Kearns- The Kearns High varsity and junior varsity are off to an amazing start to this year’s season, though the funding isn’t in their favor. Due to the poor funding the girls say they play harder and even go as far to say that it has affected the way they play. When the Cougar Claw asked Shaiann Crossett if the poor funding made things harder for this starting season Shaiann replied, “Yes it has. Our nets are old, our field isn’t good, and it makes us work harder because if they mow the field we have to clean [the cut grass] it.” As someone who has raked up the dead/cut grass after it has been mowed, along with more than twenty girls it takes at least an hour in the 98+ degree temperatures, it isn’t easy. There is also something wrong with the official scoreboard, but nobody seems to focus on that issue. When the Cougar Claw asked Sandy Aguilar about the scoreboard Sandy replied, “Having to operate the scoreboard when it stops working is embarrassing and sad because I know if it was any other sport, they would have it fixed in no time.” Though, the scoreboard has also been mentioned to staff, due to poor funding nothing has been done. The Kearns High women’s soccer team has clinics to raise money for the team, most of their money goes to bus fees, gear, equipment(etc). If the soccer team had to leave town for either a game or other team experiences, there would most likely be multiple fundraisers and/or clinics. Coach Robison takes the time to do the clinics, while the state does nothing about the poor funding. When the Cougar Claw asked coach Robison about her thoughts on the poor funding Robison said, “it’s not that the staff of Kearns High wants the soccer team to have poor funding, it’s the state that just doesn’t think about us.” Robison also added, “Principal Loo does everything in her power to give the necessary funds to every sport.” Given everything that the state thinks about Kearns they probably just choose not to find as much. Kearns has a stigma around it. Due to this stigma, we get put against other schools with better funding and still come back around to be better than before. Kearns isn’t full of bad people, it’s full of young minds with a great future. We are better and stronger than years before us. Kearns is our home.