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14 eye on first: Alhambra has had enough of finishing second, thank you very much. They aim to fix that this year behind players like xxxxxx
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4
The Dougherty Valley girls golf team arrived at the NCS Golf Tournament and immediately made itself known.
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pain ain’t just for your grand27 Hip parents, kiddos. But unlike them, you can overcome it easier. In your face, old people.
STATE BREAKDOWN: The 10 Central Section may lead to
pitch: November, it must 6 First be said, is one of the 12 best months of the year. And this one could be a doozy. If you’re a sports fan (and if you’re not, thanks for reading anyway), get ready for a fun month. We’re back for a 12 Clipboard: second installment on coaches
of the week: 7 Sportstar Belinda Hu Dougherty Valley golf room: It’s our 75th issue! 8 locker I know, we’re awesome. Thanks. Check out how the world has changed, and check out a few of our favorite moments.
and their, uhhhh, volume.
redefining what NorCal really is. Get Digital extras: Use layar & scan pages 1, 11, 16, 19, 22, 23, 34, 35
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on the cover: Alhambra water polo’s Drew Cisterman. Photo by Phillip Walton
Fence: Tryouts, sign-ups, 34 The fund-raisers and more!
38 Advertiser’s index
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Time to Feast W e here at SportStars are big fans of Halloween. For evidence, check out my sweet Jim Harbaugh look to the right. (Special thanks to Freedom High football coach Kevin Hartwig for use of the headset.) I didn’t have to throw my red challenge flag once during the party I attended, either. Though the spinach and artichoke dip could’ve used a review. But beyond the parties, costumes and candy, we’re mostly fans of Halloween because it’s the last day before November. And, as all high school sports junkies know, November is one of the best months of the year. This November is looking like it might be one for the ages. And it gets going as early as Nov. 1 when Pirates Stadium in Pittsburg will be rocking for a Bay Valley Athletic League first-place showdown against visiting Deer Valley-Antioch (which comes into the game a perfect 8-0, by the way). And here’s a fun fact: If the Wolverines win and then defeat Heritage-Brentwood on Nov. 8, it would be the program’s third 10-0 regular season since 2006. Each of the first two years Deer Valley accomplished the feat (200 6 and 2009), its season ended in a loss to Pittsburg. We will say, regardless of how the game on Nov. 1 goes, we believe this Deer Valley team might be better than either of its unbeaten predecessors. And now we’ve fallen off track. November! Stay with us here. The first CIF regional event happens on Nov. 4 with the NorCal Girls Golf Championships in Ripon. That’s followed by two more big football games — a Delta River League showdown between Folsom and Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove on Nov. 8, and a much-anticipated West Catholic Athletic League tilt between Archbiship Mitty-San Jose and Serra-San Mateo on Nov. 16. And then it’s playoffs galore. Volleyball, water polo, tennis and cross country will all play out their section and NorCal postseasons during the month, culminating with the first state championship of the 2013-14 school year when the state’s cross country stars lace their running shoes up on Nov. 30. In each of our issues this week, we took the approach of getting our readers primed for this glorious month. Our Bay Area edition features a look at one the more cursed boys water polo teams in the East Bay and if this is the year it can break through. The Sac-Joaquin edition comes with an advance look at how the SJS volleyball playoffs might play out. There’s also some golf coverage and football. Always football. We invite you to dig in. Oh, did we mention basketball will begin competition over the last week of November, too? And somewhere in the middle we all need to make time for a feast. Being a high school sports fan in November can be hard work. ✪
join our team PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson • Chace@SportStarsOnline.com Staff Writers Jim McCue Contributors Bill Kolb, Mitch Stephens, Matt Smith, Clay Kallam, Ben Enos, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Trevor Horn Copy Editor Bill Kruissink Photography Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, James K. Leash, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler, Dean Coppola, Berry Ivans, III Marketing/Events Intern Ryan Arter Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco • MikeD@ SportStarsOnline.com Publisher/President Mike Calamusa • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com Advertising Sales@SportStarsOnline.com, 925.566.8500 Account Executives Leslie Ellis • Leslie@SportStarsOnline.com Camps & Clinics: Ryan ArterCamps@SportStarsOnline.com Alameda County: Bobby Pope • BobbyTPope@yahoo.com Reader Resources/Administration Subscription, Calendar, Credit Services Angela Paradise • Info@SportStarsOnline.com Distribution/Delivery Phillip Walton • Mags@SportStarsOnline.com Information technology John Bonilla CFO Sharon Calamusa • Sharon@SportStarsOnline.com community SportStars™ Magazine A division of Caliente! Communications, LLC 5356 Clayton Rd., Ste. 222 • Concord, CA 94521 • info@SportStarsOnline.com www.SportStarsOnline.com
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your ticket to california sports admit one; rain or shine This Vol. #4, November 2013 Whole No. 75 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, 5356 Clayton Rd, Ste. 222, Concord, CA 94521. SportStars™© 2010 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: 24 issues, U.S. 3rd class $42 (allow 3 weeks for delivery). 1st class $55. To receive sample issues, please send $3 to cover postage. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos and letters to the editor are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor. All material should be typed, double-spaced on disk or email and will be handled with reasonable care. For materials return, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics are registered trademarks of Caliente! Communications, LLC.
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Got Send your nominations to: Next? Editor@SportStarsOnline.com or tweet us using #SSOTW
HU Dougherty Valley - Golf - Freshman When it comes to a postseason debut, it doesn’t get much better than what Hu did at the North Coast Section Div. I Golf Championships at Peacock Gap Golf Club on Oct. 28. Two weeks after shooting 2-under at the Diablo Foothill Athletic League Championships, Hu tied for medalist honors with a 3-under par 68 which propelled Dougherty Valley to its first NCS golf title. The Wildcats victory was a convincing one as well. Their five-golfer score of 390 was eight strokes better than second-place Amador Valley. Helping that scoring gap were Hu’s teammates Yoonhee Kim (3-over 75) and Siobbhan Sher (79) Hu had had never played the San Rafael course before. IN HER OWN WORDS: “I was most proud of my final hole of the day,” Hu said of her birdie on the 121-yard, Hole No. 3. It was her finishing hole since she began the day on Hole No. 4, as part of the shotgun start. “I hit a 7-iron off the tee and left it about three feet from the cup.” IN HER COACH’S WORDS: “Nothing gets to her,” Wildcats assistant coach Micalann Cowan said.
honorable mention Kat Klass:The San Ramon Valley junior water polo star posted 15 goals in two matches during the week of Oct. 21-25, yielding wins against Acalanes and Monte Vista.
Lavance Warren: The McClymonds junior running back scorched Skyline for 196 rushing yards and 5 TDs in a 56-0 win on Oct. 25.
Mason Knight: Concord’s sophomore receiver caught nine passes for 193 yards and 3 TDs in a 30-28 win over Northgate on Oct. 18.
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Top 5 sports related costumes to avoid Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls! Odds are you’ve already planned your costume, but in case you were feeling apprehensive about making a grievous fashion faux pas as you embark on an evening of door-to-door begging for candy — er — trick-or-treating? We’re here to help. Here are the top five costumes for any self-respecting sports fan to avoid this year. 1. Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks. You trippin’, man. 2. The Dallas Cowboys defensive backfield. All of it. You let Megatron run wild for 329 receiving yards? One of the safeties should have dressed up as Optimus Prime. 3. A giant-headed anything. The Washington Nationals have the presidents. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the pierogies. The Oakland A’s (sigh) have Rickey, Catfish and Eck. But let’s leave it to the professionals, shall we? Nobody can top Milwaukee’s Brat, Kielbasa, Frankfurter, and Italian. 4. A cheerleader. C’mon, guys. No matter how good your legs are, you just can’t do the look justice. Plus. What? You’re gonna shave em? Ow. 5. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. What? You didn’t understand what we were saying about the giant-headedness or the cheerleaderness? How about just don’t dress up like a jerk? — Bill Kolb, Survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse John Fisher/Cal Sport Media/ZumaPress GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Volleyball Championships, Nov. 21, UC Davis — Few things provide more edge-of-year-seat enjoyment than championship volleyball, and kudos to the SJS for putting all of its title games on a single day under one roof.
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FOOTBALL: Deer Valley at Pittsburg, 7 p.m., Nov. 1 — BVAL championship will be on the line, as will Deer Valley’s perfect record. GIRLS GOLF: CIF NorCal Championships, 8 a.m., Nov. 4, Spring Creek GC, Ripon — It’s worth the small road trip to see some of the best swings in the state.
FOOTBALL: Pleasant Grove vs. Folsom, 7:15 p.m., Nov. 8, Sheldon HS — Good chance both teams are undefeated for end-of-season showdown. BOYS SOCCER: Sac-Joaquin Section Championships, Nov. 16 — Consumnes Oaks-Elk Grove and Stagg-Stockton will serve as host sites.
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seventy-five issues of
Sportstars-y goodness
In our over three years of bringing the best in high school sports right to your noggin’, the world has changed. We like to think it was because of us. But we can admit other people have had an impact during this last few years. Man, can you even remember what the world was like before SportStars? Neither can we. Grab our hand and let’s take a walk down memory lane.
Our favorite Photo
The 15 most profound ways the world has changed since SportStars made its grand enterance 1. Google+ didn’t even exist. Now, can you imagine a day going by without using Google+?? 2. Prince William got engaged to Kate Middleton, creating a media sensation and fully justifying 1776.
3. Tim Tebow was still considered a viable option. 4. Obama was still a Kenyan citizen. 5. Wikileaks leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents, thus giving the world its first hint that SportStars Magazine was coming. Oh, Julian Assange. You devil, you.
6. The H1N1 flu epidemic ended. So that was a thing.
7. Lady Gaga wore a dress made of meat, but who didn’t back then?
8. The Affordable Care Act passed
Congress and was signed into law.
Whatever happened to that anyway? 9. Apple released the iPhone 4, immediately make your phone stupid.
10. Justin Beiber rises to international fame.
This is why we’ll never forgive you, 2010.
11. The Warriors drafted a hot young player (Steph Curry … maybe you’ve heard of him) and have so far managed not to screw it up. True story.
12. The NFL still allowed tackling 13. Miley Cyrus hadn’t gone the full Lohan yet. You never go full Lohan.
14. #Winning. Thanks, Charlie Sheen! 15. Nobody knew what the fox said and that’s how we liked it.
WATER POLO: North Coast Section Div. I and II Championships, Nov. 16 — Boys and girls titles will be decided at both Acalanes and Campolindo HS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: NCS Championships, Nov. 23 — EBAL rivals San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista could be headed for a Div. I title clash.
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Clockwise from bottom left: St. Francis-Sacramento volleyball’s Gabrielle Palmeri, Hannah Liserra, Allie Wegener & Loni Kreun from Issue 52. Photo by James K. Leash.
A personal fave of our design director, Mike DeCicco. When we talked about doing this, we believe the exact words of our editor, Chace Bryson, were ‘Yes, Mike. We can run the Zen girls again.’
OUR FAVORITE COVER
Our editor’s choice for favorite cover was the Issue #71 Sac-Joaquin Edition featuring Consumnes Oaks-Elk Grove wide receiver Alex Van Dyke making a diving grab over the Tower Bridge in Old Sacramento. Here are some of the recollections of photographer James K. Leash, who went above and beyond to help us deliver the goods. FRee “The SportStars editor and art director came up with the concept, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have Van Dyke look like he’s diving over the Tower Bridge in Sacramento?’ (I would) need to get fresh photos of the bridge, but let’s not make it look too big. That’s right, let’s make Van Dyke bigger than life. Click… click from this angle and a little over there. Click…click…click and we should be good. ... With Alex, we dragged a high jump pit over for him to have something soft to land while we got him diving with the ball, again and again and again. Then SportStars’ art director sends an email…I did what? “You shot Alex diving from the wrong direction,” he tells me. I now need to re-shoot the bridge from the other side. SO, back at the bridge and I can’t seem to get the same angle from the opposite side. So I wonder, ‘Hmm, how deep is the river here next to the bank, and how fast is the water moving?’ Shoes off, socks off and shorts rolled up, I first waded in without the camera. Everything seemed OK. So I waded out, click…click…click. Out a little further, watch out for the wake from that boat. Click…click and done. Now pray like crazy!” August 22, 2013
vol. 4. issue 71 sAc-joAquin
FOOTBALL: Archbishop MittySan Jose at Serra-San Mateo, 1 p.m., Nov. 16 — This game will have all sort of implications attached to it, most likely the West Catholic Athletic League championship, the No. 1 seed to the CCS Open Div. Playoffs and the driver’s seat to a CIF Northern Regional bowl game.
BOYS/GIRLS HOOPS: NCS Foundation Games, Nov. 26 — First big matchups of the early season includes Bishop O’Dowd at De La Salle. CROSS COUNTRY: CIF State Championships, Nov. 30, Woodward Park, Fresno — Road trip alert! If the weather is nice, these state championships are underrated.
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st. francis & the fall classic
Defining NorCal
Central Section may soon be part
Since the introduction of regional playoffs in California Interscholastic Federation state sports in the 1980s, it’s been clear that Northern California consists of schools from the Central Coast, North Coast, Sac-Joaquin, Northern, Oakland and San Francisco sections. Looking at a map of the state, however, would put schools in Fresno and throughout most of the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California rather than in Southern California. This geographical breakdown may soon be the same for the CIF as well. There is growing support within Southern California for a proposal circulating among those on the CIF Federated Council to put the Central Section in the north instead of the south. It makes the most sense for this to happen in the football bowl games. If one just prints out the current list of CIF State Football Divisions and which section champions are going to be in which divisions, it’s fairly obvious how moving the Central from one side (South) over to the other (North) is going to even out the list and make it much more equitable to all teams from the South and not just those from the Central Section. In Division I, for example, there are currently only four teams in the north with six in the south. In Division II, there are six in the north and 11 in the south. If the Central Section were switched over, it would be five in the north and five in the south for Division I and then eight in the north and nine in the south for D2. If the Central Section had been in the north all these years, De La Salle would not have made the CIF bowl games every year, either. Clovis West would have gotten the nod for 2004 due to posting a win over the Spartans. This doesn’t work as easily for the small schools, especially because in the Southern Section it’s always a crap shoot that any teams with an enrollment of under 500 will even win one section title. That’s not a knock against those schools, but it’s just that the Southern Section playoff divisions are not based on enrollments. The best solution for this question in football might be to move the Central Section’s Division I, Division II and Division III champions to the north but leave its Division IV, Division V and Division VI champions in the south. That keeps the current breakdown in Division III of 12 in the north and 11 in the south. The proposal under consideration would be for all sports in which regional competition is held. There doesn’t seem to be any support for it among the sections in the north, but keep in mind that if the Central Section can get the Southern, L.A. City and San Diego sections to go for it and it becomes a NorCal vs. SoCal theme, then it has much better odds of getting through. The Southern Section and its more than 600 schools comprise a lot of votes on the CIF Federated Council. ✪ Mark Tennis is the co-founder of Cal-Hi Sports, and publisher of CalHiSports.com. Cal-Hi Sports is the authority in state rankings for football, basketball, baseball and softball, as well as the recognized state record keeper for all high school sports. Contact him at markjtennis@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter, @CalHiSports.
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For only the second time since World Series alumni lists began being compiled in 1990, a California high school can claim it has two former players in the same World Series. The school we’re talking about is St. FrancisMountain View. Former Lancer Daniel Descalso played in the 2013 World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. Former Lancer Daniel Nava, meanwhile, played for the Boston Red Sox. St. Francis was the only high school in the U.S. with two players in this year’s World Series — the first time that’s happened since 2002. In that World Series, Robb Nen and J.T. Snow of the Giants both hailed from Los Alamitos in Southern California. As the recent MLB playoffs were unfolding, it was not lost on the current cast of players at St. Francis that Descalso and Nava could both be playing on baseball’s biggest stage. “It’s a huge deal around here,” said St. Francis head coach Mike Oakland. “Everyone keyed on it and we’re all really excited about it.” Two other Northern California alums were in this year’s World Series – Jonny Gomes (Casa Grande-Petaluma) and Dustin Pedroia (Woodland) – and both played for the Red Sox. As a state, California was tied with Texas this year with eight players each.
Jacob Daniel of Clovis North-Fresno, which lost to Long Beach Poly in the Socal Div. I Bowl last season. Juan Lainez/ Cal Sport Media/ Zuma Press
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volleyball Rankings (After games of Monday, Oct. 28; previous rank in parentheses) 1. (1) — Torrey Pines-San Diego 24-1 2. (3) ▲ Granite Bay 29-0 3. (4) ▲ Francis Parker-San Diego 20-3 4. (5) ▲ Dana Hills-Dana Point 20-4 5. (6) ▲ Los Alamitos 24-5 6. (9) ▲ Valley Christian-San Jose 24-5 7. (11) ▲ Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 27-4 8. (7) ▼ Redondo-Redondo Beach 17-5 9. (8) ▼ Lakewood 22-5 10. (2 ▼ Mater Dei-Santa Ana 27-5 11. (10) ▼ Corona del Mar-Nwprt Bch 17-4 12. (12) — Santiago-Corona 31-0 13. (13) — La Salle-Pasadena 21-4 14. (14) — Mira Costa-Mnhttn Beach 16-6 15. (15) — Redwood-Larkspur 36-3 16. (16) — La Costa Canyon-Carlsbad 19-5 17. (17) — Gregori-Modesto 35-4 18. (18) — Menlo School-Atherton 23-5 19. (NR) ▲ Lutheran-Orange 16-6 20. (19) ▼ Oaks Christian-Wstlke Vill. 21-3 Dropped Out: Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F. Comments: Granite Bay stamped itself as a State Team of the Year contender by defeating Archbishop Mitty (last year’s No. 1 team in the state) in the finals of the Stockton Classic on Oct. 19. Seniors Nicolette Pinkney and Taylor Nelson were among the standouts ... Valley Christian & Mitty were scheduled to play in a loaded field on Nov. 1-2 at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. State No. 1 Torrey Pines and No. 4 Dana Hills also are in the field ... No. 17 Gregori gave Granite Bay all it could handle in the Stockton Classic semis and forced No. 15 Redwood to a third game in the third-place match.
Football Rankings (Previous ranking in parentheses; through games of Saturday, Oct. 26) 1. (1)
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De La Salle-Concord 8-0
2. (2)
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St. John Bosco-Bellflower 8-0
3. (3)
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Folsom 8-0
4. (4)
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Serra-Gardena 8-0
5. (6)
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Mission Viejo 8-0
6. (7)
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7. (10)
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8. (5)
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9. (8)
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10. (9)
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11. (12)
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12. (14)
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13. (13)
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Rancho Cucamonga 8-0
14. (15)
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Oaks Christian-Westlake Village
15. (20)
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Latest win streak pushed to 34 after easy victory over Amador Valley. The Braves are ranked higher than DLS in some national polls.
Looks like 80-point output vs. Sheldon-Sacramento is a school record.
Just like DLS-Folsom is big two in North, same for Bosco-Serra in South. Diablos looking like No. 2 seed for CIFSS Pac-5 Division. Serra-San Mateo
6-1Padres moving up in state and also now in FAB 50 national rankings. Hart-Newhall 8-0
With Serra looking like an Open Div. team, Indians solid for D2 South. Mater Dei-Santa Ana
Upset loss to Santa Margarita struck Monarchs prior to game vs. Bosco.
7-1
Servite-Anaheim 5-3
Friars still have to play St. John Bosco before end of regular season. Long Beach Poly
}Coach Raul Lara’s team may not allow a point in league play this season.
7-1
Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove 8-0
Eagles still have Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills and Folsom to deal with.
Chaminade-West Hills 6-2
Losses are to Serra-Gardena and Hart.
No. 1 team from So. Section Inland Division survived upset bid from Los Osos. QB Brandon Dawkins continues to put up huge numbers.
7-1
Edison-Frenso 8-0
socal team to watch
Tigers looking to go unbeaten through Central Section playoffs. 16. (21)
▲
Corona del Mar-Newport Beach This is a school known to many throughout the state for its success in sports such as girls volleyball, boys volleyball, tennis, swimming and water polo. The Sea Kings are now shining in football. This year’s team moved to No. 1 in the D3 South bowl game rankings in early October when previous No. 1 Monrovia lost. The win that helped Corona del Mar move came two weeks earlier over arch-rival Newport Harbor, which plays in the bigger Sunset League and had not lost to the Sea Kings since 2006. It’s likely coach Scott Meyer’s team will be 10-0 heading into the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs. As defending champion, winning another section title and getting CIF bowl eligible also would seem probable. Last year’s CIF Division III bowl featured Marin Catholic-Kentfield and in 2011 it was Campolindo-Moraga. If either the Wildcats, Cougars or another team from the North Coast Section in Division III gets that far this year, Corona del Mar could be the opponent.
17. (19)
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18. (22)
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19. (24)
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20. (25)
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21. (NR)
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22. (NR)
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23. (16)
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24. (NR)
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25. (NR)
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Eastlake-Chula Vista
Only loss to AZ power Hamilton and has some quality wins, too.
7-1
Centennial-Corona 5-2
The Huskies are starting to get into rhythm for the postseason.
Bakersfield 6-2
QB Asuani Rufus leading very effective running game.
Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 7-0
The Monarchs are tied with Serra-San Mateo for WCAL lead. Crenshaw-Los Angeles
4-4
Losses to St. John Bosco, Oaks Christian, Edison-Fresno, Long Beach Poly.
Alemany-Mission Hills 7-2
Up-and-down season might be heading back up.
Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks 5-3
Losses to Chaminade, Alemany, Serra-Gardena with win over Del Oro-Loomis. Mission Hills-San Marcos
Team beat Oceanside 30-6 but has OT loss to San Pasqual.
7-1
Del Oro-Loomis 6-2
Wins over James Logan-Union City, St. Mary’s-Stockton, Grant-Sac., Granite Bay. Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills
Forget lopsided Folsom loss. Wins over Grant, Rocklin, Vacaville.
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Screaming Shame Pt. 2 Editor’s Note: This column is the continuation of a two-part look at particular coaching styles. Coach Kallam will return to the Q/A format in our next issue.
In the book “There’s Only One Way to Win,” Dick DeVenzio — who wrote a lot about leadership and champions before his premature death in 2001— wrote about his father, Chuck DeVenzio, who coached for 40 years in Pennsylvania, and never had a losing season. Chuck DeVenzio was hardly the only old-time coach who acted this way, and in fact it wasn’t that long ago that they were everywhere, but the book (written in 1993) glorifies this style: “Like a Marine Corps drill sergeant, he screams incessantly at his players … When they mess up on the court, he calls them names – not always nice names. And during timeouts, good luck if you’re the kid who just missed a slam dunk. But DeVenzio wins …” The justification is winning — and in fact, throughout the book, Dick DeVenzio comes back to the 40 years without a losing record over and over again. But then, consider this quote … “I played on two of Coach DeVenzio’s most successful teams,” writes a former player, “and I was still never good enough to play intramurals in college. That’s because I was never allowed to do anything in high school. I’m 37 years
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Winning should never be sole justification for any coaching style, or the lone measure of coaching success
old, I can’t dribble; thirty-seven, I can’t shoot. I was supposed to give it to someone else, stay out of the way.” Of course, by “most successful,” the player meant “winning.” I’ve coached for a long time, and I’ve been an assistant and a head coach. I’ve coached teams that by all accounts were successful because they won a lot of games. I’ve coached teams that weren’t nearly as successful by that measure, but I can tell you this: I’ve been around teams that won 20-plus games, and the girls finished the season unhappy and frustrated because it just wasn’t that rewarding. And I’ve coached teams that didn’t reach .500 that the players looked back on as something they’d like to do again. I’ve coached with and against old-school types like Chuck DeVenzio, and seen a lot of coaches who think that Bobby Knight style of embarrassing players into succeeding, and limiting their participation so that the stars can shine, is how it should be in high school as well. After all, DeVenzio won for 40 straight years, and Knight is a Hall of Fame coach. But you know, “There’s Only Way to Win” was written 20 years ago, and Knight’s career ended in mediocrity. And though you can always find players who look back and think positively about their experiences with such coaches, you can find many more who were unhappy during the process, and wish their brief shot at organized athletics had been
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rewarded with more than some wins in some record book somewhere. Or, to put it another way, ask a former high school athlete, 20 years down the road, what the won-lost record was in his or her junior year. I would be surprised if they know those numbers, and in fact I would be surprised if they could say precisely how far they advanced in postseason, if they got there. Yes, winning is important, but it’s far from the only reason to get involved in high school sports, and it’s the least of the lessons learned. Winning, after all, is dependent on so many things outside the control of the players or the coach — such things as available talent, the quality of competition, injuries and just plain luck have a huge impact on a won-loss record. But how to treat others, how to work with others, how to lead, these are lessons that transcend winning or losing, and are unaffected by outside forces. That, to me, is what coaching is about, and though winning is certainly better than losing, it’s not worth treating human beings like chess pieces in order to put a banner up in a gym. And if you agree that abusive coaching has no place in our society, then don’t fall for the line that winning is the only thing, and that the end justifies the means. Especially in high school and youth sports, winning is highly overrated, and never should be the sole measure of coaching success. ✪ Clay Kallam is an assistant athletic director and girls varsity basketball coach at Bentley High in Lafayette. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email him at clayk@fullcourt.com
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Alhambra seniors Michael Bull, left, and Drew Cisterman are determined to keep history from repeating itself for a fourth straight year. Phillip Walton photos
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By Chace Bryson | Editor
usk had turned to evening and a light breeze was turning stiff as a chill set in on the Campolindo High campus and its Soda Aquatic Center. The mood coming out of the visiting Alhambra boys water polo team’s postgame huddle was just as frigid. The talking points from coaches Mike Agostino and Ben Baldwin were brief following the 14-7 loss, and the ensuing exodus of players was just as abrupt. This wasn’t a Diablo Foothill Athletic League match the Bulldogs were supposed to win. Campolindo is one of the North Coast Section’s top Division I teams, while Alhambra is a top-tier Division II program. Which boiled down to this: It was a match that Alhambra could’ve performed better in. And the team knew it. “To win a game like this, every single one of us have to come out of the game feeling they gave everything and left it all out there,” Bulldogs senior co-captain Michael Bull said. “Personally, I don’t’ think I can say that. And I don’t think a lot of the team can say that.” Maybe that sounds overly intense for a league match on a Wednesday night in mid-October with playoffs still close to three weeks away. Maybe you don’t know enough about Alhambra water polo. Players like Bull and some of the other upperclassmen on the team, especially the seniors, carry scars. Championship game scars. Each of the past three seasons — since the NCS created the second playoff division — Alhambra has reached the Division II final only to be handed secondplace medals. So many repeated near-misses can skew a team’s perspective. Every
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“If I’m in practice and we start having a bad practice, I automatically go back to thinking that it could all happen again. (Losing those games) was honestly among the crappiest feelings that I’ve felt.” — Senior co-captain Michael Bull Junior goalkeeper Harrison Brown has done a strong job at anchoring the Bulldogs defense in 2013. Ali Thanawalla photo
match is a barometer. Every detail gets scrutinized — it could be the detail that makes the difference in another title match. Bull is probably the most accomplished player on the Bulldogs roster. He’s been part of USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program since his freshman year. He started for the varsity as a sophomore in 2011, which put him in the water for two of three championship losses. “(I think about it) every week or more than that sometimes,” Bull said of the two NCS finals defeats. His first was probably the most gut-wrenching loss of them all as Las Lomas came from eight goals back to win 11-10. Last season was less dramatic as Marin Catholic won 15-8. “If I’m in practice and we start having a bad practice, I automatically go back to thinking that it could all happen again. (Losing those games) was honestly among the crappiest feelings that I’ve felt.” Senior Drew Cisterman, the team’s other captain and longtime friend of Bull, also insists that the imprint those championship games have left on the program is always near the surface. “(Michael and I) talk about it quite a bit,” Cisterman said. “It’s weird how many conversations will somehow get turned into water polo conversations.” The idea that he would have players who actively dwelled on water polo would’ve been a laughable concept to Agostino when he took over the program as a very young twentysomething in the mid-90s. In those days, much of Agostino’s chief concerns involved making sure his players had basic swimming skills. “Martinez isn’t a swimming community,” the coach said. “It’s just not. We probably don’t have more than five year-round swimmers in the whole town. “So most of the kids I was coaching for years were starting the sport their freshman year. For a lot of them, it wasn’t just starting water polo, it was starting swimming. ... Not only was I teaching water polo, I was teaching swimming. And, I was even teaching some how to be water safe.” Baldwin was one of the players on Agostino’s first team. He was a freshman and played for Agostino all four years. That dedication to the program — and Agostino, really — has never wavered. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Baldwin returned to Alhambra in 2006 to officially team-up with his former coach. The two have been sharing coaching duties ever since, and both plan to make 2013 their final season of running the show. After being on the ground floor of what Agostino referred to as the “Baby Steps” Era, Bald16
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win’s arrival to the coaching staff helped jumpstart the foundation for the era the Bulldogs are in now. “We learned together as coaches,” Baldwin said. “And once we started coaching together, it provided Mike the ability to go into more depth on ways to build the program.” Part of that included creating the Martinez-based Aqua Pigeons Water Polo Club for 5th-8th graders in 2009. “We wanted to get the interest built up a little bit,” Agostino said. “And that’s why we’re where we are. These seniors started playing in 8th grade and our juniors started playing in 6th grade because of that club option.” As the culture has changed, so have the expectations. Especially after three straight years of reaching the NCS final. “We don’t look at ourselves as the little brother anymore,” Agostino said. “We still might be compared to Miramonte and Campolindo ... but beating a team like Campo, that’s where the expectations are amongst ourselves. Don’t settle. Keep working. We’re trying to keep up at that level now.” The 14-7 loss to Campolino on this particular night showed a bit of a gap, but not as big as the score might indicate. Alhambra had 10 6-on-5’s on offense, due to foul ejections, and could only capitalize on one. If they convert just half of them, the score is much closer. Of the team’s five losses to NCS opponents through Oct. 25, only one came against a Division II opponent.
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That was a 15-7 loss at Sir Francis Drake on Oct. 11. The Pirates, along with defending-champion Marin Catholic, are a team the Bulldogs may very likely meet again come playoff time. In the meantime, the Bulldogs relish their DFAL matchups against talented Div. I programs. “Taking some of these losses at the end of the year is good for us,” Agostino said. “These (higher-level) opponents force us to understand how hard you have to play this game in order to be playoff ready. Some of the other Div. II teams in other leagues don’t have that.” Those other teams don’t have their pasts nagging at them either. They don’t have the constant reminders of seeing another team celebrate with another banner that was in their grasp. Much of the group, especially the seniors, understand that this season — despite some talented underclassmen that includes sophomore hole-set Bailey Abbott and junior goalkeeper Harrison Brown — might represent the last good chance at that banner for awhile. “I think we can get it done,” Bull said. “Each player needs to know where they excel in the pool. Find their role. Know what they can do in the pool and do it well. If everybody puts their mind to it, we can do it.” “We want to go out with that win,” Cisterman added, “not with the classic Alhambra second-place medal.” ✪
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Dougherty Valley’s Yoonhee Kim. Photos by Phillip Walton
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Lead by slew of talented underclassmen, Dougherty Valley stormed the NCS golf world
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By Chace Bryson | Editor
s coaches and golfers stood and watched the scores post at the North Coast Section Division I Girls Golf Championships on Oct. 28, it was easy to hear the whispered math taking place. And once all the teams were filled out, there were mumbles and rumblings. But the only thing closely resembling any gasps came from the far left of the scorer’s table. That’s where the Dougherty Valley High golf team had gathered. They had just realized they had won the school’s first NCS golf title — just one year after finishing eighth. “I don’t think we thought we would win it,” said sophomore Yoonhee Kim, the Wildcats No. 1 golfer who carded a 4-over 75 in the 18-hole tournament held at Peacock Gap Golf Club in San Rafael. “I think we thought there was a chance that we could maybe get third, but we definitely did not think we could win it.” Dougherty Valley didn’t just win the tournament. The Wildcats won by eight strokes, a fairly wide margin for the annual championships. The last school to win an NCS title by more than eight strokes was Alameda, which cruised to an incredible 22-stroke victory in 2009. The winning number for Dougherty Valley was 390. The five-golfer score included Kim’s 75, a 79 from Siobbhan Sher, an 83 from Clarendon Chow, an 85 from Reini Lin and a comedalist-honors, 3-under 68 from freshman Belinda Hu. The big day from Hu wasn’t a big surprise to any of the Wildcats, as she’s come in under par in each of their 18-hole tournaments this season. That included a 2-under 70 at the
Diablo Foothill Athletic League tournament two weeks prior to NCS. “She’s smart. She knows what to do; she knows how to play,” Wildcats coach Mike Cowan said of Hu. “She stays calm and is very confident with total all-around skills. She just comes out and plays, and is just a sweetheart.” Hu, who had never played the course before, began the shotgun start on hole No. 4.
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“I started out pretty good,” she said. “I had a bit of trouble in the middle and then I finished really good.” She finished with a birdie, hitting a 7-iron to within threefeet of the cup on the 121-yard No. 3. “She’s just been playing great,” Kim said of Hu. “She plays better when she doesn’t know the course as well. She played really great today. I’m really proud of her. As a freshman, she played amazing.” The focus on Hu allows one to lose grasp of the fact that the entire Wildcats roster is young. Kim, Sher and Tiffany Cha — the team captain who shot an 87 that wasn’t scored at NCS — are all sophomores. Chow is a junior and Lin is a freshman. The Wildcats have also embraced the team concept, something that was really impressed upon them by assistant coach Micalann Cowan, Mike’s daughter. Micalann had a strong team golf experience in high school playing for Amador Valley and long-respected coach Clark Fuller. “Coach Fuller really strived to instill a team concept with us,” said Cowan, a 2005 graduate who was the first Amador Valley team to qualify for the state tournament. “That experience, and playing for (Fuller), was really the inspiration for what we’re trying to do here.” Coincidentally, it was Fuller’s Amador Valley team which finished eight strokes back of Dougherty Valley for second place. The Dons were led by Kimberly Liu, who also shot a 68 to share medalist honors with Hu. Mission San Jose, which began the day as the defending champion, shot a 403 to edge Dublin by one stroke for third place.
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All three teams are now qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Tournament on Nov. 4 at Spring Creek Golf Club in Ripon. Four other individuals also qualified, including Acalanes’ Elizabeth Schultz (even-par 70), Justin-Siena’s Kathleen Scavo (70), Carondelet’s Sabby Virtusio (72) and Granada’s Taylor Robles (72). The last two survived a three-golfer playoff to advance. There’s a good chance Dougherty Valley will put a few practice rounds in before the regional tournament — something they surprisingly didn’t do in the week leading up to NCS. “We didn’t practice the last week and a half,” Mike Cowan said. “We let them catch up on their work and Micalann and I let them have some time off. But they’re so diligent that they do everything on their own. They work hard. They’re a great bunch of girls and what more can you say?” Kim, as it turns out, was happy to say a lot. “Oh my gosh, I can’t even express how much I love this team,” she said. “The freshman have helped our team so much. and it’s great to have a team because golf is such an individual sport. To have a team, and have it do well, is such a fun experience. I’ve really enjoyed it this year.” Will the Cowan coaching tandem tweak anything for the tournament in Ripon? “We’ll try not to screw it up,” Mike Cowan said. “If the horse ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” ✪
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Dougherty Valley’s roster from the NCS championship (L to R): Reini Lin, Sophie To, Tiffany Cha, Belinda Hu, Yoonhee Kim, Clarendon Chow and Siobbhan Sher
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Minutemen finding they’re not so lost in transition SportStars staff Concord High offensive coordinator Jon Bell has seen pretty much everything in his time as the Minutemen’s offensive maestro. He’s played a part in a North Coast Section title run, and played a key role in orchestrating the fast-paced approach that has helped establish Concord as a perennial playoff team. But on this day, just a run of the mill mid-week practice, Bell has a shovel in his hands. He strides across the practice field that sits between Concord’s gym and game field, scoops a shovelful of dirt and fills a divot about 10 feet away. “Gotta fix the field,” he says, smiling. Bell and his fellow coaches know that feeling well. They’ve been filling holes all season. At first glance, a 6-2 record in the first eight games doesn’t jump off the page. One of those wins came off the field when Liberty
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concord was forced to forfeit its opening-week win against the Minutemen. But context helps in this case. Head coach Brian Hamilton returned a grand total of two starters this season. He watched a host of talented seniors graduate over the summer, and suddenly the winning foundation established over the past few years needed to be re-taught to a group searching for belief. “With challenge comes reward,” Hamilton said. “Professionally and personally, it’s been so rewarding to watch how much we’ve improved.” Hamilton has always preached belief. What has carried his
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1. (1) 2. (2) 3. (3) 4. (6) 5. (9) 6. (8) 7. (7) 8. (11) 9. (12) 10. (10) 11. (5) 12. (4) 13. (13) 14. (14) 15. (16) 16. (17) 17. (18) 18. (15) 19. (19) 20. (20)
Records are through Oct. 26 — De La Salle-Concord — Folsom — Serra-San Mateo ▲ Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove ▲ Archbishop Mitty-San Jose ▲ Deer Valley-Antioch — Marin Catholic-Kentfield ▲ Del Oro-Loomis ▲ Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills — Campolindo-Moraga ▼ Bellarmine-Sam Jose ▼ Elk Grove — St. Francis-Mountain View — Rocklin ▲ Pittsburg ▲ Clayton Valley Charter-Concord ▼ California-San Ramon ▼ Granite Bay — St. Mary’s-Stockton — El Cerrito
8-0 8-0 6-1 8-0 7-0 8-0 9-0 6-2 7-1 8-0 5-2 7-1 5-2 6-2 6-2 7-1 7-1 5-3 6-2 5-2
DROPPED OUT: None TOP 5 TUMBLE
Two Top 5 teams were dealt big upset losses to unranked opponents on Oct. 25. Previous No. 4 Elk Grove was bounced 28-21 by Franklin-Elk Grove, and No. 5 Bellarmine lost to Valley Christian-San Jose 31-13.
GRIZZLIES HANGING ON
Most teams who take back-to-back losses don’t stick around in the NorCal Top 20, but Granite Bay is an exception. Once ranked as high as No. 7, the Grizzlies took a big hit in the rankings after a 34-13 loss to then-unranked Rocklin on Oct. 18. They would lose the following week to then-No. 11 Del Oro — but held the lead until the very last play of the game when the Golden Eagles won 30-28 on a 28-yard field goal by Mason Humes. The near-upset was enough to keep Granite Bay around one more week.
TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 14 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
(Alphabetically): Analy-Sebastapol (8-1), Burbank-Sacramento (6-2), Capital Christian-Sacramento (7-1), Carmel (70), Casa Grande-Petaluma (8-0), Central Catholic-Modesto (7-1), Enterprise-Redding (8-0), Foothill-Pleasanton (7-1), Franklin-Elk Grove (5-3), Grant-Sacramento (5-3), Inderkum-Sacramento (6-2), James Logan-Union City (6-2), Milpitas (6-1), Northgate-Walnut Creek (7-1) and Valley Christian-San Jose (4-3)
Concord quarterback Mitch Daniels Photos by Phillip Walton
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“With challenge comes reward. Professionally and personally, it’s been so rewarding to watch how much we’ve improved.”
Concord head coach Brian Hamilton
teams to playoff appearance after playoff appearance has been consistent proof that if players put in the work, good things will happen. With plenty of holdovers year after year, that foundation hasn’t needed to be re-taught. This year, with so many new players, the base for belief is undergoing a bit of a rebuild. In the middle of that progression has been quarterback Mitch Daniels. Now a junior, Daniels has shuttled between junior varsity and varsity for the past two seasons. Tasked with leading the up-tempo style that Hamilton and Bell teach, Daniels saw everything click in a 30-28 win over Northgate on Oct. 18. He threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns, including three to teammate Mason Knight, who caught nine passes for 192 yards. “Probably the thing I’m most impressed with is how much he cares about blitz pickup install on Monday,” Hamilton said. “He wants to make sure that he understands what we’re all doing. I think that leadership is the key. That kid has a big arm and he would have a big arm in any offense.” Rather than reflect on the Northgate win as the turning point, Daniels instead cites the Liberty game as the seminal moment for the Minutemen. Concord lost 50-30 on the field that night, a punch to the gut that sparked season-altering changes. “The beginning of the year, we were all trying to find an identity,” Daniels said. “The first game we came in with how many returning players, two? Everyone was looking for someone to lead. Once the season got going, we found out who we were and who our leaders were and we started to get behind them.” Players began to step up, but success was still a few weeks away. A 31-14 loss at Amador Valley showed improvement but not a win, and then a bye week gave the team a chance to try and consolidate lessons learned into victories. It also gave the Concord coaching staff a chance to adjust to the new talent it was working with. To that end, Hamilton heaps praise on his staff — Randy Coddington, Bell, John Koven, Derek Clements, Mike Griggs and Gil Bates — calling its efforts this season one of the best coaching
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One of the young building blocks, junior RB Malik Blackburn
Concord offensive coordinator Jon Bell jobs he’s ever seen. Finally, those adjustments started to pay off. A 36-33 win at Jesse Bethel gave the Minutemen their first win on the field, and confidence began to build. Wins against Heritage, Oakland and Ygnacio Valley followed, and the victory over Northgate ensured a winning record this season — which also assured playoff eligibility. Units of strength began to show themselves, especially Daniels’ connection with Knight. Through eight games, the junior wideout has 58 catches for 856 yards and 12 touchdowns. He stands to be the latest in a long line of great Concord receivers, and still has a year of high school play in front of him. “Watching film on our team, you can see how much we’ve come together as a team and how much we’ve changed,” Knight said. “You hear people say it after games, how much we changed from week one, and it started with the Jesse Bethel game. That was the first game where we realized we could do something this year.” Even with the success of recent weeks, the Minutemen still get reminders of just how much further they need to go. A 35-26 loss to College Park on Oct. 25 saw numerous breakdowns, both of the physical and mental variety. A great effort by the Falcons and dynamic running back Ray Jackson, who rushed for 197 yards on 20 carries, proved tough to overcome on an up and down night by Concord on both offense and defense. What that loss did provide was another teachable moment. Defending NCS Division II champion Clayton Valley Charter is up next, followed by the regular season finale against Mt. Diablo. Heading into those two rivalry games, Hamilton had a clear message for a team still looking for continued improvement. “We left some plays out there as coaches and you guys left some plays out there as players,” Hamilton said. “Go hug your families and we go back to work tomorrow at 9 a.m.” Back to finding answers and making adjustments. Filling holes, one shovelful at a time. ✪
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hip pain: dr. hunter greene
Most athletes overcome hip pain with proper treatment Hip arthroscopy is fast becoming one of the most popular procedures in sports medicine. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay both had the surgery to fix a torn labrum and impingement. Both quickly returned to their respective sports.
HIP PROBLEMS IN YOUNG ATHLETES
The most common hip problems treated with hip arthroscopy are femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and tears of the hip labrum. FAI is a condition where the ball and socket of the hip don’t fit together well. Either the ball or the socket is misshapen or both have irregularities. The labrum acts like an “O” ring around the hip socket and can be injured or torn due to FAI or other traumatic injuries to the hip, such as a fall. A torn labrum can cause severe groin pain in athletes. While many people associate hip pain with older people, hip problems can be a common issue in young athletes and can have a long-term impact on the health and mobility of the hip. Chronic adolescent hip pain often strikes young athletes with structural abnormalities sooner than their less active counterparts, due to the stress their level of activity places on the hip. Such hip pain occurs in young men and women who place stress on their hips with sports (especially in dancers, hurdlers or baseball catchers) because their activities involve the hip moving beyond its normal constraints. Common symptoms of a hip injury include hip or groin pain with movement, snapping hip syndrome, inability to flex or rotate the hips without pain, hip pain when sitting, hip pain when going up stairs, and hip pain when picking something up off the ground.
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HIP ARTHROSCOPY ELIMINATES PAIN In the past, impingements and other hip injuries would end sports careers or stop people from being active because of the pain. But today physicians have more accurate diagnostic capabilities and improved treatments that make it possible for hip specialists to slow or halt the progression of degenerative hip disease, return patients to their chosen activities, and sometimes reduce the need for more extensive surgeries. With minimally-invasive hip arthroscopy, surgeons make small holes in the hip area. They then insert a camera and specialized instruments into these openings and perform the necessary procedures, such as removing loose cartilage, smoothing or repairing damaged tissue or trimming bones spurs. Hip arthroscopy is an outpatient procedure, so patients typically return home the same day. Most people return to sports and other activities quickly, after a period of rehabilitation. If chronic hip pain is impacting your lifestyle, make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon with expertise in hip arthroscopy. It’s important not to ignore the pain, because the conditions that cause hip pain can eventually lead to arthritis if left untreated. For young athletes and people in their 40s and younger, the minimally invasive hip arthroscopy can stop hip pain and eliminate the need for more extensive surgery later in life. ✪ Hunter Greene, M.D. is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Summit Orthopedic Specialists in Carmichael.
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powered by trucks: anthony trucks
Call the
Exterminator Don’t be a gym rat. Follow simple training etiquette
Have you ever noticed that when you go to the gym the same people are there before you get there, and are still there when you’re leaving over an hour later? If you said yes then you have sighted the gym rats. This breed is a unique bunch because they usually don’t understand the concept between training and working out. They like to spend 5 hours at the gym “working out” while they hog equipment and take 5 minutes between each set forcing people who want to actually “train” to wait on them while they discuss useless things or talk on the phone. Re-rack your weights! A training session should not last more than two hours, MAX. Don’t offer unsolicited advice to every person you see because your buddy told you some new “bro-science” about the bicep curl. Training means you might actually sweat because you’re moving at a consistent pace through your workout, not taking a half hour to complete three sets. Use the machines the way they were intended. Stop doing bicep curls in the squat rack. Do not skip leg day. You look like bricks on sticks, and your body needs it Ladies, if you want that body you see in the magazines you have to get off the treadmill and venture into the weight room. Trust me. If you’re going to make loud noises to attract attention to yourself. Make sure you’re lifting correctly. If this is you it’s not too late to change your ways. If not, then congrats and good luck in your training. ✪ Anthony Trucks is the owner of Trucks Training facility in Brentwood and covers weight training for SportStars.
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get mental: erika carlson
What kind of a leader
are you?
Leadership is huge factor in sport success. It’s a common myth that leaders are born, not made. The fact is, effective leaders have a specific set of skills. And, contrary to popular beliefs, there are a variety of personalities that can lead effectively. Through education, selfawareness, and lots of practice, leaders can be made. And by the way, you don’t have to be a team captain to be a leader. On the field and off, leaders come in two general types. The first type is a vocal leader. These athletes are the heart and emotion of the team. They are comfortable being outspoken and being “in charge.” It’s important for these leaders to be hard working in order to earn the respect of the team. Communication is their strength and valuable leaders use a varying combination of encouragement, instruction, and enforcement. The second type of leader is a “leader by example.” These leaders might have a quiet, yet strong personality. They put their heads down and get the work done. Leaders by example are often highly competitive, have a very strong work ethic and make the whole team work harder, faster and smarter. Take a moment and decide, which type of leader are you? If you are a vocal leader, consider the following: ›› Which type of communication does your team need more of? ■ Encouragement ■ Instruction ■ Enforcement Your homework is to use this type of communication throughout your next practice. If you are a leader by example consider the following: ›› What part of practice (warm-ups, drills, fitness, scrimmage) does your team need better leadership with? Your homework is to increase your intensity, focus and execution at your next practice to encourage others to follow your lead. Simple steps each day can make a BIG difference. Regardless of your status on your team, find the style of leadership that suits your personality best and get to it. ✪ Erika Carlson is a certified mental trainer and owner of Excellence in Sports Performance in Pleasanton.
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health watch: dr. Nirav K. Pandva
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Pushing through the pain
What to consider when deciding to gut it out
With the sports season in full swing, many athletes begin to feel the aches and pains of competition adding up. The decision to play with nagging injuries can become confusing when attempting to balance multiple different factors: parents, coaches, teammates, and even potential scholarship offers. When is it OK to “gut it out,” and when do you need to take a break to prevent more serious injury? For many of the athletes that I see, I like to break down the consequences of playing through pain into two main categories: 1) Having no/low risk of structural damage, but the possibility of pain lasting longer. 2) Having a moderate/high risk of structural damage with the possibility of long-term injury. Patients who generally fit into the first category will share many similar characteristics. These include not remembering a discrete traumatic injury, generally having dull discomfort as opposed to sharp/stabbing feelings, having pain that lessens as they progress through their sporting activity (i.e. as one warms up) rather than pain which persists in the heat of the game, and having a diffuse area of pain rather than a specific location. Although exceptions to these rules exist, the golden question when deciding whether someone is healthy enough to play is, “Do you need to change the way you normally run/jump/throw in order to make it through the game, and/ or are you compensating with other parts of your body in order to take pressure off the injured area?” If the answer is yes, more harm than good can arise from playing. Remember that athletics are PART of a healthy lifestyle not something that should compromise it. ✪
Dr. Nirav K. Pandya is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializing in pediatric sports injuries at the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. He sees patients and operates in Oakland and our facility at Walnut Creek.
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concussions: dr. andrew l. nash
California is generally known as being cutting edge for new technology. However we are far behind the east coast in regards to the evaluation and management of suspected concussion in adolescent athletes. Luckily Governor Brown recently signed legislation aimed at filling in some gaps. Below is a summary of recent concussion legislation:
California Concussion Laws
›› California AB 25 On October 4, 2011, California Assembly Bill 25 (AB25‐Hayashi) was signed into law which became effective on January 1, 2012. A summary
of this bill is as follows: (1) An athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in an athletic activity shall be immediately removed from the activity for the remainder of the day, and shall not be permitted to return to the activity until he or she is evaluated by a licensed health care provider, trained in the management of concussions, acting within the scope of his or her practice. The athlete shall not be permitted to return to the activity until he or she receives written clearance to return to the activity from that licensed health care provider. Any group that uses school facilities or grounds for supervised recreational activities must also comply with these requirements. (2) On a yearly basis, a concussion and head
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injury information sheet shall be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete’s parent or guardian before the athlete’s initiating practice or competition. ›› California AB 588 This recent legislation (Sept. 30) added private and charter schools to the already existing legislation that required public schools to implement a concussion management plan. So as required by California law, virtually all athletic teams/leagues that use school district fields for practice or games are legally bound by these requirements. Any league that has not currently implemented such a concussion management plan is in violation of California law. Unfortunately, many of the local athletic leagues are either unaware of this legal requirement or are unclear regarding how to implement and carry out such a systematic approach to concussion
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management. As a concussion specialist, I am particularly invested in helping local leagues develop plans of action to minimize the risk of concussion through sport. This includes: 1) teaching coaches and their staff what to look for in the potentially concussed athlete, 2) developing a concussion policy for teams and leagues, and 3) helping to provide pre-injury baseline ImPACT testing as well as post-injury evaluations for athletes. In this way, it is my goal to reduce the risk of concussions and related head injuries to our athletes and our children. ✪ Dr. Nash is a board certified pediatrician and Credentialed ImPACT Consultant practicing at 1-to-1 Pediatrics in Danville. He may be reached at 925.362.1861, info@1to1Pediatrics. com or www.1to1Pediatrics.com.
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training time: tim rudd for iyca
Conditioned to Succeed I ended my most recent column describing the importance of improving both the anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (conditioning) systems for most team field and court sports. The reason I’m discussing team sports is simple: they tend to fall in the middle of the black hole of conditioning and require the development of both systems. But the big mistake many coaches make is they don’t realize that most of these team sports (football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball etc..) rely heavily on the aerobic system. Coaches and athletes need to understand there is a lot more to conditioning than just going hard. They also need to understand that you can’t improve both effectively and all at the same time. A smart program will build an aerobic foundation and then interweave high-intensity and lowintensity methods over time to build a more resilient and better-conditioned athlete. Building a strong aerobic foundation is actually very sport specific. Studies show that improving an athlete’s ability to repeat explosive efforts during a game (driving to a basket for a lay-up) without gassing out can be improved more efficiently by building a strong aerobic base. In other words, just having athletes sprint to avoid fatiguing and gassing out during a game is less effective than building a strong aerobic foundation for improving this ability to be explosive throughout a game. The fact is the bigger and more stable an athlete’s aerobic foundation is going into a season, the more resilient they’ll be. Increased aerobic capacity will improve the athlete’s tolerance to all bio-motor abilities required for sport performance on and off the field or court of play, thus improving their on-field performance. The great thing about this is that once a solid aerobic foundation is built, maintaining it becomes easy. Allowing the athlete to now build speed, power and strength on this strong foundation. ✪ Tim Rudd is an IYCA specialist in youth conditioning and owner of Fit2TheCore
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call
snap People should know better than to call a sports fan during the game (looking at you, Mom). But if they do, this nifty little app allows you to respond with a personalized photo. Attach a message, show ‘em what you’re doing and you’re good to go. Android only. www.callsnapapp,com or click on over to Ye Olde Google Play Store.
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Welcome to Impulse, your one-stop shop for thingies, thing-a-majigs and thingykabobs. But not thing-a-whozits. That would be ridiculous. Ok, maybe we’ll toss you a few thing-a-whozits next issue. If you’re nice. I mean, for example, if you sent brownies to SportStars HQ you could have thing-a-whozits coming out of your ears next issues. Up to you.
Tailgating wayfair
grill
Let’s get this straight ... it’s a full sized propane grill that attaches into any standard receiving hitch? It swivels out? It’s brought to you by the guy who sings ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise.’ SOLD. For the love of St. Pete, it’s SOLD. www.margaritavillecargo.com Those burgers take time to get just right. Pass the time with NFL Tailgate Toss. Folds up small and is easily transportable. Also available with Broncos (Go Broncos!) and the other teams that aren’t my team. www.Wayfair.com
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EBSA gymnasts open their season pretty in pink East Bay Sports Academy girls gymnastics got off to a great start to their season in early September by attending The PINK Meet in Fremont. The meet is unique in that it donates a portion of its registration fees to Breast Cancer Awareness, and all the competitors are required to wear pink. “Whatever we can do to reduce the pressure our girls feel while they compete, we will do it,” team coach Bailey Hopper said of EBSA choosing the PINK meet as its season-opener. “Even if it means wearing pink leotards to have some fun.” The coaching team at EBSA combines for over 75 years of coaching experience, and includes Hopper, Cliff Parks, Michael Lynn, and Catie Davenport. They are committed to training gymnasts with focus for excellence, and within a stressfree environment where the girls are allowed to show their personality. EBSA brought 19 gymnasts to the meet in USA Gymnastics Level 3, 4 and 5. Of those 19, it was the first competition experience for eight of them. Still, their Level 3 and 4 teams earned 2nd overall
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in the Team Competition. “This is a unique year for for the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic competitive program,” Parks said. “Every eight years, on the Olympic cycle, USA Gymnastics updates the routines at the compulsory (beginning) levels and every gym now begins competition on the same page. “Because EBSA has only been open for just over three years, we have had to play catch-up with some of the other competitive gyms in the area. This season, we look forward to watching our athletes compete on a level playing field with some of the more established gyms in the area.” The Level 3 team was led by first-place performances from Anna Ravid who scored a 9.10 on bars, Mary Siemons with a score of 9.0 on floor, and Randi Marshall who doubled up for two first-place finishes on vault (9.0) and bars (8.95). The team score was also influenced by second-place event finishes from Sarah Young (vault, 9.25), Ashley Gay (bars, 8.95), and Alex Keppel (beam, 8.45). The Level 4 team competed with a
slight advantage in experience, also coming home with second place. Two team leaders emerged, earning State Meet qualifying scores. Elisha Santos blew away her competition with a solid first place on bars (9.15), and a third place in the all-around. Teammate Riley Pellmen earned first place on floor (9.075), second on balance beam (8.80), and third in the all-around. The Level 4 team also had a major score contribution Kate Mercer who finished second on vault (8.55), third on bars (9.00) and third on floor (8.475). In their second competitive season with EBSA, Level 4 athletes Shalley Marshall brought home a second-place finish on bars with an outstanding score of 9.0, and Savrinah Oliveros finished third on balance beam (8.625). Level 5 gymnasts Hadas Hessler and Samantha Balesteri delivered such a strong meet that they scored above the all-around maximum scores and qualified out of Level 5 for the season. They will now reset their focus to working hard to skip Level 6 and compete at Level 7. ✪ — SportStars staff
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1-To-1 Pediatrics..............................................................................................................32 All Out Sports League.......................................................................................................30 Army National Guard Recruiter...........................................................................................5 Athletic Placement Services.............................................................................................34 Bay Area Blast Volleyball Club..........................................................................................37 Big O Tires Northern California/ Nevada.............................................................................2 Bigfoot Hoops..................................................................................................................40 Blaze Volleyball................................................................................................................35 California Family Fitness...................................................................................................32 Championship Athletic Fundraising.................................................................................20 Cheergyms.Com...............................................................................................................14 Children’s Hospital And Research Center...........................................................................29 Club Sport........................................................................................................................12 Community Youth Center.................................................................................................38 Core Performance.................................................................................................26, 36, 37 Core Volleyball Club..........................................................................................................35 Crowne Plaza...................................................................................................................38 Diablo Rock Gym..............................................................................................................37 Diablo Trophies & Awards.................................................................................................37 E J Sports Elite Baseball Services......................................................................................35 East Bay Bulldogs Basketball............................................................................................34 East Bay Sports Academy.................................................................................................19 Excellence In Sport Performance......................................................................................30 Fit 2 The Core....................................................................................................................33 Franklin Canyon Golf Course.............................................................................................38 Gregg Jefferies Sports Academy ......................................................................................18 Halo Headband................................................................................................................38 Heritage Soccer Club........................................................................................................34 Home Team Sports Photography......................................................................................37 Image Imprint..................................................................................................................31 Kangazoom......................................................................................................................37 M L B Scout......................................................................................................................35 Made In America / Made In Japan....................................................................................26 Modesto Magic................................................................................................................34 Mountain Mike’s Pizza......................................................................................................13 Muir Orthopaedic Specialists............................................................................................31 National Scouting Report.................................................................................................36 Nor Cal All Sports Clinic....................................................................................................22 Northgate High School.....................................................................................................38 Pro Hammer Bat...............................................................................................................16 Rhino Sports Of Northern California.................................................................................21 Rocco’s Pizza...............................................................................................................24, 37 Saint Francis Memorial Hospital.......................................................................................33 San Ramon Slammers Baseball........................................................................................36 Sport Clips........................................................................................................................17 State Farm Jimmy Harrington Agent................................................................................25 Stevens Creek Toyota........................................................................................................21 Summit Orthopedic Specialists..........................................................................................3 Surewest Sports Show.....................................................................................................20 Sutter Delta......................................................................................................................28 The First Tee Of Contra Costa.............................................................................................38 Tri Valley Orthopedic Specialists Inc..................................................................................32 U S Cryotherapy................................................................................................................29 U. S. Baseball Academy....................................................................................................24 United States Youth Volleyball League.............................................................................39
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