Viist Concord Issue 179

SPORTS WILL NEVERSTOP NEITHER DO YOU. NEITHER DO WE. CLICK, FOLLOW, LIKE

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5.21.2014 Benicia’s Shelby Thompson dives safely back into first base as Kelli Moore of Del Campo-Fair Oaks attempts to apply a tag during the 2014 Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II Softball Championships. Thompson is now a three-time, first-team All-Mountain West Conference player for San Diego State. She was set to play her senior season this spring. Benicia won the 2014 final to begin a dynastic run of four SJS titles in five seasons before moving to the North Coast Section in 2019.

Photo by James K. Leash

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Liberty-Brentwood football coach Ryan Partridge led off the project.

As COVID-19 Keeps Athletes & Coaches Stuck At Home, Share Your Passion. It’s A Call To #NeverStop

S

o here we are. Stuck at home. With no sports to play. No sports to watch. No definitive end to this pause of our everyday lives.

While we all understand it’s a necessary pause that’s saving lives, it’s still a drag for all of us in NorCal’s sports community. However, I’ve learned a few things during my decade as editor of SportStars — and the decade of covering high school sports before that. There are certain characteristics that all great teams, athletes and coaches share.

Resilience and perseverance are definitely two.

It’s that knowledge which spawned the idea for our newest project. Our creative team brainstormed to see what we could offer the athletes, coaches and families we’d typically be writing about. How about a forum? A place for them to share, soothe, interact and inspire from the safety of their homes — doing so in their own words, with a little help from us.

We’re calling the project #NeverStop. Sports teaches us the lesson of never giving up. Keep pushing. Find a way.

Overcome adversity. This trying time will simply be another test of the resolve of NorCal’s athletes and coaches.

Throughout April, we’ll be seeking stories, essays, photos and more from our current and past NorCal athletes and coaches. We’ll specifically reach out to some for contributions, but we want to encourage #NeverStop submissions from ANYONE. Several coaches and athletes have already committed to the project.

We’ll be using our social media channels to provide occasional themes and writing prompts with topics like the following: Hero Stories, My Best Game, My Best Teammate, In The Zone, “Thanks, Coach” and more. You don’t have to stick to our themes, though. We’re open to anything.

Use a little of that extra time we all suddenly have to sit down and just write about sports — about times it’s lifted you up, pushed you or inspired you. Or use your phone to tell your love or longing for sports through images. We’ll be sharing #NeverStop contributions as we get them before compiling everything together for an issue in May. That issue will be one big quarantine journal. A NorCal sports diary. A love letter to the sports and competition we love and miss.

There are no games, but our passion for sports will #NeverStop.

Who’s with us?

YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE This Vol. #11, April 2020 Whole No. 179 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, PO Box 741, Clayton, CA 94517. SportStars™© 20102014 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Receive FREE Digital Subscription in your inbox. Subscribe at SportStarsMag.com. To receive sample issues, please send $3 per copy, or $8 total for bulk. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes.

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Life Sa NCVA’s Evan Orlando Donates Marrow After Being Marked As A Match Game, set, Be The Match.

The majority of blood cancer patients — people with varying forms of leukemia, lymphoma, or sickle cell — don’t have a matching donor in their family. As a result they require a transplant from a stranger in order to survive.

Their doctors search the Be The Match registry, looking for a matching donor. Unfortunately, that need arises

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every day and approximately 14,000 times every year.

The challenge is in finding the perfect “match” for those patients in need of a transplant. This year, NCVA’s very own Evan Orlando was able to help save the life of one of those patients in need.

Years prior, Evan joined the registry by filling out some information and swabbing the inside of his cheek. It took roughly ten minutes for Evan to join the registry and years

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aver of waiting before he received a call from Be The Match.

After being on the registry for years, Evan was matched with an individual across the globe who was in need of a marrow donation. In true hero fashion, Evan did not hesitate to say yes.

They scheduled a check-up, to make sure he was physically fit, and organized some tests to ensure he was a perfect match. The donation process includes injections of filgrastim, which helps increase the number of bloodforming cells in the body. Once he was set, Evan was asked if he would be willing to travel to the new transplant center in Boca Raton, Florida, to do the donation.

In most cases the donor stays in the state they live in, but occasionally the donor may be asked to fly to a transplant center. The trip is covered by Be The Match, including meals, rental car, and hotel stay for the donor and one other individual to join. Additionally, if an individual misses work it is also covered.

The donation is simple. In 80 percent of cases, marrow donations are similar to donating blood. An IV is inserted into the left arm, and not remotely what individuals see on television. Patients are free to watch movies, surf the web or enjoy some rest while blood is being drawn.

Evan donated in February. He has no idea who his recipient is, and will be unable to know for at least one year.

What is known is, he saved a life. Evan selflessly donated marrow to a stranger in need. When asked if he would donate again should he be needed, he did not hesitate to respond with a simple, “Of course.”

Evan continues to be an advocate and encourages others to join the registry by going to Join.bethematch. org/ncva and ordering a swab kit. Ten minutes or less can potentially give someone years to live, and continue to inspire hope.

— Gilbert Martinez for NCVA and Be The Match

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P

layer of the Year honors are never decided by one performance. High school basketball seasons stretch four months from conditioning week to the state finals. Season-long consistency and leadership are balanced along with talent and effort.

So while one game won’t lead to a Player of the Year award, it can certainly galvanize a player’s case. Dublin High’s Anthony Roy finalized his Player of the Year credentials in the North Coast Section Open Championship game.

He scored a season-low six points that night. His team lost to Bishop O’Dowd by three.

Roy, who spent his freshman year at O’Dowd before moving to Dublin, was the centerpiece to the Dragons’ defensive game plan. Dogged by double teams, he couldn’t find his shot. So he stopped shooting, and helped elevate his teammates.

Roy led the team with six assists that night, four of which went to Malik Jackson, who scored a career-high 29 that kept the Gaels in the game. Roy, who averaged nearly 18 points a game on the season, took just 10 shots that night.

“He told me after the game, ‘Coach, I just wasn’t feeling it and I knew we’d be better if I helped get others going,’” Dublin coach Tom Costello said.

The maturity that goes with knowing that, and acting on it, is rare for high school standouts. That leadership was the backbone of a Dublin team that thrived, even after its leading scorer from the previous season transferred to an East Bay Athletic League rival.

gaels Senior stepped up

when needed the most Roy was named the EBAL’s Most Valuable Player after leading the way both on and off the floor for a team that went 24-7. Dublin reached the NorCal Open semifinals before falling to Sheldon-Sacramento by one point.

“Anthony is an incredible young man,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Lou Richie said in the moments after the NCS final. “He was at O’Dowd as a freshman, and Tom (Costello) and I have had many conversations about him and his maturation.

And I couldn’t be happier for a better kid to go to Dublin and turn out the way he’s turned out. He’s probably the Bay Area Player of the Year. Hats off to his parents.”

Roy averaged 17.8 points per game, close to doubling his scoring average from his junior season. He added 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.

“His length was a problem, and he could just score in different ways,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. His team lost to the Gaels 66-61 in the final of the Gridley Invitational. Roy was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. “He was really good going to the basket but could also knock down some shots.

“Toward the end of the game, they went to a 1-3-1 zone defense and put him at the top. I know he made at least three or four plays that led to steals that sealed the game.”

From the moment Dublin’s open gyms started in the fall, Costello saw a different player in his 6-foot-4 senior.

“He absolutely embraced his chance to lead,” the coach said. “He’s just a natural, magnetic personality. Guys sort of gravitate toward him. He’s just a likable kid. His work ethic changed. I’m just super, super proud of him. Taking on that role and owning it. He made us so much better.”

Part of making the team better sometimes meant making the coaches better.

“His basketball IQ is off the charts,” Costello said. “He made suggestions that sometimes the coaching staff didn’t even notice. And I’m OK admitting that! Oftentimes he’d come over and say ‘Coach, let’s get Devon the ball here,’ or ‘Malik has this guy on him, we should go to him.’ Nine times out of 10 he was right.”

Roy currently has an offer from CSU Fullerton, but Costello says he’s gaining interest from a handful of other mid-majors as well.

Dublin played Roy at nearly every position over the course of the season.

Costello expects he’ll play as a combo guard in college. And the coach knows wherever he lands will be a steal for that program.

“He just makes the other players around him better,” Costello said. “Teachers love him, the administration loves him. Everybody loves him.”

— Chace Bryson 12

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B

ryce Monroe has proven himself a player of Valley Christian-San Jose coach Mark DeLuca said. many skills over the past two seasons at Arch“They intentionally shared with each other.”

THE TOP HALF bishop Riordan in San Francisco.

Yet, even after the season, Monroe wasn’t done addThese five players received the most votes among two The lightning-quick, 5-11 guard can play at a ing skills. Over the first week of April, he showcased separate fan votes conducted from March 31-April 9. breakneck pace while dazzling in the open court with his email server full-court press, and his poll-breaking There were 73,363 votes cast. ball skills and court vision. But confine him to the prowess.

Bryce Monroe (Archbishop Riordan-S.F.) ..........23,140 half court and he’ll rip a pull-up 3-pointer or cross a Initially not part of our NorCal Boys Basketball Fan defender over and knife his way into traffic.

Vote — foolishly we might add — Monroe’s fan base Anthony Roy (Dublin) .........................................19,968 “He’s just so quick, he’s dynamic in the open court,” used the write-in option to flood our editor’s inbox Aidan Mahaney (Campolindo-Moraga) ............ 11,466 Riordan coach Joey Curtin said in a January interview with more than 100 votes from as many as 35 unique with SportStars. “His body control is ridiculous. He’s voters in the first 24 hours. But Monroe’s Army, which Robby Beasley (Dougherty Valley-San Ramon) ...8,240 just one of those guys who’s a nightmare to guard. You includes over 11,000 Instagram followers, was just Mike Mitchell (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose) ........2,477 have to really pay a lot of attention to him because getting started. he’ll score 10 points in a row in a two-minute span We added him to the click-voting portion of the and you’re like, ‘What the heck just happened?’” poll and he gained over 10,000 votes in the first 12 Monroe’s skills led to a monster senior season that saw him average 20.2 points, 3.2 hours. Caught off guard at the speed of his support, SportStars checked to make sure rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. All while playing in the Bay Area’s toughest league the total was correct. It very well may have been, but because a software error was (West Catholic) and section playoff field (Central Coast Section Open Division). spotted upon checking we began a second poll.

The Sam Houston State-bound Monroe also had a knack for saving his biggest Monroe and his team dominated that one as well, also reaching over 10,000 votes. performances for the toughest opponents. He scored 34 against CIF NorCal Div. II Our two boys fan votes garnered more than 73,000 votes and Monroe collected just champion Weston Ranch-Stockton, and 44 against Norcal Div. I champion Campolinover 23,000 of them. do-Moraga.

Dublin senior Anthony Roy nearly cleared 20,000 votes between the two polls. He Campolindo was not the No. 1 seed in the Div. I NorCal bracket, by the way. It was finished leading the first with 15,666 when it was closed. He was second to Monroe in the ensuing vote. Campolindo sophomore Aidan Mahaney had more than 11,000 Riordan. But concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak led to school officials removing votes across the two polls, and Bellarmine’s Quinn Denker used the write-in route to the Crusaders from the tournament. Who knows what Monroe and his cousin, Riordan senior wing Je’Lani Clark, could have done together on one or two final big stages? storm the second vote and reach over 1,200.

— Chace Bryson “They were one of the best tandems of all time, and you had to pick your poison,”

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XAVION BROWN Wing | Sheldon-Sacramento | 6-3 | Senior HUSKIES HEARTBEAT: An electric player who would do whatever Sheldon needed on any given night, Brown led the NorCal Open finalists in assists and steals. He was second in blocks (1.1 per game) and third in overall rebounds. The Appalachian State signee also led the team in charges taken. He averaged 9.1 points per game for the Huskies and was named the Sacramento Bee’s CoPlayer of the Year.

AIDAN MAHANEY Wing | Campolindo-Moraga | 6-3 | Sophomore COUGAR CORNERSTONE: Considered one of the nation’s top 2022 recruits, Mahaney was the top player on a Cougars team which reached the state final for a second straight year. He averaged 19.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and slightly more than one steal a game. His strong outside shot combined with his ability to finish at the rim make him a nightmare perimeter matchup.

BRYCE MONROE Guard | Archbishop Riordan-S.F. | 5-11 | Senior SHOWSTOPPER: The Sam Houston State-bound point guard led the Crusaders in both points (20.2 per game) and assists (3.2). He also added 3.2 rebounds per game. Monroe and his cousin Je’Lani Clark comprised the best backcourt in the Bay Area. Monroe, who could slash to the basket and also stick the 3, saved his best games for the best opponents. He scored 44 in a win over Campolindo.

MARSALIS ROBERSON Wing | Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland | 6-5 | Junior SHAPE SHIFTER: The sharp-shooting guard was named Bay Area News Groups’ Bay Area Player of the Year after helping lead the Dragons to the NCS Open title and the NorCal Open final (the game was cancelled). His versatility showed as he could lead the Dragons in scoring one night and complement fellow standouts Monty Bowser or Jalen Lewis on other nights. He led the team with 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

ANTHONY ROY Wing | Dublin | 6-4 | Senior A COMPLETE LEADER: Roy stepped front and center into the alpha role vacated when former Dublin standout Robby Beasley transferred in the summer of 2019. The 6-foot-5 forward nearly doubled his scoring average from his junior season and led the Gaels (24-7) to within a point of the NorCal Open final. He averaged 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He was the East Bay Athletic League MVP and the SportStars’ NorCal Player of the Year.

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Aidan Mahaney

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Je’Lani Clark

Robbie Beasley Isa Silva

Marcus Bagley

MARCUS BAGLEY Forward | Sheldon-Sacramento | 6-8 | Senior Our NorCal Player of the Year from a season ago. Injuries kept the Arizona State signee to just 17 games, but he still averaged 22 points and 8.8 rebounds for the NorCal Open Division finalists. In his final game, he scored 27 to lead the Huskies’ comeback win over Dublin.

ROBBY BEASLEY Guard | Dougherty Valley-San Ramon | 6-2 | Senior The versatile Montana-bound guard averaged 23.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 steals over 20 games. The Wildcats were 22-2 and ranked No. 4 in NorCal before Beasley suffered a season-ending torn meniscus a week before the playoffs.

JE’LANI CLARK Guard | Archbishop Riordan-S.F. | 6-3 | Senior Clark was named the Co-MVP of the West Catholic Athletic League after leading the Crusaders to a share of the regular season title. The Nevada-bound wing was a stat monster, averaging 15.8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals.

MIKE MITCHELL Guard | Arcbishop Mitty-San Jose | 6-3 | Senior One of the best all-around players in the WCAL, the Pepperdine commit shared the league’s Co-MVP honors with Clark. Mitchell averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals a contest.

ISA SILVA Guard | Jesuit-Sacramento | 6-3 | Junior Silva will be the Sacramento area’s most coveted recruit this summer and into his final season with the Marauders. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a junior.

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QUINN DENKER Guard | Bellarmine-San Jose | 6-3 | Senior Named the Central Coast Section Player of the Year by 49ers Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area, Denker averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds for a Bells team which reached the CCS Open final.

TEIANO HARDEE Wing | Vanden-Fairfield | 6-5 | Senior The Sacramento State-bound Hardee will graduate as the City of Fairfield’s all-time scorer with 1,903 points. This year he averaged 18.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

JALEN LEWIS Center | Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland | 6-9 | Freshman Plenty of hype preceded his first year of HS ball, and Lewis delivered.

He shined brightest in big games, like his 22-point, 10-rebound, fourblock effort in the NCS Open final.

GAVIN WILBURN Forward | Weston Ranch-Stockton | 6-8 | Senior Wilburn wrapped up his four-year varsity career by averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in leading the Cougars to a NorCal Div. II title.

COREY YERGER Guard | Grant-Sacramento | 6-1 | Junior The 6-foot-1 talent led the Pacers in points (20 per game), assists (4) and steals (2.2). He also averaged five rebounds a contest for the 26-win Pacers.

Jalen Lewis

Gavin Wilburn

NEXT SQUAD UP

SENIOR SALUTE

(Underclass Honorable Mentions)

Justin Anderson (Menlo-Atherton)

Jaden Alexander (St. Patrick-St. Vincent-

Monty Bowser (Bishop O’Dowd-Oak.)

Vallejo), Jr.

Ian Elam (Bellarmine-San Jose)

Bryce Batchan Jr. (De Anza-Richmond) , So.

Dishon Jackson (St. Patrick-St.

Breckin Beamen (Sacramento Adventist), Jr.

Vincent-Vallejo)

Nigel Burris (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose), Jr.

Darius Kendall (Rocklin)

JT Byrne (Carmel), Jr.

Alex Merkviladze (Modesto Christian)

Miles Daniels (De La Salle-Concord), Jr.

Jalen Patterson (Liberty Ranch-Galt)

Tyree Gill (Burbank-Sacramento), Jr.

Tejon Sawyer (Salesian-Richmond)

Varick Lewis (Monterey Trail-Elk Grove), Fr.

Ciri Sawyers (San Leandro)

Sione Lose (Capital Christian-Sac.), Jr.

Brah’jon Thompson (James Logan-

Jaylen Thompson (St. Joseph Notre Dame-

Union City)

Alameda), So.

Josh Williams (Sheldon-Sacramento)

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W

e had a hand in her face,” recalls Salesian-Richmond coach Steve Pezzola. “We had a hand above her face. Her release just got quicker and higher.

“She became unstoppable.”

“I was definitely in a zone,” said Anya Choice. “I didn’t want to lose — I refused to lose that game. Every shot I put up was with 100 percent confidence.”

And they just kept going in for the Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa senior, as she capped arguably the best season for a girl from Northern California with one of the most spectacular performances of any season: 43 points, including 34 of her team’s 39 in the second half, as Cardinal Newman beat favored Salesian 64-59 in the North Coast Section Open semifinals.

“She didn’t really force any shots,” Pezzola said. “If she had an angstrom of room, she shot it. We didn’t do a box-andone or double-team her because we knew she was a very good passer – and few players can score at will against our good defenders.”

But Choice scored all season, averaging 24.3 points a game for 29-4 Cardinal Newman, even though she was the primary threat that every opponent focused on. Don’t think, however, that Choice is just a volume scorer — code for a player who just shoots the ball every time down the floor. As Pezzola said, she’s an excellent passer and, as her coach with club team Cal Stars Kelly Sopak said, “She’s a bulldog defender.”

Choice’s success is no accident, as not only does she have a ferocious work ethic, she has basketball in her DNA. Andrea Phillips, Choice’s mom, was a star at Ursuline High School (which has since merged with Cardinal Newman), and Monica Mertle, Choice’s coach, remembers watching Phillips play.

“On my mom’s side,” said Choice, “there are a lot of athletes,” and she remembers first playing basketball with her cous-

Cardinals Senior Was a Nearly

Unstoppable Force ins at family gatherings — and she was immediately hooked.

“I played a little volleyball in middle school,” she said, “and some soccer when I was young, but it’s always been basketball.”

She started playing in fourth grade, but it wasn’t until middle school that it began to dawn on her she could be pretty good at the game. “I realized that around seventh grade,” she said, “but a lot of people saw it in me earlier.”

And even though Choice characterizes herself as “a confident player,” one of the hurdles she had to overcome was believing in herself — and she credits Mertle for helping her understand just how good she could be.

“She taught me to be mentally strong,” said Choice. “I would get down on myself, and getting over that was the biggest thing in my improvement.”

Well, that and her desire to be the best player she could be. “The special thing about Anya is her work ethic and drive,” Mertle said. “She’ll spend hours outside of practice working on her game.

“Two days after this season ended (in the NorCal Open semifinals), she was texting me to ask if she could get back in the gym.”

All of that work has paid off, as Choice has steadily improved throughout her career. “Every year, she’s expanded her game,” Mertle said, though sometimes it took some persuading.

When Choice first started working with Mertle, her coach told her she needed to work on her left hand. Choice replied “Why? I can get to the basket with my right hand any time I want.”

“She had a point,” said Mertle, but Choice laughs at the memory now. “Monica told me I was going to have to use my left hand, and I was shocked.”

But she worked hard to develop her off hand, and then she added a 3-point shot because “teams were sagging off me and it made me mad.”

The last piece of the puzzle — at least so far — was the mid-range jumper. “In high school, most girls don’t have that,” said Choice, and she feels that addition was the biggest reason for her improvement.

“The jump she made last summer was remarkable,” said Sopak, as Choice moved into the starting lineup for the Cal Stars — a team stocked with Power 5 players that went 56-5 last year. “She became a shooter as she got more confidence, and once she got that outside game dialed in, it really opened things up.”

Choice’s strength has always been going to the basket and either scoring herself or finding an open teammate (she averaged 4.1 assists a game last year), but don’t forget her defense. “She’s a tremendous defender,” said Mertle. “She would get disappointed if I didn’t put her on the other team’s best player.”

Still, offense wins fans, and Choice has plenty of that. “She is awesome in transition,” said Shawn Hipol, whose St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda teams faced her in the past. “If she’s got a head of steam, you better have more than your little point guard back on defense.”

Choice is the prize in the UC Santa Barbara recruiting class, but her experience with Cal Stars made her aware of what’s ahead. “It was an eye-opener,” she said of her experience in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League. “I realized there were a lot of good players out there, some better than me, and it motivated me to work harder. I have to get stronger and I have to improve my ballhandling.”

Since hard work has never been an issue, expect both of those aspects of Choice’s game to get better before she takes the floor for the Gauchos — and for her game to continue to grow after that.

After all, as Hipol points out, “She’s a fierce competitor” – and if you doubt that, just ask Salesian’s Steve Pezzola.

— Story by Clay Kallam 22

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Gint Federas photo

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O

n its way to compiling a 26-3 record and going wire-to-wire as Northern California’s No. 1 team, the Archbishop Mitty High girls basketball team was a wave of black and gold consistency.

Like so many of Sue Phillips’ great squads at the San Jose school, the strength of the 2019-20 team was its collective. Four players on the team were named first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League. The Monarchs had at least five players eclipse 200 points on the season.

It’s not exactly easy to stand out. But even teams without bonafide stars need a heartbeat.

Ashley Hiraki was the one who made things tick for the Central Coast Section and CIF NorCal Open champions.

“She was the one that dictated our tempo and kept the troops together when the wheels got a little wobbly,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips told the San Jose Mercury News for a story which named Hiraki the paper’s Bay Area Player of the Year. “She’s the worker bee.”

Hiraki, who will take her game to Cal State Northridge in the fall, led the team in scoring (12.4 ppg.) and steals (3.4 per game). She also grabbed over four rebounds per contest despite her 5-foot-7 size. She was the WCAL Player of the Year and an All-Tournament selection at the Nike TOC. Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed among NorCal basketball fans and SportStars readers, either.

We launched our NorCal Girls Basketball Fan Vote on March 31. When it closed on at 11:59 p.m. on April 8, more than 28,000 votes had been cast.

Ashley Hiraki received 10,349 of them. That total cleared the second-place vote getter, Mia Mastrov of Miramonte-Orinda, by more than 2,000. Mastrov, a junior with an all-around game similar to Hiraki’s, finished with 8,296 votes. Capital Christian-Sacramento senior Maile Williams came in third with 5,191 votes.

Makena Mastora (St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda) and Abby Muse (Heritage-Brentwood) each finished with more than 1,000 votes.

Hiraki was one of just two seniors on the Monarchs this past season, which means the 2020-21 fan vote could look very similar for the next heartbeat of Mitty girls hoops.

— Chace Bryson

THE TOP HALF These five players received the most among the 28,345 votes cast from March 31- April 8.

Ashley Hiraki (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose) ....... 10,349 Mia Mastrov (Miramonte-Orinda) ........................ 8,296 Mitty Athletics Photo

Maile Williams (Capital Christian-Sacramento) .. 5,191 Makena Mastora (St. Joseph Notre Dame-Ala.)...1,737 Abby Muse (Heritage-Brentwood) ....................... 1,267

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SportStars™ 23

ANYA CHOICE Guard | Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa | 5-8 | Senior THE CLEAR CHOICE: Job One when facing Cardinal Newman was stopping Anya Choice — but even though the UC Santa Barbara-bound senior was the focus of all the defensive attention, she still averaged 24.3 points a game (to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists) and led Cardinal Newman to a 29-4 record and a berth in the NorCal Open semifinals. No one player did more for an elite team than Choice, which is why she’s — wait for it — our choice as Player of the Year.

JZANIYA HARRIEL Guard | Antelope | 5-9 | Junior MS. BUCKETS: Like Anya Choice, Harriel topped every opponent’s scouting report, and like Choice, it didn’t matter. Her 830 points were the most for any girls in NorCal among stats reported to MaxPreps. She averaged 25.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.3 steals a game for 29-4 Antelope — and to make that stat line even more impressive, note that she hit 36 percent of her 3-pointers and 80 percent of her free throws.

ASHLEY HIRAKI Guard | Archbishop Mitty-San Jose | 5-7 | Senior NOTHING SURRENDERED: If there was one thing that stood out for Archbishop Mitty, clearly the dominant team in Northern California this season, it was depth. Sue Phillips kept running out talented player after talented player. What made Hiraki a first-team choice wasn’t her numbers (12.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg., 3.5 spg.) but rather that every loose ball, every contested rebound and every big shot belonged to her. Expect more of the same next year at Cal State Northridge.

Johnson

KENNEDY JOHNSON Forward | Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland | 5-11 | Junior DRAGON MASTER: Johnson just keeps getting better — and she was really good to start with. Though she still controls the paint as a scorer and rebounder, she added some perimeter flavor to her game this year, hitting 3-pointers if defenders sagged off too much, and driving by them if they came too close. And after averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds this season, she still has another year to go.

AMAYA OLIVER Forward | St. Mary’s-Stockton | 6-1 | Senior RAM TOUGH: After battling a persistent knee injury through her junior year and the summer circuit, Oliver finally got healthy this fall — and showed that her quickness, size and speed were also complemented with 3-point range and a full suite of skills.

Oliver also had to carry a big load for St. Mary’s, as she was the only senior on the floor during crunch time.

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Hiraki

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Mastrov

Rones

Sadler

Lopolo

TALANA LEPOLO Guard | St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda | 5-7 | Sophomore Like Mitty, St. Joseph overpowered opponents with depth rather than individual brilliance. Of their talented core, Lepolo was the player who made plays for herself and others when it mattered most. The Pilots posted a 24-win season and reached the NorCal Open final.

MIA MASTROV Guard | Miramonte-Orinda | 5-11 | Junior Mastrov’s all-around game propelled Miramonte to a 23-6 record. She could score inside and out and brought a defensive presence that powered both the Miramonte press and its halfcourt defense. She averaged 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals.

GABBY RONES Guard | West Campus | 5-6 | Senior “Rones rains threes” is both alliterative and accurate. The long-range shooter took nearly five 3’s a game and made 35 percent of them en route to 17.2 points a contest.

The Nevada-bound talent led West Campus to 21 wins and was a two-time state champion in her four-year career.

TAMEIYA SADLER Guard | St. Patrick St. Vincent-Vallejo | 5-8 | Senior Sadler stuffed the stat sheet almost every game, averaging 18.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 5.7 steals for the 22-win Bruins. Those numbers – plus her athleticism and defensive chops – landed her a scholarship to the University of Washington.

OLIVIA WILLIAMS Wing | Archbishop Mitty-San Jose | 6-1 | Junior Williams’ all-around game and smooth style of play made it easy to pick her out. Like all the Mitty players, her numbers don’t jump off the page, but her talent and next-level potential make her impossible to ignore.

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Mastora

Muse

Fonongaloa

Decker

ANNIKA DECKER Point Guard | Pinewood-Los Altos Hills | 5-4 | Junior Decker was the driving force for a young Pinewood team that reached the NorCal Open semifinals. She had 18 double-doubles and averaged 4.6 rebounds a game.

SILIVIA FONONGALOA Post | Salesian-Richmond | 6-1 | Sophomore Fonongaloa was a force in the paint for Salesian, and once she got the ball on the block, there was little opponents could do to stop her.

LEXIE GIVENS Wing | Alameda | 6-0 | Senior Givens flew under the radar at Alameda – but coaches knew just how good she was. She averaged 21.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks to lead the Hornets to an NCS Div. III title.

MAKENA MASTORA Guard | St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda | 5-9 | Junior The 5-9 junior guard ran the show with steadfast consistency for the NCS Open Div. champs. She was the Bay Counties League-East Division’s Most Valuable Player.

ABIGAIL MUSE Forward | Heritage-Brentwood | 6-2 | Senior The Boise State-bound Bay Valley Athletic League MVP was among the region’s most dominant post players. She averaged 14.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.1 steals.

NEXT SQUAD UP

SENIOR SALUTE

(Underclass Honorable Mentions)

Natalia Ackerman (Aptos)

Jordan Allred (Miramonte-Orinda), Jr.

Grace Bliss (Colfax)

Alexsandra Alvarado (Salesian-Richmond), Jr. Teagan Brown (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills), So. Jiana Creswell (Vanden-Fairfield), So.

Audrey Moulton (California-San Ramon) Stephanie Okowi (Oakland Tech) Madison Parry (Del Oro-Loomis)

Kylie Horstmeyer (Redwood-Larkspur), Jr.

Kayla Rosemon (St. Mary’s-Berkeley)

Avery Lee (Menlo School-Atherton), Jr.

Bria Shine (Christian Brothers-Sac.)

Ahrray Young (Laguna Creek-Elk Grove), So.

Maile Williams (Capital Christian-Sac.)

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SportStars’ Anniversary Project Continues With The Boys Wrestling Big 10 — Our Top 10 NorCal Male Wrestlers From The Past 10 Seasons (2011-2020) Welcome to the SportStars’ Boys Wrestling BIG 10.

This is an installation of our Big 10 Project: A 10-months-long anniversary project to celebrate what will be 10 years of SportStars this June. From January through October, we’ll be releasing lists of the Top 10 players and teams of the SportStars Era from across several sports. Many will debut in our monthly editions while many others will be exclusive to SportStarsMag.com. Readers will even have a chance to vote on some.

Here’s our professional opinion of boys wrestling, a sport that culminates in California like nowhere else in the world. Only in the Golden State do nearly 4,000 high schools compete for just one state title in only 14 weight classes.

To be elite in California prep wrestling, you must survive a gauntlet of postseason tournaments, where an extra Gatorade sip before weigh-ins can end your season as quickly as a pin-fall in the consolation bracket.

The 10 wrestlers listed below are the personification of continued success. They combined for 34 California Interscholastic Federation medals, including 11 championships.

Here’s The Big 10, listed alphabetically.

Nic Aguilar — Gilroy ’18 (CIF finishes: 2, 2, 1) One of the best lightweights in CIF history is a three-time state finalist who suplexed through the glass ceiling his senior year when he out-pointed Oakdale’s Henry Porter 6-1 in the 120-pound finale. Aguilar went on to wrestle for Rutgers, and was an at-large selection for the since-cancelled 2020 NCAA championships after going 24-11 for the Scarlet Knights this year. Aguilar gave hometown fans a thrill last year when he returned to California and pinned four-time CIF medalist Robert Garcia IV (Selma) during a dual meet with Fresno State.

Noah Blake — Del Oro-Loomis ’19 (CIF finishes: 7, 4, 3, 2) The first wrestler in Del Oro’s prestigious history to win four state medals was a must-have for this list. Blake got better each year, earned impressive national accolades and picked up a scholarship to wrestle for Air Force. Blake was also a two-time Sac-Joaquin Section champion and ended his 2020 campaign with Air Force Prep with a 12-4 record. In 2019, only undefeated National No. 2 Matthew Olguin of Buchanan-Clovis could keep Blake from CIF gold.

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Peyton Omania

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Paul Fox — Gilroy ’14 (CIF finishes: 8, 2, 2, 1) Fox was the key member of a Gilroy squad that established a new trend of dominance in the Central Coast Section under coach Greg Valera. He picked up four CIF medals, including the 152-pound gold in 2014. Fox went on to become a team captain at Stanford, where he managed a career record of 96-41.

He helped the Cardinal capture the first Pac-12 title in school history when he finished third his senior year. Fox was also a decorated scholar-athlete, earning numerous academic honors.

Peyton Omania — De La Salle-Concord ’18 (CIF finishes: 5, 6, 1) One of the most exciting wrestlers in CIF lore is a Greco-Roman icon who earned a scholarship to wrestle at Michigan St. before taking an Olympic redshirt to work on qualifying for the 2020 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Olympic Team at 67 kg. Omania was also a 2018 CIF champion who went 19-6 his freshman year at Michigan St. Omania is a three-time Team USA member. He earned a bronze medal at the 2019 Greco-Roman Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Gionn Peralta — Vacaville ’14 (CIF finishes: 8, 3, 2, 2) One of two Bulldogs on this list, Peralta broke the record for most wins and pins during his campaign at state-power Vacaville. He’s a four-time CIF medalist, two-time finalist and two-time SJS champion. He helped Vacaville win three Masters titles and three team dual titles. Peralta went on to wrestle for Menlo College and San Francisco State.

Israel Saavedra — Modesto ’15 CIF (CIF finishes: 1, 1, 3) Saavedra was destined for CIF legend status when he won back-to-back state titles his freshman and sophomore seasons, quickly gaining a reputation as one of the nation’s best. He finished third his junior year and was deterred by a growth spurt. He wound up at Granite Bay and leap-frogged weight classes before exiting the 2015 postseason short of the CIF tournament. Saavedra had earned a scholarship to wrestle for Old Dominion, where he had a short stay.

Chase Saldate — Gilroy ’20 CIF (CIF finishes: 4, 2, 1) Yesterday’s heroes have to give a little nod to today’s best. National No. 1 Saldate enjoyed an undefeated senior season and was untouchable at the state tournament. The three-time CCS champion will wrestle for Michigan State after a redshirt season. Saldate is also a viral icon for young athletes looking to capitalize on their talents, prestige and savvy. His content on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram is literally viewed by millions. Read more here: https://sportstarsmag.com/chase-saldatecountdown-to-liftoff/

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Chase Saldate

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Nikko Villarreal

Jeramy Sweany — Vacaville ’14 (CIF finishes: 8, 1, 1) Pin specialist Jeramy Sweany was a three-time CIF medalist and two-time champion, and is possibly the best wrestler in Vacaville’s illustrious history. The former Junior Greco All-American was also a star at Cornell. He made three trips to the NCAA championships, was named first-team All-Ivy League and amassed a career record of 70-45 at Cornell. Sweany enjoyed a 177-25 career record at Vacaville and was also a standout football player.

Nikko Villarreal — Gilroy ’14 CIF (CIF finishes: 3, 1, 1, 1) The only NorCal wrestler in the last decade to win three state championships is only the fourth NorCal wrestler to ever accomplish that feat (David Lee of Bella Vista-Fair Oaks ’84, Louis Bland of Central Catholic-Modesto ’08, Jason Welch of Las Lomas-Walnut Creek ’08). Villarreal was twice named the Dave Schultz Champion of Champions at the CIF tourney. Villarreal was also a two-time Fargo All-American and ended his senior campaign ranked No. 8 in the country. Villarreal wrestled three years at Arizona State.

Villarreal was also a four-time CCS champion.

Wyatt Wyckoff — Paradise ’15 (CIF finishes: 2, 2, 1) The only Northern Section wrestler on this list, Wyckoff is one of only three on the list to reach the CIF finals three times. He is a four-time NS champion who enrolled at West Point, but elected to not wrestle collegiately after a reported injury. Wyckoff beat McCoy Kent of Enochs-Modesto 11-3 in the 2015 CIF finale. He was stymied by Zahid Valencia in his prior trips to the state finals.

— Ike Dodson 32

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SportStars’ Anniversary Project Continues With The Girls Wrestling Big 10 — Our Top 10 NorCal Female Wrestlers From The Past 10 Seasons (2011-2020) Let’s look at the SportStars’ Girls Wrestling BIG 10.

The sport is one growing exceedingly fast throughout the world, and meteorically rising in California after 10 consecutive seasons as a CIF sanctioned championship sport. It’s convenient timing for this list of the top 10 NorCal wrestlers of the last decade, chosen for repeated success, international prestige and extreme talent.

The girls listed here combine for 35 California Interscholastic Federation medals, including 11 CIF championships. And two of them are current underclassmen.

Here’s The Big 10, listed alphabetically.

Rory Coscia - Enochs-Modesto ’18 (CIF finishes: 3,4,1,1) Perhaps the best Sac-Joaquin Section wrestler until Lillian Freitas enrolled at Pitman-Turlock, Coscia is a four-time CIF medalist and two-time champion who won two tight matches in the state finals.

Coscia went on to enroll for Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association juggernaut Campbellsville University in Kentucky, the No. 1 program in the NCAA. Coscia was 2-2 in the 2020 WCWA National Championships.

Amit Elor - College Park-Pleasant Hill ’22 (CIF finishes: 1) The most controversial selection on this list is easily Elor, who has only competed in one prep season and elected to not enter the 2020 postseason as she trained for the Cadet World Championships. But since she’s a national champion and a 2019 Cadet World bronze medalist, this wasn’t a list we could present without her. Elor also achieved unparalleled dominance at the CIF championships as a freshman, spending only 2 minutes and 19 seconds on the mat at state. She pinned opponents in 15, 30, 17, 48 and finally 29 seconds.

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Rory Coscia

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Victoria Espinoza - Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park ’16 (CIF finishes: 7,6,2,1) One of eight four-time medalists on this list, Espinoza is the pride of the NCS. She was a CIF runner-up in 2015 and won the 2016 title with a first-round pin. Espinoza went on to wrestle for NCAA-power King University (Tennessee), earning All-American status in 2018 when she placed eighth at the national tournament. She’s also a four-time high school All-American.

Lillian Freitas - Pitman-Turlock ’22 (CIF finishes: 1,1) The national freestyle champion and Cadet World participant is now a two-time CIF champion after pinning five straight opponents in the 2020 150-pound bracket. Freitas has Olympic aspirations and is expected to become the next four-time state champ, after three-time champ Cheyenne Bowman of Rowland-Rowland Heights wraps up her career.

Dalia Garibay - Freedom-Oakley ’19 (CIF finishes: 5,2,2,1) Garibay is already one of California’s best NCAA products. The four-time CIF placer and 2019 champion made a statement during her true freshman season at Colorado Mesa University.

She reached the 2020 WCWA finals, earning runner-up and All-American status. Garibay is also a two-time kids Pan Am Champion.

Alex Hedrick - Bella Vista-Fair Oaks ’17 (CIF finishes: 3,2,1,1) Hedrick is in the same conversation as Freitas and Coscia. She’s a four-time state medalist, three-time finalist and two-time champion (2016, 2017). Hedrick also earned a scholarship to wrestle at national powerhouse Simon Fraser (British Columbia), considered the No. 2 team in the NCAA. Hedrick was a 2018 U.S. Senior Open champion, and was a 2019 Pan American Senior Championships gold medalist. She’s also a WCWA All-American.

Cadence Lee - Gunn-Palo Alto ’14 (CIF finishes: 7,2,1,1) The four-time CCS champion won four CIF medals (she and Jasmine Mendoza of Overfelt-San Jose are the first to ever do that), including two golds. She was also a cadet national champion and eighth at the 2013 Cadet World Championships in Zrenjanin, Serbia. If the collegiate world was a little more prepared for women’s wrestling in 2014, Lee may have made an impact there, but she elected not to wrestle in college.

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Alex Hedrick Imago via ZUMA Press

Lillian Freitas

Ricki Liang - Bethel-Vallejo ’15 (CIF finishes: 3,5,2,1) Liang is a four-time state placer and 2015 champion who earned her spot on the King University wrestling team alongside Espinoza. Liang helped King win its third straight NWCA National Dual title and WCWA National Championship title in 2016. Later the same year she finished third at the 2016 Last Chance Olympic Trials qualifier.

Lauren Mason - Woodcreek-Roseville ’16 (CIF finishes: 4,1,2,2) One of the pioneers of girls wrestling in California, Mason earned tremendous accolades during her career at Woodcreek. She was a four-time CIF placer, winning the tournament her sophomore year. She was runner-up as a junior and senior and went on to wrestle for Simon Fraser. This year, she wrapped up her junior season by placing third at the WCWA Women’s National Championships.

Solin Piearcy - Cupertino ’16 (CIF finishes : 6,6,3,1) Piearcy is a three-time collegiate All-American who won four state medals in high school. She is a three-time WCWA place-winner at Menlo College. She helped Menlo earn the 2019 team title by winning the 136-pound title in 2019. She was poised to repeat national championship honors in 2020, until the NAIA championships were cancelled. Piearcy holds the record for most single-season wins in Menlo history (28).

— Ike Dodson 38

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avoiding MIND GAMES in quarantine get mental: erika westhoff In All This Uncertainty, Focus On What You Can Control And Look For Ways To Make The Situation Benefit You Firstly, I hope you and your families are healthy and safe. As we navigate these unprecedented times, I wanted to check-in and discuss staying mentally fit through it all. In our time together through my SportStars blog, we have undoubtedly discussed, “controlling the controllables.” Here is a list of ways you can use your mental skills for staying mentally tough during COVID-19.

1. IMAGERY Use your imagery skills to practice your sport, especially if you are unable to practice. As you know, the more sensory details you include in your imagery, the more you’ll engage your nervous system and therefore your muscle memory will stay intact. This will ultimately make for a smoother transition back to sport and minimize the feeling of being “rusty.”

Go to your imagery lists in your MentalApp account to revisit your priorities for technical performance (reps), tac tical practice (sequences) and highlights. Set aside five minutes, 1 or 2 times per day to do your imagery sessions.

Remember: Imagery is the ONLY time to focus on being perfect. Only review your best performances. Delete any wrong execution that pops up in your imagery session.

2. GAP EXERCISE This is a form of meditation. Given that our lives have drastically slowed down temporarily, now you have the time to practice. Also, without the normal daily stressors, you may find that learning how to meditate is a bit easier as your mind is naturally quieter/ slower. If you’re already feeling confident with the GAP exercise, then give a longer meditation a try. I strongly recommend doing a trial membership with the app Headspace or, 40

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my personal favorite meditation app, Calm. Both can be found in the App store or Google Play. This is an investment in your long-term mental toughness and will come in handy when all of life’s stresses are in full-swing once again — especially competitive stress!

3. REST Another benefit to appreciate during the shelter-at-home order is the extra rest. Every, literally EVERY student-athlete I work with is not getting enough rest to support academics, training and daily homework. I’ve enjoyed seeing athletes (online) over the last few weeks well rested and less stressed. Enjoy it while it lasts, and be sure to “bookmark” the feeling of low-stress and rested, as full-life mode will return before we know it.

I know you’ve been personally impacted in a major way by the stay-at-home order.

The cancellation of your season, your planned competitions — and for many of you, even your daily training — has been devastating, I know.

We all hope to be back to our sports and competition as soon as is safe to do so. I have been incredibly impressed by many Olympic hopefuls and how they have responded to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being postponed for a year.

Training most of your life for one competition, only to have it postponed, is extraordinarily tough and completely uncontrollable. For some athletes, this will mean no Olympics. For others, it will mean a better chance at qualifying. Regardless, both those whom I am personally connected to, and those I’ve watched from a distance, are projecting a consistent message: As difficult as it is, postponing is the right decision.

This is resilience in action. This is flexible thinking. And this is mental toughness!

These athletes are serving as great role models for us all.

Do you need support to stay mentally strong?

I’m working from home and available to meet with clients on Monday’s and some afternoons. I’d love to hear from you and help you stay mentally fit.

Erika Westhoff is a CEO and certified mental trainer at EW Performance in Pleasanton.

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

COLLEGE WHO KNOWS BEST? A lot of people are giving me advice about where to go to college. I’d like to play soccer, but I don’t really know how good I am. Some people say I can play Div. I, and one of my coaches said I might have a better college experience if I go Div. III. But the schools I really want to go to are so good in soccer I probably couldn’t play there. So I’m really confused, and people keep talking to me and confusing me even more. Who should I listen to?

G.G., Berkeley

t’s sort of ironic you’re asking me for advice on which advice to take, but that’s really the crux of the issue, for you and almost everyone heading off to college: You want to make the best decision possible so you talk to as many people as possible, but after a while, it’s easy to fall into the paralysis-from-analysis trap — but then again, maybe the next person you talk to will give you the key to unlocking the best decision.

At some point, though, you have to draw a line in the sand and say to yourself “OK, I have to move from informationgathering to decision-making.”

That’s step one. Step two is to evaluate who’s giving you advice and why. Generally, your parents have certain goals for you, and obviously you should listen to them. But, as you assuredly have pointed out to them in the past, you are not them, and their goals aren’t necessarily yours.

Your club soccer coach makes his living from soccer, and the more players he sends on to Pac-12 schools, the better his club looks — and the more likely he is to make more money. So

I

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E ADVICE his assurance that you’ll do fine at UCLA is great, and may even be accurate, but there is an advantage for him even if you go to UCLA and quit playing after one year. He can still say he sent a player to the Pac-12.

Your soccer friends and their families are all wrapped up in the same complications, but there’s also an added level of competition. One girl and her dad are bragging about how she got a ride to Texas Tech, and a boy claims he got into a really good academic school because of the soccer coach.

All of this leads to the moment when you want to decide where to go to school, and at that moment, you are taking another step, a big one, towards adulthood. In the end, the only advice that matters is your own, and you have to filter out, as best you can, all those other voices.

How important is soccer? How important will soccer be two years from now? Four years from now? Twenty years from now? Will you look back if you wind up not playing in college and always wonder “What if …,” or will you feel that your time was better spent on preparing for a business career? Or is the fact that you can only play soccer at this level for a few more years and you’ll be working the rest of your life more important?

One of the reasons we enjoy sports is that there’s always a clear outcome (even a tie), but life is much more ambiguous. You can never really know what the best decision is or was, so you just have to do the best you can at the moment you decide, and then move on.

Of course, that’s just my advice, and maybe my voice is one you should filter out.

Or not. Good luck.

Clay Kallam has been an assistant athletic director and coached numerous sports at a handful of high schools throughout the Bay Area. His Behind the Clipboard Q&A Column appears monthly. Email him at claykallam@gmail.com.

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