LJ b water polo: Post-tryout AM workout 8/6

Photos by Ed Piper

Field player/twin Simon Glenister: "We don't

know who's older."

Lev Kevorkian

Lefty/twin Henry Glenister

 Senior "Big Bad" Dexter Black, 6'6", CIF San Diego

Section Player of the Year

Worker lines up donor tiles on second panel,

to the left of the original set of tiles.

Varsity and JV players work on passing in

triangles of three during the last portion

of the workout at 8:50 a.m. (Traffic going

into La Jolla to visit practice at that hour

was a bear, on both the 52 and via

Soledad Mountain Road.)

LJ FB: Preseason practice 8/5

Photos by Ed Piper

Defensive Coordinator Stephen Dixon (standing,

right) runs his defense through an "install" as

part of classroom instruction during preseason

practice. In each session, Dixon (defense) or

head coach Tyler Roach (offense) introduces

a scheme on their side of the ball--or a tweak,

slight change, variation, and so forth.

Viking punter/kicker Ryan Hassankhani (88)

receives instruction from Brock Miller,

who kicked for Santa Fe Christian (Class

of 2010), then went on to play for

Southern Utah, then NFL teams the Giants,

49ers, and Rams, as well as in the USFL.

Ryan's takeaways for Wednesday: Narrower

base; parallel drop arm; more turn on the ball.

LJ FH: Tryouts day 3 (of 3) - 8/5

Photos by Ed Piper

Junior "Milty" (Ella Milton) (right) runs with

teammates one of 10 100-yard-sprints (a full

football field) in a certain amount of time

as part of Coach Amanda Combs Warford's

tryouts and training Wed., Aug. 5.

5'8" senior midfielder Reese Lejuwaan (center)

runs the time trial alongside junior Ella Pearl

(left) and senior Talia Snider.

Starting goalkeeper Adalee Branstetter, a junior,

chats on the sidelines with a compression sleeve

on her right leg, as she rests her right knee.

She is prepping for the start of games next

week.

LJ flag FB: Tryouts 8/3 - day 1 (of 2) before school starts

Photos by Ed Piper

She (back left) can fling it.

Agility drills

Coach Matt Butcher (rear left) speaks to prospects

for the first official Viking flag football team

in CIF - "there will be a lot of firsts".

LJ FH: Tryouts 8/3 - day 1 (of 3)

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB: Camp ends Sat., 8/1

    Junior kicker/punter Ryan Hassankhani

(left) covers cornerbacks coach Damarious

Whitten in pickup basketball as other

football players take a break

on their mattresses in the Big Gym

Fri., July 31.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Startling things to a 70's-something sportswriter who also taught three decades in public schools:

--Eighty-nine LJHS football camp registrants checked in their phones, texting head coach Tyler Roach, then turning off the phone. Remarkable in this age of device obsession.

--One boy's bathroom--again, for 89 registrants. No way. (Then I realize there's the locker room above, with ample facilities...)

Annual Viking fall camp has been an experience and a team-bonding. Multiple people, coaches as well as athletes, talking about "confidence", commitment", all the "C" buzzwords, as the objective for this edition of the football team.

Nico Bardaro, senior defensive end/tight end who was out all summer with a badly-sprained ankle, welcomed the activity after so much inactivity (despite a pleasant trip to his mom's home region in southern Italy). Named one of the Vikings' new team captains, the humble, respectful 6'4" multi-sport athlete said in a conversation, "It's about community."

He had said the afternoon before at the Mount Soledad cross to his teammates, "I know fellow seniors. Freshmen and sophomores, we'll build relationships, too."

Roach, prepping for his tenth season as head coach, knows the task ahead will be challenging. "We're not there, yet," he said. With a complete overhaul of the roster, several seniors from last year's squad graduated, and a few transfers coming in (including from Garden Grove), junior Brody Bukich (from Mt. Carmel High) and returning sophomore Ty Tortorice showed varied levels of skill and experience at quarterback in June 7-v-7 passing tournaments.

Gumption, not a "C" buzzword, will have to come from leaders like tackle Zach "Snacks" Gergurich, who also addressed his teammates at the cross, Bardaro, and Sean Bannon, injured last year and not able to compete.

After camp closes at noon today, Saturday, Aug. 1 (following 48 hours of workouts, bonding, and fun since Thursday at 3 p.m.), Viking Nation is looking ahead to its annual Kickoff Classic/Friday Night Lights scrimmage versus Mission Bay Saturday, Aug. 15, at University City at 5 p.m.

Then the following week, Friday, Aug. 21, La Jolla travels to Patrick Henry for the season opener.

LJ FB: Day 2 (of 3) - Fall camp - Fri., July 31

Photos by Ed Piper

Christian Hobson (R) leaps

for the ball in half-court

basketball during team-

building/free play Friday

afternoon.

Wiffleball during rec time

New Viking Defensive

Coordinator Stephen Dixon

looks intimidating as he takes

a breather from basketball

in the late morning of day 2

of fall football camp.

Team members (including Sean

Bannon, near left) swarm line coach

Ben Gooding, who holds onto the ball

under the basket.

Head coach Tyler Roach, starting his 10th season,

gives players an update on the afternoon schedule,

which includes Wiffleball, basketball ("save your

 legs, because we have a two-hour practice later"),

soccer, and cornhole. The squad also did offensive

and defensive "installs" (introduce play schemes)

and shared "words" (team commitment phrases

by individual players) at other times.