YOUTH SPORTS

Who’s the NBA’s greatest defensive player ever? Dennis Rodman was certainly the most colorful, and he ranks No. 1 in total career rebound percentage. Bill Russell had more rebounds in NBA Finals appearances than anyone else. Or how about Hakeem Olajuwan? He ranks No. 1 in career blocked shots.

“I’d say Michael Cooper and Hakeem Olajuwan were the greatest defensive players,” said Loyola High School Head Basketball Coach Damaine Powell. Big D

Powell should know what he’s talking about. He adheres strictly to drilling and repetition of fundamentals, and for him, it’s all about defense and the boards. His players practice defending against the pick-and-roll offensive play, and also work the shell drill, which teaches team defense and positioning.

“The focus of all my teams is defense and rebounding,” stressed Powell. “That’s what wins championships.”

Powell is in his second year at Loyola. Previously, he coached at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs

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Youth Sports

by Jim Kalin

for seven years. His teams won four conference titles there. He also coached at Cal State University, Dominguez Hills for 10 years where his teams were conference champs three times.

Before Cal State, he was head coach at Compton College after he served as assistant coach at USC, his alma mater.

Powell and the Loyola Cubs have their work cut out for them this season. At one point last year, they were 18-2. Presently they are playing about .500.

“We lost 10 seniors after last season,” said Powell. Up and down

On November 23, in a game against Mira Costa, Loyola was held scoreless for the entire fourth quarter. This was an example of Powell’s philosophy that defense wins games, and unfortunately, it was his Cubs whom were made the example. Behind a formidable defense, Mira Costa defeated Loyola 57-46.

“They were a senior-laden team and have a great coach,” explained Powell. “It was a perfect storm of their great defense and our failure to make shots.”

A week later, Loyola traveled to Artesia to play Kennedy

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A Catholic, Independent, College Preparatory School For Girls Grades 6-12

High School, and this time, Powell’s offense and defense churned full-force. They defeated Kennedy 67-22, which was the lowest number of points Kennedy has been held to yet this season.

The Cubs’ best offensive game was also their worst defensive showing. In a high-scoring shootout on Nov. 19 against Centennial (Bakersfield), Loyola lost a close one 71-70. They went well past their scoring average — 58.6 points per game — but also finished above their 51 points allowed per game. Swingmen

Loyola is a young team, mostly comprised of sophomores and juniors. There is one freshman on the varsity squad, though. Quincy Watson is a ninth grader, and plays point guard. He’s just 5’9”, but his abilities and skills soar much higher.

Junior Hugh Vandeweghe is listed at 6’7”and plays center. “We don’t have a traditional center,” said Powell. “He’s our best 3-point shooter and works from the perimeter.”

Vandeweghe also happens to be the nephew of NBA Hall of Famer Kiki Vandeweghe. Kiki was a two-time All Star, and in 1983, while playing for the Denver Nuggets, scored 51 points against the Detroit

LOYOLA SWINGMEN Hugh Vandeweghe and Jonas de Krassel.

Pistons in a triple overtime game.

Hugh Vandeweghe’s counterpart for the Cubs is Jonas de Krassel. The two are swingmen, which are players who can play as shooting guards or small forwards, switching between positions.

“Hugh and Jonas are two of the best wing players in the country,” said Powell. “They can both shoot the threepoint shot, handle the ball and are great passers. We’ll have a chance in every game we play this year because of those two guys.”

IMMACULATE HEART By Kellyn Lanza 12th Grade

Happy New Year from Immaculate Heart! We ended 2022 with lots of events that rang in the holidays with festive cheer, starting with our high school and middle school open house events that showcased our academic programs and extracurriculars. Those prospective students who would still like to attend Shadow Visits (half-day school visits enabling prospective students to attend classes and meet teachers and students in the classroom setting) can continue to register for them in coming weeks through our website at immaculateheart.org.

Last month, the Class of 2024 hosted the annual Justice Fair. BLUTHNER/LARCHMONT 4X2.5.qxp_BLUTHNER/LARCHMONT 4X2.5 8/22/16 11:04 The juniors worked in groups to

make unique stocking stuffers, and then donated the profits to four different charities. Before heading into the first semester’s cumulative assessment period, IH hosted the Christmas art show and concert, and then we all enjoyed the Christmas Program before the start of our holiday break. Many of us also attended the annual Winter Formal dance, which took place on Dec. 16 at the Castaway in Burbank.

During the break, the soccer and basketball teams completed their pre-seasons and began competing in games. Also, during the holidays, high school students volunteered at the annual Homeboy DriveThrough Christmas Caravan to help spread joy, gifts and needed items to local families. Similarly, our middle schools shared donations they had gathered through the Adopt-a-Family program.

It was a busy end to a busy first semester. We now wish everyone the very best in 2023!

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By Jim Kalin

Local Cub Scout Pack 16 held its annual Raingutter Regatta race Nov. 12 in the gymnasium at St. Brendan School. Webelos 1 and 2 were combined, so there were four divisions of racing. A specialty contest was also held. Below are the results of the racing and specialty judging.

TIGERS: 1st: Carson Chong with his boat “Monk.”

WOLVES: 1st: Jeraldine Miron with her boat “Creeper 143.”

BEARS: 1st: Spencer Sauer-Portes with her boat “Pop Pop.”

WEBELOS 1 and 2 combined: 1st: Christian Cordero with his boat “Ze Pigeon” and 2nd: Belinda Vazquez with her boat “S.S. Steven.”

Honorable Mentions

Henry Fiedler: Honorable Mention for Best Design.

Astrid Huybrechs: Honorable Mention for Most Creative Design.

Aiden Park: Honorable Mention for Best Design and Execution.

Jordan De Rosas: Honorable Mention for Best Design.

Amalia Rempis: Honorable Mention for Most Fashionable Design.

RAINGUTTER REGATA champions: (left to right) Belinda Vazquez, Carson Chong, Jeraldine Miron, Christian Cordero and Spencer Sauer-Portes.

EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

LOS ANGELES Isabel Viola 12th grade

The ESLA community wound down our first semester of the school year in a whirlwind of final assignments and exams. It was a small stretch of time between Thanksgiving and winter break.

We had our annual Lessons and Carols feast. One of three ESLA feasts, Lessons and Carols is the holiday affair. With a student and parent choir, a brightly lit tent and a delicious meal, it’s always an event filled with festive spirit.

In other news, ESLA has brought back a lunch tradition that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. Two days out of the week, students and faculty will be assigned seating during lunch. This gives members of the community an opportunity to talk to people with whom they would not normally have the chance to. Students from across different grades are seated together with teachers whom they may never have had before. This practice was a long-standing ESLA tradition before the pandemic, and everyone is excited to see how the return of the seating arrangement goes!

ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL By Jack Byrne 8th Grade

Saint Brendan School had a great December. With Christmas spirit, we hosted a successful toy drive and donated all the toys to Alexandria House. We also collected gift cards for Adopt-A-Family. Students could bring a gift to be given to a family in need for Christmas.

There was also the Christmas Program on Dec. 14 during which every class sang Christmas songs. For example, the 1st and 2nd graders sang “All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth’’ and the 3rd and 4th graders sang “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” At the end of the program, every class came together to sing “Feliz Navidad.’’ The event was very fun and brought the school community together.

Finally, the boys and girls basketball seasons are starting and we are hoping to be as successful as we were last year.

CUB SCOUT PACK 16’S Regatta boats.

By Suzan Filipek

Soccer was in full swing on local turf last month with players from Larchmont Charter, St. Brendan, Third Street and other schools winning AYSO Region 78 Hollywood-Wilshire games.

The teams advanced to the Area League Champion playoffs Jan. 14 and 15 facing teams from Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Feliz, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, South Los Angeles and West Los Angeles.

The All-Star Tournament is Jan. 21, 22, 28 and 29. Locations are to be determined.

“With the World Cup going on right now, the timing couldn’t have been better in terms of soccer interest,” Kurt Muller, regional commissioner of AYSO 78 Hollywood, told us last month.

Some playoff games were scheduled not to conflict with the World Cup, he added, “most notably the USA game, so that families could catch that game on TV.”

Here are some results from the recent Hollywood-Wilshire championships:

Boys 10U final: Red Raptors won over the Silver Serpents 4-2 in extra time;

Girls 10U final: Watermelon Warriors won over the Golden Pandas;

Girls 12U final: Blue Wolves won over the Lucky Lilacs.

Boys 12U final: Satan’s Flaming Takis won over The Soccer Team. (The game extended

BOYS 10U: Coaches Todd Schulman, Silver Serpents; JP Finkelstein, Red Raptors; and Jason Sperling, Silver Serpents.

BOYS 12U: Coaches Gary Shaffer and Jay Lay, Satan’s Flaming Takis; and Kyle Ross, The Soccer Team. GIRLS 10U: Coaches Amy Reitsma-Cho, Watermelon Warriors; Rebecca Weiss and Abigail Shrier, Gold Pandas.

GIRLS 12U team.

into the evening with a thrilling penalty kick tiebreaker.)

While fall is the group’s primary program, the season returns in March for Spring Clinics and possibly a Spring League. Details are expected on the website in January, ayso.78.info.

Batter up for Warriors spring season

Players aged 4 to 12 are welcome and encouraged to sign up for the early bird discount, offered through mid-January, for the spring season of Wilshire Warriors Baseball at Pan Pacific Park.

“Everyone plays, and fun is the goal,” said Warriors VP of Recreation Joel Rubin.

Evaluations for the community-based, nonprofit baseball league are scheduled for Sat., Feb. 11. Practices for the season begin in mid-March, and the season is tentatively scheduled to begin March 17 and continue to May 21.

Each team will have a practice once a week in the late afternoon or early evening. Games for the older kids will be on Friday nights and on Saturdays for the younger age groups.

The littlest players, ages 4 to 6, don’t attend evaluations and don’t have weekday practices. They practice and play games on Sunday mornings, Rubin told us.

“If we have enough interest for 13- and 14-year-olds, we will try to put together a season for them,” he added.

Visit wilshirewarriors.com.

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