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 FITNESS FITNESS 

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HEALTHY LIVINGHEALTHY LIVING

Mountain View News Saturday, June 28, 2025

SIERRA MADRE GIRLS SOFTBALL ALL-STAR TEAMS CONTINUE TO SHINE AS MULTIPLE TEAMS 
QUALIFY FOR STATE TOURNAMENT AND 10U GOLD ALL STARS WIN NORTHERN DISTRICT 
CHAMPIONSHIP 

J

 SMGSA's All-Star teams have continued 
their strong play with multiple tournament 
wins and qualifying for the USA Softball 
State Tournament. 

The 10U Silver team coached by Josh Meza 
won the Pride of the Foothills Tournament 
in Glendora for its first tournament win of 
the All-Star Season. The 10U Silver Team 
then qualified for the C-State Tournament 
in Lancaster with a strong showing at the 
Northern District Championship. SMGSA's 
14U team coached by Clement Chung also 
qualified for the C-State Tournament in 
Lancaster. The 12U Gold Team coached 
by Myles Meeden qualified for the B-State 
Tournament in Irvine with an impressive 
2nd Place finish in the Northern District 
Championship. 

The 10U Gold Team coached by Chris Bates 
followed up its Tournament win in San Clemente 
by winning the Temecula Old Town 
Shoot-Out. The team has also qualified for the B-State Tournament by winning the 
Northern District Championship in undefeated fashion. This is the first time in 6 years a team from Sierra Madre 
has won the 10U B Northern District Championship. 

The 10U Gold Team, known as the Maniacs, won the Championship game by defeating Glendora 5-0. Brooklyn 
Wiele threw a complete game shutout, and was helped by amazing defensive plays by Giselle Luna, Abigail Sanchez, 
and Presley Staley. The offense was led by Molly Stearns, Grace Martin and Olivia Loya, who each had two 
hits, and Kira Mora and Petra Bragiel, who had one hit each. Victoria Moreno was the winning pitcher in the first 
game of the Tournament and Mikayla Tejeda's baserunning was a key reason why the team won in extra innings 
against Pasadena. Finally, Sarah Bates caught every inning of the tournament and turned an impressive double 
play in extra innings against Pasadena. This team has put together an impressive run and has won a total of four 
tournaments. 

Want to join in on the fun? Registration for the Fall Softball Season for 6U to 14U divisions will open on July 1, 
2025 at smaga.org.

For more information, visit smgsa.org and follow SMGSA on Instagram @sierramadregirlssoftball and Facebook 
@sierramadregirlssoftballassociation.


Above: 12U @nd Place 
Districts

Above: 10U Northern Champions

Left: 10U Meza Glendora


Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness 

professional who offers semi-private/virtual fitness 
classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit.
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness.

SECOND TIME AROUND

UNLOCK YOUR LIFE


Lori A. Harris

MOVING FROM IMPOSSIBLE TO 
POSSIBLE

Starting an exercise program for the very first time is hard. But 
for many people, starting again after stopping feels even harder. 
Whether you took a break because of an injury, illness, a busy 
schedule, or just lost your motivation, getting back into a routine 
can be more difficult than you expected. You might remember 
how far you had come before, and now you feel like you're 
back at square one. That feeling can stop you before you even 
get started.

There are real reasons why returning to exercise feels harder. It’s 
not your imagination, and it’s not because you’re lazy. It has to 
do with the way we think, the emotions we feel, and how our 
bodies change when we stop moving for a while.

One big reason is because now you have something to compare 
yourself to—your past self. If you used to be able to lift a certain 
weight, run a certain distance, or finish a workout without getting 
tired, it can be frustrating when you can't do those things 
anymore. Your mind remembers what you could do before, but 
your body isn’t there yet. That can lead to disappointment or 
even embarrassment, even if no one else is judging you.

Another reason starting over feels harder is that people often blame themselves for quitting or taking 
time off, even when it wasn’t their fault. Those feelings don’t help you move forward. In fact, they can 
make you avoid exercise altogether because you don’t want to be reminded of what you “lost.”

There’s also “all-or-nothing” thinking. When people believe that if they can’t do everything perfectly, 
they might as well do nothing. So instead of doing a short, easy workout, they skip it because it doesn’t 
feel like enough. This kind of thinking can keep you stuck, especially after a break.

It’s also common to feel nervous about starting again. You may worry about getting injured, feeling 
sore, or failing. You might wonder if you’ll be able to stick with it this time. Those doubts are normal, 
but they can hold you back if you don’t deal with them.

And then there’s the physical side. When you stop exercising for a while, your muscles get weaker, 
your heart and lungs lose some of their fitness, and your body becomes less efficient. This can happen 
in just a few weeks. So when you come back to exercise, it’s normal to feel slower, weaker, or more 
tired. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It just means your body needs time to rebuild.

When restarting your fitness routine remember you are not starting from zero. You still have the 
knowledge, experience, and understanding you gained before. That gives you a head start.

Instead of trying to pick up where you left off, treat your return like a fresh beginning. Start small. 
Focus on building consistency, not performance. That means it’s better to do short workouts regularly 
than to push yourself too hard and risk burnout or injury.

Don’t compare yourself to how you used to be. You’ve been through something and you’re coming 
back, which takes courage. Focus on the path ahead, not the path behind.

Set simple goals you can achieve right away. It could be a 10-minute walk every day, doing a few 
stretches in the morning, or trying one fitness class a week. The goal is to rebuild the habit and feel 
successful, not to prove anything to yourself or anyone else.

Also, pay attention to how your body feels now, not how it felt before. Your body is always changing, 
and that’s okay. Go at your own pace. Rest when you need to. Celebrate small wins. Progress might feel 
slow at first, but it adds up over time.

If you feel nervous about getting back into a gym or class, start at home. There are plenty of free videos 
online and remote classes for all levels of fitness. You can also go for walks, bike, or play outside with 
your kids or pets. Anything that gets your body moving counts.

And finally, be kind to yourself. There is no perfect way to exercise. You don’t have to earn your way 
back or make up for lost time. Life happens, and breaks are part of the process. What matters is that 
you’re ready to begin again.

So if you’ve been thinking about returning to fitness, take the first small step today. Don’t wait until 
you feel “ready.” Just move a little, and then do it again tomorrow. It may feel hard at first, but it gets 
easier with each step. And soon, you’ll be back in motion—stronger in more ways than one.

I came across this powerful true story and wanted to share it with 
you… George Danzig was a grad student in mathematics at a time 
when jobs were very, very difficult to get in the United States.

His math professor, who was the head of the mathematics department, 
said to the grad students that whoever got the best grade on 
the final had the opportunity to be hired as his research assistant for 
the next year.

That job was a plum job. Everybody wanted the job. George said that he studied so hard for that 
test that he was up until the middle of the night and overslept and was actually late to the test.

But he got there in time to take the test, was handed the test and went to the back of the room. As 
he was answering the eight math questions, he got through the eight math questions fairly easily. 
When he looked on the blackboard and there were two problems on the board. He copied them 
down and he began to work on those two problems and he couldn’t solve them.

He began to think that somebody in this room is going to solve these problems. What’s wrong 
with me? He kept working and working and working on the problems. He couldn’t get them 
solved and by the end of the time that was allowed some of the students asked for additional 
time to work.

The professor said they could take the test home and bring it back by Friday. So George, too, 
asked for more time. He was told to bring the test back by Friday.

George went home and sat up night after night. This was Monday. All day Tuesday. Tuesday 
night. Wednesday and Wednesday night.

He just kept thinking somebody is going to get these solved. Why not me? Why not me? Finally, 
by Thursday morning he had one of them solved. Then he kept working, working, working late 
into Thursday night and on Friday morning he solved the second one.

He took the test back and got it turned in by eleven a.m., which was the deadline. He went home 
wondering what would happen. Sunday morning at seven am there was a knock, knock, knock 
at his door.

He jumps out of bed. It’s his professor. His professor says “George, you’ve made mathematical 
history! I was thinking on the way over here, you were late to the test right?”

George said, “Well yeah, did I do something wrong?”

“No,” the professor said, “It’s just that the eight questions were the test. I told everybody who was 
gathered. I’ve had such a great time teaching all of you. If you want to have fun for the rest of your 
life, these two questions are the two unsolved math questions that even Einstein himself went to 
his grave unable to solve. How did you do this George?”

George recounted that if he had heard ahead of time that no one has been able to solve those 
problems, his way of defining his relationship to that problem would have been so different that 
he would not have made himself available to the access to the solution that was within him.

What is amazing, is that same access to overcome the impossible is within every one of us.

Now I don’t know what it is that you are facing. But I know this about you: That you are connected 
to the Infinite. You have the power and the potential to be everything you want to be, to 
give everything you want to give…and to build a life you truly love!

Know that there is always a solution available for any problem you may be facing.

Your job is to stay open to that possibility…


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com