Day 17: Regaining my driving privileges

By Ed Piper

Following regaining my driving privileges Mon., April 24, three months after a medical situation, I went on a torrid schedule of covering LJHS sports events, taking photos--and basically reintroducing myself to team members who had no idea who I was.

My granddaughter, Alexis Damond, attended La Jolla from 2004 to 2008. She was a cheerleader. So, her grandmother and I went to sports events to take photos of my granddaughter and the other cheerleaders.

Finally, after years of avoiding sitting in the uncomfortable stands (I'm 6'5", and my body never fit in the aluminum or the wood versions of the spectator stands) and aiming my camera at Alexis and her buddies, I looked around and thought, "Hey, I love sports. Look at all the events I could be capturing images of!"

Over a slow start-up period following her graduation in June 2008, I began to identify more and more sports to take photos of. Football was one subject; my favorite sport growing up was basketball.

In winter 2010-2011, our family was friends with Gary and Dee Cundiff, the parents of premiere Viking wrestler Timmy Cundiff. My external hard drives hold many images of Timmy, a mid-weight class grappler, at home tournaments. That year's La Jolla squad won the league title, and I was hooked. The rest is history.

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Day 3 - Wed., April 26  I covered La Jolla's outstanding girls lacrosse team at home as they swamped rival Scripps Ranch, 17-7.

Day 5 - Fri., April 28  Totally hooked on lacrosse, I went to the Viking boys' final regular season game of the year and took photos.

Day 17 - Wed., May 10   Not subbing that day, I raced out to Steele Canyon Golf Course (the Vikings played a decade ago at Cottonwood Golf Course nearby) to take practice green and range shots of golfers I had never met: Justin Woods, a sophomore who had a great run the latter part of the season; senior Kaden Ward (I met him once); junior Nathan Wittkow; and three other sophomores.

Years ago, I was crushed to learn I couldn't walk the course with the athletes on their home course at Balboa; I had no experience or knowledge of the sport. This time, knowing the reality, I just focused on taking images of the Viking 6 as they bantered about the boys' lacrosse win the night before over Del Norte (Nate Takata and Seigo Lavinsky are on both teams); practiced shots; and got Chik-fil-A from Coach Christie Quinn (who I did know).