Valentine’s Day has always been known as a day of romance, expressing one’s love for the person that holds one’s heart in the palm of their hands. But there are more things to fall in love with than just people. For many students across Claremont High School, it is a sport that they find themselves falling for—often more than another person.

Sophomore Yuhi Yoshimura loves his bike, and his bike holds the same passion for him. Yoshimura has been biking for the Claremont High School mountain bike team for the past five years; his father graciously introduced him to the love of hauling himself uphill and going back down again. Why is he so committed to this relationship? It is the other connections he has made through the sport.

“My favorite part about biking is how much you can have fun, whether it’s by yourself, with a lot of people, or with your friends, since there is so much you can do,” Yoshimura said.

When in doubt, Yoshimura reaches for the confidence that mountain biking has given him and falls in love with the sport all over again. 

Whereas Yoshimura has been spinning wheels, Sophomore Vivian Mendoza has been spinning flags for the past four years. It has been a whirlwind, balancing her relationships to theater, her friends, and her love of the competition, but a worthwhile one.

“What made me fall in love with guard was performing; our shows tell a story and we as performers make it come to life,” Mendoza said.

She truly has fallen head over heels for those falling flags and rifles—even though she has to step out of her comfort zone to learn new tricks and grow her skill on the field.

With each season, these athletes fall in love over and over again with their sports. From the throwing of flags to pedaling round and round, the passion an athlete has for their sport never fades. So this Valentine’s Day, stop yearning, put down the chocolates, pick up the cleats, and go out and find the thing that truly makes you swoon, just for kicks.