A kill over the net! A shot into the cage! A sprint into the end zone! All of these moments make up fall sports at Terra Linda High School. Although every player on a team is important, captains play a vital role.
Senior Soren Jessen is the varsity boys water polo captain. Jessen shared thoughts on the team, sharing “Our team’s pretty tight… so taking the lead of this group has been really easy, and also really fun.” As a team captain, Jessen works to improve the team in any way he can. “He helps me try to better myself and my interactions with the team,” reports junior Finn Snekkevik. Jessen hopes to make it far and prove the team “is better than the other MCAL teams, and that we can beat them.”
Josie Campo, Class of 2026, is the girls varsity volleyball floor captain. Although there is no official captain this year, Campo plays an important role, challenging calls and connecting players. The volleyball team made it far last year, which Campo hopes to continue by leading her team. She is looking forward to “stepping up as a leader and bringing energy.”
The girls varsity water polo captains this school year are seniors Jessa Dunn, Sadie Jordan, and Emily Erickson. Teammate and sophomore Sadie Messick shared her thoughts on Dunn, commenting: “I love Jessa so much! I’ve looked up to her since my first year.” Dunn expressed gratitude for her fellow senior captions this year, highlighting fellow seniors “Sadie [Jordan] and Emily [Erickson] as great supports.”
Junior Mia Schlotman is the girls golf captain. “She’s super talented–she knows everything about golf,” said junior Gianna Glover, “and especially for new players it’s helpful to have someone who knows what they’re doing.” Schlotman is enthusiastic about the team, sharing excitement about “doing things outside of practice together.”
Ellie Gilbert was the natural choice for the girls flag football captain, considering she introduced the sport to TLHS last year. Gilbert enjoys playing and making memories over the season. “The team and coaching staff makes being a captain really fun.” Junior Liv Offenbach included that “Ellie is someone who younger players can look up to.”
While cheer has been very community-based, the seniors on the team are stepping into a leadership role. This shift means that more students can embrace their leadership skills. The team all came together this year to cheer, and head coach Ms. Ayoob highlighted positivity as a main value. The seniors are responsible for “bringing the energy and getting negative mindsets out of the team’s head.”
Senior Izzi Stavsky and junior Jamie Schmidt are the girls tennis captains this season. “We have a lot of fun at practice; whenever we are running and doing drills, we always have music playing, and we try to keep the energy high,” shared Stavsky. Schmidt is looking forward to “getting to know the girls more”, and hopes that having high-level players will advance the team.
The group of cross country captains include senior Annie Carmona. “Being a co-captain has been such an awesome experience.” She highlighted goals, including placing at the Clovis and Woodbridge Invitational this season. Carmona has had fun so far, commenting, “It has been great having such supportive teammates, where we can work together, be competitive, and have fun at the same time.”
Football is an important part of TL culture, with it being attended by many students. This year’s captains are Mateo Pattani, Arturo Gomez Garibay, Joshua Milani, and Moises Cupul. “The goal is to motivate our guys, inspire them to give it their all, and most importantly, to lead by example,” explained senior Pattani. Football has had a great year so far, and with the help of these captains, football hopes to keep the winning streak going.
Captains of their respective teams are responsible for cheering, coaching, and guiding their team to success throughout the months of the season. It’s necessary to recognize their important contributions to their teams.
