Who I am

I am Evan Luecke a Journalism major at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and was adopted by Kirk and Cathy Luecke. I currently run track at the university and in my free time I enjoy making vlogs, and doing photography. My main events in track are the 5 and 10k.

Through The Lens: Softball Edition

During the spring semester I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph and document the Texas A&M University- Commerce Lions softball team. This experience was amazing, the players, coaches and fans were all wonderful and made this season amazing. Here are some of my favorites with a description.

I love the ball and bat combo in this photo. Every game I go into the game with trying to shoot something different hoping to get some pretty rad images.

I like this photo due to Tyler Oppenheim (#5) is concentrated on what is going on instead of being in the circle with everyone else. She plays every game trying to work on fielding and to get better every time she is on the field.

The Composition in this photo is why I chose this photo. With the umpire, and the batter. You can see that Brittany Woolridge the pitcher is focused on trying to strike the batter down.

Baylea Higgs who is an amazing player to photograph due to the emotion she has while she plays. You will see that later on. This play was going to be a close call but she tried to reach home safely. The collision was interesting but unfortunately she got called out.

Leaders lead.

The three players above Higgs, Oppenheim and Cierra Nunez Head out to their positions before the game ready to play.

Post Dinger. It seems like there was a home run every game. Every time regardless of how many times they hit one, the players all went to home plate to congratulate the player who hit the home run.

Katie Dean gets ready for the pitch. She is extremely focused when playing and it makes for beautiful moments.

Again with the composition. Oppenheim looks for the ball as she decides to either go to second or stay at first.

Cherie Jackson- she was the vocal leader of the team. Pregame she always had a short speech to give and had passion when she gave the speech.

With sports you get the joy of victory and the tear of defeat.

Here Mariah Jameyson walks back to her position after having a meeting with the pitcher after the visiting team scores.

Jameyson who lead the conference in home runs hit one here. With as many home runs that were hit I was constantly trying to find new ways to shoot the celebration. This one by far was my favorite as she runs the 3rd base line to go to home as her team celebrates.

Coach May gives the players a pep talk after getting down early.

Said earlier you have the triumphs of victory and the agony of defeat. Here the Lions lost the first game to TWU, in the situation the players thought they were out, that was going to be their season but with some help from other teams in the conference they lived to see another day.

After Oppenheim makes a beautiful catch to save the Lions season and send them to the LSC conference tournament. The team dog piles her.

Higgs makes a phenomenal catch against Texas Women's University.

Through The Lens: Womens Basketball

Getting to photograph this team has given me a lot of experience and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Focused- I captured this image not really sure what she was doing but I know if I got the image it might be a great pre-game shot. When I capture basketball especially the same team; I always try to find something different to capture each time.

Coach didn't look to happy at this time, not really sure what was going on I don't really remember but I love capturing these images that express some type of emotion. It is what I love about photography.

When I chose to start shooting our basketball team, I wanted to try and get shots you don't really see in a sports illustrated or a slam. With a 40mm it was a definite challenge to capture the unusual but I just had to do it.

I love this photo for one reason; you can sense some type of high energy level from these two. A big play was made and they celebrated, I knew it was going to be a good shot once I saw it on my screen.

Again; trying to find something different to shoot in basketball can be challenging especially with a 40mm. People say gear doesn't matter but it does to an extent. This photo was just from a different perspective in the team huddle.

Double Team- Pregame two of the players said they wanted defensive shots, I said "You have to do it, if you want the shot..." Not taking shots or nothing. One of them captured above got told to pressure so I had to get that shot and it is something different.

Next Play- One of the players made a three and while the players are celebrating; Coach is making sure the players on the court are getting back on defense and doing their jobs right.

Emotion- It's what I love about sports photography; so many emotions going on in the gym. This player screaming always plays with emotion and I love it. Here is them doing their pre-game chant.

OTOP- The Lions motto this season, It means One Team One Pride. I like this photo due to everyone is coming in at once and you have one person pointing. It signifies the one team one pride motto. They all come together as one team all with having the same passion and pride for the game

Before shooting basketball, I didn't really know any of the players; I really only knew 2-3 of the players including Natalie pictured above. I didn't know anybody's pregame preparation, but I saw her praying and just thought it would be a good shot.

Jump Ball- I like this photo due to the fact that two of our players are going up and trying to get the rebound; even though one will be credited with it on the stats sheet; I thought it was cool how they are competitive within the team.

This game was crazy. It was Senior Day. They were playing Texas A&M Kingsville. No one really pulled away and no one really had a safe lead. This was captured toward the end of the game when the Lions made one of their final shots. These games are part of the reason I love photography. There is so much emotion; happiness, fear, anxious. Its why we love sports, a close game that can be won or loss on any error.

I like this shot because it shows that she is just shooting in her face. If she makes it the crowd goes wild; if she misses probably because she couldn't see. I'm not sure but it looked cool to me.

Lion Pride- Win or Lose the Lions go over to the student section right by the band and play our song. This is a tradition with all sports if the band is present. Win or Lose you respect the school and throw the L's up.

Locked in- These players are locked in on what coach is saying. Regardless if they like it or not they still pay attention to what he is saying regardless.

I love this picture because it shows the relationship the player and a coach has. With me being a student-athlete I have definitely learned that no matter what you have to trust your coach. Regardless of the situation.

Emotion again; a call was made that the players and coaches of the lions didn't agree with and she slapped the ball and yelled.

Here coach is arguing that call and trying to figure out the reasoning behind the call. A coach will always stand up for his players.

Thank You for taking the time to read this and explore what I saw this season with the TAMUC Women's Basketball Team. A big thanks to Josh as he gave me the opportunity to capture these moments and the coaches and players for trusting me to capture these moments

Just for fun

Went out shooting just for fun 

Week 1

Today's run was a lot easier and more of a recovery run! I went at 7:01 pace for 42 minutes and ended with 8 miles including cooldown and warmup. The run sucked overall cause I didn't get to run till the evening because me and my family are taking a vacation to San Francisco and I didn't to get to do a run before we left. So I was just sitting on a plane thinking only about my run. As well as it was on a treadmill. That's the worst part. Always avoiding the treadmill even during snow days I would always find a way out. This time I couldn't find a way out. We are in the bad area of Oakland and there really wasn't many places to run at anyway.

Wednesday - 6/24

aka day 2 of running on death which is known as a treadmill. The morning though me and my family went to San Fransico and walked around 3-4 miles around the Bay Area. Seeing a lot of cool things and all, the weather was perfect for running outside but there was no trails in the area. Concrete was the only thing available and even that is better than running on a treadmill. The run was at night and was a 45-55 minute run. Before the run I called Coach Reed. My new coach at A&M Commerce. He told me that if I was feeling good I would be able to pick it up the last half of the run. So I dropped from the 7:01 original pace to a 6:15. So I did 3 miles for the first 21 minutes then, 4 miles for 25 minutes. Ended with 8 strides. So overall I did a 7 mile run for 46 minutes. Of course doing a cool down with a mile. So I did 8 miles total. Feeling good after I still continued to do my stretches and then iced in the pool. Man California is Great!

Thursday - 6/25

Today we went to San Francisco again and this time I was gonna find a place to run, running on the treadmill wasn't tiring but it started bothering my shins a little bit. So I was gonna cross train when we got back, but when I saw a dirt road I couldn't help it. I ran with my camera to the top, the trail was only about 150 meters uphill. Where we were was a place not many people knew about. It was a lowkey spot to get great pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. So we spent about 20 min in the area. Then I see we can walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew that this was my chance for a run. So we spend about 20 min trying to find parking and as soon as we were about to give up, I spot a lot. It was full but I saw a jeep get ready to leave. So we get that spot. I wait for my watch to get ready and then my dad says "You can go!" That moment I took off. I couldn't believe I was running on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really windy and more difficult than I thought. I get halfway and realize that I had a 60 min run. My coach lets us split up work outs based on how we feel. I was going to do the full 60 but knew my family was waiting on me, so I only ran once. It was 1.6 down and 1.6 back. So I ran a 5k on the bridge and finished at 6:40. A easy and comfortable run. I cooled down by slowly jogging to my dad telling me I can go walk down again and take pictures.

We get back to our hotel and I called Coach Reed asking if I could cross train. He gives me the workout and it was to swim the small hotel pool for 30 minutes. Felt good and I got to see a California sunset. Which are beautiful must I add. So total for the day

3.2 miles for 20 minutes and 30 minutes swimming.

Friday - 6/26

We continued our vacation In California by taking trips to Sonoma and Napa valley, there were tons of trails to run by the winery and grape gardens. Up hill and curvy the trails were long and spreader through the valleys. Unfortunately I couldn't run them, since they are private property. After that we take a trip to UC-Berkeley and drove around campus. The campus is Beautiful. Tons of trees and lots of open land. It's also very expensive though. So we got back to our hotel just in time so we can watch Team USA take on China. So I go for my run during the game. The workout was a 50-60 minute run. So I went around 56 minutes at my 7:01 pace. The 7:01 pace is the pace I was set to in June for my long runs. So 8 miles today for the workout with a mile cool down. Total today was 9 miles.

Saturday - 6/27

The last day of Cali. It was a fun trip and probably one of the best trips I've been on. Today we decided to explore Oakland. We went to downtown Oakland and explored, then we decided to go to the beach. After eating at Panera, my parents told me I could run the beach for a little bit. Originally we were going to go hike some trails at Red Forest. Them we just decided to be chill and laidback. So I originally thought I was going to get a good long run on some pretty trails. So I put on my running shorts and packed a running shirt. I found a cool trail right by the beach so went running. Only did 2.5 before my parents said lets go. I didn't get a full run in, but I was happy i got to get off the treadmill. So after the little short run, we want to the hotel, I decided to switch long run Saturday to long run Sunday. Mainly because I refuse to do a long run on the treadmill. I will be flying majority of the dayon Sunday, so when I get back I will do my long run then.

Back to today after my run on the beach I decided to go to the pool and do cross train. I swam for about 20-30 minutes just playing around. Then I grabbed the bouy and sort of treaded water for about 5 minutes, then I got my dad to put a timer on and i treaded harder for about 15 min, then continued slower after for about 5 minutes.

So total I did about 55 min of cross training and 2.5 miles of running on the beach. It's been fun Cali.

Sunday - 6/28

We flew back home today and it's sad! California was a great trip and I sort of wanna move out here when I graduate college. The flights took most of the day as we flew from Oakland to Denver, Denver to Dallas. We got back home around 7. I put my bags down unpacked real quick, and went for a run. It was amazing to get back to free open land. The long run was 10 miles at 7:00 pace. I felt real comfortable and sort of didn't want to change pace. I just took in the run and enjoyed the nature and Texas Sunsets that I missed. So total I ran around 12 miles with a warm up and cool down. Man I missed Texas!

Week in Review:

This week was a good one. Getting to do some things I never thought I would be able to do. Got to Run the Golden Gate Bridge, and run some beach off the bay coast. I felt real good on some of my runs. The ones I never thought I would feel good on. The treadmill experience wasn't completely terrible. I guess I had a pacer when I set the pace. So I knew If I was off or not. Cross training in a hotel pool wasn't terrible. I had my brother and my dad they're sitting pool side. I realized not to take running in Forney for granted. I always try and to mix things up from running our forney trail we have. Overall it was a fun experience. If you want to see more pictures from San Francisco check out my Twitter(@igorl97) and Instagram (@evanluecke).

Total mileage this week: 45 miles.

I should've been around 55 but I cut the day when I ran the Golden Gate Bridge short. Mainly because I was feeling a little tired and my shins were starting to bother me. Trying to stay away from shin splints.

Forney aims for playoffs behind senior safety

 

Chazz Slatinsky, number 28, is looking to lead the Forney High School Jackrabbits to the playoffs. Photo credit: James Townsend, Townsend Photography and Film.

FORNEY, Texas – Friday nights are quickly approaching for the Forney High School Jackrabbits with practices beginning earlier this week. So who will lead the Jackrabbits out of the tunnel for opening night against Wills Point on August 29, 2014?

There seems to be common ground among players about who that leader will be – safety Chazz Slatinsky who will be entering his third season on varsity. 

Wide receiver Jacob Gonzalez said "[Slatinsky] is the main leader of the team with everything he's been through in life and how he keeps a positive attitude on life. It reflects how strong of a person and a leader he is." 

Slatinsky spends countless hours in the weight room and all day thinking about football. “It's really an honor to me. I love to help others and help myself get better," said Slatinksy. 

His motivation is simple. “If you play for something, you will get better,” he said. 

Slatinsky dedicates his time on and off the field to his best friend – Matthew Ross Defilippo who died in a tragic accident on June 2, 2012. Slatinsky added, "When I mess up, miss a tackle, or miss an opportunity, I always remember Matthew always had a smile and I can't let anything get me down.” 

Slatinsky's goal this season is to be the best at his position and complete 200 tackles. Last season, Slatinsky completed 106 tackles and averaged 14.8 a game. 

With the new UIL re-districting classifications, the Forney High School Jackrabbits are in the Class 5A division, formerly known as Class 4A. Senior strong safety Noah Hines said he and the team are looking forward to “winning their first 5A state playoff game." 

Hines feels very confident about this upcoming season. “We have had a tough, tough offseason,” said Hines. “We want to go to state, make history!” 

Winning a playoff game and traveling to the state competition is very bold from the team known as the underdogs and the “team with nothing but history.” Slatinsky said “I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this team to playoffs. We have the talent and we have a brotherhood.” 

Although Slatinsky has yet to be contacted by college coaches to continue his football career beyond high school, Slatinsky has dedicated his season to Defilippo and looks forward to continue playing for his best friend. 

“I can not wait for this season to start,” said Slatinsky.

- See more at: http://inforney.com/sports/item/2149-forney-aims-for-the-playoffs-behind-senior-safety#sthash.EQNpWHG1.dpuf