Some people have the natural ability to run well, but the track team does not want to be just another ordinary team. Sprinters and distance runners have their own techniques to work on during training and competitions to improve their times.

            Both types of runners take their training seriously, but they have different perspectives on the best way to run for their events.

            The sprinters look to improve every small thing about their form, said Lindsey Moritz, senior and captain of the girls’ track team, because a small change can make a big difference when running a short race.

            Even though sprinters like to critique their form, distance runners focus on consistent training, running six to twelve miles a day, to improve their endurance so the one or two mile event seems easy, according to J.B. Hanson, boys’ distance track coach.

            Sprinters

            The sprinters focus on the form and power behind their strides because they do not have much time to kick into full gear, Moritz said.

            In order to get loose and be prepared for meets, the track coaches introduced an effective warm up.

            “First, we walk slow with high knees and on the way back we do the same thing, except we kick our leg out,” Moritz said. “Those are A and B walks. Then we do A and B skips, which is the same thing but faster. After that, we do several stretches, such as ankle grabs, to stretch out the groin and do multiple quad stretches. We then do Frankensteins, which is when we pick one leg up, walk three steps, then continue alternating legs. We finally end the warm up by running with long strides. I really think this warms up all of the necessary muscles and prepares us to do our best in practice and meets.”

            After their warm up, the sprinters run and work on their form to maximize their results, Moritz said.

            “The correct way to run is to have your arms at ninety degrees,” Moritz said. “While you swing them, you should have your fingertips pass your chin and hips and keep that angle. For your legs, your hip flexors should be tight and strong while running.”

            Another exercise sprinters do on a daily basis to strengthen hip flexors are murdles, according to Moritz.

            “You start on your hands and knees for these series of leg movements,[murdles],” Moritz said. “One is called the fire hydrant. You literally look like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant as you go through the motion. Another is called the scorpion because you bend one leg and kick it back. We also have our leg straight and kick and move them back, forth, and sideways. These really help prevent injury and strengthen the muscles.”

            Moritz said all the sprinters train relatively the same, but their pace during the races varies. Usually those who have been on the team and trained longer are able to run faster during meets.

            “Last year, [while running the 400 yard], I used to go my hardest the first 100 yards, coast 200 yards, then go full out the last 100 yards again,” Moritz said. “But now my coach and I have decided I will go my hardest for 200 yards to get a good lead and hold it. That’s my pace though. Pace varies from person to person depending on their limits and training.”

            Even though all these elements, such as proper warm up, hip flexor exercises, and pacing are important, sprinters also need to focus on their race’s start to improve their time.

            “Your start must be strong. When incoming freshmen join track, they immediately learn how to use the blocks to get their best start, because in middle school they usually aren’t as competitive and can improve,” Moritz said. “A sprinter’s start definitely sets up the results because sprinters have little time to get in front.”

            Distance Runners

Distance runners do not have to focus on form as much, but need to be consistent with their training, Hanson said.

            Before practice and meets, all the runners go through the same warm up, which is running one to two miles.

            “The warm up typically takes eight to sixteen minutes,” Hanson said. “They run up to two miles. The purpose is to get their heart rate up, muscles warm, and [body] sweating. Then they go through a series of leg drills. These dynamic stretches put the muscles through the complete range of motion they will go through during the competition. Finally, we end with a series of strides. We start with sprints at fifty percent, then sixty percent, seventy, eighty, and so on the race pace. It is a gradual way to warm up their muscles so they can perform at the highest level they can.”

            Hanson believes the warm up is helpful, and if they did not do this warm up, they would not have such good results.

            “One thing we have told them is that you have two types of fuel for your body,” Hanson said. “The first one is simple sugars, like glycogen stored in your muscles. The second is fat, which is stored around your muscles. Your body usually uses glycogen first when exercising, but after fifteen minutes, your energy will start coming from fat. If in competition we want our body to use both sources of fuel we need to make sure we get through the first fifteen minutes of the warmup.”

            Bobby Klett, senior, said their training is just as important and helpful as their warm ups.

            “We do a lot of interval workouts to increase our speed and to help us maintain our speed during longer races,” Klett said. “Our usual practice runs go anywhere from six to twelve miles a day.”

            The distance runners may strictly follow their warm ups and training, but they do not spend much time perfecting their form because it does not always improve their performance, Hanson said.

            “There is a certain form. But most of the time it is hard to change a person’s form of running, so we don’t put a lot of emphasis on it,” Hanson said. “A lot of athletes tend to become more efficient in their own running style as they run often. Their bodies learn how to run as efficiently as they can. Even if you were to try and correct one part of a runner’s form, you would probably end up messing up another part. But in general, distance runners run tall, strong, and have their chest out to expand their lung capacity.”

            Even though distance runners do not find their form as important as sprinters, they must have a hard-working attitude.

            “One thing that is crucial for a distance runner is how hard they are willing to work and train,” Hanson said. “There is no magical potion that can make your better. Series of days, months, years of you consistently training will help you improve.”

            Klett also believes that distance runners have to focus on regularly training in order to improve more than sprinters.

            “The main difference between distance runners and sprinters is the preparation needed to compete,” Klett said. “Most distance runners practice year round, while many sprinters go to other sports. You really have to have a different mindset and concentrate during races in order to compete in events like the two mile.”

            Michael Venetos and Wyatt Tournier, juniors, play water polo in a recreational league over the summer. Venetos started playing water polo in sixth grade, and he introduced Tournier to the sport about a year and a half ago. Tournier has been playing ever since.

            “Michael was doing water polo and I thought it was interesting, so I joined it. [Having Michael there] means that you two are going through [the sport] together, so you can support each through bad times at practice or games,” Tournier said. “Water polo certainly has strengthened our relationship.”

            Both athletes play in Arlington Heights with other high school boys from around the area. After playing for several years, Venetos said he has come to appreciate the game more.

            “It was really, really difficult at first, of course, but eventually I got better. When I first started, I remember I used to struggle with getting in a couple laps and then the coach was like, ‘alright everyone, let’s do our ten laps for warm-up,’ and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, that’s insane,’” Venetos said. “As time went on I really started to appreciate it a lot more and like it. When you really get to understand the game and the intricacies of the game, it’s really pretty neat.”

            Venetos said it is not difficult to pick up water polo rules, but the strategies of the game make it challenging.

            “Honestly, if you’re a good swimmer, it’s not that hard to pick up. You just have to work on the treading part, and ball handling, but you don’t even need a pool to work on the ball handling,” Venetos said. “But when you’re coming up with plays and strategies, then it gets harder to comprehend, and it can be pretty difficult.”

            Tournier agrees picking up the basics can be pretty easy if people know how to swim, but feels like the treading is very difficult.

            “Let’s see, how tired was I? Yeah, you don’t want to move the next morning. Treading is the most challenging part,” Tournier said, “but I love the sport. It’s exciting and usually most people that play it are pretty exciting and nice, so it’s an all around good sport.”

Although Venetos and Tournier appreciate the game, they both said they are disappointed they cannot play on a school team.

“When I was in middle school that was much more of a team, so we developed bonds with those kids,” Venetos said. “Lately, it’s been a bunch of high school kids that get together and they’re all teammates on their high school team and LZHS doesn’t have a team. I get to know them, but I’m not as close with any of them.”

            Even though Venetos does not believe he forms strong friendship bonds with the summer recreational league boys, he believes that having Tournier there is helpful in several ways. Venetos said that Tournier helps to support him through the tough times in water polo, but also acts as a friend to joke around with at practice.

            “It’s actually Michael’s goal every practice to dunk me,” Tournier said. “I try to get revenge, but usually he dunks me again.”

            Aside from the joking around, Venetos appreciates having Tournier to play water polo with because he knows he always has a friend treading by his side.

            While playing baseball nearly five years ago, Stutzman foul tipped a ball and broke his orbital bone, the bone surrounding the eye, and nose.  Initially, Stutzman thought the swelling would subside and he would heal, and he was unaware this injury would cause him to lose his vision in his right eye.

            “I have a huge scar down my eye that’s blocking my vision.  You can’t really see it because it’s all in the back, but my retina is hanging by a thread,” Stutzman said.  “There used to be blood blocking my vision, but now the blood’s gone and it’s just a huge scar, so whenever I look there’s a huge blind spot.”

            Because doctors cannot surgically remove the scar, Stutzman remains unable to see out of his right eye.  He lost binocular visual cues as well as depth perception, which prohibits him from playing his former outfield position in baseball.

“I lost all of my depth perception, so I needed to teach myself that again with my left eye.  In baseball in the outfield, I can’t play it because a ball will go up and I’ll think it’s like 30 feet behind me but really it’s 20 feet in front of me, and I’ll just lose it,” Stutzman said.

Although Stutzman can no longer play outfield, he still plays baseball and is the catcher for the freshmen baseball team.  He uses his left eye to see balls that are coming from straight ahead and says many of his teammates are not aware that he can only see out of one eye.

“I don’t want people to feel like I have a disability.  I mean it’s not that big of a deal, but I just feel like I’m not going to go around saying, ‘hey, I’m blind in this eye!’” Stutzman said.

While Stutzman does not want to broadcast his blindness, he does feel that others should be more appreciative of their vision.

“Don’t take anything for granted. A lot of people take seeing with two eyes for granted, like it’s normal,” Stutzman said.  “Once something like this happens, you realize that you need it.”

Scott Jasinski and Sean Wynne, 2005 graduates, work for the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, SEDAC. It offers programs to identify problems with energy use and create solutions to reduce it.

“Our clients are either commercial or public. Sean and I chose LZ to get another client and to help LZ since we went there,” Jasinski said.

One of the programs offered is Retro-Commissioning. This service provides guidance by finding ways to fix the control, scheduling, and operation of energy consuming systems to match the present functional requirements of the building, according to SEDAC’s website.

The program is almost free for the school. The money comes from the electric bills of customers from electric companies such as ComEd and Ameren Illinois.

The LZHS Retro-Commissioning showed a potential 37 percent reduction in energy use. On the whole, LZHS spends about $2 per square foot for temperature controls, when it could be at about $1. Additionally, LZHS is using energy when it does not need to, such as with vacant hallways during vacations.

The Energy Assessment showed many opportunities for a reduction in energy. These include unit ventilators in the B-Hallway, occupancy sensors, and gym lighting upgrade.

The Middle School North/Spencer Loomis building Retro-Commissioning showed a potential 17 percent reduction in energy use, which would be an estimated $29,000 in annual savings. At the same, the Energy Assessment identified a 24 percent reduction in energy use with a potential of $40,000 in savings.  The Middle School South/Isaac Fox Energy Assessment showed a potential 31 percent in energy use, which  would save about $80,000 annually.

“With most schools we can find 10-30 percent savings, but sometimes there’s more and sometimes there’s less because of outliers,” Jasinski said. “The Lake Zurich High School has ample opportunity to save energy.”

            Having determination, perseverance, and dedication made 18 senior athletes able to achieve their dreams of playing sports in college.

            Vanesa Abad, senior soccer player, is attending Ohio State University in the fall of 2013. After playing soccer for 15 years, she looks forward to getting better in college and for the new level of competitiveness.

            “I would have to say I’m [looking forward to] the training, competitiveness, and making close friends with my new teammates [the most],” Abad said. “[I stood out because] I try to make a habit of being the hardest worker on and off the field at all times.”

            Like Abad, Layne Self, senior volleyball player, started playing at a young age. Self received a full ride to the University of Rhode Island and will start her college career there this fall.

            “I’m just excited to keep playing. I’ve been playing since fifth grade, so I can’t imagine just not playing volleyball anymore,” Self said. “It’ll be cool to go early and make friends on the team and to just be a part of a [team] in college.”

            Even though Self has been playing volleyball since fifth grade, getting a full ride from the University of Rhode Island was not easy for her. When she is not playing volleyball during the offseason, she is always working out and strengthening her body.

            “My college coach said when he was recruiting me how I was always smiling and had a positive attitude. Even when I mess up, I easily shake things off,” Self said. “I started playing club [volleyball] in eighth grade and I decided sophomore year that I wanted to play in college, so I would work out in the off season whenever I didn’t have practice to get my jumping higher.”

Grant Soucy, senior lacrosse player, is also looking forward to playing on a team in college, and will begin playing lacrosse at Hobart and William Smith College in New York this fall.

            “[I’m looking forward to] the improvement of the game and how it’s a whole step higher than really anything I’ve been exposed to before,” Soucy said. “I’ve always wanted to [play in college]; it’s been my dream, and now I’m finally getting my chance to play with really good people and be a part of a team and continue to play sports.”

            Although each of the three players is looking forward to playing sports in college, they all agree on the one thing they fear to be the most challenging: balancing a college sport with college courses.

            “Balancing school and volleyball [will be challenging] because the school work is going to be a lot harder and then we play at other schools and travel,” Self said.  “I think whenever I have downtime, like in between classes during the day, I definitely have to study a lot because I know I’m going to have practice in the afternoon, I can’t be lazy and watch TV. When we’re on road trips I’ll have to do my homework on the bus and in the hotel. I just really have to make sure I stay focused.”

            While staying focused and on task will keep these players in college, they had to work extremely hard to get into the school in the first place. Soucy dedicated an entire summer to playing lacrosse in order to impress college coaches.

            “I think football helped me a lot with my athleticism and everything I learned in football definitely carried over into lacrosse. Really just raw athletics and my lacrosse knowledge helped me set myself apart [from other players]. They always say how important footwork is, and I think I have pretty good foot skills from football,” Soucy said.  “I’ve been playing on a club team every summer since 8th grade and we travel to about three or four East Coast tournaments every summer, so I spent all my summer traveling and trying to go to these showcases to get exposed for all these college coaches and really just trying to play as best as I could in front of all the coaches.”

            After reaching his goal of getting a lacrosse scholarship, Soucy set many more goals for himself in hopes to possibly play nationally after college.

            “I hope to become a starter within the first two years and to be able to play in the NCAA [lacrosse] tournament with my team,” Soucy said. “I would love to play for a national team, they always have world lacrosse games every year, but I wouldn’t play professionally because it’s not very developed yet.”

            LZHS encourages communication between teachers, club sponsors, or coaches with their students or athletes. According to newswire online, social media usage, including texting, tweeting, facebook, and emails, increased to 121 billion minutes in July 2012 from 88 million minutes in July 2011. The social media policy aims for safe communication between faculty, parents, and students.

            “There are too many that could be misunderstood or misconstrued in social media. You can’t read tone into an email or [into] a lot of things but a lot of people do it,” said Ryan Rubenstein, assistant principal for student activities and facilities.

            The social media policy aims to have communication be transparent. When a message is sent, the teacher or coach would notify the administrator of their department or include them in the message.

            Administration has provided teachers with tools, such as websites and example messages, to provide guidance on how to avoid writing a message that can be misinterpreted; using the policy allows the teachers to be accountable for the message they have sent.

“We’re asking our coaches, sponsors and teachers to be accountable [for the messages],” Rubenstein said. “We just ask people to be responsible with their use of technology.”

Some schools like Mundelein High School (MHS) are sticking with the old policy; forbidding social media and texting between faculty and students. LZHS, however, recommends sponsors to communicate with students.

            “[Texting is] important to make sure [the students] know what’s going on and keep them updated on things,” Rolando Vazquez, athletic director, said.

            Instead of adapting a policy similar to LZHS’s new policy, MHS encourages any coach or advisor to set up a twitter account. While twitter is a form of quick communication, some student athletes believe texting is more productive if looking for an instant response.

            “It’s convenient because sometimes I can’t get to [my coach] till school or class,” Noah Allgood, junior, said. “It’s an easy tool just to communicate back and forth.”

            Not only is texting seen as one of the easiest ways to communicate, Allgood also agrees on texting is beneficial because of the instant feedback. With the new technology, more and more ways for communication via social media is popping up.

             “This topic is very dynamic and is revisited often with our social media changing all the time,” Vazquez said. “The school board asks us to revisit [this topic often] to see if there are different ways and different things we can do to try and encourage our staff to communicate with kids so it’s even more transparent.”

The past decade’s sleep and dream related research is leading to new discoveries that continue to add to the known benefits to getting that extra hour or two of daily sleep each night.

“I value sleep a lot, but I usually can’t seem to get as much as I want,” Noel Brindise, sophomore, said.

Brindise will sometimes pull out her homework wherever she is, at school, on the bus to get it done as fast as possible and be able to go to sleep.

“Sleep is like the goal of my entire day sometimes,“ Brindise said. “I usually get about 7.5 hours of sleep.”

Brindise is a cello player and could benefit greatly from getting eight hours of sleep each night.

TED-Medical, or TEDMED is a branch of the global Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conferences. TEDMED recently sponsored a Google Hangout live event with a small group of “sleep experts.” TEDMED’s mission is to promote and enable the spread of ideas which may in the future contribute to the medical-treatment knowledge-base.

“You can change your performance overnight by getting a good night’s sleep,” James Maas, co-author of the book “Sleep to Win” said in the (TEDMED) Google Hangout.

In addition to the obvious physical benefits and the ‘memory consolidation’ that occurs during sleep, where memories from the day before are sorted and organized, getting a little extra sleep after a day of practice (an instrument, a sport, a dance, etc.) will improve motor skills dramatically.

“Somewhere around six and a half to seven hours into the night, something happens in the brain. We have a cascade of calcium into the motor cortex that forms motor-muscle memory,” Maas said.

The implication of this process, which can’t be emulated with drugs or supplements, is that substantial gains can be made in motor skills overnight.

“If you practice something and then, that very night, get eight hours of sleep you show a minimum of 27 percent improvement in that skill the next day,” Maas said.

Extra sleep is also believed to add solidity to memories made during the day.

“We know that sleep seems to play a very important role. It makes memories a more permanent, less fragile part of the brain,” said Sarah E. Allen, PhD, researcher at Southern Methodist University.

There are two phases of memory consolidation. The period four to six hours after a practice session is referred to as “stabilization,” according to Allen.

This makes getting at least eight hours of sleep every night very much worth the lost time, for anyone who is involved in activities which require good motor skills and quick motor skill learning.

“If you look at modern society, there has in recent years been a considerable erosion of sleep time,” Matthew Walker, PhD, director of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s [BIDMC] Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory said, describing this trend as “sleep bulimia.”

Walker’s comparison of sleep and bulimia shows how people in modern society will often “purge” themselves of sleep during the week and binge on sleep during the weekends.

  This means that sleep will also help in long term retention of these motor skill improvements and that musicians (and those participating in other motor-skill intensive activities) who aren’t getting the sleep they need every day are at a huge disadvantage.

            Bugg is a nineteen year old British singer songwriter whose music is reminiscent of older musicians like The Beatles or Bob Dylan because of his folksy acoustic sound. He updates this sound with upbeat choruses and contemporary lyrics about teenage restlessness and his experiences in the streets of his hometown, Nottingham, England.

            “[I write about] everyday things. Sometimes I like to fantasize or make a story but sometimes I just talk about what’s happening right now in the world or what’s happening in. For example, I’ll write something about my town, about where I’m from and my estate,” Bugg said in an interview with contactmusic.com.

            The album has multiple high points, including Bugg’s storytelling lyrics in “Seen It All” and “TroubleTown.” These songs create images of theNottinghamprojects where Bugg grew up. In “Seen It All,” Bugg sings “I’ve seen it all, nothing shocks me anymore.” This statements is explained in the song, which tells a story of party, pills, and a knife. In “Lighting Bolt,” Bugg’s rock and roll sound along with fiery guitar solos hook listeners. One ballad, “Note to Self,” stands out because of the thoughtful and softer lyrics of encouragement and reassurance.

            There are some misses, like “Fire,” which has a reggae sound that does not fit with the rest of the album. Another miss is “Country Song,” a cliché ballad about walking down a country lane singing a country song. It does not have the imaginative lyrics of the other songs on the album.

            Overall, Bugg’s classic acoustic sound and relevant lyrics create an album that is both traditional and innovative. Jake Bugg’s debut is the impressive start to what is hopefully a long career.

            He will perform his album live at Lollapalooza this summer.

            This event will take place from June 1 to June 2 from 6PM to 6AM the next morning at Mel Eide Field. Anyone is allowed to participate.

            Lisa Ledbetter, French teacher, and Dana Petraglia, administrative assistant to the dean’s office, are the leaders of the staff Relay for Life team. They were chosen to be team leaders because they both have loved ones who have been affected by cancer.

            “I’m excited to just be at the event and see the enthusiasm of people, and the camaraderie and the enthusiasm again to come together and fight this awful disease,” Ledbetter said. “I think the more people see the enthusiasm, the more likely they are to participate, not only now but also in the future. It’s good to be in the company of other people and feel the same way you and are there to support you. It’ll be a good time.”

            Money can be raised through donations online, donations at the race, or through money donated at the luminary service, Ledbetter said.

            “The goal we want to raise, [as a group], is $1,500. There’s no minimum that you have to raise individually, but my goal is $100,” Ledbetter said.

            Although the football team is hosting the event, anyone is allowed to participate in the Relay for Life.

            “You can go online and form a team and start donating as soon as you have your team. It’s just $10 to become part of a team and that goes towards your donation,” Ledbetter said. “For the LZHS faculty team, we each raise money individually and it goes towards our team fund. The team will come out that day, and each member doesn’t have to be there for the entire time, you can come in increments or you can be there the whole time, it’s all up to you.”

Christopher Martelli will officially begin working with the district starting June 1. Martelli will be replacing retiring Principal Lettie Ekovich.

Currently, Martelli is the assistant principal at the John Conyers Learning Academy, a therapeutic day school. Martelli has also served as principal of elementary schools in Hanover Park, Roselle, and Palatine.

Martelli’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from the University of Iowa, a Master of Science degree in education from Loyola University, and he is currently working on his Doctor of Education degree in educational administration at the University of Illinois – Champaign.