The Park City High School boys' tennis team is filled with players with loads of talent and experience. One of the most experienced is Matt Groy.

Groy, a senior, is the captain of the team and currently plays first singles. He started playing tennis when he was about five years old. Like many young children, he tried out many sports before discovering tennis. He has been an avid tennis player ever since. He loved tennis partly because of the athletic aspect of the sport, but also because of the number of people you meet through the sport.

"My favorite part of tennis is most people's least favorite part," he said. "I love to be able to compete with myself and my mind, and ultimately the struggle necessary to get a win. I also love to compete against other people's minds and bodies," he said.

Groy has been on the tennis team for his entire high school career, playing varsity all four years.

During his freshman season, he played second doubles. In his sophomore year, he moved up to first doubles. Last year, as a junior, he moved up another notch to the third singles position. This year, he has advanced two positions to first singles.

Groy's most special season so far came last year. Playing third singles, he ripped through the state tournament and eventually found himself in the championship match, facing Blake Newman of Ogden. He played a great match and was able to defeat Newman 6-2, 7-5. This match not only captured the third singles title for Groy, but also the 3A championship to the Park City Miners.

"It was one of the greatest days of my life. Helping this team win a state title, that I have been with since my freshman year, was really special," said Groy.

As this year is Groy's senior year at Park City High School, it is also his last year playing on the team. While the Miners have a great deal of talent coming up, it will be hard to replace a player such as Groy. As a captain, Groy has demonstrated tremendous leadership.

"Matt Groy does a lot for us through his play and leadership. He always gives us his best on and off the court," said head coach Jessica Watts.

While many may only know about Groy's success in tennis, he has also enjoyed a life in music and theatre. He has performed in high school musicals since freshman year, and has also acted in many plays at the Egyptian Theatre. He is also a very successful singer and is in the Park City High School Jazz Band.

Next year, Groy plans to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He expects to major in biology and minor in music. He would also like to play club sports while at UCLA, especially tennis.

No matter where life takes Groy in the future, he plans to keep tennis in his life.

Get to know Matt

Favorite class: AP Environmental Science

Favorite food: Short rib

Favorite movie: "Armageddon"

Favorite band: Mumford and Sons

Favorite sports team: Green Bay Packers

Favorite sports to play/watch: Golf and basketball

Favorite sports moment: Winning 3A singles

Dream job: Bio medic or engineer

Other hobbies: Music, hanging out with friends, video games, and living life

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Every student with college ambitions comes to a point in life where he or she will be faced with a decision of where to go. This decision not only affects the next several years, but rather the majority of the rest of the student's life. Most of the time this decision does not come with any ease, and many roadblocks may directly conflict with where a student truly desires to go.

Every year it appears that colleges increase their tuition and other fees, even during tough economic times. While there are many students and parents in the country that are willing to pay the price, there are even more students and parents that are not willing to, or can't, pay such exorbitant fees.

When this issue of college expenses comes up, there are several things that students can do to attempt to lower the price of tuition or to convince their parents to become more flexible towards the issue. One of the best ideas students can do is to simply sit down and talk with their parents, so that both sides can understand each other's positions.

"I recommend to all students that they talk with their parents at the beginning of their junior year. The students can tell their parents what they want to do, and the parents can do the same," said Nancy Michalko, the Scholarship Advisor at Park City High School.

Using this approach is very beneficial to students as well as parents. By bringing up the subject of money earlier in high school, parents are allowed much more time to think about what they can afford. When parents learn about the cost of tuition and other expenses earlier in the application process, they will more likely be able to assist the student in finding financial aid because of this additional time.

However, it is also important for parents to not lead their teens on if they have no intention of paying for higher-priced colleges. If students believe their parents will support and assist them in paying for an expensive school, they will have a much stronger drive to get into that school. In the end, this could lead to a very awkward situation if the student gets into the school, but the parents aren't actually willing to pay, even though they originally said they would.

"The most important thing is for the parents to be honest. I have heard of many situations where the parents say they will pay because they do not think the student will get in. However, the student then works harder and ends up getting into the school," said Michalko.

With all of this said, there are many things that students can do to help pay for their dream college. Scholarships are readily available, and if one reaches out for help, there is plenty of it around. Everyone wants to see a student achieve and it is surprising to see the number of people that will help a student reach his or her goals. Overall, it is of the utmost importance to simply continue to work hard and keep your options open.

It seems like in today's world, scholarships are available to students at a very early age. People are willing to give money to students in order for them to succeed in life. There are numerous options and if students start to look for these scholarships early in their high school careers, they could benefit greatly later on.

Of course, every college does also have its own database of individual scholarships, which may even be associated with other larger scholarships that run through generous contributors at a particular university. No matter what, colleges will have money available, and if students work hard and seek out this money, many times they will be rewarded. All in all, through communication and scholarship searching, it is possible for a student to drastically lower his or her tuition.

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To add to the drama of the game, it was also senior night for the Miners. The team celebrated the careers of several seniors, all of whom have made very valuable contributions to the team.

The Miners had played Judge earlier in the season and had lost by 14 points. However, they did not let this bring them down and were determined to make the end result much differently this time around.

The game started perfectly for the Miners as their defense proved to be very tough. In the first quarter, the Miners gave up only 8 points while scoring 11, giving them a three-point lead.

However, the second quarter was not quite as productive for the Miners, and their defense gave up more points than they had hoped. The Bulldogs outscored the Miners 14-7 and, going into halftime, Judge had a slight lead over Park City, 22-18.

The Miners knew they had to make a statement in the third quarter, and that is exactly what they did. The Miners' defense shut down the Bulldogs, allowing only six points in the quarter, while again scoring 11. Going into the fourth quarter, the Miners now had a 29-28 lead.

The fourth quarter began with Judge going on a run, but the Miners kept up with the Bulldogs. With only one minute left, Judge had a slim lead. But the Miners hit a shot to tie the game with 53 seconds left. Park City then played tough defense, got the ball back, ran down the floor and scored to take the lead with only 22 seconds left.

Judge tried to take the ball down the court but turned it over and was forced to foul Carson Lyman with 18 seconds left. Fortunately for the Miners, Lyman hit both of the free throws.

However, Judge didn't give up and made a big shot with seven seconds left to come within one point at 43-42. With possession going to the Miners, the Bulldogs were again forced to foul and Carson Lyman was again sent to the charity stripe. Lyman came up big again, hitting both shots to seal the game and a huge win for Park City.

"We stepped up big time and executed well," said head coach Sam White. "We turned the ball over, but the girls didn't let that get to them. Carson came up big with the free throws at the end. We were also able to contain Kailie Quinn, who is one of the best scorers in the state."

This game was a huge win for the Miners and a great end to the regular season. All of the girls played an amazing game; however, the standout was Carson Lyman. She scored 25 points and was a key reason the Miners were victorious.

"She is the hardest-working person I've met," said White. "She never gives up and nothing gets to her. I couldn't be more proud of her."

The 5-12 Miners were scheduled to face the Uintah Utes in a Region 10 play-in game Tuesday, Feb. 13, at Duchesne High School (after this issue went to press), with the winner earning a place in the state 3A playoffs.

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The average person in Park City is certainly happy to simply hang out at world-class ski resorts and take advantage of all that the city has to offer. However, Park City does have a seemingly different breed that roams the streets, who desire more than a typical winter vacation. They are the city's extreme sports athletes who are constantly testing their limits in a variety of sports.

All around Utah and the world, athletes are reaching new heights in sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking. Park City has become a central area for all of these extreme sports due to the fact that it has some of the best terrain in the country. The backcountry skiing is some of the finest in the world, and resorts such as Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort have terrain parks that rival any other. To top it off, during the summer all of this great terrain turns into extreme tracks for mountain biking.

In fact, many students in Park City High School are determined to test the limits every single weekend. If one were to go to Park City Mountain Resort on any given Saturday, he or she would see many students in line for the terrain park or the more extreme runs on the mountain. However, if one were to simply go down the basic runs they would most likely not see a single student from the school. Park City students are constantly pushed to the edge by peers and will not stop until they accomplish whatever feat they are working on.

While these athletes are determined to test their limits and not stop at most signs of danger, there is always the question if extreme sports are too dangerous. Is the potential for serious injury, with the possibility of lifelong disabilities worth the risk? Many people would say that it is possible to be safe in all of these sports and that if one is prepared, they will not get hurt. While being prepared and knowing what one is doing is very crucial, it is still hard to deny the danger of these sports. Every year there are stories of horrific tragedies that occur because of extreme sports, such as avalanches in the backcountry or a fatal accident.

Personally, I believe that there is good compromise between going out and performing these extreme sports and remaining safe and intact. I think that it is truly important for one to recognize all the inherent risks when stepping out into the backcountry or exploding down an extremely steep hill on a mountain bike.

It is impossible to completely stop people from participating in extreme sports, but I think there are things we can do to better protect them from serious danger. Many of these athletes are students, and it would be beneficial to better educate them about the risks of these sports and encourage preventative measures. This would simply make them aware of what they are doing without actually telling them to stop.

I believe that as a community we can work together to make extreme sports safe, but still as fun and crazy as ever.

Jason Barth is an editor for the Park City High School newspaper The Prospector. To see more of his writing and articles by other students log on to http://parkcityprospector.com/ or check them out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ParkCityProspector

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In the past, playing high school sports was as American as apple pie and, in many cases, students were expected to pick at least one sport to play. However, in the present day, this idea seems to be growing less prevalent with much more emphasis placed on academics, especially in Park City. This may be due to the fact that people are much more concerned with growing intellectually, but I believe that other factors are also influencing the declining participation, in particular, the cost of playing high school sports and the financial burden this places on students.

Park City High School, like many other schools around the country, require fees to participate in any school sport. This fee can fund many beneficiary items such as coaches and transportation, but it can also become very costly.

According to Park City High School Athletic Director Doug Payne, "School fees to play any of the sports are $60, except for football which is $85."

I play for the PCHS boys' tennis team, and in addition to the $60 school fee, my family was required to cough up another $330 to play on the team. During the season, the team also had the opportunity to travel to St. George for a tournament. I wanted to go on this trip but in order to do so, I was required to pay another $145. These costs may not seem too overwhelming at first, but they begin to add up and can place a financial burden on the athlete as well as his or her family.

In order to reduce this financial burden on individual families, many of the Park City High School teams try to raise money through fundraising, such as selling team merchandise, Christmas wreaths, banners or even Booster Juice coupons. However, this still places additional pressures on student athletes, as they are now asked to become salespeople.

According to Mr. Payne, Park City High School has begun to implement some programs that assist students to pay their athletic fees when they do not have the necessary resources. For example, many sports teams have sponsors specifically for this purpose. These sponsors provide money to less fortunate students so that they are able to participate.

Even with these programs in place that could possibly make it easier for students to meet the financial requirements, some athletes may still be left out. Ultimately, I believe that all of these costs are pushing more and more students away from participating. Parents and students may begin to ask if all of this money is worth playing a sport for a three-month period of time. I am not an expert of any sort, but I personally believe that, as the costs of these sports continue to rise, participation will go down, especially in the less prominent sports. I believe we could learn a few lessons from older generations and maybe go back to a simpler style of high school sports.

Jason Barth is an editor for the Park City High School newspaper The Prospector. To see more of his writing and articles by other students log on to http://parkcityprospector.com/ or check them out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ParkCityProspector

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