February 22, 2010, the United States Olympic Hockey Team achieved a feat that no one had seen coming. They finally proved victorious over Canada’s Olympic Hockey Team; the U.S. had never defeated them in fifty years. This time they proved that anyone can persevere over any odds with sheer determination, heart, and confidence.

            That night, Canada was viewed as the clear favorite; of course they had every right to be, since they had defeated them for the past fifty years. This game turned out to be not just another game. The audience was wearing colors that supported their country, “red” for Canada and “white” for America.

            Throughout the game, the chants for Canada seemed endless. Audiences at home could hear the Canadian fans chanting, “Go Canada, Go!” Then, it seemed like a scene out of a movie, Rocky IV for example: fans began to cheer slowly for the U.S. The fans began to see that the U.S. was focusing on only proving one thing-they are winners. The game itself was very intense; Canada had had 45 shots on goal, only to have three score. The U.S. on the other hand had 22 shots on goal and had five score.

            While these shots were taking place and the players were playing their hearts out, the fans started to cheer “U-S-A, U-S-A!” It was not just from the Americans, but from the Canadians as well. They realized what the Americans were possibly in the process of completing and in amazement, they were happy for them. When the final buzzer in the third period sounded, not only did the players go ecstatic but fans from both teams did.

            This game proved that anyone and any team can persevere, no matter the factors that lie in their wake. If there was a true life “Rocky” moment, this was that moment because it should that anyone can change!

The Lady Jackets basketball team wins 2 in a row after losing to district foe Courtland.  After a tough loss, the next game can’t come soon enough as the Jackets gain wins against Spotsylvania and Caroline to run their record to 9-4 and 5-2 in the district and took sole possession of 2nd place.  On Friday, the Jackets poured it on Spotsylvania 62-35 as Kirastin Cole netted 25 points. Akira Jones had a strong game with 10 and DaeQuana Bryant knocked down  two 3 pointers and added 9 points in the victory.  The Jackets had to come back with a bang on Saturday, as the young Cavaliers jumped to a 13 point halftime lead; only to see the Jackets play a stellar 1-3-1 defense in the 2nd half to rally to defeat Caroline 62-57. It was a total team effort!  Again, Kirastin Cole led the way posting a double-double of 32 points and 14 rebounds.  Kirastin is currently ranked 1st in the area in scoring and 2nd in the Washington Post listings and is also on the early watch list for All-Met. Backcourt mate Brittini McFadden had 11 and Kristen Williams provided some help with 8 points and 5 rebounds.  Reserve Jasmine Tyler continues to contribute off the bench providing tough defense and rebounding.  After the break for exams, the Jackets will travel to Culpeper on Wednesday.  GO LADY JACKETS!

The James Monroe Lady Jackets basketball team rebounded their way in their 70-59 victory at home versus King George last night.  Trailing by 7 at the end of the 1st period, the Jackets remained poised and and got TOUGH and FOUGHT hard the rest of the way.  Junior Kristen Williams started her 1st game last night and provided a spark; narrowly missing a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.  Kirastin Cole continues to roll leading the Jackets with 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.  Brittini McFadden added 11 and freshman Dominique Lavender continues to improve with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots.  Also sophomore Myasia Williams added some punch off the bench with 5 points and 6 rebounds.  Great job ladies on a TOTAL TEAM WIN!  The Jackets are back in action on Friday, as they travel to Courtland to try to steal a district win on the road.  GO LADY JACKETS!

With a team roster of record-breaking proportions, the 2009-2010 swim team has benefited from such an abundant stock of skilled and experienced members.  This distinct advantage has made it possible for the team to win. 

On December 4, 2009 the JM swim team competed against Chancellor at the Fredericksburg YMCA. 

Spotsylvania was also scheduled to perform in the meet, but their team failed to appear and thus forfeited the race.  JM was ultimately victorious over the Chancellor Chargers, making a strong showing early in the season. 

A week later the swim team held a meet at the University of Mary Washington against Courtland and Spotsylvania.  This time both teams were able to attend and compete.  Courtland swam away with the win despite an impressive effort by the JM team, which placed second. 

With a standing record of 2-1, the team is shaping up to be a formidable competitor in the Battle Field District.  The team looks forward to proving their prowess of the pool at their next meet.

                Although the James Monroe Golf season has quickly ended, this season won’t be forgotten. On October 6^th, 2009, our yellow jackets competed in the District Tournament against top competitors, including King George High School, who placed first, and Caroline, who came in second. Unfortunately for our golf team, this means the end of the season. Although this was a rebuilding year, having lost such memorable players like Daniel Burch and working under the new direction of Mr. Wolven, the Yellow Jackets excelled greatly in their effort at practice and games and in their strive to be a close supportive team.

                “Our team is just good at being a team! I’d just like to win once!” Junior Sam Thomas exclaimed.  The golf team did not beat any opponents this year, but certain matches, including Chancellor, River Bend and Caroline, were extremely close. Although the team didn’t succeed, it was provided with fresh talent. According to the team, freshman Blake Olsen is the most improved player. Now that Olsen has had on year of experience for playing for the Yellow Jackets under his belt, he will surely shine next season. This will greatly help the team next year when they come back for another season. Even though the team didn’t do as well as they wished they had, there were certainly some stars that stood out this year.  Senior captain Kyle Young and junior Sam Thomas both excelled with their personal best at thirty-eight with senior Ryan Martinez close behind at forty-four.   We can only expect that next year, they will push even harder to be the best of the best!

This season, the James Monroe Volleyball head coach Valerie Maniscalco believes, “Last season was better than this year.”  Remaining optimistic, she adds, “The season’s not over yet.”  Agreeing with her head coach, Senior Jennifer Zayas continued on by proclaiming the team is, “Not having a good season.  We could do a lot better than we are.”  Though the team has gotten off to a slow start, having a record of two wins to go along with six losses at the time of this writing, Maniscalco sees bright spots for the future of the volleyball team.  “We have a new Junior Varsity team that we have not had in four or five years.”  That JV team has come in handy this season.  “Injuries have been greatly affecting the team” the coach says, “We had to merge the JV and Varsity teams so we could have enough people on the team.”  Although it’s much too late to join the team this season, Coach says one of her long term goals for the James Monroe Volleyball team is to, “Have more girls on the teams.  I’d love to have more girls.  I’m scrambling with all these injuries to find players.  I would love to have more members, especially basketball players; they have good hand eye coordination.”  The coach also points out that she would like to have, “A strong and sturdy Junior Varsity.”  Her final wish is to, “Have more fans.  The fans give up lots of hype and anxiety.  The fans give us a reason to show what we are made of.  Right now, not a lot of people are interested, and I would like that to change.”