Limited Diversity Teams

VINCENT LIN
ANGELYNE CHU
Sports Editors
The welcoming quality of a culturally diverse team is always ideal, but where does that leave sports that are dominated by one racial group? Contrary to what one may perceive, these more homogeneous sports are confident in accepting athletes of any color, so long as they meet the qualities that any team would value.
Varsity girls’ soccer Captain Courtney Moore has been playing soccer for eight years, but has never witnessed any cultural discrimination among the teams she has played in. Moore, who is half Caucasian and half Filipino, joined AHS soccer indifferent to the fact that it is dominated by Hispanic cultures. Instead, she welcomes diversity on the team based on personal skill.
“Before we even judge how they look, we judge how they play and how they can contribute to the team,” said Moore.
The varsity team consists of fifteen players, only two of which are not Hispanic. The minority members are never singled out because the team understands that they are equally valued for their contribution, including Captain Moore.
“We’ve played against schools like Diamond Ranch whose entire team was made up of Caucasian players, and they were really good, [so] we wouldn’t judge anyone based on race, inside or outside our team,” said Moore.
Similar beliefs are held by the boys’ tennis team, which, although sprinkled with a few members of other ethnicities, consists of predominantly Asian players. However, this majority has not played a role in team chemistry over the years. Varsity singles player Brendan Ma comments that race and character are separate distinctions, the latter of which is considered in new players.
“No one has a problem with one race or other races being on the team. It’s all in personality that [could] make a member dislike another, not their origin,” said Ma.
Clearly, the surface is the least important factor when joining AHS sports. No matter your culture, you can be the star of any team, if you have the drive and the sportsmanship of a team player.