The Mariners’ annual spring weight training program started up again this January. This intensive program led by theology teacher and football coach Jaime Fernandez is an integral part of the team’s progress towards a winning season. Head coach Andrew Cotter believes that “off-season weight training is the backbone of our program. Coach Fernandez does a great job getting the most out of these young men. There is a correlation between the harder work the better you play.”

Past players also support the program and suggest anyone who wants to play next season should come out. “Off-season weight training for football is vital. It most definitely led to a better season for our players as individuals, and our team as a whole,” senior Jeremy Imlach said.

However some things are different this year, “While turnout has been great. Our numbers are down a little but the young men have been working extremely hard. I can truly say that this is the hardest working group I have been around, literally we can put a workout on the board and they are going to get it done. No need for arm twisting by the coaches. We are in this together, we have things to prove and a lot of doubters to prove wrong” Cotter said.

While the program is seeing a time of change, recently, change at Moreau has been good, seeing the Mariners improving to a annually winning team. “I have seen some new faces in the weight room, and some new faces all together, specifically freshman Jonathan Rameriz, Justin Sanchez, Drew Retallick, and Frank Ngo, and they have all been working hard” Cotter said.

These players are excited about the program and look forward to improvement through their participation “the workouts have helped me expand on what I learned during my first season. I feel that through the workouts I’ve improved in many ways under more personal-direct type coaching” freshman Andrew Retallick said.

Daniel Green who has been one of Moreau’s football coaches has now also transitioned into teaching track.

He grew up playing both football and track, but it wasn’t until about two years ago he actually got into the teaching aspect of it.

Head track coach Diane Blackwell, who has been coaching track for over 35 years, got to work with him for the first time this year.

“He is easy going, caring, professional, willing to teach, dedicated to the sport and just a great coach overall,” Blackwell said.

Green discussed his transition from  football to track.

“It was pretty easy, in the sense [that] I hadn’t coached track in a few years.  But once you start coaching you know what you got to do,” Green said.

Athletes benefit from Green’s coaching and his emphasis on the fundamentals.

“He knows techniques that will help you improve your routine and gives you feedback on how you should change this or do that. But he doesn’t just tell you it bluntly, he makes them relatable to you,” senior Lupita Gonzalez said.

Making the switch from football to track, people may think you would need a whole different game plan, but that wasn’t the case this time. Green’s philosophy is to stick to the basics.

“I’m just getting them to make sure they’re using their legs to build up more power and not so much upper body. [Also] making sure what they are doing is proper so they aren’t throwing out their arm, especially shot put and discus wise,” Green said. “It’s kind of like a crawl before you walk theory, where we try to do the little small things then we build up to the whole throw or the shot.”

Senior Tim Kondo thrived under Green’s tutelage.

“Coach Green has helped me become a better athlete by continuously pushing me to go above and beyond to reach my full potential on the football field,” Kondo said.

As the season starts to take off, Green has made a bond with each one of his students.

“It’s just a lot of fun, I think that’s why it’s so easy. I have a lot of fun with the kids and the rest of the staff,” Green said.

His perspective balances healthy competition with personal growth.

“It’s kind of more a pressure-free sport to where it’s not so much about winning,” Green said. “It’s more about teaching kids to be competitive and to work hard and improve whatever it is they’re doing.”

Coach Green will also be starting as our new campus supervisor on Monday, March 26th.

Green takes over for Angel Lopez, who left Moreau in late February.

Prior to joining Moreau, Green served as an adolescent counselor at Willow Rock Crisis Center in San Leandro.

He also worked as the Social Development Director and Supervisor for Job Corps Center on Treasure Island, monitoring the safety and security of the facility and the dormitories.

AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, before the start of a regular season game.

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

In relation to the baseball offseason, truer words have never been spoken. Rogers Hornsby’s popular quote is easily among one of the best ways to describe a diehard baseball fan’s perspective on the time of the year that’s dreaded the most.

“I get pretty lonely during the MLB offseason,” junior Larry Maya said, “because [watching baseball is] what I do every night–I turn on the game and do some homework.”

Hornsby’s words are obviously a figurative depiction of what a person may do while waiting for baseball season, but many baseball fans (myself included) can easily relate to its main point. The season of the sport you love or like to watch has ended and you’re left with anticipation for the upcoming season.

A common cure for the “offseason blues” is to consistently keep up with news about the sport and your favorite team.

“I will follow the A’s quite a bit and make sure that [the] news [is current],” theology teacher James Hannon ’02 said. “There’s so much that happens during the baseball offseason. It’s like a totally new season. [There’s] the free agency, the general manager (GM) meetings, and the trades that obviously happen.”

The offseason is not entirely depressing and negative, it’s also filled with glimmers of hope, optimism, and positive outlooks for the new season.

“My expectations are set pretty high and [though] some of [the Giants’] trades and deals are a little questionable, I think Sabean and Bochy know what they’re doing,” junior Myla Azofeifa said.

Athletes also have particular expectations and regimens when it comes to the current offseason and their upcoming season. With the Mariner baseball offseason well underway, players are easing in to the transition from winter to spring.

“The weight-lifting program during the offseason gets us prepared for open field,” Maya said. “We lift weights and run to get our cardio going and to stay in shape.”

“I think [Mariner baseball] is going to do well,” sophomore Rian Goulart also said. “The [work out] program that the coaches are building is really great.”

Aside from free agency, GM meetings, trades, and other typical offseason happenings, Spring Training keeps fans and athletes alike on their toes with anticipation during the offseason.

“I love Spring Training,” Hannon said. “You hear about Minor League prospects or players who’ve been in the Minors for a while who have been trying to earn their way on the team and you’re kind of rooting for them the whole time before the roster’s actually set.”

Baseball, like every other sport, definitely has its fair share of diehard fans, casual fans, bandwagon fans, and in-between fans. Regardless of how much one pays attention to the sport or how much one knows about the sport, all fans can agree that the offseason is one of the worst things for sports fans to endure.

“I was hoping that a lot of people would sign up, a lot of people would watch, and that everyone would enjoy themselves. That being said, I think we met those goals,” Senior Council Co-Curricular Commissioner Richard L’Heureux said.

Right from the get go, girls were excited to sign up and have fun, becoming a part of Moreau history in the process. “I thought it was a good way to meet new people and have fun with friends,” sophomore Danielle Vargas said. “I’m glad to say that I was a part of the first women’s flag football game in 20 years.”

“We were competitive,” junior Kristen Leahy said. “But [we] had good sportsmanship throughout the game and were laughing the whole time.”

Assistant Principal of Student Life Katie Teekell was pleased with how everything turned out. “I enjoyed seeing a wide range of students participating, with the grade levels mixed. The players all seemed to have a really good time, and they weren’t out to hurt one another or ‘beat’ anyone; they were just enjoying playing the game,” she said.

Moreau held an annual “PowderPuff” football game for decades which pitted the girls of the junior and senior classes against one another. Though popular, concerns with safety and security at the event led to its demise in 1991.

Sometime during the second quarter of school, the topic of a women’s flag football game was brought up during student government’s zero period. Together government brainstormed ideas, and as soon as it had enough to work with it decided to write an official proposal.

The Co-Curricular Committee, a new addition to Student Government, headed the formation of the proposal. “We wanted to move away from that negative image and just solely focus on the game of football. We mixed up the teams to avoid animosity and didn’t post up the rosters beforehand because we didn’t want to deal with any drama,” ASB Co-Curricular Commissioner Anuraag Kumar said.

In December, the finalized proposal was sent to Mrs. Lek for approval. A few days before the end of the first semester, it was officially approved and women’s flag football was reinstated.

The event would take place during collaboration rather than at night, allowing for students to come but also creating a more manageable atmosphere. Girls from all four grade levels could participate and the teams would be mixed.

“In the past, juniors competed against seniors, which fed the animosity and aggressiveness in the game,” Teekell said. “Additionally, adult football coaches were asked to coach the teams as opposed to students.”

L’Heureux has high hopes for its future. “With the approval of the administrators, we would like to schedule the game for a Friday night. We’d get the scoreboard up and running, and get an announcer. Most importantly, we’d like to give the girls an opportunity to get a few practices in before the big game.”

“The women’s flag football game is a great idea, and we’ve restructured event so that hopefully a new tradition can begin,” Teekell said. “Our hope is that the event created enough support and momentum so that the game can continue annually for many years to come.”

The 2010 MLB season, both regular and postseason, was extremely good to the Giants. Though their division-rival San Diego Padres threatened their first place lead, the Giants pulled through and defended their place. Led by a phenomenal five-man pitching rotation comprised of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, and Barry Zito, the Giants dominated the National League and took it by storm. Other young guns, including Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez, helped the Giants maintain a solid winning record. All in all, the entire team blew the rest of the league away and made it to the postseason on the fateful day of October 3, 2010.

With the Giants successfully advancing through each level of the postseason, the edged closer to victory. They ruled over the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, pummeled the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and continued onto the World Series facing off against the Texas Rangers. Triumphantly, San Francisco beat Texas in a 4-1 series and resulted with a World Series win, the first in 56 years.

Fresh off of an amazing season and World Series win, high goals were set for the Giants. “I expected them to sign some key players and make another deep run in the playoffs as contenders,” senior Daniel Aguirre said. During the 2010 offseason, the Giants acquired shortstop Miguel Tejada, a veteran player who previously played for teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics.

A strong start in the beginning of the 2011 season meant great things for the Giants. They were playing like champions and had a specific ambition in mind: to reach the postseason again and go for a World Series repeat. Everything was going well for San Francisco until May 26, when Buster Posey, starting catcher and reigning NL Rookie of the Year, was horribly injured during a play at home plate and resulted with a season-ending injury. From then on, the Giants were seemingly cursed with DL-ridden players dropping from the team like flies.

Falling behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West rankings, the Giants drifted further away from their postseason aspirations. A hefty 7.5-deficit from first place could and probably will be the death of the Giants’ World Series-repeat dreams. “Looking at our current situation, we aren’t going to pull through and finish strong,” senior Aaron Acosta said.

So what does this say about the Giants? Are they just undergoing a sophomore slump or is there more behind this madness? I believe the latter. As a faithful fan, I still have hope for my team, but as a realist, there is very little chance that they will overcome the odds. There is no such thing as a “one-year wonder” in baseball; there will be many future opportunities for San Francisco to advance to the postseason. Although hope was almost entirely lost by the San Francisco fanbase, confidence and optimism are not dead. The possibility of the Giants having an end-of-the-season winning surge is quite real. Baseball is the type of sport where anything can happen. Miraculous comebacks are not too farfetched.