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Sports programs go online to honor athletes

High school sports players, coaches and fans are all missing the thrill of live events amid the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order.

But athletic programs are making sure athletes get plenty of attention even as they are sidelined. Bay Valley Athletic League schools and others across the nation are finding creative ways to honor their athletes, despite the stoppage in play.

Heritage High School has launched daily social media athlete profiles, virtually listed the year’s top moments and pushed the baseball team to a fan-voted Boras Classic state title.

Liberty High School athletic officials have been active as well, showcasing the school’s superstars through individual-athlete Twitter tributes, posting photo-driven uplifting messages and even hosting a podcast.

“It’s just a way to let (athletes) know they are on our minds, and we want to pay a little tribute to them,” said Heritage Athletic Director Nate Smith.

The virtual activity can’t replace live action or achievements, but in the current conditions it’s the only option. California’s high school sports governing body officially canceled the spring sports season in early April, but in its place, the virtual activity stream sprang to life.

Heritage began honoring its senior athletes as soon as the season was scrapped, and others have quickly followed suit.

Recently, on what would have been the day of the Bay Valley Athletic League’s championship meet, the Liberty swim team recently took to Twitter to honor its seniors with photos and banners. Twitter tributes poured in for Freedom senior baseball star Andrew Neil after a short tribute to his Falcons’ career emerged on social media. And the Liberty stunt cheer team honored its own veteran members by hosting a social-distancing Senior Night, chronicled on Twitter.

“Jessie, Darcy and Ava have been an integral part of the program from day one,” the Liberty stunt team tweeted about its senior members. “Their leadership, resilience, positivity and dedication will be imprinted on the program for years to come.”

Most virtual athlete salutes rely on past memories, but the Heritage baseball team got to create new ones in recent weeks, when the usual in-person Boras Classic baseball tournament went virtual, with fan votes deciding who won each game.

The Patriots ended up winning the virtual state title in a 621-532- vote win over La Mirada.

The tournament participants soaked up the closest thing to real action they have seen in months, creating virtual lineup cards and mythologizing the games’ details over group chats. Event organizers and teams also tossed in graphics, recorded interviews and national anthem performances over social media.

“We turned it into a pretty good time,” said Heritage baseball coach Kevin Brannan.

Heritage senior outfielder Keith Jones agreed, but noted that nothing can replace the real thing.

“It leaves me wondering what would have happened (if we got to play the season),” he said. “A lot of people thought we could have been something special.”

To keep up with the virtual content, follow @HeritagePats, @ LHSLionsSports and @Freedom_ Athltcs on Twitter. High school athletic programs have had to get creative to keep the spotlight on their superstars during the shelter-in-place order. Liberty stunt cheer senior Darcy Gilfoy was honored during a social distancing Senior Night, chronicled on Twitter. Photo courtesy of Liberty High School by Kyle Szymanski

Staff Writer Diving into Press archives: A look back at the best

The Press continues its look at the archived athletic moments and feats that frame history and provide much-needed sports action during this pandemic-induced stoppage of play.

2019

Oakley’s Freedom High School competitive sport cheer team built an early lead and held on late to defeat league rival Liberty High, 13-12, and capture its second North Coast Section (NCS) title in as many seasons, at Dougherty Valley High School.

The top-seed Falcons (18-1 at the time) claimed a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter, which made all the difference, as the secondseed Lions (19-3 at the time) outscored Freedom 9-6 the rest of the way.

“We are exhausted but happy with the outcome,” said Freedom coach Sandra Torres after the win. “It’s been a long, fun day. The girls definitely took control of this game this time to get the lead they needed to make sure the fourth quarter didn’t get away from us.”

In unrelated action during the same week, top-seed Heritage tennis star Seiya Duran and the doubles squad of Herman Austero and Sahil Chandra captured their third consecutive league titles at Diamond Hills Sports Club and Spa in Oakley.

2018

The Heritage Patriots boys’ golf team completed a perfect league season. Heritage fired a 414 as a team, finishing 40 shots better than second-place Freedom in the Bay Valley Athletic League tournament.

Jonathon Hydorn paced the Patriots, shooting an 81. Carson Borrelli finished one stroke behind him with an 82. Trever Slous

see Archives page 15

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The Heritage boys’ golf team capped an undefeated season by winning the league tournament this week in 2018.

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Freedom High School running back Joe Mixon was drafted by the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the draft in 2017.

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Archives from page 14

and Armanjot Bajwa each fired an 83, while Hunter Slous closed out the team’s scoring with an 85.

2017

Former Freedom running back Joe Mixon, who starred in two seasons at the University of Oklahoma, was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round (pick 48) of the NFL draft, while fellow former Falcon Darrell Daniels, a standout tight end at the University of Washington, signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent.

“It was very emotional,” said Mixon, a 2014 Freedom graduate, shortly after being drafted in a recorded conference call with reporters. “I am still sitting here, crying. I can’t believe it. I’m very thankful and honored to be a part of the Cincinnati Bengals.”

2016

Deer Valley’s Josh Ea won the Bay Valley Athletic League Tournament singles title.

Three years after Ea lost to his brother Zachary in the tournament final, the younger Ea finally captured the elusive win in a 6-0, 6-4 win over second-seed Kyle Matabuena of Freedom High.

“During the matches before this, I would easily beat him, but today he gave me a tougher challenge than I expected,” said Ea.

2015

Liberty High School middle blocker and outside hitter, Idara Akpakpa, signed her letter of intent to play volleyball for UC Irvine.

In four years on the Liberty squad, she collected 581 kills, 335 blocks, 324 solo blocks and 47 aces, according to Maxpreps.com.

Off the court, she also gained a reputation as a talented singer and dedicated student.

Photo courtesy of Liberty High School

From Lion to Tiger

Liberty High School stunt cheer captain Jessie Bell recently signed her letter of intent to attend Riverside City College in Riverside. “Jessie’s willingness to try anything and ability to uplift the team truly make her a leader,” the Liberty team said in a statement. “We love you.”

“Idara is one of the most well-rounded, multitalented students I have ever worked with,” said then Liberty Principal Patrick Walsh.

2014

The 2000 Liberty High School boys’ golf team, J.W. “Jay” Anderson (Class of 1949), Bill Chato (1968), Kate Dwelley (2007), Amy Foreman Gerace (1994), Alana Roderick Knowles (1983) and Monique Renslow Lewis (1992) were welcomed into the elite group of athletes and coaches during a Liberty Union High School District Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

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Weekends during shelter-in-place worry me because by Saturday my family has been home all week and I am not sure if I will be able to keep the kids entertained one more day.

This week was particularly worrisome because my husband, a first responder, had been working seven days straight and the absence of his jokes and entertainment was weighing on each of us. In an attempt to help the time pass, I showed an image of community art to my daughters. They were immediately inspired and went to work right away.

I believe that in most every scenario of life, I have all that I need, even if that means I have the patience to wait for what I do not have. This Saturday was an instance when this philosophy made me look around my house in a new way, paying special attention to the things shoved into corners and cupboards. Believing we could find what we need helped us realize we had the creativity to design something new out of old things.

We went to work cutting old T-shirts and before we knew it, our Saturday was filled with the meaningful enjoyment of music, our front yard, beautiful weather and building a common vision together.

Days like this one would not happen outside of a shelter in place. We would have never been so bored, never had an entire day with nothing to do, never had minds cleared of clutter, and never would have been bold enough to create something that we were

Photo by Lauren Huffmaster

Alyssa Huffmaster and her family have used the COVID-19 quarantine time to immerse themselves in artistic endeavors and community-focused projects.

willing to share with the whole neighborhood. In this COVID-19 experience, neither my girls nor I hesitated or wondered what others might say about our creation. We knew that every neighbor was bored, lonely and gloomy. We knew that no one would criticize us for trying. We knew that right now everyone needs to see something new, something worth stepping outside for, something novel that piques our curiosity.

It is strange that as we stay away from one another, we come to understand each other better. We are all home, doing our laundry and making dinner. We are planting flowers and baking bread. We are doing puzzles and coloring pictures. No matter where we are or who we are, we are doing the same things. The mysterious neighbor who always seemed too busy or the celebrity who we never imagined doing household chores, are all doing the same things. Allure has dissolved into a common experience.

The certainty of being in this situation together with everyone around us gave my daughters and me the confidence that whatever we designed in our front yard would be good and accepted. And so we worked, I cut T-shirts long past the blisters had formed on my thumb and my girls danced and swayed under the tree until dark.

In the end, what we created resembles a rainbow willow tree crossed with Tibetan prayer flags blowing in the breeze. The bright colors and accessories reminisce of birthday parties past and the future ones that will most likely be cancelled. It is a happy creation.

Self-expression and amateur community art like this, had no place three months ago. Without the shelter-in-place, my family would have kept all artful expressions to ourselves within our home, safely tucked behind four walls. Our lack of expertise would leave us feeling inadequate and thus unworthy of front yard status. But art is good; it is good for the artist as well as the community. It is good for the one expressing herself as well as the one observing the expression.

Moving forward, we must remember that this COVID-19 experience is not the only time people need people. – Courtesy of Lauren Huffmaster

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