Submerged in a sea of disquiet tension as he arrived to practice, junior David Velasquez fearfully stepped onto the field as he attempted to tackle unfamiliarity — trying a new sport.
Trying something new is inevitable, especially in high school, where students face countless firsts. For athletes like Velasquez, one of the most intimidating is stepping on the field for a sport they’ve never played.
Learning a new sport means stepping outside comfort zones. For Velasquez, who had never played football before this season, that meant finding courage in the unknown.
Making his way onto the field last May, for the first time, the scent of grass mingled with his nerves as he awaited further instructions upon first arriving. At that moment, he was approached by Head Coach Ken Osorio.
“The first person I talked to was Coach Osorio to tell him that I wanted to try out,” Velasquez said. “I was pretty nervous and kind of scared about messing up, but I was also excited to try something new.”
Throughout his first practice, he observed experienced players.
“I saw a bunch of football players, mostly pretty big guys,” Velasquez said. “I was a little intimidated at first by their size. I was also a little scared to play. I was scared that people would judge me. I think that I’m really bad at everything, but I had to stop being scared and just go for it and do it.”
However once he did, he managed to open the doors to new friendships and skill development.
“Once I started talking to some of the players, I started to feel more comfortable,” Velasquez said. “By the end of practice, I was just excited to come back the next day and keep improving.”
Similarly, sophomore Luis Ruiz faced the fear of making mistakes when he joined the volleyball team this season.
“I joined because it looked fun and I’d always known I wanted to play volleyball,” Ruiz said. “I was very nervous because I didn’t know anyone in that environment or if I was bad at it.”
Despite his fears, Ruiz showed up to tryouts.
With the court full of other aspiring and returning athletes, Ruiz’s distress rose as he realized he didn’t really know how to play. However, as his hands joined to create a flat platform for the ball to bounce off of, he discovered that things weren’t so bad after all.
“I overcame my fears by considering that regret doesn’t come from trying something new, it’s from not giving yourself the chance to try it at all,” he said.
Through giving yourself the chance to try something new, you get to discover new passions and talents.
“One thing I can do now is have the ball thrown at me and not be scared,” Velasquez said. Before, every time the ball would come right at me, I’d push it back because I was scared to get hit by it. Now, I see it all the way in and I’m a better catcher. Football also got my confidence up. I can proudly say I was part of the Van Nuys football team.”
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2025 print edition.
