Tualatin High School (TuHS) offers a variety of winter sports for students, including basketball, snowboarding, skiing, swimming, wrestling and racquetball. From intense wrestling matches to exhilarating runs on the slopes, the season is off to a great start! 

The Wolf spoke to sophomore Dhruvika Vadapu, who has been playing racquetball for two years. She shared her love for the sport and what motivates her.

“I love the sport! The people and the coach make me feel motivated because practice is always fun,” Vadapu said. “They’re always super nice and supportive. I love talking to my friends during practices and tournaments. Also winning is always fun, especially when you get to share it with your friends.”

It can be difficult when you don’t feel like you have good connections with people around you. Being part of a supportive group not only makes practices and games fun, but also creates new friendships and memories.

Like many athletes, Vadapu has faced tough moments in racquetball, but she has learned how to push through after facing adversity.

“When it gets tough, you just need to remember that you can always turn it around as long as you don’t give up,” she said. “It’s really hard to not give up, but a game can change it real quick.”

Vadapu shared some things she’s looking forward to this season. 

“So far my favorite memory this season was being able to watch my teammates play,” she said. “I am most excited for the tournaments, especially state and nationals because nationals are held in Oregon this year.” 

Watching your teammates work hard is always encouraging, especially when you’re nervous about an upcoming tournament. Thanks to Vadapu, we can better understand all of the stressful emotions athletes face each season, especially the reward of making new connections through sports.

The Wolf also talked to swim coach Erik Konrad, who has been coaching at TuHS for two years. 

“I think for me, I like to coach because I swam for years, so it kind of brings back a lot of memories,” Konrad said. “I like to kind of bring on that inspiration and my passion for swimming. The most rewarding part of coaching for me is watching swimmers have fun but also watching them improve.”

Watching swimmers compete not only brings back memories of Konrad’s early swimming days, but it also helps him to relate to his athletes through their fondness for swimming.

“I love seeing when people get really motivated and pumped, and when I see that they’ve gone faster in an event than they did maybe a year before. It makes me feel good, and brings back memories of when that happened to me, when I was swimming,” he said.

With athletes pushing themselves to be their best, the winter season promises to be full of victories.