ACADEMIC TEAMS HEAD TO MODESTO STATE FINALS.Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer Odd rituals, good-luck symbols and even a few common-sense activities are helping San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area students prepare for the state Academic Decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. that begins Friday in Modesto. Burbank High School Burbank High School may refer to:
n. Any of various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value. junk food . Benham Bozorgi, a senior from defending national champion El Camino Real High School El Camino Real High School (also known locally as "ECR" and by some more recently as "ELCO") is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. , plays patty-cake with a buddy. And Felicity Palma Palma or Palma de Mallorca (päl`mä thā mälyôr`kä), city (1990 pop. 325,120), capital of Majorca island and of Baleares prov., Spain, on the Bay of Palma. , a senior at Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, will be wearing her late grandmother's gold necklace, given to her by her mother on the eve On the Eve (Накануне in Russian) is the third novel by famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, best known for his short stories and the novel Fathers and Sons. of the regional match in February. ``I wore it that day and felt she was there and guiding me on,'' Palma said. ``It felt good.'' Also heading north for the competition are teams from North Hollywood, Reseda and Moorpark high schools. Scholars will be competing in a two-day mental meet, the culmination of months of round-the-clock study for these teens. The winner of the state championship will go on to the national meet in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 10-13. The nine-member El Camino team hit the road Wednesday, headed north in a pair of SUVs with the school's band, cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
The competitors weren't particularly stressed about defending their state championship, nor did they have any particular - or peculiar - traditions to ensure their success. ``I just try to sleep,'' senior Seung Lim said. But even in his sleep the challenge before him seeps in. ``I have nightmares sometimes that we lose,'' Lim said. The coaches also have their own traditions and strategies to prepare the team in the final hours, both academically and mentally. ``We do lock down,'' said Burbank coach Valerie Beidelman about her strategy for the day before the meet, which they spend in a hotel. ``We don't even leave the room to eat.'' But while the last study hours holed up might be tough, the team has a lot of fun dressing up in costume at the event, she said. This year the theme is East Meets West, and the Burbank team will be wearing Japanese robes and cowboy hats. In contrast, Altair Maine, coach of the nine-member North Hollywood team, is issuing a ``no-study rule'' for Thursday. ``My strategy is to kick back and get some rest,'' Maine said. ``That was one of the mistakes I made last year.'' It was his first year as coach and the last-minute studying kept the team from getting enough sleep, he said. That's not going to happen this year. ``They've been studying for a year, hours and hours a day, and one last day of not studying is not going to hurt them,'' Maine said. Most coaches said they bring their team together for a circle or a last- minute pep talk just before the competition begins. They say prayers, exchange tokens, light candles or, in the case of the North Hollywood team, just make some noise. ``They get in a circle and scream at the top of their lungs,'' Maine said. ``It relieves stress, and maybe it scares the other teams.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
In commodities trading, a railroad car or truckload of grain that ranges from 1,400 to 2,500 bushels. of Academic Decathlon team members as they head off to the state finals. (2) El Camino Academic Decathlon member Adam Mann says goodbye to his girlfriend before leaving for the state finals. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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