LJ baseball: Skiles the scout

 

Doug Skiles, LJHS grad

and Yankee scout

(from online image)

By Ed Piper

"I remember when the baseball field was in the corner of the football field," said Doug Skiles, a 1981 La Jolla High graduate, looking down from the present Muirlands facility toward the ballplayers' old digs on the lower campus. "An ongoing issue was the number of track athletes who would get hit with the ball."

That was a while ago, and Skiles, now an international scout for the Yankees, was enjoying Viking head coach Gary Frank's annual batting practice for alumni (though Skiles didn't take swings) the day after Christmas, Dec. 26. The two are friends, and were almost teammates at LJHS, Doug preceding Frank by half a decade.

The two share this commonality: both led their respective Viking squads in batting average, Skiles hitting .341 in the spring of 1980 (his junior year), Frank crushing the ball at a .426 clip in 1989, .372 the next year.

Another lifetime highlight for the homegrown baseball talent: Skiles spent almost 12 years in Sweden coaching the Swedish national team from 2001 to early 2013. His wife is from Sweden.

An associate of Doug's who knew he personally couldn't go back to Scandinavia to continue with the national squad told Skiles of the opportunity, and voila! It worked out extremely well. "We have lived back in the U.S. for nine years now," said the coach/scout.

In between coaching baseball at La Jolla High for six seasons (1987-1992) and his Swedish coaching immersion, he served as Padres bullpen catcher during the 1995 season.

His resume shows Skiles scouted for the Yankees for five years in 2010-2014; later the hated team to the north, the Dodgers, in Mexico, Europe, Africa, and Australia; and finally back with the Bronx Bombers since 2018.

Scott partially explained the story of how Gary Frank, a natural lefthander, became a second baseman. Gary's father, Howard, coaxed his son to throw right, while allowing him to continue batting from the portside. This was a good career move for the future, since lefthanded throwers are not allowed to play second, short, or third by coaches or organizations, who don't want to give up the advantage of the quicker throw with the right arm to first base from those positions. But Howard didn't reveal what he did to motivate his son.

Skiles also outlined the narrative of how Ronnie Spellman Field on the Muirlands Middle School campus came into being. Riding in the car that killed Spellman, who sat in the back seat, Scott had broken bones as well. "My face had total road rash," he recounted, as he ended up 300 feet from the vehicle speeding down Nautilus. He wasn't discounting the tragedy of his teammate's death. He was just explaining.

When word got out of Ronnie's essay on why La Jolla needed a baseball field (not on the football field), donations began coming in. A team of folks made the dream a reality in 2010.

"I use it as a coach," said Skiles of the auto accident. "Kids in La Jolla get a car at 16 years old. No one talks about speeding. I talk about that." He explained, "There were no drugs or alcohol involved." His point was that young people get their hands on the wheel of a machine that can go unlimited speed.

Holiday Classic: St. Edward Catholic (Ohio) 60, St. Francis Episcopal (Houston) 59

 

6'7" guard O'Marion Harvey

(obscured by #21, Anthony

Kulacz of St. Edward)

put St. Francis (Houston)

in a 34-33 lead with this

contested layup in the third

quarter.

By Ed Piper

In a 9:30 a.m. game on the second day of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic Thurs., Dec. 28, a 6'7" guard caught a reporter's eye with his length and ball-handling talent. His name is O'Marion Harvey, and the junior plays for St. Francis Episcopal School of Houston.

But Harvey's tall skills in the backcourt couldn't carry St. Francis to a win over St. Edward Catholic, which won a slim 60-59 decision over the Wolves to advance to play local representative Torrey Pines in a 12:40 p.m. game on day three of the tournament, Fri., Dec. 29.

Prep basketball: Holiday Classic underway

Matin Madadkhar (24) of Torrey

Pines scores easily against O'Dea's

Brian Webster on a lefthanded

layup with 1:40 left in the first

quarter against O'Dea

Thurs., Dec. 28. At the time,

TPHS trailed, 16-12.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

A first takeway from watching Torrey Pines perform in their 33rd Annual Holiday Classic against elite competition Thurs., Dec. 28, was that Coach John Olive's quintet-plus is way too talented for any Central League team I've seen recently.

I haven't viewed much basketball lately, but from what little I have seen, I'd judge the Falcons are way too good for many other local squads.

In these days of transfer portals and Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) money for amateurs--we aren't watching Grandpa's basketball anymore--the have's take away from the have-not's. TPHS has stayed competitive, and they handled O'Dea High of Seattle easily, 71-54, the day after taking a beating from JSerra of San Juan Capistrano, the number-one team in California. (That latter score was 72-45 on Wed.)

Matin Madadkar, a talented 6'3" senior wing for Torrey Pines--who are co-coached by Olive and his heir apparent, former Falcon Jake Gilliam, 6'9", who is the designated coach allowed to stand alongside the sidelines during the game--scored on drives time-and-again during a stretch late in the first quarter and midway through the second quarter as TPHS began to pull away from O'Dea and build a 39-26 halftime lead.

TP's Tevaris Green (3) puts in another

layup against O'Dea late

in the second quarter as the

Falcons get into a rhythm and

separate by 15 points.

Madadkar, wily, quick, strong, would use his off-hand (left) to put the ball off the backboard as he challenged the Fighting Irish's big men underneath. The Falcons, ranked fourth in CIF San Diego, have other horses in their stable: besides number 24 (Matin), number 0, Max Zylicz, executed a change-of-pace stutter-step in front of the basket as he drove and easily banked the ball off the window to score just before halftime. His move thoroughly frustrated his defender.

And Olive's bunch weren't bad from three, either, sinking several shots when necessary on the way to their 17-point win. They face St. Edward Catholic of Ohio on day three of their tournament (Dec. 29).

It is amazing that Olive has been able to continue the Holiday Classic and build it up further in his 27 years of coaching at Torrey Pines. The tourney existed six years before he became head coach at TPHS.

Somehow the tournament made it through COVID, which killed a lot of events and institutions.

LJ baseball: Dave Jordan, Class of 1955: 'Eating with God'

Dave Jordan, Class of 1955

La Jolla High baseball player

By Ed Piper

"I was serving as batboy for the San Diego Padres (in the ninth grade in 1952)," remembered Dave Jordan, a Viking Class of 1955 alumnus. "Lefty O'Doul (the manager of the Padres at Lane Field) asked me, 'Do you need a ride home? If you do, you have to eat dinner with us.'"

So there was Jordan, a young, impressionable junior high student who loved playing baseball, going out to eat with O'Doul and his guests for the evening, Joe DiMaggio and his new wife, Marilyn Monroe.

"People asked me what it was like to eat dinner with them," related Jordan at the La Jolla High batting practice event Mon., Dec. 26. "Everybody thought of Marilyn Monroe. For me, I was sitting there eating with God," meaning DiMaggio, a Hall of Fame centerfielder for the Yankees. He had recently retired as a player.

"No one said much during dinner," said Jordan. He attributed it partly to possible marital problems the DiMaggios were having that he read about later. But Joe DiMaggio was also known as more of a loner, different from his two baseball-playing siblings, Vince and Dom.

The young batboy lived in Pacific Beach, and got his ride home from O'Doul after the meal.

In the seventh grade, Jordan got the brainy idea of writing the Padres to ask if he could serve as batboy. "I got turned down," he said. But then he tried again the next year, and he got accepted. Lefty O'Doul, a famous baseball presence, had a major influence on the young boy.

Jordan had never seen the modern baseball facility at Muirlands Middle School before Dec. 26. He had a hard time finding the entrance, with the main campus closed down over the winter break and only one entry point--a somewhat hidden path up the hill from Nautilus Drive to the field.

When he was attending La Jolla, "The baseball field was in the corner of the football field." One ongoing problem of that location, with its multiple uses, was that too many athletes working out for the Viking track team got hit with the ball. Jordan was quite complimentary of the present baseball complex, with its turf field, batting cages, and the like.

A veteran of five years playing baseball in the pros, he told the story of facing Dodgers great Sandy Koufax. Re-creating the scene as a lefthanded batter, he said, "The first pitch was a fastball on the outside corner, strike one. The second pitch was another fastball on the outside corner, strike two. Then he threw me a curve. My butt was way back there (pointing behind him). Strike one, strike two, adios."

LJ baseball: Batting practice for alumni

Gary Frank, LJHS baseball

coach, throwing batting practice

to Viking alumni Tues., Dec. 26.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

After a rough season last spring, and a 10-17 record, all was well on the Viking baseball field the day after Christmas. Coach Gary Frank was throwing (righthanded--that's another story) batting practice to assembled alumni players the day after Christmas.

"This started with Kyle Zimmer," said Frank, who has been part of and presided over the La Jolla baseball program for much of the last three decades, and who, with his father Howard, has thrown out the welcome mat for former players from any era to come back and visit the beautiful facility on the grounds of Muirlands Middle School.

"He wanted some place to hit after they wouldn't let him hit anymore," recalled Frank after throwing hundreds of pitches to Weston Clark (Class of 2015), Jaret Swerdlow (Class of 2023), and several others, who went through multiple rotations at the plate, soaking in live pitching from the mound on the main field (despite two pitching cages sitting nearby, unused on this day).

Zimmer, son of Kathy Zimmer, who retires from LJHS as a counselor this school year, went on from his stellar Viking days to play in MLB along with his brother, Bradley. Kyle pitched for the Kansas City Royals in 2019, 2020, and 2021. (Bradley played for Cleveland, Toronto, and Philadelphia.)

How Frank, a former second baseman and a natural lefthander, came to throw right-handed so that he would have a place in the infield is a story that alumnus Doug Skiles told. Gary's bat was fine--he went on to play professionally--but he was throwing lefthanded, which would have restricted him to first base or the outfield in baseball's traditional ways. So his father got him to practice throwing with the other arm, and the rest is history. He still batted lefthanded, and quite successfully, to the tune of a career .400 average as a prep player at LJHS.

Weston Clark, Class of 2015, who played

four years at Cal Lutheran. Clark was

hitting balls hard enough for a reporter

(me) to get behind the pitcher's screen.

LJ b BB: Game story 12/21

Michael Contreras moved

aggressively to the

basket in the

first quarter.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla is a good Central League team, as it proved Tues., Dec. 19, with a a 58-39 win over SDA in the Sweetwater Frank Pekarek Classic, and Wed., Dec. 20, in a 60-56 win over San Ysidro in the same tourney.

But the Vikings, who were riding high with a 10-5 record, ran into a Hoover squad playing at a different level Thursday night. Reality collided head-on with their recent roll, and under the steady, wise guidance of 6'1" playmaking guard Exavier Williams, the more experienced Cardinals cruised to a 74-47 victory on the fourth day of the Host Lions Club event, held at Sweetwater Union High.

The fact is that Coach Walt Felusme's unit put together the flow and progress of the game. It wasn't by chance. And what La Jolla's less-seasoned players could profit from was by observing the tight, physical byplay of Hoover's elements as the offense wove patterns toward productivity and the defense, to the bench's chant of "Red, red, red", pressured individual Vikings into their vise-like grip.

No knock on Viking coach Paul Baranowski, whose 45 years of mentoring high school basketball players--his 12th year at the helm of La Jolla--have given him all the experience and wisdom he needs to guide Michael Contreras, Jaime Guzman, and company. He has seen it all.

And there he was, during full timeouts, the players in a circle around him, teaching, reinforcing, explaining, instructing.

Felusme's squad ran off an 11-2 start after winning the opening tip, then 16-4, finally 18-6 to finish the first quarter. Williams, deftly bringing the ball upcourt and settling the offense, dished to Amanuel Tesfahegun for three's in the corner, an omen for further things to come.

Contreras, as usual, was aggressive in driving to the basket at the other end. But he was faced with more than one defender as the Cardinals collapsed into the middle.

Vikings Eli Vaz (second from left) and Jaime

Guzman participate in the captains' meeting

with the referees before the opening tip.

Marley Lafond, finding his touch with good rotation on his shot, was able to break free for successful shots beyond the arc in both the right and left corners as the game progressed.

The Vikes gained a little more momentum with the insertion of speedy Nick Sebro at 3:28 of the opening period, who entered the game along with Lafond. But by then, Hoover already led 14-4, and it was going to be a tough hill to climb.

Forward Jackson Diehl could leap with the best of them. He snagged a rebound, going up high, with 2:40 left in the quarter.

La Jolla slowed the sand draining out from under their feet in the second period, only being outscored 20-15 as the pace picked up.

The third wasn't as kind, the designated visitors losing ground at the rate of 22-13, the Hoover gap widening to 60-34.

Mohamed Abdisalan, another of the Cardinals' proficient shooters, hit from three with 6:40 left in the game.

Baranowski's troops play host Sweetwater in the 2 p.m. game Friday on the fifth day of the tourney. The Cardinals play Mount Miguel at 8 p.m. for the tournament championship.

LJ b BB 47, Hoover 74 - Sweetwater Tourney

Photos by Ed Piper

Brody Sessa, soph guard

Marley Lafond, senior forward

Jackson Diehl (rear), senior

forward

Aiden Parente, senior forward

LJ b BB: Game story 12/19

Vike playmaking guard Eli Vaz drives

to the basket against Kahlil Yelkouni (25)

of SDA in the first quarter.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla used a combination of its quickness, pressure on defense, and persistence on the offensive boards to harry and harass San Dieguito Academy, 58-39, Tues., Dec. 19, on the second day of the Frank Pekarek Host Lions Classic at Sweetwater High.

The Vikings, gelling more and more now that their four players from the football team have gotten more acclimated, outscored the Mustangs 16-8 in the third quarter and went on to build a 15-point lead, 44-29, on a Jackson Diehl layup at the 5:37 mark of the final stanza.

Coach Paul Baranowski used senior Nick Sebro coming off the bench, and the speedy receiver in football used his quickness to augment starters Brody Sessa and Eli Vaz in making it tougher for SDA ball-handlers to get the ball upcourt and hold onto the ball.

Sebro subbed in for Jaime Guzman with 2:38 left in the third period as La Jolla took a timeout. Michael Contreras took a pass from Vaz and scored with 2:01 left, 33-24, the Vikes' first nine-point lead of the night.

La Jolla players listen to Coach Paul

Baranowski in a late-game timeout

in the Sweetwater tourney.

Then Nick scored off a steal with 49 seconds left, giving La Jolla their first 10-point lead of the game. There was no turning back.

Diehl started the fourth quarter after a breather, with Sebro staying in alongside Sessa. The Vikings built their lead to 12 points at 40-28 on a Brody layup from Sebro. Diehl's putback enlarged the black-and-red lead to 46-31.

Meanwhile, Aiden Parente, Diehl, and others made a difference on the boards with their persistence. Parente scored on a putback to end the first half, La Jolla going into the intermission with a 20-18 advantage.

The day before, La Jolla lost a close game to Mater Dei Catholic, 64-58, on the first night of the Sweetwater Tournament. The tourney continues all week.

Frank Pekarek was a Sweetwater alumnus from the Class of 1962 who invested a lot in the school while being president of the Host Lions Club. His wife was a grad, as well as their children. The tournament, called the Host Lions Classic, was renamed in his honor upon his death.

LJ b BB 58, SDA 39 - Sweetwater Tourney

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ wrestling: Q&A with Vinny Iudici

Assistant coach Vinny

Iudici (left) waits with

freshman Adrian Rivera

before his first 126-pound

match at the Vista Bash.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Vinny Iudici ("eye-you-di-chee") is an assistant coach for the La Jolla wrestling team. He is from Brooklyn, New York, and proudly wears a cap bearing "New York" on it. These remarks came during the Vista Bash for freshman wrestlers at Vista High Sat., Dec. 16.

Coming into a meet, which is the first one they've (freshmen or other beginning wrestlers) ever done, are there a little jitters? What are they going through?

There are some jitters today. This is their first time going live, wrestling against someone they've never wrestled before. So, it's just those nerves. But just standing toe-to-toe, taking a shot.

They've done a lot of practice by now. What is the reality, the break-through when the match starts in a real competition?

The reality is that you're not going up against the same training partner that you see everyday, so you're losing a little comfortability there. You're wrestling a complete stranger. And now we're here, we have all eyes on us, and I think this is their time in the spotlight. Having all eyes on you for the first time can be a little challenging.

You guys have Leo, Isabella, Harrison... Some of that is going on at this meet? They're looking around, it's kind of a big environment.

Yeah, it's a lot more exposure than our usual wrestling room. Because in the room, nobody is really watching them except the two coaches that are there. It's a little different here. After you take off your warmup, it's a little colder here than it is in the wrestling room. It was always like that for me in high school. It's just that reality, I'm here, I'm in a tournament match, I can't get too comfortable here as I do in the wrestling room. So I think that just plays a game on them mentally. A lot of them think that this is the end of the world, but it's not.

LJ wrestling: Freshmen at Vista Bash 12/16

Photos by Ed Piper

Isabella Itkin (right) (110 pounds) in her first bout.

Adrian Rivera (left) (126) in his first match.

Harrison Stephens (right) (138) sets up

in the first round of his weight class.

LJ FB: Carson Diehl named All-Eastern League offense and defense

LJ defensive back Carson Diehl (13) nearly gets

this interception against Christian High

in the Vikings' 49-19 win in their

final regular season game Oct. 28.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Carson Diehl, a sophomore defensive back and receiver, was named to the All-Eastern League First Team on both defense and offense in 2023 honors revealed by La Jolla head coach Tyler Roach.

On offense, Jett Thomas, Hank  Hansen, and the younger Diehl were named to the First Team in addition to quarterback Jackson Diehl (see separate story).

Evan Martin, a punter/kicker who served as a Viking senior co-captain, was named the Eastern League Special Teams Player of the Year.

On defense, Sawyer Moseley and Wyatt Boczanowski were selectees, along with Carson Diehl.

The most remarkable news is that Carson Diehl was named to both the offensive and defensive honorary teams, because he broke onto the scene in 2023 as a 10th-grader, having played JV football last year. He led the county in interceptions, with eight.

He also was an effective and clutch receiver for the Vikings. His brother connected with him 46 times on the season, for 693 yards and nine touchdowns, as La Jolla swept the Eastern League with a 5-0 record and reached the Division 2 Finals in the CIF playoffs, finishing with a 10-3 record.

LJ b BB: Q&A with Eli Vaz

Eli Vaz shoots a free throw

in the second half against

Hoover Dec. 21 in the

Sweetwater Tourney.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Guard Eli Vaz is the second-leading scorer for La Jolla with 13.1 points per game through the Vikings' first 11 games. These comments came after La Jolla's 66-47 win over Vincent Memorial at home Thurs., Dec. 14.

Your focus on the offense: what do you think of?

I'm thinking about moving the ball, looking for open shots, seeing who's open and trying to regulate the offense, get my teammates involved.

Then where does your shot fit into that, your overall scheme?

I think if I pass the ball and relocate to the corner, I can hit those. I can drive, drive, drive. Stop and pop. Midrange.

How about defensively?

Defensively, I'm trying to pick up my man at half court, get a couple of steals, help the offense, fastbreak layups, put some points on the board. Anything to help my team.

And then what are you guys doing overall defensively?

Defensively, we're doing a mix of everything: man-to-man, zone... We're working on zone right now, trying to get better, try to get some stops.

Congrats on the win.

Thank you so much.

LJ b BB: Game story 12/14

By Ed Piper

The Vikings' basketball team ran its record to 8-4 with an easy 66-47 win at home over Vincent Memorial, which was playing short with only a trio (or less, later in the game) of reserves on the bench Thurs., Dec. 14.

In the crucial run beginning near the end of the second quarter and into the third quarter, La Jolla forward Lance Braga achieved a 23-23 tie by making one of two free throws with 3:23 left in the second.

The Brazilian followed that with a jumper for a 27-23 lead with 1:12 left.

Nick Sebro, fresh from the Viking football team and coming off the bench, buried a high-arching, one-handed three from the deep left corner at the buzzer. Coach Paul Baranowski's team went into halftime with a seven-point, 30-23 lead.

La Jolla's crowd-pleasing shot wasn't accompanied by the P.A. announcer's call of it, because the sound system--like the game clock two weeks ago--was on the blink. The word was that a new setup will have to come in the New Year.

Soon after halftime, Braga, an athletic 6'5" player with spring, scored on a layup for an expanding 36-26 advantage. Vincent Memorial was just out-manned, struggling as the Vikings gained speed.

When Michael Contreras, averaging 19.5 points a game, hit a mid-range jumper for 38-26, Sebro called out, "That was dirty, Michael."

Jaime Guzman scored, causing the Scots to call a timeout with the edge now 14, 40-26.

The third quarter ended, 44-33. Then, early in the fourth period, Jackson Diehl leapt and rejected a shot near the baseline, with the ball flying out of bounds.

The lead continued to increase, with Contreras scoring on a stutter-step teardrop, 49-33.

He made a nifty right-handed shot, being a natural lefthander, dropping the ball into the basket from the right side, on a pass from Braga. The Vikings were sailing, 52-35.

Another crowd favorite (before a small group of fans) besides football players Diehl and Sebro, their teammate, Marley LaFond, subbed in with 1:02 left in the game, the score 62-44. LaFond missed a layup, but a Vincent Memorial player slapped the backboard, so referees counted the basket. Marley's were the last two points for La Jolla.

LJ b BB 66, Vincent Memorial 47

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ Cheer: Basketball 12/14

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB: Jackson Diehl named Offensive Player of the Year

Jackson Diehl, at La Jolla's home

basketball game against Vincent

Memorial Thurs., Dec. 14.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High quarterback Jackson Diehl, who plays in the North-South Senior All-Star Game Sat., Dec. 16, at Mira Mesa High at 4 p.m., has been named the Eastern League Offensive Player of the Year.

Diehl, shooting at halftime of the Viking basketball team's home game against Vincent Memorial--during which the high-jumping athlete swatted a shot by a Scot player early in the fourth quarter--revealed that he had received the postseason honor.

An assistant coach also at the basketball game said that the La Jolla football staff of coaches will coach the South squad in the annual all-star event. Included among selectees to play in the game are Viking seniors Brenden Goldstein, a safety; Evan Martin, a punter/kicker; and Sawyer Moseley, a two-way lineman.

Diehl, a team co-captain but also the Vikings' leader in heart and effort, led Head Coach Tyler Roach's squad to an undefeated 5-0 record in the Division 2 Eastern League, an eight-game win streak continuing into the CIF Finals against Del Norte, and a stellar 10-3 record overall. The fleet passer completed 131 of 214 passes for 2,130 yards, and ran the ball 138 times for 1,234 yards.

He scored 27 touchdowns in the air, against four interceptions, and 15 TD's on the ground.

Diehl is having quite a senior year at La Jolla, being named the Homecoming King at halftime of the Sept. 29 game against Mira Mesa alongside Homecoming Queen Payton Smith, a standout sprinter on the Viking track team, who ranks among top 400 and 200-meter runners in Southern California.

LJ g soccer: Q&A with Coach Austin Mobley

By Ed Piper

Austin Mobley is head coach of the La Jolla High varsity girls soccer team. These comments were made before the Vikings' draw at home, 1-1, with San Dieguito Academy (SDA) Tues., Dec. 12.

Strengths so far?

We're looking good. We're very organized defensively; got to find more ways to score more goals.

This is your second tournament (after the Butch Lee Memorial Tournament), the second game?

The first game.

What is the tournament called?

The San Diego Holiday Jubilee.

What's your outlook for the season?

Try to win a D2 championship, as simple as that. I feel pretty good about it. We've started well. If we're going to reach that goal, we're going to have to play better. But I feel very confident.

You  have good leadership?

We do. A couple of senior captains. More seniors who are not captains. So, yeah, we're good on that part.

LJ g soccer: Q&A with Sam Cousino

By Ed Piper

Sam Cousino, a sophomore, is a keeper for the La Jolla High girls soccer team. These comments were made immediately prior to the Vikings' game at Helix Wed., Dec. 13.

Sam,.what is your approach to keeping? What do you think about going into a game?

(As she kicked shots for fellow goalie Heidi Weise to warm up with) I think about stopping as many (shots) as I can; having good communication with my team; just trying to do a good job.

Any special things you want to be aware of today?

Well, we beat Helix last time (Dec. 5), so hopefully we can do it again. It should be a good one. They have home field advantage. They got three keepers. So, I don't know, it should be interesting.

Second half, is there any preparation, different from what you'd do for the first half?

Just like halftime warmup. Other than that, not really. Do the best to lock in, and do the best you can.

Who has been a mentor for you?

Coach Austin (Mobley), for sure.

What has he given you?

He's just always supportive. If you make mistakes, shake it off and get the next one.

LJ g soccer vs. Helix - Holiday Jubilee 12/13

Photos by Ed Piper