The Week That Was In Sports

The fall sports season is winding down. We are in playoff season for the fall sports right now. You have sectionals and regionals happening around town for various sports. Today there is a basketball event happening at the same time as a high school volleyball sectionals. It is the beginning of crossover season. I have been trying slow down a little bit knowing that the winter sports are almost here. I do like playoff sports though so I try to get to as much of it as I can. All of that to say that while sports are slowly falling off the schedule right now things seem busier than usual.

An Unexpected Senior Day

Saturday morning I got a message that the Harrison cross country teams were having their senior day ceremonies. I have always wanted to get out to photograph a cross country meet, but the meets usually enter my feed after they are over. In fact I was already too late to photograph this meet by the time that I found out it was senior day. I still went out to give them some photos on their day though. I still need to get out to the amphitheater one of these days to make some action photos.

Sectional Time

Saturday afternoon I was at the West Side soccer field watching them in their sectional match. For much of the match it was looking like a game that would be decided with one goal. West Side came on strong at the end though and put three into the net to walk away with the sectional trophy.

Boys Soccer

It is hard to believe that I made it to sectionals before photographing my first boys soccer match of the year. It has been a busy fall, and I hadn’t been asked to a match for any local school on a free night. It is different than photographing girls soccer though so it took a second to calibrate myself. It came back quickly though, and I was able to make some photos that I liked.

A Big Battle In Holloway

Sunday afternoon I was in Holloway Gym to see Purdue take on Nebraska. It was a battle between the #12 and #1 teams in the country. Nebraska swept the sets, but there were moments where you could see hope for Purdue. Nebraska is just a really good team. This also might have been the most photographers that I have ever seen in Holloway for a match. Everyone came out including some people that I have never seen in that gym before. Nebraska athletics really brings the media out.

Bring Out The Star Filter

I had my star filter with me so I brought it out pregame. I have made so many photos in Holloway over the years that it is hard to make a new one. The star filter at least let me put a new twist on an older idea. I like how this photo turned out.

Finding The Spot

Volleyball is a sport where I feel like you have to move around to get the photos that you want. You have spots on the floor that are good for certain photos. With the huge crowd of photographers that came to the venue it was not really easy to move around. I felt that I just had to stay in my spot to cover both teams. That meant that my gallery had more back row play than plays at the net. For what I needed from the game that would work, and I could have faces of both teams this way. By the time that this goes live I am hopefully at a high school sectional match and I have a lot more freedom to move around there.

Senior Night For West Side

This is that time of year with a lot of senior celebrations. This week ended with a senior night football game for West Side. A lot of familiar faces came walking down that senior tunnel last night. I haven’t seen the sectional schedule yet, but I hope that I get another chance to photograph these athletes.

Big Plays On Both Sides Of The Ball

Martin Gazo had a game last night. Above you can see two huge plays that he made on both sides of the ball. These aren’t the only two big plays that he made, but just good examples of a kid having a night. The first is a photo of Martin crossing the end zone as a running back for the first touchdown of the night. It was a run where he never gave up and just kept pushing for the line. The second photo is a late tackle for loss and forced fumble that helped seal the game. I only got the second photo because I started watching him pre play. He was making big plays so when he was on my side of the field the camera was on him. It paid off big time with the fumble photo.

An Emotional Win

The game last night was a fun one to cover. It was tight for most of the night with an emotional second half. With the schedule starting to fill up I don’t know how many more Friday nights I have on the sidelines. If this was the last one it was a great game to end on.