Training with New Eyes

By Isabel Pascua


Trying new things is like figuring out an eyeglasses prescription. People change prescriptions until finding the one that makes everything crystal clear.

“Try something new!”

Students often hear this expression from teachers, families and even friends. High school is about exploring interests, joining new sports and clubs, and doing activities to which they once said “I wish I can do that!”. Most students don’t have the opportunities that Villanova offers. Being part of junior varsity basketball is Kelly Xu’s “fast break.” Xu shared her experience.

“I liked basketball before I came to the U.S., but I didn’t have opportunities to learn it,” Xu (‘20) said. “Now, not only can I learn basketball but also learn with my friends which I enjoy.”

 

Bounce up and down!

A “rebound” is to take back or get back up again. If there’s an obstacle preventing from being the best, students work harder, even accepting failures in order to move forward.

New things can be scary. It can be tough to keep up while constantly learning new things. Learning is almost like blindly following something. The vision may be blurry, but soon it’ll all be clear as a new pair of eyes. Sunny Zhao (‘18) shared her nerve-wracking experience.

“I felt so nervous at my very first day of basketball practice, but I felt better and comfortable after I got to know my team,” Zhao said. “I have never played basketball before, so the coach and some varsity teammates helped me a lot, which was awesome!”


Alley oop!

Joining activities in school, especially for freshmen, is a fun way to meet new people. It’s as easy as throwing a ball up to a teammate. A new student’s first priority is making friends, and there is no better way to create friendship than bonding over a common interest. Sarah Cortez (‘19) and Yani Rong (‘20) elaborated their encounters.

“I enjoyed playing basketball freshman year because I practically knew no one on the team,” Cortez said. “I made a lot of new friends and I got to be a part of what I consider a basketball family. To be back with the same basketball family with some new people is great because now I know even more people and we can grow more as a team.”