What motivates you?

MVHS athletes share what motivates them to do their sport

Amberly Sun and Leah Desai • December 8, 2024

Sophmore Allie Rummelhoff

Sophmore Allie Rummelhoff prepares to shoot the basketball. Photo | Alyssa Yang

Flag Football, Basketball, Track & Field

“Seeing improvement motivates me. I set goals for basketball and track. I made track CCS trials last year. One of my goals is to make the CCS finals. I’m not always going to be the best shooter. I'm always going to have an off day, but I just control what I can by working hard and running fast. It's motivating to see results that show I'm going to make it. Also, my coaches are motivating. I do worse when coaches don't yell at me. I want to make my coaches proud, so when they're aggravating me it's going to motivate me to work harder and do better.”

Senior Eric Tang

Senior Eric Tang prepares to throw the water polo ball. Photo | Manas Kottakota

Water Polo

“My team motivates me. These people push you to get better and improve. We want to win. When you're around people who are competitive and want to not only get better as a team, it makes you want to get better as an individual and work harder. It motivates you in the game to swim faster and to do everything a little bit better.”

Senior Juliana Bañes

Senior Juliana Bañes (in purple) runs up a hill. Photo courtesy of Ryan Liu | Used with permission

Cross Country and Track & Field

“My teammates motivate me because they're always cheering and supporting us while we're running. During practices, seeing everyone run and go for that extra lap is really motivating. When you're running, and you feel really tired and your legs want to give out, but then you have everyone calling your name and saying ‘You got it’ — it just helps you keep going and running and finishing the race.”

Freshman Finn Ancheta

Freshman Finn Ancheta jumps to hit the volleyball. Photo courtesy of Kennedy Ancheta | Used with permission

Volleyball

“The competitiveness of trying to be the best on your entire team motivates me. You're never going to be the best in reality. There's always going to be someone better than you in your own position, and you just have to accept that fact and just try to get better than them every day.”

About the Contributors

Amberly Sun, Head of Graphics

Amberly is a junior and Head of Graphics for El Estoque. She enjoys art and music.

Leah Desai, Sports Editor

Leah is currently a junior and a Sports Editor for El Estoque. She is a member of the Monta Vista volleyball team and in her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends and watching Modern Family.