Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education,
technology and design.
I'm your host, Mr. Jason.
Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting.
Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories
with an international flavor.
This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok.
Hello and welcome back.
I'm Mr. Jason and I'll be your host.
Our two co-hosts for the first segment will be Chanya and Premi and we are joined by several
special guests from the ICS Varsity Girls Basketball team and one of their coaches.
We've asked them to come in and talk about the topic of what it takes to be a champion.
And for segment two, we'll continue with part five of our story, the secrets of Valdorado.
But first, let's hear our quote of the day and get some headline sports news.
Hey everyone, our quote from the day comes from Patty Burke.
She said, what does it take to be a champion?
Desire, dedication, determination, concentration and the will to win.
This quote emphasizes that being a champion requires a strong desire to succeed as well
as the unwavering dedication to one's goals.
Determination and concentration are key components in achieving greatness, along with a strong
will to win and overcome challenges.
Overall, this message highlights the importance of winning mentally and the relentless drive
to succeed.
And that's our quote of the day.
Now, onto some headline sports news.
Thank you.
Here's some headline sports news from around the world.
Are you ready for the Olympics?
With just over 100 days until the opening ceremony, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will take place
in Paris, France.
There will be 41 venues scattered throughout France, accommodating 41 different sports.
Four additional sporting events have been introduced in these games.
They are skateboarding, surfing, breaking and sport climbing.
The competition will be spread out over 19 days from July 26th to August 11th.
There will be a total of 10,500 participants with the hopes that over a billion people
from around the world will be watching.
For the sake of the Olympics, some of Paris' landmarks have been incorporated into competition
venues in order to put Paris on display for the world to see.
Additionally, the French Development Agency has also partnered with Paris 2024 in order
to form an incubation program that will provide support and funding to 20-some elite athletes
for environmental or entrepreneurship projects.
Before watching the Olympics, you'll have plenty of European football to watch in June.
This year's Euros soccer tournament will be held in Germany where there will be a total
of 24 teams from qualifying countries playing.
As the host nation, Germany will be playing in the opening match in bracket A against
Scotland at the Munich football arena on the 14th of June.
Bracket match play will continue until the finals which will be on the 14th of July at
Berlin's old Olympic Stadium.
There are many prospective winners this year since a number of the teams boast strong performances.
And finally, from the United States, the annual NCAA Division I college basketball tournament,
also known as March Madness, just wrapped up this week with one men's and one women's
national championship team.
The results are in.
For the men, UConn Huskies beat the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60.
And for the women, South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75.
It's worthy to note that South Carolina's women's team had a perfect season this year
winning 38 games with no losses.
Iowa women's overall season record this year was 34-5, led by arguably the league's
most prolific scorer who broke record after record this year, Kaitlyn Clark of Iowa.
She will be heading to the WNBA next year as the number one overall draft pick.
And that ends your headline sports news from around the world.
We are back for our first segment of this episode and we are joined by Coach Mike and
several varsity girls basketball players who just ended their senior basketball season.
They're here to talk with us about the topic of what it takes to be a champion.
Premi will get us started with our first question.
Hello and thank you so much for coming on the show.
Could you please introduce yourself, tell us what grade you're in and what position
you play on the basketball team.
Hi, my name is Proud and I'm in 12th grade.
I am point guard on the basketball team.
Hi, my name is Pun and I'm a senior and I play post and wing.
Hi, my name is Emma and I'm a senior at ICS and I play center, post or whatever you like
to call it.
All right, nice.
And we welcome one of your coaches.
Hello Mr. Mike.
Could you introduce yourself and tell us how long you've been at ICS and what you do?
Yeah, so I've been at ICS for almost 15 years now.
I've been teaching elementary PE during that time and coaching basketball the entire time
as well.
But I haven't coached girls the entire time.
I started coaching girls basketball in 2018.
That's great.
Our next question is for the basketball girls.
Can you share us some of the most memorable moments you've made this past varsity basketball
season and what makes these moments so special?
I have to say the most memorable times for me have been spending time with my teammates
at ACSC in Hong Kong.
Of course, the championship game and winning that was very memorable, but I feel like the
small talks in the rooms at night and just hanging out, having fun and laughing and spending
time together was one of the most memorable times I've spent.
Not just for this season, but for my basketball career in general.
So for me, it's pretty much the same as proud.
The most memorable one would be the ACSC tournament because I think it's the first time that this
batch of girls goes overseas.
So I think it's really exciting for us and we were having a really great time.
And what stuck out to me the most was when we were losing and then nobody gave up and
we decided to keep going and we're getting in this thing together and we're winning this
together.
So that's just one of the most memorable things that I remember from this season.
I think I would definitely have to agree with proud and pun, but if I have to say something
different, I would say that this team really has a way of making anything memorable, whether
that is playing chubby bunny or whether that is crying in our rooms together because we
lost or celebrating a win or eating strawberries on the side of the road.
This team really has a way to make anything a memory that you're going to take with you
forever.
So I think that just the girls on the basketball team are my favorite part of this season and
of the basketball team, just getting to know them and to be really become a family.
Those are definitely such fun and unique, memorable moments.
Okay, our next question is kind of a follow up.
It is, how do you feel you've grown as athletes and individuals over the course of your time
here playing?
I've been playing basketball since like fifth grade, but I've been on the varsity team since
eighth grade.
So it's been quite a long time and I feel like I've grown a lot over this time, especially
because I've seen players before me and how they dealt with the team and especially being
captain, I feel like listening to others and taking what they have to say into account
and making sure that the decisions I make are the best for everyone.
It's not just for this basketball team, but I feel like it's an important skill that I've
learned that will stay with me as I move on to college next year.
So for me, I feel like I've also been in the varsity team for like four years, so I feel
like I also have grown a lot.
I think that I've matured a lot from the past four years because I have to make decisions
on the court and also leading many younger classmates.
And also I'm one of the four seniors this year, so I have to act as somewhat like a
leader to the younger classmates who show them that, oh, this is varsity girls and this
is what we do.
And I feel like as individuals, I feel like I learned how to work as a team and also not
just work alone, but also support other people in my team and also care for them and not
just like making like winning or losing a game, make them feel depressed or feel down,
also to cheer them up as one of the seniors.
That's some of the things that I've learned throughout my season as a basketball player.
I think that if we talk about developing as an athlete in general that goes across many
sports that you've played.
So I've played basketball and volleyball at ICS, and I think that this year being co-captains
with Proud on the volleyball team has taught me to one, be more culturally sensitive because
as a Western athlete, being on a team with Asian athletes tends to be different.
The way that you speak, the way that you address things and the way that you handle situations
like losing, like winning and the way that they respond to that has taught me how to
adjust to where I am now and the culture I am now.
And I think that also helped Proud to adjust to how I speak and how I handle things.
And that really taught me to be more culturally sensitive and that is something that I'm going
to take into university where it might not be as diverse as ICS but will be similar.
So that is a lesson that I definitely take with me.
And also just learning the concept of we over me is something that I've definitely developed
throughout playing sports at ICS that when you lose, you don't just lose as an individual,
you don't pull back and handle it on your own but that you actually take it to your
team and that you lose as a team.
And you also get better as a team.
Something that my volleyball coach told me was that you're as good as the worst player
on your team.
And I think that that is something that I genuinely do take with me and have learned
this year more than anything that you need to build each other up because you cannot
win a game on your own.
Yeah, that's definitely some really valuable insights and advice.
So thank you so much for sharing that.
Our next question is for Mr. Mike.
Just like your players are part of a team, you're also part of a coaching team.
Could you share with us some of the principles of your coaching team?
Absolutely.
So Mr. Jack is the head coach and I'm the assistant coach.
And so within a game, we would maybe be referred to as head coach and bench coach.
And we kind of have two main principles that we use.
The first has to do with communication with the players.
So as head coach, Mr. Jack communicates with the players that are on the court, telling
them what plays are going to run, what defense are going to play and just giving them direction.
While my role as bench coach is to communicate with the players that are out of the game,
the ones that are on the bench, making sure that if they're going in the game, they know
what they need to be doing.
The ones that come out trying to correct mistakes if mistakes were made, if corrections need
to be made.
And so that's the first principle that we use this related to communication.
The second principle has to do with our roles as head coach and bench coach as well, where
Mr. Jack is keeping track of what's going on in the game and choosing what strategies
we're going to use.
My role on the bench is to also keep track of fouls and make sure that he knows who's
in foul trouble, both on our team and on the other team.
And also just paying attention to the game when I'm not communicating with players on
the bench.
And then at the right moments, if I feel the need to say something to him, to give him
my perspective on how things are working, then I share that with him as well.
Those two roles come together a little bit during timeouts and in between quarters.
At that time when all the team is together, we sometimes will take turns talking to the
team and sharing the perspectives and things that we're seeing, things that we think are
going well, things that we think need to improve.
And so there we kind of have things blended together.
But I think that it's really important for us as coaches to have clear principles and
clear roles that we use because it helps us make sure that we don't have conflict with
each other during the game and to make sure that things run as smoothly as possible.
Yeah, for sure.
Here's a follow up question.
We're curious.
Does the coaching team have to adapt each season because the girls basketball team dynamics
change each year?
You know, like for instance, some girls would graduate and move on and then some new players
come on to the team.
Definitely.
So with this group of seniors that's graduating this year, we lose a lot of our post size,
a lot of our rebounding, a lot of our defense by the rim.
And looking at the players that we'll have next year, we're going to have a lot shorter
team overall.
And I think it's really important as coaches not to choose the system you're going to run
and stick to it no matter what, but make sure that the strengths of your players are accounted
for.
And so already looking at next year, we think that we're going to have to change the way
we play and we're going to have to try and run fast, go faster and play a more up tempo
game because we're not going to have size to play a half court game quite as much.
And so it's definitely important and something that we take into consideration every single
year.
This next question goes back to the girls and it's about your coaches.
We know Mr. Jack couldn't be in the studio with us today, but Mr. Mike is here.
So could you share a piece of advice you received from your coaches that had a significant impact
on you, not only as a player, but as a person as well?
The piece of advice that meant a lot to me this year that I actually received from coach
Mike was to let go of the things that you can't control because the only thing that
you can control is how you act on those things and respond to those things.
That is a piece of advice that I'll take with me into many things and not just sports.
I think that that is a super valuable thing to learn for anyone is that the thing that's
in control is how you react with that is in life when maybe somebody does something to
you or something happens in your life, you can't control what somebody else does.
You can't control in a game what a referee does and you can't control the things that
happen to you in life.
However, you can control what you do and your response to that.
So I think that was really valuable to me this ACSE tournament as I wasn't playing
my best basketball.
I was able to instead of getting super upset about that to respond with being able to support
my teammates and to contribute in different ways.
So one of the many advices that Mr. Jack and Mr. Mind have said throughout the season was
that to have fun while you're playing on the court and not care a lot about winning because
winning doesn't matter and it doesn't mean the world.
It's not like the world is ending or anything but just enjoy your game of basketball because
that's what you love.
I feel like that's really important because like as in my usual daily life, I like to
put pressure on myself and I feel like putting pressure on myself every day is not a good
thing and it's not healthy.
So I decided to enjoy whatever life I'm experiencing and also enjoy like whatever events that have
come up during my path and also like enjoy everything in my life so that I don't regret
it.
Yeah, so that's one of the many advices that I learned.
For me, this advice was given by Coach Jack actually to the whole team at a tournament
when we weren't playing so well.
He was talking about how opportunities in life, they come in and they go and we just
need to like learn how to make the most out of these opportunities because the team this
year is actually like really good team.
It's like one of the best teams I've played on but when we're not playing our best, we
can look like the worst team I've been on.
So when Mr. Jack said this, he was actually really mad but like I took it in a good way
and I just thought of how like what he was saying was really true and it also applied
to other parts of my life.
When he said that like opportunities will come in and they will go out and we just have
to make the most out of them, I thought of like my college application process as well
and what I'll be doing in like university next year and so I just really thought like
that this advice is really valuable because it really like means a lot because like when
these opportunities come in and you don't make the most of them, they'll just go out
and it'll be like nothing happened but if you're able to like make something out of
it, that's when like better things will keep coming in your life.
So I really like that value this advice that Mr. Jack gave this year.
Thank you so much for sharing and that is definitely some great and valuable advice.
Here's another question for the girls.
Communication chemistry is crucial in basketball.
Can you talk about how your team has worked together this season to overcome challenges
and obstacles?
I think the basketball team this year hasn't changed much from last year.
We only lost one senior last year so it was not too hard to get back into the team once
the season started but there were still a few problems that happened within the team
and so I feel like a lot of it is just communication and spending a lot of time together and I
think supporting each other even though this might sound a little bit cliche but like even
though we're not best friends, we're a family and like sometimes family don't like each
other but like that's fine.
You just have to like deal with it and move on and you still love each other and you still
want the best for each other but sometimes it might come out in the wrong way and so
you just have to like know how to deal with it and move on with it and I think we had
a really fun season this year with the group of girls we had and yeah I really enjoyed
it because of like the love and like the bond we were able to create within the season.
For me I feel like most of our girls we're really close on and off of the court because
we've been together for like several seasons like me, Prowl and Emma have been together
like for four years and I feel like we know each other weaknesses and strengths and I
feel like that is why we tend to play really well together and also we had a lot of practice
and a lot of like off season practice and like we can practice so I feel like because
of these practices we tend to grow as a team and we know how like how we play with each
other best so that's why our team chemistry is like really good this year and it has been
like like the best like one of the best girls that I've played with my entire life so yeah.
I think that sometimes some of our biggest challenges and obstacles were ourselves and
the way that we viewed our own game play and how we viewed the team so I think that a lot
of pressure was put on us by ourselves I think that our coaches definitely yes put some of
this pressure because of how good we were this year and how we had definitely had a
big chance to win but I think that when the tournament day came the most pressure came
from ourselves and so a really big obstacle that we had to overcome as a team was the
one loss we had at ACSC if we had not lost that we would only have two games the next
day but when we did lose we had four more games to play one that same day and three
the next day so this loss was really hard on us and our team actually kind of divided
after this loss and it was really hard and we even had a point where we were like we're
never coming back from this but that afternoon we all came together and we just spent time
together we cried together that evening we talked and we figured it all out but that
is just something like proud says that you do as a family like you all know each other's
weaknesses and strengths and so you know how to use that for other positive things and
negative things which is why we sometimes clash and sometimes didn't but we all came
together that night and we talked through how we were feeling and how we wanted to move
forward from this and so I think that surely that evening with the team being able to be
vulnerable like that together is the reason that we won ACSC.
Thank you so much for sharing and actually Emma what you said kind of connects to the
next question that we have and knowing that you guys won a recent tournament which is
a huge huge milestone could you talk about the recent tournament you won and what it
was like to play that many games in such a short time and then come out as the champions?
Well first physically playing that many games is awful we had a massage gun and spray at
the ready on the bench and afterwards so everyone was limping to the airport at the end but
at least we had a trophy in hand so that was good however it is also mentally exhausting
to play that many games to just every before every game be mentally ready to play and to
well not just play but also to be there to support your teammates whether you're on the
bench whether you're on the court and to be able to handle the pressure that comes from
your teammates the crowd your coaches it is mentally exhausting as well however of course
winning ACSC makes that all worth it but yeah it is super exhausting to do that I think
many athletes know that playing many games in a day is tiring but especially after losing
a game you didn't expect to lose it becomes even more exhausting and more of a mental
battle which we had to overcome.
So I feel like it's really pressuring and nerf-racking because we have to win every
game and there's no other options rather than winning we cannot lose because if we lose
a game then there's no opportunity for us to get back up so after losing that game with
grace everybody was feeling really down and we kind of lost a little bit of hope but then
after our talk our team talked during the evening we feel like everybody's not ready
to give up yet and that's why the next day we kind of give everything in and put in our
best efforts and that is why we win the ACSC.
I think playing ACSC was a very unique experience because of how both like like Pan and Emma
said physically demanding and mentally demanding it is it's of course very physically demanding
because you're playing like three four games a day when like even professional players
they don't play that many games in one day but it's also very physically demanding because
of like the things that are going on all around you there's a part of you that's at the basketball
tournament and your mind is there but there's also a part of you that's back in Bangkok
thinking about like the classes you're missing the tests you're missing and like you're skipping
like four days of school which is like not easy already and then there's also like the
part of you that like you're in another country with like a bunch of your close friends you
just want to have fun you just want to go hang out just want to enjoy the nice weather
go out and eat some good food but then at the same time you really want to win and like
it's just a bunch of emotions and with the game that Pan and Emma have been talking about
that we lost we actually lost by two points to Grace which made it all a lot harder because
of how close it was and how we all knew that like we could have won that game but some
mistakes here and there just didn't like made us lose the game and all of us knew that it's
still possible but it would be hard and all of us would have to give it our all both both
physically and mentally and right now we're talking about like four days into our tournament
and we've played like six games maybe something like that a bunch of games already all our
physical strength and also our mental strength it was all dwindling and like we're all very
tired and with this tournament I just think that it was a great experience but it was
also very tiring and it also taught me a lot of things along the way thank you so much
again for sharing and I think like a lot of times like we'd see in chapel that like you
guys won like or ACSC but like we wouldn't know how much effort or like all the obstacles
that like went into going to that and Pan you're right like that pressure must be crazy
like you only have to win all the games that you're playing on all in one day to it right
and then or like the close score I was watching I remember like watching that game in JCH out
I remember watching it it was like like you were like like like Grace was winning and then
you were winning and it just like went on and on yeah that's crazy so thank you so so much
for sharing I think it's like we understand a lot more now or like what goes into that
and it must be so so pressuring so a shout out to you guys for doing all of that and
still winning and here's one more question for the girls before we ask Mr. Mike the same
question what advice would you give to younger athletes who aspire to pursue a varsity sport
during their high school career so a piece of advice that I would give to younger athletes
is don't give up I know that sounds cliche because people always tell you to never give
up but I genuinely mean it whether it is you don't make the team the first time you dry
out or the second time or the third time it is okay I think that all three of us have
experienced some sort of failure some maybe not getting as much playing time or not making
the team or feeling like you're working so hard and not getting what you deserve on the
court and just the approval from your coaches however I truly encourage you to keep going
because it does get better I promise you coaches will start to see your hard work you will
get to playing time that you deserve and you will begin to see that the work that you're
putting in is coming out and you're gonna see results so yeah I genuinely think that
that's a piece of advice that I would like to give to younger athletes once you made
it to the team I think one of the advice that I want to give younger athletes is that put
in your best efforts because when you prove to the coaches that you deserve being on the
team you kind of have to show that you really deserve to be here and just kind of be eager
to always play to always come to practices and put like dedicate your time into practicing
and like practice and like training and all that because because you have like this one
shot to prove yourself that you deserve to be a part of the varsity team so you kind
of have to have like some dedication and also enjoy every moment you play on the court during
a game because you only get one one shot to like perform your best so not not like one
shot like just get your chance to shine so I feel like you have to enjoy every bit of
moment you have on the court because because you enjoy basketball you love basketball and
that's why I have to show that through your performance so that is just some of the advice
I want to give so my advice is kind of two things connected to each other first I
wanted to say that like it's never too late to try something new so if you want to try
out a sport it doesn't have to be varsity it could be like club sports or something
that just go and try it out and the second part of my advice would be to be really coachable
be willing to listen when other people who are better than you tell you like give you
advice and like be ready to ask questions and like Emma and Pun said like it's not
easy when you're on like varsity team but if you don't think you're getting what you
deserve be ready to ask questions and so you can figure out what you need to work on it's
never really too late to try something new but when you do start it give it your all
and like be ready to learn not go there with the mentality of like you already know what
you're doing so yeah like just listen to others and ask a lot of questions and there's nothing
you can't do if you like really put your mind to it so yeah.
Great I would just like to add one thing a story about my first time I got flanks I'm
on the varsity team so when I was a freshman I made the team full-time for the first time
and I remember it was a really good team it had glory Caroline some of the best players
that this program has seen and it was the finals of the NIST tournament and I don't
know why coach Jack decided to put me in during that game but he put me in and I stood on
the court and Caroline was passing in the ball and I was wide open so she gave me the
ball and I turned around and I started dribbling the opposite direction towards the other team's
basket and this I was wondering why no one was coming to guard me but I quickly understood
why Mr. Jack yelled my name and told me to stop so I dropped the ball it went out of
bounds and I got subbed back out right away that was my first experience on the varsity
team and now my last year and last year I've been playing full games scoring points and
really making a contribution to the team so genuinely I encourage you indeed to not give
up because it really really does get better and the more longer that you stay on the team
the more it's gonna pay off.
I love that I feel like this whole episode we've just had like great advice after great
advice. Okay and finally Mr. Mike as a coach what advice would you share with younger athletes
who want to join the varsity women's basketball team at some point?
What I would say is really a bit of a combination of some of the things the girls have already
said which is hard work the effort that you put in is noticed the coaches see it the other
players see it they see how hard you work they see whether you're working hard or whether
you're not and that's something that will serve you well in life. Certainly if you're
trying to make the basketball team it's my advice for you but it's a character trait
that's going to serve you well beyond the basketball court so first is working hard
and then I would also say like Proud said is being coachable that's huge as a coach
when I have players that listen to me when I have players that are willing to take my
advice and try and do the things that I think will help them it really makes a big difference
and to kind of put those things together I think it's really important in that hard
work don't just play basketball during the basketball season you know if you've never
played before that's the place to start try and make the basketball team but playing
basketball in the offseason is really really valuable and that's really the best place
for you to work on your individual skills so I would encourage you to set a smart goal
for yourself it doesn't have to be big or complicated but it anything something something
that gives you a goal something that gives you something to aim for and then discipline
yourself to stick to it I think you'll find that that really will have a big impact by
doing those things and it will help you become a better basketball player and and that's
going to be something that will help your chances of making a varsity team in the future
all right thank you so much for joining us again and thank you so much for that great
advice and for telling us all about the stories thank you so much again at that end segment
one of this episode thanks again for taking time to come on our podcast and share some
of your own personal thoughts on the topic of what it takes to be a champion and thanks
for providing our listeners with some valuable advice and insights as the principles learned
can go far beyond just sports okay stick around as we continue with part five of our story
in our second segment part five is titled the secret society we'll be right back after
the short PSA attention all ACSC girls soccer players and fans the tournaments have already
started from Wednesday April 10th to Saturday April 13th teams from across Asia will battle
it out for the coveted championship title come cheer for our ics eagles show school
spirit and witness some of the most skillful and exciting soccer matches you'll ever see
whether you're a soccer fanatic or just looking for a good time this tournament is not to
be missed so mark your calendars gather your friends and get ready to experience the thrill
of ACSC girls soccer at its finest for the last part of our PSA join us from Thursday
April 25th to Saturday April 27th for our tri sports tournament at ICS tri sports are
a test of endurance determination and skills our students have been training hard to showcase
their abilities for all of you so grab your friends wear your school colors and come cheer
on our athletes as they play volleyball basketball and soccer let's create a fun and energetic
atmosphere to motivate our athletes and celebrate their accomplishments your cheers and encouragement
can make a world of difference in their performance see you at the tri sports event and let's
show our school spirit together we are back for our second segment and we continue with
part five titled the secret society this is part five of the larger story titled the secrets
of El Dorado but first Chania will give us a quick recap of part four from our last episode
in the last episode the team delves into the area's history uncovering legends and stories
that suggest a pattern of mysteries while they were exploring the past the team also
found a connection between the past events and the current disappearance suspicion and
tension rise as some members start to suspect professor Hawthorne thank you Chania and without
further ado let's dive back into our story where we join Ava Lily Sierra Ethan and the
professor once again
we find Ethan and the professor on Rob's Peak as they have discovered something on
the video from the drone Ethan had flown into the first mine location they were exploring
together they are both looking down at the drone footage on the tablet Ethan is holding
Ethan blurs is all professor is that what I think it is yes it looks like it the professor
responds the drone's high-definition camera had captured something etched into one of
the side walls in the mine shaft right to the left of the sealed off vertical shaft
this was the same place the professor was standing for a few moments before the drone
caught up with him professor Hawthorne says as he looks up at Ethan I couldn't see that
symbol etched in the rock wall when I was there it looks to be quite an old etching
not very deep into the rock and very faint and small in appearance it looks really old
and it also looks similar in the style to the Chinese symbols on both the note and the
manuscript either replies it looks at the same style of Chinese character that's on
the note from each end and in that old manuscript you have the professor nods his head in agreement
as he says yes it does Ethan speaking out loud the professor says the camera on that
drone must be super sensitive to be able to capture those small details if we had cell
service out here we could look up the meaning of that symbol I bet it comes from the same
cipher chart as the other symbols professor Hawthorne asked Ethan to save the image to
his device and suggest they make their way to the second and third mine sites before
the day gets away from them the professor looks at Ethan and says all right buddy hope
you are ready for some rugged trails the paths to the second and third mines are not easily
accessible as the professor turns around and gestures to Ethan to follow him he says but
hey it's part of our adventure today Ethan takes a deep breath and thanks to himself
great don't think I signed up for this type of event of adventure today though the two
move further into the rugged mountain terrain towards the second mine which is on the west
side of the mountain and at a slightly lower elevation from the current location about
20 minutes later the two reach a clearing on the west side of the mountain and take
a quick break to catch their breath eat a snack and drink some water the professor looks
over at Ethan who is finding a place to sit down and says the elevation can get you if
you're not used to it we need to stay hydrated as well the professor notices Ethan digging
around in his backpack for his trail mix as he continues the second mine is just over
that small ledge beyond the clump of trees we are almost there maybe another 5-10 minutes
max once we get there I'll check it out again and see if the front metal gate is open the
entrance of the mine is usually closed up and locked up I'm not sure I'll have access
to it like the first mine I guess we'll see when we get there Ethan is snugging on some
trail mix he made at the cafe while listening to the professor talk about the plan for the
second mine shaft if it's alright with you professor I'll just stay outside the mine
and test my drone again I want to gather some data at this altitude and get some more footage
of this side of the mountain sounds good okay let's get going the professor says as he
turns and starts walking in that direction as Ethan is standing up and staring at the
wall he hears a ding from his phone he thinks to himself oh sales service must reach this
side of the mountain from the valley below good I can check to see what the symbol stands
for from that old Chinese holographic color sheet I found online and I can check out my
cafe to see how things are going hopefully sales are up after a few minutes the two reach
the second mine site professor Hawthorne steps up to the entrance of the mine something that
can't be seen from the rough trail because of the un-overgrown underbrush as he pushes
his way through the underbrush the professor turns his head and shouts back to Ethan who
is following him yep just like I thought looks like the gate is shut and padlocked oh wait
the padlock is either broken or it's been cut hmm that's interesting Ethan looks up
as he brushes some dirt and thorns off his pants and says that doesn't seem normal maybe
some tourists got a little carried away yeah definitely is not normal not many people know
about this site especially the tourists and not many people want to hike all this way
anyway well I'm gonna go walk into the mine a little ways with my flashlight and see what
I can see you wait out here is I'll only be a few minutes if my memory serves me right
this mine is not very deep so I won't be but a few minutes as the professor removes
the broken padlock opens the metal gate and enters the mine Ethan gets on his tablet and
checks if there's cell coverage he discovered there is a weak coverage but just enough to
retrieve the image of the telegraphic code chart he saved to his cloud storage device
as he pulls up the code chart he notices that the symbol he and the professor found in the
first one translate as a minus symbol Ethan makes a mental note of it and then see the
notification pop up on his tablet the notification is from his custom tracking software that
is connected to the tracking devices that he was testing earlier interesting intending
to himself as he pulls up the tracking software app on his tablet because the coverage is
so terrible at this location the high resolution map he's using in the software is loading
very slowly he taps his fingers on the tablet as he patiently waits come on come on Ethan
says softly as he watches the map slowly load on the screen meanwhile professor Hawthorne
makes his way down the narrow mine shaft of the second mine site turning on his flashlight
as the passageway gets darker and darker as the professor is looking down at the ground
so as not to stumble on any loose rocks or other debris he notices footprints to in some
of the softer areas of the path he makes a mental note of it and keeps moving the professor
comes to a y intersection in the mine shaft there's an option to veer left on the path
or veer right on the path both of these paths lead deeper into the mountain and the professor
is not equipped to go any further so he decides to turn around and head back out of the mine
as he is turning he flashes his flashlight on the rock walls and right away notices the
same symbol etched into the wall that Ethan had discovered with his drone in the first
mine they explored the professor pulls out his phone and takes a photo of it before walking
back out of the mine and back out the gate and broken padlock as the professor exits
the mine he yells out to Ethan who's standing a little distance away hey Ethan I found another
one of those symbols sketched into the rock it looks like the same symbol we found at
the first mine the professor walks over to Ethan and shows him the photo he took of the
symbol and asks so what do you think it's the same symbol right Ethan replies yeah that's
the same symbol while you were in there I was able to get a weak cell signal I pulled
the telegraphic coding chart to see if that symbol was listed and sure enough the symbol
appears to translate to the minus sign so what was the first mine and the second mine
have the symbol carved into the wall of the shaft and they are both closed in proximity
to the entrance of the mine Ethan could tell the professor was thinking by the expression
the professor had on his face while Ethan was talking so even as what is it what are
you thinking about I think that symbol actually translates to negative even though the telegraphic
code chart has it listed as the minus sign I believe it's like a marker or message and
it means negative you know the opposite of positive I think it's a sign that communicates
to anyone who comes into the mine that this mine produced negative results the professor
goes on as Ethan listens so my assumption is that there was no gold found in this mine
similar to the first one by this time and Ethan into professor's conversation Ethan
noticed that the map had loaded on his tablet and Ethan said it gets even more weird check
this out Ethan went on to explain to the professor that he stuck one of his small paperclip tracking
devices in Lily's backpack as she left the cafe yesterday he goes on according to the
software I built for my small tracking devices it works up here as well the tracking software
is showing that Lily's backpack is located at the reservoir the Ethan finishes the last
part of his statement as somewhat of a question although this other dot on the map here is
us this is the device that's on the old manuscript you brought with us Ethan says this very excitedly
as he is very pleased in the range and power the small tracking devices contain the professor
looks up from his phone after finding he has weak cell service and says okay well maybe
the trio decided to go check out the second set of coordinates they did take a photo of
Chen's note yesterday before leaving the cafe I mean if Ava is a journalist at the
Sacramento Bee then she's probably doing some investigating herself the professor continues
it's getting late so let's go check out that third mine site I don't want to be hiking
out here in the dark he points toward the direction they need to go and says it's actually
not far from here maybe about a 10 minute hike mines two and three are much closer in
proximity together than mine one Ethan grabs his gear and follows the professor as they
head south toward the third mine site as they are walking Ethan asks the professor so professor
what do you think this all means the professor stops for a moment takes off one of his hiking
shoes and as he is shaking out several small pebbles from his shoe he says I'm not sure
yet what this all means I mean all of it seems to be connected in some way at least the evidence
seems to be revealing that to us in these types of moments I try to stick to my archaeological
principle which is to allow the evidence to point us to the truth and hopefully it will
help us solve whatever mystery we've stumbled upon especially with the disappearance of
Chen oh that reminds me when we get back to town I need to stop in at the county sheriff's
office and file a missing persons report about Chen and notify them about the broken padlock
and the footprints I discovered at the second mine site several minutes later the professor
and Ethan arrive at the third mine site this site is different from the other two in that
the entrance is larger in size and the mineshaft seems to be wider and taller than the previous
two Ethan looks over to the professor and says since there's no gate and padlock on this
mine why don't you let me fly the drone into the shaft and see how far it goes that should
save you from having to walk in there again we can just sit outside the entrance of the
mine and study the drone footage the professor responds yeah good idea my feet hurt anyways
plus the drone can cover more ground and faster the professor glances up and watches as the
drone whizzes over his head toward the entrance of the mine and then watches as it disappears
into the black hole in the mount several minutes later he hears Ethan yell out hey professor
I found something check this out Ethan sends his drone into the mineshaft about 100 yards
similar in distance of what he had done for the first mineshaft Ethan switches back and
forth between regular infrared and black light mode on his camera he's trying to capture
as many features as possible Ethan birds out and there it is another civil edge into the
rock and it also appears there are about three different directions the shaft leads they
all slope down toward the center of the mountain Ethan could not send his drone down any of
the three shafts as he seated not wanting the connection to be interrupted between his
tablet and the drone he was unsure of the distance and didn't want to risk losing his
drone and the connection broke so he flew the drone back out and denied it safety at
his and the professor's feet right outside the entrance the professor asked Ethan so
is the symbol the camera captured the same as what we saw in the first and second mines
no it's different Ethan answers Ethan pulls up the code chart again and finds the symbol
on the code chart look at this the symbol from the third mine translates to the plus
symbol the professor interrupts and says yes and no Ethan yes it's a plus symbol but it
translates to positive that's what that means the first and second mine sites indicate a
negative and the third mine site indicates a positive this kind of makes sense then I'm
thinking out loud here as I'm making some assumptions from our findings but it's quite
possible that the reason there are only three mines on this mountain is because the third
mine was dug was the mine that ended up producing all the gold so why dig more mines if you
don't have to I mean back then and at that time remember this is back in 1849 digging
a mine was hard and laborious work if they struck gold veins in the rock in this third
mine then why dig a fourth or fifth or sixth if you didn't have to right right that makes
sense Ethan replies professor there's something else in the video that you might want to look
at I switched back and forth between several camera features regular infrared and black
light mode well when the camera was on the black light mode it picked up some features
in the rock at the entrance to the first inner shaft I didn't fly the drone into any of
the free inner shafts but at the entrance there seem to be some features or element
in the rock that stands out it doesn't appear to be rock as the professor is looking at
the video of what Ethan is talking about he reaches into his side pants pocket and pulls
out a pocket knife and tells Ethan wait here and I'll be right back I need to scrape off
a sample whatever substance is in that rock I've not seen that before the professor walks
into the mine with a small empty snack baggie he got from Ethan's backpack his pocket knife
and his flashlight about seven minutes later the professor emerges from the mine entrance
the sun already starting to go down holds up the baggie which contains small shards
of what looked like an off-white substance and says Ethan we have an interesting discovery
here that I have not seen before on any of my past digs it kind of looks like salt I
scraped some samples from the rock wall the best I could do with my pocket knife but it
should be enough to get it tested at the lab and see what it is it's getting dark and we
need to hike back
Ethan and Professor Hawthorne seem to have discovered something interesting meanwhile
at 7 p.m. Ava meets Sierra at her house and is ready for their own adventure Sierra greets
Ava with a smile before they drive to the reservoir where the coordinates had pointed
to Sierra is driving an Ava Sitch shotgun blasting pop music all while helping Sierra
navigate a little over an hour three playlists and 23 sounds later they reached the reservoir
that's interesting Sierra says pointing to the cars parked as they pull up to the reservoir
spill dam which is situated on the southwest side of the reservoir it's pretty late wouldn't
tourists have left already Ava frowns a little you're right Sierra hmm I wonder why they
don't think too much of it parking Sierra's car a distant away from the group of other
cars parked near the walkway that goes over the dam after they get out of the car and
approach the walkway over the dam they walk past a group of cars Ava notices that several
cars had governmental license plates this made her very curious and she pointed this
out to Sierra as they walk past the cars out of instinct Ava snaps a few photos of the
license plates thinking to herself you never know these photos could be helpful when Ava
points out the license plates to Sierra Sierra's eyes widen you're right Ava Ava responds
just to be safe I took a few photos they could come in handy or they could be used as evidence
or they could just be part of our entrance policy if something were to happen Sierra
shoots Ava a weird and worried look good call I guess I mean I hope we are not in danger
Sierra nods before pointing to the walkway on top of the dam let's go explore that part
oh yeah we should Ava says as they start walking in that direction she continues remember coming
here in high school and just hang out with our friends those are good times over yep
best hangout spot Sierra smiles closing her eyes as she thinks back to the good old high
school days with that Ava and Sierra make their way up to the walkway over the dam chatting
about old classmates and teachers on either side of the dam there were small concrete
buildings with small half windows these buildings have a steel door usually locked and the building
house controls switches and a small office area that is used for operations and maintenance
of the dam this reservoir provides water to the valleys surrounding this area and the
dam controls the flow of the water at different times of the year suddenly Ava spots a light
coming from one of the small half windows of the closest maintenance building up to
the parking lot it's not terribly bright but Ava thinks it's unusual for it to be on at
this time of the night she's never seen workers here at this time in the past Ava stops abruptly
as they're walking Sierra notices this and follows Ava's line of sight she could also
swear she heard something so she asks Ava did you hear that hear what Ava asks you can't
Sierra says repeating the words she hears in a hushed tongue hear listen I don't think
so that's even more risky Ava nods yeah yeah I can now but not so clearly let's get closer
with that the two girls inch closer towards the half window which is open though they're
careful not to make too much noise in case someone heard them they listened for a few
more minutes but the voices had become fainter and fainter until even Sierra herself couldn't
hear anything hmm Sierra mutters underneath her breath wishing there was a way for them
to be able to eavesdrop glancing around Sierra spots a small wooden picnic table she nods
to Ava to help her and they both quickly picked a small table up and move it close to the
window the window sat higher on the side of the building and the two girls could not see
into it without having something to stand on the two girls climb on top of the picnic
table and try to peek in through the window opening they see four or five people gathered
around the table maybe three men and two women they couldn't see very clearly because the
window was dirty and cloudy and wasn't open the entire way but they could hear their voices
very clearly now Ava quickly takes out her phone and opens a voice recording app she
and Sierra are standing there together at the open window listening to the conversation
happening inside this is about to get interesting Sierra sees Ava's recording app open and
gives her a thumbs up together they hear and record the following conversation don't do
that that's not smart we might get caught the first man says as he sit in a way at the
table so his face is turned towards the open window right that's true or you know we could
just do away with them make them disappear make it look like an accident a second voice
brings out deeper this time the first man responds what you mean then he gestures making
a horizontal cut across his neck with his finger what do you think I meant the second
voice says or we could deport them the boy and the girl they're not citizens are they
get their visas revoked and then threaten their families a third voice says and she
sounds more collected and measured that's smart but there's no guarantee they won't
slip up after some time we can't have that the first voice or the second voice Sierra's
not too sure how could anyone find out and what if someone else finds out what are we
going to do then this is the first voice Sierra sure his voice went out several octaves higher
stop stop panicking you fools I'll tell you what to do with the foreign boy and girl Sierra's
eyebrows angled and she exchanged puzzled glances with Ava she could have sworn she heard that
voice before it was a little too familiar Sierra could tell that both her and Ava were thinking
the same thing at that moment which was could they be talking about Chen and who's the girl
they are talking about at that moment the corner of the small picnic table snaps off with a loud
crack from the weight of the two girls standing on it neither Sierra nor Ava knew that the side
of the tabletop was partially rotten when they decided to stand on it
that ends part five of the secrets of El Dorado we are halfway through our story with five
more parts to go again if you missed any other previous parts you can go back and listen
to those anytime starting with episode 55 tune in next episode as we continue with part
six titled the underground network
as we end this episode we again would like to thank several of the girls varsity basketball
team members and coach Mike for joining us on this segment and talking about what it
takes to be a champion and as always this podcast would not be possible without the
hard work and support of our international student production team all music and sound
effects are courtesy of pixabay.com a vibrant community of creatives sharing copyright free
images videos and music and we are signing off until next time we are students incorporated
because your voice matters