NC Issue 104 August 2015

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8 locker

room: It’s trading time in Major League Baseball. Who knows better than us what deals need to happen?

Nobody, that’s who.

The Fence: 34 Tryouts, sign-ups, fund-raisers and more!

38 Advertiser’s index 4

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How We Spent Summer Vacation

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y the time this issue hits the web, and then the streets, there will already be some NorCal school districts who have begun their academic year. So long, Summer. We hardly knew ye.

Now, we could devote this entire column to a Grandpa Simpson-like rant on how going back to school in July is just plain wrong. However, we will try to remain poised on the matter.

In the meantime, our summer here at SportStars HQ is still going. Barely. Our 2015 Football Preview will be in the works soon enough, and that’s when things get real around here. But before we turn everything over for the 2015-16 year, I wanted to talk a little bit about what we’ve been up to on our summer vacation.

The SportStars editorial braintrust had a meeting of the minds not long after the 4th of July. Lunch was had; ideas were exchanged; selfies were taken. It’s true, actually. But you’ll need to pick up the Football Preview (Ahem! Aug. 20.) for proof.

We met to plan that Preview issue, but to also exchange some thoughts on some areas of the magazine that were due for a facelift.

The Locker Room was one of those area. We like to think of the Locker Room as a place for the athletes who read us. That’s a place where we try to have fun, stay loose and focus on the content that will confuse the most parents. Our meeting of the minds felt it needed a new look and some fresh elements, and we’re proud debut the new look in this issue on pages 8 and 9.

There are a few popular holdover items, including the longstanding “Top 5” from our resident humorist, Bill Kolb, and the “Rapid Fire” interviews with athletes. Some of the new items will aim for interaction.

We’ll be highlighting some of the social media we see from the many athletes whom we follow. We’ll also be offering up goodies from the SportStars Prize Vault for various social media contests involving the Locker Room. One thing to pay attention to is the actual number of the locker that our designer Mike DeCicco built for the new look. Each month, that number will signify something and we’ll offer up a hint. Tweet us at @SportStarsMag with the right answer and the hashtag #LockerNumber, and you could be a winner. The answer won’t always be a four-digit number, either. Sometimes the four numbers will represent two, two-digit numbers or four single-digits. For this issue, we’re putting the hint here on this page. Look to the right to get started.

One last thing we’ve added to Locker Room is a periodical “Where Are They Now?” segment.

After more than five years and 100 issues, we figure we have a past to celebrate now. There are plenty of athletes whom we cover that deserve an update on their athletic and career endeavors.

As many of you return to your own locker rooms this month. We hope you like the new one we’ve built here. Feel free to let us know. In the meantime, enjoy those last couple weeks of vacation. Unless of course you’re back at school. And in that case, we’re sorry. ✪

#LockerNumber

Each month a new number will appear on the locker of the Locker Room on page 8. We’ll provide the hint, and a prize, to the first person who can tweet @SportStarsMag (using hashtag #LockerNumber) with the correct significance of the number.

HINT: Our designer, Mike DeCicco, is a really big Denver Broncos fan, and has been his entire life.

(Find the number on Page 8)

join our team PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson • Chace@SportStarsOnline.com Staff Writer Jim McCue • JimMcCue16@gmail.com Contributors Bill Kolb, 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 Evans, III Marketing/Events Ryan Arter Editorial Intern Mike Young 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 Camps & Clinics: Ryan Arter • Camps@SportStarsOnline.com Alameda County: Berry Evans • Berry@foto-pros.com Central Valley, World Events: Anthony Grigsby • Area Director anthony.grigsby@worldeventssports.com Darin Wissner • JustAGameEvents@gmail.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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Read Me. Recycle Me. 6

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Positional Battles I’ve always been bigger than the other kids, so whenever we play football, I’m stuck blocking. I can throw the ball really far, and I understand the game, and I want to play quartvverback, but no one wants to give me a chance.

They just tell me to go hit someone. How can I get the coaches to think about me as a quarterback?

—R.R., Vacaville

here’s a saying that “demography is destiny,” and too often in athletics you can substitute “size” for “demography” and get the same outcome — as you’ve learned.

One reason is that it’s a lot easier to find small athletes than big ones. Something like 15 percent of the 20- to 32-year-olds in the world who are seven feet or taller play pro basketball — and none of them are point guards. In fact, a lot of them can barely dribble, but size is such an advantage in basketball that their skills don’t really matter.

So look at it from the football coach’s point of view: I have 35 varsity players. Say 10 weigh more than 200 pounds. Of those ten, only a couple are athletic and can really make a difference. Now, that same roster might have ten guys who can throw well enough to play quarterback. Of those, five might be smart enough.

Let’s say you’re in both groups — that is, you’re one of the three or four athletic 200-plus pounders, and you’re

T

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one of the five potential quarterbacks.

How many quality linemen does a team need to succeed? Really, the minimum is seven.

How many quality quarterbacks does a team need to succeed? Two, really, but one of them probably won’t play if the starter doesn’t get hurt.

It’s pretty clear what the coach is going to do: He’s going to put you where the team needs you most, which is in the group that needs seven players, not in the group that needs one or two. You’re more valuable as a lineman than a quarterback, unless you are clearly head and shoulders above every other quarterback candidate.

This same logic applies to running back and wide receiver — most teams need more linebackers than running backs. After all, if you have a really good running back, he’s going to get the ball most of the time, but you need at least three good linebackers to try and stop him.

This is one of the great things about football: It is an ultimate team game, and sacrifices occur during play (nine guys block so one guy can run) and prior to playing (you play tackle instead of quarterback). For a football team to be successful, everyone must buy into the concept that what comes first is the team, not the player. ✪

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

August 2015

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Top 5 trades we wanna see Major League Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline looms (Friday, July 31, 1 p.m. PDT – take that, East Coast Bias…). A TON of moving pieces remain … unmoved. In a perfect world, every player who has been rumored in a trade would be doing different laundry on Saturday (What? We’re A’s fans. Ever hear of schadenfreude?).

Here’s our Top 5 Trade Deadline Wishlist: Craig Kimbrel (San Diego) and Tyler Clippard (Oakland, left) to Kansas City. Because we wanna see what it looks like when you have five guys in the bullpen throwing high-90s/low-100s and your starters only need to go four innings. Plus. The Royals are the best team in the American League right now. We can’t believe we just typed that. But we kinda like the way it feels, and we wanna see where the sensation take us.

Aroldis Chapman (Cincinnati), Jonathan Papelbon (Philadelphia) and Francisco Rodriguez (Milwaukee) to Washington.

Did you ever build great big Lego constructions when you were a kid, and then just smash them together to see what would happen? That’s how we feel about the Nats’ and the Royals’ bullpens.

SportStars, SMASH! Tyson Ross (San Diego), Ben Zobrist (Oakland), and Brian Sabean’s freaky deadline deal luck to Houston. The Astros have been doing it with smoke and mirrors (and that crazy little hit machine, Jose Altuve) all season. This is the sort of under-the-radar move that Sabean’s made in three of the past five years. Hard to root against the ‘Stros. Especially when the alternative is the Angels.

Cole Hamels (Philadelphia) and David Price (Detroit) to Toronto. Anything to help the Blue Jays overtake the Yankees. Anything.

That guy in Double-A you haven’t heard of who has some undervalued talent as a hitter, and that other guy you haven’t heard of in High-A Ball who just needs a little tweak to get over the top as a pitcher, and three other guys you haven’t heard of who like to take a lot of pitches, work the count, and will be under team control for five more years to Oakland for Clippard and Zobrist. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2016 Oakland Athletics!

Billy Ball, baby.

— Bill “I still can’t believe we traded our No. 4 hitter in the middle of a pennant race” Kolb Albert Pena/Cal Sport Media/ZUMAPRESS.com

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Rapid Fire ryan kreidler Davis Baseball

Max Flower Campolindo-Moraga Football/Baseball

your entrance music if you were a boxer/mma fighter 'I Got the Juice'

by Meek Mill

'Where the Hood At' by DMX

one goal you have for the school year Sign my NLI Win league in (committed to UCLA) football best movie you've watched this summer

Interstellar

Southpaw

#

hashtag

Trending What’s hot in the world of stuff that’s hot

A look at our favorite social media posts of the past several weeks. Got any good posts you’d like to nominate? email editor@sportstarsonline.com

Cal-Hi Sports Twitter @CalHiSports Randy Johnson (Livermore) entering MLB Hall of Fame today. Is he greatest pitcher ever from California? Either him or Walter Johnson.

Hulk Hogan dropped by the WWE for reportedly making racist and homophobic statements. Well, anything to distract people from your sex tape, I guess?

NFL training camps are here! Time to dig in and start thinking of a good fantasy football name that will only seem clever and timely for a few hours.

Boss Tagaloa, right De La Salle football Twitter @_BT75 KEEP GRINDING. Someone you don’t even know is rooting for you, while someone you know isn’t.

President Obama visited Kenya recently. Among other things, he saw a 3-million year old skeleton of a human ancestor.

Donald Trump immediately demanded to see its birth certificate.

National federation of high school athletics Twitter @NFHS_Org J. Smoltz at his @ MLBHallofFame induction: “Baseball is not a yearround sport. You have an opportunity to be athletic and play other sports.”

Tom Cruise says he’ll do Top Gun 2 on one condition — that the jets be real, no CGI. And his call-sign is Operating Thetan III instead of Maverick. So that’s two conditions.

no. 1 priority if you were president for one week Re-do PacquiaoConfront our Maywheather country's social fight issues favorite beverage on a 100-degree summer day Arnold Palmers

Mountain Dew Code Red

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DJ Ashba (who?) left Guns N’ Roses after six years. He wants to spend more time with his family and focus harder on being Not Slash.

where are they now?

Four years ago this month we did a cover story on up and coming NorCal hockey talent, which included Manteca native Kyle Kruenegel standing in a field of corn where his family built him a rink to practice on. He turned 21 in June and is still chasing his hockey dream.

Kyle most recently helped lead the Idaho Junior Steelheads to a Thorne Cup Title in the Western States Hockey League. He had three goals and five assists over nine playoff games.

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Slide On Over Schools switching sections is rare, but in some cases it makes a lot of good sense

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hile compiling the all-time football scores archive earlier this month for Justin-Siena High of Napa, it was fascinating to see what happened after the school jumped from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section to the CIF North Coast Section.

According to football head coach Rich Cotruvo, who has been at the school since 1997, the Braves switched prior to the 2000-01 school year because of travel concerns in a new league realignment. Since the move, the school has won six NCS Division IV football titles, including last season, and has been runner-up twice.

Similar moves are rare in Northern California compared to Southern California, but it got me thinking about schools in the north in which a move to a different section might not be a bad idea.

The Napa Valley where Justin-Siena is located is still Sac-Joaquin Section country for the larger schools of Napa, Vintage and American Canyon while the smaller schools are in the NCS. Napa and Vintage would seem aligned in many ways with nearby Sonoma County schools in the NCS such as those in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. Furthermore, going to an SJS playoff game to a place like El Dorado Hills or Rocklin can be a traffic nightmare. Still, it’s more important in all factors for Napa and Vintage to stay with the Vallejo schools. So unless it’s a move with the Vallejo schools to the NCS as well, they should probably sit still.

Looking way to the south in the SJS, there have been rumblings for years that the larger Merced County schools should be in the CIF Central Section.

And since we’re getting close to the point in which the schools involved are a growing group with new school El Capitan-Merced now joining Merced, Golden Valley-Merced, Atwater and Buhach Colony-Atwater, forming a new league that would be in the Central Section and no longer in the SJS begins to make more sense.

It’s always been the case for many Merced County schools to be more connected to Fresno to the south than Sacramento to the north. If you were to watch a Friday night football scores show on TV in Merced or Atwater this season, you won’t see your school mentioned at all on a Sacramento station but you’d see plenty on the Fresno channels. And now that the Central Section is going to be in the north for the football bowl games, that would just make a switch for the Merced/Atwater schools into that section even easier.

In addition to the Napa Valley and Merced County, the Sac-Joaquin Section could see movement in Sutter County, but that would be an addition and not a subtraction. In that case, of course, we’re referring to Sutter High leaving the CIF Northern Section and going to the SJS. In recent seasons, Sutter has had a football program and athletic department in general looking for better competitive situations, and joining the SJS would certainly help. The school, after all, is next door to Yuba City and Marysville, the northernmost schools in the SJS. Other SJS schools, however, wouldn’t be crazy about any trips that far north.

Schools in the Humboldt-Del Norte region of the NCS also have always seemed more aligned with schools in the Northern Section from Redding and Red Bluff. It’s just so much easier going up and down Highway 101, however, than going back and forth on Highway 299 that such a move like that probably will never happen. ✪

Rich Cotruvo

Mark Tennis is the co-founder of Cal-Hi Sports, and publisher of CalHiSports.com. Contact him at markjtennis@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter, @CalHiSports.

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Three local high school varsity programs put on successful summer tournament ack for the second year in a row after a hiatus in 2010, the Rockwood Boys Varsity Basketball Tournament was a huge success. Woodcreek, Rocklin and Whitney High Schools teamed up to host this exciting summer tournament on June 19-21 that was held at their respective high schools and brought some great basketball competition to Placer Valley.

The host coaches Nick French from Whitney, Casey Cutts from Rocklin and Paul Hayes from Woodcreek were all pleased with the level of play that was provided for the 24 teams competing in the tournament. Several teams attended from the Sacramento area as well as some from the Bay Area and even down south as far as Visalia.

The teams were divided into four six-team brackets for pool play on the first two days of the tournament. Based on their pool play records the teams were reseeded into three new brackets for tournament play on the final day.

Folsom and Capital Christian-Sacramento were seeded in the number one and number two spots, respectively, in the

B

Gold Finals.

“Capital Christian beat Folsom in a heated battle that was definitely a preview of two of the top teams for the Sac-Joaquin Section next year,” Hayes said.

In the Silver Bracket, Davis High earned the top seed and Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove grabbed the second seed. However, neither team made the final cut as fifth-seeded Campolindo-Moraga ended up with the title after defeating El Diamante-Visalia in the final.

The Bronze Tournament went similarly to the Gold Finals as it was the second-seeded Vista Del Lago-Folsom taking the title over No. 1 Elk Grove.

Placer Valley Tourism was delighted to be a part of such an outstanding tournament and is thrilled to have Rockwood back to stay.

Coach Hayes summed it up perfectly: “It was a terrific tournament with some quality hoops and good sportsmanship and we look forward to hosting even more teams in next year’s tournament.” ✪

Spook&Splash

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What better way to kick-off the short course season for swimmers than with a Halloween-themed swim meet.

That is exactly what California Capital Aquatics (CCA) does with their annual Spook-tacular Swim Meet that takes place every October at the prestigious Roseville Aquatics Complex. This year’s meet will be held Oct. 2-4 and Placer Valley Tourism is thrilled to be partnering with CCA again to bring such a fun tradition to Placer Valley and the local swimming community.

Event organizers are anticipating approximately 1,200 swimmers from all over Northern California at this three-day event that will run two sessions per day with the 13-and-older age groups swimming first, and then the 12-and-under age groups competing at the latter part of each day. This short course meet, which signifies that the course is running the 25-yard width of the pool, fills up fast as it is the largest meet for the Sierra Nevada Swimming short course competition of the year.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars and be prepared for spectacular swimming at the Spook-tacular Swim Meet!

The Roseville Aquatics Complex is located at 3051 Woodcreek Blvd in West Roseville. We hope to see there. ✪ — All copy, photos provided by Placer Valley Tourism Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com

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Michael Prengler/Cal Sport Media/ZUMAPRESS.com

Top 10

Most Anticipated Showdowns In De La Salle Football History The Spartans are facing Texas powerhouse Trinity High of Euless, Texas, on August 29 in a nationally televised matchup. It’s the biggest California vs. Texas game ever, but is it the most-anticipated showdown that De La Salle has been in? Any list of the most anticipated matchups in DLS history has to begin with the prerequisite of that game being scheduled during The Streak or after it. During The Streak, of course, it created more anticipation, more significance. Also keep in mind the buildup for some games, such as CIF state bowls, takes place as a season unfolds. This list is for the anticipation prior to a season beginning.

1. De La Salle vs.

Long Beach Poly (2001)

Over the past 30-plus years, many longtime SoCal observers will tell you these Jackrabbits were the most physically impressive team they’ve seen. It had four future NFL players plus many others that played at major colleges. Poly had tied for the CIF Southern Section title the year before, and De La Salle’s winning streak was at 112.

While the Spartans had already played Mater Dei-Santa Ana three times, they hadn’t faced Poly, which is known for producing more NFL players than any other high school. Despite The Streak, there were some national pollsters that indicated they were going to rank the Jackrabbits No. 1 to start 2001. In the Student Sports/FAB 50, it was De La Salle No. 1 and Long Beach Poly No. 2.

Since many knew how strong Poly was going to be, the anticipation for this game can’t be beat. It was the first documented No. 1 vs. No. 2 game in U.S. prep football history and generated 120 credential requests, including the New York Times.

RESULT: De La Salle 29, Long Beach Poly 15. Before the game, no one knew the name of junior running back Maurice Drew.

After he scored four times, everyone did.

Poly finished 13-1 and won the CIFSS title.

2. De La Salle vs.

Mater Dei-Santa Ana (1998)

This was the game that also could be No. 1. Until 1998, the Spartans had not played any prominent teams from the Southern Section’s top division, and Mater Dei was the program to beat. There were many comments in the press that De La Salle was going to be in over its head. It was easily the most anticipated NorCal vs. SoCal matchup.

RESULT: De La Salle 28, Mater Dei 21.

Just before halftime, when the Spartans had a 21-7 lead, DLS alum Brent Barry of the L.A. Clippers (standing on the sidelines), yelled out: “We belong. We belong out there.”

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For the first time in its legendary program, De La Salle begins preparation for a trip to high school football’s heartland

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hroughout its storied history, the De La Salle High football team hasn’t shied away from playing a tough opponent or lining up under the glare of the bright lights.

This time, it’s a little bit different, and a trip to the heartland of high school football is poised to give fans a showdown they’ve long clamored for.

De La Salle opens its 2015 season on Aug. 29 when it travels to the greater Dallas area for a nationally televised matchup with traditional Texas power TrinityEuless. For those who’ve followed the Spartans through Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com

all the wins, state titles and even a movie, the trip represents a longrumored but never completed test in the backyard of perhaps the most fervent high school football fans in the nation.

So, when the Spartans turn out of the Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport and make the 27-mile trek down the President George Bush Turnpike to Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield, they’ll do so with the nation watching. Head coach Justin Alumbaugh’s squad begins the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, and in Trinity, it will find itself faced with a three-time Texas state champion that is as traditional a power as De La Salle could face.

Just how long has a trip to Texas existed in the proverbial rumor mill?

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“The typical thing is to exchange a couple games but they didn’t know much about us and we didn’t know much about them so we agreed to exchange the whole year.

We both played 14 games last year, so we both agreed to exchange our entire year of film. So, we know a lot about them and I’m guessing they know a lot about us now.”

— De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh “Since we’ve been going out of state, realistically,” Alumbaugh said. “There’s the appeal of high school football in Texas and since we’ve been playing out of state, it hasn’t been the first thing people have mentioned, but it’s something that’s been brought up here and there.”

As is normally the case with big, out-of-state high school football games these days, ESPN played the part of middle-man in negotiations. The network came to Alumbaugh and athletic director Leo Lopoz with the idea, did the same with Trinity and the wheels started turning. Once the Spartans figured out how to mitigate the cost, missed class time and other key logistics, the game was set.

While starting a season against such a good opponent might not be the ideal way to jump back into action, scheduling the Trojans for a week zero game did carry with it one important advantage: scouting. Alumbaugh and his staff have had all summer to study their first opponent, which means preparation shouldn’t be an issue when the 2015 season finally kicks off.

“I called coach (Chris) Jensen, their new head coach, and we talked for a little bit,” Alumbaugh said. “The typical thing is to exchange a couple games but they didn’t know much about us and we didn’t know much about them so we agreed to exchange the whole year. We both played 14 games last year, so we both agreed to exchange our entire year of film. So, we know a lot about them and I’m guessing they know a lot about us now.”

What Alumbaugh found on film was a team that, in many respects, played a lot like his own even if the sizes aren’t necessarily the same. Physicality at the line serves as a hallmark for the Trojans just as it does the Spartans and that drove Alumbaugh, who coaches the offensive line himself at De La Salle, to admit “If we weren’t playing them, I’d appreciate it quite a bit as an offensive line coach.”

On paper, Trinity returns several key building blocks that De La Salle will have to account for.

Defensive tackle Chris Daniels is rated a four-star recruit by both Scout and Rivals and owns scholarship offers from almost every big school in the nation. Quarterback Tyler Natee, who checks in at 6-foot and 240 pounds, is rated a three-star athlete

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3. De La Salle vs.

Trinity-Euless (Texas) (2015)

At the time of many of De La Salle’s biggest games during The Streak, many prominent prep websites didn’t exist. With so many sites today and the evolution of social media, the buildup for this game will be intense. The saying “Don’t Mess With Texas” certainly applies to high school football. The pregame chatter will rival the NorthwesternMiami trip in 2007 to play Carroll-Southlake in another No. 1 vs. No. 2 tilt. The Floridians snapped Carroll’s 49-game win streak.

4. De La Salle vs. St. LouisHonolulu, Hawaii (2002)

This was the Spartans’ first trip outside of the state to play a highly ranked opponent.

St. Louis had one of the top programs in the nation and entered with an 11-2-1 record against California teams. Quotes from the governor greeted those who traveled from the mainland and a pre-game rally at St. Louis was the lead story on local TV. RESULT: De La Salle 31, St. Louis 21.

The streak rolled on to 117. Running back Maurice Drew had another big outing.

5. De La Salle vs. Evangel Chrstn-Shreveport, La. (2003)

Evangel was a well-known national power. Adding big interest was that it was the first-ever high school football game broadcast on ESPN. It’s common knowledge in ESPN circles that if the Spartans (who started the season with a 139-game win streak) had not agreed, then no high school football contests were going to get on air.

RESULT: De La Salle 27, Evangel Christian 10. With 1:38 left in the game, the Spartans were on the Evangel 1-yard line and kneeled three straight times to kill the clock.

6. De La Salle vs. Long Beach Poly (2002)

Since the 2001 game went so well, and because the Jackrabbits did not lose for the rest of the season, the rematch for 2002 was hugely anticipated as well. De La Salle’s streak was at 125. Another reason the 2002 tilt isn’t as high on this list is because both teams had to survive earlier tests in a doubleheader in Hawaii.

RESULT: De La Salle 28, Long Beach Poly 7. The late Terrance Kelly scored for the Spartans on one of three TD passes thrown by quarterback Britt Cecil.

7. De La Salle vs. St. Thomas Aquinas-Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) (2011)

De La Salle’s Andrew Hernandez. Phillip Walton/file photo Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com

If there’s an equivalent of DLS in Florida, it’s the Raiders. Coming into the 2011 season, the Spartans were a two-time defending CIF Open Division state bowl champion while St. Thomas Aquinas was still happy about being mythical national champions in 2008 and 2010. The game also matched alltime coaching greats – Bob Ladoucuer of De La Salle and George Smith of St. Thomas.

RESULT: St. Thomas Aquinas 30,

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De La Salle 6. Turnovers doomed the Spartans, who did rebound to win a third straight CIF Open Division state crown.

8. De La Salle vs. Mission Viejo (2004)

By the time the Spartans played the Diablos, they had lost twice. Heading into the season, however, The Streak was going strong and Mission Viejo was a huge challenge, especially with Mark Sanchez returning. Bellevue (Wash.)

— which ended The Streak in the 2004 season opener — was viewed as a legit opponent, but not like Mission Viejo.

RESULT: Mission Viejo 19, De La Salle 17. It was a great showing for the Spartans under the circumstances.

They had a chance to steal a win on a long field goal attempt. Mission Viejo went unbeaten and became the first State Team of the Year that wasn’t De La Salle since 1994.

9. De La Salle vs. Don Bosco-Ramsey, N.J. (2008)

This matchup came after the Spartans had an unbeaten 2007 and won their first CIF state bowl title. The Ironmen were nationally ranked and were even better in 2009 when they beat DLS in New Jersey.

RESULT: Don Bosco 23, De La Salle 21. The Spartans blew a 21-7 halftime lead mostly due to turnovers. Still, it took a 19-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to win it.

10. De La Salle vs. Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas, Nev. (2010)

The visiting Gaels wanted this game desperately since they were building a big-time program and head coach Tony Sanchez used to give the Spartans some tough matchups when he was at California-San Ramon.

RESULT: De La Salle 28, Bishop Gorman 14. The score was not indicative of Bishop Gorman’s ability and the Spartans didn’t put it away until a TD with 1:30 left. ✪ — Mark Tennis, CalHi Sports

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checks in with three stars.

While De La Salle can try to account for personnel, it will also try to devise a solid game plan when it comes to travel.

When the Spartans traveled to Florida in 2011 to take on another national power, St. Thomas Aquinas-Fort Lauderdale, nothing went right in a 30-6 loss to the Raiders. A lightning storm delayed the game over an hour, humidity sapped the energy of nearly everyone on the sideline, and starting running back Das Tautalatasi went down with an injury that forced him to forgo his role on offense for much of the season.

“We’ve just got to prepare the best we can,” Alumbaugh said. “We always condition hard and work our kids hard but we’ve been really diligent about that.

We’re trying to get them in as good of shape as possible. There’s only so much you can do to prepare for it to be hot and humid. We’re going to have to have multiple guys ready. We have some twoway guys, but that early in the season, in that type of heat, you can’t count on those guys going both ways the whole game. It’s just illogical. So, we’re going to have to have some other guys ready.” ✪ — SportStars Staff

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Trinity at a glance

›› NEXT STOP, TEXAS: Euless, Texas is located within the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex, which consists of 12 counties. The Trojans play their on-campus home games at Pennington Field, but the matchup with De La Salle will take place about 22 miles away at Vernon Newsom Stadium (capacity: 11,134) in Mansfield.

›› HISTORY LESSON: Trinity has won eight consecutive district titles and 55 district games in a row entering the 2015 season. The Trojans own three state championships in the 5-A division (2005, 2007, 2009) and their 2010 win over Coppell in the 5-A Division I regional final was ranked No. 1 in the Dallas Morning News’ list of top-10 high school football finishes. ›› LAST SEASON: Trinity reached the quarterfinals of the 6-A Division playoffs but lost 30-27 to eventual champ Allen. Along the way, the Trojans scored a 42-14 victory over Permian-Odessa,the team that was featured in the book (and later movie) Friday Night Lights. After the season, longtime coach Steve Lineweaver retired and was replaced by offensive coordinator Chris Jensen.

›› PROSPECT WATCH: Five Trinity players have Rivals.com recruiting pages, led by four-star defensive tackle Chris Daniels. Eight De La Salle players are listed in the Rivals database, with tight end Devin Asiasi and defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa each earning their own four-star rating.

›› BIG GAME HUNTERS: Trinity has played a nationally notable game nearly every year in recent memory with the last big game coming in 2013 when the Trojans traveled to Arkansas to take on former national No. 1 Bentonville. The team has also traveled to the West Coast, and in 2012 the Trojans dropped a 31-24 decision to the same Bellevue-Washington program that beat De La Salle in 2004 to snap the Spartans’ legendary 151-game winning streak.

— SportStars Staff

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The prestigious Area Code Games baseball showcase tournament returns to Long Beach from Aug. 4-11. Eight teams are composed to feature the most talented incoming juniors and seniors from eight key regions across the country. The teams will represent a Major League Baseball team, and are often handpicked by the scouting departments of those organizations. The Northern California region has its own team and represents the Oakland Athletics. We attended the one-day, invitation-only tryout on July 16 at Banner Island Park in Stockton. Here is the full roster along with some of our favorite photos.

Kevin Milam 18

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Ryan Kreidler Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook!

OAKLAND A’S AREA CODE ROSTER

Armani Smith

Name

Pos. Year School

Carter Aldrete

IF

2016

Monterey

Ryan Anderson

LHP

2016

Spanish Springs (Nev.)

Hunter Bishop

OF

2016

Serra-San Mateo

Dylan Carlson

1B

2016

Elk Grove

Troy Claunch

C

2017

Vacaville

Jack Cosca

RHP

2016

Jesuit-Carmichael

Andrew Daschback

IF

2016

Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton

Michael Farley

OF

2016

Chico

Max Flower

OF

2016

Campolindo-Moraga

Grant Gambrell

RHP/1B 2016

Buchanan-Clovis

Jared Horn

RHP

2016

Vintage-Napa

Ryan Jensen

RHP

2016

Salinas

Ryan Kreidler

IF

2016

Davis

Alejandro Lara

IF

2016

Vanden-Fairfield

Jake McNichols

C

2016

Vintage-Napa

Austin Manning

LHP

2016

Heritage-Brentwood

Matt Manning

RHP

2016

Sheldon-Sacramento

Andrew Martinez

IF

2016

St. Francis-Mountain View

Will McInerny

C

2016

Laguna Beach-Elk Grove

Kevin Milam

RHP/1B 2016

Heritage-Brentwood

Leo Nierenberg

RHP

2016

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

Andrew Nnebe

OF

2016

St. Mary’s-Berkeley

Rogelio Reyes

RHP

2016

James Logan-Union CIty

Austin Roberts

RHP

2016

River City-West Sac.

Jarron Silva

OF

2016

St. Mary’s-Stockton

Armani Smith

IF

2016

De La Salle-Concord

Nick Sparks

LHP

2016

De La Salle-Concord

Otis Statum

OF

2016

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

Radd Thomas

RHP

2016

Placer-Auburn

Jeremy Ydens

OF

2016

St. Francis-Mountain View

teams/ regions

Grant Gambrell Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook!

Hunter Bishop

Oakland Athletics

Northern California

Milwaukee Brewers

Southern California

Washington Nationals

Southeast/Virginia

Texas Rangers

Texas/Louisiana

Cincinnati Reds

Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado/Utah/Hawaii

Kansas City Royals

Pacific Northwest

Chicago White Sox

Midwest

New York Yankees

Northeast

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The Intermediate All-Stars of Danville Little League aim to make this the year of the host team at the Little League World Series

Story by Chace Bryson Photos by Jonathan Hawthorne 20

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U

p on top of the hill, on the pristine baseball diamond tucked into the apex of Rancho San Ramon Park, the wind whistles through the third base dugout on a warm July evening.

Inside, 12 of the 13 players who comprise the roster of the Danville Little League Intermediate All-Stars comfortably chuckle and banter during a scrimmage against the San Ramon Slammers. It’s a tune-up scrimmage for the team which will wear the District 57 host team uniform during the Intermediate Little League World Series when Livermore hosts the international tournament for the third consecutive year from Aug. 2-8. The team carries itself with a quiet confidence, and exhibits a camaraderie not often seen among all-star groups.

But this isn’t your typical all-star team. Because the Little League Intermediate Division is still in its infant stages, various leagues compile their Intermediate teams before the season to compete District-wide. The Danville team was assembled in September by meshing players from three leagues: Danville, Tassajara Valley and San Ramon Valley of Alamo.

The team is now in its 10th month together, and the previous nine have come with nary a bump in the road.

“Best thing I like about this group is that they’ve come together as one unit,” Danville head coach Jim Grant said prior to the scrimmage against San Ramon. “They play for each other. There’s no selfish play. It doesn’t matter who does what. They all play for each other and they all work hard.”

And they win. A lot.

Danville posted a 33-2-1 record from the regular season through the District 57 Tournament, which it closed out with a Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com

10-0 win over Pleasanton on June 20. The win secured the team’s automatic berth into the Little League World Series.

“It’s been great,” said Ben Parker, the team’s starting catcher who will be an eighth grader at St. Isidore this school year. “I’ve become such a better player. I think everybody has. It’s a great group of kids and Jim Grant is a great guy. He knows the game better than anyone I know. It’s been awesome. We started so early that now we just work really well together.”

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Danville coach Jim Grant The roster gives Grant a number of interchangeable parts with impressive pitching depth and a batting order that can cause havoc and put pressure on opposing defenses. Above all, though, Grant lists pitching and defense as the team’s biggest strengths. Max Rettig and Sean Pirouz are power arms at the top, and] Landon White, Camden Archer and Beau Garratt, the lone lefty in the group, allow Grant a lot of flexibility in the later innings of games.

As the scrimmage progresses, the lineup that’s built for havoc has no problem showing up too. Several players find gaps with line drives, others beat out infield hits or force an errant throw with aggressive baserunning. More than one player wasn’t shy about admitting that small ball will play a role in their success in the World Series.

“Nobody ever really expects small ball,” said Toby Afdahl, an outfielder headed into eighth grade at Stone Valley Middle School. “I think that will definitely prove effective for us in the World Series. It’s been that way for us all year.”

As confident as the team is, it does face a disadvantage with how early it qualified for the World Series. Danville hasn’t played a meaningful game since late June, while the rest of the teams attempting to qualify for the tournament have been playing constantly throughout July.

Many of the U.S. regional qualifiers ended on July 27 and 28. Therefore, Grant has tried to keep them fresh by entering a tournament in Rancho Cordova July 18-19 as well as organizing the scrimmage with the Slammers.

The U.S. half of the World Series is comprised of six teams, five regional qualifiers (Central, East, Southeast, Southwest and West) and host Danville. Danville will open against the East Champion at 6 p.m. on Aug. 2. The District 57 teams of the previous two World Series failed to reach the semifinals of the U.S. bracket.

In an interesting twist, the Pleasanton team which Danville throttled twice in the District 57 Tournament, had reached the semifinals of the West Regional Tournament in Nogales, Ariz., as of July 27.

For now, though, the Danville All-Stars can only worry about themselves as they prepare for the big stage.

“None of us really know just how big this is,” Afdahl admitted. “We think we do, but we don’t.

It’s going to be a really cool experience.”

Grant, who attended and watched a few games of the 2014 World Series in Livermore, is confident his group can hold its own at that level.

“I’m really confident,” the coach said. “I think we’re very competitive. I think you’ve got to be lucky to win something like that. If we’re lucky enough, we have all the potential in the world to win.”

He’s also encouraged with the approach that the players have adopted.

“They’re looking at it like our job is not done yet,” he added. “They’re not satisfied with just reaching the World Series. The goal is to do something special.” ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook!

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The Intermediate Little League World Series returns to Max Baer Park in Livermore for the third straight year from Aug. 2-8. We were there for pretty much every inning a year ago.

Here are some of our favorite images from last year’s tournament

by SportStars photographers Phillip Walton and Jonathan Hawthorne.

2015 Intermediate Little League World Series WHAT: The world championships for the Little League division designed for 13-14 year-olds, with 70-foot basepaths and a pitching distance of 50-feet.

WHERE: Max Baer Park, 1310 Murdell Lane, Livermore

WHEN: Aug. 2-8; U.S. and International Championship on Aug. 7; World Championship at 6 p.m. on Aug. 8 (ESPN) WHO: Eleven teams will compete. There are six U.S. teams representing five geographic regions (Central, East, Southeast, Southwest and West) plus the District 57 host team (Danville Little League for 2015). Five international teams represent the regions of Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe-Africa, Latin America and Puerto Rico.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: U.S. West Region (Nogales National LL, Nogales, Ariz.)

ADMISSION: Free

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Top: The U.S. West Region team from Nogales National Little League from Nogales, Ariz., celebrates winning last year’s title.

Second row: Trey Chapman tags out Matt Bzura (left) while Tommy Wells of the Central team uncorks a pitch.

Bottom Row: Team California takes in the parade (left) while Team Puerto Rico celebrates a big play.

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California State Parks offers multiple events for geocaching enthusiasts

G

eocaching is a family-friendly way to exercise both the body and the mind. So, what is geocaching? In a nutshell, it’s a high-tech treasure hunt.

Using a handheld GPS unit, geocachers can find hidden caches almost anywhere — in their neighborhood, in parks, on trails, in urban and remote settings. Caches are containers of all sizes that may be camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings.

Inside the cache, there may be trinkets to trade, interesting objects, such as a disposable camera, and a logbook to sign. Often times, geocachers will log their finds on a website, most likely on www.geocaching.com, and they can get very passionate about their hobby.

Geocachers come from around the world, spanning generations, interests, physical abilities and ethnicities. They are highly dedicated to their sport and many will plan vacations and road trips around specific caches. Geocachers tend to be tech-savvy and have a high comfort level with the technology needed to play the sport. As with any sport, levels of participation vary from casual family outings, the weekend warrior to the fanatic.

Geocaching combines outdoor play with skills of problem and puzzle solving. Recognizing the recreational and educational value of this growing phenomenon, many California State Parks allow geocaching. As with any sport, rules and regulations accompany the fun. Since this is a worldwide sport, several agencies, including California State Parks, have drawn up policies for geocaching on state park property. Become familiar with State Parks’ geocaching policy and strictly observe all guidelines. For more information, visit www. parks.ca.gov/geocaching.

Two State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs), Ocotillo Wells SVRA and Hollister Hills SVRA, offer a fun twist on geocaching. Use ATVs, dirt bikes or four-wheel drive vehicles to find hidden caches. Ocotillo Wells SVRA, located in the Southern California desert region,

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puts on a large, multi-day event around geocaching called the Roughneck Rendezvous.

Held in January, the Roughneck Rendezvous draws hundreds of visitors for geocaching fun, educational caches, food vendors, entertainment and raffle prizes. Over 100 caches created for the event focus on desert themes and OHV recreation. For information about Ocotillo Wells SVRA’s geocache program, visit www.ohv.parks.gov/ocotillowells.

Hollister Hills SVRA, located just an hour’s drive from San Jose, is gearing up to host its Fourth Annual Geocache Bash on Sept. 26. This family-friendly event combines 4x4 off-road recreation and geocaching. The new addition this year includes multiuse trails and expanded cache locations so people without a 4x4 vehicle can participate via hiking or on bicycle.

In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of Hollister Hills SVRA in 2015, there will be a series of educational geocaches organized to commemorate this milestone. For more information about the Geocache Bash on Sept. 26, visit www.ohv.parks.gov/hollisterhills or call 831-638-3207.

Geocaching is no passing fad. The GPS-directed game of hide and seek has been going on since 2000, and it keeps growing. With geocaching, there are no dues to pay or club to join. Simply log onto www.geocahing.com for access to nearly 2 million worldwide caches.

Enter in the coordinates into your GPS unit, and you’re ready to find your first cache.

Remember, a geocaching-hunt is fun for the whole family and can make an exciting addition to your next vacation. So fire up that GPS, your imaginations, and get outdoors to go geocaching -you never know what you might find! ✪ — Copy, photos provided by California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division

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Four years after gracing the SportStars cover as an 8th grader, Vincent Byrd still punishes baseballs and dreams of a Big League future

V

incent Byrd II counts his blessings like he counts on the advice of four former professional baseball players.

The 6-foot-7-inch graduate of Sacramento’s El Camino High sounds sincerely thankful when asked about the advice he’s continually received from coaches like Jalal Leach, who spent a decade in the minors, eight games with the San Francisco Giants and is now a scout for the New York Yankees.

“It’s really a blessing, actually, because there are a lot of kids that don’t have that guidance,” said Byrd, branching off from the original question to mention how lucky he’s been to interact with four fellow African-American baseball fanatics.

All four were connected to Byrd by different organizations that promote black youth participation within the game.

“Jalal first told me when I was younger, of all coaches, no one has the full key to success on how to hit. Everybody preaches a different thing. You’ve got to find a way to put it all together that works for you.”

With that, Byrd listed the help he’s had from former National League Manager of the Year Jerry Manuel, along with erstwhile minor leaguers Anthony Manuel, J.J. Sherrill and Leach.

“Jerry teaches throwing the barrel (of the bat). Jalal teaches, let the ball get deep and hit up the middle. Coach Ant teaches separation. J.J. teaches hitting the ball to all fields.”

Plus there are Jalal’s brother Jarman Leach and Roney Johnson, both former pros also involved in such organizations.

“So I put that all together,” Byrd added. “It took some time. It took years.”

There are years to go before he sleeps easy, since he’s still a few steps from what

Story by Daniel Herberholz Photos by Ron Hill 26

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James K. Leash file photo

he calls his “ultimate goal” — to play in the majors.

For now, the 6-foot-7-inch first baseman has begun his collegiate career with Long Beach City College, where he plans to major in business management. Instead of committing to a four-year program, Byrd decided to stick with his family — which moved from Sacramento to Long Beach because his father and stepmom got jobs down south — and continue honing his skills. In due time, he hopes to be drafted, and then climb up the minor league food chain.

Until then, he’s made LBCC coach Chris Crook a bit giddy.

“He just fell into my lap,” Crook said, laughing as he added that Byrd called him up two month ago asking to join the team. “Sometimes that happens. It’s usually not a guy that seems to have the potential that Vincent has, so that makes it extra special.” Particularly because LBCC is coming off consecutive conference championships and Crook said the school hasn’t gone back-to-back-to-back since the 1970s.

“We’ve got a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in probably about 40 years, and adding Vince to the roster” — at which point the coach chuckled — “makes that look pretty good.”

The way Byrd is built makes him look a lot like a basketball player. Byrd took off for SoCal the weekend after graduation in June. It didn’t take long for him to stand out on campus.

“I was walking across campus and the basketball coach came up to me and said, ‘Hey how’d you get that guy?” Crooks said. “He’d already seen him on campus and approached him about being a basketball player. so I’ve got to tell the basketball coach to keep his hands off.”

Byrd did play hoops in high school, first as a freshman at Sacramento and then as a sophomore at El Camino. He skipped his junior year to focus on baseball but returned to hardwood as a senior. “It made my footwork at first base way quicker,” he said. “I play deeper in the hole now so I can get to balls faster.”

Meanwhile, Byrd remained successful in baseball after switching schools. As a sophomore he hit .428 with 26 RBI and three homers in Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook!

the 23 games logged on MaxPreps. As a junior he swatted eight home runs — including two in one game against Pioneer-Woodland and a grand slam in his next game — while upping his batting average to .449, knocking in 34 runs and hitting eight homers in 26 games.

The slugger’s statistics slipped slightly in his senior year (.328 BA, 22 RBI and five homers in 26 games), though his team’s success didn’t. After going 13-13 and 10-17 the two previous springs, El Camino finished 14-10 and made the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason. That was music to Byrd’s ears “I just wanted to make playoffs,” he said.

In the Eagles’ Division III opener, an outbracket game played at home, Byrd contributed an RBI double to El Camino’s 5-0 win over River City-West Sacramento.

Byrd’s fondest memory from that win was pitcher Jacob Wrath, one of his best friends, shutting out River City in five innings of work — with a fractured pelvic bone. Wrath didn’t learn the extent of the injury until after El Camino exited the postseason with a 12-2 loss to Sierra-Manteca. Regardless, Byrd loved Wrath’s dedication in overcoming a challenge, even an unknown one.

That’s because challenges drive Byrd. For example, he chose LBCC because the wind swirls in from left field. But at least there’s a fence in left. That’s not the case where he launched his favorite swing of high school.

As a freshman, his Sacramento squad faced Grant-Sacramento, then the home of a player recently drafted in the NFL. “I hit a ball over Shaq Thompson’s head in right field. He tracked it down and almost threw me out at second base,” Byrd said. “He’s really fast. Sac High has no fences either — so he really got after it.”

Byrd isn’t as speedy as Thompson, but his bulky frame and passion might one day bring him into the professional sports ranks.

“I’ve dreamed of it my whole life,” Byrd said. Thanks largely to four former pros and Byrd’s own hard work, he’s closer each day to that ultimate goal. ✪ Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com

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WINNING AT RISK health watch dr. cindy j. chang

Every sport carries injury risk, but there are ways to minimize it We know the many positives of encouraging our children to participate in physical activities, including the: Promotion of health and fitness ›› Reducing the risk of developing obesity and risk factors for diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease ›› Reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression ›› Positive effect on concentration, memory, and classroom behavior Moreover, when kids are involved on a high school sports team they: ›› Have a significantly lower dropout rate ›› Are more socially involved in school ›› Have a perceived school connectedness which is protective against health risk behaviors like emotional distress, violence and substance use And, high schools that emphasize athletic participation and success are associated with higher scores on standardized tests and higher graduation rates.

Yet now we are reading more and more about injuries — some life-altering — which are occurring to our children on the playing field. Injuries are not 100 percent unavoidable; there is inherent risk in any sport. And even if we bubble wrap our kids, they could still end up with a rash due to a skin reaction from the plastic, or with heat illness from being unable to dissipate heat from the skin.

So what can we do to minimize their risk?

It would be ideal if every youth and high school practice and game were covered by a health care professional, such as an athletic trainer (AT). In collaboration with physicians, ATs provide preventative services and emergency care, assess injuries and illnesses, prepare a rehabilitation program and determine whether an athlete can return to the activity safely. More than 70 percent of certified athletic trainers hold at least a master’s degree.

Unfortunately, most programs and school districts don’t prioritize funding to provide an athletic trainer for their athletes. The NATA reports that only 55 percent of high school student athletes have access to a full-time athletic trainer and just 37 percent of public secondary schools have one athletic trainer. (The numbers are even more dismal in the state of California, which is the only state in the US that does not provide licensure or governance over ATs.) And we know that injuries don’t just happen during a sporting event, which is usually when the athletic trainer or team physician is present.

What are some other strategies that are commonly mentioned to decrease the risk of injury? ›› Objectively evaluate your child’s ability to safely participate in that sport, whether that means mental or physical health and readiness. ›› Ensure that the coaches are teaching the children the rules of the game, as some of these rules were implemented to protect the health and safety of the participants. ›› Playing environments should be safe and well maintained. ›› Mandatory equipment should be properly fitted and its use should be strictly enforced.

How do we know that these strategies above have an impact on minimizing the risk of injuries?

Through data and research. They provide the proof that a rule change or implementation, or a new piece of equipment, can indeed decrease injuries in that particular activity. But without the proper collection of enough accurate data, researchers cannot evaluate and provide the evidence that change is needed.

Injury reporting systems are paramount to the collection of important data in the field of sports medicine. More often than not, only programs that employ ATs, such as colleges, professional teams, and well-funded high schools, are able to collect this data. This means that injuries happening to our youth and to our high school athletes are largely being ignored. An injury reporting system that can also involve the coaches and parents can fill in the gaps when an AT isn’t around to document the injury.

This fall, the sports medicine physicians and athletic trainers at the Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes will be implementing a new injury reporting system in the high schools that they cover in the Bay Area. We are excited at the ability to gather data that we hope will result in being able to affect change. ✪

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Fueling For Success nutrition: jill daniels

Nutrition habits before practice just as vital as before a game WHEN TO EAT WHAT Hours Before Activity

1 2 3 4

Calories Examples 100-200

Banana or granola bar or smoothie

200-400 Yogurt &

graham crackers 400-600 Tuna

sandwich & pretzels 600-800

Chicken with pasta & veggies

Eating well before practice is just as important as eating well before competition. If you are well fueled, you’ll be better able to train hard, which means that you’ll have an edge over the competition. Many athletes show up to practice without appropriate fuel on board, which results in muscle fatigue, inability to focus, lack of energy and difficulty working at higher intensities.

Fueling properly before practice can provide these benefits: ›› Increased energy ›› Improved mental focus ›› Greater endurance and strength ›› Hunger prevention ›› Improved mood and attitude ›› Decreased risk of injury One key component is to eat carbohydrates before you train. Carbohydrates are your body’s main energy source and preferred fuel, especially for working at higher intensities. Protein and fat are also important, but since they take longer for your body to digest, make sure to allow time for that. Depending on your schedule, you may choose to eat four hours before practice, one hour before, or somewhere in between. The closer you get to your practice time, the less food you want to eat. This way, food isn’t sitting in your stomach weighing you down as you’re training.

Every athlete’s body is unique, and each athlete has individual goals and challenges. Customize these suggestions and portion sizes so that you’re not hungry during practice, but you’re also not too full with food jostling around in your stomach while training.

On competition day, stick with the foods, portions and meal timing that you’re familiar with. Once you’ve found something that works for you on training days, implement that for days you compete. Avoid trying new foods on these days since you don’t know how your body will react. You don’t want to risk being sidelined for stomach distress.

Eat well, play hard and have fun! ✪ Jill Daniels, MS, RD, CSSD is a Registered Dietitian in the Bay Area of Northern California who specializes in sports nutrition and weight management. She works with people of all ages. Visit her on the web at JillDanielsRD.com

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Poor Condition training time: tim rudd

Football coaches have plenty to focus on in practice, and proper conditioning can get lost Football season is right around the corner and that means summer football camp is going strong. So here are three of the most common conditioning mistakes coaches make.

Mistake #1: Not conditioning the correct energy systems Football is an alactic-aerobic capacity sport by definition, meaning that each play is brief and intense by nature, lasting anywhere from three to eight seconds on average. This requires the use of the alactic (also known as ATP-CP) system that is responsible for power and speed, often expressed by the most dominant athletes.

The recovery or rest time between each play usually lasts 20 to 40 seconds; this brief rest period is where the aerobic system becomes vital.

In order to restore ATP-CP stores in that short amount of time, the aerobic system must be optimally developed to help clear biochemical wastes. The more developed the system is, the faster and better the athlete can recover in maintaining a high level of performance.

Mistake #2: Conditioning each position the same way Conditioning every position exactly the same way is another mistake many coaches make. If you watch a game of football you should be able recognize that every position demands an

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individual, specific and different combination of skills, abilities and qualities.

Knowing this, you would also realize that each position should require a specific conditioning program in order to optimally prepare for the demands placed upon them.

The best way to prepare each position is to implement drills that are similar in time, distance, pattern and rest to the actual demand of each player’s position during a game.

Mistake #3: Thinking that more conditioning is always beneficial First ask yourself “Why do football players condition?” The answer is simple: to prepare for the demands of the game. This makes a lot of sense, right?

Unfortunately, coaches usually make the mistake of conditioning their players just for the sake of conditioning. What does this mean? Usually coaches are disappointed with their teams’ performance in practice and conclude their players are out of shape.

The most common solution is to condition more.

The fact is that a lack of performance during a practice is usually a result of fatigue and the result of extra conditioning is more fatigue, not a better-conditioned athlete. ✪ Tim Rudd is an IYCA specialist in youth conditioning and owner of Fit2TheCore.

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powered by trucks: anthony trucks

Doing a lift to point of failure can be good if you know when you’re failing There are so many ways to train, and one of the most underused forms is failure sets.

Failure sets are just what they sound like, sets where you move to failure — when the muscle can no longer continue. The benefits can be huge when used in either an area of strength or endurance. The simplest way to explain how the body improves is that it adapts to the stressors placed upon it so that it will be able to handle it easier in the future. That’s why muscles grow, endurance increases and so forth.

So failure sets can push the body to its maximum limit with the desired result of increased physical output ability.

The gains can be great. However, if performed incorrectly, the negatives can be just as great. When you get to the end range of your muscular limits for a paricular movement, the only way to continue that movement is to compensate somewhere in your body. This leads to contortionist-looking movements just to keep the weight moving.

That’s bad.

When you compensate during the movement, it degrades other parts of the body that aren’t responsible for the movement. In order to avoid that issue you need to simply focus on one thing: your postural pattern. Fight to maintain the correct posture and range of motion. The MOMENT you feel yourself start to fall out of the right pattern when the muscle fatigues, is the moment you need to stop. At that point, the muscle you want to train is failing.

So, when working to failure, don’t be a failure and hurt yourself. ✪ Anthony Trucks is an IYCA-certified trainer who covers weight training for SportStars.

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Excellence Defined Seeking excellence is not the same as seeking perfection, but rather a perfect effort get mental: erika carlson The term “excellence” is thrown around a lot in the world of competitive sports. I’m a fan of this word, so much so that I included it in the name of my business, Excellence in Sport Performance. But like so many terms in the sports world, (i.e. “mental toughness,” “talent”) what does “excellence” really mean in the sport context?

Let’s first talk about what it’s not. Excellence is not being perfect. In fact, it’s the solution to trying to be perfect. The perfectionist believes anything less than perfect is failure. While the intention is to push yourself to perform your best, the reality is you often feel a sense of failure, because consistent perfection is unattainable.

What is excellence? It’s your personal best in a given session. It’s being clear on what you can accomplish and control.

Excellence is a result of how you train on the field and in the gym.

It’s also how you choose to respond to failure. It’s a process. It’s a core value of an athlete. It’s something you strive to accomplish everyday. It’s not something that just shows up randomly in the heat of the moment. It’s truly “opportunity meets preparation.”

My favorite example of excellence in motion is U.S. women’s soccer player Carli Lloyd. She is truly a product of hard work and learned mental toughness. Carli is known for delivering in big games. I had the pleasure of watching her score the game-winner at Wembley Stadium in the 2012 Olympics. Just a few weeks

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ago we saw her score a hat trick in World Cup final. Her former coach Tony DiCicco says, “The bigger the game, the more she wants to perform.”

Former teammate and national team teammate Briana Scurry says, “She’s as big a big-game player as I’ve seen. A lot of great players wither on the vine, become wallflowers, when the pressure is the biggest.”

What is the secret to Carli’s excellence in big games?

Physical Excellence — Always finding ways to improve herself, Carli has often sought out extra training that helps her perform at the top end of her ability. Physical strength and conditioning gives her the confidence to “just play” without the worry of running out of gas. She is always a work in progress.

Mental Excellence — Her mental game has developed most over her 10-year stint with the senior national team. Carli stated in a recent article, “… Over the years, and definitely over the last four years, I’ve taken visualization to another level ... I’ve basically visualized so many different things on the field, making these big plays, scoring goals.” This a key strategy to maintaining her technical skills as well. Excellent visualization is not just situational, it’s very technically detailed.

Are you striving for perfection or excellence? Knowing the difference and training accordingly will set you on a path of accomplishment and, more importantly, enjoyment and fulfillment from your sport experience. ✪

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R

edding has home run venues for your upcoming tournaments, close enough to arrive for a weekend getaway, and far enough to completely change the scenery and competition.

Baseball and softball tournaments are played at Big League Dreams park, which features replica versions of famous Major League Baseball venues such as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Many of the soccer and lacrosse tournaments are played at the four-field, all-weather Redding Soccer Park complex. And when it comes to swimming, Redding Aquatic Center hosts all your 50-meter needs.

Coming up, Big League Dreams will be hosting a series of youth baseball and fastpitch tournaments by National Softball Association, Hardball North and USSSA. Which replica field will you be on, Wrigley, Fenway, or maybe Yankee Stadium? You can also keep an eye out for sand volleyball, bocce ball and kickball tournaments at this complex.

The Redding Soccer Park will be home to soccer’s S*M*A*S*H Cup, Oct. 24-25. This event has a mission to bring breast health awareness to all who attend, furthering the “Think Pink” movement in the community while bringing in about 60 competitive teams. The park is a safe, gated facility with indoor restrooms, concessions and a play structure for the little ones. You can also register on the website for the Hunter Troy Clegg Memorial Soccer Tournament in September. Keep a lookout for upcoming dates for lacrosse tournaments too, or find the latest lacrosse information visit

reddinglacrosse.com.

Surrounded by mountains, miles of hiking and biking trails, a river running through town, nine State Park designations and five National Park designations nearby, the excellent tournament destination of Redding is the place to compete. Cradled by Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen, Redding averages 300+ sunny days per year, the sunniest city in California. Have time between games for some other recreation? Time Magazine called Redding the Unofficial Capital of Kayaking for its “weird obsession” with all things paddling. With temperate weather, nearby lakes and that gorgeous river in the middle of town, it would be “weird” to not get out and enjoy it all.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is one of the few full lakes in California and a great place to kayak, sail or just float on your back. Redding is also home to the famous Sundial Bridge, world-class fishing and 200 miles of hiking and biking trails. Head out on a day-trip to see the bubbling

Big League Dreams 20155 Viking Way 530-223-1177 August 15-16: Youth Baseball: All World Baseball Tournament September 26-27: Youth Fastpitch: NSA Fastpitch October 17-18: Youth Baseball: ll World Baseball October 24-25: Youth Fastpitch: USSSA Fastpitch November 7-8: Youth Fastpitch: NSA Fastpitch November 21-22: Youth Baseball: Hardball North March 2016: High School Baseball and Softball: Dates TBD

mud pots and boiling lakes in Lassen Volcanic National Park, or get refreshed by the waterfall at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. This 129-foot gusher is considered one of the most beautiful in the state.

Also, be sure to find out what fun events are happening — like the upcoming Give Me Wings Century bicycle ride (one of the most challenging in the state) and the Salmon Festival (Forbes ranks Redding as the only West Coast city among the Top 10 fishing destinations in North America).

To keep up to speed on events, tournaments, things to do or to learn more about Redding, call 530-225-4105 or email Chad@VisitRedding.com. ✪ — Copy and photos provided by Visit Redding

Redding Soccer Park www.ReddingSoccerPark.com

September 26-27: Youth Soccer: Hunter Troy Clegg Memorial Tournament

October 24-25: Boys and Girls Competitive Youth Soccer Tournament U12-U19 Charities supported Nor-Cal Think Pink and The Love and Light Foundation.

Lacrosse: www.ReddingLacrosse.com

February: Lacrosse Opening weekend Redding Boys Jamboree U13High School.

redding.bigleaguedreams.com/

Shasta Magic Basketball www.ShastaMagic.com

Tournaments (4th-12th graders)

March 19-20, 2016: Shasta Magic Elevation Tip-Off

April 23-24, 2016: 12th Annual Battle for the North State

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Parks..................................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Excellence In Sport Performance......................................................................................16 ❒❒ Halo Headband................................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Jumbo Sunflower Seeds...................................................................................................31 ❒❒ Kneed-A- Brace................................................................................................................21 ❒❒ Muir Orthopaedic Specialists............................................................................................33 ❒❒ My Game Ball Photo.........................................................................................................27 ❒❒ National Scouting Report.................................................................................................34 ❒❒ Next Level College Advisors..............................................................................................38 ❒❒ Oakland Police Department Recruiting..............................................................................5 ❒❒ Off- Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division...............................................................24 ❒❒ Placer Valley Tourism Board........................................................................................12, 13 ❒❒ Renaissance Club Sport......................................................................................................7 ❒❒ Rugby Nor Cal...................................................................................................................31 ❒❒ San Ramon Slammers Baseball........................................................................................35 ❒❒ Scottish Highland Gathering & Games.............................................................................28 ❒❒ Sports Stars Magazine......................................................................................................17 ❒❒ Stevens Creek Toyota........................................................................................................23 ❒❒ Sutter Urgent Care..............................................................................................................3 ❒❒ Tpc / The Pitching Center..................................................................................................21 ❒❒ Tricityeliteallstars.Com.....................................................................................................16 ❒❒ U C S F Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland......................................................................29 ❒❒ United States Youth Volleyball League.............................................................................11 ❒❒ Visitredding.Com........................................................................................................36, 37 ❒❒ Walnut Creek Aquanuts....................................................................................................34 ❒❒ West Coast Training Center...............................................................................................38

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