Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., May 12, 2010

The spirit of VCHS

          With the end of the school year comes a magical time when every student lets out his or her inner Jaguar spirit. It’s a time when competition knows no bounds and victory becomes everything. I am, of course, talking about Jag Wars. If you are not familiar with it, prepare to be enlightened.

          As a reward for all the hard work VCHS kids have done in their PE classes the entire year, the coaches throw a little event called Jag Wars. Each PE period is divided into a dozen or more teams who compete in games like soccer, football, track, obstacle courses, hockey (if there’s any snow still left on the ground!), and others. The winners of each game are awarded points and the team with the most points is the victor for that period. Each team member gets a special Jag Wars T-shirt and a free lunch served by the coaches.

          Jags wait all year for these games and are always super-excited when they finally arrive. I know they say “All good things come to those who WEIGHT,” but the kids in the weight-lifting class especially enjoy Jag Wars because, for the whole year, pretty much all they’ve been doing is lifting weights so the competition gives them a chance to run around a little. VCHS junior Taylor Oshinski, for example, told me, “Jag Wars is a much-appreciated break from weights.”

          One of the most iconic events of Jag Wars is the truck push. Coach Cal parks his truck on the blacktop outside the gym, then puts it in neutral and each team gets a chance to physically push it around the basketball court. The team with the best time wins that event.

          Sophomore Laura Glennie participated in the truck pull and the rest of Jag Wars last year and told me she loved every minute of it. “My team got second place last year,” commented Laura, “and I’m looking forward to all the intense games this year!” For some, Jag Wars is the highlight of their entire year. Jeremy Halligan said, “For me, Jag Wars is the best part of the school year, period.”

          So there you have it. Let’s all look forward to this year’s Jag Wars being better than ever!

Tell me about it!:

          The “ransom video” I saw in Mr. Dolan’s English class this week tells me that it’s the time of year again when a dear friend of his is abducted. Yes, you read it correctly: abducted.

          You see, it’s been a long-running tradition at the high school that each year around this time, Dolan’s beloved marble statue of Julius Caesar is kidnapped when Dolan isn’t looking.

          This years’ statue bandits told me they would like their names withheld to protect ... their GPAs. So far, they’ve made two videos showing that Caesar has not yet been harmed and are brainstorming the third one right now. But they tell me their patience is limited. I’m risking my life just telling you this!

          A quote from Dolan reveals how upset he is: “I don’t know. Whatever. Actually, it’s not even mine. It belongs to another English teacher!”

          Got a great item for this column? Tell me about it! Catch me on campus or go to my web page and shoot me an e-mail (www.carrfamily.com/alex).

          Read all of San Diego Press Club award-winner Alex Carr's columns at www.carrfamily.com.