47SportS

Column by Matthew KatzOut of Bounds

We have grown up in a society captivated by sports. Children fall asleep to stories of great heroes hit-ting home runs and scoring goals. Recently however, our sports he-roes’ morals have been questioned. Cheating scandals have swept through the sports world and true heroes have become harder and harder to find.

Penn State has become syn-onymous with scandal in the past year. This summer, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), governing body for col-lege athletics, delivered a series of sanctions against the Penn State program. They dismissed all wins from 1998-2011, thus ruining Joe Paterno’s record as the coach with the most wins in college football

history, resulting in a $60 million fine, a loss of ten scholarships for each of the next four years, and a ban from postseason play for four years.

This news shocked me. While

the scandal at Penn State was hor-rific, and I was glad to see Jerry Sandusky punished, I strongly disagree with the NCAA sanc-tions. My issue is the inability of NCAA officials to separate players and staff. The players did not do anything wrong, yet they are being

most affected by these sanctions. It is also unfair to take away schol-arships from these young men. Ten kids who before might have recieved scholarships may not be able to go to college because of fi-

nancial issues. Why would the NCAA put a

postseason ban on the team? The football players didn’t break any rules, so why should they lose the chance to play for a champion-ship? No punishment will ever ne-gate the actions of Jerry Sandusky,

but crippling the football program that had no part in the scandal is wrong. You should not punish a whole team for the wrongdoings of one man.

Also this summer, Lance Arm-strong was accused by the United States Anti-Doping Agency of us-ing illegal substances since 1986. They stripped him of his record seven Tour de France titles. It is awful to hear such sad stories like this about an American icon.

Armstrong’s battle with can-cer and charity work has made him one of the most revered ath-letes in the world. I will never understand why athletes cheat. Lance’s sporting legacy is tar-nished permanently, and for good reason. However, Armstrong’s

charity work and fight against cancer is what makes him a true hero. In that sense, he did not cheat at that. Maybe he’s not the greatest cyclist or athlete, but he is a great man, which no one can ever take from him.

With so much cheating going on in the world of sports, it was terrific to watch the Olympics. Watching the greatest athletes on Earth competing is truly uplift-ing. Whether you win or lose, the Olympics are sports played in their purest form. Athletes com-pete for pride and honor, not for sponsorships and money.

As a sports fan, I am proud to watch these games. They prove to me there are still bedtime-story- heroes out there.

Children fall asleep to stories of great heroes hitting home runs and scoring goals. Recently however, our sports heroes’ morals have been questioned.

New trainer bonds with athletesNicole Ambrosecchio

Staff Writer

Ali Czescik is a new athletic trainer at Westhill. Although she has only been here for a short time, she has already developed a strong relationship with student athletes.

The Westword: What made you want to be an athletic trainer?Ali Czescik: I got hurt and there was nobody there to help me, and I didn’t want anyone else to go through that. When I got to col-lege, I knew that was what I want-ed to do.TW: How did you end up at Westhill?AC: I grew up in Stamford, and Frank Santarella, who coordinates the games, knew the boss of In-novative, the company that own’s Westhill’s contract. He [put] in a good word for me, I sent in my resume, and then I got a job at Westhill.TW: Where did you go to school?AC: I went to the University of Ver-mont (UVM) as an athletic training major, and I loved every second of it. I loved the city of Burlington, and I loved my major.

TW: What is your favorite part about being an athletic train-er?AC: I love all of it; I played sports and I didn’t want to stop being involved after getting injured. I love the atmosphere, and helping to keep kids in the game.TW: What is your least favorite part?AC: Seeing the look in a kid’s eyes when I tell them they can’t play. Sometimes I really have to tell people no for their safety, and that’s hard.TW: Did you play any sports while in high school or college?AC: In high school, I played bas-ketball, softball, and volleyball. In college, I played Division I softball at UVM, but the program was cut, and then I just played club. I also played intramural broomball.TW: What is the worst injury you have ever had to deal with?AC: The most gory one I’ve seen was a ruptured eye, or, more spe-cifically, a ruptured globe. The worst one was a ruptured patella tendon.TW: What do you like about be-ing at Westhill so far?AC: I like helping the kids here, and keeping them in the game.

TW: How long have you been an athletic trainer?AC: I’ve been officially on my own since July, but I’ve worked hands-on as a student at UVM for four years. UVM has one of the best athletic training programs in the nation.TW: Describe your basic duties as Westhill’s athletic trainer.AC: My basic duties are to prepare athletes for practices and games and to perform progressive rehab as well as immediate and on-site care to injuries. I use preventative exercises and stretches to ensure that kids can keep playing.TW: What’s the most common injury you deal with?AC: Ankles and thumbs.TW: About how many kids come up to you for help every day?AC: A lot of them come just to visit and hang out, but I help at least fifteen kids every day.TW: If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?AC: I love everything about my job, but if I could change one thing, I would want the kids to be a bit more respectful, and only ask for help when they really need it.

WRAPPED UP New trainer Ali Czescik wraps up the knee of senior girls’ soccer captain Margo Teeters in preparation for a game.

Kim Lang / Photographer

Czescik describes her position at Westhill

october 2012