Senior focuses on finishing the year strong

From a young age senior Aaron DeWolf was drawn to the world of athletics, participating in both t-ball and soccer at the pre-school level. Through the years the sports enthusiast has taken part in a traveling baseball team, triathlons, tennis, golf, varsity cross country, varsity baseball and varsity basketball.

According to DeWolf, this passion for all things active results from an appreciation of competition. DeWolf deems basketball his favorite sport to play although, baseball and football rival as close seconds.

“I’ve always liked competition,” DeWolf said. “I’ve always been drawn to it. My favorite sport to play is basketball. I love the pace of the game and the constant excitement. I love to watch football because it’s entertaining and I love to follow the teams and players. But I also love baseball. No other sport has an atmosphere that can compete with baseball.”

DeWolf first started to play basketball during his 4th grade year in 2006. For the last eight, he has been a dedicated and essential member of the team. This season marks DeWolf’s third and final year on FC’s varsity basketball team. He is currently a guard in the starting lineup.

DeWolf says that his affection for the sport made commitment throughout the years easy and worthwhile.

“I’ve stuck with it because I’ve never had a reason to stop,” DeWolf said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing and even despite the injuries, I’ve always had a reason to come back.”

First year coach Jonathan Penberthy regards DeWolf as a committed player and important asset to the team. He commends his ability to influence and empower fellow team mates as well as heed instruction.

“Aaron is probably our hardest worker; he leads by example, and has a drive to succeed,” Penberthy said. “He is a leader; his interactions with his teammates are to make the team better. My goals for Aaron is for him to continually get better, he is a very coachable player, so we should see improvements every game from him.”

DeWolf’s father Jonathan DeWolf is proud of his son’s achievements and determination to persevere and improve despite multiple injuries obtained over the course of his time on the team.

“It is pure joy watching my son on the court,” Jonathan said. “He exudes leadership, passion, and has amazing jumping, ball handling and driving ability. Defensively, well, it’s hard to explain, just pure entertainment. After numerous injuries, fractures and a concussion, Aaron has become rather adept at learning how not to fall, nor to sacrifice his body on that incredibly unforgiving floor.”

Teammate Roy Brown, ’17, says that DeWolf’s hard work and fine tuned skills makes a positive impact on the team as a whole.

“He’s aggressive and fast,” Brown said. “He scores a lot and always makes a good hustle. As a teammate on and off the court he is very fun to hang around with.”

Aaron is probably our hardest worker; he leads by example, and has a drive to succeed. He is a leader; his interactions with his teammates are to make the team better. My goals for Aaron is for him to continually get better, he is a very coachable player, so we should see improvements every game from him.–Johnathan Penberthy 

Throughout his high school years, DeWolf, has participated and excelled in many different activities both within and outside the athletic sphere. He is currently a member of a junior high mentoring program, Student Leadership, drama, as well as being president of California Scholastic Federation (CSF). He is also involved regularly in both the community and at his church, First Presbyterian.

In addition to a sizable extracurricular load, DeWolf is taking this year Advanced Placement classes like Language and Composition and Calculus. He says that the benefits of these often demanding activities ultimately outweigh any disadvantages.
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“It’s very tough, this year in particular with it being my senior year and all and being so involved in school, I am often over scheduled this time of year,” DeWolf said. “But you have to take time out of your personal life and your time to relax and use that to accomplish those things. So it can be very tiring and stressful, but it is worth it in the end.”

Jonathon says that scholarships, high grades, and an active social life are among some of DeWolf’s goals for senior year.

“In addition to playing varsity sports, Aaron is actively involved with a multitude of extracurricular activities and organizations,” Jonathan said. “His goal is to conclude his four years of high school with perfect straight “A”‘s, be awarded a few scholarships, participate in as many high school social events that are offered, and make as many memories as possible.”

Despite a heavy extracurricular and academic schedule, DeWolf still makes time for his interest. Among them are baseball, building things, cars, oldies music and simply spending time with friends and loved ones.

DeWolf plans to major in mechanical engineering after he graduates in the spring. He intends to pursue a dream profession in sports car engineering.

“Ever since freshman year I have wanted to design cars,” DeWolf said. “I went to a racetrack and saw all the cars and all the engineers and realized how cool it would be to work on and design these types of cars for the rest of my life. I fell in love with the idea and never looked back.”

For more sports, read the Dec. 3 article, World of Sports: MLB Off-season proves comparable to league.

Follow The Feather via Twitter and Instagram: @thefeather and @thefeatheronlilne. This writer can be reached via Twitter: @skylerklee.