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TRAVELLING: SOMETIMES OK IN basketball. Pg. 12 KNEE PAIN ISN’T ALWAYS GAME-ENDER. Pg. 30 BALANCE OUT YOUR SPECIALIZATION. Pg. 32 Pg. 20

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PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson. Ext. 104 • Chace@SportStarsOnline.com Contributors Bill Kolb, Erik Stordahl, Mitch Stephens, Doug Gardner, Matt Smith, Clay Kallam, Jim McCue, Eric Gilmore, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Jonathan Okanes Photography Butch Noble, Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, Darryl Henick, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco. Ext. 103 • MikeD@SportStarsOnline.com Publisher/President Mike Calamusa. Ext. 106 • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com Advertising & Calendar/Classified Sales Sales@SportStarsOnline.com Account Executives Erik Stordahl • Erik@SportStars Online.com (Special Sections, Calendar, Marketplace sales) Reader Resources/Administration Ad Traffic, Subscription, Calendar & Classified Listings info@SportStarsOnline.com • Deb Hollinger. Ext. 101 •

It’s the biggest girls basketball tourney in the nation and it’s taking over the East Bay. MaAne’ Mosley and Salesian will be eyeing a title, but a host of top players are ready to ball . Pg. 14

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champs again: It was a SoCal sort of a night in the state bowl games, but Michael Hutchings (17) and the De La Salle defense helped bring an Open Division title back to NorCal. Pg. 20

First Pitch.................................................... 6 Locker Room............................................. 8 AAA SportStars of the Week...............11 Behind the Clipboard.............................12 In the Paint...............................................18 Red Zone..................................................26 Health Watch...........................................30 Tee2Green................................................31 Training Time............................................32 Impulse......................................................37

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ON THE COVER: De La Salle running back Tiapepe Vitale. Photo by Bob Sansoe.

in the paint: Hoops season is off and running, and so is Sacramento. Pg. 18

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what a run: Campolindo football’s scintillating run ends shy of state title. Pg. 24

holiday savings: Getting in shape for the new year doesn’t have to be expensive. Pg. 37

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December 22, 2011

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A full year of SportStars makes for a fun look back at 2011

T

he year of 2011 was a big deal in high surrounding the sophomore center for the school sports in Northern California.

Archbishop Mitty boys basketball team. He Why you ask? Because it was the first delivered on it. Leading the Monarchs to a full calendar year of SportStars coverage.

32-2 record and a state title.

Yup. A small milestone, but a milestone 6. Those surprise Diamondbacks: Nononetheless. It made things that much more body gave the Sac-Joaquin Section Division enjoyable when we broke out the old issues IV champions from Union Mine a chance to reminisce on what was a great year of high against two-time defending state champ school sports it was in the North State.

La Jolla Country Day. Which made their There were plenty of great stories, but we five-set victory extra sweet. thought we’d try to narrow it to our 10 favor7. Steve Perry’s no-hit list: The Maxwell ite. We’re sure you have some of your own, so pitcher captivated an entire state, and drew don’t be afraid to tell us. national attention, when he reeled off four In no particular order (because seriously, straight no-hitters. The streak ended with a just listing 10 is hard enough): one-hitter against Sutter.

1. Campolindo football: It’s a fresh story, 8. Arms race: Speaking of pitchers, Joe so we’ll list it first. You’ll read a lot about this Ross and Robert Stephenson will forever team in this issue, and for good reason. The be linked in the Bay Area after they were Cougars were picked to finish last in their selected two picks apart in the first round of league, and instead went 14-1 and became the Major League Baseball First Year Player the East Bay’s first public school to play in a Draft. Ross went No. 25 to the Padres and California Interscholastic Federation State Stephenson went No. 27 to the Reds.

Championship bowl game. We don’t want 9. Trinity Wilson’s summer stomp: After to spoil everything, so just turn to page 24 winning the state title in the 100 meter when you’re ready for the rest. hurdles, Wilson embarked on a six-week 2. State football records beware: We knew stretch where she won five more gold medals it was going to be a crazy year of football — including a World Youth title in France. when we showed up to Deer Valley-Antioch 10. Carrie Verdon repeats: The Camon Sept. 16 and saw Folsom quarterback polindo-Moraga cross country runner Tanner Trosin throw for a NorCal record 597 defended her CIF Division III state chamyards. He finished the year as the state’s first pionship — by a mere second. Oakmont 5,000-yard passer and was just one of several Roseville’s Karlie Garcia nearly had the upset Chace@ players to etch their name in the state record at the state championships.

SportStarsOnline.com ■ While we were looking back, we debook. For more names, check out page 8. cided to pick three of our favorite covers: 3. North Coast Section water polo mad(925) 566-8503 1. East Bay Issue #20, March 24: Photogness: Four championship matches, three rapher Bob Larson delivers a perfect celebradecided by one goal, and one that involved tion moment between Berkeley girls basketball players Elisha a team coming back from an eight goal deficit in the final Davis and Khristina Hunter. period. There’s a reason this sport has a growing fan base.

2. California Issue #24, May 26: Nobert von der Groe4. De La Salle’s winter of sheer content: First, the De ben gave us this awesome image of Shanique Walker of Mt. La Salle wrestling team set all sorts of North Coast Section Pleasant-San Jose. championship records when it produced eight individual 3. South Bay Issue #30, Aug. 25: We actually produced champs. Then a few weeks later, the boys basketball team three covers for our football preview, including this classic grinded its way to a NorCal title and nearly beat national shot of Valley Christian-San Jose’s Byron Marshall (also by No. 1 Mater Dei-Santa Ana in the state final. von der Groeben). ✪ 5. Aaron Gordon arrives: Their was plenty of hype

First Pitch Chace Bryson Editor

east bay issue 20, march 24 California Issue 24, May 26 Father’s Day Free-For-all. Pg. 40

WIN FREE LIFT TICKETS! Pg. 36

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south bay Issue 30, Aug. 25 We pick norcal’s top 20 teams

May 26, 2011

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south bay special edition

SpLASh hitS

top players, top teams

Vista del Lago VB takes title. Pg. 30

Pacos, DLS pull upset. Pg. 16 O’Dowd debuts at state. Pg. 20 St. Joes gets redemption. Pg. 21

North Bay hangs tough at NCS. Pg. 33

We knoW Who they are & let you in on the secret

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previeWs, predictions & more!

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league champs named

sections broken doWn allsection teams

SPIKES UP! DFAL baseball teams prepare for ultimate grind. Pg. 30 ENCORE! ENCORE! Concord softball tries to one-up itself. Pg. 31

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December 22, 2011

thROwinG hEAt

Scouts drooling over Robert Stephenson. Pg. 14

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BEST storylines from norcal football 2011 With De La Salle’s emphatic victory over Westlake in the Open Division Championship Bowl Game on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center, the high school football season came to its (somewhat predictable but still highly entertaining) close.

With that, we give you the top five stories from NorCal football season just past.

1. Sorry Spartans, but we gotta go with the Cougars on this one. How can Campolindo’s 14-0 run through the regular season and North Coast Section playoffs play second fiddle to anyone? Improbable? How about impossible? The Cougars patchwork line, ball-hawking secondary and big-play passing attack couldn’t possibly hold up against tough competition.

It was a nail-biting recipe for acid reflux. The Cougars were picked to finish last in their league. You might have heard that somewhere. And yet, week after week, they found a way to win.

2. Looking for silver and green at No. 2? Try red and black.

That’s right, we’re putting Salesian’s 13-0 NCS championship run ahead of the Spartans, too. What can we say? We’re feeling saucy. That’s back-to-back titles for the Pride, for those of you who pay attention to NCS Div. IV football. For those of you who don’t, start. It’s worth your time an effort to know about it. Names like Jahvid Best and Freddie Tagaloa should help jog your memory.

3. Fine, fine. We give. You’re right. De La Salle’s turnaround from a discouraging loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida in week three to a 20th straight NCS title and a flat-out pasting of an undefeated and high-powered Westlake squad in the Open final is about as impressive a story as there was.

4. Howabout Northern California players posting a full-on assault of NorCal and state records. Folsom’s Tanner Trosin became the state’s first-ever 5,000-yard passer. Vista del Lago-Folsom reciever Logan Smith set the state record for single-season receptions. And Concord running back Olito Thompson made a mockery of three different NorCal rushing records.

5. The running clock. Best new rule the CIF has implemented in, hum, forever? If a team leads by 35 points after the third quarter, the game is played with a running clock. That means no more endless fourth quarters of drudgery with the game long since decided and players from the trailing team gamely darting out of bounds to preserve precious (and yet, somehow meaningless) seconds. The frostbitten fingers and toes of countless fans, cheerleaders, football writers, chain-gang members and officials offer their sincere thanks.

— Bill Kolb

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December 22, 2011

What’s been the story of fall? We say the Campolindo football team but there are plenty of others out there. Olito Thompson’s epic rushing numbers, back-to-back state titles for Carrie Verdon, Albany’s historic run in girls volleyball. What gets your vote?

“The Las Lomas boys’ water polo team comeback to win the NCS championship game.” — Carol J.

James K. Leash

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rapidFIRE Favorite Starbucks order Peppermint hot chocolate

New Year’s Resolution

Favorite Xmas movie

Last song or album you purchased

What will you most remember about 2011

Favorite snow-related activity

Go to gym at least 4x/ week; eat healthy

Florence + The Machine

Playing at Pebble Beach

Snowboarding

To win a state wrestling title

An album by the band ‘Throwdown’

Our state football bowl game

I don’t do much in the snow

Win all of our league games

‘Motto’

by Drake

Our Dec. 17 defeat of Las Lomas

Monique Riley, Amador Valley golf

Never had Starbucks

Justin Walker, De La Salle football

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Snowboarding

Joe Felletier, Northgate basketball

sayWHAT? “It was surreal. To be in the Oakland Coliseum from tiny Tomales High School. ... It just means the world to me. It means the world to Tomales. I’m thrilled. Thrilled to death.”

Tomales High football coach Leon Feliciano (pictured second from left, along with his family and North Coast Section Commissioner Gil Lemmon), after receiving his award as the 2011 Football NCS Honor Coach on Dec. 10 at the O.co Coliseum. Since arriving at Tomales in 1996, Feliciano has compiled a record of 118-56-4, turning the Braves into an NCS small school powerhouse.

They’ve reached the Div. V final seven times, and won three.

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December 22, 2011

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December 22, 2011

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Breanna Alford Miramonte . sophomore . basketball

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BREANNA’S QUICK HITS Favorite team: Lakers Favorite ice cream flavor: Rainbow Sherbet Favorite place to shop: Forever 21

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While just a sophomore, Breanna Alford’s play so far this season has her teammates looking up to her as a senior. She racked up 17 points and 15 rebounds in an 81-47 win over Willits in the Willits Tournament Championship on Dec. 3 where she was named MVP. Alford and the Matadors are off to a sizzling 8-0 start with high postseason aspirations in mind.

SportStars Magazine: How pumped were you to be named MVP? Breanna Alford: I was excited, I was very pumped. I wasn’t thinking about it at all during the tournament. I was surprised that I got it.

SSM: What areas of your game did you work on in the summer?

BA: I improved on my dribbling and a lot on defense, not a lot on offense. Getting faster and more footwork, and better footwork when I’m down low.

SSM: Being only a sophomore, how does it feel to have this type of success?

BA: It feels good. It’s really exciting to know it’s paying off. A lot of people are looking up to me. It’s all going so fast.

SSM: How do you take this and carry it over to the rest of the season?

BA: I think we can go far. We wanna go far at NCS this year.

honorable mention

tiapepe vitale The De La Salle junior had 178 rushing yards and six TDs as the Spartans beat San Ramon Valley 49-13 for the NCS Div. I title on Dec. 10. He also added two TDs in the CIF Open Div. bowl game.

cristian antezana The Campolindo kicker had ice in his veins as he nailed the gamewinning 21-yard field goal as time expired in the NCS Div. III championship. The Cougars beattop seed Marin Catholic 20-18 on Dec. 10.

kathleen wagner The Amador Valley senior took home MVP honors of the Walnut Creek Classic after posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and six steals in the championship on Dec. 17.

December 22, 2011

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11

Benefits of overnight travel can outweigh deterrents for both team and player My coach wants us to go to a tournament and stay in a hotel, but my mom says it’s a stupid idea. She says it’s just high school sports, and kids need to stay home and take care of their classwork. What do I tell her so she’ll let me go?

A.G., Sunnyvale

ometimes even moms get it wrong — and I think yours didn’t quite think this one through.

If interscholastic sports are an important part of the process of going to high school, and one would think they are since schools sponsor them, then as with anything, they are worth doing right. And though going away for a tournament and staying in a motel with a bunch of other teenagers might not be conducive to getting a lot of homework done, or reading the thrilling “The Scarlet Letter” that English teachers somehow perceive as being of lasting value, it does have an impact on teams and team success.

To begin with, travelling to a tournament definitely helps teammates forge bonds. There’s nothing like going on the road to make players realize that they have to be there for each other because no one else will be.

My favorite story is a trip the Campolindo girls’ basketball team took to Windsor, Ariz., in the mid-’90s. Windsor is on the Navajo reservation, and the team was almost all Native American.

We played the host team in the championship, and one of the moms asked me before the game what our chances were. I said “About 75 percent,” and she was shocked (I think we went on to the NorCal finals that year, or at least came close, so we were pretty good). I said, “Look, they’re going to foul our best players out, and they’re a solid team.”

Sure enough, our top players get in foul trouble, and we’re down 13 in the fourth quarter — but the whistles stop and we come back to force it into overtime. At that point, another one of our stars fouled out and we lost. The crowd of 900 excited Native Americans were standing and screaming the whole time.

After the game, fans came up to me and said things like “Windsor never loses here — because of the refs,” and “You deserved to win that game,” and other shows of support.

Finally, an old Native American came up to me and put his arm on my shoulder. He looked at me and said “Now you know how Custer felt.”

There’s certainly no question that our team got much closer after going through that kind of crucible, and even if the circumstances aren’t quite that dramatic, a road trip helps a group of people transform themselves into a team — and often forces kids to get to know each other better, and thus understand each other a little more.

And if it’s important enough for schools to have teams, then it’s important for those teams to do the things necessary to be good teams — and traveling together clearly helps.

But watch out for the arrows. ✪

S

Behind the Clipboard

To begin with, travelling to a tournament definitely helps teammates forge bonds. There’s nothing like going on the road to make players realize that they have to be there for each other because no one else will be.

Clay Kallam

Clay Kallam is an assistant athletic director and girls varsity basketball coach at Bentley High in Lafayette. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email Coach Kallam at clayk@fullcourt.com

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December 22, 2011

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Moore Better The girls program at SalesianRichmond has long mired in the shadows of the school’s boys teams — then Mariya Moore showed up

W

By jonathan okanes | Contributor

hen 1974 Salesian High School graduate Steve Pezzola took over his alma mater’s girls basketball program before the 2009-10 season, he saw no reason why the Pride couldn’t become as dominant as the boys team.

Then Mariya Moore came along and provided one very big reason why Salesian has developed into a Northern California Division IV power.

Moore arrived at Salesian in Pezzola’s second season and led the Pride to a 24-6 record and a quarterfinal berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. Moore is back for her sophomore season and has the Pride off to a strong start as it gears up for the grueling West Coast Jamboree during the last week of December.

There will be 154 teams broken into 15 divisions and playing at assorted sites throughout the East Bay during the four-day event. Salesian plays in the Topaz bracket and opens up against Sierra-Manteca on Dec. 27 at Las Positas College.

“If you’re going to pick a player to jump-start your program, she’s a pretty good one to pick,” Pezzola said.

Not only will the Pride get a chance to measure itself against strong competition from all divisions at the West Coast Jamboree, the tournament also will give Moore a chance exhibit her considerable talents during a prestigious event. Through the season’s first five games, the well-rounded Moore was averaging 17.6 points, 5.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 steals. That is after an eye-opening freshman season in which she averaged 17.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game.

Moore entered the season as the 14th-ranked sophomore in the country according to ESPN. “Mariya is the star because she makes the team better,” Pezzola said. “Mariya could score a lot of points every game if she wants, but you can just see the smile on her face if she has a high assist total and a high rebound total. She wants the team to win.”

Pezzola had already started the process of turning around the program before Moore arrived on campus. After taking over a team that went 6-19 the year before, Pezzola immediately got Salesian into the NCS playoffs in his first season before losing in the first round and finishing with a 19-10 record. Pezzola instilled a belief in his players that they could have the same type of success as their male counterparts — a bold initiative

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December 22, 2011

Photo by Phillip Walton

Mariya Moore

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Show-stopping Sophs

Some of the nation’s best talent from the 2014 class will be on display at the West Coast Jamboree.

Here’s 10 worth seeing.

Lynee’ Belton Bullis School-Potomac Md. 6-2 forward/center Platinum Division @ Miramonte HS Maia Barnett Archer School-L.A. 5-6 point guard, Diamond Division @ Liberty HS Jordin Canada Windward-Los Angeles, 5-6 point guard Platinum Division Mikayla Cowling St. Mary’s-Berkeley 6-0 forward Platinum Division Bianca Cuevas Nazareth RegionalBrooklyn NY 5-5 point guard Platinum Division Ayanna Edwards Sacramento 6-4 center Platinum Division Alyna Kanae Sheldon-Sacramento 5-7 guard Gold Division @ Deer Valley HS Mariya Moore Salesian-Richmond 5-10 guard/forward Topaz Division @ Las Positas College Courtney Seams Amador Valley-Pleasanton 5-11 forward Coral Division @ Ygnacio Valley HS Aleseana Whitney Vanden-Fairfield 6-0 forward Gold Division

considering the Salesian boys program has reached the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship twice in the past three seasons, winning it during the 2008-09 season.

But adding a player like Moore really made the turnaround stark. The 5-foot-10 guard/ forward has a feel for the game rare in high school basketball, and even as a freshman she was almost always the best player on the floor in every game the Pride played.

“Sometimes we rely on her to score and she is really good at that,” Pezzola said. “But she’s even better at making her teammates better.”

Moore had been playing high-level AAU basketball for the Bay Area Warriors when she arrived at Salesian, but she had some uncertainty when she made the varsity team as a freshman.

“I was kind of scared,” Moore said. “I hoped they didn’t feel weird about it. But they were right with me the whole way. They helped me a lot. Even though I was one of the bigger players, it was still a tough experience coming to school as an underclassman.”

Any potential awkwardness that may have existed from a freshman garnering so much attention was alleviated when Salesian’s veteran players not only saw what Moore could do, but how she could make them better.

“Yeah, she was a freshman but at the same time we knew she was going to help the team for the next four years,” Salesian forward Sumiko Erves said.

Said Pezzola: “You always are concerned when a freshman comes in and has more notoriety or it’s pretty evident she’s clearly the best player. But she’s so totally team-oriented that she looks for her teammates and she makes them better. The team realizes that she’s not just about Mariya. She’s about making the team better. They welcomed her with open arms.”

Moore was born in Raleigh, N.C. and moved to Sacramento at age 2. She spent the first part of her childhood playing soccer and didn’t take up basketball until she moved into the area before the fourth grade and a friend asked her to play. That friend turned out to be current Carondelet sophomore star Natalie Romeo, whose father was coaching at St. Catherine in Martinez.

Moore was already tall for her age and decided to take Romeo up on her offer. After the first day, she almost quit.

“They had more skill than I did. I was just the fastest one,” Moore said. “I was really down. It took me a couple years to really like it.”

Pezzola had others tell him about Moore when she got to Salesian but had never seen her play. When he opened the doors for her first open gym session, it didn’t take long to make him a believer.

“Her team was running the fast break and someone was out on the wing cutting to the hoop and a 40-foot laser beam came right to her,” Pezzola said. “It took about five minutes to see she was really good. I had a pretty big smile.”

When it came time for tryouts, it took about five more minutes to see that Moore was not only going to make the varsity squad as a freshman, but become the focal point of the team.

“Her athletic ability and her court sense are so evident that whenever you have any situation that is competitive, you find out that she’s the real deal,” Pezzola said. “I’ve coached some pretty high-level players and I have not coached anybody that sees the floor as well as Mariya.”

Moore should be able to write her own ticket to college — Pezzola says she is a good student and it’s just a matter of “finding a good fit for her education.” Moore said she’s been “thinking about college a lot” and after at first feeling strongly about going to Tennessee, she’s more open now that Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt has been diagnosed with earlyonset dementia. Moore said she “would consider a lot of schools,” even North Carolina, where she still has family in the area.

It seems remarkable that Moore still has close to three full high school seasons to play before heading off to college. The next step is reaching the NCS finals, which would put the Pride in the CIF Northern Regional playoffs. Ultimately, Moore and her teammates want to match the recent success of Salesian’s boys program, which in addition to its state success, has won three NCS championships during the past six years.

“I just think it’s important that if you have the word ‘Salesian’ across your chest, that you go all out and be a winner,” Pezzola said. “I see the boys program go to the state championship and think, ‘Why not the girls?’ Why can’t the girls be that good?’ We want Salesian to stand for good basketball for both boys and girls.”

And the Pride feels like they are ready to take the next step.

Salesian lost three seniors from last year’s team, including second-leading scorer Leticia Oceguera, but still returns the bulk of its production. Pezzola says increased attention to conditioning during the offseason has made the team more athletic and deep. He has used a 10-player rotation consistently so far this season.

“I think we’re going to gel better and better as the season goes along,” Erves said. “Once we get each other’s tendencies down, we’re going to be unstoppable.” ✪

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All records through Dec. 17 Rank (Last Wk.) School...........................Record 1 (1)

St. Mary’s-Stockton.......................... 2-0

2 (2)

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland.................. 2-0

3 (3)

Carondelet-Concord......................... 5-0

4 (4)

Berkeley............................................ 4-0

5 (5)

St. Ignatius-S.F.................................. 5-0

6 (9)

Sacramento...................................... 4-0

7 (8)

Terra Nova-Pacifica.......................... 5-1

8 (10)

Miramonte-Orinda............................ 7-0

9 (13)

Salesian-Richmond.......................... 5-0

10 (14) Modesto Christian............................. 6-0 11 (12)

Lincoln-Stockton............................... 5-1

12 (11)

Dougherty Valley-San Ramon......... 3-2

13 (7)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose.............. 5-3

14 (15) Deer Valley-Antioch.......................... 6-2 15 (nr)

Kennedy-Sacramento...................... 6-0

16 (nr)

Santa Cruz........................................ 8-0

17 (nr)

Mission San Jose-Fremont.............. 5-1

18 (nr)

Amador Valley-Pleasanton............... 9-1

19 (nr)

Pleasant Valley-Chico...................... 8-0

20 (20) Heritage-Brentwood......................... 8-1 DROPPED OUT: No. 6 St. Mary’s-Berkeley, No. 16 Marin Catholic-Kentfield, No. 17 Del Oro-Loomis, No. 18 Palo Alto, No. 19 James Logan-Union City, No. 20 Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove.

BIGGEST MOVER: Kennedy-Sacramento beat previously-ranked Del Oro and up-and-comer Christian Brothers to debut at No. 15.

TEAMS REMAINING FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 14 KNOCKING AT THE DOOR: Pleasant Grove (52), Dublin (6-0), Brookside Christian-Sacramento (6-2), St. Mary’s-Berkeley (3-1), El Camino-Sacramento (7-1), Monte Vista-Danville (6-2).

UPDATED RANKINGS GET THE LATEST RANKINGS wednesday at www.SportStarsOnline.com

December 22, 2011

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15

INSIDE THE WEST COAST JAMBOREE Nation’s No. 1 team is the headliner, but there is much more to the spectacle By clay kallam | Contributor

THE BASICS

Dates: Dec. 27-30 (Platinum, Diamond Gold); Dec. 27-29 (Ruby); Dec. 28-30 (Agate, Amber, Amethyst, Coral, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Topaz)

Times: From way too early (9 a.m. on some days and sites) to way too late (the last game is supposed to start at 8:30 p.m., but too often doesn’t) Teams: 110

Sites: Nine

Best first-round game: Terra Nova vs. Bishop O’Dowd (5:30 p.m., Dec. 27) Longest plane flight: Nazareth-Brooklyn

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In New York, everybody knows Apache.

Folks familiar with the elite AAU programs know him as well, because he runs Exodus, the premier NYC club team.

Not too long ago, he was the coach at St. Michael’s, a private school that he and his players turned into a national power. But St. Michael’s closed in the spring of 2010, and Apache Paschall then took over at Nazareth — and many of his players followed him. Not surprisingly, Nazareth was immediately a national-caliber team, also not surprisingly, a lot of people in New York were upset and accused him of recruiting.

That chorus of complaints only got louder when Nazareth landed three transfers, one from Indiana, who all played for Exodus in the summer. But all were cleared by the New York authorities, and as a result, Nazareth is ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN — which left Apache to just worry about one thing: A cancer diagnosis.

Paschall has skin cancer, and has had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while at the same time dealing with the demands of coaching one of the top teams in the nation, and fending off claims of recruiting and players transferring illegally.

At the end of the day, though, what matters is the basketball, and what fans will see who go to Miramonte to watch Nazareth play is one of the most

December 22, 2011

talented lineups in recent memory — and then Northern Californians will know who Apache is as well. ◆◆◆ Nazareth isn’t the first elite team to come to the Jamboree from New York: In 2003, Murray Bergtraum, with WNBA players Epiphanny Prince and Shannon Bobbitt, made the trip, only to lose to Long Beach Poly in the finals.

Just for the record, the team with the most Jamboree Platinum Division titles is Brea-Olinda with three. St. Mary’s-Stockton has won two, but neither team will be able to add to its total this year since neither are attending. ◆◆◆ Though all eyes will be focused on the Platinum Division at Miramonte High School, don’t just automatically head out to sample the delights of downtown Orinda when the Emerald Division teams take the court. Host Miramonte tops an outstanding bracket that also includes Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento, Del Oro-Loomis, Christian Brothers-Sacramento and St. Francis-Mountain View.

That last team could prove to have the most long-term interest as Brian Harrigan is the new coach — and for those with short memories, Harrigan was the man who built Sacred Heart Cathedral into the top team in the country. After a brief hiatus, he’s back in the West Catholic Athletic League, and though St. Francis may not have the talent necessary to make a run at a national title, or even a state crown, this year, the Lancers are clearly primed to for a great leap forward. And it might just start at the Jamboree. ✪

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we pick the WINNERS

No one gambles on sports, do they? Good, because if you use these picks as a guide, you’re going to owe Guido and Luigi some serious coin.

20 players you have to see

Platinum: Nazareth-Brooklyn (N.Y.) Gold: Buena-Ventura Diamond: Heritage-Brentwood Coral: Montgomery-Santa Rosa Emerald: Miramonte-Orinda

Tanzanite: Monte Vista-Danville Topaz: Kennedy-Sacramento Amber: Campolindo-Moraga Quartz: Rodriguez-Fairfield

Amethyst: San Domenico-San Anselmo

Ariell Bostick, Bishop O’DowdOakland Tori Breshers, NarbonneHarbor City Brianna Butler, Nazareth Jordin Canada, Windward-L.A. (above) Keyahndra Cannon, Mission Bay Oderah Chidom, Bishop O’Dowd

Ruby: Albany Sapphire: West Campus-Sacramento Garnet: Valley Christian-Dublin Agate: Point Arena Silver (JV): St. Mary’s-Stockton

Ivonne Cook-Taylor, Terra Nova-Pacifica

Heather Corral, Prairie (WA)

Mikayla Cowling, St. Mary’sBerkeley Bianca Cuevas, Nazareth Elisha Davis, Berkeley Tia Dixon, San Diego

Darius Faulk, Nazareth

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Taylor Ford, Nazareth Nyre Harris, Lincoln-Stockton Terilyn Moe, Terra NovaPacifica Mariya Moore, SalesianRichmond Imani Stafford, Windward Sophie Taylor, AcalanesLafayette K.C. Waters, Bishop O’Dowd

Louis Lopez/Cal Sports Media/ZUMAPRESS.com

December 22, 2011

SportStars™

17

in the paint

Legacy of success begins with a proper pace for Swafford, Sacramento Seven Seasons of State

The only season Derek Swafford, right, hasn’t led the Sacramento High boys basketball team into the state tournament was his first year (2003-04). Since then, his teams have been regulars in the CIF Division III Northern Regional tournament. Here’s a look at each year’s final record and finish.

04-05: 29-3, NorCal semifinalist 05-06: 29-6, NorCal runner-up 06-07: 26-6, NorCal semifinalist 07-08: 30-4, NorCal champs, state runner-up 08-09: 27-7, NorCal runner-up 09-10: 26-7, NorCal runner-up 10-11: 27-6, NorCal semifinalist

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By jim mccue | Contributor Derek Swafford arrived at the Sacramento High boys basketball program when the school was at a crossroads.

It was 2003 and Sacramento High School had just become a St. HOPE charter school.

Swafford’s tenure began at the start of the 2003-04 season and has since included seven consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finals appearances —winning five of them, including the last three.

But, despite the rapid success that Swafford’s teams achieved, the coach firmly believes in pacing his team to reap the benefits of its hard work. With just four seniors on the roster this season, Swafford is doing all he can to emphasize pace, so that this Dragons team will be hitting its peak down the stretch—of each game as well as the season as a whole.

“These kids sometimes want to win the game in the first quarter,” Swafford said after Sacramento defeated Analy-Sebastopol in pool play of the St. HOPE Elite Hoop Classic. “I have to try to rein them in sometimes and remind them that there are three more quarters to play.”

Sacramento (6-2) won its tournament with a perfect 4-0 record during pool and bracket play, culminating in a 57-44 victory over Bakersfield in the Gold Bracket final on Dec. 17.

However, Swafford was not as interested in coming out on top of the Gold Bracket as he was in getting his team on the court with top competition from the Southern half of the state.

Bakersfield and Pasadena—both ranked among the top teams in their respective sections in Southern California—were among the handful of teams that accepted the invitation to play in the tournament. Dorsey-Los Angeles and Compton also brought their talents north.

“We want to see the Southern California teams as much as we can because we know we have to face the best from down there down the road if we want to be successful in the state tournament,” Swafford said. “(This year’s 12-team format) is just the start of what I really want

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in the paint LEFT: Sacramento coach Derek Swafford took over the program in 2003 and has helped build the Dragons into Sac-Joaquin Section power in Division III. RIGHT: Eric Kinney elevates for a dunk during a Dec. 15 game against Analy-Sebastapol. The Cal State Bakersfield-bound Kinney should be a key contributor to a 2011-12 group that expects to go after another SJS crown.

All records through Dec. 17

Rank (Last Wk.) School........................... Record 1 (1)

Photos by James K. Leash

2 (2)

3 (3)

4 (5)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose ..............4-0 Salesian-Richmond...........................6-1 De La Salle-Concord........................4-0

Sheldon-Sacramento........................4-2

5 (8)

Jesuit-Sacramento............................8-1

7 (7)

McClymonds-Oakland......................4-2

9 (8)

Sacramento.......................................6-2

11 (10)

Antelope-Center................................9-1

6 (4)

8 (9)

10 (17)

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland..................4-2

Newark Memorial-Newark................4-2

Franklin-Elk Grove............................7-1

12 (NR) Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove................7-1

13 (15)

Burbank-Sacrametno........................4-1

15 (16)

Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F.............5-0

14 (14)

Deer Valley-Antioch..........................4-4

16 (NR) Vanden-Fairfield................................9-0

17 (NR) Freedom-Oakley...............................6-1

18 (NR) Dublin.................................................6-3

19 (NR) Chico..................................................7-2

20 (11)

Berkeley.............................................2-4

DROPPED OUT: No. 12 St. Igantius-S.F. (3-3),

No. 13 St. Mary’s-Berkeley (1-8), No. 18 Vallejo to do with the tournament. We want to get this to a 16-team tournament that showcases some of the best teams from Northern and Southern California.”

For this year, the Dragons measured up well with their Southern counterparts. They may have even grown into the role of the patient, consistent team that Swafford hopes to see in February and March when postseason play rolls around. In the final against Bakersfield, Sacramento held off the Drillers with a strong fourth quarter.

Senior guard Eric Kinney, who has committed to Cal State Bakersfield, is the team’s leading scorer, but concentrated his efforts on rebounding and defense to help the Dragons outlast the Drillers. In the game against Analy, Kinney found a shooting groove and tallied a game-high 26 points while showing his ability to score from outside or inside.

“Everything starts with the defense,” Kinney said. “We focus mostly on defense which starts the offense for us. We like to run out on offense, so sometimes coach has to tell us to slow things down.”

That patience, and the pace that Swafford preaches, are not lost on a team that is hopeful of living up to the reputation

of previous teams and players established at the Oak Park neighborhood campus. Kinney and senior backcourt mate Darius Graham, a UC Davis commit, may have their college plans set, but they know that they have a legacy to live up to in high school first.

“It’s real important to live up to the Sac High name,” Kinney said. “There are a lot of guys that have created a legacy, and we want to make sure that we live up to being Dragons.”

After Christmas, Sacramento will head south to face more quality competition at the Holiday Hardwood Tournament at Oaks Christian-Westlake Village before starting Metro League play in January. Ideally, the Dragons will get more exposure to the speed and style of Southern California basketball, so that they might last long enough in the postseason to get another taste of it. The Dragons will compete in Division II this year after dominating Division III for so many years.

“With these tournaments, I would rather get beat and learn than win by 20 points,” Swafford said of the early season tournaments. “We’re still learning how to run our schemes and learning to be more disciplined, but I know that we can compete with the best teams in the state.” ✪

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(9-3), No. 19 El Cerrito (4-4), No. 20 HeritageBrentwood (7-2)

BIGGEST MOVER: Pleasant Grove jumped eight spots from being unranked to slotting in at No. 12.

We’ll take the blame on that one, as we probably

should have had them in the preseason rankings.

Of teams that were ranked, Franklin-Elk Grove

jumped up seven spots after wins over Antelope and Berkeley.

TEAMS REMAINING FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 15

KNOCKING AT THE DOOR: Del Campo-Fair

Oaks (8-1), Heritage-Brentwood (7-2), Vallejo (9-3), Acalanes-Lafayette (7-2), Serra-San Mateo (5-1).

UPDATED RANKINGS

GET THE LATEST RANKINGS wednesday at www.SportStarsOnline.com

December 22, 2011

SportStars™

19

I

n close to 30 years on the De La Salle High football coaching staff, there isn’t much Terry Eidson hasn’t seen.

He’s coached defenses featuring NFL standouts such as D.J. Williams and Derek Landri.

He’s coached special teams units with return men like NFL all-pro Maurice Jones-Drew.

His defenses have had to defend against NFL talent as well, players like Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart and DeSean Jackson.

To that point, Terry Eidson doesn’t speak in hyperbole.

He knows good talent and good teams when he sees them. And he’s seen a lot of both.

In the moments following the final play of the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state championship bowl game, Eidson is surveying the scene on the turf of the Home Depot Center in Carson: De La Salle players and coaches exchanging celebratory embraces as coach Bob Ladouceur makes his way to the midfield podium where he will accept the team’s third consecutive Open Division trophy.

Eidson has already shared many an embrace during the final moments of the 35-0 victory over Westlake-Westlake Village. But now he finds himself off to the side. Beaming.

De La Salle had just completed the most dominant performance ever by a defense during the six-year history of the CIF Bowl games. It wasn’t just that it was the first ever shutout in a bowl game, but it came against a Westlake team which had scored no less than 35 points in any of its previous 14 games in 2011.

It begged the question, was this the best De La Salle defense ever?

As it turned out, that was exactly what the 2011 defense had committed itself to become.

“Without offending every other great defense we’ve ever had, it definitely ranks up there as one of the best we’ve ever had,” Eidson said after unfolding an index card to show a hand-written commitment to be the program’s best defense ever. “There’s no doubt about it. To shut out (Westlake) in the state game? That is a talented team. We bent, but they never broke us.”

Westlake entered the game averaging more than 48 points per game. The Warriors were ranked No. 6 nationally by MaxPreps.com.

They scored touchdowns in their sleep. But against the De La Salle defense, they never found a rhythm.

Quarterback Justin Moore, a dual-threat junior who entered the game having thrown for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000, was harried by the Spartans front four all night long. He was sacked

by Chris Olinger on the Warriors’ first official play from scrimmage. Westlake running back Dashon Hunt, who carried for 154 yards

Story by Chace Bryson 20

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December 22, 2011

the case for the

DEFENSE In winning a third straight CIF Open Division title, the De La Salle football team delivered an unforgettable defensive performance

Bob Sansoe

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Domination

A few key stats on the 2011 De La Salle defense.

■ 77.5 rushing yards allowed/game ■ 116.1 Passing yards allowed/game ■ 5 shutouts ■ 11 games of holding opponents to 7 points or less ■ 13 games of holding opponents under 100 yards rushing ■ 33 sacks ■ 24 forced turnovers

LEFT: Michael Hutchings (17) leads a swarm of De La Salle-Concord defenders upon WestlakeWestlake Village receiver Cody Tuttle during the CIF Open Division state bowl game. RIGHT: Tiapepe Vitale helped key the offensive attack for the champion Spartans.

He rushed for 90 yards and two scores in the win over Westlake.

and four touchdowns in his team’s Southern Section Pac-5 championship win the week before, had just 48 yards on 12 carries against the Spartans. De La Salle also forced three turnovers on the night, including two crucial first-half interceptions in the end zone.

“I thought they just did a fantastic job,” Eidson said.

“These kids deserve it. They worked for it. I can’t be more proud of a defensive unit, than I am about them.”

Michael Barton was beaming, too.

The senior middle linebacker was the unquestioned captain of the De La Salle defense. He took the Spartans’ lone loss of the season — a 30-6 nationallytelevised defeat at St. Thomas Aquinas-Ft. Lauderdale (FL) on Sept. 21 — personally. And he came out of it a different player.

“There was no doubt about it,” De La Salle offensive line and linebackers coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “And I was proud of him, too. He could’ve come home and tucked his tail and run a little bit. But he came out and was playing at a whole new speed and a whole new level of physicality.

“Week by week I just saw him making tackle after tackle after tackle. I wasn’t surprised by it, but I was definitely pleased. He was making a lot of

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good plays, really difficult plays.”

Behind Barton’s lead, the Spartans defense slowly molded itself into a nearimpenetrable force. After a 42-21 win at Monte VistaDanville on Oct. 21, the De La Salle first-team defense didn’t allow a touchdown the rest of the season — a span of seven games.

And while the four-man defensive front was a huge factor in stifling opponents running games and pressuring quarterbacks, it was Barton and the junior linebacking duo of Michael Hutchings and David Moffitt that truly caused havoc for opponents. Against Westlake, the trio combined for 20 tackles and an interBob Larson ception.

“We had D.J. (Williams) and Kevin (Simon) together, that was a tough duo to beat,” Alumbaugh said.

“But as a trio, these three rank up toward the top. You could definitely argue that they were the best three we’ve had, and I don’t know if anybody would have a problem with that.”

After answering several questions about stopping the Westlake offense,winning his third straight bowl game, and his plans to play at Cal next fall, Barton finally got the question that brought the biggest smile to his face.

December 22, 2011

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21

It had to do with that folded index card in Eidson’s wallet.

“I’m going to have to get his word,” Barton said, referring to Eidson’s opinion on whether they fulfilled the commitment.

“We’ll see. I think our boys deserved it. Week in and week out, we did it. I think we definitely deserve to be in history as one of the best.”

However, Barton was the first to admit that they didn’t deserve to be in that category earlier in the year. Especially considering the loss in Florida, and the double-overtime win in the team’s season-opener that Bellarmine-San Jose could’ve won had it not been for a missed extra point.

“It’s been a journey,” Barton said. “We’ve been through so much. We faced so much adversity. One thing I love about these guys is that they come out every week ready for a new challenge and expecting to improve each week. I think we did that each week. ... I’m just really proud of my boys. I love ‘em all.”

Justin Walker, a two-way lineman for the Spartans, wasn’t sure he felt right about claiming to be on the best defense in De La Salle history. Primarily because he was part of an awfully good one in 2010. That defense, led by current Oregon State defensive lineman Dylan Wynn and Boise State linebacker Blake Renaud, gave up just eight points in its CIF Open Division victory over Servite-Anaheim in 2010.

“I feel like we’re a good defense,” Walker said. “I don’t think we’re the best. I feel like last year’s defense was very good.

Very stout. Very tough. I think it’s just as special to say that we reached their level.”

And perhaps Eidson was able to best encapsulate his feelings about his unit with something he said to it earlier in the postseason.

“I told them a few weeks ago, the best compliment I can give you is that I wouldn’t want to run the ball against you, and I wouldn’t want to catch it against you.” ✪

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December 22, 2011

De La Salle defensive lineman Chris Olinger (50) wraps up Westlake quarterback Justin Moore for one of his two sacks in the CIF Open Division championship bowl game.

Bob Sansoe

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Jonathan Hawthorne

Campolindo coach Kevin Macy, far right, speaks to a very jubilant team and supporting student section after the Cougars’ dramatic NCS championship victory.

Clock G Strikes Midnight

Storybook seasons for a trio of NorCal football teams come to bittersweet ends at CIF bowl games

By Chace Bryson | Editor

riffin Piatt tracked the rainbow pass as it sailed through the air en route for the corner of the end zone.

The Campolindo High safety with 12 interceptions on the season arrived at Washington Union-Fresno receiver Deontay Greenbery at the same time as the ball did. He leapt.

Piatt got both hands on the ball, but when he landed atop of the Panthers receiver in the Home Depot Center end zone, it was Greenberry who had full possession. It was a touchdown for the the future Notre Dame receiver, and a lead that Washington would never relinquish in the California Interscholastic Federation Division III state championship bowl game.

“That was an amazing play,” Piatt said of Greenberry’s catch. “I thought I had the interception, but he made a great play.”

Those types of jump balls and near-plays had

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December 22, 2011

bounced the way of the Cougars all season long in what had become a fairy tale-like season. So perhaps it was a shock to the team’s collective system when they didn’t see Piatt jump up with the ball. And then, on the very next possession, Washington Union scored again and had a commanding 14-0 lead.

And if there were some in attendance who wondered at that point if Campolindo really belonged on that stage, well, they probably hadn’t seen the Cougars play over the previous five weeks of the season.

The resilient nature of Campolindo was never better on display than in the North Coast Section playoffs in which it erased a 21-0 deficit to defeat Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa 35-24 in the semifinals, and then won it’s first NCS championship in 25 years when it beat Marin Catholic-Kentfield 20-18 on a 21-yard field goal as time expired.

Needless to say, this team doesn’t blink at 14-0 deficits. A touchdown pass from Brett Stephens to Mason Windatt with 44 seconds left in the game made the

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Running back Brandon Monroe (32) and the rest of the Del Oro offense couldn’t quite match the firepower of CIF Div. II bowl opponent of Helix-La Mesa in a 35-24 defeat.

James K. Leash

score 21-16 and sent the Campolindo student section into hysterics. Its chant of “I believe that we will win” surfaced one last time.

A sub story to Campolindo’s incredible run to the state final was the support it received from a rabid student section and an equally exuberant community. An estimated crowd of 1,500 made the trip to Carson for the state final.

“This has to be one of the best things that’s happened for our high school,” said James Marvel, a senior on the Campolindo baseball team who made the trip south. “And not just for the student body, but for the community of Moraga as well. ... There’s an incredible sense of honor and pride to be a part of (the bowl games). And it’s all the team’s doing, but it’s nice to feel that (the school and community) get to play a small role in it, too.”

Campolindo’s onside kick was recovered

by Washington Union and a valiant effort ended in the Cougars’ first loss of the season.

“Every single team that has seen us has thought they were just going to pound us into the ground,” Campolindo coach Kevin Macy said afterward. “It was just about keeping the guys fighting. And they did that. We couldn’t have asked for anything more from these kids.”

MORE NEAR MISSES Travis McHugh represented grit, guile and toughness. Johnny Stanton was about flash, athleticism and college-scouts-dream-aboutit type potential.

Both quarterbacked very different offenses in the CIF Division I bowl championship game. Neither yielded. Stanton had the ball last, and that’s how Santa Margarita ended up outlasting Bellarmine-San Jose 42-37.

Stanton scored the winning touchdown with a 1-yard plunge on a 4th-and-goal with 16 seconds left in the game. It was his sixth touchdown of the contest (four passing, two rushing), and it concluded one of the best

back-and-forth efforts between quarterbacks in the history of the CIF bowl games.

“That’s what makes football what it is,” McHugh said after the game. “It was just a back and forth battle. ... I tip my hat to them.

They played a great game, and they deserve the championship.”

McHugh accounted for 305 of the Bells’ 401 total yards. He passes for 165 and rushed for 140. He threw for a score and rushed for another. He also kicked a 24-yard field goal and added four point-after kicks.

“I’m just so proud of my teammates,” McHugh concluded. “It was one heckuva season full of memories that i’ll remember forever.”

Memories of the CIF Division II bowl game will be bittersweet for Del Oro-Loomis.

The Golden Eagles held a 10-7 lead over Helix-La Mesa early in the second quarter, only to be outscored 21-0 over the last seven and a half minutes of the first half. The Sac-Joaquin Section’s most dominant team of the 2011 would never recover.

“We wanted to eliminate big plays, and they got three of them in the second quarter,” Del Oro coach Casey Taylor said. “It was a good game. Our guys played hard, and I couldn’t ask for any more effort from them.”

Statistically, the Golden Eagles held their own against the bigger and faster Helix squad. While the Highlanders had about 100 more yards of total offense, Del Oro actually had one more first down and time of possession was separated by just 24 seconds in Helix’s favor.

The SJS Division III champions closed the year with a 13-2 record, with both losses coming to Southern California powers Helix and Westlake-Westlake Village.

“I’m just real proud of our guys,” Taylor said. “They’re just great kids. They do things right. On the field and in the classroom, everywhere. I’m just going to miss them. ✪

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December 22, 2011

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25

Red Zone

All records are final

Despite missing out on state bowl, Salesian revels in unbeaten season

Rank (Nov. 7) School................................. Record 1 (1)

De La Salle-Concord.........................13-1

2 (2)

Bellarmine-San Jose..........................13-2

3 (7)

Del Oro-Loomis..................................13-2

4 (11)

Vacaville..............................................13-1

5 (16)

Granite Bay........................................13-2

6 (NR)

Campolindo-Moraga .........................14-1

7 (4)

Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove.................12-2

8 (17)

St. Mary’s-Stockton..............................9-3.

9 (10)

Marin Catholic-Kentfield.....................13-1

10 (9)

Folsom................................................11-3

11 (5)

Lincoln-Stockton.................................11-2

12 (3)

Buhach Colony-Atwater.....................12-1

13 (6)

Elk Grove............................................12-1

14 (NR) Serra-San Mateo................................11-2 15 (19) Oakdale..............................................13-1 16 (18) San Ramon Valley-Danville ..............10-4 17 (20) Windsor..............................................14-0 18 (NR) Los Gatos........................................11-1-1 19 (12) Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa......11-1-1 20 (13) Palma-Salinas.................................11-1-1

Top 20 Facts-Figures-Fallout DROPPED OUT: No. 8 Grant-Sacramento, No. 14 James Logan-Union City, No. 15 Escalon.

BIGGEST MOVER: Without question it was Campolindo, which came out atop an incredibly tough NCS Division III bracket, knocking off the top two seeds in previously-ranked No. 10 Marin Catholic and No. 12 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa.

TOTAL TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 11 SMALL SCHOOL TOP 5 (600 enrollment cutoff): 1. Le Grand (12-1) 2. Salesian-Richmond (13-0) 3. Central Catholic-Modesto (10-3) 4. Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento (11-1), 5. Ferndale (11-2).

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December 22, 2011

Phillip Walton

Salesian-Richmond football coach Chad Nightingale addresses his team prior to the start of the North Coast Section Div. IV championship on Dec. 10 at Alhambra High. The Pride won the game to become the first unbeaten Salesian football team since 1965.

By bill kolb | Contributor Salesian High School’s football team now officially knows how it feels to be Boise State. Or TCU. Or Oklahoma State.

Or Auburn.

The Pride did everything it could possibly do on the field in the 2011 season, but still didn’t get invited to the big dance.

That certainly doesn’t mitigate the impressive nature of its body of work this year.

Salesian blazed through its regular-season schedule at a ferocious clip, ripping off 10 wins in as many games. It mauled its Bay Football League competition, outscoring BFL squads 208-42 in five games (a 42-8 average scoring differential that is slightly depressed by a 2-0 forfeit victory over St. Elizabeth). During the regular season, the Pride’s smallest margin of victory was 10 points, 31-21, in a Week 1 win over Inderkum-Sacramento. The Falcons didn’t lose another game until the Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals, finishing 10-2.

The 31 points was also the Pride’s lowest point total in a played game.

When the regular season ended, the scrappy lot from Richmond got serious. If anything, when the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs rolled around, Salesian got better.

The top-seeded Pride trounced No. 9 Valley Christian-Dublin and No. 4 Healdsburg 35-7 and 35-6, respectively, before

ncs division IV championship routing No. 2 Ferndale 42-6 to take home its second straight NCS championship and finish with a sparkling 13-0 record.

“This means the world to us,” senior running back Marcial Malic said, just moments after coach Chad Nightingale draped a section championship medal around his neck. “We knew we had a chance to do something special, to be the first undefeated Salesian team since 1965, and we did it.”

Malic played a huge part in the ultimate victory, sticking and moving his way through the Wildcat defense for 201 yards and two touchdowns in 23 carries.

For those of you following along at home, that makes for a 24-2 mark over the past two seasons for the Pride — easily the most dominant Div. IV program in Northern California over that span.

But thanks to the fact that Salesian’s enrollment this year was 19 over the 500-student cutoff for California Interscholastic Federation Small School state bowl championship purposes, the Pride had to contend with Div. III competition if it wanted at crack earning a trip down south. And, unfor-

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Red Zone We’ve been to NCS and won it before. We wanted to do something Salesian had never done before — go to state. I think we deserve it. We’re 13-0. We beat everybody on our schedule.”

Ferndale quarterback Travis Rye (3) was under constant duress against a Salesian defense that allowed just 134 total yards during the championship game.

Phillip Walton

Marcial Malic tunately for the Pride, that meant butting heads with the the upstart Campolindo Cougars, who turned in a miraculous 14-0 season and got the Div. III bowl nod.

“We’ve been to NCS and won it before,” Malic said. “We wanted to do something Salesian had never done before — go to state. I think we deserve it. We’re 13-0. We beat everybody on our schedule. Look at what we did in the championship game.”

What they did in the championship game was dominate every facet. The score speaks for itself: After a back-and-forth first quarter in which neither team really found a rhythm, the Pride offense found the end zone three times in the second to turn a 7-0 nailbiter into a 28-0 rout at the half.

What goes unnoticed is the defense. Salesian held Ferndale — which finished 11-2 and had been held under 20 points in just two games this year — to a grand total of 134 yards of offense and just eight first downs. The Pride throttled the Wildcats’ normally efficient running attack, holding them to 92 yards on the ground. With the run game bottled up, Ferndale tried to open things up in the air, only to see Salesian intercept two passes and defend or knock down 10 more.

“Our kids played a fantastic game all game,” Nightingale said. “The offensive line and defensive line were absolutely dominant. … Offense, defense, special teams — we absolutely controlled all phases of the game. There wasn’t anything (Ferndale) did that our kids didn’t react to.”

The Wildcats had no answer for Malic, promising junior Michael Page, or the punishing Salesian offensive front led by gigantic Cal-bound tackle Freddie Tagaloa. The Pride racked up 385 rushing yards, with Page “running track” against Ferndale according to Nightingale. Page had 167 yards and two scores on just 10 carries, and gives the Pride Faithful plenty of hope for another successful run in 2012.

“That’s one of my better games,” he demurred. “The juniors just wanted to send the seniors out with a bang.”

Like Malic, Tagaloa longed to play just one more game of high school football.

“We came in as a family, we won as a family and we finished as a family,” he said. “13-0. That’s not too bad. If (the Wildcats) had won, they would have gone to the state championship. Look at the score. I think we deserve to go.

We just have to leave it up to the committee. I hope they let us go play.”

Nightingale, too, would have loved a shot at the title.

“I think we’re a state caliber team,” he said shortly after receiving a bracing cooler-shower on a frigid night in Martinez.

“That’s out of our hands. You play who’s on your schedule and in the playoffs. It’s entirely up to the section commissioners. If we had 19 fewer kids, we’d be playing for a state championship for small schools.” ✪

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December 22, 2011

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Red Zone

Darrian Roman, Windsor outlast Olito Thompson’s record effort

By Harold Abend | Contributor

Santa Rosa Press Democrat/ZUMAPRESS.com

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December 22, 2011

One player came into the CIF North Coast Section Division II title game on the precipice of making Northern California high school football history, the other knew he had it in him.

The house was packed on Dec. 9 at Santa Rosa High and Concord’s Olito Thompson didn’t disappoint with three Northern California rushing records.

But it was Windsor (14-0) and running back Darrian Roman’s two fourth quarter touchdowns that overcame a 20-7 halftime deficit to win 28-20 and give the school it’s first-ever NCS championship.

Thompson set the records, but Roman, Windsor’s twoway star had the more explosive runs, played excellent defense, and gets the title along with his Jaguar teammates.

“I read in the paper that he (Thompson) had more yards than me in three games than I had all year, and that got under my skin,” Roman remarked. “I had to prove myself as a runner and I wanted to stop him on defense.”

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior rushed for 176-yards and three touchdowns. He also had nine tackles with two for loss.

When Roman scored on a 1-yard plunge with 6:02 remaining, Windsor had the lead at 21-20.

Concord (10-4) got the ball at its own 29-yard line after

ncs division II championship

the kickoff and went to work using Thompson on six of seven running plays, however the drive stalled at the Jaguars’ 30-yard line and the Minutemen turned it over on downs.

Three plays later, Roman took it 63 yards to the house and the game was all but over.

Even with the first section championship and perfect season in the school’s 10-year history, the Jaguars were not selected for the CIF Division II Bowl Game, although they were Northern California’s only unbeaten team on the board.

“Not getting to state takes nothing away from our kids,” said Windsor first-year coach Rob Gatrell, a LibertyBrentwood grad that played lineman professionally with the Patriots, 49ers and Rams, plus five years in the Arena League and two years in NFL Europe. “For our kids and community to have that last game is a memory everyone will cherish forever. It can’t be taken away,” On the other side of the field was a battered warrior who gave everything he had to the very end. A 12-yard completion to Thompson from quarterback Wyatt Morrow on

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Red Zone LEFT: Darrian Roman was a two-way force for Windsor in 2011, and that included the NCS Division II championship game in which he rushed for three touchdowns and added nine tackles.

RIGHT: Concord junior running back Olito Thompson set three different NorCal rushing records in the Division II championship, including a staggering 54 carries.

Phillip Walton

fourth-and-26 — the 56th time he’d touched the ball on offense that night — was Concord’s final play of the game.

Still, even in losing, one has to be in awe of the performance of Concord’s bruising, record-setting junior.

Thompson’s carry at 6:08 of the first quarter got him past Jahvid Best (SalesianRichmond, Cal, Detroit Lions) as the all-time single-season leading rusher in the Metro Bay Area. In 2006, Best ran for 3,225 yards at Salesian.

By the third quarter, he’d passed John Bordenkircher (3,416 yards in 1997 at Dixon) as the single-season leading rusher in NorCal history, according to the ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. Thompson finished with a whopping 54 times for 285 yards and one touchdown. The 54 carries was also a NorCal record.

He finishes the season with 3,488 yards and 35 touchdowns. Besides the No. 1 spot in Northern California, the yardage gets Thompson the state’s No. 4 spot all-time for most yards in a season. His 408 carries this season is also a NorCal record and puts him at No. 5 on the overall state list.

“Whoa, really, all those records, that’s

amazing,” Thompson said. “I never thought I could do that but I guess all the hard work I put in has paid off.”

No many expected a lot from Concord this season after they graduated record-setting quarterback Ricky Lloyd (now at Southern Mississippi) and his mastery of the inside zone passing game of coach Brian Hamilton.

“After three years of the inside zone, it took 4-5 weeks before we went away from it and started relying on running,” Hamilton said.

With four spots in the state record book already under his belt, Thompson will be working on a fifth place if he can add a little over 1,200 yards next season and get his current career total 3,732 yards over the 5,000 yard entry level mark for that list.

Not surprisingly, Thompson is more into team goals.

“Sure, I’d like to do more amazing things next year but my main goal is to get my team back to the NCS championship game,” he said. “I’m determined to do whatever it takes to get back to NCS, getting stronger, bigger and faster. ✪

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December 22, 2011

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Osgood-Schlatter’s knee pain doesn’t have to sideline young athletes

W

e have many young athletes come into our clinics complaining of site-specific knee pain. A fair amount of them point to a prominent bump below the kneecap on a bony structure called the tibial tubercle. This condition is commonly known as Osgood-Schlatter Disease.

This is not a true disease, but a traction injury to the growth zone of where the front thigh muscles attach to the bone in front of the knee (at the tibial tubercle).

The athlete’s knee pain may be due to overuse/chronic micro trauma, direct trauma to the tibial tubercle, poor biomechanics or muscle imbalances.

Usually occurring in young males ages 12-14, the athlete frequently reports a recent growth spurt and/or an increase in intensity of play. He or she may be very limited in activity and sports secondary to the persistent knee pain.

Fortunately, there is an arsenal of treatments for addressing the athlete’s symptoms. Following are phases which can assist in maximizing the young athlete’s sport participation to ensure a safe and effective return to sport:

Health Watch David Arakawa

Usually occurring in young males ages 12-14, the athlete frequently reports a recent growth spurt and/or an increase in intensity of play.

He or she may be very limited in activity and sports secondary to the persistent knee pain.

Phase I Restriction and/or modification of jumping and other activities below level of pain, ice massage, patellar tendon strap for decreasing loads on the patellar tendon, flexibility exercises for the hamstrings, quadriceps and Iliopsoas muscles, muscle balance/strengthening exercises for the back and front of knee

Phase II Back side muscle strengthening exercises emphasizing the gluteal muscles (e.g. bridge progressions, clam shell progressions, plank and hands/knees progressions)

Phase III Systematic and progressive squatting exercises, analysis of the athlete’s running and jumping technique followed by appropriate corrective exercises/drills

Phase IV Education and focused work on a proper dynamic warmup and a return to run program, functional tests including dynamic balance, hopping and agility with increasing speeds To summarize, Osgood-Schlatter Disease is just one more common condition we see in the young athlete. However, it does not need to equate to shutting it down for the season.

Follow the above mentioned phases of treatment and you can effectively manage that “No Good” knee pain. ✪ David Arakawa is a senior physical therapist for the staff of Sports Medicine For Young Athletes, a division of Children’s Hospital Oakland with a facility also in Walnut Creek. If you have questions or comments regarding the “Health Watch” column, write the Sports Medicine For Young Athletes staff at Health@SportStarsOnline.com.

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December 22, 2011

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tee2green

First Tee works to get its message and curriculum into schools

T

his year, there are more than 4,200 schools in almost 600 school districts across the country where kids will be introduced to the game of golf along with character education. The First Tee instructors teach kids the rules of golf, etiquette, and sportsmanship that the game demands. Through this learning journey kids learn to use nine core values: honesty, respect, judgment, responsibility, perseverance, sportsmanship, confidence, courtesy, and integrity.

According to a study conducted in 2008 by physical education teachers using the curriculum, 75 percent rated it as excellent and 23 percent as good. Of those teachers, 100 percent reported that the National School Program lessons help students learn basic golf motor skills and concepts. More than Troy Maxoutopoulis 50 percent of teachers reported a difference in behavior based on the curriculum.

In the past, the First Tee has put forth effort in trying to get kids to come to the golf course to embark on the fun journey of golf. For the first time in Pleasanton, The First Tee National School Program will be introduced at Alisal Elementary School and the game of golf will come to the kids at their school. “(It’s a) new way to give kids access to golf in the school system,” said Joe Meunier, a physical education teacher at Alisal and Program Director of The First Tee Tri-Valley chapter. “A bonus is the health and character development they will develop which will be helpful for their future” Alisal is the first school in the Tri-Valley area to begin this program. Meunier hopes “it is successful and will influence other schools to participate in a similar outreach.”

The goal for the program is not only to be the pilot program for the rest of the schools in the community, but to provide a positive experience and hopefully lead some new golfers to The First Tee Tri-Valley chapter to continue the sport.

Log on to www.thefirstteetrivalley.org for more information. Visit your local chapter of The First Tee to become a participant, volunteer or supporter. ✪

First Tee Files

Editor’s note

Dan McKegney, Executive Director for The First Tee Tri-Valley, offered the space of his column to Troy Maxoutopoulis, one of his Ace level participants. Here’s a little more info about Troy: Troy Maxoutopoulis, currently a junior at Amador Valley High School, has been a member at The First Tee of the Tri-Valley since 2005. He has completed the Eagle level of The First Tee Life Skills Experience and is working on college and career exploration in the Ace level of the program, our most distinguished group of active participants.

Troy serves as a member of our chapter’s junior council and volunteers with its golf inclusion programs and participant recruitment events.

First Tee Files is a rotating column featuring administrators of four Bay Area chapters of The First Tee — Contra Costa, Oakland, San Jose and Tri-Valley. April Kenyon is the executive director for the The First Tee of Oakland. Check out your local chapter by visiting one of the following websites: www.TheFirstTeeContraCosta. org, www.TheFirstTeeOakland.org, www.TheFirstTeeSanJose.org and www.TheFirstTeeTriValley.org

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December 22, 2011

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Specialized one-sport athletes should strive for motion balance M any young athletes are held back by their limited range of motion and general lack of flexibility and mobility. I believe both are the most widely ignored elements related to optimal performance.

Athletes often play one sport year round in hopes of being the next great you-name-it.

The issue isn’t so much that your high school athlete has chosen one sport. The issue is that this is all they do year round.

There is no true offseason to improve

mobility, flexibility, strength and coordination — all of which results in reduced range of motion, decrease in stride length, muscle imbalances, reduced power output and force application, increases in muscle strains and pulls, and slower recovery times between workouts/games.

Actually, let’s read from renowned physical therapist Gray Cook, a guy who knows a thing or two about why people get injured: “Specialization can rob us of our in-

nate ability to express all of our movement potential. This is why I encourage highly-specialized athletes to balance their functional movement patterns. They don’t so much need to train all movement patterns; they just need to maintain them. When a functional movement pattern is lost, it forecasts a fundamental crack in a foundation designed to be balanced. The point is not that specialization is bad—it only presents a problem when the singular activity over-

molds to the point of losing balance” The basic premise is athletes should have proper mobility, flexibility and strength so they do not have to modify movement patterns due to the lack of range of motion. Now that being said, it’s the job of Tim Rudd for IYCA coaches and trainers to find the biggest window of adaptation your young athlete has and bring it up to speed — while simultaneously keeping other qualities in mind.

In the context of this article, if your young athlete is stiff, then coaches and trainers need to focus on improving flexibility and mobility, which is a major factor in strength, power, speed and coordination.

Here’s a look at some effective methods of improving flexibility and range of motion: ■ Self Myofascial Release — This is what we call a “poor man’s massage.” We use tennis balls, foam rollers and medicine balls to roll over areas that have tight and sore spots.

By breaking up scar tissue and knotted fascia surrounding the muscle, it helps maintain range of motion, reduce injury, and flush metabolic waste out of the muscles to generally keep athletes fresh ■ Static or Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) — Both are an effective method of improving flexibility, which should be done prior to the warm-up, especially if we’re looking to improve length in the fascia surrounding the muscle, which is the key to improving flexibility around a joint.

■ Active warm-up — Improves dynamic flexibility and proprioceptive input by elongating muscles actively, activates proprioceptors, stabilizers and central nervous system and engrains proper motor (movement) patterns. The key to an effective warm-up is that it activates one muscle while elongating another.

Please don’t let your young athletes struggle through nagging injuries and decreased performance because flexibility and mobility have never been addressed. Taking the time to do an effective warm-up before training or practice is a big key to your young athlete’s long term health and success. ✪

Training Time

Tim Rudd is an International Youth Conditioning Association specialist in youth conditioning (level 3), speed and agility (level 2), and nutrition specialist (level 1). For more information on anything you read in Training Time, email him at tim@fit2thecore.com.

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December 22, 2011

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SportStars Q&A with

Rick Barry

For those of you maybe too young to remember, the Warriors indeed have one championship banner hanging in their rafters. The 1974-75 team was comprised of selfless, team-first basketball spearheaded by their fiery coach, Al Attles, and Hall-of-Famer, Rick Barry. They upset the Washington Bullets in a four-game sweep in the Finals, as Barry was named MVP. Perhaps most remembered for his granny-style, underhand free throw shooting, Barry is known as one of the greatest to ever play the game. In his storied career, he amassed 25,000+ points and made 90 percent of his free throws, a record at the time. His number 24 is one of just a handful retired by the Warriors.

We were fortunate enough to have a chat with Rick, whose sons Jon, Brent and Drew all played in the NBA. His youngest son, Canyon, is a standout for Cheyenne Mountain High in Colorado Springs. He recently committed to play collegiately for College of Charleston.

Enjoy.

SportStars Magazine: Do you remember your high school playing days?

Rick Barry: I had horrible memories. I almost quit the game. My brother had to talk me into keep playing. My coach had some major issues but my brother and father talked me into staying. I remember my teammates and guys I played with. We were OK, nothing great. We had a decent team.

SSM: What was it like for you being able to watch your kids play high school ball?

RB: Watching my kids play is awesome. It’s difficult but it’s fun. As a parent you want them to make every shot.

It’s probably more difficult for me to watch since I played.

You kind of live and die with everything they’re doing. It’s rewarding to see them go out and play well.

SSM: Do you remember the first time you attempted an underhanded free throw?

RB: I was in high school, my father was on my back all the time. I didn’t want to get teased or made fun of. It was sometime before my junior or senior year of high school.

Before, I was actually hitting mid-70’s, but if you can’t shoot 80 percent you’re not a good free throw shooter. How in the world can you live with yourself if you can’t make four out of every five shots? ✪

BIGFOUR

’s a picture we resports in the greater Bay Area, here For more nostalgia on high school more notable former ’s jo High School’s and Solano College cently came across of four of Valle no College Hall Sola n and Bill Himes (both Vallejo and athletes. From left to right, Frank Mixo ll player in the eba bas Mike Huyck (a former professional of Fame inductees for basketball), , and a former HOF all Dave Plump (Solano Colllege basketb Minnesota Twins organization) and San Diego Charger). ✪ 34

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December 22, 2011

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December 22, 2011

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Welcome to Impulse, your one-stop shop for all the latest and greatest in gadgets, gizmos and gear. Compiled by staff writer Erik Stordahl, Impulse provides you with what’s currently hot on the market. With 2011 winding down — and losing weight most likely being everyone’s top New Year’s Resolution — we came up with an array of under-$30 workout items. Enjoy!

Rollers

The winter months are always cruel weather-wise which means bikes usually find a new home rusting in the garage.

Buy some rollers and you’ll be able to bike indoors for hours and hours. Who knows. You might even get real good at cycling and be ready for those hills of the Tour de France.

Stopwatches

This seems a little obvious but it can also be an incentive to run faster. Set goals for yourself on your mile, 5k and 10k times.

What else are you gonna do, keep time in your head?

Fitness balls

Get those core muscles going with a fitness ball. Most of these come equipped with an exercise wall chart and training DVD so you’re not totally clueless when it comes to getting started.

HAVE A

HAppy holiday without breaking

BANK

THE

impulse

Jump rope

This is old school for sure, but it never lets you down when you’re looking for an intense workout. Note: We don’t consider those double dutch jump rope games to be a workout, per se. It’s more of just something fun to do when you’re super bored.

Pull-up bars

Needs no explanation. Hook one up in your bedroom and you can give your upper body a robust workout in minutes.

Medicine balls

There are literally hundreds of exercises you can do with these bad boys. Find the one that’s the perfect weight and go crazy. It also helps having a workout partner for these.

Pedometers

Unless you’re running on a track or treadmill, you’re probably gonna be curious how far you’ve run. It just makes training for those triathlons and marathons that much easier. We’re just sayin’.

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December 22, 2011

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