The Vikings' Jacob Ohara (4) slides on defense
against teammate Quinn Rawdin in a drill
in afternoon practice at JCC.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
A dream matchup for La Jolla High basketball fans to watch: the Vikings' Daniel McColl working against Charlie Gal.
Where else could you see that but in practice at the Jewish Community Center?
Monday afternoon, June 27, assistant coach T.J. Parry led a bevy of varsity and junior varsity players through their paces in an offseason workout that lasted an hour and a half. Though a clock with a coach's whistle as buzzer was kept running on the sidelines in 10-minute-or-so increments to lend urgency to the exercise, the timer wasn't closely followed.
Still, Parry's experienced hand--reinforced by head coach and mentor Paul Baranowski--led Gal, McColl, Nick Hammel, Quinn Rawdin, and others through a carefully choreographed series of skill drills that built toward scrimmaging at the close. All was tightly organized. Not a moment was wasted. Coach Parry carried a flow from drill to drill without a pause or break. It was impressive.
The intensive practice, carried on on a warm afternoon under the cooling sweep of a giant industrial fan installed on the ceiling above the participants, reminded one that performance at games is merely the result of all the time and dedication devoted during many unseen workouts, offseason or in-season.
The dedication by student athletes and coaches alike helps individual players build their skills while Baranowski's basketball program at La Jolla High, now entering its fourth year, builds units of players that know each other, are cohesive, and in a way, overachieve for the amount of individual skill that walks onto the LJHS campus.
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