four service immersions: the Yakama Nation Immersion, the Seattle Urban Immersion, the Blackfeet Immersion, and — normally —the Tijuana Immersion. Due to safety concerns, this immersion has been changed; a New Orleans Immersion is currently being offered.
Immersions offer a chance for students to live in a community with their peers, learn about people unlike them, and be taken out of their comfort zone for a week.
While I don’t think I have too much in common with the youths of the Blackfeet reservation, I do think I have a better understanding of them because of my background.

I am an enrolled Choctaw Indian, and I am also of Yakama descent. I have relatives all over the Yakama reservation and even relatives who live on the Blackfeet reservation. I am also Irish and Scottish.
There’s no doubt I am a proud Native American young woman. I have suffered the insults and the hurt from derogatory remarks. I have also felt the joy of my heritage, especially when I think about my family and the closeness we share.

I have never lived on a reservation, and though I considered myself aware of the situations and problems — high drop-out rates, alcoholism, issues of self-worth and destruction of culture, language and tradition — I had never experienced them firsthand or lived them out. Sometimes, I’d even tell myself that maybe I wasn’t “Indian enough” to claim the heritage.
That’s why I was excited about the opportunity to go to Browning, Mont., the capital of the Blackfeet Reservation. My experience would be different from the nine others on the journey because I could finally make that connection I’d wanted for so long.
But, by the end of the week, I felt like the Tin Man and figured out that it was something I already had.
The 10 students who were chosen to go on this year’s Blackfeet Immersion trip applied in early September.

We attended lunch and after-school meetings and did plenty of fundraising.
The cost of the trip for the 10 students was $2,100, including a $500 donation to the De La Salle Blackfeet School.
After raising $1,054.61, each student paid $104.54.
The Blackfeet Immersion has been taking place since 2001.

This year’s trip began on a Saturday night at the end of January. The first three days were a quick blur: our train ride, cold weather, lack of sleep, and meeting several new people in a seemingly short span of time.
The 12 of us — 10 students and two moderators — took the Amtrak out of Pasco and were on the train for about 13 hours (gaining one due to the time zone change).
We arrived in Browning suddenly Sunday morning. Though many of us expected an actual station, the stop was just a place on the tracks where the train stopped and we got off.
Ray Bonderer, a De La Salle Christian brother, was there to meet us with the school van.
He drove us to the De La Salle Blackfeet School, our new home for the next five days. After a short tour of the school’s five classrooms, we set up our sleeping bags in the gym. The next day, we were assigned to classrooms.
My partner and I were assigned to the eighth grade. We were asked to encourage the students to think about their future. And we ate lunch with them every day. It was a completely new experience, but we tried to remain open-minded.

After the first day, a majority of us were feeling frustrated with our roles. It was a hard thing, arriving in these kids’ lives and not feeling completely welcomed.
During our journaling session that night, we discovered we were all questioning whether we were making a difference.
The feeling was tough to deal with, and it was kind of discouraging. But we didn’t give up.
There was a time set aside for prayer each night.
Throughout the week, each pair of students was responsible for organizing a short prayer service, which generally consisted of readings and reflections. Ours also included a song: “Do You Realize?” by The Flaming Lips.

“… You realize that life goes fast
It’s hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn’t go down
It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round … ”

I prayed for my own understanding of the situation on the reservation and that maybe one day it would become better. I also prayed for the people who didn’t take the journey, that I would be able to relate my experience in Browning to my friends and family back home in Yakima.

The rest of the week, we continued our work in the classrooms, creating bonds with the students in our grades. We also helped deliver gift baskets and food to the people of Medicine Bear Shelter, working alongside teenage alumni of De La Salle Blackfeet.
Though I was baptized Catholic, I really only considered myself spiritual, not religious. But through my service work at La Salle — particularly this immersion on the Blackfeet reservation — I found myself closer to God and the answers I’ve been searching for. I feel like I found God in those eighth-graders.
There are eighth-graders at De La Salle Blackfeet that I will never forget — and hopefully won’t be forgotten by — despite the numerous immersion groups that pass through their halls.
Day by day, it grew increasingly difficult to leave. On the last day, the school hosted a smudging or purifying ceremony for us in the seventh-grade classroom.
We all sat in a circle, passing around a shell containing smoldering sweetgrass and breathing in the smoke. I had never done anything like that before, and it was a really cool way to learn more about my heritage and the spirituality of the Blackfeet.

Soon after the ceremony ended, it was time to leave. We hugged students goodbye, then were whisked away on a nature hike and to dinner before catching our train.
Though we had been preparing ourselves to give to the Blackfeet community, we quickly realized they were the ones who were giving to us. It was an experience I’ll never forget as I gained new perspective about myself, my culture and my faith.

• Kateri Town is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends La Salle High School.

La Salle Lightning

La Salle Lightning cheerleaders, from left, Sarah Marquis, Lorena Russel, Emily Stillwaggon and Kelcey Langell, teach cheers to the Lightning Grid Kids cheer squad at a home game on Friday, Sept. 26., 2008. The young cheerleaders learned cheers and helped support the high school team. Photo by KATERI TOWN/ La Salle High School.