BIG RED OCT. 26, 2012 • VOLUME 8 • NO.1 • HOMECOMING EDITION
GOLDEN RECEIVERS P. 10
Water Polo: Plays first Homecoming match in $6.5 million pool p. 16 Field Hockey: No sibling rivalry for Wasserman sisters p. 18 Volleyball: Girls hone indoor skills in the sand p. 20
BIG RED OCT. 26, 2012 • VOLUME 8 • NO.1
thePlaybook FOOTBALL
FIELD HOCKEY
10-15 WIDE RECEIVERS
18-19 SISTERLY LOVE
Clinton Hooks ’13, Chris Sebastian ’13, Julian Shabahang ’14 and Hassan Smith ’15 make up the football team’s receiving corps.
Sisters and fellow field hockey attackers Annie ’13 and Emma Wasserman ’16 are the only sibling duo playing on Homecoming.
BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE, ERIC LOEB, ROBBIE LOEB AND SAM SACHS
BY AARON LYONS
WATER POLO
VOLLEYBALL
16-17 BEST IN THE U.S.
20-21 BEACH PARTY
From Milan to Coldwater Canyon, the new Copses Family Pool traveled around the world this past summer before being assembled at the Upper School.
Several members of the varsity girls’ volleyball team play beach volleyball competitively outside of school in addition to playing indoors.
BY PATRICK RYAN
BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE
ROBBIE LOEB/BIG RED
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES Receiver Chris Sebastian ’13 (8) meets running back Correy King ’13 (21) in the air after King ran in a 37-yard score.
3 MEET THE HEAD FANATICS 4-7 PHOTO GALLERY 8 COACH’S OTHER HALF Head Football Coach Scot Ruggles has a second career as an actor.
22 ESPN ANCHOR Doug Kezirian ‘95 is an anchor on SportsCenter and Highlight Express. LUKE HOLTHOUSE/BIG RED
Back and Forth Big Red staffer Lizzy Thomas sits down with girls’ varsity tennis co-captain Savannah de Montesquiou ’13 for a question and answer session. Page 26 »
theStaff editors-in-chief Michael Aronson, Luke Holthouse managing editor Robbie Loeb
2 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
staff Mila Barzdukas, Mazelle Etessami, Jack Goldfisher, Tyler Graham, Eric Loeb, Aaron Lyons, Grant Nussbaum, Lucy Putnam, Patrick Ryan, Sam Sachs, Lizzy Thomas
adviser Kathleen Neumeyer
23 PEBBLE BEACH Bakari Bolden ‘14 competed in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach this past summer.
24-25 DRUMLINE 27 FOOTBALL REVAMPED BIG RED is a publication of the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle. Harvard-Westlake School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. For any questions, additional information or to purchase a subscription please contact us at chronicle@hw.com. Letters to the editor can be sent to editors-in-chief Michael Aronson and Luke Holthouse, at maronson1@hwemail.com or lholthouse1@hwemail.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
Cover Photo by Jack Goldfisher
FRONT AND CENTER
Four out of this year’s five Head Fanatics are athletes on a varsity sport at Harvard-Westlake.
ELIJAH AKHTARZAD/BIG RED
FRANCIS HYDE ’13
HENRY NEALE ’13
THOMAS OSER ’13
MIKE HART ’13
CORREY KING ’13
“I’m glad to be a Head Fanatic because we get to bring the ideas we’ve had for four years into play,” Hyde said. Hyde will start on the boys’ varsity basketball team this year at shooting guard. The senior averaged 6.4 points per game last season on the squad.
“Being a head fanatic means that I can represent my school and have fun at the same time,” Neale said. Neale is the only Head Fanatic out of the five not on a varsity team at Harvard-Westlake. He is a former basketball player on middle school teams and the junior varsity team.
“It was something that I wanted to do because I love going to sports games, seeing everything and cheering for other athletes,” Oser said. Oser plays center for the varsity football team. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound big man has 10 offers from Division I programs to play college ball.
“Being a Head Fanatic means handling a lot of pressure from faculty and students, but ultimately it’s about giving our teams an edge by being as roudy as possible,” Hart said. Hart has been on the boys’ varsity volleyball team for the past three years as a libero for the squad.
“It all started in eighth grade when I came to the HW-Loyola basketball game. I was laughing and chanting and loving the atmosphere in general,” King said. “I admired the students making the clever chants and always wanted to be like them.” King is the starting running back on the varsity football team.
popCULTURE Wolverine Athlete
Superbowl contender?
Favorite country artist?
Favorite movie?
Favorite fall sport?
SIDNEY MOSKOWITZ ’13 Cheerleading
DOLPHINS
TAYLOR SWIFT
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
FOOTBALL
ANNELISE COLVIN ’15 Volleyball
RAIDERS
TAYLOR SWIFT
CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
ANDREW SOHN ’13 Golf
FALCONS
JOHN DENVER
TALLADEGA NIGHTS
FOOTBALL
DAVEY HARTMEIER ’14 Football
JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
in the grid PATRIOTS
BRAD PAISLEY
OLD SCHOOL
FOOTBALL
Running back Correy King ’13, top, heismans the St. Paul secondary in the Wolverines’ 44-11 victory over the Sworsdmen on Oct. 5. Josephine Kremer ’14 serves in the girls’ volleyball team’s loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 27.
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 3
4 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
WITH FLYING COLLARS An El Camino Real defender flips wide receiver Clinton Hooks ’13 by his collar in the Sept. 21 matchup. Hooks found the end zone twice and caught six balls for 127 yards in the 56-14 win.
Photograph by ROBBIE LOEB
4 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
FISH OUT OF WATER Sean Fisher ’13 rises above water to pass in the water polo team’s 13-8 home win over Huntington Beach Sept. 28. Photograph by ROBBIE LOEB
A Different Stage First year Head Football Coach Scot Ruggles moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He has appeared in various commercials and soap operas since moving to the West Coast.
n 2005, a Boston casting company called current Head Football Coach and Boston native Scot Ruggles to try out for a part in a movie. An aspiring actor, Ruggles auditioned for the part as a drill instructor in a state police academy. Driving home from the audition, Ruggles was not optimistic about being picked for the role because of the competition, but the casting company granted him a call back and told him to meet at the Ritz Carlton Hotel immediately. When Ruggles arrived at the hotel, he realized that he was going to audition in front of the director of the movie. Ruggles walked into a suite and saw Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese. He later found out that the audition was for “The Departed,” the 2006 Oscarwinner for best picture. “I had no idea that the audition was for ‘The Departed’,” Ruggles said. “I got a phone call from the casting office once I got off the road recruiting, and they said that they had no idea what my story was, but they ‘were looking for alpha male type people for this role, and if you have any aspirations to be an actor, you wouldn’t miss this.’” At the time, Ruggles was a defensive line coach for Harvard University, his alma mater. In the morning audition, he was asked to be a drill instructor proctoring a test in the police academy. Though he didn’t have much experience as an actor, Ruggles was intrigued by it. “They gave me about five lines, but they told me to improvise being a drill instructor proctoring an exam,” Ruggles said. “It was almost like running a football meeting in a classroom. I think it came out naturally in the morning, and by the time I got the call back, they started directing me a little bit. Being inexperienced at the time, it just didn’t come out as naturally as it did in the morning. I didn’t get the part, but at that point I didn’t even have a head shot. It was one of those random accidents, and next thing you know you’re reading in front of Martin Scorsese wondering why you’re in the room.” Ruggles had been around football his entire life, growing up with a father who was a head football coach for a local high school. Ruggles watched his father coach from the
8 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
sidelines on Friday nights during the football season. It wasn’t until he became a football coach himself at Marshall University that he began his career in acting. “I started with a commercial when I was coaching at Marshall, and actually I was forced by the head coach to do it because none of the other coaches wanted to,” Ruggles said. “I had always been intrigued by acting, but growing up my dad was a coach and the only thing involved in my life was sports. I really never had an opportunity to act, but when I did, it was a neat experience.” Ruggles resigned from Harvard and moved to Los Angeles to be an actor. Since then, he has performed in Andy Dick’s recent football movie, “Division III: Football’s Finest”, “The Days of Our Lives” and various commercials including one for a pistachio company. “There are a lot of A-list people that have some cameos like Adam Corolla and a bunch of the MADTV people in [“Division III: Football’s Finest”],” Ruggles said. “I play the rival coach opposite Andy Dick, and I have a nice scene with him in the cafeteria. For me it was a great experience to be on set with people who have done this for a long time. At the end of the day, it gave me the confidence that I can do this and get the experience I need.” This fall season is Ruggles’ first as head coach of the Wolverine football team. He joined the Wolverines’ football program for the 2012 season as an offensive coordinator. “Harvard-Westlake was intriguing to me because our kids here are allowed to do so many things,” Ruggles said. “Back when I was in high school, you were just a jock and that was it. I wonder where I would be today if I was able to play football but still be in the school play. I think that is the great thing about Harvard-Westlake is that kids get to try so many things to find out at an early age what they like to do and what they’re good at.” As for choosing a career going forward, Ruggles is satisfied with the combination of acting and coaching. “Would I like to be a working actor? Absolutely. But I feel privileged enough that I have two passions in my life with acting and football, and right now I am doing both,” he said.
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PISTACHIOS
I
BY MICHAEL ARONSON
MAZELLE ETESSAMI/BIG RED
ON CAMERA Head Football Coach Scot Ruggles stepped out of his role on the sideline, bottom, and into the role of a Secret Service agent in the Wonderful Pistachios Secret Service commercial, top.
Homecoming 2012
7:30
vs. Cathedral
5:30
vs. Notre Dame
PHOTOS BY JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
3:15
vs. Bonita
4:30
vs. Murrieta BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 9
INSIDE FOOTBALL
JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
10 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
GOLDEN RECEIVERS
Chris Sebastian ’13, Clinton Hooks ’13, Hassan Smith ’15 and Julian Shabahang ’14 comprise the Wolverine’s main receiving corps.
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
BASS MASTER BY ERIC LOEB
A CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES Wide receiver Clinton Hooks ’13 celebrates a touchdown pass with wide receiver Chris Sebastian ’13 in the Wolverines’ 44-11 win over St. Paul.
s football practice starts, some players sluggishly waddle onto the field. It is hot, it is humid and they would much rather be anywhere else. But when wide receiver Chris Sebastian ’13 walks onto the football field he has something to prove. He is going to work as hard as he can to provide an example for his teammates to follow. He is going to consistently run the most precise routes on the team, and teach the younger receivers to work as hard as he does. “He is definitely one of the hardest working guys on the team; both in the weight room, and on the field,” teammate Anthony Ulloa ’14 said. Sebastian, or Sea-bass as his coach Scot Ruggles calls him, has specific qualities that not only help the receiving core perform on game day, but during practice. His
main strength as a receiver is route running, which Ruggles calls, “A luxury to a coach.” “In my opinion, the most essential skills for a receiver to have are good route running and sure hands,” Sebastian said. “I don’t have Clinton’s height or Julian’s speed, so I really focus on knowing exactly where to be and finishing plays should Chad go my way.” Ulloa said that Sebastian is also a great model on the team for younger players. “He is always open to teaching younger guys how and why to run a certain route a certain way,” Ulloa said. So far this season, Sebastian has the third most receiving touchdowns on the team. Through seven games, Sebastian has not only six receiving touchdowns, he also has 641 receiving yards, the second most on the team. He and Clinton Hooks
’13 have been competing for the most receiving yards, as well as yards per game, in which Hooks averages slightly more. Sebastian has a knack for the big play, leading the team with an average of 20.68 yards per reception, well above the team average of 16.60. Sebastian also returns punts for the Wolverines. His return average is 6.6 yards per, but he has only had five opportunities, including three fair catches. Sebastian also recovered an onside kick against North Hollywood and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. “Sea-bass is what I call a gym rat, the kid that just finds a way to make the big play, always wanting to compete,” Ruggles said. “He is one of our most valuable players. I wish we had him longer than just this year. He is a great kid, and a blast to coach. He has a bright future in whatever he decides to do.”
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 11
WIDE RECEIVERS
GETTIN’ LOOKS WITH HOOKS BY ROBBIE LOEB
JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
YOUNG GUN Hassan Smith ’15 tries to evade a St. Paul defender’s tackle.
Hassan Smith battles injuries in 2nd season By Sam Sachs The Fanatics showered “He’s a freshman!” chants down on Hassan Smith ’15 after he scored a receiving touchdown in his very first game as a varsity football player in last year’s season opener against Venice. Understandably, this is his favorite memory of more than four years of playing football. Smith is a member of the plethora of receivers who are a part of quarterback Chad Kanoff ’s ’13 arsenal of weapons in Coach Scot Ruggles’ high powered offense. Smith has had to deal with some cramps and soreness in his lower body, but despite the setbacks and missed games against Sylmar and El Camino Real, Smith expects to be a part of the Wolverines’ push towards the playoffs this year and in the future. Smith, also a baseball player, has set high goals for his team, saying he expects to make the playoffs this year and every year. With a prolific passer in Kanoff targeting him, Smith said his role is as simple as “to get open and catch the ball.”
12 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
T
here isn’t a defender in the Wolverines’ schedule who can contend with 6-foot5 wide receiver Clinton Hooks ’13, in Head Coach Scot Ruggles’ estimation. Just ask St. Francis, a team that Hooks torched for a career-high four touchdowns two weeks ago. “I’m sure athletically, there are going to be people who can stay with him, but is anybody that tall? Probably not,” Ruggles said. “The quick guys that can stay with me with their speed are generally a lot smaller than me,” Hooks said. “The bigger linebackers who are maybe stronger or bigger than me, I usually have at least a step on them.” Hooks, who ran his 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds, is not considered too much of a downfield threat, Ruggles said. “Clinton’s not blessed with natural speed,” Ruggles said. “Clinton’s a true possession, short yardage and intermediate wide receiver. That’s becoming the phase, especially in spread offenses around the country, that tall kid who can catch the football and keep the pace going. He’s built for any offense, but especially the spread offense with his size in the slot that makes him a nice target.” Ruggles said the senior receiver is most dangerous in the red zone. “He’s so big and just has a knack for getting open,” Ruggles said. “Just like basketball, he puts his big body in front of people and is a nice target for Chad [Kanoff ’13].” “I just do the best I can to get open and hope Chad looks for me,”
“
I JUST DO THE BEST I CAN TO GET OPEN AND HOPE CHAD LOOKS FOR ME,” HOOKS SAID.
ROBBIE LOEB/BIG RED
Clinton Hooks ’13
OUT OF MY WAY Clinton Hooks ’13 stiff arms an El Camino defender after a catch in the Wolverines’ Sept. 21 win over the Conquistadors.
ROBBIE LOEB/BIG RED
Hooks said. “However he plans on doing that is his problem.” Ruggles compared Hooks’ connection with Kanoff to Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice’s championship-caliber connection with Joe Montana. “Chad and he have a very unique dynamic that most quarterback-wide receiver tandems don’t have,” Ruggles said. “You either have that or you don’t. I’m not going to say he has that with all our receivers, but he definitely trusts Clinton, and Clinton has done a pretty good job of coming through when Chad throws it up and all of a sudden you see a 6-5 kid come out of nowhere and grab it. “You see a lot of times on thirdand-short or fourth-and-short, when we need somebody to make a
big play, he makes a lot of catches,” Ruggles said. “Any time is a good time to throw the ball to Clinton Hooks.” In the season opener against Loyola, the Cubs attempted to limit Hooks’ production after he scored in the first half by doubling him after halftime, but Hooks finished with 13 catches for 130 yards with the first half touchdown despite the added pressure. “We can move him around — put him in the slot, put him outside, motion him — and don’t just sit and be static and let him be taken out of the game,” Ruggles said. “You have to be willing to adjust to what they do. He went over the middle, sacrificed his body for the good of mankind, and really was very productive. That game alone will really
help him to open his football career at the next level.” Last season, Hooks led the team in all receiving categories with 62 receptions, 747 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns, all of which he caught in the first six games. Through seven games this season, Hooks already has 50 receptions, 683 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hooks also serves as the team’s backup kicker. After Matthew Glick ’15 tore his ACL before the start of this season, the team needed a replacement and Hooks gave it a try. He nailed a few field goals in practice and was named as Jack Temko’s ’14 backup. Hooks hit two PATs in a 57-13 blowout against North Hollywood.
Hooks has gotten looks from mostly Ivy League schools, including Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Dartmouth as well as some Division III schools. “He’s put himself in a position with his academics and then his productivity on the football field that makes my job easy when I get on the phone with those people,” Ruggles said. Hooks noted Harvard as the current frontrunner in the recruiting process. “Harvard’s Harvard,” Hooks said. “I mean, we’ll see, it gets a little more complicated because I’m getting recruited for basketball too. Between basketball and football, I haven’t chosen one that I would prefer to go after.” Princeton has shown interest in the two-sport athlete for basketball also, along with Dartmouth and Lafayette. Hooks does not foresee himself playing two sports in college, however. “I’d rather just focus on one and see how good I could get at that than try to ride both horses for four years,” he said. Freshman year, Hooks suffered a stress fracture in his back that sidelined him for the entire season, which still bothers him at times. “It’s kind of always there, but in more of a nagging annoyance as opposed to really painful,” Hooks said. In his senior season and third year as a varsity starter, Hooks has one more shot at reaching the postseason for the first time in his high school football career. “It sounds cliché, but I just try not to think about it,” Hooks said. “I try not to get caught up in the pressure that’s on me, or what people think, or the stats or the numbers. I just try to make plays when I can and try to be open every single play.”
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 13
WIDE RECEIVERS
HANGING WITH SHABAHANG The Wolverines’ receiver brings plenty of speed to the offense and has scored eight touchdowns in seven games.
BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE
P
ublic address announcers across the Southern Section have struggled to say it right. He has been called “SHA-ba-bang,” “SHA-ba-bong” and even “ShaBANG,” on the loudspeakers at various road games after making catches. But the mispronunciations of Julian Shabahang’s ’14 name don’t bother the wide receiver. He says he is too busy making catches to get his name announced on the PA to notice how it’s pronounced. “Honestly, sometimes I don’t even hear during the games because I’m so focused,” Shabahang said. “But I don’t really mind. It’s a hard name to get.” Shabahang certainly has been getting involved in the offense. With eight touchdown catches after the first seven games of the season, he has proven that he can be a reliable target for quarterback Chad Kanoff ’13 every game. Shabahang’s touchdown total is second only to Clinton Hooks’ ’13, who leads the team with 11 trips to the endzone. Shabahang scored the first touchdown of the season for the Wolverines, corralling a 48-yard
14 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
pass from Kanoff against Loyola. He added two more touchdowns in that game and finished with 10 catches and 169 yards in what he called his best game of the season. Shabahang scored touchdowns in both of the Wolverines’ next games, adding a 16-yard touchdown against North Hollywood then a 35-yard score against Granada Hills. However, Shabahang was injured in the game against Granada Hills with a concussion and was forced to miss the Wolverines’ next game against Sylmar. “I caught a pass, I was running down field and I got tackled,” Shabahang said. “I got kind of twisted when I got tackled and ended up hitting my head on the ground. Then I got up and was super dizzy. I didn’t play the next week against Sylmar, but then was good to go for the next game [at El Camino Real].” Since missing the Sylmar game, Shabahang has averaged one touchdown per game after scoring one touchdown against El Camino Real, two against St. Paul and none against St. Francis. Shabahang said he has not felt any post-concussion symptoms and that the concussion has not af-
fected his ability to do school work. He said it took a while for his body to get used to lifting again after being unable to lift while concussed, but that he otherwise felt very comfortable when he jumped back in to the Wolverine offense. “Not lifting for that little period of time set me back,” Shabahang said. “I got back in [the weight room] and I was super sore after all the lifts.” Shabahang said his production this year can be attributed to all of the work he put in this past offseason conditioning, lifting and running routes with Kanoff. While he said that his timing and chemistry with his quarterback improved a lot this offseason and he is dropping fewer passes, Shabahang said he still needs to concentrate on seeing the ball into his hands before he takes off running. He added that he needs to be
able to forget about dropped passes during games and not let them affect his confidence in making other catches. “Sometimes, it gets into my head,” Shabahang said. “Sometimes, Coach [Scot Ruggles] will flip out after I drop a ball, I’ll get nervous and I’ll drop the next one.” Shabahang says that he has some interest in playing football after high school but is not positive that it will be a deciding factor in his college process. He said that he has not received any scholarship offers yet, but that schools have expressed in him. “Right now, I’m getting letters from schools inviting me to camps,” he said. “Mostly Division I but there are one or two Ivys in there.” Shabahang views himself as a speed receiver, or a player that can beat his defender with his
CHASED DOWN Julian Shabahang ’14 picks up some extra yards against St. Paul.
“
I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF MORE OF A BIG THREAT RECEIVER JUST BECAUSE I COULD RUN BY KIDS AND SCORE LONG TOUCHDOWNS” SHABAHANG SAID.
legs just often as he can with his hands. However, his role in the offense may differ slightly during the Homecoming game against league rival Cathedral because of the coverage package Cathedral runs on defense. Cathedral defends in the cover 2 formation, in which two safeties play zone defense against deep passes while cornerbacks play man-to-man against each receiver. The formation from the Wolverines’ league rival makes it harder for receivers to find an opening on a deep route, but easier on a short route. “I would consider myself more of a big threat receiver just because I could run by kids and score long touchdowns,” he said. “But Cathedral is a heavy cover 2 man team, which kind of prevents the big play, so maybe my role will be to take what we can get on short passes.”
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 15
BEST IN THE NATION WATER POLO The newly-renovated $6.5 million pool journeyed from Italy around the Panama Canal before arriving in Los Angeles.
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he new 50-meter pool will host its first water polo Homecoming game on Oct. 27 when the boys water polo teams takes on Murrieta Valley. The Wolverines have played 10 of their 11 non-tournament games so far this season at home, unlike last season where the team played no home games due to the construction. The Copses Family Aquatics Center began as sheets of stainless
16 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
BY PATRICK RYAN steel and concrete in Italy. It journeyed on a cargo ship across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific Ocean where it arrived at the Port of Los Angeles in June. “I have been told this by the professionals and others, we’ve got probably the best pool in the United States at this point, no joke,” Director of Campus Operations Jim DeMatte said. The pool holds 925,000 gal-
lons of water and is 8-feet-2-inches deep, deeper than the pool used in Omaha for the Olympic Trials, which checks in at 6-feet 8-inches. This specification was a special request from President Tom Hudnut, as he did not want people to be able to push off the floor in water polo, DeMatte said. The structure of the pool was made using stainless steel, which was molded and stamped into panels, and then bolted together to form the walls of the pool.
A concrete floor was poured, with vinyl liner and tiles. It was assembled on site from tens of thousands of pieces, DeMatte said. Fourteen trucks arrived the day before graduation carrying all of the parts of the pool, which then needed to be craned onto the campus. The assembly of the aquatics center did not begin until the day after graduation and the pool was completed by mid-August. “The reality is, it is just un-
SAM SACHS/BIG RED
heard of. The vendors have never been pushed this hard and never built one this quickly for a permanent installation,” DeMatte says. “The normal building time for a project like this usually takes between 16 and 17 months but the construction was completed in nine months.” DeMatte and Vice President John Amato were able to get the permits for the projects approved by the city of Los Angeles in just two weeks. A surveying company measured the pool with a laser to be exactly 50-meters in every corner, making it legal for Olympic competition. The 925,000 gallon pool will cost around $60,000 a year to heat, up from $22,000 for the old pool. “The reason why we spent $6.5 million was to be able to keep our students, water polo, swimming, diving, on the campus,” DeMatte said. “That was critical. This was not some vanity project for water polo or for swimming. It was to keep our children in practice on campus. That was the number one thing for the administration and our trustees to do this project; otherwise we probably honestly wouldn’t have done it.”
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has been replacing a pipe in the middle of Coldwater Canyon, cooperated with DeMatte’s crew on the project, allowing them to use their work zone when craning in the components of the pool. The crew consisted of between 25 to 30 men on a given day, working 12 to 14 hour shifts. “It was a very tough summer, but very, very worthwhile,” DeMatte said. Water polo player Andrew Miller ’13 said that having a Homecoming game on campus in a pool as amazing as the new one is important to grow interest in water polo at Harvard-Westlake. “We technically had a Homecoming game at UCLA last year, but it wasn’t really a Homecoming game,” Miller said. “It’s the one game where water polo gets a ton of exposure, because normally we get a few people who come after school, but not that many. It’s also a lot of our team’s first Homecoming game because all the younger kids have never had a Homecoming game before.” Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 agrees that having a Homecoming
“
JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
game at home will play to his team’s advantage. “I’m excited for our athletes, but I am also excited for the school to see our finished product and how far we’ve come since the beginning of the season,” Flacks said. The Wolverines played Murrietta Valley over the summer, but had five starters missing from the game, so Flacks said the previous game has no importance when it comes to the match on Homecoming. Warren Snyder ’14 believes the team matches up well for the game. “I know when we have that huge crowd, everybody is going to be cheering, it’s going to be so good, and that experience is going to be awesome,” Snyder said. “I can’t wait.”
ANOTHER LEVEL The newlyrenovated aquatics facility can hold a water polo game and a swimming practice at the same time.
I HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS BY THE PROFESSIONALS AND OTHERS, WE’VE GOT PROBABLY THE BEST POOL IN THE UNITED STATES AT THIS POINT, NO JOKE,” DEMATTE SAID. BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 17
INSIDE FIELD HOCKEY
Sister Act Freshman starter Emma Wasserman ’16 will follow in her sister Annie Wasserman’s ’13 footsteps as a four-year varsity starter on the field hockey team.
A
BY AARON LYONS nnie Wasserman ’13 runs down the left side of the field towards her opponent’s goal with a defender trailing slightly
behind. As she reaches the edge of the field, she looks toward the center and sees her little sister, Emma Wasserman ’16. Annie crosses it to Emma, who controls the pass and shoots, sending the orange ball into the back of the net. Annie and Emma are the only siblings on the varsity field hockey team. They both play on the forward line, but Annie mainly plays on the left side, while Emma prefers the center. Annie said that there is more chemistry between her and her sister than with other players not only because they are related, but also because of positioning and strong communication. “If I’m carrying the ball into the circle, I know that she’s either going to be at the stroke mark or the back post,” Annie said. “I can always count on her to finish the goal or finish the shot off and there
18 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
have been many cases where I’ll assist and then she’ll make the goal. We know how we play, so I think that really helps. More impressively, is that Emma is the only freshman on the entire varsity squad. “I don’t feel any pressure just because my teammates are really nice and they keep encouraging me to play better,” Emma said. She said that being the team’s leading scorer in all competitions thus far, has helped relieve a lot of that initial pressure. Annie and Emma both picked up field hockey at the same time and have progressed tremendously, teaching each other valuable skills along the way. “She tells me how to get open, how to call for the ball and how to communicate,” Emma said. While Emma said that Annie has taught her a lot of field hockey skills, Annie said that what she has learned from her little sister has been mainly psychological. “She’s just really passionate about the sport,” Annie said. “Not only to start as a freshman but [being] our leading scorer… it’s really
Emma Wasserman ’16
Annie Wasserman ’13
BY THE NUMBERS Goals: 7 Assists: 5 amazing and it inspires me to push harder out on the field because if she can do it, then I might be able to do it. Emma not only inspires Annie to play better, but it also inspired her not to quit field hockey altogether. “There was a point where I wasn’t going to play this year but I decided to play because it was going to be my only year that I’d be
Goals: 5 Assists: 2 able to play with my sister.” Although they have both been playing field hockey for the same amount of time, Annie modestly admits that she believes Emma is the better player. “She’s always putting 100 percent out on the field and I think that that’s really impressive and makes me proud … she’s my little sister,” Annie said.
AARON LYONS/BIG RED
SISTERS IN ARMS Annie Wasserman ’13 fights for possession against Louisville, above. Her sister Emma Wasserman ’16 does the same against Chaminade, below.
AARON LYONS/CHRONICLE
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 19
fun sun in the
Seven Wolverine girls’ volleyball players play beach volleyball in addition to playing for the school’s varsity indoor team. BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE
The athletic facilities at Harvard-Westlake underwent some major facelifts in the last few years, with the resurfacing of the floor in Taper Gymnasium, the re-laying of the turf on Ted Slavin Field and the addition of the Copses Family Pool. Head of Athletics Terry Barnum said there may be one more construction project in the waiting for the athletic facilities depending on a move by the California Interscholastic Federation. With the surge in popularity in beach volleyball among traditional indoor players, Barnum said that the school may build a sand volleyball court if CIF sanctions beach volleyball as a sport and the school finds enough funding to field a program. “If it were to become a CIFsanctioned sport that we chose to be a part of,” Barnum said, “we would obviously be committed enough to have a facility for the team to practice.” Barnum said that CIF may never sanction the sport, as there may not be enough competitors around the state to organize leagues. He added that even if CIF did sanction the sport, Harvard-Westlake might not construct a facility or even field a team unless there was enough funding to keep both the indoor and outdoor programs strong. However, he said that the
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idea of fielding a team in the future was definitely a possibility, even if it the athletic department elected not to build a court and instead use an off-campus facility for practices and games. While the school does not have a CIF-sanctioned beach team, it does have an interscholatic team. Indoor players Marielle Bagnard ’14, Mila Barzdukas ’15, Nicole Elattrache ’14, Nicole Gould ’13, Emily Kelkar ’15, Josephine Kremer ’14 and Rachel Savage ’15 made up the team, which was organized by the school team. Adam Black is the program director of Harvard-Westlake volleyball, while Jon Aharoni is the head coach of the beach team. The beach team was a part of the Southern Pacific Girls’ Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League, a league established in 2012 by the Amateur Athletic Union, not by CIF. Gould said that she plans on playing with the beach team again this year both because she enjoys the experience and because it helps her with her indoor game. “It’s more of a fun thing to do,” said Gould. “But there’s a lot of crossover. Playing on the beach helps your agility and your vertical.” While Gould said she has been recruited to play indoor college volleyball, Kremer said she is being recruited more heavily by beach
programs. Her top choice is USC, which fielded its first Div. I women’s beach team last season. “I’ve talked to the coach a few times,” Kremer said. “If I do play beach there, I wouldn’t play indoor because the team there is really intense .” Kremer attributed the growth of the sport both to the influence American beach players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri WalshJennings, who won three straight Olympic gold medals in womens’ beach volleyball, as well as the high concentration of great coaches in Southern California. She said that she finished in second place this summer in the U-19 division at the High Performance Championships with a partner from outside of Harvard-Westlake then qualified for the Cal Cup Youth Beach Volleyball Championships playing alongside Elattrache.
BEACH PARTY Josephine Kremer ’14 dives in the sand to bump the ball, top right and bottom left. Kremer, top left, spikes the ball over the net in a beach volleyball match. Kremer and Nicole Elattrache ’14 attempts to return the ball along with Kremer in a match.
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CHRIS CHRISK
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 21
WORLDWIDE LEADER IN SPORTS
Doug Kezirian ’95 broadcasts a segment on SportsCenter about former NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s role as a high school football coach.
OFF TO BRISTOL
Former Wolverine water polo standout and Chronicle Sports Editor Doug Kezirian ’95 has moved from Las Vegas where he was a sports anchor and news director for Channel 13 to Bristol, Conn., home of the ESPN headquarters to serve as an anchor on SportsCenter and Highlight Express.
BY MICHAEL ARONSON
Q: A:
Q: A:
Would you consider being an anchor at ESPN your dream job? For me, it truly is a dream job. I absolutely love sports and the anchoring craft. Everything about it. And then ESPN just accentuates all the positives. I am lucky to have the opportunity to work for such a great company and a network that has all the bells and whistles. That’s the biggest difference with local television. Sports Departments consisted of one or two people. But at ESPN, it’s all sports all the time. No corners are cut. I have never heard the excuse of manpower, money, or resources. The company motto is serving the sports fan, and they really mean that. It’s awesome to work with people who all want to excel.
How did you get the job? I had seven or eight half-hour interviews with managers from various departments. It was an all-day thing. They call it the “car wash”. I also auditioned on-set. They gave me about an hour to write all my material, and I had one shot to anchor a 10-minute segment with various highlights and intros. I guess mine went well.
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Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ESPN
What is it like to work at a place with professional athletes walking around? I have interviewed professional athletes throughout my entire career, so that novelty has worn off a bit. However, I do chuckle when I see Jerry Rice [Hall of fame receiver and ESPN analyst] in the cafeteria or Barry Larkin [World Series Champion] holds the newsroom door for me. It is obviously a much different dynamic working with them rather than interviewing them after a game.
What is your most memorable moment at ESPN so far? There have certainly been a few special moments. During my first week, I received a group email that was addressed to on-air talent. My name appeared alongside the likes of Chris Berman, Stuart Scott, Linda Cohn, and Steve Levy. Pretty surreal. I also remember anchoring my first SportsCenter. I just sat on the set and took a mental snapshot. After both instances, I embraced it and allowed myself to enjoy it for a brief moment. It showed me that I care and genuinely cherish the opportunity. But then you just have to proceed with your job and accept and appreciate that this is now the new norm.
How did Harvard-Westlake prepare you for broadcasting career? A school like Harvard-Westlake really prepares students for these types of jobs. Not everyone will pursue broadcasting, but a lot will enter into challenging fields. I actually feel comfortable working in such a competitive and intense environment because my high school and college were structured similarly. Harvard-Westlake is at the top of the high school food chain. Outside of textbooks, my academic and water polo experiences forced me to develop a relentless motor, increase my mental stamina, and trust my gut. The commitment and dedication required back then made any broadcasting sacrifice seem manageable and tolerable. Plus, if I wore a Speedo, then I definitely can watch sports and wear make-up.
BIRDS-EYE VIEW Bakari Bolden ’14 competed this summer at Pebble Beach, the golf course pictured here. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF RON WHITTEN
Teeing off
G
olfer Bakari Bolden ’14 was overcome with emotion at his end of the year varsity golf team banquet when his dad gave him the good news. The First Tee of America, an organization that promotes teaching kids morals through the game of golf, selected Bolden to compete in a Champions Tour event known as the Nature Valley First Tee Open, featuring some of the top junior golfers from across the United States in a televised event. “I had worked really hard to get to that point,” Bolden said. “I can’t even explain my excitement when I first heard the news. The excitement turned to this driving motivation to play well, and leading up to the tournament, I practiced every day.” Bolden practiced six days a week for up to five hours a day if his practice session included playing 18 holes. “I would practice until the people at the range kicked me out,”
Golfer Bakari Bolden ’14 earned a spot in the Nature Valley First Tee Open and with it the chance to play golf at the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links.
BY TYLER GRAHAM Bolden said. “They wouldn’t tell me I had to leave, but when it started getting late and I was the only one there, the guy would take a machine to blow up all the dirt and divots and eventually he would get close enough to me and my dad that the dirt got on us.” The Golf Channel live broadcast the tournament from July 6 to July 8. Each young competitor was paired with a Champions Tour player, professionals above the age of 50, in a team competition format held at two different courses in the Monterey area: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. Bolden was paired with Jim Carter, a former PGA tour and Nationwide tour winner. “We flew up to an area next to Carmel and took a 30-minute drive to actually get to Pebble,” Bolden said. “The drive was breathtaking. I was so excited to get there and I promised myself to enjoy every minute of it.” Bolden played a practice round with Carter before the two tourna-
ment rounds they played with one another. “Carter was great,” Bolden said. “He made me think about a lot of things that I wouldn’t have normally thought about on the course. Even talking with the caddies, who let me know how to approach the golf course, was very helpful. I learned a lot just by watching the Champions Tour players and how they carried themselves. They never got mad, yelled or slammed a club out of frustration. They were so un-emotional,” Bolden said. Bolden and Carter posted a 6-under 66 on day one in the best ball format which only uses the best score from either player on each hole to determine each team’s overall score. “To be in the top five was great, but it was only the first day so I couldn’t really enjoy it. It was great while it lasted,” Bolden said. On the second day Bolden shot a 74 on his own ball, but with the best ball format, he and Carter shot a 69.
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF AARON BOLDEN
PHOTOSHOOT Bakari Bolden ’14 poses in front of his banner at the Nature Valley First Tee Open played at the Pebble Beach and Del Monte Golf Courses.
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 23
ON THE BEAT In its second year, the drumline receives a lot of help from coach Lauren Kosty, who has music degrees from USC and Carnegie Melon and experience with acts ranging from Cirque du Solei to P-Diddy.
BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE
W
ith her trademark beret atop her head and a 20-pound snare drum strapped to her shoulders, drumline leader Lauren Kosty studies Ted Slavin Field as the varsity football team marches from St. Francis’ 9-yard line. As the Wolverines’ center Thomas Oser ’13 waits for his quarterback Chad Kanoff ’13 to signal the snap, Kosty too waits for her signal to start triumphantly drumming her go-to touchdown song, “The Alamo.” Once Oser flips the ball to Kanoff and Kanoff zaps a pass into the hands of receiver Clinton Hooks ’13 nine yards away, Kosty starts smashing her snare drum at about 500 beats per minute to celebrate the Wolverines’ no-huddle offense scoring a touchdown. The Wolverines took a 7-0 lead in a game that they would ultimately win. They won the matchup 41-36, improving to 2-0 in the Mission League. The precision and rhythm echoing across Harvard-Westlake on the warm October night are now as much of a staple at varsity football games as the leg kicks of the cheerleaders or the chants of the Fanatics. Less than two years into the making, Kosty has built
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the Harvard-Westlake drumline program from a casual Athletic Department idea into a part of the Wolverine fan experience. Band member James Wu ’13 said that the Athletic Department got the idea started last year emailed drummers in the school’s jazz band to see if any were interested in starting the band. “[The Athletic Department] got on board and they emailed all the drummers,” Wu said. “It slowly came along and more people came.” This year’s group consists of three seniors, a sophomore and a freshman in addition to Kosty. Kosty plays in the band in addition to coaching it. Kosty said the band is open for both experienced drummers as well as people with no experience in percussions who just want to learn how to play. “I’ve been playing percussions since I was in the fifth grade,” Kosty said. “I was really active in my high school, Thousand Oaks High School, which has a huge music department. After that, I went to USC and majored in music there. Then I went to Carnegie Melon, and got a master’s degree in music there, and I’m a freelance musician in Los Angeles so I’ve played with everyone from Cirque
du Solei to P-Diddy. I played at the American Music Awards, I played in the Santa Monica Symphony.” Despite her busy schedule, Kosty finds time to lead practices with the drumline every Tuesday and Friday after school in the Ju Jitsu room to prepare for football games every Friday night. The group practices every song in its 10-song repertoire, focusing on technique and coordination. Members receive physical education credit for playing in the band. Kosty said they deserve the credit because of the strength and endurance they must build to stand and hold the heavy drum
“
WHEN THE GAME STARTS TO SLOW DOWN A BIT, WE TRY TO GET PEOPLE EXCITED AND PLAY MORE,” KOSTY SAID.
DRUMLINE Drumline coach Lauren Kosty bangs on the bass drum as Justice Sefas ’13 and James Wu ’13 drum. MICHAEL ARONSON/BIG RED
sets for entire sports games. “Last year, we did three miles carrying the snare drums,” band member Eli Goldman ’13 said, describing a particularly intense workout around the track. During the winter season, the drumline also performs at boys’ and girls’ basketball games. Kosty thinks that the group might play at spring sports in the future. “We haven’t done that in the past,” Kosty said. “But if the need should come up, we could. That’s the cool thing about the program.” The drumline works together with the cheerleaders during football games, making sure to only overlap on pieces they do in tan-
dem. “We do a few routines together,” Kosty said. “That’s something new we’ve been doing this year, collaborating with them on some dance routines to our cadences. Other than that, we just communicate with them and trade off so that we don’t overlap on what they’re doing.” Kosty says the team has gotten pretty good at recognizing when and when not to drum during the football games. However, she has received some heat from basketball coaches about drumming during timeouts. “Sometimes, during the basketball games, the coaches ask us
to play less often,” Kosty said. “But most of the time, we get a lot of playing time. We really try to avoid playing when somebody’s injured or during gameplay in football games. Sometimes, there’s a little overlap, but it’s never affected the game. “Also, when the game starts to slows down a bit, we try to get people excited and play more. During timeouts or any time there’s not action going on on the field, we try to stir up the momentum in the stands, keep everybody excited and hopefully keep the positive energy going so that our players can play their best.” The drumline will showcase
a new routine at Homecoming, Kosty said. Based on the performance playing on trash cans during halftime of last year’s varsity boys’ basketball playoff game against Serra, the drumline will perform with a collection of “found objects” at halftime of the varsity football game against Cathedral on Homecoming. “It’s this fun idea that music is everywhere,” Kosty said. “Anything you can find could be a potential musical instrument. So far, we’ve done a thing on trash cans. But this year, we’re planning on breaking out a few other exciting found object pieces.”
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 25
LOW TO HIGH Co-captain Savannah de Montesquiou returns a shot in a varsity match.
de Montesquiou ’13 Q&A Savannah Tennis co-captain Q: LUKE HOLTHOUSE/BIG RED
How far do you hope to make it in tennis?
BY LIZZY THOMAS
Q: A:
Q: A:
What has been your favorite moment of the season? I was so happy my sister[Isabella de Montesquiou ’16] got to play singles when I was out for a match, so I got to watch her play. That was a really nice moment for me because my sister and I have never been on the same team before and it was kind of nice to see her growing up. I think so far winning against Santa Barbara was really great. The entire team was gathered around the scoreboard and we were adding up all the games and when we found out we won we were really happy.
What is your role on the team this year? I’ve always kind of been just expected to win as many matches as possible, but I feel like this year, for me, Kristina [Park ’13] and Sam [Maccabee’ 13] because we’re captains, I think it’s more about trying to show the younger girls the ropes. We’re trying to teach them what high school tennis is all about, how to play each game and what to expect. It’s really nice for me to have a leadership role on the team this year and I’m really enjoying it.
26 • BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012
A:
Q: A:
I definitely am looking to be recruited for college. I want to take part in a competitive team so I’m planning to have one year in college and if I decide I want to play professionally then I’m definitely going to go for it. I love playing on a high school team, and I’m really excited for college because it’s the same camaraderie of the team but it’s more competitive.
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a player? There are kind of two different ways to hit the ball—really hard or more consistent with a lot of topspin. I hit a harder ball. I have bigger groundstrokes. I love my first serve and just really going for it. I would say my favorite shot would be my insideout forehand and also my backhand down the line just because I think recently I’ve been able to surprise my opponents. I don’t play a lot of doubles, I only play singles and am maybe hoping to play a little bit of doubles this year because for college doubles is way more important than in high school. In college there’s a lot of focus on the doubles. Doubles is really important in high school too. I’m working on my serves and my volleys and my net game.
A NEW ERA
First-year Head Coach Scot Ruggles directs team during timeout against St. Paul. . JACK GOLDFISHER/BIG RED
WORTHY OF ITS LEAGUE BY ERIC LOEB
V
ic Eumont helped make the HarvardWestlake football program relevant, going 40-26-2 in his six seasons as head coach and moving the team into the Mission League. However, similar to what occurred at his arrival, it took another major change in the program to make them competitive in a higher league. I was a part of the football program until my sophomore year, which was the first year Scot Ruggles, now head coach, joined the program. During my final year, the team went 0-5 in the Mission League, losing each game by an average of 17 points. We were hardly relevant in league. Although that team was far less talented than this year’s team, there has been a change in philosophy that I believe is a major factor in the team success this year, and it’s a philosophy that Coach Ruggles brought to the team last season as the offensive coordinator. When Coach Eumont was coaching, we ran a pro-style offense, power running plays from under center and shot-gun passes with
the occasional roll out, as well as a generic four defensive line men, three linebackers, four defensive back defense. This plan worked well before we entered the Mission League,but whether its a team like this year’s, with talented players like Chad Kanoff ’13, Thomas Oser ’13, and Clinton Hooks ’13, or the 2010 team, the roster does not lend itself to that system. Each game, we attempted to use power running plays with an undersized speed back and an offensive line that was constantly overpowered by the sheer size of the defensive lines of Mission League opponents. Our pro-style defense was reliant on linebackers not only large enough to stop the run, but also nimble enough to cover pass plays on the sidelines, as corners were told to cover a deep third. This system was not successful in the Mission League, because the average Wolverine football player, who is undersized compared to that of other teams, could not fit in with the roles he was given. In 2010, Serra ran an offense based on two talented players, Marqise Lee and
George Farmer, who now both play football at USC. Other league teams run double wing offenses, or other offenses based on the team strengths. We did alter our offense until the arrival of Coach Ruggles. Under Ruggles, the Wolverines run a new offense, a spread based on outside runs, screens, and occasionally a seam route down the middle, because these plays are what Kanoff, Oser, Hooks, and all other members of the offense are best at. We use extra defensive backs on defense when facing a team that likes to run a spread like ours, in order to attempt to match their speed. When a team runs a double wing, we sub our undersized corners out for bigger players, as that is what gives us the best chance to win each individual play, and as a result, win games. We now adapt to what opponents do, rather than the other way around. With uncertainty behind Kanoff at quarterback next season, I’m not worried that we will experience a major drop off in success, I’m excited to see how Ruggles adapts to his situation to keep the program moving forward.
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2012 • 27