Super Sports has fun kickin’ it

What started out to be a wet and gloomy day at Laguna Beach High School on March 30 ended up as a bright and spirited afternoon on the football field as the first Super Sports Championship was held. The Super Sports club kicked off its first completion with a kickball championship.

Super Sports is a special education integration club run by Laguna Beach High students based upon playing a variety of sports. The club was created to give athletes the opportunity to give back their talents to the awesome kids in the special education program. The club gives the special education kids the chance to participate and compete in a sports program on a weekly basis.

Once a month the kids pick a sport to play. The group holds three practices, all leading up to the month’s end championship.

Laguna Beach High junior Jake Michaels, the president and founder of Super Sports Club, has big ideas for the club’s future.

“I am hoping to get Super Sports to spread to other local schools and eventually develop a league, where the teams can represent their school and compete against each other,” Michaels said.

This month’s championship team was made up of team captain Nick Mauntel, Samantha Ferry, Spencer Dodson, Alex Martin, Taylor Capobianco, Nick Henrickson, Jesse Christensen, Jack Clark, Ben Hanson, Andrew Arredondo and Alina Fiocca. The silver medalists included team captain Paul Mauntel, Tyler Fisher, Jake Michaels, Caroline Holte, Ren Slater, Lauren Michaels, Jack Winn, Rex Strombotne, Claire Jaeger, Kyle Hedding, Kate Winn and Nicole Hawkins.

The game was exciting, with runs scored by Arredondo, Martin, Hanson, Nick Mauntel and Henrickson for Team Gold. Ferry and Christensen added hits. A critical RBI was scored by Fiocca, with a great kick to take the lead.

Highlights from Team Silver include a successful stolen base by team captain Paul Mauntel in the second inning as they were pressed to tie the score. In the same inning, Hedding hit a double for an RBI when he kicked the ball over second base, bringing Tyler Fisher home to tie the score at 2. The two teams battled neck and neck until team captain Nick Mountel’s championship team pulled ahead, 5-3, in the final inning as the bell rang.

All of the club members enjoy this special time together each week. Vice president Lauren Michaels, a sophomore, expressed her excitement.

“The kickball championship could not have been a better start for our club,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what is in store for next month.”

Junior Spencer Dodson displayed his fulfillment by referring to the club activity as “the best part of my day.”