Futsal Marks Strong End to Sports Year
The Live Oak athletics season came to a close this spring with a lot to be proud of. Highlighting the accomplishments was the seventh grade boys JV futsal team, which won the championship with a 3-1 victory over CAIS. The team title capped a perfect season for the JV boys as they finished 8-0 for the year.
“The junior varsity boys futsal team had a fantastic season!” said head coach Camilo Coehlo. “They won all their games and played a beautiful style based on ball possession. The team was formed entirely with seventh grade students, some of whom have years of experience playing competitive club soccer and others who were new to the sport. The most remarkable characteristics of this group were their unity, positive attitude and competitive effort. The final game against an excellent Chinese American School team was one to remember. This game contained all the excitement, physicality and display of footwork skills that we love about futsal. In the end, our boys came out victorious with a hard fought 3-1 result. Congratulations to them for their athletic achievement!”
The varsity girls also turned in an impressive campaign of their own, reaching the championship match after going 7-0 during the regular season. They competed hard, but ultimately lost to SF Friends 9-3 in the final.
The varsity boys, sixth grade JV boys, and JV girls teams each showed a huge amount of growth and commitment throughout their respective seasons. The JV girls even put together a competitive showing in a 5-2 playoff semifinals loss to CAIS. While there were many close results for these teams over the course of the year, the biggest highlights came in each teams’ positive sportsmanship and ability to learn from each contest.
In addition to seeing the conclusion of competitions, Live Oak honored six eighth grade student-athletes of the year along with its final two Student-Athletes of the Month to recognize their hard work and leadership skills in the classroom and in athletics. Student-Athlete of the Year honors went to Zoe R., Dagny S., Haruna K., Ben F., Devin J., and Coleton N -- congratulations to them!
Earning Student-Athlete of the Month honors was Devin J., who participated on the Live Oak volleyball, basketball and futsal teams this year. Devin was interviewed and asked about his thoughts on academics and athletics. Here were his responses:
Earning Student-Athlete of the Month honors was Devin J., who participated on the Live Oak volleyball, basketball and futsal teams this year. Devin was interviewed and asked about his thoughts on academics and athletics. Here were his responses:
Q: Do you find yourself working equally hard in both athletics and academics? If not, which one do you work harder at?
A: I find myself working pretty equally hard on academics and sports, but maybe favoring sports a bit. A goal of mine is actually to work harder at both. Especially academics because I have much more of a natural gift for athletics than academics.
Q: What is similar between academics and athletics?
A: Something similar is how they are both things for me to keep my focus on and make goals about. They are both important parts of my life.
Q: What is something you’ve learned from either athletics or academics and were able to apply to the other field?
A: Something I’ve learned from athletics is that the harder I work the more I can achieve. I have seen this in specific games, but also throughout my journeys in sports like soccer. The harder I worked the more I would level up. If I didn’t work hard enough I would be left behind.
Q: What is your favorite sport?
A: My favorite sport is soccer.
Zoe R. also earned Student-Athlete of the Month recognition after participating on the Live Oak basketball and futsal teams this year. Zoe was also interviewed on some of these same topics and here were her responses:
Q: What is something you’ve learned from either athletics or academics and were able to apply to the other field?
A: One thing that’s really helped me that I learned from playing club soccer from a young age is discipline. I’ve also learned time management and how to apply myself. That very easily transfers to academics, and I now find it much easier to manage my time and find enjoyment in working hard on projects because I’m able to see a positive outcome.
Q: Do you find yourself working equally hard in both athletics and academics? If not, which one do you work harder at?
A: I find that I work much harder in academics. I normally play sports because I enjoy them, and I end up getting better along the way. I try to excel in my academics, and I notice I spend way more time working on projects than practicing any particular sport.
Q: What is your favorite sport?
A: Soccer, because I’ve been playing it the longest, and I find it requires the most strategy and thought behind the scenes that most spectators don’t see.
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Math, because it’s very logical and I think probably one of the most useful.
“It was another exciting year in athletics with many records being set in terms of accomplishments and participation,” said Athletic Director Robbie Smiley. “Live Oak brought home a school record five team titles this year, three in cross country (5th/6th girls, 5th/6th boys, and 7th/8th boys), one in basketball (JV girls) and one in futsal (JV boys). We also had a record number of first place finishers in the cross country finals. Tavis (5th), Dagny (8th) and Ben F. (8th) all placed first in their respective divisions.”
Smiley added, “With all of these amazing accomplishments, the thing that I was most proud of this year is that we had a record number of students participate in athletics. 133 students participated in athletics this year. Over 75% of middle school students participated in at least one sport and many participated in multiple sports.”
“There is a lot to be learned from playing on a team,” Smiley concluded. “Work ethic, responsibility, cooperation, compassion, and much more. And most importantly, I think that playing sports should be fun. Not just focusing on winning but enjoying the process, being around your friends and having a good time. Congratulations to all the student-athletes and coaches on making this year a successful and memorable one!”
Live Oak School welcomes and admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, citizenship status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and faith to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities of Live Oak School. Live Oak School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, citizenship status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and faith in administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, Adjusted Tuition program, and athletic and other school-administered programs.