BA Issue 72, Sept. 12, 2013

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vol. 4. issue 72 bay area

September 12, 2013

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14 it’s his team: Justin Alumbaugh gets a win as he starts what can be seen as an impossible task — following Bob Ladouceur.

an ACL injury in a young 27 Treating athlete must take into account the future growth of the child.

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zone: Pittsburg hits the ground 24 red running after adversity.

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pitch: Our editor’s time 6 first spent with De La Salle new football coach Justin Alumbaugh reminds him of what makes the program what it is. Being the guy after The Guy is never easy, but Alumbaugh benefits from a strong philosophy to follow.

room: The NFL’s back, 8 locker baby. That’s not just football on our phone, football in our pants.

We’re just happy to see football back. There are a million reasons to rejoice, we’ll spot you the first five. of the week: 7 Sportstar Harris Ross, Pittsburg

Fret not, track 12 Clipboard: athletes. Relief may be coming to your non-divisional world. on the cover: Brianna Karsseboom.

Photo by Jonathan Hawthorne.

Fence: Tryouts, sign-ups, 36 The fund-raisers and more!

38 Advertiser’s index

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Behind the Green Curtain

O

ne of the best assignments I ever had in my 10 years of working at the Contra Costa Times was the three football seasons I spent as the De La Salle High football beat writer.

Covering the program on a weekly basis allowed me to see the program’s success from a vantage point that I wish others could see.

As I watched games and practices each week and spent extended time around the coaching staff, it was clear to me — as it has been to many others who have had the same opportunity — that the program is much less about athletes and sport and much more about people and growth. Everyone — coaches and players — moves in one direction, together.

This is the obvious trickle down effect of coach Bob Ladouceur and the philosophy he set in place there and built upon for 34 years before stepping aside last January.

From that day in early January when Ladouceur stepped down, I’ve had no less than 100 people ask me if I thought there would be any drop-off or change under new coach Justin Alumbaugh. And from Day One, I’ve answered an emphatic “No.” Perhaps a few play calls would change in different scenarios, and a different person would be answering postgame questions, but that would be it.

Because as long as the coaching staff remained in place (and even Ladouceur was sticking around) the team’s preparedness, execution and trademark improvement over the course of a season, would undoubtedly remain.

On the occasion of Alumbaugh’s first game in charge, I asked him if I could return and shadow him over the course of the day. It was my hope to shed some light on what the inner workings of the De La Salle football machine worked like, and put a human face on the new man leading the way. I hope that I accomplished that.

Bay Area Edition readers can find the story on page 14. If you’re holding a Sac-Joaquin Edition, you can still find the story at SportStarsOnline.com.

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, Bryant West, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Jonathan Okanes, Hunter Hewitt Photography Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, James K. Leash, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler, Dean Coppola Marketing/Events Intern Ryan Arter Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco • MikeD@ SportStarsOnline.com

There was one particular moment from the Aug. 30 game against Clayton Valley Charter-Concord which did not make it into the story. It was a perfect example of how the coaching staff operates, and will continue to operate — not to win games, but to teach young adults.

Late in the second half, Clayton Valley Charter was driving in an attempt to keep the game close when Spartans safety Das Tautalatasi intercepted a pass and streaked up the sideline heading for an obvious pick six. With Tautalatasi just steps from the end zone and no chance of being caught, a junior linebacker for De La Salle decided to throw one last block about 30 yards away from the play. The block drew an appropriate flag for unnecessary roughness and the Clayton Valley player had to be helped off the field.

The De La Salle coaches made it clear to the linebacker he was not going back into the game. But afterward, in the coaches office, defensive coordinator Terry Eidson informed Alumbaugh that the linebacker had already been told he was to write a letter of apology.

It was a small thing. But that is what De La Salle’s success derives from. Constant attention to small things with one bigger picture in mind. ✪

Publisher/President Mike Calamusa • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com Advertising & Calendar/ Classified Sales Sales@SportStarsOnline.com, 925.566.8500 Account Executives Phillip Walton • PWalton@SportStarsOnline.com Sac Joaqin edition: Dave Rosales • DaveRosales64@gmail.com Reader Resources/Administration Ad Traffic, Subscription, Calendar & Classified Listings info@SportStarsOnline.com Distribution/Delivery 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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The Pirates’ running back was already prepared to be a major workhorse for his team this season, but he was never going to be counted on as much as he was on Sept. 6 when Pittsburg hosted California a week after a seasonopening loss in which starting quarterback Keith Walker broke his collarbone. Ross answered the challenge. He carried the ball 30 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns as the Pirates got back on track with a gritty 35-33 win.

SportStars Magazine: Tell us about the week of practice you guys had after losing that opening week game to Analy?

Harris Ross: It was real focused. We came into the (California) game with a mindset that we were going to go hard and try to come out with a win, and that was it.

SSM: How much pressure did you feel coming into the game, knowing that you guys had a new QB behind center and the team was going to lean heavy on you and fellow RB DeVonte Tarrance?

HR: I was ready for it. I practiced for it. And I just showed it, and that’s pretty much it.

SSM: What did the team talk about at halftime after falling behind 14-7 on the final play of the first half?

HR: We just had to come out stronger and keep battling to get that W. And I’m very proud of my

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honorable mention

Harris Ross

elizabeth schultz

Pittsburg . football . senior

The Acalanes senior who spent her summer competing in the Women’s U.S. Open, started her fall season out right by firing a 67 to set the women’s course record in the City of San Leandro Junior Golf Tournament on Aug. 15.

john velasco The De La Salle senior running back broke loose for 185 yards and four TDs to help lead the Spartans to an Aug. 30 win over Clayton Valley Charter.

courtney samuda Phillip Walton team for doing that.

SSM: Coach (Victor) Galli said he built this game up as your Super Bowl. Can you explain that mentality a bit?

HR: It was really big. If we would’ve took this loss, the playoff seeding situation (come November) could’ve looked bad for us. I’m just happy that we got this win. We’re going to celebrate tonight and get back at it tomorrow.

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The Heritage sophomore defeated Tracy’s Melanie Markovic 7-5, 6-3 to win the Freedom Invitational tournament on Sept. 7.

She did not drop a set throughout the tournament.

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sayWHAT

“Pain is good. This is a miserable feeling, but I kind of enjoy it.’’

— Serra-San Mateo football coach Patrick Walsh quoted by Bay Area News Group reporter Glenn Reeves following the Padres’ near-upset of nationallyranked De La Salle,Walsh’s alma mater. Serra led the Sept. 7 game 14-7 with seven minutes to go and lost 21-14. It’s the third time that Walsh has nearly become the first NorCal coach to beat De La Salle since 1991. Serra lost to the Spartans 29-28 in 2008 and 14-7 in 2009. Serra’s losing effort did vault it into the most current CalHiSports.com state rankings.

Top 5 Things we learned after NFL week 1 Even if we still haven’t quite healed the wounds of that 49ers Super Bowl defeat, a new season of NFL action has begun — and like every other self-respecting American we were glued to our TVs. There were plenty of story lines to follow during Week 1, and thankfully, none of them involved replacement officials.

(Remember that? Ugh.) Anyway, we immersed ourselves in pigskin heaven and came away with a few revelations.

— Chace Bryson & Mike DeCicco

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1. Peyton Manning may not be human: Hey kids!

Here’s a tip. If you want to take yourself to the next level, you may want to consider four (four!!!) neck surgeries. You’ll be winging 7 TD passes a game in no time. But remember — we’re not doctors. We just play one in a magazine.

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winner

winner So we had a heckuva time at the Northern California Honor Bowl season-opening game at Del Oro High on Aug. 30.

We set up our booth and met several devoted Sac-Joaquin Edition fans, as well as made a few new ones. We gave away plenty of prizes as well, including a La-Z-Boy recliner (donated by our friends at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries of Roseville), replica helmets for Stanford and Cal (donated by Schutt), Sports Authority gift cards and a ton of SportStars Gear! Our big three winners were 12-year-old Jack Clegg (Stanford helmet), 8-year-old Chase Scott (Cal helmet) and 10-year-old Jonathan Duley who took home the recliner with his dad.

2. Brotherly guilt can be costly: After John Harbaugh ripped his little brother’s heart out in the biggest televised sporting event of the year, he might’ve felt a teeny bit bad.

So he dangled an olive branch in the form of Anquan Boldin for a sixth round draft pick.

Boldin had over 200 yards receiving against Green Bay three days after Baltimore starting receiver Jacoby Jones got hurt in a loss to Denver. The lesson: Just send some Omaha Steaks next time, John.

3. Jacksonville is still really auditioning Blaine Gabbert?: Seriously? Oh, what’s that? Chad Henne is the back-up. OK, we get it. Wait, what? Henne is starting this week? Oh, my. We knew he was struggling but not ‘LoseYour-Job-To-Henne’ kind of struggling.

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1. (1)

NorCal Football Top 20 Records are through Sept. 7 De La Salle-Concord

2-0

3. (4)

Elk Grove

2-0

2. (2) 4. (5)

5. (6) 6. (7)

7. (3)

8. (10) 9. (11)

10. (12) 11. (9)

12. (15) 13. (16) 14. (14)

15. (NR) 16. (8)

17. (18) 18. (19) 19. (13) 20. (17)

Folsom

Bellarmine-San Jose

2-0 1-0

Serra-San Mateo

0-1

Palo Alto

0-0

Granite Bay

0-1

Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove

2-0

Marin Catholic-Kentfield

2-0

St. Mary’s-Stockton

2-0

El Cerrito

Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa Deer Valley-Antioch

Burbank-Sacramento

1-1 2-0 1-0

1-1

Vacaville

1-0

California-San Ramon

1-1

Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills

1-1

Analy-Sebastapol

2-0

Valley Christian-San Jose

0-1

Del Oro-Loomis

1-1

DROPPED OUT No. 20 Central Catholic-Modesto

LIVING UP TO BILLING Eight teams from last week’s rankings were involved in intraTop 20 matchups last week and three of them were instant classics. No. 6 Serra nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the week by pushing No. 1 De La Salle to the brink of defeat before the Spartans prevailed 21-14. Serra looked so good in the loss they actually gained a spot, moving into the Top 5.

Former No. 5 Bellarmine played its opener and outlasted a gritty effort from No. 9 El Cerrito, topping the Gauchos 28-25.

Finally, No. 10 Pleasant Grove topped No. 14 Burbank 1412. The Eagles got a bump and Burbank held firm in its spot.

Two more Top 20 matchups happen in Week 3 — No. 1 De La Salle goes to No. 10 St. Mary’s-Stockton (a televised game on ESPNU), and No. 11 El Cerrito goes to No. 12 Cardinal Newman

4. The first NFL week without Ray Lewis sure featured a lot of Ray Lewis: He did his dance on SportsCenter, and he took up headlines claiming the Super Bowl blackout was a conspiracy, and he was only mentioned about 150 times during the Thursday Night broadcast. Make it stop.

5. Chip Kelly invented offensive football: Wait, he didn’t? That’s what every talking head is telling me after he won ONE game on Monday Night Football. Thirty-three points, too. No team has ever scored that many before. Oh, they have?

Hmm.

TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 17 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR (Alphabetically) Amador Valley-Pleasanton (2-0), Captial Christian-Sacramento (2-0), Central Catholic-Modesto (1-1), Clayton Valley Charter-Concord (0-1), Foothill-Pleasanton (2-0), Grant-Sacramento (2-0), McClymonds-Oakland (2-0), Mitty-San Jose (1-0), Pittsburg (1-1), San Ramon ValleyDanville (1-0).

Hector Acevedo/ZUMAPRESS.com

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Prep careers of NorCal’s NFL QB stars didn’t quite foreshadow greatness

H

as there ever been a time in NFL history when three former Northern California quarterbacks all began the season with a legitimate chance to be MVP of the league?

It doesn’t look like it to me. Barring injury, the three, of course, are Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers.

ON BRADY

All three of these quarterbacks were covered by Cal-Hi Sports when they were in high school with various degrees of involvement. None of the three were big-time, five star-type prospects, although Brady was close.

Brady came to the second-ever NorCal prospect combine/camp that was put on by Student Sports and Cal-Hi Sports in May of 1994 at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. This was the event that became the popular Nike camps. Brady was one of the two or three best quarterbacks there, but at the time was not clearly THE best.

In his senior year at Serra-San Mateo, Brady was regarded as the top quarterback in the Bay Area. It’s not like he was overlooked by colleges, but it’s true that a few didn’t offer that quickly. He signed with Michigan, which a few years earlier landed a Bay Area quarterback from Palo Alto named Jim Harbaugh.

The primary reason Brady wasn’t as highly honored as you’d expect is that his team at Serra in his senior season frankly wasn’t very good. The Padres were only 4-6 and the competition in the West Catholic Athletic League (like it still is) was difficult. Let’s just say there were no Lynn Swanns running around catching passes from Brady that year at Frietas Field.

ON RODGERS

When you hear former Cal coach Jeff Tedford describe what he thought when watching Rodgers throw as a freshman at Butte College, it seems to me that if Rodgers had come to an Elite 11 tryout or something similar prior to his senior year at Pleasant Valley-Chico in 2001 that he would have been discovered and launched as a major prospect. Those types of camps and combines just weren’t as prevalent as they are today.

Rodgers was the best quarterback in the CIF Northern Section in his senior year and was written up twice that I can recall as a State Stat Star of the Week. Still, he didn’t pass for more than 2,000 yards and was overlooked for post-season honors outside of the section partly because that happens a lot (and still does) for players from that part of the state.

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After one season at Butte College, Rodgers was quickly recruited by the Golden Bears. One year later, he was starting and on his way. His perseverance after the NFL Draft in 2005 when he slid down so far and then waiting for Brett Favre to move along in Green Bay also is a great lesson for any young athlete.

ON KAEPERNICK

We probably know more about Colin’s high school years at Pitman of Turlock than Brady or Rodgers because his father, Rick, sent in e-mailed updates about his son and we traded e-mails several times.

The last e-mail from the Kaepernicks after Colin graduated from high school in 2006 included a lot of highlights many people forget about Colin. For one, his academics, which were strong enough so that he was accepted to Harvard and Columbia and was named as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section A. Dale Lackey Scholar Athlete of the Year.

I can remember one email exchange in the spring of 2005 in which Colin’s dad was asking about the Nike camp, which was to be held that year at Stanford. Kaepernick, a junior at the time, went to Stanford on that day and his arm strength shined through. He was very thin, though, and there were questions whether he could take the pounding of a college football season. Still, I think that camp is where the University of Nevada coaches saw him for the first time. They ended up as the only ones who would later offer him to play the quarterback position.

Our last evaluation of Kaepernick was as a finalist to be the Division II State Athlete of the Year. His football accolades were solid, but Pitman in 2005 also had standout running back Anthony Harding (scholarship to Fresno State) and it was more of a running offense.

With basketball (Colin averaged 19 points per game) and baseball (he led Pitman to the SJS Div. I finals), his athlete of the year credentials were top five to top seven in the state.

In a tough call, however, we gave the honor for 2005-06 (ironically as it seems now) to Richard Sherman from Dominguez-Compton.

Sherman, who is now a star cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks and may be trying to knock down Kaepernick’s passes for many years to come, was a 50-foot CIF state champ in the triple jump in addition to being all-state in football. ✪ 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 and follow him on Twitter, @CalHiSports.

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volleyball Rankings First rankings of the season; through reported results of Sept. 9 1. Los Alamitos 5-0 2. Valley Christian-San Jose 4-0 3. Torrey Pines-San Diego 1-0 4. Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco 4-1 5. Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 4-1 6. Lakewood 4-1 7. Mater Dei-Santa Ana 1-0 8. Redondo Union-Redondo Beach 0-1 9. Mira Costa-Manhattan Beach 0-0 10. Huntington Beach 4-1 11. Corona del Mar-Newport Beach 1-0 12. Homestead-Cupertino 1-0 13. Dana Hills-Dana Point 0-0 14. Granite Bay 2-0 15. Francis Parker-San Diego 0-1 16. Marymount-Los Angeles 0-1 17. Long Beach Poly-Long Beach 1-0 18. Monte Vista-Danville 7-0 19. Clovis West-Fresno 5-1 20. Lutheran-Orange 2-0 ›› The first pecking order was set at the top based on the results of two tournaments — the Milpitas Spikefest in the Bay Area that ended on Saturday, Sept. 7 and the Gahr Molten Classic that concluded on Monday night, Sept. 9. ›› At the Spikefest, the 2012 Student Sports FAB 50 and California State Team of the Year from Archbishop Mitty lost in the semifinals to Sacred Heart Cathedral. Valley Christian-San Jose then won in the final. ›› At the Molten Classic, Los Alamitos knocked off Lakewood in a championship match that featured the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll. Los Alamitos was No. 2 and is an easy choice to be No. 1 in the state. ›› In addition to Valley Christian, other teams off to strong starts in Northern California include Granite Bay (which has an early win over defending NorCal D1 champ St. Francis-Sacramento) and Monte Vista -Danville (which won the Deer Valley Invitational).

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football Rankings After games of Sept. 7; previous rank in parentheses 1. (1) De La Salle-Concord 2-0 2. (2) Centennial-Corona 2-0 3. (3) St. John Bosco-Bellflower 2-0 4. (4) Serra-Gardena 2-0 5. (5) Folsom 2-0 6. (7) Vista Murrieta-Murrieta 1-0 7. (9) Mater Dei-Santa Ana 2-0 8. (11) Mission Viejo 2-0 9. (13) St. Bonaventure-Ventura 1-1 10. (8) Oceanside 1-0 11. (18) Bellarmine-San Jose 1-0 12. (15) Alemany-Mission Hills 2-0 13. (16) Oaks Christian-Westlake Village 2-0 14. (14) Palo Alto 0-0 15. (19) Elk Grove 2-0 16. (21) Bishop Amat-La Puente 2-0 17. (NR) Servite-Anaheim 1-1 18. (6) Long Beach Poly 1-1 19. (NR) Serra-San Mateo) 0-1 20. (20) Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove 2-0 21. (23) Bakersfield 1-1 22. (NR) Hart-Newhall 2-0 23. (12) Chaminade-West Hills 1-1 24. (10) Granite Bay 0-1 25. (22) Edison-Huntington Beach 2-0

Norbert von der Groeben

Chris Williams, quarterback of top-ranked De La Salle

DROPPED OUT: Previous No. 17 Clovis North-Fresno, No. 24 California-San Ramon, No. 25 Mission Hills-San Marcos.

COMMENTS: In some rankings, when a No. 1 team struggles to win like De La Salle did in its 21-14 victory over Serra-San Mateo, that team is often dropped. In California prep football, though, De La Salle shouldn’t drop from No. 1 until the Spartans lose to another California team. That’s the benefit of having four straight CIF Open Division titles. Serra also was given credit for its near-upset by going into the Top 25 even though its record is 0-1.

›› Servite made its jump into the top 25 after pulling off a 28-17 upset of previous No. 6 Long Beach Poly. The Friars, who host De La Salle on Oct. 5 at the Santa Ana Bowl, bounced back after losing in their first game 41-17 at Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, Nev. ›› Hart-Newhall may be back as a state power. The Indians won 55-54 on Sept. 6 in overtime over previous No. 12 Chaminade after winning in their first game 56-49 against Santiago-Corona.

Junior QB Brady White had 490 yards passing and seven TD passes against Chaminade, which added to his 442 yards and three TDs that he had in the opener.

›› REGION: Central Coast ›› TYPE: Team Scoring ›› THE HUNTED: A potent offense led by QB Drew Pearson helped Carmel score 676 points in 2011 and finish 12-1 on the season. ›› THE HUNTER: A potent offense led by QB Connor Marden, RB Holden Smith and WR Thomas Spanos could help Carmel score close to 700 points this season. Marden had 2,340 yards passing with 31 TDs last year. Smith had 1,582 yards rushing and scored 21 TDs. Spanos, grandson of longtime San Diego Chargers’ owner Alex Spanos, caught 14 TD passes.

For state record updates throughout the season visit CalHiSports.com.

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Fighting Tradition So our track team is really good, but we’re from a small school. When we go to the state meet, we have to compete head-to-head with the biggest schools in the state — but cross country doesn’t. In fact, all of the other statewide sports go by size of school, but not track. Why? S.F., Oakland

S

ome of you may have had to sit through a play (or the movie) called “Fiddler on the Roof.” If you did, you remember the old guy singing a song about why things are done the way they’re done — his answer?

“Tradition.”

After all, the meet will celebrate its centennial (for boys) in 2015, so there is a significant amount of history that would be lost if the state track meet shifted to the five-division format that other sports use.

In addition, there are those who believe that if the meet is split up into divisions, the competition won’t be as strong (let’s say the two best sprinters are in different divisions) so the times won’t be as good — and again, historically, California has set many, many national high school records.

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Finally, if division meets were held rather than one grand state meet, it would be a two-day, allfinals event. There would be no preliminaries since, unlike cross country, there are 14 events rather than just one.

Interestingly enough, however, the North Coast Section is considering a new format for its section track meets that would incorporate divisional competition. There would still be a Meet of Champions, but instead of having three regional meets that send qualifiers to the MOC, there would be four divisional meets.

On top of that, the plan calls for the MOC to be two weekends: the first for trials and the second for finals.

The Central Coast Section already does it this way, as does the Southern Section, so it’s clearly the wave of the future — and it also might be the precursor to eventually incorporating some kind of divisional competition at the higher levels of state track.

In the meantime, though, your pretty good small-school track team is still going to have to compete with the big schools.

I agree it doesn’t seem quite fair when all the other state

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Track is the only CIF sport without divisional competition — but maybe not much longer

sports are broken up into divisions, but sometimes, as old folks are happy to tell you, life just isn’t all that fair. ◆◆◆ On another note, I heard through the grapevine that some De La Salle boosters weren’t that happy with my column on Bob Ladouceur (Issue 71, Aug. 22), perhaps feeling I wasn’t worshipful enough. But by the time I heard that, Ladouceur, being the class guy that he is, had already thanked me via e-mail — and it brought to mind the last time I interviewed him for a story.

Way back in the day, I covered an early De La Salle game against Cal High that ended 3-0, in favor of the Grizzlies, in a game that will not be enshrined in anyone’s hall of fame.

This, obviously, was very early in Ladouceur’s career, but when I brought it up, the response was immediate.

“We had three turnovers and a bunch of penalties,” he said, or words to that effect.

And 30 years later, not only did he remember the details, he was still upset. ✪ 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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How to take over for a legend in nine easy steps: Step one: Play basketball.

Unwind.

Step two: Meet with your assistants.

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SportStars Editor Chace Bryson spends the day with De La Salle’s new head football coach, Justin Alumbaugh, as he takes over for a legend

J

ustin Alumbaugh is already nearly eight hours into his day — a day he admitted started a little earlier for him than usual.

“I woke up pretty early this morning,” he says. “Definitely got up a little earlier than I intended to. That’s a good thing, though. I’m excited.”

Other than that, this day — Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 — is set to pass like any other early-fall Friday he’s experienced over the past decade of teaching and coaching football at De La Salle High.

With a few very notable exceptions.

Today is his first game day as the varsity head coach. Today is also the first game day coach Bob Ladouceur — who with a 399-25-3 record in 34 years of heading the Spartans program, is arguably the greatest high school football coach of all time — is NOT the head coach. Alumbaugh has officially been the head coach since Jan. 4, when Ladouceur called a press conference to officially step down and, essentially, appointed Alumbaugh as his successor.

Lunch period is nearly over as the 33-year-old Alumbaugh strides purposefully across campus, past the main office on his way to the faculty room. In the first of four different wardrobe combinations he’ll sport over the next 10 hours, he wears black slacks with a plain white polo shirt.

Inside the faculty room he visits his mailbox and finds it nearly overflowing, mostly with large white envelopes sporting the logos of various high-level college football programs. It’s the type of mail haul one would expect the head coach of a nationally-ranked, four-time defending state champion program to receive — and recycle — on a daily basis.

As a teacher who splits time in both the English and Social Studies departments, Alumbaugh doesn’t have a permanent classroom. Due to an abnormal schedule, he’s teaching his Period 3 Freshman English class in the Period 5 time slot. Today the class is to go to the library computer lab to participate in the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) testing.

“I’m going to thoroughly explain to them before leaving (the classroom) how to log on, and what they need to bring,” he says. “But I’m going to be bombarded with questions as soon as we get there. Watch.”

He’s right, of course. But his passion for interacting with kids, even to the point of occasional exhaustion, is obvious.

He strikes up a conversation with one student about the “Freshman Mixer,” a freshman-only social event that’s the reason behind the day’s alternate schedule.

“You going to make the magic happen?,” Alumbaugh asks with a big grin. “Get a few digits?”

“Sure, we’ll see,” the student replies.

“Good talk,” says Alumbaugh.

The following period is a prep period for Alumbaugh. He takes long,

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brisk strides as he walks across campus toward the locker room. He has his own cubicle in a coaches office that’s approximately 18 feet by 12 feet and features five other desk/cubicles shared by more than 20 coaches across the program’s three levels.

The only other person in the coaches office when Alumbaugh arrives is Ladouceur. The legendary coach has not retired from teaching, or coaching for that matter. He remains on the varsity coaching staff as the most over-qualified assistant coach ever. Alumbaugh’s desk faces Ladouceur. For some, Ladouceur’s presence would be an intimidating reminder of expectations, but not for Alumbaugh. Nobody has been a bigger champion of Alumbaugh’s credentials to take on the role than Ladouceur.

For the next 50 minutes, Alumbaugh will sit at his desk and look over some notes he’s made as well as notes left by assistant coaches.

Up until the kickoff against visiting Clayton Valley Charter-Concord, Alumbaugh’s game day routine will play out very similarly to the many which have come before. After kickoff, there will be one fairly significant difference, he’ll be calling the plays on offense.

“The main difference is that I’m calling the plays, and that’s a big difference,” Alumbaugh explains. “So right now, I’m getting the plays right in my head — the plays that we want to run first and what we’re looking for. I just want to get the wheels turning a little bit to where I’m comfortable with what we’re going to be doing.”

He knows there won’t be any big rah-rah speech before taking the field.

“By now we’ve either prepared these kids well enough, or we haven’t,” he says.

It’s at this time that assistant coach and Dean of Students, Joe Aliotti, walks through the coaches office.

“You better win,” he cracks at Alumbaugh. “You better freakin’ win.”

Alumbaugh fields the ribbing with a grin and shake of the head. It’s not the first time he’s heard similar remarks made in fun this day, and he knows it won’t be the last.

Time for the first wardrobe change. This ensemble involves high-top sneakers.

On every game day for approximately the past 10 seasons, members of the coaching staff have played pick-up basketball right after school.

Ladouceur never participated in the games, according to Alumbaugh, but just about every other Spartans coach has at one point or another.

The games also feature football alumni as well as a few current students who play basketball for De La Salle.

“A lot of us have a hard-time sitting still and waiting for the game,” Alumbaugh said. “This is something that lets us take our mind off it for awhile.”

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"You're 1-0. You're now leading all De La Salle coaches in winning percentage."

Step three: Try not to think about Bob Ladouceur standing right behind you. Step four: Do pre-game interviews. Step five: Show the kids how far the coach can wing it.

By 2:45 Alumbaugh is playing in a spirited game of 4-on-4. Over the next hour, approximately 16 will show up and play, including Aliotti, junior varsity defensive coordinator Greg Brown-Davis, head freshman football coach Paul Guaragna and boys varsity soccer coach and assistant athletic director, Derricke Brown. Not surprisingly for someone who was a Spartans football standout at linebacker before playing rugby and baseball at UCLA, Alumbaugh showcases an all-around game. He prefers driving to the basket over shooting it, and had as many assists as he did rebounds during a half-hour stretch.

Following the hour of hoops, Alumbaugh takes a few minutes to hang out with the JV coaching staff which is preparing for its game. He then takes an hour to drive to his Pleasant Hill home for a quick shower and change, returning to campus at 5 p.m. in khaki shorts and a solid black Dri-fit shirt (outfit no. 3). He heads out to the field to watch the JV game with the rest of the varsity coaching staff, all of whom head back to the coaches office at halftime.

The next 90 minutes before the 7:30 kickoff are pretty much a whirlwind. Alumbaugh changes into his white coaches polo with khaki pants (no. 4). At 6:15 he tapes his pre-game interview with Spartans play-by-play webcaster, Scott Armstrong. He’s asked if he’s feeling any pressure.

“If I wasn’t feeling any pressure, I’d be dead,” Alumbaugh remarks cooly.

He then holds a gathering of the offensive minds with Ladouceur, quarterbacks coach Mark Panella and receivers coach Blake Tuffli to review the general game plan. Just after 6:30 he leads the team out on the field for the first time to run through warm-ups. While the players stretch, Alumbaugh takes part in another near-decade-long tradition of playing long-toss with assistant Donnie Boyce from practically sideline-to-sideline. The stands are already nearly full as the crowd builds towards approximately 5,000 before the night ends.

The players and coaches are back in the locker room by 7:10 and there’s nothing short of at least 12 coaches in the coaches office at this point. At 7:20 he meets the team in the gymnasium, and as promised, keeps it subdued and relatively brief.

“They’re coming to take something from you,” he says. “Remember that. They’re coming to your house believing they can beat you.”

And by halftime, it seems like there’s a chance the Eagles really could. Despite play-

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Step six: Meet with tight end Joe Gervolino and go over the game plan. Step seven: Coach. Step eight: Halftime speech.

Step nine: Accept a handshake. Exhale.

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ing hard and physical, De La Salle has made its share of opening-night mistakes and Clayton Valley was able to capitalize. With the Spartans leading 21-14, Alumbaugh’s half-time address was simple.

“We told you it was going to be like this,” he tells the team. “It wasn’t going to be easy. ... Now go out, hit somebody, be physical and make plays.”

The Spartans defense shut out the persistent Clayton Valley double-wing offense in the second half and Alumbaugh notched his first career win 34-14. He’s the last one to make it back to the locker room after talking to reporters and being congratulated by friends, family members and a slew of other supporters.

His postgame address to the team is relatively brief. Its overall theme is along the lines of “there were good things and bad things, but the effort was there, and we’ll get better.” He closes by announcing that everyone is expected back at campus at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to go over film.

The coaches office is flooded again and in good spirits.

Several congratulations are offered to Alumbaugh, and one offers up this gem: “You’re 1-0. You’re now leading all De La Salle coaches in winning percentage.”

The debrief is short for Alumbaugh tonight. He’s meeting his long-time girlfriend, Teresita Meroff, for a drink before she catches a red-eye flight to Nicaragua for work. He finally returns home around 11:30 and watches film until approximately 1 a.m. (which he readily admits “would not have flown” had his girlfriend not left the country).

Then the only undefeated coach in De La Salle history calls it a night. ✪

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Story by Matt Smith • Photos by Jonathan

With ferocious hitter Brianna Karsseboom leading the way, Bishop O’Dowd puts NCS and CIF titles in its sights 18

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W

hen the 2012 volleyball season started in the East Bay, the Bishop O’Dowd High girls team was anticipated to be one of the top teams in the area.

And with returning players such as Amoni Brown, Maya Williams, Nicole Danner and Sophia Mar it was easy to expect another great season from one of the most consistent teams in the North Coast Section.

But one may not have expected such a great season out of a sophomore who was a relative unknown on the East Bay high school volleyball scene.

Danner, who was expected to be the Dragons big hitter, suffered an injury before the season and someone was going to be called on to fill the void. That someone was Brianna Karsseboom.

“After the injury, we needed someone to step up and Brianna did that,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Chad Salcido said. “She was getting the sets when the big points in the game were needed.”

Karsseboom finished last season with 646 kills, and now everybody knows her name.

“She got more comfortable, she got stronger,” Salcido said.

“And the biggest thing for her was that she proved she could be an effective hitter from the front or back row, and that was a big difference.”

As a freshman, Karsseboom got some playing time, but not enough to make the casual fan think she’d turn into one of the best hitters in the East Bay as a sophomore, and possibly the best returning player in 2013.

“I got a lot of playing time and was given a lot of opportunities,” Karsseboom said. “I couldn’t have done it without the team and coach Salcido, but I worked very hard and improved very much.”

Salcido has seen her work hard and improve. Not only improve as a hitter, but as an all-around player.

“She’s worked on parts of her game that were really stressed by all of her coaches,” Salcido said. “She’s worked to improve her passing, being a good communicator and also her blocking.”

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The fact that her name ends with the word boom doesn’t seem like an accident, after you see her hit for the first time. She hits with a ferocity that you can pick up on by just hearing her hit.

“There’s a different sound when the ball comes off her hand,” Salcido said. “She has what we volleyballers call a good whip, and the ball literally just jumps out of her hand.

She also has the ability to adjust while in the air if she doesn’t get a perfect set. Most hitters need the set to be right on the money to put the ball down, but not Karsseboom.

“With her athleticism, she’s able to rotate her body in the air,” Salcido said. “This is what makes volleyball so hard and she has pretty good control.”

Karsseboom’s sudden rise has already led to numerous achievements, including an early Pac-12 scholarship offer from Colorado, but she remains focused and humble.

“I’ve set very high goals for myself,” Karsseboom said. “I’ve had a lot of accomplishments and a lot of awards, but I am very fortunate for all that I have achieved.”

And even though accolades and scholarships are finding their way to her, she plans to keep working hard and improving. She is also aware that volleyball is a team game that requires everyone Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com

Hawthorne

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left: Brianna Karsseboom attempts a kill during practice. above: Libero Kylie Carlson will lead a deep defensive cast for the Dragons. working hard, but also enjoying themselves.

“The goal is to make State and to spend the season working hard as a team to achieve that goal,” Karsseboom said. “But we want to make sure we have good chemistry and that we are having fun while we do it.”

The Dragons will be a part of a what is always a very competitive Division III race in the North Coast Section. They and Campolindo have won seven of the last nine titles. In that stretch, O’Dowd won a Div. II title as well.

Campolindo figures to be right in the mix again, returning several key players from a team that topped Bishop O’Dowd in the NCS final last year and nearly won the CIF State title.

“Both teams are great and are full of competitors,” Karsseboom said. “But we’re gonna work hard to beat them this year.”

All the Dragons can worry about right now is themselves, and what they have is a very talented team that is looking to get better and better by November.

It will be a different looking Dragons team, one that will not have the overwhelming size of teams in the recent past. Instead, they will rely on making plays defensively after graduating most of their bigger players.

“Our strength is going to be our ball control, but our weakness is lack of height,” Salcido said. “We’re going to have to play smart volleyball to compete with taller teams, but this is one of the smartest teams I’ve been around.”

Both Salcido and Karsseboom acknowledge the lack of height, but also know they have the skill to overcome this deficit.

“We lost a little height,” Karsseboom said. “But we Support Your Local Business • Say You Found Them In SportStars™

have great defense and our two setters will help us out.”

The defense she is referring to comes in the form of Kylie Carlson, Sheila Clapp and Mary Orbeta. All three are seniors, and all three are good enough to be an All-League libero. Each one is the top libero on their club team, but only one can win the position.

Last year it was Carlson, but that could change this year. Either way, Salcido found a way to play them all last year and he’ll do it again this year. And the best part about having the three of them, other than the competition it breeds, is how much they are helping each other.

“They love working together,” Salcido said. “They’re fighting for the same spot, but willing to work together.”

The setters will be a pair of sophomores in Lizzy Counts and Katie Orbeta. Both of them are sophomores, looking to replace Sophia Mar, who had three great seasons running the Dragons offense.

However, instead of naming a starting setter, Salcido is going to let the situation play out during the season and see which girl plays more consistently and which player the offense rallies behind.

So the Dragons might not be the tallest team in the North Coast Section, but they are going to be deep. A deep team usually means a good team because players have to fight to get on the court.

“We’ll have an incredible amount of depth,” Salcido said. “It will be hard to find playing time and they’re gonna have to compete every week.” ✪ Score Digital Content: Scan SSM With LAYAR

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Top 10 Teams to Watch 1. Valley Christian-San Jose (35-9 in 2012)

Behind Maddie Dilfer, right, a three-year standout (and the daughter of former Super Bowl-winning QB Trent Dilfer) as well as Kirsten Mead and Ronika Stone, there may not be a more loaded lineup than what the Warriors have.

Top 15 players to Watch Hitters

3. Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F. (31-10)

A trio of talent is at the forefront of the Fightin’ Irish’s high expectations this season. SHC returns juniors Madison Murtagh and Kaitlyn Jochum along with senior Sarah Plett. After graduating just six from a 31-win team a year ago, expectations should be high.

4. Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (30-8)

Kelley Wirth, Jr., Campolindo Katherine Claybaugh, So., San Ramon Valley-Danville Maddie Huber, Sr., Menlo School-Atherton Casey Carroll, Sr., Homestead

2. Mitty-San Jose (38-0)

The Monarchs won’t pull off another perfect season, but they are still very much a threat to repeat as CIF Div. II state champions. Leading the way are setter Kelsey Crawford and OH Clare Powers.

Brianna Karsseboom, Jr., Bishop O’Dowd

Clare Powers, Sr., Archbishop Mitty Hannah Turnlund, Jr., Presentation

Hitters/ Middles

Hailey Lindberg, Jr., Monte Vista Madison Murtagh, Jr., Sacred Heart Cathedral

Middle Setters

Amber Erhahon, Sr., Albany Maddie Dilfer, Sr., Valley Christian Caitlin Quindoy, Sr., California-San Ramon Kelsey Crawford, Sr., Archbishop Mitty Michelle Seals, Sr., Carondelet-Concord

Libero

Kylie Carlson, Sr., Bishop O’Dowd

Brianna Karsseboom is a big hitting talent that is only getting better, and the Dragons are loaded with depth, especially in terms of defense and pass-receive.

5. Homestead-Cupertino (23-10)

The Mustangs are another team with impressive depth and experience, having graduated just four from last year’s team. They also picked up transfer Maria Balus from Monta Vista-Cupertino. She will set for hitter Casey Carroll and Morgan Robinson.

6. Monte Vista-Danville (25-11)

This team can set itself up for a strong postseason run, seeing as how it will be battle-tested in the always-strong East Bay Athletic League. Hailey Lindberg and Lo Utchen are two hitting talents to keep an eye on.

7. Presentation-San Jose (23-14)

The sophomore duo of Hannah Turnlund and Dalyn Burns should have coach Sue Dvorak smiling through the next three seasons.

8. Campolindo (30-5)

The Cougars will be working their way through some early-season injuries, but once they are full strength, the consistency of the program is too hard to ignore. Sophomore Kirsten Sibley and junior Kelley Wirth should be two names to watch.

9. St. Francis-Mountain View (20-12)

Top talents Catherine Wes and Chloe Lott have graduated, but the Lancers can always be counted on to reload. Pacificbound outside hitter Taylor Poncetta will be expected to lead the way.

10. Menlo School-Atherton (23-11)

Four of the Knights top five hitters from a year ago will return for 2013, including senior Maddie Huber (301 kills to go with 296 digs).

THREE TEAMS ON THE RISE: Carondelet-Concord (13-17), Heritage-Brentwood (19-14), Los Altos (22-15)

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Clockwise from top left: Kelley Wirth, Caitlin Quindoy, Brianna Karsseboom and Amber Erhahon.

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Reeling from opening week loss, injured starting QB, Pittsburg turned to its running game and may have saved its season

By Chace Bryson | Editor Striving for offensive balance is well and good, but some high school football programs simply seem better built to run the football. And Pittsburg might be one of them.

So when the Pirates lost starting quarterback Keith Walker to a broken collarbone in a shocking 37-21 loss at Division-III program Analy-Sebastapol on Aug. 30, it started a chain reaction that led to a team allowed a talented team to play to its strengths.

Pittsburg And that did not bode well for California-San Ramon.

When the two teams matched up Sept. 6, Pittsburg coach Victor Galli had moved his starting tight end Armani Levias behind center and made it clear to the rest of the team that it was a big week — a must-win.

“We pumped this up like it was a Super Bowl this week,” Galli said. “This was a playoff game before the playoffs.”

Running backs Harris Ross and DeVonte Tarrance got the message. Loud and clear.

After seeing Ross perform in the annual Pittsburg Jamboree scrimmage on Aug. 23, De La Salle defensive coordinator Terry Eidson had this thought: “I was glad we weren’t going to be seeing him for at least 12 more weeks,” he said.

California wasn’t so lucky.

Ross readily took on the workhorse load and carried 30 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Tarrance carried nine times for 115 yards and also scored a touchdown as Pittsburg outlasted the No. 24-ranked team in the state 3533. And in doing so, the Pirates sent the message to the rest of the East Bay that rumors of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

“Last week was so disappointing in that we didn’t show up and weren’t ready to play football,” Galli said of the loss to Analy. “And tonight we were. Guys really stepped up.”

The first person who had to step up before anyone else was Levias, who was planning to spend the year as an offensive weapon who caught the ball instead of passing it. Levias’ starting experience before the game against Cal consisted of a few junior varsity starts a year ago.

Galli was confident that his new quarterback could adapt quickly, though.

Pittsburg running back Harris Ross

Phillip Walton/file photos

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Pittsburg coach Victor Galli

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“He’s a big athletic kid,” the coach said. “He’s one of our better receiving tight ends and he actually did a great job for us blocking last week and caught a couple passes (against Analy). He’s just an athlete.”

That athletic ability showed through on just his third play from scrimmage against the Grizzlies.

Faced with a 3rd-and-8 from his own 26-yard line, Levias dropped back for his pass of the game and fell under heavy pressure. But after shaking off two tacklers he was able to cut up field and gain 16 yards for the first down.

That scramble kept the drive alive and Ross and Tarrance took over from there. Ross had 46 of his rushing yards on the first drive alone. He capped it with a 1-yard dive to put Pittsburg up 7-0.

That ended up being the only points of the first half for the Pirates though as California quarterback Cameron Owen tossed two second-quarter touchdown passes for a 14-7 halftime lead.

The second half was all about the Pittsburg rushing game. The Pirates ran 28 offensive plays in the half and had only two pass attempts. They scored on all four possessions and grabbed a 35-27 lead on a 28-yard run by Ross with 5:15 to go.

California, which had had success through the air, turned to its own ground game and fed bruising tailback Blake Bierwith as the Pittsburg defense began to wear down.

Bierwith scored on a 3-yard run with 1:00 on the clock, setting the stage for Pittsburg’s defense to do it’s part in the win.

De’Angelo Powell came through.

The 5-11, 260-pound defensive tackle shed two blockers and met Bierwith head on at the 1-yard line to keep him from tying the game on a 2-point conversion.

“We told each other (before the play) to just do your job and be physical, that’s it,” Powell said.

“That’s what we preach.”

Powell’s play was easily the biggest play by the Pirates defense on the night. And it didn’t come as a surprise to Galli.

“He’s one of our best players. He’s one of our leaders,” the coach said of Powell. “We knew the same play was coming, and why not? They’d been gouging us on that one. We bent a lot, but when it came time to make a play, that was phenomenal senior leadership coming through.”

Pittsburg’s nonleague slate doesn’t get a great deal easier. The Pirates go on the road to face Monte Vista and Berkeley before hosting defending CIF Division II State Bowl champions, Granite Bay on Sept. 27. Those teams can bank on seeing a lot of the same stuff California’s defense saw.

Pittsburg has an identity now, and it’s one that might prove hard to stop. ✪

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health watch: dr. nirav k. pandya

Treatment of ACL injuries in young athletes often needs to allow for the child’s potential for more growth

Intra-operative x-ray during ACL reconstruction in a 12-year old patient in which the tunnel for the ACL is drilled below the growth plate (black arrow) of the femur to prevent growth disturbance.

With the rapid increase in single-sport specialization among children, orthopedic providers have seen a tremendous rise in the number of adult-type injuries in our young athletes, particularly anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears.

Children as young as 6 years of age with these injuries have presented to my clinic with increasing frequency. Unlike adult patients for whom the decision to undergo ACL reconstruction is relatively straightforward, the fact that many of our patients are still growing adds an additional level of complexity to the decision to undergo surgery for a torn ACL because there is a potential risk of growth disturbance.

When surgeons drill tunnels in the thigh (femur) and shin (tibia) bones to place a new ACL, these tunnels may cross the areas of bone where growth occurs (the growth “plates”). Up to 1.5 cm per year of longitudinal growth can occur from these areas in a young patient. If an ACL surgery is performed which does not take into account the fact that a patient may still be growing, discrepancies in leg length and/or angle (i.e. knock-knee) can develop.

As a result, the decision to undergo ACL surgery in a patient who is growing should take into account the patient’s amount of growth remaining. This should be done in multiple different ways since a patient’s chronologic age many times does not correlate with their physiologic age (i.e. some 13 year old boys have reached their maximum height by age 12 whereas others keep growing until age 17).

Surgeons like myself who treat pediatric patients with ACL injuries utilize a variety of techniques to gauge the amount of growth remaining in patients including x-ray’s, MRI’s, assessment of parental height, charting growth patterns and recent growth spurts, and assessing for the signs of puberty. This is important not only for the physician planning a surgical reconstruction, but more importantly for the parents and young athlete so they understand the potential growth implications of their surgery.

Due to this risk of growth disturbance, surgeries for many ACL injuries in young athletes were delayed until patients were done growing. They were treated with activity restrictions and specialized braces for their injured knee until they were nearly adults. Unfortunately, multiple studies have shown that delaying ACL surgery in these young patients can lead to an increased risk of meniscus tears and articular cartilage damage since even day to day activity without an ACL can subject the knee to repeated instability and damage.

As a result, multiple different techniques are now utilized during ACL reconstruction in the young athlete so that growth can be preserved and surgery does not have to be delayed. These techniques including changing the position of where tunnels are drilled relative to the areas of growth in the bone, the size of the tunnels drilled, the type of ACL graft which is placed in the tunnels, and the type of devices used to fix the ACL graft within the bone. These changes have allowed physicians to effectively treat the growing number of young athletes who present with these injuries.

This not only helps gets our athletes back to sport but more importantly can prevent degenerative changes in the long-run. ✪ Dr. Nirav K. Pandya is a board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in pediatric sports injuries at Children’s Hospital in Oakland and the University of California San Francisco. He sees patients and operates in San Francisco, Oakland, and Walnut Creek.

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rotator cuffs: hunter greene, m.d.

Shoulder pain? Don’t ignore it The rotator cuff is composed of four relatively small muscles in the shoulder that keep the ball of the shoulder joint in place. The job may sound simple, but the tremendous force of throwing and overhead sports puts great strain on those muscles. If they fail, a combination of pain, weakness and inefficient mechanics may limit your athletic performance.

The good news is that rotator cuff problems usually can be prevented through a targeted strengthening program and, if caught early, these injuries can often be treated without surgery.

Early warning signs of a rotator cuff injury include: › Minor pain with activity and at rest › Pain radiating from the front of the shoulder to the side of the arm › Sudden pain with lifting and reaching movements › Pain when throwing or serving a tennis ball Signs of a more advanced rotator cuff injury include: › Pain at night › Weakness or a sense of instability in the shoulder › Pain reaching behind your back The first step in treatment is to figure out why you’re experiencing rotator cuff pain. Is it weakness, poor flexibility, improper mechanics or an anatomical abnormality?

Once we know what’s causing the problem, we can develop a rehab program that may include strengthening exercises, stretches and manual therapy, along with a period of activity modification, icing, and anti-inflammatory medication.

Don’t ignore shoulder pain. Treating rotator cuff problems early can mean the difference between a rapid return to the game and an extended absence while recovering from surgery. ✪ Hunter Greene, M.D., is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with Summit Orthopedic Specialists in Carmichael. He specializes in adult and pediatric sports medicine.

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tristeps: liz elliott

Develop & use benchmark sets

The first and most simple reason for benchmark sets is to give you a starting point of where you are with fitness, strength and speed in each, and give you a measure on which you will see improvement. A good training program, coach, team or club will have athletes complete benchmark sets about every 5-6 weeks.

Another purpose is to help set your training levels and distances appropriately. If you are training harder or longer than your fitness or skill level, you will only get injured. Complete benchmarks to set your interval and repetition paces. Benchmarks push your pace, and show your threshold at the time of completion. When you do the same set again in 5-6 weeks, you will see progress if you are staying with the program.

Benchmark sets also help you set goals. Benchmark sets are completed a couple times each season, and should be done the same way each time to show the most accurate improvement.

Basic benchmark sets: › Swim: 10 minute swim for distance. Count your lengths. This gives you a number from which to build. › Bike: 8 miles for time. Be aware, every bike benchmark set for a season must be performed on the same stretch of road each time for accuracy. Choose a four mile stretch of fairly flat road, or loop course, with the least amount of cars and no stop lights or signs. Do twice. › Run: 2 miles for time OR 20 minutes for distance (Complete the latter if you can not currently run two miles at or under 20 minutes.)

All benchmark sets should be done at a pace so that you feel completely spent at the end, but not going so hard at the beginning that you can not finish. In general, don’t worry about your times the first time. The more you can treat a benchmark practice as any other practice, and relax into the feeling you experience, the better you will do. ✪ Liz Elliott was an All-American collegiate swimmer and is the head coach at Tri-Valley Triathlon Club.

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powered by trucks: anthony trucks

Lifting programs won’t produce immediate results In this modern day and age our society has attained an annoying trait; everyone wants immediate gratification. As I find myself starting a new 16-week lifting program, one thing stands out to me above all, I can’t WAIT to start seeing results.

Now we all now that it’s illogical to see results immediately after a workout, but wouldn’t that be cool? Now I am not going to give you some trick for getting results faster, but I am going to cover some steps to be expected so at least you can know what may happen as you start your training. Training for results is a battle, but knowing is half the battle.

The first step to expect is inadequacy. Why? Well because you’re body is NOT going to be able to do what your mind typically wants to do, so you feel less capable. So your weight and stamina is not going to be up to par. Don’t worry, this is normal.

Secondly you’re going to be very sore for 2-3 weeks. During this period your focus should be on recovery and keeping to your training program even if you have to work a sore muscle. Just make sure to get 48 hours rest.

Next comes the first cool stage. You workout and don’t get sore, and you start to feel stronger with more stamina. You still have not “arrived” yet though.

Finally, you have reached the threshold to where from that point on you will start to amass small gains. It’s at this point that patience is the most important, because now you are set up to start really seeing the gains. So it may take up to a month, but once that time has passed you are primed to get the results you seek. ✪ Anthony Trucks is the owner of Trucks Training facility and covers weight training for SportStars.

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get mental: erika carlson

Volleyball is one of my favorite sports to watch live. It’s powerful, fast and requires laser-sharp focus.

One of the most significant mental challenges of the game is letting go of mistakes — quickly. Mistakes are an incredibly important part of the learning process and they are absolutely required in order to develop as a player (I know, this is tough news for all you perfectionists out there).

Unmanaged mistakes tend to generate a lot of extra thinking and emotion, which causes players to focus on how they’re feeling, which is usually frustrated! Once the emotions creep in, game performance suffers.

Let’s look at Ashley as an example. Ashley was a club volleyball player with hopes of playing in college. She is hardworking, talented and loves the game, but recently her performance wasn’t as good as it should be. She came to me with a lot of aggravation about making too many mistakes and asked if I could help her in order to increase her chances of getting recruited. I quickly apologized to Ashley and told her that I couldn’t help.

“Why not? Isn’t that what you do?”

I replied, “No, I don’t help athletes avoid mistakes.”

Ashley pondered for a moment and asked, “But if I’m still making mistakes, I will still get frustrated and my coach will pull me out of the rotation!”

“Yes, that’s usually what happens.” I said.

Ashley: “I don’t get it. How do you help players like me?”

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I went on to explain to Ashley that it’s not about not making mistakes — it’s about effectively managing the mistakes you make. For example, if you fail to dig a ball on defense — one you probably should have gotten — you have a couple of choices: You can dwell on it, get frustrated, wish it never it happened and worry about if it might happen again; or, you can give yourself a brief correction and change your focus towards the next ball. No extra thinking and no emotions are triggered so you still have 100 percent of your focus for the next ball. This drastically decreases the likelihood of making another mistake.

Ashley and I did work together and it took some time, practice (success and failure) and lots of repetition, but in time, Ashley created new habits to manage her mistakes.

She made fewer and recovered quickly. Mistakes are part of the game and we all make them, but those who are mentally tough, don’t let mistakes break their confidence. They quickly learn from the mistake and move on. ✪ Erika Carlson is a certified mental trainer and owner of Excellence in Sport Performance in Pleasanton.

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training time: tim rudd for iyca

Insure your

ANKLES

loss t n ve re p lp e h ld u o h s t a th m One training progra rong st e c n a rm o rf e p p e e k d n a y it of ankle mobil Loss of ankle mobility can have a negative impact on the health and performance of young athletes. The sports they play are extremely stressful to the body, and the ankle joint is no exception.

The repetitive strain of athletic practice and competition can shorten the plantar flexors (calves and plantar fascia), and over time, jarring of the joint causes natural gliding to become restricted and limit dorsiflexion.

A loss of dorsiflexion creates an inability to actively dissipate force in the lower extremity which limits performance, and can lead to problems locally and up the chain (knees and lower back) as the force must go somewhere.

So to get athletes feeling better, moving better and performing better we need to take a proactive approach to counteract the stress that is placed on the ankle joint.

Ankle Insurance Protection › Roll the bottom of feet with lacrosse ball for 30 seconds › Roll calves and achilles with foam roller + 5 dorsiflexion + 5 ankle roll on tender spots. › Half-kneeling ankle mobility + roll with stick. › Dorsiflexion calf stretch on wall x 10 each › Foot supination: lift arch then push first toe into ground x10 each. › Two-way ankle mobility to wall over fifth toe and third toe x 8 each. › One leg three-way balance hold, three x 10 seconds each › Wear a minimalist shoe (ex: New Balance minimus) to train in

See the accompanying video for exercise demonstrations. Find the video in the online version of this column at SportStarsOnline. com, or scan this page with the Layar app.

This is your athletes insurance for keeping their ankles, knees and backs healthy for optimal performance on and off the field. ✪ Tim Rudd is an IYCA specialist in youth conditioning and owner of Fit2TheCore.

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Welcome to Impulse, your one-stop shop for gadgets, gizmos and gear. Compiled

by Mike DeCicco, Impulse provides you with the latest and greatest in the market along with upcoming events. This issue it’s all about living loud and living healthy.

You can even do both at the same time, or not. We won’t judge.

Loudmouth

California Concussion coalition

We’ve all heard about the work being done to educate our athletes on protecting their heads and treating concussions. Take matters into your own hands with Advanced Concussion Training, co-hosted by Kaiser Permanente.

This session is for parents, coaches, teachers and anybody else who wants to keep our athletes safe. Be there on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at Skyline High School in Oakland. Register at www.ConcussionCoalition.org.

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Not everybody can look as good as Mr. Impulse does (I’m dashing), but here’s your chance to step up your fashion game. Nothing says ‘football season’ like a pair of Loudmouth College Game Day Pants. In fact, these pants SCREAM football season. Pants, shorts and skorts are made for just for you. More than 40 top college programs are now available. You know you want ‘em, so go to http://us.loudmouthgolf. com/index.php/college.html

California Spirit

We could all use a little cheer in our life. Enter California Spirit. One of the top programs in the Bay Area wants you to get a little spirit in your life — the first month of a recreational class is free (if you buy an annual membership, and we both know you’re gonna do that anyway). So give me a W! Another W! One more! Give me more letters!

Put it all together and what’s that spell?

Why, you get www.csecheer.com.

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Westone headphones

G-loves

When you go to pump that iron, you wanna walk out looking good. But you gotta walk in looking good, too. You know, strut in. Get some G-Loves and solve that problem. These workout gloves are functional and fashionable. I mean, eliminate hand fatigue and look cooler than the schlub next to you?

Yes please. G-loves.com

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It’s a known fact that if you have two pair of headphones, gremlins will sneak into your bag and tie the cords together, making them impossible to untangle. So your high-quality headphones and your gym headphones (the ones that don’t fall out) are forever together, a sonic Brad and Angelina, if you will. So what would Brad and Angelina do, they’d adopt (heh) the Westone Adventure Series Alpha headphones. Rich bass, water resistant -- you know, actual sport headphones that don’t skimp on sound quality. Get some. www.westone.com.

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Advertiser Index

❒❒ 1-To-1 Pediatrics.............................................................................................28 ❒❒ Army National Guard Recruiter..........................................................................5 ❒❒ Big O Tires Northern California/ Nevada............................................................2 ❒❒ Championship Athletic Fundraising................................................................34 ❒❒ Cheergyms.Com..............................................................................................21 ❒❒ Children’s Hospital And Research Center..........................................................29 ❒❒ City Beach Sports Club....................................................................................23 ❒❒ Club Sport.......................................................................................................12 ❒❒ Community Youth Center................................................................................38 ❒❒ Core Volleyball Club.........................................................................................36 ❒❒ Crowne Plaza..................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Diablo Trophies & Awards................................................................................34 ❒❒ E J Sports Elite Baseball Services.....................................................................36 ❒❒ East Bay Sports Academy................................................................................25 ❒❒ Excellence In Sport Performance.....................................................................32 ❒❒ Fit 2 The Core...................................................................................................28 ❒❒ Halo Headbands..............................................................................................38 ❒❒ Heavenly Greens.............................................................................................35 ❒❒ Home Team Sports Photography.....................................................................33 ❒❒ Image Imprint.................................................................................................32 ❒❒ Impact Soccer..................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Kangazoom.....................................................................................................20 ❒❒ M L B Scout.....................................................................................................36 ❒❒ Mountain Mike’s Pizza.....................................................................................39 ❒❒ Muir Orthopaedic Specialists...........................................................................30 ❒❒ National Scouting Report................................................................................37 ❒❒ PacRim Volleyball............................................................................................37 ❒❒ Passthaball......................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Pro Hammer Bat..............................................................................................33 ❒❒ Rocco’s Pizza..............................................................................................20, 34 ❒❒ Sky High Sports...............................................................................................34 ❒❒ Sport Clips.......................................................................................................17 ❒❒ State Farm Jimmy Harrington Agent...............................................................16 ❒❒ Stevens Creek Toyota.......................................................................................13 ❒❒ Summit Orthopedic Specialists.........................................................................3 ❒❒ Surewest Sports Radio Show...........................................................................17 ❒❒ Sutter Delta.....................................................................................................40 ❒❒ The First Tee Of Contra Costa............................................................................38 ❒❒ The Golf Club At Roddy Ranch.........................................................................31 ❒❒ Tpc / The Pitching Center.................................................................................34 ❒❒ U C Davis Children’s Hospital............................................................................29 ❒❒ United States Youth Volleyball League............................................................26 ❒❒ Velocity Sports Performance............................................................... 31, 34, 36 ❒❒ World Events37

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