Student-athletes make up more than half of Los Altos High School’s student body, and Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) aims to represent them. From fundraisers to sports award nights, SALT is dedicated to giving athletes a voice.
Advised by Athletic Director Michelle Noeth, SALT serves as a direct line of communication between her and athletes. During meetings, representatives from each sport share updates about their season, followed by updates from Noeth on athletics overall.
“A lot of athletes are confused about certain changes when it comes to sports,” Noeth said. “The SALT meetings give me an opportunity to review with students what’s new, like changes in CIF or CCS policies.”
On the other hand, SALT is a platform for different sports’ representatives to express concerns and connect with other athletes.
“Any team captain can come to meetings if they have issues on their team, or if they just want to meet people from other sports,” Co-President senior Ishika Modi said.
Turning Ideas into Action
SALT is responsible for fundraisers, awards nights — three every year, one per season — and outreach for sports games. Another initiative that the club is currently working towards is encouraging more attendance at sports games, from increasing the student section to inviting staff members to the stands.
Noeth said SALT is starting Teacher Appreciation Nights this year, where student-athletes invite a teacher to attend games.
“That’s 10 to 15 more teachers sitting in the stands that weren’t at the game before,” Noeth said.
The club also hopes to increase game attendance by allowing student-athletes to connect with each other at meetings. Co-President senior Ashkon Chaghajerdi said SALT is creating a buddy system, where student-athletes across different teams essentially exchange attendance at each other’s games.
“For example, if a basketball player goes to watch a soccer game, then the soccer player will go and watch a game for basketball,” Ashkon said.
Ultimately, it’s all an effort to expand involvement across the LAHS community at athletic events.
“I think we’re just trying to create a better culture and shift the norm from different groups for different sports,” Ishika said. “We want to be more of a connected Los Altos sports community as a whole.”
Creating Leadership
Another one of the club’s goals this year is to strengthen leadership across teams by providing workshops and guest speakers for team captains and other students who are interested in taking on greater roles.
“There’s that assumption that once you become a captain, kids know what to do, but in reality, they need a little bit of guidance,” Noeth said.
By creating a clearer program, the club lays down the resources to make sure athletes are supported. Each week, the club sends out a course by the National Leader for High School Sports & Activities (NFHS) for students to complete, each with the goal of helping students develop different aspects of leadership skills.
So far, the NFHS has covered topics ranging from sportsmanship to first aid.
“SALT isn’t just for captains — it’s for anyone who wants to make an impact on their team,” Ishika said.
SALT meets on 10/29/25 during lunch in room 603. Visit the club’s Instagram, @losaltosathletics, to learn more.
