After school on the sports court, track and field athletes line up and run through drills, preparing for their upcoming meets. Laila Zellars is one of the student-athletes on the middle school track and field team. Zellars is in sixth grade, and — though this her first year playing sports at Archer — she is already looking ahead to her future participation.
Zellars participates in the 60-meter dash, the 4×100-meter relay and shot put. She said she wanted to try new activities during her first year at Archer, track being one of them.
Now that her track season has ended, The Oracle sat down with Zellars to discuss her first experiences with Archer athletics and how she plans on continuing her sports career at the school.
What or who inspired you to join track?
Laila Zellars [LZ]: I wanted to try something new. But also, probably my dad, because he’s just always encouraged me to try new things. He’s proud of me, even if I probably aren’t the best at things. He’s like, “I’m proud of you for doing a new thing.” This is my first year, so I tried a lot of new things, like sports.
What is your favorite thing about doing track at Archer?
[LZ]: The togetherness. When we do relays, I think that’s really fun because we can connect and also learn how to do the relay better.
How do you balance the time and commitment that comes with playing a sport?
[LZ]: I would say the balance gets a little bit tricky, especially because some days I have more homework than others, like reading or something. So I try to do work on the bus sometimes because we have to take a bus to West LA. But I think the longer you’re in it, the easier it gets.
Do you have any sports you’re looking forward to or want to try out for next year?
[LZ]: Soccer, for sure. I’m maybe debating about doing basketball and swim.
Do you have a fun story that happened during track or with your friends?
[LZ]: We ran this thing called a little looping track. It’s around the Brentwood neighborhood. I’m not a really good runner, like long distance, but me and my friends — we tried to sing music while running to pass the time, but it didn’t work because we got really tired, but it was okay.
How has participating in sports enriched your Archer experience?
[LZ]: I would say it’s because you get to see new people, people who you may have seen around the halls. Now you kind of know them. Even if you’re not as close with them, you have experience with them. Well, having that connection with the Archer community and also learning more about Archer’s coaches because I know the coaches — they went to Archer for high school. I also think it’s a really good way to stay in shape. It really helps your fitness. Our fitness class isn’t that intense, but I would say it helps you stay in shape.
