COLUMNIST REGRETS HOW FAST HIS HIGH SCHOOL PLAYING DAYS FLEW BY AS NEW SEASON BEGINS, B-3
SPORTS POTOMAC | BETHESDA | ROCKVILLE
www.gazette.net | Wednesday, August 14, 2013 | Page B-1
Free agency comes to high schools Coaches say there has been a dramatic increase in student athletes transferring to new schools n
BY
TRAVIS MEWHIRTER STAFF WRITER
In a matter of just a few tumultuous months last year, Aquille Carr was a member of four different schools ranging from New Jersey to Jacksonville to Baltimore to Prince George’s County. At the end of this year, Quince Orchard’s Adam McLean will have attended his third high school, as will Wheaton’s Michael Patterson, DuVal’s Michael Cunningham, and dozens more. Still others will be at their second, some even their fourth. Transferring at the high school level, what was formerly a last-resort practice, has ostensibly become the new norm, rampant to the point that, as ESPN high school basketball writer Dave Telep put it, “it’s almost abnormal if kids are not transferring, which is really sad. We’re in this cycle where guys are looking for the next best opportunity.” But why now? “Times are changing,” he elaborated. “Things are going downhill and there’s no stopping it. With private schools and prep schools and charter schools, it really is the wild wild West.”
‘The LeBron Effect’ TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Thomas S. Wootton High School offensive lineman Logan Portes performs drills with teammates on Aug. 7
two faces
In 2010, for a full 75 minutes, a 25-year-old LeBron James sat in front of a platoon of ESPN cameras broadcasting to 13.1 million viewers to announce one
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THE
of
BY
Wootton’s offensive lineman
DAN FELDMAN
T
STAFF WRITER
homas S. Wootton High School offensive lineman Logan Portes lined up at tight end last season when an official told him his No. 74 jersey made him ineligible for the position. Portes ran to the sideline, where he quickly changed into a spare No. 99 jersey, and headed back to the field in time for the play. “The proverbial Superman goes in the booth and changes his outfit,” Wootton coach Tyree Spinner said. Portes, a senior, has been Su-
n
AT TIMES PORTES IS COMIC BOOK VILLAIN BANE, AND AT OTHER TIMES HE’S A TEDDY BEAR
perman for Wootton’s offensive line the past couple of years. But if Portes is being compared to a comic book character, Batman villain Bane might be more apt. First of all, Portes does an incredible Bane impression, whether it’s mimicking lines from “The Dark Knight Rises” or using a Bane voice/persona to describe his own life. Plus, he pushes around defenders like the oversized villain. “He’s a nasty, aggressive offensive lineman, which I love completely,” Spinner said. “He’s not going to make a lot of noise coming there, but when he gets
there, you’re definitely going to know that he’s there. “He reminds me of Bane on the field.” Off the field, Portes tries to play the good guy Clark Kent role. Portes has more than 20 stuffed animals — a big dog named “Spot,” a bunny named “Grace” and many teddy bears whose names he could probably summon if pressed to do so. He says he loves playing football with a young neighbor. And as often as he can, he works with Wootton’s team in the Rockville Football League’s Middle School League. Last year, juggling his own
practice schedule, Portes said he attended middle school practices about every other day. Usually, he offers pointers to the offensive linemen, holds the bag for drills or does whatever else is needed. Once, Portes lost his voice while yelling from atop the press box, where he was filming a game, because he was constantly shouting encouragement to the younger players. He’s gotten so close to the team, Portes said he offered to room with an incoming freshman during a varsity team camp this summer in order to make the young player feel more comfortable. Most of all, Portes said he tries to instill sportsmanship with the
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Academy players tabbed for national combine Ebobisse and Gasper travel to Oregon for elite U.S. soccer camp n
BY
NICK CAMMAROTA STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County’s soccer tradition seemingly grows by the month. Whether it’s professional players such as D.C. United’s Ethan White and Collin Martin (both Bethesda-Chevy Chase graduates) or former Our Lady of Good Counsel standout Kevin Alston (who plays for the New England Revolution) all the way to Gedion Zelalem — the former Walter Johnson midfielder plucked and placed into Arsenal’s youth academy program who is making quite an impression on the Gunners’ preseason tour. All of those players, and many more, have developed out of one of the best soccer counties in Maryland and two more local standouts
Ebobisse
Gasper
just wrapped up a five-day national combine at Nike’s World Headquarters in Portland, Ore. The event is part of U.S. Soccer’s expanded Training Center program and invited 64 of the country’s more talented 15- to-17-year-old players to train under U.S. Soccer Director of Scouting Tony Lepore. Seniors Jeremy Ebobisse and Chase Gasper, both of Bethesda-Olney Academy, were
FILE PHOTO
Seneca Valley High School’s Kevin Joppy (left) tackles Winston Churchill quarterback Jonathan Lee in a game last season. Joppy transferred to Quince Orchard this summer for his senior year.
Some academy players return to high school teams n
Coaches worry about future impact of one-year-old academy rule BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
invited to participate. “At first, the sight of seeing the list of names from the nations’ best academies, and even residency, was quite overwhelming and made me quite anxious,” said Ebobisse via email. “Although everyone is ultimately competing for a spot on the [United States Under 18] National Team, the sessions remain at high level and team oriented, with players pushing each other to play better and quicker.” Ebobisse, who played three seasons at Walter Johnson, recently committed to play soccer at Duke University, but will forgo his senior season with the Wildcats. Via a rule instituted last season, a player is not allowed to play for both their high school team and for an academy. “The state title remains as one of two trophies that has eluded me throughout my youth career, so deciding not to help my team
In 2007, U.S. Soccer created the Development Academy as a way of producing the next wave of National Team players. In February 2012, U.S. Soccer announced that the academy season would move from seven months to 10 months and players within the system were not allowed to participate in high school sports. Vegas Kastberg was a sophomore at Walt Whitman High School at the time. The Vikings’ then two-year starting central midfielder was intent on earning an NCAA Division I scholarship, so, when he was faced with that difficult decision, he chose the academy system. Players are told that is the best way to get noticed by college recruiters. Whitman striker Emmanuel Kennah did the same. Both will be back in Vikings colors this fall. “Playing for your school is something you can’t really replace. The kids on the team are my best friends in school. I couldn’t see half the games [because of academy practice], but [when I was there] it was painful to sit on the bench because I just wanted to jump in,” Kastberg said. The Development Academy is similar to systems in
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