LJ sports: Sights and sounds

Some of Jett Wilson's family courtside, with
grandma Bernardine (left), aunt Shar (Shari),
and dad John. (Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Things seen and heard around La Jolla High sports:

--Something unusual occurred. With the Vikings boys basketball team leading Eastlake, 40-32, with 5:07 left in pool play of the Hilltop Invitational, senior guard Jett Wilson was fouled on a drive to the basket and awarded two free throws.

However, the referee took one look at Wilson's uniform shorts, which were rolled up at the waist, and signalled to La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski that he would have to insert another player to shoot Wilson's free throws.

Harry Kaseff, a reserve, then came off the bench, having gotten cold since the halftime shoot-around half an hour before, and zeroed in on the hoop before him, accurately depositing both free throws for a 10-point lead.

The Vikings, helped by Kaseff's pair of free throws, went on to build a 12-point lead and finally secure the win, 51-41. It was the first of three games in pool play in the annual tournament at Hilltop High in the South Bay.

A new CIF rule this year prohibits players from rolling up their shorts at the waist. The referee told Wilson, "Don't roll up your shorts. Get trunks that are shorter, if you want them that way."

--As previously noted, a connectional feature of the recent boys and girls alumni water polo games at Coggan Pool was 18-year Vikings coach Tom Atwell greeting many of the alumni men who came back to participate in the second (boys) game Fri., Nov. 23 (the day after Thanksgiving). (The girls game was played at 1 p.m.)

Atwell did so with his wife, Utahna, who knew or was familiar with many of her husband's former players. Tom asked several what they were up to and what the latest was, in a graphic reminder of the tremendous impact he has had on young people over the past two decades at the seaside school and through the club program, as well.

Another plus of a coach remaining in his position for so many years, a not-infrequent theme of this blog, is the continuity and stability it affords the student athletes who pass through the program. With Tom and Utahna there, there are names and faces people can put on the program, and feel a connection to.

--Charlie Coy is a senior at La Jolla High who rows for the San Diego Rowing Club. I just wrote a feature for the La Jolla Village News on his Junior Men's 4+ crew that placed third out of 86 boats at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston Oct. 21.

Charlie was the number-three oarsman in the shell, which means his long, 6'4", 180-pound frame was situated facing the stern (rear) of the boat with the other three rowers, while coxswain Justin Lobo, a junior at Bishop's, sat in the front facing the bow (front).
It was a little touch-and-go interviewing athletes and dropping by the boathouse in Mission Beach to take photos, because no one wants to be seen as bringing the credit on themselves. One rower (not Charlie), called out while I was aiming my point-and-shoot, "I didn't ask for this." So, I'm thankful Charlie was willing to allow me to interview him, and I give the SD Rowing bunch credit for building a team ethos that eschews the pursuit of personal recognition at the expense of the whole.

The setting on the shore, as Charlie and others carried their shell above their heads from the huge boathouse to the water, then following the commands of a female coxswain, rhythmically stepped into the boat to avoid tipping, was magnificent. The sun was low in the sky over the houses to the west on Mission Blvd. The water was totally placid, no ripples or disturbances. Very peaceful.

--Not to overdo Jett Wilson, but I had never met his family members before. There, on the sidelines at the Hilltop basketball tournament Saturday evening, Nov. 30, was his father, John, filming his son's play on a tripod with his DSLR camera. John was also keeping up a constant chatter of avid parent/coach talk, "Get back on defense!", etc.

Bernadine, Jett's grandma, wasn't too shabby, either. She knows basketball like crazy. She gave me a whole rundown on things, with enthusiasm. She laughed, "That's why nobody sits near us in the stands! Because we're saying so much." She pointed out that the family members mainly say things when Jett is in the game, which he wasn't at the moment. She went to San Diego High School back in the day, so she has some stories to tell.

His aunt was there, too. Karen, Jett's mom from Long Island (she has the intonation), got a hug after the game from the LJ newcomer, as did auntie. It was good to see the demonstrative warmth among family.