LJ FH: Charlotte Betty Florence Griffiths

This one in the oven is almost ready. Can we

nickname her "Char FloGrifs"?

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Charlotte Betty Florence Griffiths--no relation to late U.S. sprinter Florence Joyner-Griffith, better known as "FloJo"--is expected to join Coach Lisa Griffiths' family come Oct. 18.

La Jolla High's second-year field hockey coach chuckled. "The day before we play Scripps Ranch," she said. Scripps Ranch is one of the area's superpowers. The Vikings are middle-tier, building strength and history under their coach.

The middle names come from grandmas in the family.

Meanwhile, Griffiths surveys a circle of roughly 35 girls warming up in right field on the softball field. "We'll have to cut some players," she said. "There are a lot."

That's a good problem other sports like football would like to have. While those sports try to attract more players, the school's field hockey program has enjoyed stability for the past several years under Paula Conway, now athletic director, and now Griffiths, who was hired by her successor.

"Paula will come out and do some coaching," the mom-to-be said.

Sadie Lee will return as a junior this fall. "She'll be strong," said her coach. Nikki Collins, like Lee, wasn't able to participate in Tuesday's workout. But Griffiths said things are being worked out so that Collins, a multi-year veteran, can continue to play field hockey while maintaining her status on her club soccer team.

Daisy Hathaway and her sister will also be among the returning core of Griffiths' second team at LJHS following a year at Clairemont High.

The Aussie coach greeted a reporter with dismay over the early exit of the U.S. women's field hockey team in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, losing their quarterfinal game after placing second in their pool. It was a tough pool, with four of the top six teams in the world.

The U.S. men also "bombed out", as did Australia's women's team, ranked number one in the world prior to the Olympics.

But the impending arrival of Baby Griffiths seemed to soothe over the troubled waters in international competition. Griffiths plans to take four months off from her full-time job in the business world for maternity leave. Her presence at practice and games for the Vikings seems to remain less defined.