“Your health and your fitness has a direct impact on how well you do,” said Leandro Esparza, College Athletic Coordinator.
Palo Alto offers intramural, extramural, intercollegiate and club sports. Intramural sports are played within Palo Alto. Students, staff and faculty are eligible to play and no experience is required. This fall, intramural sports include three-on-three basketball, four-on-four volleyball, table tennis, flag football and for those students who want to exercise their brains, chess. Esparza said that the school is also working on constructing a sand volleyball court and a soccer field.
“I found out about flag football through my Orientation class,” said Eric Guzman, a freshman Kinesiology major. “I also play table tennis, and I think that helps your eye coordination. That is how it helps me with school, by keeping my attention span going.”
Extramural sports include men and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and other competitive sports played in the ACCD. Schools involved include San Antonio College, Northwest Vista, Coastal Bend College, St. Phillips College, Our Lady of the Lake University, Southwest Junior College and Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-Palo Alto.
Palo Alto students get their hearts pumping during a physical education class.
Photo by Eloy Tijerina.
The gymnasium, weight room and the swimming pool are open to Palo Alto students, faculty and staff free of charge. Physical Education classes are also offered for swimming, volleyball, basketball, physical conditioning and more.
“I think it helps you interact with other students,” said Tim
Huizar, a junior majoring in Kinesiology. “You don’t have to
stay with the same routine of just coming to school and then going home
with nothing happening in between.”
Intercollegiate teams
compete against other colleges and universities and are a part of the
National Junior College Athletic Association. Intercollegiate sports include
cross-country, swimming and diving.
Esparza, who started off as an associate director of Student Activities
in 1987, is really pushing for more activities and sports programs for
students to enjoy.
“General fitness and general health are really important,” he
said.
Club teams, like water polo and fencing are other options students can
choose. Jeff Elder is the head coach for swimming and water polo at Palo
Alto. His job is to recruit swimmers, set up meets with other schools,
order equipment and secure transportation. Vinnie Bradford, an assistant
professor of Physical Education, coaches the fencing team. Both club sports
are offered to all students at Palo Alto.
Hiking and fishing trips are two other activities being considered, if
students show an interest. Contact Esparza at 921-5509 to get on the fitness
track.