Sports

Competition is part of who I am.

When I’m not working on robots, there’s a good chance I’m on a court or a track.

I like sports for many of the same reasons I like engineering: there’s always something to improve. You practice, see what doesn’t work, make adjustments, and try again.

But sports are also different. When the game starts or the gun goes off, there’s no time to redesign anything.

You just have to perform.

Ethan, number 40 for Geffen Academy, going up for a layup past a defender
Driving to the basket for Geffen Academy.
Basketball

It started on a park court.

I’ve been playing basketball for about as long as I can remember. Long before varsity, there were evenings at the park: shooting at a hoop that seemed impossibly high, and learning to play defense against someone much taller than me.

  • Young Ethan in a white shirt shooting a basketball at an outdoor park hoop
  • Young Ethan reaching up to block a much taller player's shot on a park court at sunset
  • Young Ethan in a defensive stance guarding a taller player holding the ball
  • Young Ethan reaching for the ball as a taller player dribbles past him

Varsity, #40

Today I’m a starter on my school’s varsity team, and I’ve played competitive club basketball with Sterling Blue Chip since 2022.

For the 2024–25 season I was named Most Improved Player, which fits the thing I like most about any sport: there’s always something to improve.

  • StarterVarsity basketball, 2023–2026
  • MIPMost Improved Player, 2024–25
  • 2ndNational tournament runner-up with my club team, Sterling Blue Chip (2023)
Ethan dribbling up the court on a fast break ahead of two defenders
Pushing the pace on a fast break.
Ethan squaring up to shoot from the wing during a varsity game
Squaring up from the wing.
Track & Field

Fast, and then faster.

I also run varsity track. I’m a sprinter, and my events are:

  • 100 m
  • 200 m
  • 4×100 m
  • 4×400 m

In a relay, races are decided by inches, and many of those inches are won or lost in the handoff. Four runners have to trust each other at full speed.

In 2024 our 4×400 team won the Coastal League championship, and we went on to compete in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 preliminaries. I also received the Coach’s Award for the 2024–25 season.

Ethan sprinting down the straightaway in a blue Geffen singlet
Full speed down the straightaway.
  • 1stCoastal League 4×400 m relay champions (2024)
  • All-LeagueFirst Team, 4×400 m (2023–24); Second Team, 4×100 m and 4×400 m (2024–26)
  • CIFSouthern Section Division 4 preliminaries
Ethan from behind in a Bruins singlet, holding a relay baton beside the starting blocks and a Boys 4x100 Division results board
Waiting to start the 4×100.
Ethan in a yellow shirt sprinting with a relay baton as spectators watch
Carrying the baton.
Ethan racing in the middle of a pack of sprinters on a blue track
Racing on the blue track.
Ethan in a Geffen singlet stepping into the starting blocks in lane 2
Setting the blocks.
Ethan grinning with three second-place medals around his neck
Three second-place medals at a Coastal League meet.
Ethan and three teammates standing on the track with their medals
Medals with my teammates.
Taekwondo

One belt at a time.

Before basketball and track became such a big part of my life, I trained seriously in Taekwondo at Chung Do Taekwondo. I worked my way up through the colored belts and earned a Kukkiwon-certified 1st Poom black belt in 2018, then a 2nd Poom in 2019. Poom is the junior black belt rank, the equivalent of a 2nd-degree black belt.

Every belt followed the same loop I still use today: practice, test, practice more, and test again.

  1. Yellow belt
    Young Ethan in a red helmet and chest protector kicking during a sparring match at the California Junior Taekwondo Championship
    Sparring at the California Junior Taekwondo Championship.
  2. Green belt
    Young Ethan smiling in his uniform and green belt, holding a tournament trophy with a medal around his neck
    Tournament trophy, green-belt days.
  3. Brown belt
    Ethan in a brown belt jumping into a side kick that breaks a board held by his master
    Breaking a board with a flying side kick.
  4. Red-black belt
    Ethan in a red-and-black belt spinning into a kick toward a board held by his master
    A spinning kick, one belt from black.
  5. Black belt
    Ethan in his new black belt holding a trophy, standing with Grand Master Jun Kim
    Black belt day, with Grand Master Jun Kim.

Each sport challenges me in a different way.

But I enjoy the same things about all of them: practicing, competing, improving, and seeing how far I can push myself.