BY REZA MORENO

It’s the beginning of a new year and winter sports are jump-starting with a brand new season at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. The boys’ varsity soccer team is kicking off their season with a great start by winning a pre-season game. Captain Stephen Rainsbury has a goal of qualifying for CIF and finishing in the top three. They had a great opening by beating Santiago 1-0 on Jan. 14, but suffered a loss to their rivals, Norco High, 2-0. “A loss we intend to avenge at home,” said Rainsbury. These great athletes have a chance to accomplish their goals at their upcoming games.

As for the girls’ varsity soccer team, the team did an excellent job in their first tournament pre-season by coming in first place. Although the girls had lost their first two league games against Santiago on Jan. 14 and against Norco on Jan. 17, the girls are trying their best to make it to CIF this year. Head coach Wilson, wants to see her team gain confidence and receive great results from all of their hard work. “I want the team to at least beat every team just once,” says Captain Elena Morrison.

This year, the boys’ basketball team was invited to the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament in Ocala, Florida. The team played a game in Ocala that they won in double overtime. The team this season is relatively new; only four players have been on the team since their freshmen year. Captain Adam Turner’s goal is to win league and put a league championship banner in the gym. Their coach, Vonn Webb, has multiple years coaching at the high school and collegiate level under his belt, but this is his first year coaching at Roosevelt. The team did really well beating Santiago on their first league meet, 43-40, and also beating Norco, 74-57. The team played a rough game against Centennial on Jan. 22, with a score of 50-84. On Friday, Jan, 24, the boys won against Corona, 85-82.

The girls’ varsity basketball team is already having a fantastic start to their season. For their first tournament at Wilson High from Nov. 25, 2013 to Nov. 30, 2013, the team took third. In other tournaments, the girls gradually dominated for first place. From Dec. 16, 2013 to Dec. 21, 2013 at ERHS, the team took second place, and in their very last tournament, the Roosevelt girls took first place out of 16 teams. Their current record is 14-2, which means they have a great chance of making it to CIF. Although they lost to Norco 35-47 and Centennial 49-70, the girls did win their first league meet with Santiago, 51-40. Then on Jan. 24, the girls beat Corona, 57-38.

The girls’ water polo team is ready to begin their season and bring home a win. Overall their pre-season was great. The team has already played two tournaments, where they took seventh overall at Los Altos and second place at Western High. They played Santiago on Jan. 15, and even though they lost 16-11, they showed the rest of the teams in their league that they are a threat. Captain Jada Helberg says, “We have a strong group of girls who know how to play and that shows when we all play together as a team.” The girls’ played against their rival, Norco, and beat them 18-8, on Jan. 22. On Jan. 27, the girls won against Corona 18-8. Coach Souza’s goal for the team is to place in the top three this year.

The community of Eastvale has some amazingly talented athletes, and not just from the high school. There are many athletes that take the next step in college, like Kelsey Young, who grew up here. He is now playing football as a junior at Stanford University. Young feels honored playing for such an outstanding institution with a top-notch athletic program. “Football is a full-time job, but then so are the academics. You have to be highly responsible to balance both”, says Young, who has wanted to play professionally since he was eight years old. He adds, “I learned that you can’t manipulate your future. All you can do is put yourself in the right position and work for the best outcome.” Kelsey has advice for future athletes that dream of taking their skills to the next level, “If you believe it then you can achieve it. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. Start applying the choices of your life to be aligned with what you want to accomplish and be persistent. You’ll be surprised at what heights you can reach.”