The County Chronicle

The online newspaper of Loudoun County High School

Feb
15

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Football continues preparing for upcoming season

Category: Sports Tags: ,

The Loudoun County football team practices last year during a regular football season. Now the Captains, they have been practicing through COVID protocols to play an abbreviated season just like last year. Photo courtesy of Tariq Sims.

By: Matt Starchville Staff Writer

Practicing during this pandemic has not been an easy task, but with the precautions put in place by the school board and the Virginia High School League, athletes have been able to practice. The football team started their gatherings over the summer and has been taking certain steps to ensure the safety of the players while still preparing for the season.

“When we first started practicing again in mid-July, we had to temperature check when everyone arrived and they had to answer a series of questions about if they have any symptoms,” Coach Matt Reidenbaugh said. “Once they are clear they have to wash their hands in the bathroom which has a limit on how many people are allowed in there. Then when they did that, they were allowed to go on the field, but they have to wear a mask.”

Practices and workouts have definitely changed since last year. Last year, athletes could practice with masks and practice as a full team. The restrictions started over the summer and have increased as the COVID-19 numbers rose.

“Our players have to bring their own water and have to stay 10 feet apart for social distancing,” Reidenbaugh said. “In the beginning we weren’t allowed to have any equipment, so no footballs. We also weren’t allowed to lift at the start. As we went through the weeks our players were to bring one piece of equipment from home like a football or dumbbell.”

Weightlifting is a big part of the offseason of high school football, especially this year. The weight room is where the players get stronger. This year the format and rules were different but that didn’t change the mentality of the team. This year, athletes are not allowed to work out with a partner, so they can’t have a spotter which is really important with the player’s safety.

“When we are in the weight room anytime a player touches a weight or a bar, a coach has to go over to them and spray and wipe down the bar before the next person can use it,” Reidenbaugh said.

The Loudoun County football team has overcome challenges, adjusting to the rules so that they can practice and get ready for the season.

“Probably the biggest challenge for us was they wanted us to stay in pods of 10 people while we worked out and practiced,” Reidenbaugh said. “We broke up our guys into groups based on position so the wide receivers were a pod, the running backs were a pod, and the defensive and offensive lines were a pod. This wasn’t too bad because all the positions usually practiced together anyway.”

Masks were another challenge the players faced. “Since they were moving around all the time and breathing heavily it was sometimes hard to breathe,” Reidenbaugh said.

“The players all had good attitudes towards these rules because they were willing to comply with any rule if it meant that they could practice and eventually play the game they love,” Reidenbaugh said.

The biggest element of this COVID season that high school sports has to face is the constant change in plans and regulations whether it’s for the season or restrictions for practices or weightlifting.

“For us it is the weekly changes of the protocols and the expectations for me as the head coach,” Reidenbaugh said. “My job is to organize everything and plan everything and make sure that our players and coaches are prepared, but when everything is changing it’s really hard to do that because the rules could change next week or even the next day.”

With the rules changing often the communication between the Virginia High School League and the schools has to be clear, and that has been improving over the course of the pandemic.

“I think that it has definitely gotten better since the beginning,” Reidenbaugh said. “In the beginning it was a huge challenge for [VHSL] because it is obviously new to all of us. Communication was definitely the biggest challenge in the beginning with keeping people in the loop about what is going on. Since they have done a great job keeping us safe and informing the coaches, players, and parents.”

The pandemic has shortened football’s season, which just intensifies every game like no other season has done before.

“For our team it is a huge point of emphasis and again we just try to take it one game at a time,” Reidenbaugh said. “The beauty of it, though, is everyone plays the same schedule as us.” This year, there are seven teams and six games. “So everyone plays everyone, which means we can’t lose as many games and each game will be under a microscope,” Reidenbaugh said. “My message to the team has been that we know that if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best and we play Broad Run first, who is a really good football team.”

Feb
15

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Lexie Vanderloo captures region crown with standout performance

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By Casey Hughes, sports writer

Vanderloo slices through the water on her way to winning Regionals.
Photo Credit: Loco Sports Photographer Caroline Layne (with permission from Loco Sports).

On February 10, Lexie Vanderloo started off a huge day for the Loudoun County Captains, a day that would include region wins by the indoor track team and Dulles district wins by the Captains wrestling team. Vanderloo added to the Captains’ victory by claiming region titles in both 200 and 500 free events at the regional meet. She credits her hard work and dedication for her standout performance at regionals.

“The biggest factor is definitely all the time I spend training, around 20 hours per week,” Vanderloo said. “I have also done these races a lot and it has helped me strategize how to swim them.”

Vanderloo is no stranger to success. She holds multiple school records and her standout performance at regionals helped her break her own record in the 200 and 500 free.

Vanderloo felt a sense of accomplishment breaking her own record. “It felt amazing, especially when I looked back at how far I had come from my freshman year,” she said. “It also showed me all the work I was doing was paying off.”

Over her four years at Loudoun County Vanderloo has had many great moments and experiences, both with her team and individually. But she has a few memories that stick out to her as she prepares for the state swimming competition and her final swim as a Captain.

“My proudest moment was securing nine school records over my four years at LCHS,” said Vanderloo. “I also had a lot of fun working with my relay team to get all three relay records. It is super rewarding to see my name on the record board.”

Feb
12

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Captains claim Region 4c championship amidst pandemic

Category: Sports Tags: ,

Casey Hughes | sports writer

Loudoun County Girls track team celebrates capturing Region Runner up at Fauquier High School February 9. Photo credit: Head Coach Courtney Campbell.

The Loudoun County indoor track team defeated seven high schools, Heritage, Fauquier, Dominion, Kettle Run, John Handley, Culpeper County, and Liberty, with a combined score of 97, to claim the Region 4c championship on February 9. Of those points, throwers and jumpers earned 20, sprinters earned 37, and distance runners earned 40 to claim the Region 4c championship this past Tuesday. The girls also competed hard and earned district runner up on February 9.

“This was a really complete team,” head coach Courtney Campbell said. “Some years you are good in one area but this year we had point scores in all the events.”

Riding on their undefeated District competition record, the Captains were just glad to have the season come together, seeing how there were many outside forces such as a worldwide pandemic acting against their season.

“It was great just being able to compete and have a season in all of this mess and then get to a championship on top of it was fantastic,” Campbell said. “In addition to competing well yesterday, they are just a great group of kids and coaches, which made it even more worthwhile.”

Even though this was a very rushed, unconventional season, the Captains pushed through despite not actually running any indoor meets. They pushed through straight to the end and came out with the region championship. The Captain’s coach acknowledged just how hard the season was after their Region’s win.

“The biggest challenge was just the messed up nature of the season,” Campbell said. “Getting used to doing online COVID forms, temp checks, and kids competing in masks. The first few weeks took quite a lot of getting used to.”

Loudoun County Boys Track team celebrates their Region 4c win at Fauquier High School on February 9. Photo Credit: Head Coach Courtney Campbell.

Feb
7

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Boys basketball: Captains are back to back district champs

Category: Sports Tags: , ,

Matt Starchville | Staff Writer

The Captains win back to back district titles as they defeat Dominion Titans 58-42. Photo Credit: lchs_captains Instagram Page.

On February 6, the Captains defeated the Dominion Titans 58-42 as they claimed the District Title back to back years. The Captains had help from Junior Guard Brendon Boyers and Junior Forward George Mwesigwa. Boyers scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Mwesigwa scored 13 points and 7 rebounds.

“Dominion is a very good defensive team,” Boyers said. “I feel like we run a good offensive set. We know what we want to do with the ball every time we get the ball and succeed in high pressure situations and clutch moments.”

The Captains were riding a wave of confidence going into the District Championship game. They started their season 0-2 and haven’t looked back since, entering the game on a 13 game win streak.

“I think the win streak worked both ways for us,” Loudoun County Head Coach Mark Alexander said. “Losing those first to games was a big eye opener for us. I just let them know that we have to keep on grinding. I had to keep them confident and have them focus on what we need to do on offense and defense to be successful.”

“Our confidence has definitely been a big factor in our play,” Boyers said. “With a 14 game streak now it has definitely helped our play and how we enter games.”

The Captains outrebounded the Titans by six rebounds. This allowed the Captains to capitalize on second chance points which put them in a better position on offense.

“It didn’t start out that way though,” Alexander said. “We started to pick it up and got some good rotations. We got more physical as the game went on which worked in our favor.”

This win was a great team with many players getting involved. Multiple players had good games. Those players include Sophomore Guard Jack West with 6 points, Senior Guard Caleb Rexroad with 7 points, and Junior Guard Jimmy Daughtry with 10 points.

“It was our goal going into the game to get multiple players involved,” Coach Alexander said. “With the masks you lose a bit of your conditioning, so we wanted to play more guys. We are very happy with how our guys stepped up when we needed them to.”

Jan
15

By

Students stay fit while staying home

Category: Sports Tags: ,

Maggie Sheridan | Editor in Chief

Junior Wilson Kern continues to stay fit and lift in his at-home gym during weight training. He strives to be better and work hard, even though he is unable to do so with his classmates in person.

During the school year, students can count on gym class as a way to stay physically fit and enjoy time with friends. However, with the pandemic forcing students to take physical education online, they are unable to participate how they normally would. So the question everyone is wondering is, how are students staying active?

Even the teachers have had to adjust to the new way of teaching. “PE is completely different to be honest,” PE and Driver’s Ed teacher Tony Rayburn said. “In my advanced PE gym classes, we just do individual workouts because they can’t do team sports. For weightlifting students, we do body weight workouts.”

A major challenge for Rayburn has been that most students have their cameras off during class. “We’ll do a workout and basically I’m teaching to twenty or thirty dots,” Rayburn said. “I can’t tell if they did the workout or not, but they have to fill out information that tells me what they’re doing.”

Some students are also struggling with the transition this semester, such as those participating in weight lifting. “We only do non-weight-bearing exercises because not everyone has weights at home. This is very different online because if we were in school, we would be able to use weights,” junior Wilson Kern said.

Teachers have also come up with different assignments to ensure students are still working hard. “We do wellness assignments and students will reflect on workouts they’ve completed,” Rayburn said. “As long as they’re filling out their bonus assessments and filling out what they have to, that’s all I can do.”

Although most students are in agreement that they prefer in-person gym, some enjoy the change. “I like online gym better because I can choose what to do for workouts that I know I need,” sophomore Anna Takemoto said. “My workouts will vary and I enjoy going for runs, to the gym, or lacrosse practice.”

Rayburn has his students doing a variety of different workouts in class. “I do some from YouTube and we rotate back to my body weight workout sometimes, which helps increase strength and muscular endurance. In order to make gains, you have to track your progress and increase your workload,” Rayburn said.

Weight lifting is a bit more challenging to do online than regular PE is due to the lack of resources. “I don’t really think I am benefitting from this class at home because I’m just doing bodyweight exercises and they aren’t really helping me gain muscle mass,” Kern said. “I would like to take weight lifting in person, but I’m not sure how it’s going to work with some students online and I don’t think we will be able to use the weights in the weight room, so I am just sticking to online.”

The only class that hasn’t changed dramatically for these students is Driver’s Ed. “The instruction is very much the same as it was in-person,” Rayburn said. “It is mostly just PowerPoints and quizzes. We try not to add too much to student’s workloads, since they already have so much asynchronous work.”

Taketomo thinks it is extremely important to continue to work out for class, even though she has her camera off along with a majority of her class. “I believe I am benefiting from these workouts because I started doing them during quarantine, and have continued to do them since,” Takemoto said.

“Studies show that an active mind is a healthier mind and a healthier person physically as well as mentally,” Rayburn said, “I hope we will get more kids to move and be active, even though it is more difficult.”

Jan
12

By

Podcast: Episode 2 (Tariq Sims)

Category: Sports Tags: , ,

Check out our latest podcast in which we interview Tariq Sims on football, babies, and how the pandemic has impacted him: https://youtu.be/2-CoRZC_SwI

Jan
5

By

Practicing Through COVID: A look into how athletes are preparing for their upcoming seasons.

Category: Photo Spreads, Sports Tags: ,

Casey Hughes | sports writer

Matt Starchville | sports writer

With this photo feature, seven athletes explain how COVID has changed their practices and caused restrictions. Disclaimer: In compliance with governor’s orders, all school-sponsored activities followed physical distancing and mask requirements, but due to the nature of COVID-19 limiting school activities, the community was invited to submit pictures for the newspaper. Many of these photos occurred on private residential property and therefore may not conform to the regulations binding school-sponsored activities.

Senior track and cross country runner Andrew Abbott: “COVID has a big change in practices, since everyone has to stay distanced and wear a mask at all times. This has made me get used to running alone to work on my mental toughness since I can no longer run in groups and look for motivation from the people I’m running with.” Photo taken during private Nova Athletic Club race at Occoquan Regional Park. Photo courtesy of Andrew Abbott.

 

Senior track athlete Mckenna Giannos competes in the high jump as a junior during the spring track season 2019. Photo courtesy of John Klimavicz. “Practice has definitely been different, our workouts have been changed to accommodate that COVID guidelines, which has definitely made it harder to get back into the swing of things, but being able to see and practice with my teammates again makes it all worth it,” Giannos said.

 

 

Senior forward Kiefer Cummings warms up before a huge playoff game vs Millbrook during the 2019-2020 season .Photo Courtesy of Kiefer Cummings. “Practices have been a lot different because of COVID,” Cummings said. “We are forced to wear a mask and it makes it much more difficult to breathe while practicing. But it is what we have to do in order to stay safe and be able to play our season.”

 

Senior soccer player John Trowbridge plays at Ken Lawrence Park during a private club league game. Photo courtesy of John Trowbridge. “Practice was a lot stricter in how or what we could do,” Trowbridge said. “In the beginning we couldn’t practice at all. Then at first we couldn’t share the balls at practice. But now the restrictions are less than before and we can actually play. COVID affected me biggest with my recruiting process. Because it happened right before my junior season which is where the most recruitment happens.”

 

Sophomore Catcher Braydon Kelman: “COVID has put great emphasis on the players work ethic to make up for the time lost from the reduced practice schedule due to pandemic.” Photo taken at Virginia Sports Complex by team parent. Photo courtesy of Braydon Kelman.

 

Senior wrestler Zach Rios: “COVID has made practices a lot more difficult. It is hard to keep a practice intense at all times when we are wearing masks and washing out hands every ten minutes. Meanwhile, meets are a lot different. We aren’t able to warm up as a team, and we have to stay 6 feet apart at all times, even when we are cheering on our teammates.” Photo taken at Independence High School by a team parent. Photo courtesy of Zach Rios.

Jan
4

By

Aiming for 3 pointers, six feet apart

Category: Sports Tags: ,

Maggie Sheridan | Editor in Chief

Jenny Allen works on her defense during the home game against Lightridge. This is County’s third game of the season, and the players are slowly getting used to the mask mandate. The girls won this match with a score of 58 to 16.

The girl’s varsity basketball team is among the first major teams to start the season during the pandemic. The team has been very successful throughout previous years and is full of dedicated fans, coaches, and players. They are learning to follow brand new regulations in order to ensure their safety and it is up to them to become used to this new way of playing.

During their offseason, the team practiced outside on the tennis courts while remaining socially distanced. They also worked out in smaller groups instead of one huge group. These groups were known as workout “pods” and were used in case someone were to get infected, so they wouldn’t infect the whole team.

“The big thing I think our girls did really well this offseason was understanding the protocols we had to take during each workout such as; having to wear masks, keep physical distance, and limit and adapt different basketball drills,” said Varsity coach Austin Campbell.

Unfortunately, the team has lost a handful of players, as several chose not to play this season due to the pandemic. “I understand they need to do what’s best for them and their family. What I’m really excited about is the group we have returning this year,” Campbell said.

The number of games has also been shortened. The team went from twenty two games a season to only sixteen. They will play roughly three games a week and fans are not permitted to come and watch.

The players are saddened to know that their supporters will not be able to watch them play in person. “It’s hard to know we won’t have any spectators because it’s my senior year and so this is the last time they will see me play,” senior Tess McMullen said.

Instead, the school put in cameras so that people can still watch the games live as if they were there. However, it is very different from what they are used to. Anyone can watch these games, but they have to pay monthly subscriptions in order to do so.

“This season we will not start the games with a jump ball, and when we are sitting on the bench everyone will have to spread out, we also don’t have locker rooms, so half time will also look different,” junior Jenny Allen said. Players will also be required to wear masks during the entirety of games and practices according to VHSL rules. However, these rules can be subject to change.

Despite these challenges, McMullen is still excited for the upcoming season and what it holds. “Tryouts went really well, and I think we will have a fairly strong team,” McMullen said, “This season will look different because we will be a more athletic team with decent incoming freshmen.”

Allen and McMullen are both returning players on Varsity. “Every player on the team adds something to the team to make us feel like a team and I’m excited to see how we play, and to have a fun season with everyone,” Allen said.

Tryouts were three days this season and cuts will be made right after. “A new thing this year I plan on doing is filming the tryouts, that way I can ensure I didn’t miss anything when evaluating our players,” Campbell said.

Campbell is very proud of his team and the way they are handling this situation. “This group has done a tremendous job of adjusting and adapting to the new changing rules and guidelines we have. They’ve really done a great job of working on their game outside of our practices.”

Although players are still worried about COVID, these rules will help limit their exposure and make it a safer environment to play their sport. “I think our County has laid out a safe and effective plan for us to be able to have a season,” Campbell said, “There will always be some concerns, we just have to all remember we’re in this together and to do our part.”

Allen is hopeful that all of her fellow teammates as well as herself stay healthy and safe during the season. “I really hope that our season will stay in place and we get to have all of our games and activities,” Allen said.

“I’m very excited for this upcoming season. I think the seniors deserve to have this final season and all the girls have put in a tremendous amount of work and sacrifices to make this happen. I think if we continue to take care of the little things and compete, we could have a fun and exciting season,” Campbell said.

Nov
11

By

Preseason Preview: Caleb Rexroad plans for a repeat historic season

Category: Sports Tags:

Matt Starchville and Casey Hughes | staff writers

Caleb Rexroad flies in for a layup in the first quarter of the state quarterfinals ve George Washington. After a Summer affected by a pandemic Caleb Rexroad found new ways to prepare for the upcoming year. Photo courtesy of John Klimavicz.

Senior Guard Caleb Rexroad was coming off one of the then-Raiders’ best seasons ever. He helped the team reach the state quarterfinals while earning all conference honors just before Loudoun County Public Schools closed to in-person learning, and before VHSL made the decision to cancel spring sports.

The team ended with a historic season as they won the district championship and performed well in the state playoffs. Rexroad credits some of the team’s performance to Loudoun County’s student section, ranked No. 1 in the district. Not only did the student section hype up the team, they also got in the visiting team’s heads and threw them off their game.

“We do feed off the crowd and had the best student section last year,” Rexroad said. “This season will be very different from last year because there won’t be the same atmosphere as if there were fans there. We are practicing locking in and not focusing on no fans or fans. We will need to feed off each other since there won’t be a crowd.”

Many basketball players have resorted to paying to play travel over the summer to fulfill their basketball cravings. Rexroad and fellow senior forward Nate Brown are no exception.

“This summer I played on a team with Nate Brown and we were on a prep team that went to many tournaments to further our college recruitment process,” Rexroad said. “The biggest tournament we played in was a National Tournament in Myrtle Beach. We also went up to Philadelphia and went undefeated there.”

Rexroad hopes to channel his summer experience into the upcoming season. The Captains lost many seniors that were key parts in their scheme on offence and on defence. This season County will have to lean on the rising juniors to contribute more to the team. Some of the juniors have had varsity experience and some haven’t yet.

“Last year the seniors were a big part of our success,” Rexroad said. “We have a solid core of guys coming back. Between the returning starters and the experience of some of the juniors, we are all excited for this season. I believe that the juniors are all ready to step up.”

Rexroad expects big things this season. He also hopes the County team can ride off the accomplishments of last season and have a great year no matter how long the season is,

“I expect to grow a lot as a player,” Rexroad said. “ I mean, we had two of the best offensive players in potentially the state in Matt Anderson and Mark Siegal last year. I was kind of that third option, which I accepted because we had those two guys. But this year I really expect to make a pretty big jump, and hopefully All Conferences which I definitely want to get again. But even All Region and All States. I’m looking to go up into those tiers even with the shortened season.”

Rexroad is a hard worker. In a non-COVID-19 year he would have been working with his trainer four or five times a week. He would have been lifting and playing pickup with friends nearly everyday. He also would have had travel games every weekend. However when the pandemic hit he had to change up his approach to training.

“I worked hard in the offseason on strength, conditioning and getting my weight up. I ended last season at 158 pounds and during this quarantine have gotten myself up to 170 pounds,” Rexroad said. “My basketball workouts consisted of stationary shots and doing every drill 100% as if I was in an actual game.”

The first few months after school shut down, Rexroad spent time shooting in his driveway. “ I would just go outside and work on set shots and dribbling a heavy ball,” he said. “Just trying to improve my form a little bit from last year to this year.”

To condition, Rexroad frequently ran at six every morning, followed by pushups, situps, and pull ups. “It was all basically bodyweight stuff …as much as I could get in,” Rexroad said.

It’s no wonder Rexroad is so dedicated even during the pandemic. His passion for basketball started at an early age.

“I started playing basketball when I was about three or four,” said Rexroad, whose father played in college and introduced him to the game. I played upward for a couple of years and when I first started I wasn’t that into basketball. As a child I was more into baseball until I went to middle school and then I got tired of baseball.”

Once Rexroad hit middle school he started to focus on baseball and continued to work on his game.

“I started to focus more on basketball and training four to five days a week,” Rexroad said. “This was the point in my life where I fell in love with basketball. This is where I also started to see some development in my game.”

Rexroad came into high school with high hopes of playing basketball. He had a great tryout and was able to make it on varsity as a freshman, which was a huge accomplishment for him.

“When I got onto varsity as a freshman that is when I figured out that I had decent abilities in basketball,” Rexroad said.Though he didn’t play much as a freshman, he played more as the years progressed.  “Then, last year was my best year as I made All Conference for the first time,” Rexroad said.

Although the team has changed a lot over the course of his time at County, they will still have the same goal in mind, playing at a high level and making another state playoff run.

“This season even with all the changes in players and all the new juniors joining the team I believe that County basketball is here to stay and we will make a good run for the playoffs again,” Rexroad said.

Check out the Captain’s Chronicle podcast featuring Caleb Rexroad:

 

Oct
21

By

“New for all of us” – Sims looks forward to the final season of his high school football career

Category: Sports Tags:

“New for all of us”

with pandemic, mascot change, and delayed season, Sims looks forward to the final season of his high school football career

Jevonte Herron | Staff Writer

T Sims

Tariq Sims, the star wide receiver for Loudoun County High School, warms up for late night Friday football during last year’s season. Sims now prepares at home for his last high school football season, which is scheduled to begin in February, according to VHSL guidelines. Photo courtesy of Jim Klimvicisz. See more at https://jklimphotos.smugmug.com/

Tariq Sims believes that because he is a senior now, he is one of the people on the football team that people look up to.

‘’Being a senior has made me feel like I am being looked up to by a lot of the lower classmen which makes me push myself even harder to set an example for them to carry on the legacy we have created at the county,” said Sims.

Sims thinks the season will be different without having their big crowds due to the COVID 19.

“Of course we love our fans, parents and students who come to support us, if we focus enough on the game and have team energy I’m pretty sure we will be fine but it will be a huge loss in our history because we get pretty big crowds,” said Sims.

The pandemic has helped Sims establish his outlook about taking everyday seriously and giving your best at all times.

“Don’t take everyday for granted,” said Sims. “Make everyday count, every rep count. It could be your last year playing football ever again. You don’t want to grow old saying ‘I wish I could’ve broken this record.’ Make that happen so the kids under you can watch that and be like, ‘man, I want to do the same thing but better.’”

Due to coronavirus, their workouts just started, but he has been getting workouts in with a few of his teammates.

‘’As a team we just started doing workouts recently due to COVID and the cancellation of our season, but me and a couple of guys always got together and ran routes or did field work to stay in shape, and get better on our agility,” said Sims.

Sims, a D1 athlete next year at Old Dominion University, is feeling really good about the work he has been putting in and helped him earn a scholarship.

“Being a D1 athlete is an amazing feeling because it’s something I have been working for my whole life and it was definitely very hard to get here,” said Sims. “I’ve been doing this sport for 11 years and to see that my work has paid off to get to where I am at right now. It’s only making me more motivated to keep on going. You have to do the little things to get here, like grades are most important when it comes to being a D1 athlete, but the most important part of it all is getting the education for my family and graduating.”

As Sims focuses on his last year at County he is ready to be a leader of the new renamed Captains. The Loudoun County School Board voted to replace the former mascot “Raiders” due to its associations with slavery.

“Once a Raider always a Raider, but to me it doesn’t really matter we are still the same, and we have a new coaching staff, so yes it is different to an extent because this is new for all of us but it doesn’t change how we are going to approach the upcoming season.”

Head football Coach Matthew Reidenbaugh believes Tariq can do big things this season.

“As soon as Coach Reidenbaugh saw me he said that I can do huge things this upcoming season and I look forward to it,” said Sims.

As he looks beyond high school, Sims thinks Old Dominion University is a good school for him, in terms of both education and the athletic department

“Well when I was thinking about picking where I wanted to continue my next four years, I wanted to go somewhere I could make a difference at, not just a school that wins games all the time,” said Sims. “I Looked at it as I want to go somewhere I will feel comfortable with the coaches and players. They have a great business program and that’s the main reason, obviously, because education comes first. Then the fact it is by the beach is also a huge plus, it is an FBS school and I want to win a championship and play in a bowl game.”

When he considers his future, Sims feels confident about his decision to atttend ODU.

“I was very proud, one because it was my first full ride scholarship offer and because it’s actually a pretty well known school in Virginia, the coaching staff is amazing, my future teammates are already family, we even have a group chat, my position coach Tony Lucas is a cool guy who I can talk to almost about anything.”

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