Celebrating the Life of Amanda Arguinzoni

The Top Athletes on Long Island

 By Keenbelynn Bellande

   

¨Put the work in...inside and out of school. Never settle for less.¨ - Kevin DeCristoforo

¨If you think you´re in love with one sport, another one can change your mind just like that. Go for it.¨

-Sanaia Estime

 

After a year and a half of unorthodox teaching and learning, we are slowly getting back to normalcy. These unorthodox situations did not only affect those in the classrooms. It also took a toll on our athletes. Despite all of these unprecedented hardships, Sanaia Estime and Kevin DeCristoforo have claimed their respective spots as the top players of Long Island in the year 2021 and were showcased in Newsday at the end of the fall sports season.

Kevin DeCristoforo, a current senior at West Hempstead High School, plays a key role on our Boys Varsity Soccer team as the central defender. When speaking with DeCristoforo, he describes his journey as having a number of “ups and downs.” In saying this, he refers to the off season or low points in his career where things may not have been going as planned. In spite of this, he believes that these low points were just as, if not more crucial than the achievements. He describes himself as a more confident player now as a result of the adversity that he has faced over the years. 

DeCristoforo began playing soccer when he was four years old on the West Hempstead Chiefs soccer team. Since he began at such a young age, Kevin has played on a number of teams and these teams have shaped him into the player that he is today. It has made him a more confident and assertive leader. With that being said, playing on a varsity level with little or a lot of experience proves to be a difficult task no matter what. Both Sanaia Estime and Kevin DeCristoforo describe it as a change of pace. DeCristoforo specifically states that “the play of the game gets a lot faster,” compared to the pace played in Middle School.

In the same manner, Sanaia Estime also plays an essential role on the Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team as an outside hitter. After missing a majority of the regular prior season, Estime is grateful to hear that her coach still believes in her and thinks that she is off to a strong start. Estime began playing volleyball as just a hobby or to stay in shape. It essentially began as just a means to an end. She didn’t realize her full potential until her freshman year of high school, when she was accepted onto the varsity team with open arms. Although she quickly found her place on the team, it wasn’t always easy. She initially felt intimidated as the young freshman among experienced Juniors and Seniors on the team. 

 Estime had received one of the highest honors: The All County Award. Despite being down on herself or not realizing her full potential as a volleyball player, this award opened her eyes up to a whole new world of possibilities. She currently plays on a club team, Sportime. Being around players of different skill sets pushed Estime toward becoming a better athlete. She quickly began to go for balls and new skills that she wouldn’t typically do. Not only did she notice this change, so did her coach and teammates. Both Estime and DeCristoforo are involved in a number of extra curriculars. In addition to volleyball and soccer, Estime and DeCristoforo are part of the National Honor Society along with the Art Honor Society. How exactly do they balance it all? Both athletes claimed that it was a combination of time management and sheer determination.

Both athletes have clearly put in a lot of hardwork and effort to where they are now. What exactly does the future hold for them both? Estime along with DeCristoforo plan on playing at the collegiate level. They both hope that their respective programs, along with the West Hempstead Athletics Department, continue to flourish.

In the Garden

 By Mayumi Soul

She sat on the bench in her family’s garden twiddling the hem of her dress as she patiently waited. For what exactly, she didn’t know. Earlier, she had come out because she felt extremely sick. Her father was busy and wouldn’t bother to care for her. She was always very sickly, and never truly got care for it. She thought if she sat outside instead of sitting in her room whilst the maids came in and out to clean and organize, she would feel better. But nothing had changed. She looked around trying to see if she could catch a bunny looking for strawberries, or a bee pollinating a rose. Nothing. Just birds asking each other why the day seems to drag on so slowly. She sniffled. She wondered why there seemed to be nothing exciting to distract her today unlike every other day.

The summer sun kissed her sunhat that covered her head, shoulders, arms, and thighs. Her aunt had given it to her for her birthday, but had forgotten that she was young and small. The sunhat was very large, and she loved it of course. The fact that it was so large made her love it more. She loved that it provided more shade to keep her cool. Two coughs made their way out of her. A small gust of wind breezed past her shoulder, and gave her a small shiver. She sneezed. The small wind slightly rustled the greenery, and surprisingly, that was the most exciting thing she had seen all day. 

Her family’s enormous Victorian home that sat behind her added no shade, despite its height. The silence became deafening, so she let out a large exhale. After that came a cough. Her attempt to add noise to the silent world didn’t help much, because the sound of that exhale echoed through her mind. She wanted a different distraction. She got up and walked slowly to the other side of the garden, where a small radio sat waiting to be used. She brought it back over to her spot and turned the knob until the static stopped. Another cough. Nocturne in E flat by Chopin played. She knew the song by heart. She had heard it all the time as she grew up, and learned it during her piano lessons. She heard it all the time, yet she never got sick of it. She let out a cough. The song surrounded her, and she felt like she was wrapped in a comfortable knit blanket. She slowly began to doze off. She dreamt that her mother held her hand and walked her off to a beautiful palace where the beautiful Nocturne played day in and day out.

Her father had finally finished his work. He came out to tell her, but when he saw her, she was limp. He let out a small sigh. He sat on the bench next to her. There were no more small coughs, no more sneezes, no more sniffles. She was quiet. He had lifted her and placed her on his lap. He held her silent body and rocked back and forth to the tempo of her favorite song playing. He turned up the volume of the radio and tried to rest with her in his arms, as this would be the last time he could hold her. He was silently looking down at her, and when he finally looked up, he saw a bunny scurry past to get to the strawberries, and he heard the faint buzzing of a bee pollinating the roses. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj3CHx3TDzw