Being teased, being trapped in a private school and being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at first haunted the lives of three MVHS students. But when these three athletes turned to sports, they channeled that negativity into motivation, in to courage, into acceptance. And those setbacks have morphed into inspirations for them, a double-edged sword.

Face-Off

“But she asked if I was okay,” Hirai said. “Cause that was the number-one priority.”

While Hirai’s parents do not support the physical impact of hockey, they know what the game means to him. His small size and his diabetes have acted as both obstacles and inspirations.

Hirai found out he had diabetes in seventh grade, in the middle of hockey season. He had all the symptoms: the fatigue, frequent urination, increased thirst. And when he went to do a routine check, he was admitted to the hospital; he had Type 1 diabetes. But the hardest part wasn’t adjusting to the diabetes, it was his friends’ reactions.

“It’s nice because I know who my real friends are now,” Hirai said. “There are the ones who stay away when they learn that I’m a diabetic and the ones that stay there. They’re just there for me whenever.”

Not only Hirai’s diabetes, but his relatively small size for a hockey player has made him rely on his speed rather than his strength.

“It’s always been a battle, showing that I can play the top teams in spite of my size,” Hirai said.

And after seven years, Hirai is now a part of the San Jose Junior Sharks 16 AAA American team. He believes his experience mirrors that of Max Domi, a small diabetic NHL player for the Arizona Coyotes.

“There’s a small diabetic kid and he’s playing at the same level,” Hirai said. “That’s my motivator.”

Float like a butterfly

Before senior Helen Chen tried out for water polo her sophomore year, she envisioned a “High School Musical”-esque team, where the teams dance and sing through their wins and losses. At first, Chen initiated it after practice by singing in the showers with her teammates, just like in the movie.

For Chen, that search for sisterhood came from her time in middle school at Challenger School, where she found there to be more of a focus on academics rather than athletics. Though she was a swimmer there, she grew tired of the monotony.

“Over time, swimming became tedious,” Chen said. “I [couldn’t] do anything fun anymore. I wanted to try other things; swimming is not the only sport out there.”

So at MVHS, she catapulted into the sports scene.

“I wanted to try other things,” Chen said. “I see a lot of people carrying around sport bags for other sports, like tennis rackets and badminton rackets. I’d always be like ‘Wow, those are very interesting things. How do you use these weird contraptions?’”

And even though Chen never figured out how to use those rackets, in freshman year she played softball, water polo sophomore and junior year and wrestling junior and senior year. She started playing water polo after approaching and questioning a friend carrying a green and purple bag. Her friend told Chen she was going to water polo practice the next day.

“I was like ‘Oh, water polo! Maybe I’ll try out,’” Chen said. “She thought I was joking, and the next day, I just showed up to practice. Then, I played water polo for two years.”

From the protected environment of Challenger School, Chen aimed for spontaneity and new experiences in high school. Coming in with bucket list of new things she wanted to try in highschool, Chen feels like she has crossed many of those items off now.

“Whenever you do stuff like that, there’s so many happy feelings and joy,” Chen said. “The sport itself is really fun too. Winning and losing, if you do it with your team, is a great feeling.”

The High School Musical-esque team didn’t catch on, but Chen’s Challenger experience helped her realize the importance of the now, the importance of soaking up everything high school had to offer, not just academics.

“Right now, as high schoolers, we are still young, we still have the chance to try many different things,” Chen said. “Many people are focusing on things like studying. It’s a path with no stop, until you’re like 60. Before college starts, I want to have fun. Basically, never say no to learning experiences.”

Sixth man

Senior Vasu Gupta has played varsity basketball for two years. He first dabbled in basketball at the end of third grade, when he had no one to play handball with. A lot of his friends were in basketball leagues when he just picked it up. The other kids weren’t shy to let him know he wasn’t any good, and Gupta felt inadequate.

“People didn’t take it very well,” Gupta said. “Back in third grade, I was a little chubbier, a bit bigger than the other kids. I took up more space and made it hard for the team to score.”

After his initial experience, Gupta made a commitment to himself to improve in basketball. He now plays wherever he can — 24 Hour Fitness, the park nearby or the high school gym. Basketball is not merely a hobby to him, but a sport he believes took him far.

While in third grade he faced prejudices from other basketball players, basketball became the sport which helped him find acceptance. Through basketball, he met many new friends and learned how to be patient and persevere. Assistant coach Jeremy Alan is more of a close friend to him than a coach, someone who was there for him when others weren’t.

“You’re not going to win all of the games,” Gupta said. “It teaches you how to lose and how to win. It’s a miniature version of life.”