Volleyball captain Rachel Fuller, Div. 770, has been playing volleyball since 4th grade. Fuller played four years of Varsity volleyball for Lane, as well as 4 years of club volleyball.

Come late autumn, Fuller will be one of many seniors whose sports careers at Lane will come to an end. Some of these athletes will play in college, and some will break it down in the huddle for the very last time.

“I’ll definitely miss all those girls on the court and seeing all my friends in the stands cheering and being so invested in us playing,” Fuller said.

Jose Terrazas, Div. 773, reflected on one of his top moments as a Lane athlete.

“I think what I’m gonna miss most is the whole feeling you get around the game,” Terrazas said. “When we played Taft last year on senior night there was a bunch of people there cheering us on, and we have a stadium and not a lot of schools have that. Mostly I’m gonna miss the atmosphere and the guys.”

A captain for the Football team, Jacob Clohisy, Div. 757, believes football has become “an essential part of his identity since freshman year” in his time at Lane.

“It’ll be strange when the season ends,” Clohisy said. “I’ll miss the people who came before me and showed me the ways of the program, and I’ll most definitely miss my teammates this year.”

To those athletes playing in their final seasons, practices, and games, their sports mean a lot to them.

“I am always thinking about [soccer], and thinking about ways to improve, so it does mean everything,” Terrazas said. “It teaches you work ethic, you need to run a lot and when you’re at the latter end of each workout or game you can’t stop because you all need to keep on going.”

A large aspect of student athletes’ careers are their coaches, who have inspired and motivated them.  

“My coaches at Lane have reinforced the value of hard work that my parents instilled in me from a very young age,” Clohisy said. “Every coach here has always had my back, and I am truly grateful for everything they’ve done for me.”

Terrazas’ biggest impact has been Varsity assistant, Coach Acosta.

“He’s so selfless and he devotes all his time to Lane soccer,” Terrazas said. “One practice I didn’t have a pair of cleats because I forgot them at home but he took off his and gave them to me, it was awesome.”

Coaches aren’t the only people who have inspired and motivated these athletes,  there are many others who have inspired the student-athletes whose careers will soon be over.

“My older brother Noah was a real model football player, and just by watching him I could see that he was fearless, which is how I try to play today,” Clohisy said.

“My two older cousins really impacted me,” Fuller said. “They were really the reason I started playing volleyball competitively through travel and that was the reason I was able to play on varsity for four years at Lane.”

Terrazas recounts his father’s impact on his game.

“My dad has always been a motivation, because he always has something to say even if I played well, you know he’s always gonna tell me I did something wrong,” Terrazas said.

Even more than coaches, siblings, parents and relatives, teammates have had a special impact on these seniors, and saying goodbye is not something that comes easy to them.    Clohisy, Fuller and Terrazas all represent athletes throughout the school whose passion for their sports mean more than just moments on the field.

“I have come to realize that running on the field with thousands of people cheering you on doesn’t mean a thing unless your brothers are right beside you,” Clohisy said. “I’ll miss the crowd, I’ll miss the lights, but most importantly I’ll miss the guys next to me.”

To Fuller, “Volleyball is really about being a part of something bigger and being a part of a team.” “There’s nothing like being out there on the court with my best friends” Fuller said.

With these seniors having been athletes for four years, there have been countless memories made. Terrazas and Fuller recount some of their favorites.

“There’s a lot of memories. They’re all good. But sophomore year when we won city, it was so much fun, we went to penalties and it was amazing,” Terrazas said.

 “My favorite memory was giving a speech for Tara McCarthy on her senior night and looking up into the stands and seeing her family look at me with tears in their eyes and the biggest smiles ever and then hugging her afterwards,” Fuller said.

“My favorite memory from one of my coaches actually came from my volleyball coach sophomore year. He made us do somersault and piggy back suicides. It was one of the freakiest things ever but he really made volleyball so fun that year,” Clohisy recounts.

Regardless of victories or defeats, it is clear that the “School of Champions” has left an unforgettable impact on the class of 2017 student-athletes, and maybe Lane will see them again one day.

“I don’t think Lane Tech Football ends here for me. I plan to come back someday and coach, so that I may provide the same life-changing experiences over these past four years to future Lane Tech Indians. There will always be myrtle and gold in my heart,” Clohisy said.