Riley's blog

Solsma is stuck in the pocket. It’s a cool Spring evening. However, he sweats underneath his gear as he look for an open receiver. Looking to score, Trent Solsma realizes he’s been in this situation before.

 

His team has made it to the State Championship. He was here the year before. That day ended in defeat. Today he feels the pressure. He feels pressure to bring a win to his high school. He feels pressure of four years work. He feels the pressure of the defenders rushing at him.

At this moment he glides along the turf, picks his spot, and unloads. He has let the ball leave his hands, hoping he has chosen the right fate for it’s landing. The ball hits the receiver in the end zone! Solsma has ended the drive with a touchdown. Nearly a year after his defeat in the State Championship, Solsma has lead his team to victory.

 

That moment is now eighteen months past. As a sophomore at Morningside College, Trent Solsma and the Mustangs have recently been defeated in the NAIA Championship Quarterfinals. Solsma does not feel down on his luck however. Years after he first started playing football, he can see the NAIA Championship on the horizon.

 

“I probably started playing flag football as early as the 2^nd grade,” remembers Solsma. Growing up in “Siouxland,” Trent Solsma started playing football at a young age “and just having fun.” He would play mostly with friends, but the champion quarterback did not always think about playing football.

 

“I was originally doing well at baseball, and thinking of that for scholarships,” he reveals. For his first two years in high school, Solsma was a successful baseball player, and he was beginning to put football as an afterthought.

 

In his junior year, things began to change for him. He became the starting quarterback for his school. That was the first year his team would go to the State Championship, with Solsma as their leader. “Things began to get serious. This was my first time being the leader; it was when I decided that football was something I was really good at. “

 

Solsma says that it is a bit of a struggle to balance football and education. It gets especially hard when you have three hours of meetings and workouts, followed by a day’s homework. However, Solsma proclaims, “Doing both is definitely worth it.”

 

His life does not completely revolve around playing football and going to class. He enjoys spending time with friends and “Laying back to watch TV and play games.” If he weren’t playing football, he does have other interests, such as Mass Communications. “I did some things last year on the radio and it was fun. I would love to do some play-by-play. I could definitely do that!”

 

As impressive as his year was, the array of talent in the NAIA is not lost on Solsma. It is rare that players reach the professional status in sports from the NAIA. Most professional athletes that have been drafted out of college are taken from the NCAA. This is something that has caught Solsma’s attention.

 

“I think that it is very rare that you see anybody in the pro sports that is from the NAIA, they’re mostly from the NCAA. But I’ve seen that there is great talent in the NAIA that get’s overlooked,” he explains. But this does not mean he is getting overlooked himself. He does not have the professional life in his mind for sports. “I mean, obviously, if I were to get called up, I would try my hardest,” says Solsma. “But, I don’t think the pro life is for me.”

 

Trent Solsma is a Secondary Education major with a focus on History. A great history teacher that he had in high school convinced him that this was the subject for him. It also gives him the opportunity to coach.

 

“My dream is to be an athletic director!” exclaims Solsma. He would love the opportunity to Coach a football team at the collegiate level. However, he doesn’t think he will be Coaching in Sioux City. “I would like to move somewhere else. I wouldn’t move too far away because I want to stay near family, but I might try living somewhere else.”

 

For now he looks forward to next year and another shot at redemption to win another championship. He knows that it will be long and hard work but he is prepared. “We do long workouts and train hard during the offseason and I think this will lead us farther than this year. We definitely have a possibility.”

 

So many athletes seem to have egos that spill into their personality. Mostly this is seen negatively by the public; however, Solsma believes ego is an important part to the game. “I think it’s important to keep an ego. We need to go out there and believe that we are the best players in the league and that we will win whenever we take the field.”

 

As we sit in the warmth of the café on the Morningside Campus and discuss the effects an ego has on the team, several people approach the table to say “Hi” to Trent. Each one is very friendly in their approach and he is friendly is response. Ego has no obvious effect on who Trent Solsma is or any seeable effect on his personal life. “I’ve never tried to be the popular kid, I just go out there and be myself, and sometimes people like me.”

Solsma matches his personality by those he admires. He also tries to be the great person and athlete that has made him so likable. “My football hero is Drew Brees. He’s a great quarterback and a great person off the field. That’s how I try to live my life.”

 

This high school champion is now in training for his second year as Morningside’s starting quarterback. He is preparing for a chance to be a collegiate champion, and, if the stars align, a two-time NAIA Champion. Solsma plans on becoming a high school coach and athletic director. Right now he is Morningside’s star quarterback But, whatever cards he is dealt, he has a simple and single creed to live by, “I’m just going to get up and give everything I’ve got. It’s not worth doing if your not going to give your everything.”

 

Liberals are angry and afraid. Conservatives are angry and afraid. Both sides are angry and afraid at the other party. Liberals are angry that Donald Trump won despite losing the popular vote but afraid because they are unsure about what a Trump presidency means. The Conservatives are angry and afraid at liberals, who are upset about the election.

This was covered in the New York Times article Political Divide on Campuses Hardens After Trump’s Victory. It takes place in Michigan, where students feel angry because of the despair that students and the University of Michigan administration participated in after the election. It then pivoted to professors who were alive in the 60s, and how now compares to then.

I like this article because it focuses on something that no one has really focused on. There are people that feel uncomfortable to talk about their support for Donald Trump. I think it is unfortunate that we ridicule these people for voting for Trump. This is the exact thing that Liberals criticized Trump supporters on during the election.

Shining light on this subject may lead to easing the tension. And I like the comparisons that they find to the situations in the 1960s. This was an good all around article because it focused on an idea that is rarely seen, but it also refuses to take a side. Which is my favorite thing to see in news articles.

Terror in Mega City Mall. There was an explosion in the food court of Mega City Mall that extended into the nearby shops. The explosion killed two and injured nearly 100 people. Injuries during the explosion are mostly related to smoke and fire inhalation. The injured have been transported to Jean-Luc and St. Mercy hospitals.

“There is video of the incident that is still intact, but we have not watched it yet,” states Captain Ross Fuglsang of the Mega City Police Department.  The cause of the explosion is unknown at this time. However, both present and former employees will be questioned about there whereabout during the explosion. There is evidence of terrorism, but all possible situations are being examined.

“I was eating a burger, heard a loud explosion, and I took off running,” says former firefighter Hunter Davis. Davis claims to have also pulled several citizens from core of the explosion. Off duty nurse Jared Martin was among those at the scene tending to the wounded before paramedics arrived.

There are no serious injuries reported. Mega City Mall has no timetable for reopening. Mall spokesman Bob Dillon reports that the mall is to be closed “at least through the weekend.”

 

 

 

 

 

Terror in Mega City. An explosion occurred earlier today in Mega City Mall. The Mega City Police Department reported that the explosion occurred at 9:50 this morning. There were two fatalities in the central area of the explosion. Nearly 100 people were injured in the explosion, most injuries pertained to smoke and fire inhalation.

“We have no suspects and do not suspect terrorism, but we are looking at all possibilities,” reports Police Captain Ross Fuglsang. Mall spokesman Bob Dillon offered security video from the incident which “remains in one piece.”

“I was eating a burger, heard an explosion, and I grabbed a couple of people and took off.” reports ex-firefighter Hunter Davis. Davis was not the only serviceman on the scene. Off duty nurse Jared Martin was on scene tending to the wounded before paramedics arrived.

“I grabbed my baby from the stroller left the building,” recalls Devin Phaly, who was shopping with his infant during the explosion. Phaly reports that mall security was evacuating people in an orderly fashion through the back of the mall. Security also reunited 12-year-old Jaclyn Arens with her father. The two had been separated by the initial explosion and were frantically searching for each other through the smoke when Arens came across mall security.

The explosion pertained to the food court and nearby shops. Although busy during the holiday season, there is no timetable for the mall to reopen. However, Spokesman Dillon expects the mall to be closed “at least through the weekend.

The unemployment rate in the United States is continuing it’s decline. The jobless is now 4.6%. This is down from the unemployment rate last quarter and it shows that the economy is strong. The strong economy that is in place for Donald Trump to take over is the exact opposite of the one President Obama inherited, but not everything is as it seems.

The New York Times article, President Obama Is Handing a Strong Economy to His Successor, jumps right into the heat of this subject. It is a well written article. First and foremost, it covers what the headline says. It is then followed by explaining how the economy is different from when Obama took office. Unemployment is going down and the economy is stronger.

My favorite thing about this article is the balance that it shows. The third portion of the article says that there are still holes in the economy that can weaken it, such as the fact that less people are in the labor force then before. But adding this makes the article effective.

Showing a strong economy is proof that President Obama has done a fine job turning the tide away from a depression. It gives him credit that people often forget to give. However, we also see that it is not as strong as it could be. They give Donald Trump’s deal with Carrier as an example that he can bring jobs back to American, and keep the ones we are losing, which can boost the economy.

I feel less scared about where we are going because of the job President Obama has done to strengthen the economy. I feel a little more at ease knowing that Donald Trump has already kept some jobs in America. This article gives me a belief that anything bad that happens over the next four years is reversible. And, this article was informative, giving the most important information immediately.