LJ BB: Playing Klay and Trayce Thompson

The Vikings' Matt Jones drives on

Klay Thompson (1) early in a State

Regional game March 6, 2008 at

Santa Margarita.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

I remember it vividly...

La Jolla's boys basketball team, fresh off its CIF Division 3 basketball title, traveled up to Orange County to play Santa Margarita High in the state regional playoffs.

It was a nightmare.

This was March 2008. I drove up on my own. My wife Dianna was ill, so she stayed home. Our granddaughter Alexis, a senior, rode with fellow cheerleaders to the game.

What I remember is Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors superstar, and his younger brother Trayce, who now plays for the Dodgers, slam-dunking on the poor, smaller Vikings.

It wasn't that then-LJHS Coach Kamal Assaf's squad had anything to be ashamed of. The little team that could, achieving the San Diego CIF title, did the best they could. They were well-coached, and disciplined.

Just--Klay Thompson and his highly-recruited teammates played at and above the rim, with their height and jumping ability. There was a blur of dunks, and the game was a blowout from early on.

Looking back at the 69-51 score, which doesn't appear so bad, I remember the host Eagles letting up in the second half. The final result was never in doubt. The game wasn't really that close.

MaxPreps recently carried a story and video of the brothers' play, along with teammate Gavin Escobar, a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. I wasn't aware of him at the time of the playoff game, lo, so many years ago.

It marked the first of three straight years Taylor Davis and the Vikings, coached by Assaf, a teacher at Bishop's who now coaches middle school basketball, went to the CIF Division 3 championship game. They won in 2008 and 2009. They lost in 2010 on a foul called at the buzzer, after which Mount Miguel's player, with three free throw opportunities, won the game.

I think I remember spotting the Thompson brothers' famous dad, Mychal, who had played for the Lakers, sitting high atop the visiting stands, away from the home crowd. As a sports celebrity, the now-sports talk show co-host enjoys the attention but also tires of it when it impinges on his enjoying his sons' athletic pursuits.

I remember the Santa Margarita gym, as well, as fairly large. Much bigger than La Jolla's traditional gym. Stands extend from the floor on each of the two sidelines.

I positioned myself on the respective baselines, as I usually do, facing the Vikings on offense. The home crowd was large, and there weren't a lot of highlights for the visitors. But, as you know, still photos can make you look like you just won the NBA title, win or lose.

I carted my memory cards and photos home to San Diego, and my wife, not a major sports fan but a supporter of our granddaughter cheerleading, missed Alexis' last game cheering. That was her senior year, and the last basketball game of the season.

Tyler Heap (30) of La Jolla plays defense on

Eagles' Trayce Thompson (43) in Vikings'

69-51 loss. Trayce now plays for the Dodgers,

his brother Klay for the Warriors.

LJ BB: Playing Klay and Trayce Thompson

The Vikings' Tyler Heap (30) guards Trayce Thompson

in La Jolla's 69-51 loss at Santa Margarita

March 6, 2008 in the Regionals.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

By Ed Piper

I remember it vividly...

La Jolla's boys basketball team, fresh off its CIF Division 3 basketball title, traveled up to Orange County to play Santa Margarita High in the state regional playoffs.

It was a nightmare.

This was March 2008. I drove up on my own. My wife Dianna was ill, so she stayed home. Our granddaughter Alexis, a senior, rode with fellow cheerleaders to the game.

What I remember is Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors superstar, and his younger brother Trayce, who now plays for the Dodgers, slam-dunking on the poor, smaller Vikings.

It wasn't that then-LJHS Coach Kamal Assaf's squad had anything to be ashamed of. The little team that could, achieving the San Diego CIF title, did the best they could. They were well-coached, and disciplined.

Just--Klay Thompson and his highly-recruited teammates played at and above the rim, with their height and jumping ability. There was a blur of dunks, and the game was a blowout from early on.

MaxPreps recently carried a story and video of the brothers' play, along with teammate Gavin Escobar, a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. I wasn't aware of him at the time of the playoff game, lo, so many years ago.

It marked the first of three straight years Taylor Davis and the Vikings, coached by Assaf, a teacher at Bishop's who now coaches middle school basketball, went to the CIF Division 3 championship game. They won in 2008 and 2009. They lost in 2010 on a foul called at the buzzer, after which Mount Miguel's player, with three free throw opportunities, won the game.

I think I remember spotting the Thompson brothers' famous dad, Mychal, who had played for the Lakers, sitting high atop the visiting stands, away from the home crowd. As a sports celebrity, the now-sports talk show co-host enjoys the attention but also tires of it when it impinges on his enjoying his sons' athletic pursuits.

I remember the Santa Margarita gym, as well, as fairly large. Much bigger than La Jolla's traditional gym. Stands extend from the floor on each of the two sidelines.

I positioned myself on the respective baselines, as I usually do, facing the Vikings on offense. The home crowd was large, and there weren't a lot of highlights for the visitors. But, as you know, still photos can make you look like you just won the NBA title, win or lose.

I carted my memory cards and photos home to San Diego, and my wife, not a major sports fan but a supporter of our granddaughter cheerleading, missed Alexis' last game cheering. That was her senior year, and the last basketball game of the season.

LJ FB: Morrison

Running back Alex Dockery (10) tries to make

like a proficient water polo player during the Viking

football team's tourney in the Coggan Pool.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

"The program we're implementing is one that will last," said Matt Morrison, new La Jolla head football coach, during a water polo team-building event July 27. "I have videos on my laptop of my Parker and La Costa Canyon teams. I'll show the players."

In other words, the offense and defense that Morrison and his assistant coaches have been installing since spring practice began at the end of May are solid and will carry the Viking football program to success--just like what his teams at Parker and LCC experienced.

"I have defensive schemes that we'll be introducing over the next two or three years," said an earnest Morrison, pool-side as his players challenged one another in three-goal games of water polo. "The entire defense fills up large binders."

Looking especially earnest, the head coach said, "I'd rather have us run 10 plays well, than 100 half-cocked." He said the offensive and defensive approaches haven't been dumbed down--rather, a core of key strategies are being focused on so that players having to learn totally new systems will grasp them and carry them out effectively.

New head football coach Matt Morrison (L)

surveys his charges at the team's water polo event

after equipment was issued at 7 a.m.



The Vikings, having last scrimmaged July 12, against Morrison's former team, La Costa Canyon, and July 14, against Westview in 7-on-7 passing competition, will scrimmage at Bishop's, according to Morrison, Fri., Aug. 19, with pads.

La Jolla's season opener follows the next week, Aug. 26, at Montgomery. The Vikes' home opener--and first game on their new playing surface--comes Fri., Sept. 2, after the first week of school. School starts a week earlier this year, instead of the traditional start after Labor Day.

"We want energy and enthusiasm," the coach said, returning to a familiar message he has preached to his players from the beginning.

"We met with our seniors yesterday, and we talked about leadership." The varsity heads to Big Bear for camp and team-building Sun. Aug. 7, through Wed., Aug. 10. Former LJHS basketball coach Kamal Assaf, as he has done with the football team before, will provide some motivational speaking for the players at the Big Bear camp.

Morrison seems to bring a different presence than his predecessor. He appears under control, communicative, and not riding an extreme of emotion. His players, so far, don't seem extended to the end of their emotions, which was seen many times in the past three years. Crying after losses was not uncommon. It could be quite a roller coaster ride, with players so choked up after games that many could hardly speak a word to a reporter asking for comments.

"I can show the players videos of (NFL teams he named) running similar schemes," Morrison said. In other words, what the coaches are implementing with the players is solid stuff, not baby stuff.

"The players feel good about the schedule," he added. Going from famine to feast, La Jolla plays seven straight games on the new Edwards Field surface, which is already laid and in place.

LJ FB: Water polo

Members of the LJHS football squad mix it up in the

pool in an informal water polo tournament to build

team unity. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Kenny Harden sidled into position, with the offense in front of him. In a relaxed, casual manner, the left-handed rising junior lofted an easy toss to an open spot.

No, the quarterback wasn't throwing to one of his favorite receivers on the La Jolla football team. Instead, he was making himself comfortable with the first of back-to-back goals as Coach Matt Morrison's squad took a break from weekday workouts to have a little fun in the Coggan Pool on campus, playing water polo instead.

On the opposite side of the pool, while swimmers under coaches' directions down the way took lap after lap in roped-off lanes, Joey Liss set up in front of the opposing goal in a totally different manner. The lineman, accustomed to blocking big bodies, put his back to the net and quickly flicked the ball backwards--completely catching his teammate defending goal completely off-guard.

"[Joey] played seven years of competitive water polo," said Morrison later, arriving after equipment was checked out to football team members for fall workouts beginning Aug. 1. The team is approaching its move-in date to the new lockers on the field at Edwards Stadium, but for now the old lockers are good enough.

Carsten Fehlan (L) and other members

of the Viking football program look on

as water polo tourney progresses.

 



Some of the bronzed gods strutting on the pool deck this day would make any coed swoon: Hayden, who will see action at defensive back while he seems to sit third on the depth chart at quarterback behind senior Cole Dimich and junior Trevor Scully, looked like he lives at the beach or pool. Dimich visually fit the La Jolla beachside role, as well. Liss, on the other hand, looked untouched by tanning rays.

Junior Sola Hope, who has quickly carved out a visible role on offense and defense in workouts in the summer before his first year on the varsity, held sway in goal in early going in the informal water polo tournament. Then he got picked apart by a shot here or there that got past him, and he surrendered to teammates at the keeper position.

"We've been going really hard in workouts, so this is a chance for the players to relax a little," said the head coach as action in the pool continued.

Football field progress

While the field surface is complete except for details,

the new track surface has yet to be laid over the

existing surface. Crews were cleaning it to prepare

for the new layer. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High head football coach Matt Morrison said his squad will get on the new football field at Edwards Stadium for practice for the first time Mon., Aug. 22.

Earlier forecasts had foreseen a mid-August date for use of the new facilities, so construction seems to be pretty much on schedule.

The field itself is laid and pretty much ready for use, it looks like from a distance. The surface is marked with yardage lines and numbers.

The two buildings on the northeast side of the field appear to be nearing completion, whereas a third building on the northwest sideline looks like a shell, with the exterior mostly complete and the insides yet to be tackled.

"I'm just excited. It's going to be great being on the field," said Viking running back Alex Dockery, a senior who will enjoy the field for seven straight home games beginning Sept. 2 after a junior year playing all games on the road.

From a distance, the new press box appears to be nearing completion. The new concession stand in the southwest corner of the complex has a lot of work done, but is still obviously under construction. It will be interesting to see what parts of the renovated facility will be ready for use for events like Blast Off, which traditionally takes place at the opening home game.

The antiquated stadium restroom, which had half doors on the toilet stalls and limited leg space for anyone using a commode on the men's side, is nowhere to be seen, gone with the wrecking ball last year.

Morrison, the new head coach, has commented on the fact that he is fortunate to be starting with a new facility. His returning players, he has said, are the ones who will really appreciate their home stadium upon its completion after practices and games elsewhere since June 18, 2015, the last graduation held in the stadium.

Rio Olympics: Refugee Team

By Ed Piper

I read about the Refugee Team that will compete in the Rio Olympics beginning next week in the newest edition of Sports Illustrated. There was something in the article that tugged at me.

After all, right out of college, speaking no Spanish--I didn't know it was "Buenos dias" for "Good morning", intead of "Buenas dias", when I boarded a bus in Tijuana for Mexico City--I covered the Pan Am Games for the English-language newspaper in the capital, The News. That takes being adventurous and willing to try anything.

To answer the question I just brought up, how did I manage to report on sports, when all the people at the venues and on the host teams only spoke Spanish? I pantomimed a lot, I coaxed and cajoled, I used the Spanish I remembered from Senorita Sanchez in junior high: "Hola, Paco. Que tal? Como estas?"

To get the starting lineup for the Mexican men's basketball team (they didn't have women's basketball yet), I somehow communicated to the head coach that I needed the "cinco" (five) players who would start. On a notepad, I wrote down each of their names.

Now, back to the refugees: If you haven't read about them, these Olympians are from countries where they had to flee for their lives. The runners from South Sudan, a new country which has fallen into chaos, don't even have running times good enough to qualify under the normal standard to compete in the games.

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which implemented the Refugee Team and chose the members, passed these athletes through without qualifying times. Instead, the IOC has provided these selected athletes with professional training, nutrition guidance, and other care to help prepare them.

What do I think of athletes being allowed in the games that don't meet the minimum standards for their event? I think it's great. The article explained that the purpose of the Refugee Team, which will march in the Opening Ceremonies just in front of the host Brazilian team, is to represent the hundreds of thousands of refugees across the globe who have no country and no rootedness.

"We may not win our events, but we want to represent all refugees to give them hope in their present situation," was sort of the theme of the story.

My mother enjoyed watching the Olympic Games. My brother and I, who both participated in sports growing up, are naturals for viewing the games, which spread out over two and a half weeks beginning August 3. (The Parade of Nations takes place Fri., Aug. 5, during the Opening Ceremonies.)

At the Pan Am Games in Mexico City in 1975, I boarded the bus carrying the Mexican torch carriers in the Opening Ceremonies. (The Pan Am Games are kind of a smaller Western Hemisphere version of the Olympics.) I remember the young people on board being pretty excited, effusing all over the place. In my resulting story, I didn't have lengthy quotes or anything from those runners. I just described--in English for The News' English-speaking readers--what I saw and heard as the torch carriers celebrated getting a role in the ceremony.

One lesson I still carry from those Pan Am Games, the only Pan Am Games I have ever attended, is that my country, the USA, is a pretty good country. This was at the tail end of the Vietnam War era, and being young and activist-minded during college, I had criticized my country for carrying on the war and violence and so forth.

The specific incident during the games wasn't pleasant, but it is still vivid in my mind. During one of the basketball games involving the U.S. team, populated then with college players including Leon Douglas, I was shocked to hear Mexican fans hurl the "n" word with a Spanish accent from the stands toward the African-Americans on the team. I had never heard such a thing. It was straight out of the Old South.

But the positive thing for me was realizing, with all its faults as the number-one country in the world, the U.S. has many strengths, too. You don't hear people hurling the "n" word toward players at a basketball game. Kind of simple, but a concrete lesson for me. It made me, as a young, idealistic 21-year-old, rethink some of my preconceived notions.

The basketball game involving Leon Douglas wasn't the only factor during my 14 months living and teaching English in Mexico City in leading me toward different conclusions about my country. But it was one of them.

By the way, after my teaching hours each weekday, I covered different sports events at the Pan Am Games for a total of 51 work hours. I got paid $1 an hour by The News for a whopping total of $51 (US).

My granddaughter, the natural

Vi in flight above the trampoline.

 

 

By Ed Piper

I'm having fun being a grandparent. I may have referred to this in past posts. I know that LJHS parents have shared comments with me about the joys of grandparenthood.

Two days ago we were able to enjoy watching the kids jump, swing, crawl, and everything else in Violet's gymnastics birthday party held at a local YMCA. I didn't even know children could have a gymnastics birthday party.

And to see the three-year-old bounce on the facility's long trampoline--a thin band that stretches for 20 or 30 feet, bordered by padding--is to see a youngster in absolute abandon.

Mom was the one who found and arranged the location for this event. Her daughter, from early on, showed an agility, an ease in twisting her body into the shape of a pretzel--and with not an ounce of fear in her body. Which we know can be both good and bad.

On the "gym bus" at preschool, the instructor told mom earlier this year that Vi could hang (literally) with the best of them, and suggested she put the then-two-year-old in a gymnastics class.

Thank God, Kristi does not have an East-German-bloc bent, and has no great plans to enroll her young daughter in some high-powered athletic training program during her youth.

That's something both parents do really well: let the kids do what they enjoy, without the pressure of mom or dad trying to live through them for their glory (witness some parents in youth and high school sports).

Well, this little girl can jump with the best of them. If you look at how high she was jumping on the trampoline at her birthday party, and compare that to her stature, it must two, three times her height. She also instinctively knows to pull her feet up under her as she imitates Michael Jordan in flight.

Not to overdo it, her balance and agility are things that you can't teach. They are God-given.

So, Grandpa is enjoying it. She has a big grin during the jumps, looking from every indication like she is enjoying doing it. And the latter is the most important thing.

To give her brother Luke equal time, the four-year-old can bounce, but on the trampoline he chose to run across the surface and fly onto a pile of mats stacked at the far end of the trampoline. He says, "I can run really fast." That's his big thing right now.

As every grandparent knows, the beauty of the role is that you can have a different relationship with the children than the parents. (I never was a parent; I married into an existing three-generation family.)

You can pick your spots, play a support role, and come-and-go.

Here's to the joy of doing things. Children are just children. Teenagers are just teenagers. Physical activity should go with mental stimulation and growth toward forming the well-rounded, balanced whole person.

Belief in self

By Ed Piper

One of the personal benefits of having my own sports blog is recalling things from my own sports background that I wouldn't have remembered otherwise.

When I was a senior, 16 years old on the Camarillo High basketball team--destined to finish fifth in a six-team league--we faced powerful Santa Barbara High, which featured 6'8" Don Ford, who later would play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

In triple overtime, I stepped to the free throw line. I felt the pressure of the situation so much, that I literally could not feel the basketball in my hand as I shot.

The ball cleanly went through the hoop. I completely relaxed, bolstered by that successful free throw, and went on to sink three more free throws to help seal the upset win over the to-be-league-champion Dons.

From then on in my basketball-playing days--which included a year in community college and a year as an adult playing in Mexico City--I carried the confidence I gained from that one, numb free throw that went through the basket. "I made free throws in triple overtime against Don Ford. I can do anything," was the basic underlying thought that I took away from that fateful night in the Camarillo High gym.

Classmates carried me off the floor. A girl who had a crush on me (who I was too shy to ever date) came over, sobbing, and hugged me on the sideline.

But none of that embodied the powerful thought I fortified myself with from that day forward.

What if, with numb hand, that free throw hadn't go through the hoop? It would have been a struggle confidence-wise for me. I don't think it would have destroyed my confidence, but I would have had to work at it to overcome having missed that free throw. I had more chances, and I was a good-percentage free thrower.

All of this came back to me in reflecting on the importance of a student athlete believing in themselves after reading the morning report on an Angels reliever who has blossomed along with his self-confidence--Cam Bedrosian.

Your coach can believe you can do it. Your parents can believe you can do it. Even your teammates can believe it. But until you yourself do, it will show in the way you carry yourself, the way you react to failures, and ultimately in how successfully you perform.

Tai Nguyen, the goalie on La Jolla's CIF title-winning soccer team this past school year, confided to me when I interviewed him for a feature that he had had a similar experience to my own free throw numbness: Just before making the save in the shootout that gave the Vikings a win in the semifinals to send them to the championship game, he said he "blacked out", as he termed it, blanking out. He said, in a startling admission, that he didn't remember making the lunge that allowed him to block the penalty kick and make the save.

Like me, he experienced a surge of confidence in his already-growing skills as head of La Jolla's defensive unit that will, likely, benefit him from here on, just as my triple-overtime success did me.

Peter Sefton, though not a dominant player, at 6'5" believed in his effectiveness as a member of the Vikings basketball team early in my years covering LJHS sports. It led to his being recognized as Western League Player of the Year. Sefton was not a gigantic hulk at his height, not in basketball. Nor could he jump out of the gym. But he went out each game, I believe, knowing what he could accomplish, and he did it. I think his coach, Kamal Assaf, reinforced that confidence of his starting center.

Stone Scoppettuolo, recently graduated from La Jolla High, evinced this kind of belief in his abilities on the baseball field this past season. He came in and pitched a doozy of a playoff game, though he was more accustomed to being the hard-hitting centerfielder for Coach Gary Frank's team. He got the job done.

Now, in some of the sports that have club and travel teams, a lot of the players' development takes place away from the school court or field, so I'm not as much a witness to some of their steps of self-confidence and poise.

Another issue is that in some sports, including with girls, development can often come early, leading into high school or even the 10th grade. (My improvement as a basketball player took place late in my high school years.) I'm thinking of Abby Waldburger, who was a prodigy from early on in Vikings indoor volleyball, starting in her ninth-grade season. You could see when Abby took part in pregame warm-ups and when she stepped on the court for matches that she had already logged a lot of time in high-level competition--her body language communicated that ease and confidence.

What's really exciting about watching high school sports is following the trajectory of a young man or young woman out there on the field or court, and seeing the baby steps of skill level and self-belief while they take them. It's like eyeing an incubator, with the warmth and light of the light bulb of coaching instruction and game experience growing the individual from greenness toward maturity.

In reading over my entry, I realize we could apply the importance of one's believing in their own abilities to apply universally. A citizen or a scientist who gets the insight that they can make things happen, can make a difference, suddenly is vaulted toward participation or achievement that can bring a change-rendering breakthrough.

LJ FB: 7-on-7 vs. LCC

 



 

 

In a series, the Vikings' Alex Dockery appears to make a fine catch and finish (upper left). Then his defender grabs his left arm (middle), and the ball pops loose for an incomplete pass (right). You can do this in football, but not in basketball. Action took place early in the workout.






By Ed Piper

New La Jolla head football coach Matt Morrison's former players at La Costa Canyon, where he was offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015, enjoyed competing against him Tues., July 12, in a 7-on-7 passing league scrimmage at LCC.

"He looks weird in different school colors," said one player from Morrison's former team.

"Matt, was that a first down?" asked another, on a first-name basis with the coach.

Before the one-hour workout on a grass field next to the football stadium on the North County campus, several white-jerseyed Mavericks, in a jovial mood upon seeing their former offensive leader, approached Morrison near the La Jolla sideline to decide which team's offense would take the field first by playing rock-paper-scissors.

One Mav said, "He's going to choose paper." What he did choose wasn't recorded for posterity. But LCC won rock-paper-scissors and the Mavs' quarterback and fellow six took the field.

The Vikings' Alex Dockery had a spectacular catch on a long pass from quarterback Cole Dimich early in La Jolla's first possession, followed quickly by a touchdown reception by Daniel Souza. The visitors, outnumbered considerably by the much larger host football program, appeared pumped up at the challenge of playing the Division 1 school.

Later, as La Costa Canyon showed some flair--though La Jolla exhibited some strengths, as well--the Maverick players, who started out jocular among themselves, grew even more emboldened. They went from high-fives and flying hip bumps, to cooking up a plan to celebrate a play in a much more flamboyant way.

Head coach Sean Sovacool, in his seventh year at the helm, put the quash on that. "We have people here taking pictures," referring to me, whom he had asked earlier in a friendly way who I was taking photos for. "We're not going to do that."

In the earlier exchange, I had replied to Sovacool, "LJ." He asked, "LJ?" I said, "La Jolla." "Oh."

I said, "We ought to get a photo of you and Matt together." He said, "Yeah, that'd be a good idea," then went about his business. I got a photo of the two interacting during the workout, so I took that as sufficient as the two held post-practice powwows with their respective teams, and there was still a long drive home through Golden Triangle traffic jams.

You could tell the LCC players are used to success. They had a cockiness, probably well-deserved. They were talking among themselves, with me standing with my camera on monopod in their midst on their sidelines. So they weren't bragging to the world. But their banter among themselves was good-natured teammate talk, ribbing, encouragement, challenges.

They were able to get a little carried away as the 7-on-7 progressed, because as the established, bigger program, they were clearly superior to the smaller contingent from down the coast. Sovacool clearly has control. He has a booming voice and commanding presence, which he visibly exerted at times during the afternoon.

It made me think of what it would be like for La Jolla to be a Division 1 school, with a large population and numerous boys going out for football, which it doesn't have at this point in its trajectory. La Jolla is the little program on the block, trying to build itself up a little after the coaching transition. Matt Morrison is on the right path.

One thing I liked about Sovacool was that when he addressed his players right before the 7-on-7 against his former assistant coach, he told them, "Let's take care of each other. We're all family." He was referring to La Jolla as well as LCC.

I asked Morrison incredulously after negotiating traffic into North County to take photos, "You drove up here every day from your school in Ocean Beach?" He said, "Yes, school let out at 3 p.m. I'd be in the car by 3:10 and get up here by about 4." Wow. What a grind. Take part in practice, then still have the drive back home. Then do it all over again the next day.

Another observation I had was that LCC, predominantly a white team, doesn't fit the bill of what we become accustomed to seeing when we view college and pro football on TV--with many stars, to a large percentage, being African-American. I'm not saying LCC's football team is Long Beach Poly or Mater Dei. But here are upper-middle class white kids populating a successful high school football program. It's just more food for thought.

Baseball: Young arms

By Ed Piper

The National Federation of State High School Associations' ruling that pitchers must now have a pitch limit starting in 2017 caps off a couple of weeks in which I have been reliving the arm injury I suffered as a 12-year-old.

I think it has come back more vividly this spring and summer because, instead of just taking photos of La Jolla High baseball, as I did my first nine years covering LJHS, for the past three years I have also been writing up games and player features (first for the La Jolla Light, then for the La Jolla Village News as well as this blog).

The other night I went to bed with the image I have in my memory--I realize that what we remember is our experience, not the actual events that took place--of that fateful lunchtime softball game as an eighth-grader in middle school in which I hadn't warmed up before the game.

Why I would have fielded five straight grounders playing third base, without a break in innings, doesn't fit together. Maybe I went back out there in the second inning and took the fourth and fifth groundballs hit to me, with my arm still not properly warmed up.

In any case, the alone feeling--my arm is hurt, I know something happened--is what really comes home. At 12 years old, I didn't have the ability to go tell someone that my arm had gone numb. I was too embarrassed, I suppose. I didn't tell Coach Cornelius, the P.E. coach overseeing the game who had told us to start the game without warm-ups so that we could get more innings in. I didn't tell my parents when I went home.

I continued to pitch in little league (in Camarillo, CA, we didn't have official Little League). I don't think I ever told my manager, Buck Pena, who was a good man. This was my third year playing under him. Looking back, I know that he was a caring man. He just didn't know what had happened, and I didn't open my mouth to let him know.

After winning four complete games (six innings a game) in our team's first seven games (round one), I won one game in the last 14. I struck out 17 batters in 18 outs in one game, 14 in another, before hurting my arm. I could throw hard enough to break poor Joey Erickson's ribs with an errant pitch. I'm not proud of injuring another player. It just reminds me how lively an arm I had. I was big and tall, and I could throw hard. I didn't really know the ins-and-outs of pitching. I was just a young kid enjoying playing a kid's game.

One of the loneliest times for me was when an older boy--17 or 18, maybe?--came to practice, unannounced. I didn't know who he was. He asked me after practice, "You're the big thrower. I want you to throw me some batting practice." Embarrassed and too young and immature to say, "No, my arm is hurting," I followed him to another backstop at Las Posas Elementary School. I threw pitch-after-pitch. Agonizing. He said, "Throw me more curves." Well, curves didn't originally hurt my arm--throwing hard after not warming up did--but I can remember across the decades the pain and discomfort I felt in spinning off curve after curve to this anonymous older kid.

At least as much was the psychic pain. Trapped. Alone. I was just a boy.

Any athlete who gets injured goes through this: the sitting idly on the sidelines, unable to play. Missing the time with teammates, who are our friends. It's just not the same. The downcast look. These are physical games, whether baseball, basketball, football, or whatever, and you have to be well physically to be able to participate.

I think of Nick Hammel, on La Jolla's varsity, and the arm pain he had this past season. I don't even know the nature of it. Tom House, a renowned former pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, came to La Jolla and directed a clinic recently for Coach Gary Frank's pitchers. Hammel was there. Apparently his arm is well now. I think being at that clinic really brought back to me these vivid memories of hurting my arm.

Way back when, what I should have done was stop playing in the lunchtime softball game and tell Coach Cornelius what happened. I should have told my manager, Buck Pena, that I had hurt my arm. I should have stopped throwing at practice and in games as if nothing had happened. I should have told my parents about my arm pain. When my dad knew something was up, he acted on it, arranging a personal visit to UCLA's legendary athletic trainer, Ducky Drake. But by then the injury had taken hold, and I don't know if my arm could have been healed.

The best thing I can do at this point is to be an advocate for young pitchers today. Hearing the NFSHSA's new directive, I can help bring awareness through my journalistic reports and my conversations with parents and their sons when I have opportunities.

No one should have to go through the misery and discouragement, the aloneness and feeling of powerlessness that I went through back in 1966 as a 12-year-old. Sometimes we need to pry and ask our young people, How are you really doing? Is everything OK?

LJ b BB: Glue

By Ed Piper

Karen Davis said Maggie Ohara was the mom to look to in the future.

Karen, mother of Taylor Davis, who helped lead La Jolla's boys basketball team to three straight trips to the CIF Division 3 finals in 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10, with the first two resulting in championships, was the unofficial "team mom" who helped me out with changed game times and general information about the team when Kamal Assaf was coach.

Maggie's son Zac was up-and-coming in the LJHS basketball program at the time. Zac went on to enjoy successful junior and senior seasons as a starting guard for the Vikings.

Fast forward to 2016. Jacob Ohara, Zac's younger brother, is now earning his way onto Paul Baranowski's squad this summer.

Between the Vikings' games Sat., July 9, at the Point Loma Nazarene University Team Camp, I went over to say hi and chat with Mrs. Ohara and the circle of La Jolla parents who were at the games.

"How's the Wild Bunch doing?" I asked Maggie. "We're not the Wild Bunch," she said. She was chatting with the father of another young player, Jacob Duffy, who is a year younger than Jacob in school.

Jacob's dad was situated a short distance over, talking with Charlie Gal's father intently. Another family showed up. Maggie called to the husband and wife and waved them over. "Come sit with us," she told them. They sidled down the cement aisles high up in the PLNU bleachers. Some of the parents had yellow flexible plastic pieces that clip onto the bleacher seat and afford some back support for spectators.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Ohara shared her friendly, amiable conversation with me and a mom who newly arrived. It was positive, peaceful, relaxed, and enjoyable.

In this section, there were no wildcat parents threatening the refs. Baranowski, the head coach, doesn't direct his comments to the refs, either. He's too busy coaching up his young players, giving them the teaching and support they need to grow and develop as student athletes.

Quite a contrast to a coach at the Canyon Crest Academy camp a short time earlier, where I attended the La Jolla girls game against University City. There, unrelated to the La Jolla game, on another court, a coach ripped into a referee with more than the usual jockeying, getting pretty nasty from the part I heard as I just arrived in the CCA gym. As a result, he rightfully earned his ticket out of the gym when the referees ejected him. Were his words really the purpose of summer league to mold his new players for next season?

"I love summer league," Maggie told me as if right on cue, though she knew nothing of the earlier incident across town at CCA. "They're all new players, working things out." A great model for her son, who is one of the newcomers to Baranowski's varsity and has to show his stuff. He's not big or tall, so he's got to rely on his quickness and basketball know-how if he's going to share time in the Viking backcourt with veteran guards Reed Farley (who was away with his travel squad), Nick Hammel, and Quinn Rawdin, besides the other JV grads, including Behzad Hashemi.

As I later took a break before the Vikings' 6:50 p.m. game, the second of a doubleheader, I looked across the cavernous arena--with a Quonset hut roof, arching over the rudimentary cement bleachers--and saw Maggie, the Queen Bee, with her hive across the way. She quietly, unobtrusively invites people in, makes them feel welcome, thanks them for helping out. Now, this is what high school sports can be.

I thought back to Karen Davis. Karen is the same kind of person. Karen and Maggie make it easy for everyone else. Without an official title or role, they watch over people, make sure they're doing okay, acting like they're not doing anything special when in actuality they serve a very important role in connecting, forming relationships, making a disparate group of parents--and photographer/reporter--feel like they belong.

It's a special quality.

You look at Jacob Ohara, and you see this hard-working young player who doesn't say a word. He just listens to his coach and plays hard. Maybe he'll talk a little as he becomes established on the varsity, as he is quickly doing this summer with his ability to drive to the basket and score on contested layups. You can't help but see the influence his nurturing mother--as well as his capable father--has on the young man.

We people are like flowers. Just shower us with a little water and praise and words of friendship, and we bloom and grow.

LJ b BB: PLNU Camp

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High coach Paul Baranowski featured several of his young bucks from his stable of talented freshmen that completed successful seasons last winter, as the Vikings concluded play in the Point Loma Nazarene University Team Camp Sat., July 9, with a pair of late afternoon/evening games.

Nick Hulquist, Jacob Duffy, and Evan Brown were among those who faced a juggernaut Mater Dei team, which has several scholarship players who showed why the Crusaders recruited them in the first place. Final score was 52-33. Mater Dei opened up a merciless 25-3 lead in the first half before La Jolla found its feet a little.

In the nightcap, La Jolla played Valley Christian of Cerritos, the eighth of eight games over two weekends of the PLNU annual event. The two weekends of play are separated by an off weekend, in which Baranowski has his team play in the Grossmont High camp.

Rising junior Charlie Gal, who played a game with his travel team in Anaheim Saturday morning but said he wasn't tired Saturday afternoon, had trouble with the tall and capable Mater Dei bigs in the first game. He wasn't able to go into his favorite move with his back to the basket at the right block,with the Crusaders' length inhibiting not only Dale but his teammates as well from moving freely.

LJ FB: So County Passing Tournament

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's football team caught an updraft and rode it to consecutive wins in the huge South County Passing Tournament Sat., July 9, downing Palo Verde for the second time in two days, then beating Santana before succumbing in an elimination game.

New head coach Matt Morrison's squad enjoyed its first back-to-back wins in the lower bracket on the tourney's second day, after winning one of three games in pool play Friday against the same Palo Verde team they faced again Saturday.

The Vikes had run up against a loaded Helix squad in the finale Friday, after falling to another Divison I team, Olympian, in the middle game.

Several Vikings who had been missing from the first day of competition took part Saturday, giving the Vikings some added skill and power. Andrew Mitchell nabbed some passes after being ill Friday. Johann Ponsaty made his presence known on defense for the first time. Dane Hansen sat out day two with a painful right heel after participating Friday.

Besides La Jolla's two wins, the most noteworthy item was probably Morrison's starting rising junior quarterback Trevor Scully in both a morning game against Lincoln, which the Vikings lost, 35-14, and in the 12 noon game against Palo Verde. Senior quarterback Cole Dimich played the second half against Lincoln.

On the Lincoln sideline, Hornet assistant coaches commented that Scully was giving their defensive backs fits with his accurate and effective throws.

Dimich threw an interception early in the second half, but, like Scully, showed his usual serious, workmanlike approach as he went about the task of directing La Jolla's offense.

Senior Austin Rust continued his dependable play. Daniel Souza was working hard. Johnathan O'Neal, a rising junior, showed he is going to be effective as part of the Vikings' regular rotation next fall.

LJ g BB: Canyon Crest Academy Tournament

The Vikes' Maxwell Taylor tries to find

a teammate to pass to under relentless

defense by UC. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Maxwell Lloyd wins the awards for most unique girl's first name award and the greatest effort to get to La Jolla High's basketball game at Canyon Crest Academy Sat., July 9.

Her mother says that Maxwell is a family middle name and a grandmother's maiden name. "It can be good or bad, because people will remember who she is" because of her name as her first name, said mom, enjoying her daughter's team's play in the crowded gym, three games transpiring at once, boys and girls action included.

The family is camping at Cuyamaca this weekend, so they drove back to San Diego for Maxwell's games Saturday afternoon. Then they were going to drive back up to Cuyamaca to resume camping after a 6 p.m. game later in the day.

"We went on a five-hour hike this morning, so she has reason to be tired," her mom smiled.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are trying to prove the truth of the adage, Struggle brings growth, because they are playing with heart, but with no practice sessions due to the renovation of the gym on campus they are taking some drubbings--like the 46-29 decision James Stewart's UC squad stuck to them Saturday afternoon.

"Between (3 p.m. and 6 p.m.) games, we're going to try to go home and rest up a little before coming back for the 6 p.m. game," said Mrs. Lloyd.

Reina Perez got a couple of minutes of action against the talented and disciplined Centurions, coached by Stewart, former boys assistant to Kamal Assaf. She's a new face. Petra Eaton showed her enthusiasm, as did her teammates.

Stewart's squad won UC's first league title last season and looked pretty sharp. These are girls who have played a lot and practiced a lot. La Jolla's contingent aspires to be there.

LJ g BB: Canyon Crest Academy Tournament

By Ed Piper

Maxwell Lloyd wins the awards for most unique girl's first name award and the greatest effort to get to La Jolla High's basketball game at Canyon Crest Academy Sat., July 9.

Her mother says that Maxwell is a family middle name and a grandmother's maiden name. "It can be good or bad, because people will remember who she is" because of her name as her first name, said mom, enjoying her daughter's team's play in the crowded gym, three games transpiring at once, boys and girls action included.

The family is camping at Cuyamaca this weekend, so they drove back to San Diego for Maxwell's games Saturday afternoon. Then they were going to drive back up to Cuyamaca to resume camping after a 6 p.m. game later in the day.

"We went on a five-hour hike this morning, so she has reason to be tired," her mom smiled.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are trying to prove the truth of the adage, Struggle brings growth, because they are playing with heart, but with no practice sessions due to the renovation of the gym on campus they are taking some drubbings--like the 46-29 decision James Stewart's UC squad stuck to them Saturday afternoon.

"Between (3 p.m. and 6 p.m.) games, we're going to try to go home and rest up a little before coming back for the 6 p.m. game," said Mrs. Lloyd.

Reina Perez got a couple of minutes of action against the talented and disciplined Centurions, coached by Stewart, former boys assistant to Kamal Assaf. She's a new face. Petra Eaton showed her enthusiasm, as did her teammates.

Stewart's squad won UC's first league title last season and looked pretty sharp. These are girls who have played a lot and practiced a lot. La Jolla's contingent aspires to be there.

LJ FB: So County Passing Tournament

Vikings receiver Sola Hope takes in a completion

from QB Trevor Scully against Olympian.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

By Ed Piper

 

Sola Hope was a new name that was heard in plaudits from the sidelines multiple times for receptions in La Jolla High's games in the South County Passing Tournament Fri., July 8, at Southwestern College.

 

New Viking head coach Matt Morrison used both number-one quarterback Cole Dimich and Trevor Scully to take snaps in the first three halves of play of the day, first in a win over Palo Verde and in the first half of a contest against Olympian.

 

The Vikes looked good, taking the initial game and being competitive and playing tight offense and defense in both games on a hot, sunny day in the South Bay. The tournament pits a large number of San Diego teams against one another in a two-day competitive alignment.

 

Morrison seemed encouraged by his squad's play, its first since a passing tournament held at San Diego State University last month and following a two-week no-contact period between players and coaches. In dark hat and wearing a gray "Vikings Football 2016" T-shirt, along with the rest of his staff, the first-year head coach kept up a positive line of comments directed toward his players.

 

"Let's play with energy and enthusiasm," he charged them as they put hands together before the afternoon's first match-up with Palo Verde. The Eagles used the same quarterback throughout the 40-minute game, split into two 20-minute periods with a halftime break.

 

Morrison, a former quarterback at Parker and offensive coordinator at La Costa Canyon last year, complimented Dimich and Scully on some of their throws, "Good ball" or the like.

 

Veteran returners were prominent for La Jolla, including Alex Dockery, Daniel McColl, and Nick Hammel, among others. Patricio Castillejos, who suffered a season-ending knee injury at the start of last season's schedule, was active.