THEVOICE | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | EDITOR PATRICK WACHTER Sportsnews Kinesiology teacher helps soccer team Langara's men's basketball team talks in a circle before practice starts. 4sHi FY BURGOYNE PHOTO Langaras athletics department is small but inclusive Coaches and athletes embrace community = By ASHLEY BURGOYNE even minutes after trying out for the men’s soccer team at Langara, Athos Michellepis de Siqueira received a text from the coach about joining the team. The offer included a tour of the school and an opportunity to ask any questions. The warm response from the coaches was the deciding factor in him choosing to play at Lang- ara over UBC and SFU. “The thing that made me choose here was also how the... coaches were treat- ing me,” said Michellepis de Siqueira, who is in his second year of kinesiology and playing soccer at Langara after moving from Brazil to Canada. There are approximately 80 student athletes at Langara who play on men’s and women’s soccer and basketball teams. They are a mix of domestic and international students who say they come to Langara for the support the coaches offer their athletes. The support includes finan- cial help, counselling and growth opportunities they would not receive PHOTO PROVIDED BY LANGARA ATHLETICS at a larger school. Langara’s men’s basketball coach Paul Eberhardt said the small size of the athletics department allows athletes and faculty to get to know each other more closely. “T think it’s a very welcoming envi- ronment for student athletes and particularly for kids coming right out of high school,” said Eberhardt. He said there are typically two types of athletes that come to Lang- ara to play in the PACWEST league. They are athletes that may not be able to get into the university of their choice due to their academics or athletes that have been overlooked by other teams at a university level. Nicholas Chan, a first-year basketball player at Langara, said the people working in Langara’s athletic department are what he values most. “They care about their players off the court and care about them as people,” Chan said. He plans to develop more physi- “Players come from all over the world. We've got players cally and improve before transfer- ring to a university in a few years and believes Langara will help him achieve this. Marc Rizzardo, men’s soccer coach at Langara, said the support goes beyond just sports. He said the department helps to arrange counselling for athletes if they need it. “We've supported them finan- cially. A lot of them are on some type of scholarship from the school,” he said. “We support in terms of you know, making sure that they stay on top of their grades.” from Brazil. We have Rizzardo also said the program values interna- players fromJapan.Wehad | ber players from Malawi.” “We encourage inter- __ MARCRIZZARDO national study,” he said. MEN'S SOCCER COACH “Players come from all over the world. We've got players from Brazil. We have players from Japan. We had players from Malawi.” Both coaches and athletes said the school needs updated facilities. “I think one thing that could be very beneficial is some sort of weight room or weight training area,” Chan said. Eberhardt said Langara has limited space and funding to upgrade. “It would be sure nice to have a newer, more modern facility,” said Eberhardt. “I think that would help us a lot.” Prof, also an assistant coach, tests and sup- plies regimen for womens squad = By CHRISTOPHER MACMILLAN fter a disappointing season, the Langara women’s soccer team say they are benefitting from an assistant coach who teaches in the kinesiology department. The team was eliminated from the PACWEST finals in October with zero wins, eight losses and one tie. Dr. Andrew Perrotta views his role as assistant coach caring for the health and wellbeing of the team’s players as the key to their future success in the PACWEST league. Perrotta and the rest of the depart- ment test the team regularly. “T'm leading, assessing, and taking care of all the physical testing, the physical preparation, trying to quantify all that exercise stress that the girls are experiencing using the equip- _ ment of the [kinesiology] department,” Perrotta said. Kayla Seaborn, a second-year kinesiology student and defender on the team, was injured last season but was able to rehabilitate quickly and safely because of the close supervision provided by her assistant coach. “I've gone through like, a couple injuries this season. And he's defi- nitely helped me with recovery along with like, prevention of [further injuries],” Seaborn said. She said building muscle was one of her biggest goals, and that Perrotta “really help[ed] us work through everything, make sure like, we're always healthy whenever possible.” Perrotta, who previously taught at MEN'S 11/27/2021 vs. Okanagan College 6:00 p.m. At Langara 11/28/2021 vs. Okanagan College 6:00 p.m. At Langara 12/03/2021 vs. Columbia Bible College 8:00 p.m. Away at Columbia Bible College “Regardless of on-the- field results, we're very happy that.. feel cared for, the staff feels cared for, and [that] we do trust each other.” — MARK ECKERLE, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH . the players Check out Chris MacMillan's video at langaravoice.ca FALCONS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE UBC, said that the cooperation with the team was only possible because of the leadership in the kinesiol- ogy department. All the tools and equipment the team used on a daily basis is provided by the department. The close relationship between the team and the kinesiology department has led to off-the-field success for Seaborn and the other students in kinesiology. Perrotta said the students have used the data they received from testing the women’s soccer team to present at a national conference last month. “They've been able to go and showcase off their ability to give research, as well. Because what happened is our students Mark Eckerle «Oo binecin]_ WOMENS SOCCER here in kinesiol COACH ogy, when they work with a team, they take that data, but then they go present [their findings] at national and international confer- ences, which is huge because they get [featured in] publications,” said Perrotta. Mark Eckerle, the team’s new head coach, recognized the Falcons’ lack of success in the recently completed season while praising the team’s cohe- sion. “Regardless of on-the- field results, we're very happy that ... the players feel cared for, the staff feels cared for, and [that] we do trust each other,” Eckerle said. Seaborn said she trusts the coaching staff to help the team improve for next season. Having grown up in Richmond, her decision to join the Falcons was about staying local. Eckerle also noted the difficult oppos- ing teams that the Falcons have had to play against. “The PACWEST league is actu- ally very difficult. We will play against ... nationally ranked teams every week,” he said. WOMEN'S 11/27/2021 vs. Okanagan College 4:00 p.m. At Langara 11/28/2021 vs. Okanagan College 11:00 a.m. At Langara 12/03/2021 vs. Columbia Bible College 6:00 p.m. Away at Columbia Bible College