Autumn Saavedra is a sophomore at Chandler High who plays as a tight end and running back for the Girls Flag Football team. Autumn says, “I’ve been playing flag football since I was in 5th grade in the GYFL league on both all girls teams and coed teams . I decided to play flag football for the school because I’ve always known I wanted to play sports in high school and when I saw that Chandler was going to have Girls Flag Football I knew I had to sign up.” The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board officially voted to approve Girls Flag Football as a sanctioned sport in December of 2022. That means an official regular season, playoffs, and a state championship for participating schools. Autumn is part of one of the first flag football teams at Chandler and was able to participate in a game during the halftime of a Cardinals game in November 2022. She says, “I love playing flag football because of how you are able to grow as a player and also being able to have a supportive team that you can trust to help you through good and bad games.” Autumn hopes that flag football will continue to grow at Chandler and that more girls get involved with it.
Junior Kyle Derosier plays on
the Boys Tennis team as the number one singles player and half of the first-ranked doubles pair. Derosier says he got into tennis at a young age: “When I was little my mom took me to a court and we played and I had a great time. After that I asked my mom to put me into lessons and she never did. When I started 7th grade I met some friends and they told me about the tennis program there. So I begged my parents and they agreed saying how they meant to put me in lessons years before.” Kyle has played a number of sports throughout his life but tennis has always been his favorite. He says, “I love the comradeship that comes with practices and the competition of playing. I love how there is always a goal in the sports and something to always improve on. I love the environment.”
Eleventh grader Taylor B
rooks is a member of the Track and Field team. She’s been running track since she was young and loves it because she loves to win. Brooks has been running for 10 years and plans to continue after graduation. She describes her experience as an athlete, saying, “It’s an amazing experience, and it’s something I look forward to every day.” Taylor competes in the 100 and 200 meter dash and is one of the top competitors for Chandler. She says, “I love competing at Chandler because I get to compete at a higher level.” Taylor says that what makes her special as an athlete is “my work ethic, and training outside of practice.”
Senior baseball player Mattix Meade plays as a catcher for the Chandler Varsity Baseball team. He’s been playing baseball since he was four and is a legacy student-athlete; his dad attended Chandler and played as a catcher as well, so it was only natural for Meade to follow in his footsteps. Mattix says, “I love how competitive [baseball] is”. Chandler is one of the best teams in Arizona, and his favorite thing about playing at CHS is “playing where my dad played, but better!” Mattix plans to continue with baseball and play at Phoenix College after graduation. His ability to motivate and lead fellow teammates is what sets him apart from others as an athlete and person. Mattix says he’s learned a lot from his sport, but the thing that stuck the most was “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
