High school sports are back in full swing.

Football, soccer, and tennis are among the popular sports for students at Riverside.

Vaughn Hudspath, Riverside tennis coach, is pumped about the upcoming season.

“I am excited to be entering my 12th year of coaching,” he said. “Yes, it will be the most challenging year, but I am beyond excited to be able to bring tennis to Riverside for the 18 special girls who are on the Varsity and J.V. Team.  We have 9 Varsity and 9 JV.”

He said a main goal is to keep his athletes safe and strong and looking at the bright side.

“Our goal this year is that optimism is not just a mind-set, it is behavior,” Hudspath said. “So we are 100% optimistic about everything.  In many ways, our whole society has been in the dark, so I tell the team, that we should look at like we were all seeds planted in the ground since Covid began in our country in March (when we first started the quarantine process).  Now it is the fall and it’s time for the seeds to sprout and grow.”

Hudspath isn’t the only one ready for the season. We caught up with the athletes of Riverside’s football, soccer, and tennis teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries, to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future.

Football

Tanner Leavens

How many years have you been in football? 9 Years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? Hitting definitely.

What is your favorite part of it? Also hitting, just laying someone out and standing up seeing a few stars. There’s no other feeling like it.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? It’s mostly mental this year honestly. We’re still being physical, but its mostly mental.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Some things have definitely changed like for a while we were separated in two groups and stuff, but footballs a collision sport, its hard to stay away from each other. I think the worst part is bringing our own water everyday though.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? I mean I’m hoping it won’t, we all are. We just wanna be able to see some regular FNL. It’s electric with a filled stadium, but either way we’re gonna do our thing and be a good football team.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I’d have to say Beaver Falls honestly, it’s gonna be a real good game there’s no doubt.

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? Just no matter what happens bounce back. Things can be challenging but you can always overcome it. The games also really taught me about brotherhood.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I plan on getting into the Steamfitter’s union.

Photo by James Hall

Payne Hoover

How many years have you been in football? 10 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in football? My biggest strength is my ability to slow the game down and get a good look at the defense.

What is your favorite part of it? Playing and practicing with my brothers.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We have been conditioning hard and working as close to perfection as possible at practice.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practice? It has not changed much. Our mindset at practice is still to go out and get better everyday.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? It will be odd not having the large amount of fans we usually have and also only having 7 games compared to the usual 9.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Obviously Ellwood City.

What is one skill you have learned from football that you will utilize in your future and how? I learned the ability to work as a team with 30 other kids and strive to the same goal together.

What are your future plans after graduation. Will you continue to play sports after highschool? My plans are to play football and study business at a four year university.

Dantae Phillips

How many years have you been in Football? I’ve been in football for 13 years.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? Being mentally smart in situations.

What is your favorite part of it? The brotherhood that comes with playing.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We have been taking it week by week, sure to be prepared for anything that comes our way with new rules and regulations.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Other than having to have our own waters, we come with the same mindset to practice as we have before.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? No spectators is definitely the biggest hit we have taken, so we have to get used to not having the same hype as usual.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Ellwood will always be our biggest rival, and will be a show for sure.

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? The will to be hit and knocked down, and get up to do the same thing for your brothers.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I unfortunately will probably not be playing sports after high school. I am undecided on my future career, but learning a trade is my biggest option as of now.

Calvin Hughes

How many years have you been in Football? 8 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? My nose for the football

What is your favorite part of it? Defense

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Film study, lots of mental reps, conditioning

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? It hasn’t had a huge impact on the way we practice but there’s more precautions and sanitary rules/procedures we have to follow before and after practice

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Beaver Falls week 1

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? Brotherhood. It’s a cold world we live in. You gotta have your brothers and family and there’s so many more that you use throughout life. Football isn’t just a game it’s a lifestyle

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My plan is to become a lineman and attend psi school for two years

Soccer

Samantha Finch

How many years have you been in Soccer? I have been playing soccer since I was 4. So I’ve been playing for 14 years.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Soccer? I feel like my biggest strength is my aggressiveness and the way I can see the field.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part in soccer was probably meeting and getting to compete with the teammates I have over the years.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We’ve been getting ready with camps and player run practices. More girls have probably been coming to practices this summer than anytime before in my past High school years. Which has and will help us get prepared for the season.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Obviously Coronavirus has had an impact on everyone. It had the biggest impact on us by practicing and putting time in, but not knowing if we’ll even get a season. But it hasn’t changed the way we practice really, other than being more cautious and respectful of people’s personal space when we’re not on the field.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? It will definitely feel different without spectators there, and with all the new rules being put in place to keep everyone safe.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? South side is always a very competitive game for us. They have some talent on the team and they’re always a challenge for us every time we play them.

What is one skill you have learned from Soccer that you will utilize in your future and how? One of the biggest things I’ve learned from soccer that I will utilize in my future is how to work with others, and how to take constructive criticism to better myself.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans after high school are to go to college to study Speech Pathology. Playing in college has always been something I’ve thought of doing, but nothing is for sure yet.

Jade Farnsworth

How many years have you been in Soccer?  I have been doing soccer since I was 4

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Soccer? I am a great leader on the field I am good with working with the younger girls

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part is making stronger friendships and working well together with my teamsters

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season?  We have been practicing together for a couple months now and we have just been getting used to playing with each other before the season starts

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? We have to separate during our lunch break and keep a distance between us where in the past we didn’t really have to do that

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? I definitely think it will be different just because of all the rules we have

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I feel south side is going to be a big challenge and possibly freedom

What is one skill you have learned from Soccer that you will utilize in your future and how? One skill that I have learned is you need to have patience. You can’t get mad every time something bad happens or it will ruin the whole game or practice. You just have to take time and be patient.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans after I graduate is to go to college for psychology. I plan on playing soccer at college when I go

Briana Leyland

How many years have you been in Soccer? I have played soccer for 13 years.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Soccer? By biggest strength would be not being afraid of anything such as a player coming at me or having the ball slam into my face and encouraging others to be aggressive and keeping intensity high.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part about soccer is seeing everybody grow as a team and seeing each year how each player is improving in their own way to make themselves better and for the team.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? My team has been going to summer practices 3 times a week, getting together for camp for a week, working hard during practices and pushing each other harder and farther past our limits everyday.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Coronavirus hasn’t changed much about how we practice or train besides keeping a good amount of distance from each other when we’re all around drinking water or taking a break.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? The season will be different by possibly having less spectators than usual due to social distancing and limited spacing and just by having our team abiding by the rules run by the CDC guidelines but this shouldn’t however affect how we play and how our season will turn out to be if we do what we need to do.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Freedom in my perspective will be our biggest rivalry this season.

What is one skill you have learned from Soccer that you will utilize in your future and how? One skill I have learned from soccer is that you must train your mind to be ready for any situation that may occur. This can be playing a game and you are starting to feel tired and not putting 100% effort in and then having to push yourself harder, or even when negative thoughts are racing through your mind thinking you’re not doing enough when you are just stressed with what is happening in front of you. If you train your mind to be prepared for any situations that occur, ranging from being easy to difficult, you will be able to achieve anything. This skill can be utilized in the future by being prepared for any situation that comes to you, while being able to think about what needs to be done during that time. As I get older, I will face new challenges that will train my mind to handle them correctly.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans after graduation is either going to a community college or university and getting a degree in occupational therapy. It is up in the air right now if I am willing to play soccer after high school depending on what i choose to do.

Tennis

Brooke Verrico

How many years have you been in Tennis? I have played tennis for 4 years..9th through this year. My dad has taught me all I know and played against me since 2nd grade.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Tennis? My biggest strength in tennis is my determination and desire to be the best i can be at every match.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of tennis is being competitive … meeting new girls from other schools and hanging out with teammates.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We have been preparing by practicing every chance we get.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? We have been practicing the same way with the exception of wearing masks and social distancing when needed.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? The season will be unusual and different if no spectators and families are allowed to watch.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rival I feel will be Blackhawk and Beaver.

What is one skill you have learned from tennis that you will utilize in your future and how? I think tennis has given me confidence which i will use in all aspects of my life!

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I plan to attend a 4 year college and beyond in the medical field.I will definitely continue playing tennis in the future.

Brianna Stadtfeld

How many years have you been in Tennis? This is my 4th year playing tennis. I have been on the team since my freshman year.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Tennis? I feel my biggest strength is being able to have a positive attitude while playing. You won’t always win games, but when you keep a good attitude mentally, you just know to try your best next time.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of tennis is definitely all of the coaches and players. My coaches Vaughn Hudspath, Bob Householder, and Miki Yannarella have really made the seasons enjoyable. I can speak for the whole team by saying they are like a family to us players.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? The tennis team and I have been getting ready by safely practicing twice to three times a week plus games. We do many matches and drills to prepare us for the season.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Covid-19 has changed the way the team practices in many ways. When on the courts, engaging in matches or drills, we are allowed to remove our masks. While on the bench, we have to wear our masks and social distance. I personally find myself more respectful of my teammates and coaches personal space.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? I think this season will be different being that there is still the unknown of whether there will be spectators or not. As a player, I will not be able to congratulate or shake hands with my opponent. The hardest part for me with being a senior is that my family may not be able to sit front row and cheer me on this season.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I believe Riversides biggest rival is Blackhawk. I can say it’s definitely a game where you are on the edge of your seat!

What is one skill you have learned from tennis that you will utilize in your future and how? One skill I have learned from tennis is that hard work pays off. As a freshman and a first time tennis player, I wasn’t the best at the game. I can proudly say I worked myself up the latter. One year later as a sophomore I was on Varsity playing 2nd doubles with my good friend Brooke Verrico. As a junior I played half of the season as 1st doubles with Brooke and then moved to 2nd singles which is my now current position. I never got discouraged. In my future career, tennis would’ve taught me to never give up and always strive to do your best. Hard work will pay off!

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans after graduation is continuing my nursing education at CCBC. I have been in their nursing program since my junior year of high school. My goal is to become a Labor and Delivery nurse. I will not be playing tennis in college, but tennis is a sport that I will always carry with me and play with family and friends in the future.