Staff Writer

Both the girls and boys soccer games were canceled on Tuesday and were unable to be made up for on Wednesday due to the threat of more weather in the area.

It is not believed that the games will be made up for due to UIL rules stating that only two non tournament games can be played in a week and district starting next week.

The girls were due to face off against McKinney Boyd, who has been somewhat of a force in the area in recent years, knocking the Cowgirls out of a possible repeat state title run two years ago and winning state last year.

The Cowboys were supposed to play Mansfield Legacy in a game that was canceled hours before gametime.

Some girls’ desire for “likes” on their Facebook photos makes people wonder “What is beauty?”. Photo by Jodie Woodward.

I take it upon myself to accuse every single girl of being of jealous at some point. It has happened, and will happen again. I might even be guiltier than you are; in fact, jealousy inspired me to want to be a writer so bad.

In fourth grade all I wanted was for my teacher to be as proud of my writing as she was of the boy who sat next to me-I wanted her to hug me after she read my paper, too. The envy pinched my self-worth. Today I envy gorgeous girls with gorgeous profile pictures on Facebook, but the pinch is more like a chokehold; girls, this one is for you.

There are profile pictures often ‘liked’ by over 40 people and I wish I wasn’t fazed by it but I am. How can I not be a little jealous of a girl who my entire graduating class (and then some) considers beautiful? How can I not ponder what people are thinking when they look at my pictures? And then finally, how can I not doubt, even for a second, if I am pretty at all?

What I know in my mind is not what I feel in the pit of my stomach. I am a confident girl who understands that while I may not be as talked about or “creeped on,” as some girls, I am still pretty. But when little Penelope Popular uploads a photo that is liked by 15 people in less than two minutes, I kind of boil inside.

The truth is that it is nobody’s fault, and a there is secret way to overcome what we females naturally give in to; It all starts with cutting yourself some slack. Chances are any girl you have ever envied has felt just as insecure as you did. We have all competed for the unreachable prize of perfection before.

And just because jealousy is natural does not mean you have to feed it-jealousy is phase one of greed, and there is no excuse to be a greedy person. It is not OK to think that a number of likes on a photo is truly what defines your beauty-because it will only destroy your self-worth completely. A sincere compliment will end up meaning nothing to you, because you will only be concerned with quantity over quality.

My point is that there is a thick, obnoxious line between strong admiration and greed- do not miss it. You might envy her if she has over 100 likes on her picture, but it is naïve to think that getting more people to click the ‘like’ button on yours would change anything about how you look the next day. Save yourself the trouble and learn how to be a strong, unique and truly happy girl.

Besides, the real stuff is so much better than fishing for compliments. No matter how much you try, you will never be content with your looks if you constantly need reassurance from other people. You will always want more.

You can avoid the jealously game if you learn what is important and what is not. You are young and beautiful, and you probably do not realize how many people tell you that if your priority is popularity.

This past Tuesday the guys soccer team here at CHS ended their season in the first round of the playoffs and its because of an unlikely reason.

Over the past season the guys soccer team has competed fairly well with a winning season but a loss to Hebron in the first round. This can be mostly contributed, in my opinion, to the recent loss of a lot of starting senior and junior players. Before this playoff game most of the these players quit because of reasons within the team. The team played well even though they had lost these players but unfortunately some of the players that quit were severely missed.

On the other hand the girls soccer team has advanced to the second round of the playoffs and will be playing Friday, April 1 at the CHS stadium. These cowgirls have a large amount of team work and work well together which will prove to be crucial in the upcoming weeks on their way to the championship.

Graphic by Kimberly Del Angel

Kimberly Del Angel
Staff Writer

Spring is here, and new fashion trends are in full bloom.  Now that the snow has passed, it’s time to toss your scarves into the closet and pull out new flowy tops and boyfriend fit capris. The following are my cheapest (and chicest) sure to make an impression this season.

For girls:

With the winter chill finally passing, the best weather of the year is finally here, and that means it’s time to shed our furry boot and sweats. In its place will come flower printed dresses, diamond studded sandals, vintage cut-offs, flowy tanks, pastel shorts, bandage skirts, big earrings and floral head pieces.

Don’t be overwhelmed; although all that sounds like death trap for your wallet, you’ll be comforted to know all of those things can be yours under $100.

Target should be your first stop in succeeding your cheap and chic look. Here you can purchase diamond studded thong sandals for only $19.99 in comparison to very similar Steve Madden shoes at Dillard’s for $79.99, and if you go down a couple more aisles you will find yourself face-to-face with a huge selection of underpriced flower printed dresses to die for – all under $21.99. That’s $17.51 less than a similar dress at Buckle, and that’s only the beginning of this fashion discovery.

Forever 21 is the place to go when looking for your flowy tanks and shirts ($13.80-16.90), bandage skirts ($8.50-19.80) and big earrings ($3.80-$6.80).  A whopping $26.10 estimate for what would be at least an $80 buy in a store like Guess or Saks Fifth Avenue.

That only leaves us with our pastel shorts and floral head pieces, and for that we will make a pit stop in two more stores.

We can start with Sam Moon, one of the biggest accessory stores nearby. On my last trip there I purchased a gorgeous tan head wrap embellished with a knitted flower on the side only for $7, whereas similar accessories were more expensive at a local Ross, which sold them for $12.99. To find the cheapest pastel shorts, turn to your nearest Marshalls or T.J. Maxx, which sells them for around $15.99-$19.99.

For boys:

It seems the word “fashion” has become a distant and foreign word amongst teenage boys, so when discussing the upcoming trends for guys it is tough to expand from jeans or shorts paired with a T-shirt. But, we can sure try.

The classic white tee is something that can never go wrong, and you can easily turn the simple get-up into a rocking look by wearing an un-buttoned plaid shirt over the white T-shirt. To compliment the shirts, simple cargo shorts set you apart from the crowd and give you that sophisticated-yet-cool look. Target offers such a look for the low price of $28 ($12.99 for cargo shorts, $14.88 for plaid shirts).

The weather is always a crowd pleaser among the guys because it is the best opportunity to get outside and get going for whatever sport is beginning and that of course brings us to the sporty outfit. Academy is always a winner when it comes time to purchase your Nike dri-fit shirt and matching shorts, but that can sometimes run up a pricey tab of around $50. Instead, turn to your local Ross, Marshalls or T.J. Maxx, which are guaranteed to lower your price. A $19.99 Pro Combat shirt at Academy is double the price of a$9.99 Nike dri-fit shirt at TJ Maxx.

Even for the guys that seem to sport the same stuff year round, this spring season brings new stylish savings that provide the popular and satisfying “jock” look, and possibly some different shirts.

Staff Writer

Top Boys: The top runners for the boys varsity are all familiar faces. Seniors Jordan Williams and Travis Huffmaster have been at the front of the pack since they both first joined the program in their freshmen years. Junior Weston Sandfort has also been a familiar name on the varsity team for courses. However this year is the first in which Sandfort has been able to devote his full time to Cross Country; for both his freshmen and sophomore years Sandfort participated in the CHS Band. All three runners are captains. And while Williams and Huffmaster may be looking more towards the future and college with their running while Sandfort is looking to make a bigger name for himself, all three have one thing in common: when asked of a hobby they prefer outside of cross country, each runner had a difficult time thinking of an answer.

Jordan Williams, senior

Best Time – 16:40 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course – McKinney “[What I like about it is that] it’s out of the way, there isn’t a whole lot of traffic. Also it’s a nice park; it’s generally flat with a few inclines.”

Food before a race – Bagels with peanut butter or cereal with soy milk

Luck charm – Pins registration number with three buttons instead of four. “Makes me a little different.”

Aspirations – “Make state; we should definitely make region for sure. I’d like to keep running as a hobby although I’m not so sure about [running] in college.”

Hobbies – Music; “I’ve been listening to a lot of Dubstep lately. Besides that I also like to listen to electronic, Jazz, and collect old vinyl records.”

Travis Huffmaster, senior

Best Time – 16:24 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course – Lubbock; “Lubbock’s a hilly course [compared to most other courses] and I do really well on those kinds of courses.”

Food before a race – “Eggs or peanut butter toast; I generally try to eat a light breakfast.”

Warm up – “I try to visualize the course; I like to go over it in my head and think about what I’m going to do here and there.”

Aspirations – “We have a fine chance at region this year; I really want to hit state of course. Past that, just keep on running as a hobby.”

Other activities – Engineering, Debate

Weston Sandfort, junior

Best Time – 16:32 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course – Lubbock; “I ran really well at Lubbock and the hills didn’t seem as bad as last year so it means I’m getting better.”

Food before a race - Half a bagel with peanut butter and two hard boil eggs for an early race; oatmeal for a later race.

Pre-race – “I try to psyche myself up during warm-ups. Some kids like to zone out with music or something but I’d rather get my blood pumping early.”

Favorite video game – Halo: Reach

Aspirations – “Right now, I’m just focusing on breaking 16:30 and going to state. I’ll pick it up from there once I’ve done that.”

Top Girls: Although CHS has continually shown a very strong girls varsity lineup, it is usually dominated by one name: Kim Kirby. However because of tendonitis in her foot, Kirby has yet to compete with the team in any races. And so with a new year bring new athletes to compete: competing neck and neck for second place for the team in almost every race, sophomores Katie Sandfort and Jenna Hernadez show amazing potential for the future. Junior Kaleigh Ervin has filled the gap left by Kirby’s absence and has consistently placed no lower than second overall in the many races Coppell has competed in this year. What’s even more exciting about these runners is their age; because the team’s runners are some of its youngest members, the CHS Girls Varsity team is only going to get stronger.

Kaleigh Ervin, junior

Best Time – 11:19 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course – Marcus Invitational; “Nice and flat. Also there’s always a lot of good competition.”

Food before a race – Oatmeal and a banana

Pre- Race – No music; “I try to just calm down before a race. I just want to zone out.”

Outside Cross Country – Swimming; swam for the CHS swim team.

Aspirations – “I want to make state as an individual. Also I want to run in college.”

Jenna Hernandez, sophomore

Best Time – 11:47 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course - Marcus Invitational; “It was nice and flat. I did really well there early in the season so it was kind of a confidence builder for me.”

Food before a race – Egg whites

Pre race – “I always get nervous before my races so I try to just calm down, chill out, and listen to my iPod.”

Aspirations – “I want to place in the top 10 at district and then move on to state. That’s what I’m thinking about right now.”

Katie Sandfort, sophomore

Best Time – 11:49 (Lubbock Invitational)

Favorite Course – Marcus invitational; “Nice, flat course; that’s where I feel I went fastest.”

Food before a race – “I try to eat a light breakfast; a banana, oatmeal.”

Pre race – “[Before a race] I join in the team cheer and then after that I sit back and get quiet, try to calm down.”

Road to Cross Country – “My dad started running when I was in the fifth grade. We’d go out and run somewhere between one and four miles and eventually I ran in my first race with my dad and brother.”

Aspirations – “Beat [Jenna Hernandez] since she’s my biggest competition. Also make top 10 at district.

I had never before considered this to be such an issue, but after reading about an invention called “Hemming My Way” I realized how much hems really do matter.

It is so true that the length of your pant leg can make or break any outfit. This fact is the reason why we girls, well some of us, spend so much effort and money trying to tailor our jeans! Though I’ve always been too lazy to take my pants to a tailor (too lazy to foot the bill), it has bothered me morning after morning, playing with the bottom of my pant leg -folding under, folding over, scrunching up- trying to create the perfect pant length.

Hemming My Way is a new idea that allows instantly for the perfect length of any pants. Today, you could wear this pair of jeans, plus Hemming My Way, with flats; tomorrow, wear the same jeans, minus the miracle hem, with heels. The product is basically an adhesive tape you use to fold your pant leg under and stick the jean to itself, while using a snapping mechanism to hold the hem in place.

According to the reviews, this is not a product worth $19.99. It only received one star out of five, due its one-use-only capabilites, though the box promises uses up to eight or more times. What a disappointment, because this idea seemed pretty promising.

The Coppell Cowgirls dream of becoming state champions two years running was shattered this season when they lost to McKinney Boyd 3-2 in the third round of playoffs.  The Cowgirls still had a very successful and exciting season, and the loss should propel returning players to work even harder than before.

The Cowgirls entered pre-season play ranked number one in the nation, marking the first time the program had ever received this distinction in its history.  The team was levelheaded going into the season, and was ready to perform up to their ranking.  With the cocky attitude the 2008 Coppell Cowgirls No.1 state team began their season they lost multiple early season games and never won the state championship many had predicted.

            “We had some pressure because we won state last season and were ranked number one preseason,” senior captain forward Alyssa Diggs said. “In the preseason we struggled some because of injuries to different players.”

Diggs herself was injured and had to miss several morning practices.  Early on, the team lost early games due to this injury among others.  Team chemistry was one area that the team struggled in early on.

            “The preseason was rough because of team chemistry,” senior defender Spayne Avant said. “We just were not used to playing with new players that weren’t a part of varsity last season.

Coppell then entered district play with a chip on its shoulder because of early season losses.  The team right away showed District 6-5A who the top team was, outscoring opponents 12-5 in the first round of district and winning each game to earn a 5-0 district record.

            “After the losses in the preseason we wanted to improve our game,” senior defender Christina Baker said. “We wanted to come out strong and pull off an undefeated run in district. That was our goal.”

Many new players stepped up and showed their skill this season, especially senior Amina Radoncic.  Radoncic was mainly a reserve player for the Cowgirls last season. When she was given more opportunity this season, however, she shined.

            “Amina really stepped up this season for us and provided fire and energy whenever she was on the field,” Diggs said. “Honestly, most of the goals I scored this year came off of her assists.”

In the second round of district the Cowgirls were still on fire, but tied Flower Mound in their last district game of the season.  As district champs, and with the season behind them, the playoffs were ahead.

            The team started strong, winning both of its first two playoff matches against Keller Central (4-1) and Allen (4-2).  In the Allen game the team went up 4-0, but a few mental errors cost the Cowgirls a pair of late goals. They were lucky to escape by a two-goal margin.

            After the game, the team captains had a meeting about the slight collapse and felt good moving forward with a clean slate.

            “We just had the whole team together and we talked about how serious the playoffs were,” Avant said. “I felt that we had a good talk and were ready for our next game.”

            Unfortunately for the girls, in the next round before regionals they had to face undefeated McKinney Boyd. They were unable to advance, losing 3-2 in a closely fought game.  The team still felt some pressure during the game which could’ve contributed to the loss.

            “During the game we felt more pressure to not lose then just go out and win,” junior mid-fielder Chioma Obogagu said. “McKinney just came out with way more heart.”

            “We came in with a chip on our shoulder because of how they beat us in the preseason,” Diggs said. “They really set the tone in the first 20 minutes and although we came out hard they were just the better team that game.”

            The early end to Coppell’s season has been disappointing for the team and the fans who actively followed its playoff run.  Next season, returning Cowgirls like junior captain Danielle Herubin and sophomore Lindsey Meyer will be key, while Obogagu will need to carry the load for the team.  For Obogagu, next season will be her chance to wash the sour taste of defeat out of her mouth.

            “We have a good chance at winning state even though we lose our seniors,” Obogagu said. “I am going to remember the feeling after the Boyd game and have that fuel me for next season.”

by Blake Seitz

Sports Editor

Seniors Spayne Avant and Lauren Scott fight for the ball during a club soccer game.

Everyone remembers their Little League days—how mom and pop loaded up kids, dogs and folding chairs into the minivan for a Saturday morning of small children’s sports. For most people, that was the extent of their athletic career.

For others it’s the beginning, and the next step is often club leagues.

Club leagues are essentially the private sector’s answer to school sports, although they function in a slightly different capacity. They are expensive and often hyper-competitive, but many argue they provide valuable services to college ball hopefuls of all ages.

Perhaps the most important difference between club and school sports is also the most obvious: starting age. High school is constrained to a four-year window in an athlete’s life, while club is not—serious athletes often begin club play at ages 8 or 9.

This has a noticeable impact both in player development and in team cohesion.

“Club isn’t a period during the day,” Coppell junior midfielder Chioma Ubogagu said. “Instead its time after school, so you can build team chemistry and play with your teammates more frequently.”

Ubogagu, who plays for the club team Defeeters ’93, sees distinct advantages to both club and school sports.

Club, for example, can play year round, while the school team is restricted to a narrow window in the winter and spring.

“In high school, the season’s not as long, so at the end of the day it isn’t as much about development as about results,” Ubogagu said. “With club, they build you up from a young age and really help you grow.”

This doesn’t just hold for soccer, either. Senior Mallory Cravens plays volleyball for both Coppell and her club team, Skyline RoShamBo.

“Select play is more competitive and there are more teams to play against,” Cravens said. “At the school it’s not so much about development as it is a social thing.”

Cravens also says club teams increase an athlete’s level of exposure to college recruiters.

“If you want to play in college you have to play club and go to qualifiers and nationals because college coaches all go to those,” Cravens said. “Club coaches have a lot of access and influence in that area.”

Senior Zane Feemster, who plays left field for both Coppell’s baseball program and his club team, the Dallas Tigers, is less sure.

“It really depends on the high school,” Feemster said. “[CHS baseball] Coach Don English is really good, but sometimes club gives you more exposure and more connections. It’s maybe not the same situation at, say, Lewisville High School.”

As Feemster describes, it’s hardly a one-sided argument. High school programs hold a number of key advantages over club play, including a few intangibles.

CHS girls soccer coach Chris Stricker thinks representing one’s high school is important in preparing for the next level of play.

“Really, I think school soccer readies you for college soccer. I think it’s a more authentic experience because you’re representing something bigger than yourself,” Stricker said.

Others agree.

“School teams are a lot more spirited because the kids from your school come to cheer you on,” Cravens said.

Another advantage lies in the dollars and cents. Often, club sports cost thousands of dollars a year, which can prove prohibitively expensive for underprivileged or even middle class athletes.

“Club can be very expensive,” Feemster said. “It costs a lot of money for travel and tourneys, especially when you consider the average player starts club in eighth grade. That money just compounds over time.”

School sports, by contrast, often cost as little as the shoes on an athlete’s feet.

One of CHS’s biggest draws, however, is the level of play it can provide for talented underclassman and for the leadership experience it can provide upperclassman. This is because club sports are divided by age group—athletes will play similarly-aged opponents throughout their careers.

Out of necessity, high school ball is not like this, which has created an interesting dynamic for players of all grade levels.

“I like school soccer because as a freshman or sophomore you can play with upperclassmen,” Ubogagu said. “Players who are older and more experienced bring different looks to the field, which can help you improve.”

This, combined with the relatively high level of coaching found at Coppell High School, can make some of club’s other advantages seem insignificant.

There is definitely a degree of competition between the two organizations. Oftentimes, coaches have different ideas about what methods are best for a player. At the end of the day, though, the needs of the athletes trump any petty rivalry between the two.

“Both sides have to be flexible because it’s a Catch-22—your best school players are also your best club players,” Stricker said. “You can’t over-train them or wear them out, so school and club teams have a mutual respect for one another.”