NorCal Issue 191 Jan/Feb 2021

JAN/FEB 2021 NORCAL EDITION VOL. 12 ISSUE 191

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1.29.14 San Ramon Valley-Danville guard Jerry Karczewski is carried off the court by the student body after sinking a game-winning 3-pointer against cross-town rival Monte Vista.

Photo by Phillip Walton

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Embrace The Chaos After more than 10 months with high school sports sidelined, it appears all but certain that at least some competition will return before I sit down to write my next column.

What’s to come seems likely to be a four-plus month whirlwind of schools and leagues attempting to facilitate whatever sports they can as quickly as they can. One giant season with individual sports leading the way and various team sports clawing their way in for a two-month sprint at the end.

It will be chaotic, but equally cathartic.

On Jan. 14, the North Coast Section eliminated its season-of-sport designations as well as its postseason tournaments and essentially told its leagues to play whatever they can from Feb. 1 to June 12. Other sections across the state have made similar decisions. Obviously, the schools and leagues have to operate within the state health guidelines. Those guidelines allow for specific sports to begin based on the state’s colored tier system for COVID-19 transmission.

Sports that appear assured to have some version of a full season include golf, tennis, swimming and diving, cross country and track. They have been cleared to happen within the purple tier (once a county is no longer under stayat-home orders). Whether those sports’ seasons will look much like their previous versions is unknown.

Cross country dual meets might just see the home team run the course on its own, then wait social-distantly while its opponent runs the same course. Times are combined at the end and winners are determined. Swim and track meets could look much different as well.

Coaches and athletic directors will be overworked and underpaid more than ever before. Logistics for everything won’t be easy, especially once a county moves from the purple tier to the red tier and allows baseball, softball, girls lacrosse and field hockey to enter the fray.

Then — if the state health department refuses to budge — football, soccer, volleyball and boys lacrosse will be waiting on a dip to the orange tier. Basketball and wrestling would seemingly be longshots as yellow tier sports.

Maybe the government yields to some to the public pressure being created by various coaches groups and social media movements. Perhaps they allow for football to start in the red tier, and move the yellow sports up to orange.

That might just get us to all sports by mid-April.

Can it all be pulled off? Will there be enough facilities? Enough officials? Heck, enough COACHES?! If there’s one thing I’m sure of, the schools and leagues will do all they can to make it happen. And the only way to do it will be to get creative, think outside the box, embrace the chaos — and the safety protocols — and give each athlete a shot at something. Anything.

The chaos is coming. Let’s go. ✪

YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE This Vol. #12, February 2021, Whole No. 191 is published by Caliente!

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

DON’T BE EXCLUSIVE

I love to play basketball but everyone tells me I’m a much better baseball player. My coaches want me to play baseball year-round, and say I’ll fall behind in baseball if I play basketball, and guys I’m better than now will be better than me in the spring. Are they right? Should I only play baseball?

J.G., Lodi

O

nce everything returns, play basketball. Or soccer. Or become a wrestler. Or go skiing every weekend.

Do not play baseball year-round. In fact, no teenager should play any sport year-round. OK, that’s a blanket statement, and there might be a few athletes who should devote themselves to only one activity — but “few” is the important word.

First, let’s look at why there is pressure on kids to play just one sport. Coaches like to win — and they want good players, so they will push good baseball players to play baseball as much as possible. Second, some coaches make significant money by charging for offseason sports.

Then there’s pressure to get a scholarship, which can possibly be worth about $250,000 — a sum that will get anyone’s attention. Peer pressure also comes into play, both in terms of having another good player for a team, and getting respect from others for doing something well.

The result is the two-fold argument you mentioned: You could get hurt doing another sport and you won’t be as good because you’re not practicing as much. Both arguments are deeply flawed, especially for repetitive motion sports such as baseball and volleyball.

To begin with, the repetitive stress injury risk in baseball is very high. Lots of young players now have Tommy John surgery, which makes it seem OK — but don’t forget that not only do many players never get back to their previous form, but that elbow trouble will very likely continue throughout life. Shoulder injuries are even less forgiving, and back injuries are also a product of continual twists of the torso that are the basis of throwing and hitting.

Sure, you could get hurt playing basketball — but sports like basketball and soccer develop all-around coordination and athleticism, without as much risk of repetitive stress injuries. The range of movement and unpredictability of both sports force athletes to be flexible and learn to react to surprising situations.

The “you’ll fall behind” argument is more insidious. First, long-term success in any sport is determined far more by talent than skills refined as a teenager. Yes, major leaguers have acquired specific abilities through years of playing, but missing three months to play basketball isn’t going to have much of an impact.

In fact, many college coaches prefer two-sport athletes because of the implied versatility and athleticism that comes with it.

Even more important, though, is enthusiasm. Playing any sport year-round will eventually turn into a grind. Burnout is real, and has ended many more careers than lack of practice in the offseason. It’s very hard to predict when the well of enthusiasm will run dry — things can seem totally fine until one day they’re not.

Once the fire goes out, it’s hard to get it re-lit.

So play basketball. Or soccer. Or go skiing — one very successful college pitcher I know said he had never been skiing because his coaches wouldn’t let him, which is one of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard. Injuries happen, sure, but injuries are much more likely if you’re just playing the same sport and doing the same motion over and over again.

If you’re good enough, you’ll play in college, and if you’re not, it doesn’t matter how many December practices you go to. The bottom line is that sports should be fun. They’re not a job at 15, and shouldn’t be treated as one. ✪

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S

he was always the tall one. Entering her freshman year at Rocklin High School, Kennedy Crane loomed over her classmates at 6-foot-1.

With two brothers over 6-5, her father checking in at 6-2, her mother at a respectable 5-11, and her uncle at 6-7, good genetics paved her way to a dominant prep volleyball career. Last season as a junior, Crane registered a Sierra Foothill League-best 477 kills and led her team to SFL title and 24-13 record.

“She can attack well, and her defense has improved immensely over the four years she’s been here,” said Rocklin volleyball coach Dave Muscarella, who pointed out her 320 digs and 34 total blocks in 2019. “She started with me as a freshman, and this hopefully, will be her fourth year on varsity. I’ve watched her improve so much.”

It’s unknown if Crane, Muscarella, or any other prep sports athletes and coaches will have that final year together. The pandemic has caused multiple season postponements and disrupted the club volleyball seasons as well.

The stoppages caused problems for everyone, particularly seniors looking to take their game to the collegiate level. Yet despite the lack of playing time this year, Crane had enough tape and interest to make a commitment to California Lutheran University.

“I always thought that I would play in college, so when I went down and saw the school and saw how small the campus was, in a perfect location, I knew it would work out,” said Crane, who hopes to move down to the Santa Barbara area for the start of the academic year in August. “I originally thought I was going to play at the highest level, the best college I could, D-I. But as I went further into the recruiting process, I realized that I didn’t want that for myself. I wanted to continue playing for fun. I wanted to also focus on school and not just volleyball. So I think D-III was a good choice for me.”

No matter what happens this year, Crane is guaranteed a chance to resume the sport she loves. Others haven’t been so lucky.

In the fall, high school teams only got a few weeks of practices, in pods of 10 or less people, before COVID-19

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“There are days where you’re really frustrated, and you think, ‘these poor senior’s aren’t going to get their final year’.

And then there are days when you get up and you feel a little bit better.”

— Rocklin coach Dave Muscarella

cases surged through California and sports were shut down again. The latest CIF restart guideline requires counties to reach the orange tier for volleyball competition to resume.

Each tier represents local cases and the percentage of positive COVID-19 cases with purple being the worst, then red, and then orange as a moderate tier. Muscarella says it takes three weeks to make a move to a new tier, thus volleyball is essentially six weeks away, at a minimum.

“I’m hopeful that the CIF, when they release their next guideline, will reconsider keeping sports in the orange tier,” Muscarella admitted. “I hope they work with the state to see all sports resume once we get back into the red tier.”

Currently, Placer and Sacramento County are in the purple tier, much like most of the state, leaving many teams on the cusp of a season, unable to practice or play.

“There are days where you’re really frustrated, and you think, ‘these poor seniors aren’t going to get their final year,’” Muscarella admitted. “And then there are days when you get up and you feel a little bit better.”

Optimism is all they have left.

“You don’t really know what’s going to happen, you just have to have hope,” Crane said. “You can hope everything will work out.”

Muscarella added: “I believe that we have to be optimistic. I keep reiterating that.

I’ve always told them there’s still an opportunity for us to do this, and we need to work. And the message for them is that the work is still good for them even if they don’t have a season.”

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“It’s not the ending they would have written in their story, but again, looking at the big picture, they’re healthy.

It’s all about looking at things with perspective.”

— St. Francis-Sacramento volleyball coach Alynn Wright

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to restart and cram in as much of a season as possible, Muscarella pointed to a pair of issues moving forward.

First, he noted multi-sport athletes would have difficulties practicing for each of their teams during a single week. He noted that Rocklin’s athletic department has already discussed that issue and coaches are willing to compromise — missing practice for one team in order to have some semblance of a season in two sports.

Secondly, Muscarella says athletes, and especially volleyball players, will have trouble doubling-up with a high school season and a club season. Back in July, the CIF waived its bylaw that prohibited high school athletes to simultaneously play for their clubs teams when seasons overlapped. However, CIF was forced to rescind that allowance on Jan. 20 in order to comply with state health guidelines that recommend “athletes and coaches should cohort by team, and refrain from participating with more than one team over the same season or time period” A few local clubs are still practicing, and Crane is lucky to at least work on her craft with her club volleyball team, Synergy. Athletes from other sports, like football, haven’t been able to do anything officially with their team or coaches in months.

They’ve had to work, or even try to earn collegiate scholarships, on their own. Without a senior season, whatever they accomplished as a junior could be their only chance to impress scouts.

Furthermore, with new eligibility rules for collegiate freshmen, which granted an extra year of eligibility, less spots opened up at the next level for graduating high school seniors.

“The recruiting process was tricky,” St. Francis-Sacramento volleyball coach Alynn Wright confessed. “If you weren’t committed as a junior, then there weren’t a lot of opportunities for colleges to see you play because everything was shut down so early during club season.”

St. Francis has four seniors, and at least three of them have already solidified college commitments. Setter Ellie Eichhorn recently committed to Air Force.

“I consider myself lucky to have committed when I did. Because I know a lot of people, not just from the senior class, but from the junior class that are having trouble getting noticed,” Eichhorn said. “There aren’t any tournaments right now, so the only thing you can do is send your videos to coaches. But you can’t know everything about a player from film.”

Troubadours middle blocker Chloe Henning is another 2021 recruit. She’s done her best to battle through the yo-yo-like ups and downs of the past 10 months.

“Things get cancelled, and then you get your hopes up about things going back to normal, and then they get cancelled again,” Henning said. “I just think that everyone is doing the best that they can.”

Since she was a sophomore, Henning knew she wanted to attend San Francisco State and live in her favorite city. This past summer, she made that a reality and committed to the Gators after participating in a full-virtual commitment process.

“That’s a great fit for her,” Wright acknowledged. “She and Ellie have both been with me since they were on my 13’s team, and I think they’ve played almost all their club years together.”

Fellow senior Danica Nelson will also play at the next level. The defensive specialist recently committed to Pacific University in Oregon.

“She’s a feisty, determined defender,” Wright said. “She reads the game well and gets in good positions, and she too is going to go in and compete, right from the start. She’s not one to sit on the sidelines.”

As their coach, Wright has tried to relay optimism to her team as well. She says recognizing the positives in this tough situation is important, such as the team’s health and safety. She also noted that the team is getting back together on Monday to do conditioning and toss a volleyball around outdoors. “The kids just wanted to be together,” she said. “They love being together and love playing for their high school team.”

Wright, who is an off-campus coach and teaches first grade — mostly virtually — nearby, says she’s going to miss this class especially.

“I think they would have had a very good year,” Wright said. “These girls have been together for three years and I’ve had Chloe on varsity since she was a freshman, and they were looking forward to being the leaders. And trying to take the team and repeat as section champions. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen for them.

Many sections have already removed section playoffs for all sports to expand the timeline that might allow a full regular season. The Sac-Joaquin Section, which eliminated its “fall season” playoffs on Dec. 14, will undoubtedly consider the same for its “spring season” when it meets Jan. 26.

“It’s not the ending they would have written in their story, but again, looking at the big picture, they’re healthy,” Wright said. “It’s all about looking at things with perspective. They don’t have the ‘woe is me’ perspective.

“Sure, they’re disappointed, as are many kids. But when you look at the big picture, it’s a hiccup. Knowing these girls, it’s going to be their motivation to take it into their collegiate seasons, and their senior season in college will have much more meaning for them.” ✪ Always More To Read at SportStarsMag.com

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Ellie Eichhorn

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I

ncreased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory details all aspects of coaching volleyball from legal responsibilities, to parent engagement, coaching principles, motor skill and drill development, to game play. IMPACT provides a complete framework to be a successful coach, and as such, USA Volleyball mandates IMPACT certification for coaches.

IMPACT’s primary goal is to help coaches become well-skilled in the awesome responsibility and opportunity they contain to influence young athletes. Thus, it is crucial to have a functioning coaching philosophy — a set of values to guide their unique style of coaching, which IMPACT helps coaches develop.

Craig Wong, coach of Marin Juniors, defines his philosophy as “celebrate wins and define success beyond the scoreboard.” In his mind, “success is the long-term development of players” and defines two priorities two be successful: Firstly, teaching players how to learn through developing grit, a growth mindset, embracing challenges and setbacks; secondly, inspiring athletes to play for something bigger than themselves through owning a team culture — one that celebrates diversity, relationships and open communication.

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When asked about how his coaching philosophy has impacted his athletes, he said they’ve grown to be flexible and strong problems solvers: “They are good learners, are willing to take risks, and take responsibility for success and setbacks.”

Flexibility, good communication skills, accountability, and passion about self-growth are components to build individuals who thrive in continuous change.

IMPACT also helps coaches understand off-court responsibilities: risk management, legal duty, insurance etc. Coach Oliver Dofiles of San Francisco Tremors said it would be “very difficult” to manage a team when problems arise without IMPACT. This course is an offshoot of the Coaching Accreditation Program, another USA Volleyball program. Once a coach is IMPACT certified, they are eligible to take CAP I — one of three levels of CAP certification.

CAP has on-court sessions to provide hands-on learning; instructors vary by site, but all USAV instructors are CAP III certified, background screened, current USAV members, and have years of coaching experience from high school to collegiate to the USA national team.

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able to help create or improve any program. One such resource is Art of Coaching — but what makes AOC unique? “AOC reinforces that coaching volleyball is dynamic,” Dofiles siad. “There’s no exact formula on how to be successful. You must combine a lot of different approaches.”

Dofiles believes there’s no exact formula to be successful, but that practice makes perfect.

“While it is acceptable to make mistakes, it is equally important that athletes understand the mistakes and learn from them,” the coach said. He also learned that “many insights could be gained by listening to my players and fellow coaches. Empowering the athletes to think, be creative and convey strategies that are out of the box makes the team more engaged and receptive to ideas.”

Dofiles also saw not only are his players’ health and endurance much improved through his philosophy, their levels of focus have improved — translating to improved performance both on the court as well as at school and home. Volleyball nurtures players’ development emotionally, mentally and physically — beyond the court — but only through impactful coaching. ✪ — Kim Lampi for NCVA Support Your Advertisers — Say You Found Them in SportStars!

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SPORT LEFT TO RIGHT: Impact Soccer player Reese Hyland holds up her sign during one of the rally’s speeches; Liberty-Brentwood senior football player, Stephen August addresses the crowd; Freedom-Oakley football brothers Bobby and Ryan Willmes.

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TING CHANCE

As the 2020-21 academic year reaches its halfway point, high school and youth sports continue to remain dormant in California. State health officials released return-to-play guidelines in early December, though they were based on the colored tier system that indicates the COVID-19 infection rate within each county.

It didn’t take long for coaches, parents and athletes to realize the odds stacked against a number of sports.

With things appearing more and more dyer, efforts to lobby state officials to open up restrictions have become more and more vocal. That came to a crescendo Jan. 15 when coaches, parents and athletes of all sports held simultaneous community rallies to support the #LetThemPlayCA movement. #LetThemPlayCA, which has a Facebook group of more than 40,000 members as of Jan. 20, is spearheaded by the Golden State Coaches Community led by Serra-San Mateo football coach Patrick Walsh and De La SalleConcord football coach Justin Alumbaugh.

SportStars attended the #LetThemPlayCA rally in Brentwood which featured coaches and athletes from several East Contra Costa County high schools as well as a number of youth sports programs from throughout the county.

“It definitely means the world to see this amount of support,” said Liberty-Brentwood senior Stephen August. The football player was among five individuals to speak at the event.

The Golden State Coaches Community has plans to visit the state capitol over the last week of January and is hoping to get a meeting with state officials. The group believes it has acquired an overwhelming out of data that points to the relative safety of youth sports when conducted under strict caution by professionals.

Here are a few images captured from the Brentwood rally. ✪ — Chace Bryson

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From left to right, Thomas Singh, Rhys Pullen, Alec Driver, Alejandro Canales, Alex Lodewick (behind Canales) and Bradford Martin run along Moraga Rd. on Jan. 13.

With Their Sport Potentially Serving As A Bellwether For Return To Interscholastic Competition, Campolindo High’s Pair Of Defending State Championship Cross Country Teams Work To Remain Hopeful

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A

s efforts unfold in uncertain times to salvage a semblance of a high school sports season, athletes from one of the state’s top cross country programs have focused on doing what they do best.

What’s for sure is there will be no CIF state championships, nor any North Coast Section championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortened seasons remain possible.

Regardless, Campolindo cross country won’t have the opportunity at a double repeat of their amazing boys and girls state sweep from more than 13 months ago.

But instead of dwelling on what could have been, cross country athletes at the school in Moraga have stayed the course of their mission: That is, to pass on leadership and motivational skills to the next generation of runners.

It fits the bill for one of the state’s most successful programs. Pay it forward, indeed. Even though their platforms are Zoom meetings instead of post-race discussions, that’s alright.

“This is so much more than a competitive moment for our kids; It’s about developing their life skills in spite of challenges,” Campolindo’s longtime cross country coach Chuck Woolridge said. “We don’t need to have races for the purpose of what we are doing. And that has shown in the past several months.”

Some hope remains for a season after the NCS announced a plan for certain non-contact outdoor sports like cross country, track and field, swimming, diving, golf and tennis to potentially begin practicing Feb. 1.

Each league is to determine when and which sports would commence. Everything remains contingent on approval from governmental and educational authorities.

On its surface, cross country seems better suited than most sports to proceed once stay-at-home orders are lifted. This do-it-yourself sport doesn’t need much equipment or structured facilities. It’s contested in open spaces and is staged without the fanfare of a football or basketball game. However, most meets are at city-operated parks, adding another layer of approval.

“I think the difficulty we are facing, the kind of thing where you want to stop giving a damn about sports, is something where resilience can make me feel like I can get through anything,” senior Dylan Gunn said.

Woolridge has coached top-notch cross country and track and field programs for over 25 years, first at College Park-Pleasant Hill and then at Campolindo since 2006. He’s involved with an imaginative group of similar coaches throughout Northern California, who have met weekly on Zoom to brainstorm ideas as to how 12-14-member cohort groups or camp-style socially distant activities could translate into competition.

He noted how well Campolindo functioned in seven small cohort workout groups, no doubt due to the budding leadership skills of his veteran athletes.

In true pass-it-along spirit, Gunn and fellow senior Owen Lekki are working hard to get the next group of young runners better.

“Dylan is an all-time great at having a positive attitude and keeps the spirits up,” Woolridge said. “Owen is a great performer for us and a wonderful model of leadership and integrity who encourages teammates to stay committed.”

Seniors take their turn in Zoom discussions on rotating topics with younger runners, ranging from race strategy to nutrition, training theory, injuries and recovery strategy.

Gunn’s topic was running psychology, citing the book “How Bad Do You Want It” by Matt Fitzgerald as a catalyst for discussion. The forum gave him the chance to bridge a 2-to-3-year age gap with his younger teammates.

“It’s easier to have conversations with juniors and seniors than having to navigate with sophomores and force one to listen and understand when I am trying to get a point across, to motivate them to realize their performance is important

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to the team, which is sometimes hard to grasp.”

For the girls, lone senior Sophie Webster, Campolindo’s Associated Student Body President, is using her formidable leadership skills to teach what Woolridge calls is a very promising group of freshmen.

The solitude and peacefulness of running has been invaluable during this pandemic.

“What’s kept me going is just the joy of running at the core and base of it,” Webster said.

Gunn said running provides a positive outlook and his environmental science studies taught him how little the average person spends daily in nature. He plans to continue running at UC Davis, studying managerial economics. He wants to become an environmental economist, and his dedication is evident when he discusses the special dividends of running.

“I get a solid hour to experience something beautiful outside of the concrete suburban sprawl, to not hear the cars and to be able to hear birds chirping,” he said. “I love nature and I want to fight for it.”

And it’s an ideal escape from the difficulties of pandemic life.

“For anybody who is suffering right now, nature therapy is a really good outlet,” he said.

Webster is focusing on deciding on a UC system school, and she’d like to study biology. “I’ve lived in a small town so it will be exciting to branch out of my bubble,” she said.

She finds running after school to be a great outlet.

“I want to run after a day of frustrating school work, so it’s kind of running away from your problems,” she said. “It’s an escape from stress. Working out is so beneficial”.

Gunn said to cope with the pandemic and resulting uncertainty, he’s drawn upon past experiences like the devastating Camp Fire and the pervasive smoke that shrouded the 2018 postseason in doubt.

“It keeps me going on, to keep from that feeling of, ‘oh, I’m stuck in the mud and I can’t do this anymore,’” he said. “This is another test of resilience. To be able to do this and see it as an opportunity, and not as something that has been stolen from us.”

A huge takeaway for Gunn from the double championship win on Nov. 30, 2019, was the number of alumni who arrived in Woodward Park in Fresno to cheer on their old school.

“To see all the alumni driving to Fresno and being on the course and giving a hoot about anything we were doing was truly inspiring,” he said.

That spirit of giving back is an ongoing cycle, fostered by its longtime coach.

“Chuck does a lot of work that no one is going to say thank you for, like Zoom meetings in the early morning, setting up things administratively so we can do a virtual time trial,” Gunn said. “He doesn’t ask for thank yous but it is a lot of work.”

Adds Webster: “When I started with track and then cross country, I realized the people were super nice and helpful. As that culture has continued, Chuck deserves a lot of credit for it.”

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LEFT: Owen Lekki powers into the home stretch at the 2019 CIF State Championships.

ABOVE: Dylan Gunn works his way through competitors en route to his fifth place finish in the 2019 CIF Div. III state championship race.

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Zoe Theulier, left, and Sophie Webster that day Campolindo swept the Division III team championships. The Cougars girls won a state title for a fifth time, their second straight. For the boys, it was their first state championship.

Gunn ran a 15:33.8 to lead Campolindo and finished fifth in that race. Yet he was too wiped out to enjoy the moment.

“I wish I was more aware, but I couldn’t walk, so it hadn’t sunk in at all … I couldn’t speak, and I was dead to the world,” Gunn said. That taught him an appreciation of the perspective of time.

“It was weeks after when I got to the exhilaration stage, so I was happy I didn’t have that immediate feeling right away and then have it taper off over time.”

In addition to Lekki, who finished 18th overall that day, Campolindo returns two more runners who finished inside the top 30. Alex Lodewick finished 16th and Rhys Pullen claimed 27th. Lodewick is a sophomore this year and Pullen is a junior.

Webster said she didn’t have her best race at that meet, but 24

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the boys’ triumph made the day very bright.

“Watching the boys, I just cried because it was so inspiring,” she said. “A lot of people stepped up. I was so amazed.”

The goal-based world of cross country lends itself to appreciating accomplishment, on or off the competitive field.

“So much of the nature of our sport is delayed gratification and embracing the process,” Woolridge said. “It’s a cliche in sports but no less truth. … Our athletes appreciate that there is some semblance of community and social connection and that keeps them coming back, in spite of the limitations we have.”

Meanwhile, they await what the future brings.

“I’m hoping by the end of year to get some kind of closure with cross country and Campo in general,” Webster said.

“Maybe to meet together just to say goodbye. I’m so grateful for the past few years and what we have been able to do. This year doesn’t change that.” ✪ — Story By Mike Wood Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!