RECORD 8-3 - NEW COACH LEADS GRIDDERS TO PLAY-OFFS
by Jeremy Mortley
LOS ANGELES - New head varsity football coach, Paul Smith, Sr., recently took time to sit down with The Knight Chronicle. Smith, led the Knights to their best season in years, and rekindled an interest in the team among students, teachers and parents, alike.
Smith said he looks to build upon what he began this year, culminating in a league championship for 2010.
A California native, Paul Smith grew up in Inglewood, Calif., where he began playing organized football at 8 years old. He says attendance at a Los Angeles Rams game was his "motivation."
Smith went on to the University of Nebraska after graduating from Inglewood High School. He went to Nebraska on a full football scholarship. He recalls the experience playing for the Cornhuskers, and attending school in the Midwest as "out of this world." He says he was a "17-year-old boy who left his [home] to enter a new culture."
Smith credits Nebraska for helping his growth and maturity.
Going to school at Nebraska "helped me learn to improve, adapt, and overcome" obstacles, he said.
Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
The first-year coach offered advice for those aspiring to play sports in college. He tells athletes that they must first, "acknowledge God," secondly, "obey their parents," and finally to take care of their bodies and eat the right foods.
Smith credits the improvement in Price’s football team to a few things. He said getting players to, "believe in themselves, their teammates and in Philippians 4:13" was very critical. Philippians 4:13 reads, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
The scripture is Smith’s one true motto. He also encouraged players to reach deep down inside themselves and cast out all doubts.
Smith also cited what he called a very special reason for the football team’s success this season.
"That reason is because we have "special players," he said.
Q&A With Jade Woods - Lady Knights Varsity Volleyball
Interview Conducted by Tiffany Nelson
Price Knights girl’s varsity volleyball star Jade Woods played a strategic role in the team’s admirable season, with a record of 7-12 in the Har- bor League. Coach Valinda Bowens cited Woods, a 9th grader, as an excellent team player. She returns for three more years after the 2009 season. The Knight Chronicle talked with Woods about volleyball, academics, and her faith.
KC: What was your attraction to the sport of volleyball?
JW: My mother played volleyball when she was in high school, and our team really needed me when I was in middle school in the 7th grade, and I just fell in love with the sport.
KC: What position do you play?
JW: I play setter.
KC: What is your strength?
JW: My strongest point is setting because it comes naturally for me. I do work hard at being a better player, but it’s easier to play when I play the position that’s best for me.
KC: What’s your GPA?
JW: "I have a 4.0. GPA. My grades are pretty high; school’s very important to me.
KC: What makes you competitive?
JW: My love for the sport makes me competitive. I always want to win. When you (desire) to win, you have a heart to win, especially for me because I love the sport dearly, and when I’m out there I’m unstoppable [because] I play with my heart."
KC: You’re in the ninth grade; by the time you’re in the 12th grade, you’re going to have many scholarship offers.
JW: I plan to go to college on a volleyball scholarship, and if [that doesn’t happen], I plan to go on an academic scholarship. Hopefully, the Lord will bless me with some kind of scholarship.
KC: You are a Christian?
JW: I’m definitely a Christian.
Q&A With Norvel Pell - Varsity Basketball
Interview Conducted by Jared Appling
The boys varsity Knights basketball team was enriched for the 2009-10 season with the acquisition of several blue chip players who will strengthen the Knights’ hopes of a state championship. One of these players is Nor- vel Pelle, a 6-10 center who transferred from vaunted Manuel Dominguez High School in Compton.
KC: Why did you transfer to Price from Dominguez High School ?
NP: I transferred for academic purpose to help me [with] some classes that I’m lacking.
KC: You could have gone to any school you desired. Why Price?
NP: I knew it was a perfect fit.
KC: Are you currently a high school All-American?
NP: Hopefully, next year I will be.
KC: Where do you plan to play college basketball?
NP: I’m not sure yet.
KC: What universities are aggressively pursuing you?
NP: The entire PAC-10, and then some––University of Washington, University Arizona, Texas, UNLV, UCLA, USC, Stanford….
KC: What do you plan to major in?
NP: Business. Because, when I make it into the NBA, I just don’t want to live off my NBA salary; I want to establish other companies.
KC: Where do you get your height from?
NP: My mom and dad. My mom is 5-feet-8, and my dad is 6-feet-2.
KC: Are others in your family, tall?
NP: I have a sister who’s 6-foot, and my youngest sister is 5-feet-nine, and both play basketball.
KC: What kind of player are you–– finesse, defensive, or scorer?"
NP: Defensive…I could be finesse.
KC: Are you a Born-again Christian believer?
NP: I am a Christian. I have faith in God because I know that I can do nothing without Him."