Palo Alto ice hockey reaches league championship

Sophomore Jorell Clark drives past a defender in a win over Gunn on Jan. 27, where he scored 24 points. “To see him doing some of the things on the court, he’s one of the better sophomores in the entire area,” coach Je LaMere said.

After struggling to gain momentum through the rst three quarters of its Jan. 27 game against Gunn (3-8), boys basketball (83) rallied to outscore the Titans by 19 points in the fourth quarter, pulling o a 15-point, 51-47 comeback victory.

Senior and captain Jackson Martin said the team played out-of-character until the fourth quarter but was driven to victory by its determination.

“In the rst half, we weren’t playing the basketball that we knew we could play,” Martin said. “We just had the winning mindset — we never want to lose a game — so we just brought it all on the oor, and fortunately, we came out on top.

Coach Je LaMere said despite challenges, the team continuously looked for ways to win.

After progressing to the Sharks High School Hockey League championship, the ice hockey team su ered a 6-2 loss against Saint Francis on Feb. 6, concluding the season with a record of 8-3-5.

Junior Takumi Weimann said despite its e ort, the team lacked intensity until the later part of the game once it was too late to make a comeback.

“I think our o ense was great, but their goaltending was outstanding which made it di cult to score,” Weimann said. “In our defensive zone, we struggled because their top line moved the puck well and were fast on zone entries.”

Sophomore Will Hagan agreed that the team did not play to its full potential.

“I think we struggled with passing and holding onto possession,” Hagan said. “We also had a tough time defending some of their better players.”

In conjunction with the team’s quality of playing, sophomore Henry Harding said the lack of chemistry contributed to the loss.

“As we began facing adversity a lot of our players tried to do everything on their own and not work as a team,” Harding said.

Despite the loss, Hagan said the team had an impressive season overall and improved signi cantly since last season.

“Last year, coming out of COVID-19, our team was not as organized. We only had one practice a week that was optional, and we didn’t have a lot of players attending,” Hagan said. “But this year, everyone was more committed and attending practice, so we were a lot more organized as a group.”

Harding said the team was also more experienced this season.

“Our team is mainly comprised of sophomores and upperclassmen, which is a big di erentiator from last season,” Harding said. “A lot of the other teams in our league have players who play on a bunch of di erent club teams, whereas on our team, a lot of us have played together before.”

Looking forward, Hagan said the players are evaluating how to better the team during the o season.

“I hope next season we can build o of how we did this year and have a strong regular season and win our league,” Hagan said. “Our team can create good scoring opportunities, but we struggle with scoring o those opportunities, which is something we want to work on.”

Harding said an area of improvement for the team is limiting turnovers.

“A lot of the goals we give up are on fast breaks” Harding said. “Working on that in the o season will de nitely be helpful.”

In addition to strengthening these skills within the team, Weimann said the team is planning to expand its roster.

“I think going into the o season our team is likely going to add some new players and more depth,” Weimann said. “And hopefully we can make it to states next year which is de nitely not out of our reach.”

While the team had a frustrating nish to the season, Weimann said he still has a positive view of the season and an optimistic outlook for the upcoming year.

“Even though we did not win the championship, I’m not disappointed in the year as a whole,” Weimann said. “Overall, we had a great season and made it pretty far.”

“I thought it was a testament to our team and their toughness to continue to battle when you’re down in the fourth quarter,” LaMere said. “Going into the fourth quarter, we were looking for a spark. We were looking for combinations of guys that could do something.”

LaMere said senior Ethan Wong was instrumental in orchestrating the comeback.

“In two of our big games, he came in and guarded their best player when we needed a stopper,” LaMere said. “And then in this game, he came in and just gave us some light. It was gratifying to see him hit a three-point shot that was big with momentum.”

In addition to Wong’s momentum, LaMere said that sophomore Jorell Clark was another key player, scoring 20 points in the second half to lead the team’s fourth quarter surge.

“To see him doing some of the things on the court, I think he’s one of the better sophomores in the entire area,” LaMere said. “We’re lucky to have him on our team. He’s a wonderful teammate and plays the game the right way.” is unexpected and exciting comeback made this game a stand out in LaMere’s coaching career.

“(Tonight) was a special night,” LaMere said. “I’ve been in a lot of games, and I’ve been doing this for 30 years at all di erent levels. is has to be right up there with one of the better ones I’ve been a part of.” e park currently has eight courts set aside for pickleball players and two tennis courts that are striped for both pickleball and tennis games.

A new pickleball full-day priority ordinance proposed to City Council for approval this month may provide more space for pickleball players at the expense of tennis players at Mitchell Park.

However, pickleball players have priority on these two courts from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with tennis players having priority from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

If approved, the new policy would give pickleball priority over tennis on all the courts all the time.

P.E. teacher Peter Diepenbrock said the proposed ordinance is justi ed because pickleball is a more popular sport than tennis in the park.

“ e fact of the matter is, if you ever go there from 3 to 10, there are always way more pickleball players, so it kind of makes sense for the city to do that,” he said.

Diepenbrock joined the Palo Alto Pickleball Club in 2018 when it was rst gaining traction.

“We had maybe 300 or 400 members in the club back then,” Diepenbrock said. “And now there are 900.”

But tennis player Xiang Lu said many Palo Alto residents who play tennis at the Mitchell Park courts are frustrated with the council’s proposed policy. Before the rise of pickleball, Lu said many United States Tennis Association matches were been held at the courts.

“We used to have a USTA team here. But they took away two of our courts, and the other two remain for coaching,” Lu said. “So we can’t even host USTA matches anymore, and it’s just a huge pain.”

Lu also said the city is at fault for the conict because it could have just added more designated pickleball courts at the park. He also said Palo Alto could do more to support racket sports in general.

Despite the controversy, Diepenbrock said he thinks pickleball serves people of all backgrounds.

“People show up there seven days a week, all di erent times during the day, and it’s all ages from all di erent walks of life,” Diepenbrock said. “It just keeps getting more and more popular. It’s a lot of fun to play.”

While Lu said he has nothing against pickleball or the people who play it, he hopes the city ordinance does not pass.

“It seems like it’s convenient to take the tennis courts, but I’m not so sure that’s a really good idea,” Lu said. “In that regard, I would really be against that. Pickleball is advancing and that’s good, but it cannot be at the expense of tennis.”

However, pickleball player Austen Tse, a new resident of the Mitchell Park area, said tennis coaches in the area should adapt with the market and do what is best nancially for them.

“(Tennis and pickleball are) pretty similar sports, and as with any business, you should adapt to the times,” Tse said. “So, if the demand (for pickleball lessons) is much greater, it makes sense to serve the greater community if there are more people interested in it.”

Husein Khambata, an entry-level pickleball player, said whatever happens, the system should not be implemented at the Mitchell Park courts.

Khambata said, “Just because there’s more demand (for pickleball), you can’t kick out (tennis players) who were there before.”