LJ rugby: Photos 1/30 @ practice

Photos by Ed Piper

Frank Occhialini, PLHS

"Okie" plays #2 position.

 In the rain (see tiny drops), Myles Plaskonos (far L)

takes the ball out of the scrum to pass.

Wyn Smoole (from right), Frank Occhialini,

Jaret Swerdlow (behind coach on knees).

Marc Oriol (PLHS junior) on right as rain continues

to fall during Mon. workout on LJHS softball field.

Leighlan Ramirez (#3) second from left (Smoole

far left foreground).

Marc Oriol, PLHS, on ground

(Coach Ian Denham in front of him)

Timeout for team huddle for team #2

(Myles Plaskonos, far left foreground, Tom Labbe,

Chase Murphy [blue sweatshirt])

Huddle with team #1: Smoole (back left), Kellen

Tinsley (far left, foreground), Leighlan Ramirez

(far right), Coach Ethan Willis

Girls' flag FB: Newest sport

Girls from the Serra High of Gardena flag football team

celebrating their championship Sun., Jan. 29.

(Photo of media image)

By Ed Piper

I don't know if it will come to San Diego--probably--but girls' flag football, pushed by the NFL for equity and public relations, is the newest sport we're seeing in high schools. Apparently, this Friday part of CIF will vote whether to accept flag football as a new school sport.

The challenge of establishing a new sport, as Kelly Drobeck explained it to me a couple of years ago, is that you want to start teams at multiple schools, make sure the programs are viable, then go forth toward having the sport certificated as an official CIF sport.

The worst thing would be to start-stop: giving the okay for a new sport, then have individual school teams close down, bit-by-bit, for lack of staffing, lack of facilities (especially on campus), and lack of support.

Kelly, the women's beach volleyball coach at La Jolla High after a Hall of Fame career coaching at Cathedral Catholic/USDHS, was the key mover leading to girls'/women's (women are 18 or over) beach volleyball being established in San Diego Section as an official sport. It took years. One of the boosts was that the NCAA, along the way, declared women's beach volleyball as an official college sport. That really gave the movement a boost, with athletic scholarships being offered to talented girls/women.

Boys' beach volleyball followed a couple of years later, lacking the official NCAA recognition that the women's game got earlier. Dave Jones, coach at La Jolla High, finally could say that his team was officially recognized by the CIF.

Serra High of Gardena, in greater Los Angeles, won the first flag football championship there over the weekend. It was a hullabaloo. Nowhere mentioned is the NFL's sponsorship of a lot of the efforts to establishing the sport. I'm a little cynical, but I don't want to draw away from the girls' enjoyment of competition: the NFL can point to its efforts in this area to promote how great it is in supporting equity. But, apart from that, if girls want to play another sport, why not allow them?

Locally, I see that Westview, Scripps Ranch, and Coronado are playing flag football. (You can view videos on NFHS.)

Another story talks openly about the NFL's pilot league, so it's not a secret.

GFSD, or Girls Flag San Diego, is a Facebook site listing K-12 involvement for girls in La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Poway, San Diego, Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Encinitas, and Escondido.

Another news story says the sport is already played at high schools in Alabama and Nevada. Colleges in Florida, Georgia, and Kansas have teams in collegiate competition.

The Facebook site, viewing it from a skeptical viewpoint, shows a coercive table that moves from "Comfort Zone" to "Fear Zone" to "Learning Zone" to "Growth Zone". I'm sure it's true in many respects, but its attempts to attack and motivate seem so obvious. Who would want to land in the "Fear Zone" that specifies "Find excuses", "Be affected by others' opinions", and "Lack of self-confidence"? (The punctuation and capitalization are sloppy, as well.)

Under "Girls Flag San Diego", photos show girls from Cleveland, Ohio! Come on. They aren't local. The team is called "Browns Youth Football".

LJ wrestling: Girls: Tora 1st at 133 pounds; Boys: Long 2nd at 154

Tora Tranheim of La Jolla High (top, with braids)

pinned each of her three opponents,

here Corrin Duryee-Grattan of Canyon Hills

in one minute, 22 seconds, on the way to

winning the 133-pound title at City Conference.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Viking senior Tora Tranheim (133 pounds) swept her way to first place in her weight class by pinning all three of her opponents, the second in a brief 47 seconds, at the Willie Jones Jr. Memorial Tournament at Lincoln High Sat., Jan. 28.

On the boys' side, in a prestigious tournament with a long history, fellow senior Charlie Long (154) helped lead the way for the Viking wrestling team by garnering a second place.

Seniors Gus Rinaldi (162) and Caden Kestler (147) each fought their ways to third place in their respective weight divisions. So did Matisse Pickett (113) in the girls' competition.

The tourney, formerly known as the City Conference event, comes right after the league dual meet season is over, and postseason competition begins. In two weeks, the La Jolla wrestlers and their male and female teammates will go into CIF when things really begin to pick up with intensity.

The Vikings filled 12 of the 14 weight divisions in the male portion of the tournament, showing how COVID has receded and their team has battled back to a full complement of wrestlers--something many other school teams have not been able to achieve yet.

Long, whose younger brother Jack also competes, continued his roll this season with three straight pins, of 51 seconds, then 3:31 total time for the next (late in the second period, with two-minute rounds), and 1:55--the last just before time ran out in the first period.

Viking Charlie Long (red singlet, top)

pins Joshua McClain of Morse in 3:31

on his way to the 154-pound title

at the Willie Jones Jr. Tournament.

LJ rugby: Swerdlow goes high

Jaret Swerdlow before

La Jolla's preseason scrimmage

vs. Carlsbad Dec. 17 at home.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Jaret Swerdlow has carved out an identity with the La Jolla rugby team. He plays the "14"--one of the seven backs spread out in an arc behind and to the side of the front three rows of blockers/scrummers.

"I'm really proud of the way the team has played," the LJHS senior said Mon., Jan. 23 shortly before practice. "As we play together, our team comes together more and more."

That's true, and the wing (the name of his position) can continue to contribute in a non-showy, consistent way following 35-7 and 26-12 wins in the Vikings' first two games this winter.

To a reporter who is fascinated by surname origins, he explains that his last name is Russian and Romanian.

Last year was lost to a full-length cast on a broken leg.

How did he get drawn to rugby? "I think actually it was Wyn (Smoole). He said, 'Hey, come out.' I tried it and loved it."

Team members talk about the camaraderie, the physicality, the teamwork that has to happen as drawing points.

Swerdlow, 18, in the conversation, shows a personal assurance and confidence different from younger students. He's friendly, smiling, but he remains within himself.

La Jolla faces a challenge tonight (Fri., Jan. 27). The home game appearing on the original schedule was switched since Monday to being an away game at San Juan Hills (in San Juan Capistrano), with game time on Twitter being announced as 6:45 p.m.

Also, the Vikings' other opponent is now John Muir High of Pasadena, rather than a team from Murrieta, for a multi-team round-robin.

LJ wrestling: 2011-12 was supreme

Viking wrestler Timmy Cundiff (top) competes

at the Masters tournament Feb. 24, 2012. Timmy

was a league champion that year for La Jolla.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

I'm just beginning to explore my photos from La Jolla wrestling's "glory days" of the league champions in 2011-12. I didn't start my blog until October 2013, over a year and a half after Masters competition in February 2012 for Timmy Cundiff and Harry Wilson and others.

Boy, Coach Kellen Delaney looks young. So does fellow coach Ryan Lindenblatt (away from the team this year).

The present Viking wrestling team, Eastern League champions crowned just last week (Jan. 18), are the first conference wrestling champs in La Jolla land since that 2011-12 team.

Others from the 2011-12 champions included Erick Gomez, Matt Vasquez, Peter Donchev, Stephen Lemus, Benjamin Abramowitz, Jose Dorantes, Everett Roach, Stephen Andrews, and Aaron Creswell.

Present LJHS assistant

coach Harry Wilson as

a student competing

 at the Feb. 2012 Masters

tournament.

Coaches Kellen Delaney and Rosenblatt

(background right) looking much younger

11 years ago.

Another view of Wilson, getting

some pointers from Coach Delaney

back in the day.

Harry Wilson vies in City Conference bout

Feb. 11, 2012.

Cundiff, a senior like Wilson,

records a win at 152 pounds

at the City Conference meet.

LJ rugby: 'That's how we roll'

Wyn Smoole, who plays the '15',

at Dec. 17's doubleheader

scrimmage. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

I finally asked Wyn Smoole about his and his brother Leed's long hair.

"Is it a cultural thing, or something else?" I asked the Viking defensive end/rugby fullback Mon., Jan. 23.

"That's us. It's how we roll," the player with the most-often-misspelled name responded. (I've seen "Wynn" frequently for his first name.)

The La Jolla ruggers were just starting practice on the school softball field, and I was just trying to get my last questions in before I needed to skedoodle off the field and get out of the way before the coaches crowned me.

The subject was Smoole's effective running out of what I'm calling the team formation of the 15 Viking players on the field.

I think the LJHS senior wasn't bragging when he said, "I'm athletic enough to fit my running into" the demands of the team movement downfield.

I've talked to Polynesian players who sport the long locks tried to cultural and family pride. That's what I was referring to in my hair question.

Leed Smoole, who plays the '14', in action

against Carlsbad Dec. 17.

LJ rugby: 'Hart' has a heart

John "Big Country" Hartford, in his first game

after the announcement of his commitment

to West Point, busts a short, bruising run

in a 35-7 win over visiting Mission Vista.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

"Hart" has a heart.

That sounds kind of cute, but actually it's pretty true. In an interview Mon., Jan. 23, after school, senior eight (that's his position this season) John Hartford talked about his rugby exploits, but more importantly about the La Jolla team as a whole.

He seemed so adept at taking part in the interview, with this reporter, that it almost seemed calculated. But his manner showed maturity, and more than that, he was unfailingly courteous.

"Do you have enough?" he asked me after several questions and after I got the gist of what I had come for. It was near the softball field wall near the side of the football field on campus.

Me: "I could talk to you forever. But I know you have other things to do."

Don't hold it against "Big Country", as he has been nicknamed by Coach Ethan Willis, but I have intentionally not written about Hartford at the start of this season because he was already getting the hoopla on Twitter for his commitment West Point and his play on the field.

Finally, having talked to him for the first time ever, and seeing what a level-headed guy he is--I've known his mother, Rebecca Hartford, who has two sons in LJHS sports--I give myself the go-ahead to give him some coverage.

"We're a pretty new team," the 6'3", 190-pound forward (another rugby term) said, deflecting attention to the whole team. "But our coaching staff has helped us prepare and get ready" for their games: a 35-7 season-opening win at home over Mission Vista Jan. 13, and a 26-12 victory over the Torrey Pines "B" squad Sat., Jan. 21.

How does he prepare for what is a pretty bruising sport, occupying the "eight" position in the third row of the three rows leading the team formation, with a lot of blocking, tackling, and running with the ball?  (1-2-3 in the front row, 4-5 in the second row, 6-7-8 in the third--these are the eight who grasp one another shoulder-to-shoulder in the scrum)

"I try to lock in 10 minutes before the game. I try to stay loose. When the game starts, I try to enjoy it."

Asked about the productive offense so far, 61 points in two games, John replied, "We distribute the ball well. We pass well. Maybe we pass out to the backs (the other seven lined up behind and to the side of the front eight) to win."

What's remarkable so far is that Hartford hasn't scored so far, though he is an out-size influence on his teammates. The ball has gone to Marc Oriol, Nathan Plaskonos (two tries), and Sebastian Snodgrass, among others in the scoring column. Maybe that's why the Vikings don't make a big deal about who scores, truly showing a "one-for-all, all-for-one" ethos so far.

LJ rugby: Renner on a good run

Freshman Renner Smith,

who is playing the "9".

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

"My job (as the number 9) is to take the ball (from the scrum) and pass it," says Renner Smith, a ninth-grader at LJHS playing his first season of rugby, less than a year out of Muirlands Middle School.

"Before the game," Smith said Mon., Jan. 23, in an interview on campus, "I close my eyes and try to imagine what is going to happen in the game." This visualization seems to be working, because the 5'7", 135-pound back is doing things the Viking coaches like, and that's why they're keeping him in the nine slot.

Renner is planning to play freshman baseball in the Spring, which isn't too far away.

To work on getting better, working in harmony behind the front three lines (a 3-2-3 formation), with the other seven tailing off to the side and back--everyone has to stay behind the ball-carrier on offense--the team "had a practice. We paid attention to what we weren't doing well. We watched film. We worked a lot on defense," the freshman revealed.

The interesting thing about rugby is that there are no platoons like football. All 15 players in the lineup play both offense and defense. There is a flow in which the ball can quickly change hands. Play is not stopped by the referee into distinct times of offense or defense, like football.

However, one similarity between the two sports is that players can make defensive plays to take the ball away from the other team, and advance the ball. The team goes immediately into offensive mode.

When a spectator is new to rugby, it looks kind of like a scrum--all eight on both teams arm-in-arm, pushing against each other--is what happens every time a tackle is made.

But that isn't true. A scrum is only organized by the referee when the ball-carrier is tackled and doesn't immediately release the ball. If he holds on to it, this infraction leads to the scrum being called to restart play.

This is where Renner Smith comes in: he, at the ninth position, and his fellow backs (faster, usually smaller players than the big boys up front) wait for the ball to be rolled out (kicked along the way) the back. He takes it and begins passing it along to 10, 11, 12, etc. in the moving formation.

LJ rugby: Plaskonos plasters opponents

Viking Nathan Plaskonos touches down in the

end zone for a try for five points with seconds

left in the first half against Mission Vista

Jan. 13, a 35-7 win for La Jolla.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Senior Nathan Plaskonos, a veteran of the Vikings boys beach volleyball program and a participant in Tom Atwell's swim program, as well, has been warming up in his performance as a La Jolla rugby player in the first two games this season.

Plaskonos joined the program last year, but this month, in the Vikings' season opener Jan. 13 at home against Mission Vista, he scored on a try (touching the ball down in the end zone, like a touchdown) for five points just before halftime to give the home team a 12-7 lead. Marc Oriol kicked the conversion for 14-7.

La Jolla went on to win resoundingly, 35-7.

Then, in their rescheduled game Sat., Jan. 21 at Torrey Pines High, Nathan, who speaks modestly and who seems to accompany that reserve with a disciplined style of play on the field, scored one of the Vikings' tries in the second half as the visitors won going away against the Torrey Pines "B" squad, 26-12.

"Part of scoring is luck," "Plas" said Monday, when asked about his scoring consistency in the first two games. "I happened to be there" for the opportunity to score, he explained quite accurately, though again modestly.

From his number-six slot on the left of the third row, near the front of the formation, he fills a spot for the good of the team as members work in tandem. But he is also doing it well, his first time in the "First 15" this season.

LJ rugby: Round-robin Fri.. Jan. 27

By Ed Piper

Coach Ethan Willis announced to his Viking rugby players Mon., Jan. 23, at the start of practice that they would be playing their first game Friday night, Jan. 27, at 7:50 p.m. against San Juan Hills.

"It's a later start. Does that work for you?" the coach asked as his team members--the La Jolla High students were able to walk over to practice on time; the Point Loma High players were still in transit from their campus--as they began drills, after stretching, jogging, practicing some passes at 3:45 p.m. The Jan. 27 game had originally been scheduled for 7 p.m.

"San Juan Hills has a good number 12," Willis continued.

"Then later you'll play Murrieta," maybe at 9 p.m. or later? It should be a good multi-header, with at least three teams present.

LJ b soccer vs. Clairemont - Photos 1/24

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ b BB vs. Hoover - Photos 1/24

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ g soccer 3, Christian 0 - Ruby Davis hat trick (3 goals) - Photos 1/23

Photos by Ed Piper