One of Gilbert High’s best athletes won the Arizona State Championship, won the Junior Olympics 2 years in a row, and set a country record in track and field for 300-meter hurdles. Vance Nilsson⁽¹²⁾ joined track and field during his freshman year despite him having played baseball, soccer, and other sports stating, “I wasn’t good at the actual sport, I was just good at the running part” which had made him join track. When he first joined track, he described himself as a “non-compliant” athlete but his coaches still were sure to keep him going and committed to track. Because of his coaches, he was able to win the state championships his junior year, win at the Junior Olympics the same year, and repeat his victories his senior year. Vance Nilsson⁽¹²⁾ has set a country record for high school 300-meter hurdles at 34.83 seconds and plans to try out for our Olympic track team and possibly compete this year in Paris while all of Gilbert High is cheering him on, as he will go down in their school's history along with our country’s.

Spring break. A common time for the average student to catch up on some much-needed rest, travel, or even start a new TV series. Not these Gilbert Tigers. While most were lying around, the Gilbert Tiger Baseball team was putting in the work as they prepared for a major upcoming tournament. As they were already riding the highs of their winning record (3-1), this year’s Tigers had to prioritize their work and not be blinded by past successes. The Bob Everett Classic baseball tournament has been around for nearly a decade, and the Gilbert Tigers have been competing in this tournament ever since- but what’s so different about this year? People are expecting them to win. “Going into the tournament, we had the goal of stacking wins, growing as a team, and getting better as individuals so that we could be the champions of our own tournament,” Guerrero⁽¹²⁾ said. It seemed that these new expectations were met to the highest degree, as there was not one loss on the Gilbert record for the entirety of the tournament. These Tigers finished with a strong 4-0 game record, which only meant one thing…the trophy was theirs. It seems that the tides are changing for these Tigers, considering their previous losing record of 8-10 for the 2022-23 season. With the newfound confidence gained by winning the tournament, a new mindset, new techniques, and more practice time, these Tigers are set for success. They need to maintain their winning record, and this tournament could set them in a comfortable spot on the 6A Central rankings. Can the Tigers build off of this positive winning experience? The structure lies in the teammates. Utilizing their seniors, the Gilbert Tiger coaches made sure that they could always count on their seniors as a massive contribution to enforcing this set-in-stone structure. “As a senior, my coaches expect me to keep people in check, be a role model that teammates can follow, and for me to contribute to the team in some way so that everyone can know that we are all in this together,” Guerrero⁽¹²⁾ also stated. Understanding the new standards is nothing new for this senior leader, and with his understanding, he can help newcomers to this high-intensity environment. “The expectations for the season are for our team to keep buying into what our coaches want; and for our team to stick together no matter what happens during the course of the season. Everyone needs to be able to play their hardest and keep focus during every pitch for each game because everyone matters,” Guerrero⁽¹²⁾ said. Since the tournament, the Tigers have not been able to continue their winning streak, with a current standing of sixth place in the 6A Central standings at a losing 5-8 record. But as proved before, no current record can stop a future record. And as the season comes to a close, these Tigers have 5 shots left to re-elevate themselves as a top-tier team. Time can only tell where this team can take themselves…

Gilbert Tiger Varsity Softball Team Photo 2023-24 Season (courtesy of Maxpreps)“New year, new me” is a common term that’s almost too often thrown around, especially around the new year. But it seems that it’s being redefined by Gilbert High School, or at least its softball program…New season, new coach. - Over the past three years, the title of Varsity Softball Head Coach has been shifted between three different people. Whether it is with the hope of a record revival, or faculty facelift, or plainly just a fresh slate for the fun of it, there seems to be a search for the perfect coach for this program. The current coach on the roster, Michael Kaddatz, has had past experience in coaching. Since 1998 he has worked with not only club softball teams, but other local teams and has made the choice to take on the leadership of the Gilbert Lady Tigers this season. With the new coach and the new season comes a new mindset of encouragement and motivation to find the strengths of this team. Nicole Matejko, a current GHS varsity player with a commitment to Gateway Community College, has been through three different coaches in her past four years in the program. “Usually you would have the same coach for all three years, but not us. Having four coaches in three years is weird because it’s hard to get used to all of their different styles because all of them are very different,” Matejko said. The expectations for Coach Kaddatz are set high, with the hopes that he will revive the program- especially considering the past failures of coaches in the past. And with the kickoff of the first two regular season games and the first season tournament racking consistent wins, expectations just seemed to be met. This was it. This was the coach we had all been waiting for. “ Some are more laid back than others, but it helps me grow as a player. Now I know what coaching styles work best with me. It shows me what helps me grow and what helps our girls get closer together. I really like our new coach though, his style and the way he sees potential in everybody and he truly wants us to get better,” Matejko said. Unfortunately, while he seems to be a great fit for the team, it might take a little more time before results really start to show since the high ride of victories were soon followed by the current consistent losing streak of seven games straight. Now, with a shocking 5-9 losing record, Gilbert High Athletics face a common dilemma. And we can’t help but ask these same questions again…Are we in for yet another rotation of head coaches? Well, with a total of four games left in the season, Kaddatz has a chance to change this losing record to a neutral record of 9-9. While most may consider it to be a long shot, this could be an amazing accomplishment for Kaddatz. Proving that he can pull through in the hardest of times and take this team beyond what we believe. And in doing so, could possibly have a reason to become the consistent face of the softball program. And as a common theme in sports that we find ourselves discovering, time can only tell what the future holds for these Lady Tigers.