Meet Cal Ophardt, a 15-year-old freshman at Desert Vista. Cal is a great person outside of what you see at school. Not many people know but Cal is great at snowboarding. He loves sports in general but snowboarding holds a special place in his heart. Having some great tricks up his sleeves he mentioned how he taught himself how to snowboard. 

“Yeah, like snowboarding is like there’s so much to it,” Ophardt said. “There are so many different things you could do. And like after you get the basics down, it’s very fun, but there’s so much more you could learn in like, just like kind of watching YouTube videos and trying different things and getting like falling and just like you fall so much with like a lot of different things that you just got to keep getting up and trying again.”

Cal’s love for the sport explains why he is especially proud of his awards that he’s won throughout the years. 

“Yeah. So, um, when I was a sixth-grader, I played offense and lacrosse, like attacking MIDI, and I won the offensive MVP award and then the next year, I won the defensive MVP award because I switched over to defense,” he said. “And, yeah, I’m pretty proud of them because it’s definitely my favorite sport. And I really like doing it. So when you get rewarded for something you love, it just really makes you happy.”

Cals passion for snowboarding certainly shows by the way he never gives up and continues to push even when he falls. Despite this crazy year, he finds ways to stay positive and appreciate the things he once accomplished. You too should get to know Cal this semester!