LJ FH: Tryouts

Nikki Collins (far right) is among the familiar faces
returning to La Jolla's field hockey team under
new head coach Amanda Warford.
(Photos by Ed Piper)



By Ed Piper

New head coach Amanda Warford had her La Jolla High field hockey players running intervals: a sprint the length of the football field in 20 seconds or less, then a jog back, before repeating the route three more times. She and junior varsity coach Bethany Keller Flaherty were trying to get the girls to complete the 100-yard run--not quite a full-speed sprint--in an allotted time. Warford acknowledged that's because they want a certain speed among their athletes.

"The running is for conditioning, and for tryouts," said Warford, who took over the helm of the La Jolla program recently, after former coach Lisa Griffiths moved with her husband to Phoenix, where he took a new job position. "We spent last week doing a skills week." That gave the girls a chance to review and hone up on their stick skills. Then, week number two is more serious, to assess players' skill levels and begin forming rosters into varsity and junior varsity.

Several of the freshman girls know Warford from club field hockey, a welcome development in La Jolla. A feeder program is the only way that Viking school teams are going to improve and compete with the "have's" of CIF like Serra and Scripps Ranch.

Warford has also served recently as an umpire officiating high school games.

New head coach Warford patrols the practice field,
timing her players in conditioning--first the varsity,
then the junior varsity prospects.