'Living under the crown'

By Ed Piper

"Griff, you should have your conch shell."

Tim Griffen, chatting with the second person in line behind him outside Vons, was startled for an instant. "Hey, Ed, what's going on?"

I had pulled up at 6:42 a.m. to take advantage of this particular Vons' Thursday 7-9 a.m. seniors shopping period.

On three previous attempts at two other area supermarkets, I had struck out on wipes, then toilet paper.

We weren't desperate, but it would be nice to score a hit.

As I rolled my cart into the seventh slot in line on the walkway here in University City, the woman in front of me became edgy as I continued my conversation with "Griff". She turned and said, "Six feet," eyeing me out of the side of her glance.

"I'm trying to do the best I can," I offered, having not had this said to me in the near-two weeks of increasingly restrictions on contact due to the coronavirus.

As Tim and I continued our chat about his son, Johnny, a lineman for La Jolla High's football team, I relaxed. This was, by far, to be the best visit of the four this week to outlets for products. Merely interacting with someone I know about something I enjoy worked magic.

However, a few minutes later, I noticed the poor lady in front of me had moved over, away from me, leaving her cart in line while getting more distance.

I told Tim this later in the store, as we looked for items in the near-empty supermarket. He works in healthcare and said he knew the virus restrictions were coming before the rest of us did. "Different people handle it differently," he commented.

I felt for the woman in front of me. My intention wasn't to make her more uncomfortable.

Two days before, on a day promoted to patronize local restaurants with takeout and delivery orders to give them a much-needed boost as they struggle under the stay-at-home mandate from Governor Gavin Newsom, I had a young woman walk right next to me as she went to the restroom. I had made a point of standing six feet away from anyone else waiting for a takeout order. I didn't feel too comfortable.

I asked Tim what time he got to Vons. "Twenty minutes ago." That would be about 6:20. It was a cold, rainy early morning. He said that a store employee told him the day before that doors would open at 6:45. They didn't.

An employee came out at five minutes to seven and set up yellow cones connected with yellow emergency tape to border the waiting line outside the store.

Tim had been waiting with his shopping cart, right near the double doors. By 7 a.m., there were about five more carts behind me, making a dozen.

An employee called out, "Are there seniors in line? They can go in."

Tim had to wait. I was the third senior with a cart in the door.

Having never been in the store, I didn't know where tissue was. I followed two women in front of me. One seemed to know where she was going, and headed to the eastern end of the market, maybe eight too 10 aisles from the western entrance. (The eastern entrance was closed.)

There, near the far end of the aisle, were about 10 packages of toilet tissue paper, a dozen small rolls in each.

After grabbing one of about four remaining paper towel packages on the way down that aisle, I proceeded to secure my precious merchandise.

Signs up, which I didn't see until later, specified, "One item only" on each of the toilet tissue, face tissue, and paper towel sections.

"Griff" and I ran into each other a few minutes later, after he was let in. He was on the phone for a while, I assume conferring with family on what items to get. Then we chatted in an aisle, maintaining our distance of more than six feet, for some time.

This was, by far, my least stressful--in fact, highly enjoyable--trip to a market the last four weekdays. Vons Coronado was out of wipes Monday and Tuesday, despite the manager's information to me Monday morning that they would receive a shipment Monday evening for Tuesday's opening. (Every store is out of wipes, that I know of.)

Then, Ralph's Mission Center was an adventure in competition. When the daily seniors-only half hour opened at 7 a.m. (I arrived at 6:45 to have a cart ready), as the 12th cart in line, I failed to secure toilet tissue.

Someone jumped line with her cart, plus a few without carts were free to walk in as the doors opened there. By the time I even figured out what and where "aisle 9" was, I watched as fellow seniors grabbed the few paper towels and toilet tissue there was on the shelves.

Wow, this was like watching La Jolla's football team. Highly-trained, determined, experienced. These people knew what aisle the paper was on.

Too competitive for me.

Unlike Thursday with Tim Griffen, I was worn out after the experience. No euphoria that day.

Nine school days, so far, of cancelled classes due to the coronavirus situation ("corona" meaning "crown" in Spanish).

LJ FB: 'Griff' a big boy

Johnny Griffen (65) and fellow offensive
lineman Isaac Ramirez (75) celebrate
after Vikings' 34-13 shellacking
of Mission Bay Aug. 30.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Johnny Griffen isn't skipping a beat--or any meals--in his training for next fall's football season while classes are out during the coronavirus outbreak.

The rising Viking senior, who helps anchor down Coach Tyler Roach's offensive line, "is having some of his best workouts," according to his father Tim.

"He's eating five to eight thousand calories a day," said the senior Griffen, renowned for blowing his family's Hawaiian conch shell at La Jolla High home football games in the past.

At the time, Tim Griffen was standing in line outside a Vons with a shopping cart, first in line when the supermarket opened at 7 a.m. to load up on more foodstuffs for his burgeoning son.

"He can hardly put his arms straight down to his side" due to his bulked-up physique, said his father of Johnny, whose formal name is Jonathan.

Roach put out a Tweet on his dedicated lineman, stating he only gave up one sack last season of the line's precious cargo, sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton. It was a winning season, the Vikings' first CIF title since 1993. They made it to the state championship game at Escalon.

"(Johnny) eats four peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches as a snack," his dad chuckled. "I buy six-loaf packages of bread at Costco."

The father notes, "That's only for him. Then we have the rest of the family" (who need to eat, too).

Mr. Griffen said the family has the equipment for Johnny, who was honored as a Second Team All-League selection, along with his fellow offensive linemen, to continue a strong regimen of training.

"He can squat 375 pounds," father said of son, who weighs 190 pounds. "He is working hard. We are so proud of him."

Last fall, Johnny was listed at 180 pounds on the team roster. He stands 5'9".

Regarding the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, Tim Griffen said, "We're looking to September." This school year is going to include graded instruction online beginning April 27, according to the San Diego Unified School District's announcement Tues., March 24. That may continue until June 9, the last day of school.

Opinion: Olympics should be postponed

By Ed Piper

I'm of the mind, four months before the scheduled start of the Japan Olympics, that they should be postponed until 2021.

My reasons lie with the athletes, who can't properly continue to prepare under the restrictions that we're putting on them due to the spread of the coronavirus.

On Fri., March 20 (three days before this writing), USA Swimming make a public appeal for the Games to be postponed.

The next day, March 21, USA Track and Field issued a similar call. Swimming and track are two of the most prominent sports in the Summer Olympic Games.

Yesterday (March 22), Canada's Olympic program announced it won't send athletes if the Games are held this year.

Other athletes and officials have made similar statements. In view of the fact we know the next few weeks are cloudy, and it's more likely that several weeks after that won't be free of restrictions, either, I think it's better to follow suit with the other major sports entities (NBA, NHL, MSL, MLB, rugby, tennis, etc.) and put a hold on play.

But with the Olympics, a huge event every four years, the compromised conditions for athletes from all nations to do their training make sense to decide now: Wait until 2021, and give everyone a chance to train without uncertainty over their heads.

Sports fans planning to go, too, won't have to worry about whether their travel plans will be upended. Just the number of officials and support to carry on the Games is staggering. We can't be certain their coming together and interaction won't cause further problems.

This is one of those events that is unprecedented in the past 100 years. (In 1918, there was a major outbreak.) Let's treat it that way, as we attempt to get perspective on the magnitude of the COVID-19 occurrence. Italy just reported nearly 800 deaths from the coronavirus in one day. Louisiana became another state in the U.S. having to go to shelter-in-place, curtailing all "non-essential" activities.

Postponing the Olympics until 2021 isn't without its complications. Some sports have major events already scheduled. There would be doubling-up there. Scheduling can be adjusted. These things can be worked out, in view of the one-time nature of this crisis.

Cancelling doesn't seem necessary. Broadcast companies (NBC is the giant who has committed billions) and sponsors don't seem to be pushing for that.

Waiting weeks to make a final decision, as Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee has said they will do, I don't see as totally irresponsible. To me, it smacks a little of putting emphasis on the money, despite Olympic officials' statements that "finances are not driving the decision". When have you seen organizations, including sports entities, make decisions irrespective of the dollar sign?

Let the Games...be put off until next year, for their integrity, but more importantly, for the good of all.

'Virus Chronicles'

By Ed Piper

Mid-February
Get a restore done on my phone. One of the best things I've done--enables me to occupy myself with reading e-books through local libraries during the forced inactivity.

Thurs., Feb. 26-Thurs., March 5
Attend Spring Training in Arizona. 12 games in 8 days. No one talking about the coronavirus. A week later--MLB shuts down Spring Training.

Wed., March 11
Because of the coronavirus, the NBA suspends its regular season. The NHL and MSL follow suit. Ditto the XFL and Major League Rugby.

Thurs., March 12
Major League Baseball announces the regular season will not start March 26, as scheduled.

Fri., March 13
--On Friday the 13th, local school districts announce all classes and activities, including sports, are called off for the next two, three, or four (Carlsbad) weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
--I renew my city library card so that I can begin reading e-books on the Cloud app.
--The NCAA, which still operates under an archaic, out-dated system, finally announces the cancellation of men's and women's March Madness basketball championships. Earlier in the week, the NCAA had announced championships without fans present in the arenas. Is this organization greedy, or what? (You can tell what my opinion of the NCAA is.)

Sat., March 14
--LJHS track coach Paul Byrne, in a phone interview, with his second baby on the way within the week, talks about the possibility the track season won't resume. "If we have a season, I'll do everything I can to make it successful," he says.
--Get a county library card, which enables me to check out up to 25 e-books at a time. The first week of cancelled school, I read a ton from several different checked-out books, including the riveting Madame Fourcade's Secret War, on Marie-Madeline Fourcade's gutsy leadership as an untried civilian, 31 years old, of Alliance, a major organization in the French Resistance against the Nazis.

Sun., March 15
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issue a call for a limitation on gatherings of 50 people for the next eight weeks.

Mon., March 16
On the first day of cancelled classes, UCHS running coach/ceramics teacher Gimi McCarthy, in a phone interview, says, "They're saying we won't return to school this school year. The Ohio governor has already said that." This is the first person I've heard this from.

Tues., March 17
On one of the most subdued St. Patrick's Days ever, the 10 CIF section commissioners and the state commissioner meet but conclude they can't make a decision yet on the suspended Spring sports seasons or championships. Their next meeting is April 3.

Wed., March 18
--Go to Von's at 7 a.m. in the rain, face empty shelves in several aisles. I enter anxious, I leave upset. "It's like being in Bosnia!" I remark to one of my fellow shoppers, intending no ill will toward that country. Violeta, a store employee: "The problem is people aren't taking one of each item, they're taking several." I recover, and have my first good day this week.
--Participate in a recovery phone meeting. Seventy-plus people call in. With so many people, the technology is a little overwhelmed, with blurred sounds, but it works.
--Brooke Weatherup, who I do a phone interview with on her volunteering with the San Diego Chill ice hockey team for special needs kids, mentions I might not be able to travel to La Jolla from my home in Clairemont to snap a photo of her to go with the article if we're put under shelter-in-place. I agree, and meet her later the same day to take a photo in front of her school, Bishop's, outside campus. (A guard stands at the entrance to keep people out.)


Thurs., March 19
--Go to Von's again at 7 a.m., it's even barer. This time I'm tired, stressed, and upset. Tough day. Not doing too well.
--Cheryl at Sprout's asked me, "Are you doing okay?" I said, "It's much calmer here. Vons is not." I got two banana nut muffins. Sprouts was out of bread from suppliers, including my favorite, whole wheat sourdough.
--In the afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom mandates that all Californians stay at home except for essential services, because the virus continues to spread.

Fri., March 29
--9:14 a.m. Tom Melville, my editor at the La Jolla Village News, sends me an email: no more sports stories till further notice, other than one that was his story idea on Brooke Weatherup, a junior at Bishop's who volunteers with the San Diego Chill, an ice hockey team for developmentally disabled kids. So now, with substitute-teaching also eliminated temporarily we have to pull in our belts. I'm a retired teacher.
--USA Swimming asks that the Japan Olympics, scheduled for late July/August, be delayed until 2021 so that its athletes can prepare properly, without the coronavirus situation. USA Track does the same the next day. Japan is still holding out.

Sat., March 21
--I bounce the idea of my going to Costco to check for items off my wife. She points out lines will be even worse on the weekend than they have been on weekdays. I forego a trip, thinking maybe Monday morning I will try, during the early "seniors hours". Nightmare stories came out of Costco's across the U.S. about customers shoving, one calling 911 over people cutting in line. Ridiculous.
--LJHS baseball coach Gary Frank, in a phone conversation, says, "Ideally, the students will be able to return to school (this Spring) and athletes will be able to play. But the most important thing is that everyone is safe." Like McCarthy, the UC running coach, he is severely disappointed at the cancellation of school and sports so far.

Sun., March 22
--We miss in-person church for the third Sunday in a row, a record for me since the 80's, I would guess. Instead, either my wife and/or I watch on TV David Jeremiah, Catholic mass, and Charles Stanley.
--At 5 p.m., we go to Costco. No lines. Signs up for "60 and over" and "59 and under", but not in effect at this moment because of the low numbers of people. We find everything stocked virtually as normal, other than toilet paper (none). We buy salads, Late July tortilla chips (the best), cinnamon rolls (we never buy these normally!). You have to hold your Visa card up with the back facing the checker so she can zap it with the electronic reader--nobody touches each other. At the door, the gentleman asks us to hold up our receipt for him to look at from a distance: "We can't touch it."

Mon., March 23
--7 a.m. Coronado Vons. Distilled water, which was out at the Balboa Vons, is in stock. I take two bottles, the limit. The manager: "We will get a delivery of Clorox wipes tonight. Maybe we'll see you tomorrow morning at 7 a.m." No toilet paper or napkins. "What happened was people bought toilet paper. When that ran out, they went to tissue. When that ran out, they bought napkins. When those ran out, they bought paper towels. When paper towels ran out, they bought wipes." Regarding the Balboa Vons last week, he said, "It set record numbers for customers."
--L.A. Unified School District announced classes being cancelled now till May 1.

Prep sports: Track and field has a challenge

University City's boys relay team at the UC Track Classic
April 16, 2019. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Track, it seems, has a more difficult challenge than team sports like baseball in what may follow after high schools resume classes and sports this spring--if they resume either one.

Paul Byrne, La Jolla High's head track coach, talked Sat., March 14, considered the likelihood of track resuming this spring. "There are pros and cons both ways," said the veteran coach who specializes in pole vault, as far as trying to restart the season or not.

With meets cancelled the next three weeks, when classes won't be held in City Schools, and meets beyond that already cancelled, Byrne realized that a big chunk of the spring track season will already be lost.

"Obviously, if we come back and have a season, I'll do everything I can" to make it work, he said.

But Byrne, a teacher on campus, also has a major event looming in his family: the birth of his second child, with his wife's due date this Sat., March 21. So he has other things on his mind right now than whether a track season will be possible.

Baseball, for instance, can ramp back up in a week or two (MLB's projected second "Spring Training" when it starts the regular season). Track, though, can't make up weeks of training and meets.

University City High running coach Gimi McCarthy, reached by phone Monday afternoon, March 16, was much more glum than the LJHS coach.

"It's my whole life," McCarthy, the Centurions' head cross country coach and a track assistant, said, taking a break from cleaning his house on the first weekday of cancelled classes. "I'm a little bummed. I'm a lot bummed."

McCarthy is not only a coach for athletes like UC senior Bryce Kueker, 13th in the state cross country championships, and junior Katrina Wright, state champion in the 400 meters (53.93), but also a ceramics teacher whose art students will be cut out of "some events for the community" that McCarthy was looking forward to.

Because of the San Diego Unified School District's cancellation of classes until April 6, announced Fri., March 13, University City had to cancel its UC Track Classic. Byrne pre-emptively cancelled the Viking Relays. And Coach Danny Perez at Mission Bay cancelled the Jim Cerveny Invitational.

With the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announcement Sun., March 15, that large gatherings should be avoided for eight weeks (Major League Baseball then adjusted its earliest possible start of the regular season to mid-May), McCarthy said, "So, what's eight weeks? That's the season right there."

With the meets cancelled so far, "There is no way we're even going to have marks to qualify for Arcadia," a major invitational in the Los Angeles area, said McCarthy.

"I don't think there is going to be school again this spring," he said. "The governor of Ohio has already said that."

"A dream," he said, expressing some hope amidst his discouragement, "would be to have school (resume this school year) with no sports." In other words, McCarthy would like his track athletes to be able to return to competition, but if not, at least classes would resume.

LJ sports et al: Timeline - March 12-13

LJHS swim action against Valhalla Thurs., March 12.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Thurs., March 12

Substitute-teach at Poway High School. Pouring rain on the way to school. Dark with the time change the weekend before to Daylight Saving. Low visibility on the 163. It feels unsafe.

Even though I leave home in Clairemont almost 50 minutes before the 7:30 a.m. start of school, I don't make it into the classroom on time.

7:10 a.m. Left turn lane onto Espola Rd., Poway. Traffic is two lanes, bumper-to-bumper to the high school, hardly moving in the rain. I don't park my car in the side light on campus off Titan Way until 7:34 a.m. The lady handling substitute teachers is freaking out--"Can you park in a visitor's space?" "No, I can't move" (due to bumper-to-bumper).

Music class. No responsibilities until 10:12, third period. Woodwind I class. Kids, well-behaved and friendly, are coming in wet. It has been raining all morning. Thinking of the La Jolla High track meet scheduled for 3:30 p.m., I'm thinking, No way it's going to be held. It's going to be cancelled with all the rain. (But I have been mistaken before.)

In class, in which the students don't have practice, since the music teacher is absent, one student plays recognizable tunes on a trumpet, sax (George Benson), and some other instruments. A virtuoso! It has me smiling, passing the long one hour, 13 min. class more quickly. Not that it's a problem, because the kids are calm, chatting, doing homework, hanging out. Very chill. I comment to another student about the one entertaining us on all the instruments; "Yeah, but..." as if he wasn't impressed the way I was that one student could dabble in all those instruments.

I circulate constantly, chatting up students, taking roll off a printed roster, then electronically in the teachers' office on the regular teacher's computer. I look out the back door: water spewing out a drainage pipe attached to the roof of the building. A lot of water...

Lunch. Then period 4. No responsibilities. I have written on my sports blog covering LJHS sports, read about Negro Leagues baseball on my phone (Kindle app--Negro Leagues have been my thing lately), all sorts of things. I don't drive anywhere, even though I have long breaks, because I just don't want to get out in the rain again after the disaster coming into school at 7:30 a.m.

Period 5. My only other class of the day. The other music teacher (present today) has me take his roll, as well, then departs for the day. I'm on my own. Students are great, milling, talking, friendly. Occupying their time. They get the drill. This period, three students play violin, another on viola--they play all period, with energy. They play everything: Christmas carols, to pop songs, to anything else they could find music for. It was a blast. Two other students tap out tunes on keyboards. (One student plays low, low notes on his trombone; I asked him, "Can you play lower?" He goes lower.)

2:25 p.m. A policeman appears at the back door (near the water spout spewing out tons of liquid). He brings two students back from the parking lot. "Don't let these two go early." Bell to end school is at 2:30. When the cop (a regular cop) leaves, I tell the two, "Just stay around until the end of the period." They: "We leave a few minutes early everyday. We walk past him. He never says a thing. Today he did." Times are a-changin'.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus situation is getting very unusual. On media, the NBA has announced it has suspended its season. Ditto NHL, MSL. Coachella (which the kids are very aware of) has rescheduled for the fall. We've never had a situation like this before.

The one holdout: March Madness. The NCAA still holds out hope of holding the tournament. The only announcement so far is that games will be played without fans present.

2:30 p.m. Guess what the other music teacher didn't prepare me for? Students from all instrumental music classes need to come into the room and pick up their instruments to take home. Guess who isn't leaving right after school? As students come from all parts of campus to get their instruments, the rain continuing, I go into one of the storage rooms. The lockable grates covering the storage spaces remind me of chicken coops. I remark on this to one of the students. He with his friends: "Oh, yeah, we keep chickens, ferrets,..." I go into another storage room with more grates, joke with other students about the ferrets; they: "We keep rabbits, a goat..." We're having fun, despite the fact I won't get to leave my subbing assignment for a while after school.

2:42 p.m. Finally, students have mostly gotten their instruments, now they are just hanging out in the music room. I ask someone what the signal is for sending them home; he: "Just flick the lights, and say, 'Homework time.' That's what the regular teacher says." It works. They all leave. They go out into the rain, which hasn't quit all day. Surely, the La Jolla track meet is cancelled.

Exhausted, no nap, I pull into Rigoberto's at the corner of Espola and Twin Peaks roads. I order more comfort food. (See Wednesday's timeline.) Combination plate with cheese enchilada, relleno, beans and rice, with beef taco added. The cashier: "I don't know if that will all fit on one plate." It doesn't. I eat it all. Yummy. But hard to eat enchilada (dark sauce) and relleno with a plastic fork while it slides across the paper plate while I drive on Ted Williams Parkway toward home. I manage.

3:40 p.m. I finally get to Coggan Pool for the Vikings' swim meet against Valhalla. No rain. I roam the pool deck, snapping photos of Gavin Olson, other swimmers I know and don't know. Mrs. Bugelli gives me the rundown as her son races. Kate Hartford's mom, in answer to my question, "What's new?", tells me all about her daughter's recent appointment to West Point. I congratulate her profusely. On the participants' side of the pool, I run into Kate. I congratulate her. She: "I want to serve, so I thought serving my country would be the best way." I snap a photo of her to go with my story on her news. (I write it later on my blog.)

No coronavirus here. My wife calls, says our grandson has a Mustang baseball game. I drive to Tecolote. Dry. People not freaking out about the coronavirus. I can see my grandson's first at-bat, his positioning in left field from my car. He makes good contact, as he often does. Good hitter. His mom got him lots of hitting practice last year at the Brickyard.

No attempt to go back to La Jolla High to see if there is track. I'm too tired, and it's too cold. Just not the right time for it.

Fri., March 13

Subbing at Canyon Crest Academy off Highway 56. (Right next to Cathedral Catholic.) I talk to a student about yesterday's track meet. She: "I have friends on our track team, and their meet was cancelled. I thought all meets were cancelled." I say, "I'll look at Athletic.net and see if there are results for La Jolla's meet." Sure enough, there are. La Jolla did hold its meet with Serra and Morse. I'm wrong again on a rain situation!

10:58 a.m. Students walk into homeroom, inform me, "School has been cancelled for the next three weeks. Our parents got an email from the superintendent an hour ago."

They want to watch CCA-TV, the student-produced news program. The principal starts the program with a recorded message, reading from a prepared statement: School cancelled to slow the spread of coronavirus. "We care about you." "We really care about you as humans, not just students."

Wow, we've never had a situation quite like this before. Before I retired as a regular classroom teacher, we had eight days off for the fires in 2006, I think; 13 days off when our juvenile court school had flooding problems from a faulty pipe. We handed out packets every morning at a table in the parking lot. Each student got their name checked off, we got to claim ADA (Average Daily Attendance) by our director's instructions. The kids, of course, loved the time off.

I remember the smoke in the air. My brother and sister-in-law, and her mother stayed at our place for a few days. It was a blast. It was like living in a dormitory, or going camping. My brother, a fisherman, took me out fishing at 6 a.m. in the morning, when I got beautiful photos of him in Pacific Beach with bright orange/brown colors of the smoke wafting up down the coast while the sun came up.

And, yes, finally the NCAA announces March Madness (and all spring sports) are cancelled.

I text Dave Jones, La Jolla High boys volleyball coach, to ask if today's tournament is cancelled. After the track meet being held yesterday, I still don't trust any information until I hear it directly from the source. Dave's response: "School is cancelled until April 6." Does that include today's volleyball?! (Yes, it turns out, it does.)

In-N-Out for dinner again. (See Wednesday's timeline.) Yum. With the mini-"apocalyptic" feeling the last two days, with all the event cancellations due to coronavirus measures mixed with the pouring rain Thurs.-Fri., a Double Double is a welcome treat.

LJ sports et al: Timeline - 3/11

Good comfort food. Two of these saved a lost Wednesday.

By Ed Piper

Wed., March 11

Substitute-teach at La Costa Canyon High in math. The class has a student teacher, thank God, so he teaches the lesson, and I assist with classroom management. (Last period--a lot of acting up. I subbed in this classroom last fall.)

2:35 p.m. Last period lets out. Race down the I-5 to my mechanic on Morena Blvd. after school to get my driver's side rear view mirror replaced after accident during Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona last week. (Another story for another time.)

3:03 p.m. Arrive at Morena Blvd. Record time. (I won't say how fast I drove.) Mechanic has car from 3:12 to 3:23, approximately, new black rear view mirror (on a silver car--the mechanic asking me why I got it--"inexpensive"--$29) in place.

3:23 p.m. Left mechanic. Seeing time, I head up the I-5 and Soledad Mountain Road to the Viking baseball game at 4 p.m. I am amazed the car is repaired so quickly, and that I would have time to get to the game on time.

Change in plans: I see on ljvikings.com that the Viking badminton team plays at Kearny. Start time: 3:30. I can get there in plenty of time while the matches are still going on. (My son-in-law is a teacher at Kearny.)

3:55 p.m. I ask a student to remind me where the KHS gym is. I walk in. Kearny players warmin up. I ask a Kearny coach (turns out to be the assistant) what the etiquette is for taking photos. Go ahead, no problem. But: he says, "There's the head coach. He sets the rules."

Head coach: "Stay in the middle (at half court). No flash." I: "Then I can't take photos." (I have a point-and-shoot camera. Without flash, the photos will be unusable.) Head coach: "That's right." Jerry Tellers, the La Jolla coach, is sitting in the bleachers nearby, but it's not his home floor, so he doesn't have any influence. Jerry allows total access on photos.

Furious, I walk out. No photos of Viking badminton, as a result.

My attitude blown, I have an alternate plan. Comfort food. In-N-Out. I buy two Double Doubles with everything for me, a third without onions for my wife. Good plan. Soothing. (I haven't forgiven the Kearny coach yet--ogre.)

End of aborted sports afternoon. No trip to baseball diamond at Muirlands Middle School.

LJ track: Byrne to do something 'unusual'

Diego Solis (5) gets congratulations from his brother,
Gabe, after the Vikings' CIF D3 championship Nov. 30.
Diego, like his brother before him, is now running track
for La Jolla. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Vito Anastasi and Jack Evans both successfully reached 12 feet in the pole vault in La Jolla's home tri-meet against Morse and Serra Thurs., March 12.

"Which is decent for this early in the season," said Viking head track coach Paul Byrne. "They're both juniors."

Byrne, who was asked "what results are worth noticing" from the meet, mentioned Anastasi and Evans and a few others. But he said, "I haven't really looked at the results from the meet."

And it became clear why. First is the coronavirus situation, which led to the cancellation of classes in the San Diego Unified School District beginning Mon., March 16.

The other, which will change the Byrne household more dramatically, is "having a baby on Tuesday" (March 17).

A reporter told him at the end of their phone interview about the meet, "Do something unusual," forgetting that Byrne had told him a week ago about his and his wife's second baby on the way.

"Is that enough for something unusual?" he laughed, after reminding the person at the other end of the line of the due date--which is actually next Sat., March 21.

"Yes, I think so."

A week ago, Byrne, showing his usual good humor, texted that he didn't foresee any sleep in the near future.

Meanwhile, junior Diego Solis "ran a good 100 and 200", in his coach's words. His time in the 100 meters was 11.62--"which isn't bad for this early in the season." It is also a personal record in his first year competing for the track team.

Recommended reading material
this week for Paul Byrne?

Solis, of course, also plays for the Viking football and basketball teams.

Solis's time in the 200 was 23.77, similarly a PR.

Fellow junior Monica O'Brien Saez clocked a time of 1:03.75 in the 400 meters, a personal record. "She's really an 8 (800-meter) or 16 (1600-meter) (runner)," said Byrne, passing the end of his first day after the City Schools' announcement of cancellation for three weeks of school and sports.

Byrne also highlighted freshman Nina Korevaar, who vaulted 7 feet, 6 inches against Serra and Morse.

Finally, he mentioned freshman Cristina Alapi, "who is really going to be good," in the hurdles. In the 300-meter hurdles, her time was 53.25 seconds to win the race. In the 100-meter hurdles, she finished in 20.81.

Alapi's time in the 300 edged teammate Eugenia Kritsuk, a junior, who was recorded in 53.73 seconds.

In the 100-meter hurdles race, the veteran Kritsuk took home first-place laurels, with 17.58, to lead the field ahead of two Morse runners in second and third, a Serra hurdler in fourth, with Alapi, in only her second high school meet, in fifth place, 3.23 seconds later.

Not running at full health was the Vikings' Matteo Babic, a senior who Byrne said has been experiencing "hamstring issues".

Fellow classman Ryan Phillips had a cold, "so he didn't come out." Big Cyrus Varnum, a thrower, also didn't compete.

It was a near-miracle that the tri-meet even happened. Rain poured all morning Thursday in what was a very wet finish to the week.

"A couple of people I know, I was talking to" about the rain situation, said Byrne. "I was watching the weather. Sure enough, at 1 or 1:30, it cleared up. Not a drop. We held the whole meet."

This reporter, substitute-teaching at Canyon Crest Academy the next day, talked with students about the track meet. One Raven student said their school's meet had been cancelled.

No, lo and behold. On the website athletic.net, there appeared results for La Jolla's meet with Serra and Morse, meaning the event had taken place despite the cancellations elsewhere.

It was the last track event for at least three weeks.

Regarding the possibility of starting up again after three weeks of cancelled classes and Spring break--which is no guarantee, since the cessation of classes could extend beyond that, Byrne said, "I don't know how to look at it. There's pros and cons both ways (for cancelling the entire spring sports season versus holding a partial season). There are some kids who live for it. On the other hand, having three weeks off with no practice, then getting started again (would be a challenge)."

Byrne did say, "Obviously, if we come back and have a season, I'll do everything I can (to make it a success)."

He noted, "Carlsbad is going four weeks (with no school). They don't go back until April 13."

Said the head coach, "What I do know is the meets that are cancelled." He listed, among others, the March 19 dual meet at Mission Bay, the UC Track Classic at University City March 21, the Jim Cerveny Invitational at Mission Bay April 11, and the Viking Relays April 18 ("I cancelled them"). (March 26 falls during the scheduled Spring Break.)

"The other dual meets will be taken meet-by-meet."

LJ baseball: Frank comments on the virus situation

Viking head coach Gary Frank (4) fist-bumps
his team members before the start of the
27th Annual Alumni Game March 15.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Friday the 13th, March 13, was a day full of announcements and emotion. School districts, including City Schools, announced that they were calling off classes at all schools for the next three weeks in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Coronavirus. That included all sports practices and games, as well.

La Jolla High baseball coach Gary Frank was asked for comment.

"It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved world-wide," said the 17th-year head coach. "We would love to be able to continue our season uninterrupted, but sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of our best-laid plans.

"We are just hoping," continued Frank, "that things settle down in the next couple weeks and we are permitted to finish our season."

The NCAA announced that all winter and spring sports would be cancelled. That included basketball March Madness, and the entire baseball season and College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Said Frank, "It would be a shame for our 11 seniors to finish their high school career after only seven games this year. We understand that there are many things in life bigger than sports, and we just hope that they can somehow get the virus under control and keep everyone healthy."

The head coach, an alumnus of LJHS who held the annual Alumni Game only weeks earlier in an early start to the baseball season due to rearrangement to allow for state playoffs in sports, was asked about his players keeping their conditioning without formal practice.

Will right-handed pitcher Koa Scott, for example, continue to throw?

"Yes. Koa has a private pitching coach, so he'll keep getting his work. (Lefty) Hobie (Hood) will continue to get his work in. I'm sure Gavin (Graff) as well.

"Hopefully, they will all be going to the cages on their own."

To conclude, Frank said, "We can't practice or play for at least three weeks, and I am going to encourage them to keep working on their own."

LJ swim: 'Stayin' Alive'

By Ed Piper

Sophomore swimmer Alex Verina was asked right after his race how it felt.

"You know what I do," he said. "I sing 'Ah, ah, ah, ah/Stayin' alive'..."

A reporter inquired: "What do you mean you sing? You're in the water."

"In my head, I sing 'Stayin' alive'..." Verina explained.

"It keeps me going. It works."

The setting was Coggan Pool. The date was Tues., March 10. The occasion was La Jolla's meet against Valhalla.

This reporter had never before heard from a swimmer that he or she sang while they're competing.

LJ softball: Profiles

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High softball

2b Gigi Smith

Gigi Smith
Number: 11
Year: Freshman
Position: 2b
Experience: 4 years club/travel ball
Given name: Giselle ("like Tom Brady's wife"; "Did you know that's a ballet?"
Nicknames: "Gig" (as in "Gigabyte"), "G" (as in "She's a G"), "Leadoff"

OF Ava Wittenberg

Ava Wittenberg
Number: 2
Year: Senior
Position: Outfield
Experience: 5 years travel ball

P Emmy Cardenas

Emmy Cardenas
Number: 6
Age: 14
Year: Freshman
Position: Pitcher
Experience: 9 years club/travel ball
Nickname: "Emmy Awards", "Bomber", "Crusher", "The New Kid"

C Jackey Farias

Jackey Farias
Number: 42
Age: 17
Year: Junior
Position: Catcher
Experience: 10 years club ball
Nicknames: "Captain", "Cap", "42", "Jackie Robinson"

3b Linda Medina

Linda Medina
Number: 24
Year: Junior
Position: 3b
Experience: School team only
Nicknames: "L&M" (not the tobacco company), "Shy, Quiet One"

OF Presley Cooper

Presley Cooper
Number: 4
Year: Freshman
Position: OF
Experience: 6 years club ball
Nicknames: "Elvis", "Prez", "Coop", "Giant", P.C."

1b Arianna Monell

Arianna Monell
Number: 13
Age: 18
Year: Senior
Position: 1b
Experience: 11 years of softball
Nicknames: "Ari", "Money", "Captain"

OF Cameron Cromwell

Cameron Cromwell
Number: 7
Age: 15
Year: Sophomore
Position: prefers 1b; OF
Experience: 2nd year on varsity
Nicknames: "Cromwell", "Crommy", "Crummy", "Camshaft"

SS-P Lu Thickstun

Lauren "Lu" Thickstun
Number: 25
Year: Junior
Position: prefers SS; P
Experience: 3rd year on LJHS team
Nicknames: "Sweet Lou" (former Dodger player), "Stunner"

Ss-3b Kelsey DeFalco

Kelsey DeFalco
Number: 99
Year: Junior
Position: Ss-3b
Experience: 5 years travel ball
Nicknames: "Kel", "KDF", "Desert Girl"

P Violet Nightingale

Violet NightingaleNumber: 51
Age: 16

Year: Sophomore

Position: Pitcher
Experience: 1st year on varsity (last year JV)
Nicknames: "Florence", "Vi", "Night" or "Knight", "Red"

2b Emily Fisher

Emily Fisher
Number: 3
Year: Sophomore
Position: 2b
Experience: 6 years club ball; 1 year travel
Nicknames: "E.F. Hutton", "Em", "The Fish", "Trout" (as in "Mike Trout")

OF Callahan Armstrong

Callahan Armstrong
Number: 44
Year: Freshman
Position: OF
Experience: Never played softball before
Other sport(s): Golf
Nicknames: "Callie", "Tiger Woods", "LJ Strong"

Ciana Delgadillo
Number: 73
Age: 16
Year: Sophomore
Late tryout coming over from soccer, a winter sport
Nicknames: "Cy" (as in "Cy Young", the pitcher), "Del"

Adriana Sanchez
Number: 34
Age: 14
Year: Freshman
Position: OF
Experience: 1 year club ball (6th grade)

Amalia Leith-Garcia
Number: 23
Age: 15 1/2
Year: Sophomore
Experience: 1st year ever playing softball