Sometimes you wonder why a coach doesn't make a change earlier.
I'm thinking of this at halftime of the U.S.-Germany women's semifinal in the World Cup televised from Montreal Tuesday, June 30.
U.S. Coach Jill Ellis, a Briton, didn't change out veteran Abby Wambach through group play and into the quarterfinals. Wambach, the all-time leader--male or female--in goals scored in international play, looked slow, sluggish, lacking dynamism in her forward position.
Finally, when two other American players had to sit out a one-game suspension due to accumulation of yellow cards, Ellis made mini-wholesale changes, including inserting speedy Amy Rodriguez and 22-year-old Morgan Brian.
At this writing, the U.S. has played its visibly best soccer of the whole tournament during the first half, holding ball possession superiority over the Deutschlanders by something close to 58%-42%. The Americans are moving fast, pressing the attack, having repeated shots on goal. It's beautiful, if you're a Yankee supporter.
Which makes you wonder why Ellis didn't make changes sooner: The U.S. was winning, so even though the team wasn't dynamic, it was continuing to win. But it wasn't explosive or dominating. As Carli Lloyd said, they had been back on their heels.
Wambach, bless her heart, was once world player of the year. But she looks far past her prime in this tournament. Her best role would seem to be as captain and exhorter of her teammates, a role which she played to key effect in the 1-0 quarterfinal over China.
We'll see how far the U.S. can take it.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
LJ b BB 62, Otay Ranch 47
The 6'4" Farley guards
Limon, a 5'11" lefty,
in Viking win.
(Ed Piper)
Reed Farley, La Jolla's point guard, and Oscar Limon had some fun Monday evening, June 29.
The 6'4" Farley and Limon, Otay Ranch's considerably shorter one-guard at 5'11", were teammates on the Top Gun Academy team years past.
Though the two contrast in height, they play the same position.
Limon, a crafty lefty with long hair, led the Mustangs to an early lead. He just came back to play on the court last week, after breaking a bone in his right foot in a tournament in Dallas two months ago. His foot was probably a little sore after Monday's game--feeling the effects, as well, of a defeat by 15 points.
Farley and the Vikings caught up and sped ahead. Otay Ranch, in the early going, hit several shots in a row. And La Jolla, with seven players present with several others on vacation, committed a few mistakes.
As the flow of the game went on, 6'6" Alex Pitrofsky had no one to stop him on passes inside. Daniel McColl, getting lots of minutes, pounded the boards and made four of four free throws, exhibiting a nice shooting touch.
The final was 62-47. Carlos' dad, Victor, sat on the end line each half and shouted encouragement to his son. Carlos was thirsty at one point, so Dad threw him a chilled bottle of water.
Meanwhile, his opponent and former teammate, Farley, had his mom present at the Montgomery High league, sitting at the opposite end.
The two leaders for their respective teams patted each other at one point, when Oscar hit the deck. Reed gave him an "attaboy" on the back. Mutual respect for a good effort.
Nick Hammel looked fairly comfortable for the Vikings. He was a teammate of McColl's on the LJHS junior varsity last year. Francisco Ramos saw a lot of time at guard. Tony Coan hit a shot or two from outside. He seems to still be getting comfortable handling the ball when given that responsibility.
La Jolla moved the ball around the offense, making several passes on their set offense. That's what Coach Paul Baranowski wants to see plenty of.
The Vikings play again at Montgomery Wednesday night. Tuesday night's game is at Hoover High.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
LJ b BB: Banger
Vikes' Daniel McColl (black jersey) fights for
ball in win over Sweetwater June 24.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
I usually don't write a post about one player, especially this early in their varsity career. But I have to say it, after watching him play two times: I enjoy watching Daniel McColl play basketball for La Jolla.
I had never seen him play as a JV. I know Daniel from football, where he had a breakout season as a sophomore last fall on both defense and offense.
It isn't likely he'll start in the coming season as a junior. He'll come off the bench, as he is doing in La Jolla's summer league games at Montgomery and Hoover high schools.
What I like is that Daniel isn't afraid to mix it up inside. The Vikings need some players like that. Every team needs players like that!
Another thing Daniel carries is, he knows where he is and what to do. You can tell he has played sports. But you can also tell that he knows basketball: He knows where the ball is going, he has a nose for it, and when he grabs a rebound he either goes up with the ball or knows where to look for a teammate to pass to.
The joy of following high school sports includes the new faces you get to see each season. Daniel is one of several in a new crop coming up from the junior varsity.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Thursday, June 25, 2015
My parking spot!
"My" parking spot--what have they done to it?!
I drove by LJHS in the afternoon, Thurs., June 25. The handicapped parking spot closest to the Big Gym is mulch!
Inside the fenced stadium area, something appears to be being done with the old press box. The window openings seem to have 2x4's vertically inserted. What that's about, I don't know.
On the softball field, rolls of artificial turf-looking material are strewn down the right field foul line.
Press box remodeling?
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Edwards Field: Update
Apparently, the rickety old restroom next to the football field, along with the boys locker room and coaches office, could be razed by the end of the week as construction continues on Edwards Stadium.
Trailers on the two-level parking lot next to the Small Gym and softball field will serve as a replacement for the boys locker room while the new one is constructed.
The new complex will parallel the football field and stretch a good distance from one end to the other along the western sideline, opposite the home stands and pressbox. Included will be a boys locker room, coaches office, and team room for football.
The tennis pavilion, which will consist of an overhang to shield spectators from the sun, will go ahead. There is some question, apparently, on whether there is enough funding to replace the pressbox.
The 10-year-old playing surface at Edwards Stadium hasn't been ripped up yet. That artificial turf was paid for by LJHS Foundation funds a decade ago, before other schools got money from bond issues via the school district. The new surface will be paid for by a bond issue.
Due to equity issues--i.e., equal facilities for females and males, as per Title IX, the federal mandate--the softball field may have to be upgraded in tandem with the football field.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Trailers on the two-level parking lot next to the Small Gym and softball field will serve as a replacement for the boys locker room while the new one is constructed.
The new complex will parallel the football field and stretch a good distance from one end to the other along the western sideline, opposite the home stands and pressbox. Included will be a boys locker room, coaches office, and team room for football.
The tennis pavilion, which will consist of an overhang to shield spectators from the sun, will go ahead. There is some question, apparently, on whether there is enough funding to replace the pressbox.
The 10-year-old playing surface at Edwards Stadium hasn't been ripped up yet. That artificial turf was paid for by LJHS Foundation funds a decade ago, before other schools got money from bond issues via the school district. The new surface will be paid for by a bond issue.
Due to equity issues--i.e., equal facilities for females and males, as per Title IX, the federal mandate--the softball field may have to be upgraded in tandem with the football field.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
LJ b BB 41, Sweetwater 40
Daniel McColl (right) scrambles for the ball
in Vikings' win June 24 in the Montgomery
league. (Photo by Ed Piper)
There are some new faces, and it's nice to see on the La Jolla High boys basketball team.
Bijan Hashemi is new to me--nice guy when I asked him his name at the Vikings' summer league game Wednesday night, June 24, in Montgomery's beautiful curtained facility.
Others that you're probably familiar with from JV's and possibly Novice/Freshman but I'm not include Nick Hammel, Quinn Rawdin, Jacob Ohara, and Charlie Gal, among others. Alex Drew is newly in Coach Paul Baranowski's program. He's a senior.
Francisco Ramos, a guard, is compact but hard-working. He takes a serious defensive stance when guarding his man. He will be fun to watch in the coming years.
Garrett Brown, fresh off catching in the CIF Finals for the Viking baseball team, looked good shooting Monday against Eastlake. He came in on the second platoon Wednesday.
There is a constantly changing cast of characters each night of summer league, as families take vacations and have other commitments. Bijan said he went to Monday's game at Montgomery but didn't play. Jacob Ohara has been missing this week after playing over the weekend at West Hills.
La Jolla used everyone, with Paul's son Jake coaching, and edged Sweetwater, 41-40, Wednesday. The score was tied earlier at 21-21.
That makes a clean sweep of three wins this week in summer league games: 44-39 Monday night over Eastlake, by eight over Poway Tuesday in the Hoover High league, and the one-point win Wednesday.
Guard Reed Farley helped his teammates break the Devils' press in the first half. Daniel McColl, up from the JV's and a football up-and-comer, was active again under the boards, banging bodies. He knows what to do with the ball, and his shot is fine. He came off the bench in Jake's second platoon.
Morgan Albers was active under the basket. Tony Coan hit his trademark outside set shot at least once with the second unit. He is sporting a headband this summer.
Bijan had several minutes of playing time and was called for an unusual technical foul for elbowing an opponent in the back.
Eddie Parker showed some poise in handling the ball. He slipped inside for a nice drive, his strength on offense.
Center Alex Pitrofsky, by far the tallest player on the court at close to 6'7", was dynamic and showed he likes contact underneath the basket. To think his family thought four or so years ago that he wouldn't be athletic enough to play high school sports just shows how much he is growing into his tall, mobile body.
The Vikings play Monday and Wednesday nights at Montgomery High in San Ysidro, and Tuesdays at Hoover High for the next three weeks.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Women's World Cup
I've never seen it at any level--neither youth league, high school, college, or pros.
FIFA, in deciding the brackets for the Women's World Cup a year ago, placed many higher seeds in the same groups and same bracket. That means strong teams, instead of meeting each other later in the month-long tournament, are facing off already in the Round of 16.
Case in point: Germany, ranked number one in the world, defeated Sweden, ranked number five, 4-1, Sat., June 20.
The problem is that in grouping the good teams together, instead of placing them in opposite brackets to earn their way through the rounds, you sabotage your tournament.
The top teams begin eliminating each other, instead of meeting in the semifinals and finals.
Grant Wahl, the sideline commentator in Fox Sports One's television coverage of the Germany-Sweden game, passed on the official FIFA response that "we wanted to create good match-ups and fill the stadiums."
Aly Wagner, the analyst in the booth, cut through the baloney. "It's a travesty," she said.
And it is. FIFA's corruption, we now know, stretches wide and deep. From the charges of massive corruption that U.S. federal law enforcement is bringing against numerous current and former FIFA officials, I wouldn't be surprised if large amounts of money exchanged money over the arrangement of brackets.
It just doesn't make sense to create brackets that would cause Germany, the number one, to face number-five Sweden in the Round of 16, then assuming both teams make it that far, to face number-two U.S. shortly thereafter.
Any bracket maker knows that you spread your strong and weaker teams out through the various groups, then make sure that one meets the lowest seed possible, two meets the next lowest, and so forth. It's for the health of the competition. You reward higher-ranked teams with easier match-ups.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
FIFA, in deciding the brackets for the Women's World Cup a year ago, placed many higher seeds in the same groups and same bracket. That means strong teams, instead of meeting each other later in the month-long tournament, are facing off already in the Round of 16.
Case in point: Germany, ranked number one in the world, defeated Sweden, ranked number five, 4-1, Sat., June 20.
The problem is that in grouping the good teams together, instead of placing them in opposite brackets to earn their way through the rounds, you sabotage your tournament.
The top teams begin eliminating each other, instead of meeting in the semifinals and finals.
Grant Wahl, the sideline commentator in Fox Sports One's television coverage of the Germany-Sweden game, passed on the official FIFA response that "we wanted to create good match-ups and fill the stadiums."
Aly Wagner, the analyst in the booth, cut through the baloney. "It's a travesty," she said.
And it is. FIFA's corruption, we now know, stretches wide and deep. From the charges of massive corruption that U.S. federal law enforcement is bringing against numerous current and former FIFA officials, I wouldn't be surprised if large amounts of money exchanged money over the arrangement of brackets.
It just doesn't make sense to create brackets that would cause Germany, the number one, to face number-five Sweden in the Round of 16, then assuming both teams make it that far, to face number-two U.S. shortly thereafter.
Any bracket maker knows that you spread your strong and weaker teams out through the various groups, then make sure that one meets the lowest seed possible, two meets the next lowest, and so forth. It's for the health of the competition. You reward higher-ranked teams with easier match-ups.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Saturday, June 20, 2015
LJ b BB: "Non nobis solum"
"Non nobis solum"
(Photo by Ed Piper)
The La Jolla High boys basketball players were sporting practice jerseys in their first summer league game that say "Non nobis solum" in Latin below a Vikings logo, which translates "not for ourselves alone".
Apparently, coach Paul Baranowski has been hard at work in crafting a program-wide theme for the coming season to further reinforce his emphasis on adopting one's role on the team and playing for one's teammates.
This would seem to be his first venture in team-building at the Westbourne campus into a foreign language, or dead language if you're one of those like myself who took Latin in high school to prepare for a journalism career. "Agricola, agricolarum" (farmer, of the farmer in vocabulary exercises).
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Friday, June 19, 2015
LJ b BB: Summer league, 2016 schedule
Jacob Ohara (middle) dribbles into traffic before
having the ball taken away in Friday action.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
The La Jolla High boys basketball team was having a field day of it--rather, a court day--in their opening game of the summer in the West Hills Tournament Fri., June 19.
The Vikings, with head coach Paul Baranowski absent and the team directed by an assistant, led by 30 points early in the first half against an undersized, younger contingent from Steele Canyon.
Forward Morgan Albers looked confident, barreling in for several baskets in the first two periods. His growth needs to come against the rough boys--street ballers. Friday's game didn't offer much of that.
Center Alex Pitrofsky moved well, but he showed some rust as a ball or two were taken away from him near the hoop. He had a block on a diminutive Cougar who just wasn't thinking when he went from the right baseline to confront the 6'6" Viking, who looked at first glance to be even taller than last February.
Other returners present and active included guards Tony Coan and Eddie Parker. Newcomers spotted were Jacob Ohara and Daniel McColl.
The City Conference announced Western League schedules for 2016. La Jolla opens league play at Cathedral Catholic Tues., Jan. 5. (New Year's Day is Friday before that.) The Vikings then travel to Mission Bay Fri., Jan. 8.
League play concludes Fri., Feb. 18--after the long Presidents Day weekend Fri., Feb. 12 through Mon., Feb. 15--with the red and black hosting Scripps Ranch, who used to be a big rival when the respective student bodies carried on quite a spirited competition.
Friday nights continue as girl/boy varsity doubleheaders. Mid-week games will still be JV/varsity boys doubleheaders.
The rest of the schedule can be accessed on the San Diego City Schools athletics website at sandi.net/athletics. Scroll down on the left to Winter 2015-2016 Schedules.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
"Slow it down"
I've been chewing on this topic for several weeks, a month or two, wanting to post some thoughts on it.
You hear sports people talk about how savvy or veteran players "slow the game down". They may say, "So-and-so actually slows the game down," in the sense that this athlete, when the heat is on, is able to think through the demands of the late-inning situation calmly and methodically, so as to respond well.
Having monitored my own non-sports reactions under pressure lately, and observing athletes perform when the stakes are high, I have concluded the following.
One, it is good to have energy, or adrenaline, when the game is important.
An athlete, or dancer, or student taking an AP exam, or anybody else, will be flat and lacking the necessary gumption if they go into the big event blasé and neutral.
I tell my high school students, it's okay to be nervous for an oral presentation. That means you have energy to use in your service. (Use it well.)
They have been kidded by their classmates, and told that being nervous is a sign of weakness. Balderdash.
Second, related to slowing the game down, this means that the athlete who delivers is able to harness that energy to act with strength under control. (Anybody heard the word "meek" lately?)
It is mental. "Slowing the game down" often means the performer has lots of experience doing what they do, and has grown and learned how to be analytical and thoughtful under pressure. You have to recognize a situation to know how to respond to it. Having just written a story on baseball before this, I'm thinking of a first-and-third situation, for example. You are alert, your coach has told your team what approach you're going to take, and you respond as the play develops.
Now, I could be quibbled with a little on this. Gary Frank, the baseball coach at La Jolla High, told me early in the just-completed season that he doesn't want his players working on technique during the game. That's what practice is for. "They need to let their natural abilities take over" during the game, he said.
That can mean not over-thinking. I get it.
The ability to "slow the game down" in one's psyche--in other words, control the pumping veins so as to play at a high level--has got to be both mental and physiological. You train yourself to stay under control. It's like biofeedback: you learn how to use the energy you have.
Some coaches lead their teams to play on a ton of emotion. I'm thinking of the football team.
John Wooden used to say he wanted his UCLA basketball team to play without emotion. Bill Walton came in as a meteoric player. We watched him play our local junior college team, Moorpark College (Ventura County), when he was on the UCLA freshman team with fellow high school All-American Greg Lee. We looked at Walton, who was red-headed, slamming the ball but totally unpredictable as he rode highs and lows during the game (the UCLA frosh decimated lowly Moorpark), and wondered, "He's going to follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the UCLA varsity team leader?" (Kareem was still Lew Alcindor at that point.) It looked like no way.
"Slow the game down." I wrote an earlier entry on Steve Booth, one of La Jolla's assistant baseball coaches, huddling with three players and telling them this during the Vikings' CIF final. In the old days, we would have said, "Calm down. Take a breath." Now we say, "Slow the game down." Interesting.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
You hear sports people talk about how savvy or veteran players "slow the game down". They may say, "So-and-so actually slows the game down," in the sense that this athlete, when the heat is on, is able to think through the demands of the late-inning situation calmly and methodically, so as to respond well.
Having monitored my own non-sports reactions under pressure lately, and observing athletes perform when the stakes are high, I have concluded the following.
One, it is good to have energy, or adrenaline, when the game is important.
An athlete, or dancer, or student taking an AP exam, or anybody else, will be flat and lacking the necessary gumption if they go into the big event blasé and neutral.
I tell my high school students, it's okay to be nervous for an oral presentation. That means you have energy to use in your service. (Use it well.)
They have been kidded by their classmates, and told that being nervous is a sign of weakness. Balderdash.
Second, related to slowing the game down, this means that the athlete who delivers is able to harness that energy to act with strength under control. (Anybody heard the word "meek" lately?)
It is mental. "Slowing the game down" often means the performer has lots of experience doing what they do, and has grown and learned how to be analytical and thoughtful under pressure. You have to recognize a situation to know how to respond to it. Having just written a story on baseball before this, I'm thinking of a first-and-third situation, for example. You are alert, your coach has told your team what approach you're going to take, and you respond as the play develops.
Now, I could be quibbled with a little on this. Gary Frank, the baseball coach at La Jolla High, told me early in the just-completed season that he doesn't want his players working on technique during the game. That's what practice is for. "They need to let their natural abilities take over" during the game, he said.
That can mean not over-thinking. I get it.
The ability to "slow the game down" in one's psyche--in other words, control the pumping veins so as to play at a high level--has got to be both mental and physiological. You train yourself to stay under control. It's like biofeedback: you learn how to use the energy you have.
Some coaches lead their teams to play on a ton of emotion. I'm thinking of the football team.
John Wooden used to say he wanted his UCLA basketball team to play without emotion. Bill Walton came in as a meteoric player. We watched him play our local junior college team, Moorpark College (Ventura County), when he was on the UCLA freshman team with fellow high school All-American Greg Lee. We looked at Walton, who was red-headed, slamming the ball but totally unpredictable as he rode highs and lows during the game (the UCLA frosh decimated lowly Moorpark), and wondered, "He's going to follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the UCLA varsity team leader?" (Kareem was still Lew Alcindor at that point.) It looked like no way.
"Slow the game down." I wrote an earlier entry on Steve Booth, one of La Jolla's assistant baseball coaches, huddling with three players and telling them this during the Vikings' CIF final. In the old days, we would have said, "Calm down. Take a breath." Now we say, "Slow the game down." Interesting.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
LJ baseball: Frank on Holdgrafer
Tim Holdgrafer steals second base in Vikes'
second-round win over Scripps Ranch.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Gary Frank has some thoughtful comments on his CIF Player of the Year, Tim Holdgrafer, who just walked through graduation Mon., June 15.
It is Frank's view that Holdgrafer's senior season came together in such effectiveness--not because his will and desire increased--but largely because of his physical maturation.
The right-handed batter and pitcher hit .364, with 24 RBI's and 20 stolen bases, while setting a school record with his 10 wins in 11 decisions on the mound, combined with a 0.87 ERA, second best all-time at La Jolla High.
"His hitting was consistent through all three years (on varsity)," says the Viking head coach. "The only difference for him was his physical maturation. As he grew and became stronger, he was able to drive the ball through the infield easier."
Holdgrafer is wiry. Slender. His build helped him in swiping bases. It's impressive how, with a slender frame, his fastball speed often cracked the catcher's glove. No one had a gun on him, that I am aware of, but his pitch speed was plenty.
Regarding his pitching, Frank says "a lot of it" in dominating the opposition--Tim held opposing hitters to a .202 batting average--was the confidence he had built up in his previous two years pitching on the varsity. He was named all-league his sophomore and junior years, as well as his senior year.
"It was also a huge advantage for him to have had two full years of varsity pitching experience to fall back on," continued the coach. "He knew exactly what it would take to be successful at our level."
He also developed a weapon of his: his slider as a "top-notch wipeout pitch", Frank says.
"The bottom line is, Tim didn't increase his desire. His passion and desire have always been there. His body has simply started to catch up to his desire and baseball knowledge."
Holdgrafer's uptick from nine stolen bases as a junior to the 20 in his final season was "simply the result of a great increase in foot speed," says Frank. He combined this with his "high baseball IQ" to exploit the defense on the basepaths.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Sunday, June 14, 2015
LJ baseball: Statistical look
I didn't do it after every game, but after several of La Jolla High's baseball games this season, I made sure to print out the statistics posted on MaxPreps.com. My idea was to be able to track trends during and after the season.
Looking at those statistics, and these phenomena have already been mentioned multiple times, one, the Vikings' two starting pitchers carried the team through the first half of the season. Two, the Vikings' bats woke up the second half of the season after slumbering through the first portion.
Noah Strohl, at first base, is a case in point. With the team 11-4 on April 9, the 6' 6 1/2" giant was hitting a paltry .222, with only eight hits and seven RBI's. I remember asking Coach Gary Frank before a game at Patrick Henry High about coaxing and cajoling his slumping hitters. His relaxed reply: "We tell them not to focus on individual statistics. Their numbers will even out over the season."
Strohl was carrying a miserable .182 batting average as late as April 21. His slugging percentage was .227.
As Frank said, numbers did balance out over the season for several of the hitters. Strohl, in his senior season, was carrying lumber at a .325 clip for the season going into the CIF final at USD Fowler Park, with 26 hits, 24 RBI's, and a home run. (He had the Vikings' only home run of the season. It came on a shot into the fence at Muirlands Middle School, just above the home run line, then ricocheted straight back down onto the field.) His slugging percentage escalated to .445.
He was rewarded for his efforts by being named to the All Western League Second Team.
Weston Clark and Timmy Holdgrafer continued their dominating ways through the second half of the season as the Vikings' stellar starting pitchers. Both ended up with All Western League First Team recognition.
Strohl is the most extreme example, but another bat that woke up was Luke Bucon's. The left-fielder, no longer in the pitching rotation as he was during his junior year, instead invested his energies into pounding the ball at the plate. He went from a mediocre .250 after 15 games, to .314 on championship day.
Sean Hofmann, especially, was struggling at the plate without a set position in the field with a number of players in Gary Frank's rotation. Hoffy was struggling at .208 after the first 15 games. This cut LJHS's opportunities to use his speed on the basepaths as well. He was 4 for 4 in that category.
He dipped down to the Mendoza line, .200, on April 16.
On June 5, the senior--one of 10 on the squad--had improved his batting average to .261. He was 7 for 9 on the bases, not really an improvement, but consistent.
James Whelan went from .263 to .306 in the same period, holding down center field. Clark upped his average from a sleepy .233 to .276. Holdgrafer himself jumped from .314 to .364 over the second half of the season. Whelan was also named to the All Western League First Team.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Looking at those statistics, and these phenomena have already been mentioned multiple times, one, the Vikings' two starting pitchers carried the team through the first half of the season. Two, the Vikings' bats woke up the second half of the season after slumbering through the first portion.
Noah Strohl, at first base, is a case in point. With the team 11-4 on April 9, the 6' 6 1/2" giant was hitting a paltry .222, with only eight hits and seven RBI's. I remember asking Coach Gary Frank before a game at Patrick Henry High about coaxing and cajoling his slumping hitters. His relaxed reply: "We tell them not to focus on individual statistics. Their numbers will even out over the season."
Strohl was carrying a miserable .182 batting average as late as April 21. His slugging percentage was .227.
As Frank said, numbers did balance out over the season for several of the hitters. Strohl, in his senior season, was carrying lumber at a .325 clip for the season going into the CIF final at USD Fowler Park, with 26 hits, 24 RBI's, and a home run. (He had the Vikings' only home run of the season. It came on a shot into the fence at Muirlands Middle School, just above the home run line, then ricocheted straight back down onto the field.) His slugging percentage escalated to .445.
He was rewarded for his efforts by being named to the All Western League Second Team.
Weston Clark and Timmy Holdgrafer continued their dominating ways through the second half of the season as the Vikings' stellar starting pitchers. Both ended up with All Western League First Team recognition.
Strohl is the most extreme example, but another bat that woke up was Luke Bucon's. The left-fielder, no longer in the pitching rotation as he was during his junior year, instead invested his energies into pounding the ball at the plate. He went from a mediocre .250 after 15 games, to .314 on championship day.
Sean Hofmann, especially, was struggling at the plate without a set position in the field with a number of players in Gary Frank's rotation. Hoffy was struggling at .208 after the first 15 games. This cut LJHS's opportunities to use his speed on the basepaths as well. He was 4 for 4 in that category.
He dipped down to the Mendoza line, .200, on April 16.
On June 5, the senior--one of 10 on the squad--had improved his batting average to .261. He was 7 for 9 on the bases, not really an improvement, but consistent.
James Whelan went from .263 to .306 in the same period, holding down center field. Clark upped his average from a sleepy .233 to .276. Holdgrafer himself jumped from .314 to .364 over the second half of the season. Whelan was also named to the All Western League First Team.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
LJ baseball: Timmy CIF Player of the Year
Timmy Holdgrafer, with batting helmet on, waits
at the dugout fence in anticipation of his next
at-bat during Vikings' 6-0 win over Scripps
Ranch in the CIF fourth round June 2, which put them
in the final. Timmy won his 10th game
with the performance. (Photo by Ed Piper)
Timmy Holdgrafer, who is only the second player in the history of La Jolla High baseball to collect 100 hits, and ditto for striking out 100 batters, is also the first Viking to be named CIF Player of the Year, as far as it is known.
"I'm sure he will be elected to the LJHS Baseball Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in a few years," said a proud Gary Frank, Holdgrafer's coach during his high school career.
The right-handed pitcher and batter, who stole home during the season, put away a microscopic 0.87 ERA and 10-1 record in his senior year to go with a robust .364 batting average while leading the Vikings to the Division II championship game.
The St. Mary's commit stole 20 bases in 24 attempts, including his steal(s) of home.
Kind of intriguing is the fact he follows his uncle, Jason Green, into the La Jolla record book in recording 100 strikeouts as a pitcher in his career.
Timmy also ends up in the Viking record book for wins in a season, innings pitched in a season (88 1/3), and innings pitched in a career (203 1/3). The graduating senior also recorded the second lowest ERA for a season and for a career (1.62).
Said Frank of his top player, who was also named the San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year, "As good as a player as he is, he is probably a better person. He has matured tremendously both as a player and as a person over the past four years. He is very conscientious and respectful of everyone around him."
Added his coach, "Not only is he immensely talented, but he is one of the hardest workers on the team. He set the tone for our team everyday.
"He competed to his fullest ability every time he stepped on the field, and he demanded the same from his teammates."
"He wasn't always the most vocal person on the team, but when he did say something, everyone paid attention."
Frank notes that Holdgrafer is second to LJHS record-holders in ERA for a season and a career who had the benefit of pitching in the wood bat days, before aluminum bats.
His career batting average was .360--he hit .349 as a sophomore and .366 as a junior to set the stage for his .364 average as a senior.
Timmy went 7-3 on the mound last year and 5-3 the year before. He was named to the All Western League First Team all three years. He also was named team MVP for the Vikings last season and this season.
His 22 career wins (against 7 losses) ranks him second all-time in Viking annals, as do his 11 complete games. Another of his notable statistics is his 21.93 at bats per strikeout as a hitter, third best in La Jolla High history. That's a tough out.
"A lot of players can hit and can pitch, but he has the rare ability to be a game changer with both his bat and also with his arm," says Frank, already a Viking Hall of Famer.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Women's World Cup soccer: Ponderings
Having just watched Colombia upset France, 2-0, in Women's World Cup pool play, I'm interested in how women's soccer plays out across the world (to use a pun).
We could look at the upset by the "Cafeteras" ("Coffeemakers") as the number-18-ranked team in the world pulling off an unexpected win over the Goliath number-three-ranked team.
Another way to look at it is a female team from a developing country facing a team from a "First World" or developed nation.
My thoughts on this come partially from having lived and taught in Mexico City for a year, then working with Mexicans and other Latin Americans while reading about and absorbing Latino culture further over the past 40 years. I'm not an expert, but I have some insights and impressions that might be relevant.
From my experience in Mexico and with Mexicans, I know that the status of women in that country is much lower than it is here and in other Western countries. The machismo of men in Mexico gives them license to yell out catcalls and direct whistles to females as they drive by them on the street or see them in another setting. Pinching body parts is not uncommon. We in this country call this sexual harassment.
There has been some progress--and there is some substance, in my view, to the belief that the mother in the Mexican family is held up as the center and core of the of the family unit. But females in Latin countries are still second-class citizens by far compared to the West.
Which brings me back to Colombia vs. France. In a Latin American country like Colombia that has a huge proportion of poor people, as Mexico does, combined with a traditional culture that views the woman as more suited (and limited) to roles such as staying at home and child-bearing, opportunities for girls and young women to play soccer have to be way more limited than in France, the U.S., and other Western countries.
So, as I watch games the past week in the expanded World Cup in Canada--the largest and longest one ever held--I'm fascinated by the developed-vs.-developing country dynamic. Ecuador got blown out, 10-1, by Switzerland Fri., June 12. That could be expected through my lens of have/have not. Ecuadoreans probably have far fewer programs and opportunities in their country for girls to participate in youth soccer leagues.
Think of all the time and expense that goes into soccer moms and dads in our country ferrying their daughters (sons, as well) to and from practice and games. Incredible. My wife and I take our grandson to Mt. Acadia Park here in Clairemont to enjoy the play equipment. We see girls practicing softball, wearing the best in athletic shoe wear, using expensive bats and other equipment. Only the finest. Everything new. I'm sure it's the same with youth soccer, both girls and boys. There isn't that kind of expendable income in Ecuador, or Colombia (yet Colombia upset France).
Going along with this developed-vs. developing country narrative (my terminology fails me; we used to speak in terms of First World, Third World, etc.; or rich/poor) is the contrast between a developing country's men's team and its women's team. Ecuador may have a talented men's national team. I don't know. But that doesn't mean its women's team will be particularly competitive, and that can be explained by the view of girls and women in that culture (traditional). But, to their credit, the women of Ecuador qualified for the World Cup.
I wonder how good girls and young women in Iran are at playing soccer. Again, I don't know. With the Islamic Revolution in 1979, women had to go back behind the veil and assume more traditional roles. (My former dental hygienist fled Iran after Khomeini and his ilk took over. She is a professional who didn't want to stay under those conditions.)
In the West--the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand--the role of the woman has exploded since the feminist movement beginning in the late 60's and flowering full-bore in the 70's. Title IX, which federally mandated equal opportunities for women in sports in college, was established in 1972.
Does any of what I'm saying make sense? I think it's fascinating. Three more weeks of World Cup to come.
Another issue in the World Cup is the playing of games on artificial turf. Surface temperatures on 80-degree days have been 130 degrees. That's a health hazard. Plus, why are the women relegated to playing on artificial turf, when the men play on natural grass? More corruption in FIFA? I don't know. I don't pretend to know much about that, other than what I'm reading in media reports.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
We could look at the upset by the "Cafeteras" ("Coffeemakers") as the number-18-ranked team in the world pulling off an unexpected win over the Goliath number-three-ranked team.
Another way to look at it is a female team from a developing country facing a team from a "First World" or developed nation.
My thoughts on this come partially from having lived and taught in Mexico City for a year, then working with Mexicans and other Latin Americans while reading about and absorbing Latino culture further over the past 40 years. I'm not an expert, but I have some insights and impressions that might be relevant.
From my experience in Mexico and with Mexicans, I know that the status of women in that country is much lower than it is here and in other Western countries. The machismo of men in Mexico gives them license to yell out catcalls and direct whistles to females as they drive by them on the street or see them in another setting. Pinching body parts is not uncommon. We in this country call this sexual harassment.
There has been some progress--and there is some substance, in my view, to the belief that the mother in the Mexican family is held up as the center and core of the of the family unit. But females in Latin countries are still second-class citizens by far compared to the West.
Which brings me back to Colombia vs. France. In a Latin American country like Colombia that has a huge proportion of poor people, as Mexico does, combined with a traditional culture that views the woman as more suited (and limited) to roles such as staying at home and child-bearing, opportunities for girls and young women to play soccer have to be way more limited than in France, the U.S., and other Western countries.
So, as I watch games the past week in the expanded World Cup in Canada--the largest and longest one ever held--I'm fascinated by the developed-vs.-developing country dynamic. Ecuador got blown out, 10-1, by Switzerland Fri., June 12. That could be expected through my lens of have/have not. Ecuadoreans probably have far fewer programs and opportunities in their country for girls to participate in youth soccer leagues.
Think of all the time and expense that goes into soccer moms and dads in our country ferrying their daughters (sons, as well) to and from practice and games. Incredible. My wife and I take our grandson to Mt. Acadia Park here in Clairemont to enjoy the play equipment. We see girls practicing softball, wearing the best in athletic shoe wear, using expensive bats and other equipment. Only the finest. Everything new. I'm sure it's the same with youth soccer, both girls and boys. There isn't that kind of expendable income in Ecuador, or Colombia (yet Colombia upset France).
Going along with this developed-vs. developing country narrative (my terminology fails me; we used to speak in terms of First World, Third World, etc.; or rich/poor) is the contrast between a developing country's men's team and its women's team. Ecuador may have a talented men's national team. I don't know. But that doesn't mean its women's team will be particularly competitive, and that can be explained by the view of girls and women in that culture (traditional). But, to their credit, the women of Ecuador qualified for the World Cup.
I wonder how good girls and young women in Iran are at playing soccer. Again, I don't know. With the Islamic Revolution in 1979, women had to go back behind the veil and assume more traditional roles. (My former dental hygienist fled Iran after Khomeini and his ilk took over. She is a professional who didn't want to stay under those conditions.)
In the West--the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand--the role of the woman has exploded since the feminist movement beginning in the late 60's and flowering full-bore in the 70's. Title IX, which federally mandated equal opportunities for women in sports in college, was established in 1972.
Does any of what I'm saying make sense? I think it's fascinating. Three more weeks of World Cup to come.
Another issue in the World Cup is the playing of games on artificial turf. Surface temperatures on 80-degree days have been 130 degrees. That's a health hazard. Plus, why are the women relegated to playing on artificial turf, when the men play on natural grass? More corruption in FIFA? I don't know. I don't pretend to know much about that, other than what I'm reading in media reports.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Monday, June 8, 2015
LJ baseball: Exhortations
Catcher Garrett Brown's throw to pitcher Weston Clark
(6) covering home isn't in time, and San Ysidro
scores in the top of the second. (Photo by Ed Piper)
In the bottom of the fourth inning during La Jolla High's game against San Ysidro for the CIF Division II baseball championship Sat., June 6, Steve Booth, an assistant coach, held a pow wow in the dugout with a threesome: Sean Hofmann, Noah Strohl, and Ben Wintringer. The Vikings trailed 4-1.
"Get on base by any means necessary," Booth exhorted his listeners intently. "Get on base any way." He repeated his words emphatically, with a focused look on his face.
This was for the title. This was the last game of the season. For Hofmann and Strohl, both seniors, this was the last game of their high school careers.
Then, breaking up the trio, Booth addressed Wintringer solo: "Ben, slow it down. Slow the ballgame down." He put emphasis on each of his words. The veteran coach and former player had a one-man audience, and he intended to form the junior's mental state at that moment.
La Jolla was down, having given up two runs to the Cougars in each of the second and third innings. Viking batters were not forcing the issue with starter Gilbert Suarez.
More importantly, the red and black was a little tentative, having made some mistakes: a throw to Hofmann's left on a play at second base after a grounder to Timmy Holdgrafer, the ball rolling out into short right-center field. A run plated on a Weston Clark pitch that got away from catcher Garrett Brown. Nerves. Adrenaline.
The Vikes pushed a run across in the fourth, immediately following the assistant coach's mental pep talk, though none of his three listeners was directly responsible. Thomas Zlatic, DH'ing, got on by an error, then stole second base. Clark drove him in with a base hit.
But it wasn't enough. The Vikings had scored first, in the bottom of the opening frame at Fowler Park on the USD campus. Now they were back within 4-2.
But San Ysidro, having won their last 20-plus games in a row to gain a spot in the final opposite La Jolla--themselves winners of 10 in a row coming in--bruised Holdgrafer, coming on in relief of Clark, the starter, with three runs in the top of the fifth.
That was the final margin, 7-2, as Coach Gary Frank's squad set a school record with 24 wins and finished an elegant 24-9, with the Player of the Year (Holdgrafer) in the Western League and two teammates (Clark and center fielder James Whelan) also on the First Team All-League.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
LJ baseball: He gave his all
It's true. I gave my all for La Jolla High baseball.
Last Tuesday, June 2, after the Vikings won their fourth-round game to earn a spot in the finals, I walked to my car knowing something had happened.
I've never had a hernia before, but I soon thought I might have one.
It feels like a pulled muscle--kind of--which I know of from my active sports days when I was younger.
It came from hefting my big camera and lens one too many times.
I'm saying all this good-naturedly, because as you know, I enjoy sports a lot. I enjoy following and reporting LJHS sports. So this is all a bit tongue-in-cheek. I'm not in serious pain or in danger or anything.
I thought it would be fun to report to you, I gave so much in taking photos that I got a hernia. How many people can say that?!
So, does that make me a hero that I took photos of the championship game Saturday with a hernia?
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Last Tuesday, June 2, after the Vikings won their fourth-round game to earn a spot in the finals, I walked to my car knowing something had happened.
I've never had a hernia before, but I soon thought I might have one.
It feels like a pulled muscle--kind of--which I know of from my active sports days when I was younger.
It came from hefting my big camera and lens one too many times.
I'm saying all this good-naturedly, because as you know, I enjoy sports a lot. I enjoy following and reporting LJHS sports. So this is all a bit tongue-in-cheek. I'm not in serious pain or in danger or anything.
I thought it would be fun to report to you, I gave so much in taking photos that I got a hernia. How many people can say that?!
So, does that make me a hero that I took photos of the championship game Saturday with a hernia?
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
LJ baseball 6, Scripps Ranch 1
Sean Hofmann makes the pivot at second base
in attempted double play during Vikes' 6-1
demolishing of the Falcons.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Timmy Holdgrafer now holds the La Jolla High school record with his 10th win, pitching his team to its 24th win of the season, also a school record, as the pinpoint-accurate righty handcuffed Scripps Ranch, 6-1, Tues., June 2, to advance LJHS to the CIF Division II title game Sat., June 6, at USD's Fowler Park at 3:30 p.m. The Vikings will face San Ysidro.
It was the second time in five days that La Jolla has defeated the Falcons in the double-elimination tournament. Last Friday the red and black prevailed, 9-3. This game was even more decisive. Scripps Ranch downed University City Saturday to gain a rematch against the Vikings.
La Jolla's success in each of their three playoff games led to having to start only their number-one and number-two pitchers. Meanwhile, Scripps Ranch had to go the hard route after losing Friday by using a pitcher in Saturday's game, then having to turn around and send out a hurler three days later.
With Holdgrafer limiting Scripps Ranch to five hits in his six innings of work, including five strikeouts and no walks, the script couldn't have gone better to this point for La Jolla. Going into the Division II playoffs with the number-one seeding, the Vikes have enjoyed home field advantage throughout. A large, supportive crowd was on hand for the team's final home game of the season.
Holdgrafer, as he often does, did it all, pounding the edges of the strike zone on the mound while hitting a triple in the bottom of the first inning to drive in James Whelan with La Jolla's first run.
The Western League Player of the Year is hitting .368 and has 20 steals in 24 attempts, in addition to his 10 wins and 0.74 ERA.
Lefty Weston Clark (7-2), a First Team All-Leaguer with Holdgrafer, is scheduled to start Saturday's championship game on the USD campus. Timmy is available to pitch up to four innings, if needed, as each hurler is allotted 10 per week.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
LJ softball: Looking up
An eighth-grader at Muirlands Middle School, Kyra Ferenzy, and others look to be additions to La Jolla High's softball team next year.
The Vikings' 5-7 record in the Western League, 14-15 overall, in the just-completed season, obscures the fact that the team now enters any game with the ability and confidence to win. Formerly, with last year's three-win team, La Jolla usually didn't have a chance from the first pitch.
Ferenzy, who pitches in travel ball for Power Surge Nava 2001, could fill the vacancy left by graduating senior Katja Sarain, who pitched all four years of high school for the Vikings.
Yarelly Gonzales, a catcher on the junior varsity, could replace Stephanie Alvarez, the other graduating senior and co-captain, behind the plate. Gonzales is said to be "pretty good", as well.
There are other present LJHS students and Muirlands students who may join the vastly improved varsity for 2015-16.
The Vikings have most of their infield anchored down, with Josie Sinkeldam at shortstop, Linda Brown at third base, and Emily Alvarez at first base. Two of the three spots in the outfield look fairly solid, in left and center field.
Sinkeldam and Emily Alvarez will be sophomores next year, Brown a junior.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
The Vikings' 5-7 record in the Western League, 14-15 overall, in the just-completed season, obscures the fact that the team now enters any game with the ability and confidence to win. Formerly, with last year's three-win team, La Jolla usually didn't have a chance from the first pitch.
Ferenzy, who pitches in travel ball for Power Surge Nava 2001, could fill the vacancy left by graduating senior Katja Sarain, who pitched all four years of high school for the Vikings.
Yarelly Gonzales, a catcher on the junior varsity, could replace Stephanie Alvarez, the other graduating senior and co-captain, behind the plate. Gonzales is said to be "pretty good", as well.
There are other present LJHS students and Muirlands students who may join the vastly improved varsity for 2015-16.
The Vikings have most of their infield anchored down, with Josie Sinkeldam at shortstop, Linda Brown at third base, and Emily Alvarez at first base. Two of the three spots in the outfield look fairly solid, in left and center field.
Sinkeldam and Emily Alvarez will be sophomores next year, Brown a junior.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Monday, June 1, 2015
LJ sports: Finding a place to play
As things are pieced together, La Jolla High is working out where physical education classes are going to take place next year while the football field is replaced.
Also, the multitudinous (my mother liked that word) sports teams representing the school will have to find fields to practice on throughout the year. The only exempt teams are the baseball and softball teams, which have their own fields that are not being renovated.
At the football gala/fundraiser Sat., May 30, a player said during presentations that the football team(s) will practice up above on the baseball field at Muirlands Middle School.
Another school, University City, has had the varsity baseball team work out at McElroy Field on Governor Dr. while its new baseball field is constructed.
Mission Bay High just had its new football stadium--a beautiful facility--and track unveiled earlier in the spring track season. The Vikings' track teams, girls and boys, were fortunate to compete on the track the fourth day it was in use.
LJHS coach Paul Byrne had to bring starter blocks, because there weren't any available on the MBHS track at that early point. The hurdles races couldn't be run, because nobody had any hurdles. But that was part of the joy of the newness of the place.
Right next door, the football stadium awaits La Jolla's varsity football games Sept. 4, which is the Friday beginning the long Labor Day Weekend; two weeks later, Sept. 18; and finally, the Buccaneers' home game hosting the Vikings Oct. 9. The last is the Western League opener. That should be exciting.
Bishop's, which hijacked LJHS last year, and West Hills, a host for summer passing leagues in the past, are the two earlier opponents in the games at Mission Bay.
An unusual circumstance surrounds the Vikings' opening game of the football season next fall: a Saturday night opener. That's at least according to one schedule that has been released. (The other schedule cites a Friday night game, but Aug. 22 is a Saturday.) We'll have to check to confirm that.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
Also, the multitudinous (my mother liked that word) sports teams representing the school will have to find fields to practice on throughout the year. The only exempt teams are the baseball and softball teams, which have their own fields that are not being renovated.
At the football gala/fundraiser Sat., May 30, a player said during presentations that the football team(s) will practice up above on the baseball field at Muirlands Middle School.
Another school, University City, has had the varsity baseball team work out at McElroy Field on Governor Dr. while its new baseball field is constructed.
Mission Bay High just had its new football stadium--a beautiful facility--and track unveiled earlier in the spring track season. The Vikings' track teams, girls and boys, were fortunate to compete on the track the fourth day it was in use.
LJHS coach Paul Byrne had to bring starter blocks, because there weren't any available on the MBHS track at that early point. The hurdles races couldn't be run, because nobody had any hurdles. But that was part of the joy of the newness of the place.
Right next door, the football stadium awaits La Jolla's varsity football games Sept. 4, which is the Friday beginning the long Labor Day Weekend; two weeks later, Sept. 18; and finally, the Buccaneers' home game hosting the Vikings Oct. 9. The last is the Western League opener. That should be exciting.
Bishop's, which hijacked LJHS last year, and West Hills, a host for summer passing leagues in the past, are the two earlier opponents in the games at Mission Bay.
An unusual circumstance surrounds the Vikings' opening game of the football season next fall: a Saturday night opener. That's at least according to one schedule that has been released. (The other schedule cites a Friday night game, but Aug. 22 is a Saturday.) We'll have to check to confirm that.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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