Who is Mariela Garcia? by Abbie Tower
Mariela Kay Garcia, or Mari as her friends call her, is a 5’1, 15-year-old freshman here at Saugatuck High School. She came to Saugatuck in the fifth grade, after going to Holland Language Arts Academy for six years. She was born here in Michigan, and has lived here her whole life. She is the youngest of five, and has four older siblings: her oldest sister Tessa, Freddy, her older brother, Colin, her other older brother, and Maya, her older sister. All of them have graduated from Saugatuck High School except Maya, who will graduate from Fenville this year.
Mari loves to watch and play sports. She plays volleyball, basketball, soccer, and travel soccer in the off-season. She also loves to watch volleyball, basketball, and soccer, but her favorite sport to watch is hockey by far. When asked about it she says, “My favorite hockey team is the Toronto Maple Leafs because they have some of the best fans and the most amazing players ever known to play the game. Some of my favorite players from the team are Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Ilya Samsonov.”
In volleyball, Mari usually plays middle back. When playing soccer (travel and in school) Mari plays left mid and can also play left outside and left inside mid. Then in basketball, she plays left and right wing. Of all the sports she plays, her favorite is Saugatuck soccer; she loves the people and the coach, and she also likes how it isn’t as strict or frustrating as travel soccer can be.
Mari used to play softball, dance, and horseback riding, but decided they were not activities she wanted to pursue. She stopped playing softball in 7th grade, because in the year practice and scheduling got compacted. She decided to take a break from dance in 8th grade because of how much time she had for other sports and schoolwork dance did not fit into the schedule. Finally, horseback riding, she stopped in 7th grade because she wanted to spend more time with the other things she enjoyed in life like her family and friends.
Mari loves to watch and play sports. She plays volleyball, basketball, soccer, and travel soccer in the off-season. She also loves to watch volleyball, basketball, and soccer, but her favorite sport to watch is hockey by far. When asked about it she says, “My favorite hockey team is the Toronto Maple Leafs because they have some of the best fans and the most amazing players ever known to play the game. Some of my favorite players from the team are Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Ilya Samsonov.”
In volleyball, Mari usually plays middle back. When playing soccer (travel and in school) Mari plays left mid and can also play left outside and left inside mid. Then in basketball, she plays left and right wing. Of all the sports she plays, her favorite is Saugatuck soccer; she loves the people and the coach, and she also likes how it isn’t as strict or frustrating as travel soccer can be.
Mari used to play softball, dance, and horseback riding, but decided they were not activities she wanted to pursue. She stopped playing softball in 7th grade, because in the year practice and scheduling got compacted. She decided to take a break from dance in 8th grade because of how much time she had for other sports and schoolwork dance did not fit into the schedule. Finally, horseback riding, she stopped in 7th grade because she wanted to spend more time with the other things she enjoyed in life like her family and friends.