NorCal Issue 175 January 2020

JANUARY 2020

NORCAL EDITION VOL. 11 ISSUE 175

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ith all that’s going on in this crazy world, I suppose it was only a matter of time before our pages included a story of an athlete who had experienced the terrors of war.

Ike Dodson’s feature on Valley-Sacramento wrestler Salahdin Farukh is about as sobering a story as we’ve ever run here at SportStars. While the story of Farukh’s near-tragic experience with a suicide bomber and his family’s successful emigration from Afghanistan — not merely a given under our current President’s administration — has a happy ending, Dodson’s story makes it clear how easily these overseas conflicts can permeate our lives. Even in the seemingly carefree world of high school athletics.

So even if it may seem like a little too much reality for some local sports readers, we hope you take the time to read about Salahdin and what he’s been through. Hopefully you’ll come away feeling the same way we did when we first read it — inspired, saddened and hopeful that others like Salahdin can find the same fortunes.

The story can be found on Page 22.

There’s definitely some less heavy stuff in this first issue of 2020. For one, we’re excited to finally drop our first installment of The Big 10 Series. From now through October we’ll be releasing top 10 lists of the best players and teams from our 10 years of covering NorCal sports.

The first Big 10 features our list of the 10 best girls volleyball players from the 2010 through 2019 seasons. Northern California is kind of a hotbed for girls volleyball talent, so just getting the list down to 50 or so was a chore.

Just a few of the names we had to leave off should sound awfully familiar to NorCal volleyball fans: Kelley Wirth (Campolindo-Moraga), Clare Powers and Nicole Liddle (Mitty-San Jose), Katie Smoot (Notre Dame-Belmont), Zoe Nightingale and Gabby Palmeri (St. Francis-Sacramento), Macey Hayden (Whitney-Rocklin), Maddie Haynes (Rocklin), Liliana Light (Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove), Liz Fleming (St. Ignatius-S.F.) and Kari Geissberger (Marin CatholicKentfield).

We know what you’re thinking. Who IS on this list then? Check it out on Page 18 and let us know how we did. Then stay tuned moving forward as we begin releasing more later this winter. We’re going to open up some of these calls to the fans, too, by way of an online vote.

Meanwhile, rest up because the winter postseason isn’t far away. ✪

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aidan mahaney CAMPOLINDO-MORAGA - BASKETBALL - SOPH One season after being named the Cal-Hi Sports Boys Basketball State Freshman of the Year, Mahaney has

picked up right where he left off. At the halfway mark of the regular season (through 13 games), Mahaney was

averaging 20.4 points, with 3 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 30 points and added six rebounds and three assists in a 60-52 win over Modesto Christian on Dec. 30. The Cougars were 11-4 overall

after opening DAL-Foothill Division play with wins over

Northgate-Walnut Creek and College Park-Pleasant Hill on Jan. 7 and 10, respectively.

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

Novice Approach I’m a freshman, and my New Year’s resolution is to play sports in high school. I don’t know why, but I’ve never been on a team before. I don’t think I’m a klutz — at least I hope not — but I was really small until I had a growth spurt in eighth grade. So what would be a good sport to try if I don’t have any experience?

J.C., Pleasant Hill

F

irst and foremost, do not go out for a team sport if you’re just looking to tick a box on your college application. It is unfair to your coaches and your teammates to take up a spot on a freshman or JV roster just because your parents or adviser say you need to have some kind of athletics on your résumé.

If you absolutely insist on playing a high school sport (as opposed to taekwondo or fencing or something else outside of school), go for cross country or swimming, where your level of interest really doesn’t affect the team or coaches as long as you show up for practice and give a basic effort.

Team sports, though, require much more of a commitment, as no matter what the level, coaches and players take things fairly seriously, and if you don’t, you just make things hard for yourself and for them.

That said, starting from ground zero in any sport is going to be difficult, as even the easiest-looking game is much harder than it appears. So first, you have to be prepared for a steep learning curve and a fair amount of frustration.

Beyond that, the sports that rely more on athleticism and strength, and less on acquired skill, make the most sense.

Baseball, for example, would be on the bottom of the list because it’s a game that requires lots of different kinds of skills, and a fair amount of practice to master them. (Along with a lot of people, I maintain that hitting a baseball is the most difficult skill in sports.)

Football, on the other hand, rewards speed, size and strength more immediately, though obviously there are plenty of techniques that must be learned — not to mention the playbook. There is, of course, the concussion issue to deal with, and careful consideration should be given before signing up for that most dangerous sport.

Wrestling is close behind football, but it’s not really a team sport, and it’s definitely not for everyone. It also requires dieting, sometimes severe dieting, and if you like to eat, you might want to pass.

Basketball isn’t a bad choice if you’re tall — the taller the better, naturally. Though there is plenty of acquired skill involved in shooting and ball handling, getting rebounds and making shots from two feet away are not that difficult, especially if you tower over your classmates. Volleyball also fits in here, and if you don’t like contact, it’s better than basketball. It’s also a more patterned game in many ways, which can make it easier to find a comfort zone.

Soccer does reward speed and stamina, but like baseball, there are lots of skills involved, and experience is vital once you start playing the game. Without a lot of set plays, success is dependent on a feel for the geometry of the sport, and for most, that takes lots of time to develop. Lacrosse falls into the same category, in many ways, but since a lot of people haven’t played it, it’s likely some newbies might be trying out along with you.

Water polo requires a strong swimming background, which might make that a negative, and other sports such as badminton and field hockey might not be available.

Which leaves the two country club sports, tennis and golf, both of which have the great advantage of being lifetime sports. They are difficult at first, but often there are a few newcomers trying out every year, and coaches at most schools are eager to find new players, so I would probably suggest whichever of those interests you most.

But again, please don’t play a sport just because you think it will help you get into college. Play a sport because it’s fun and rewarding, and everyone will wind up enjoying the experience. ✪ Clay Kallam has been an assistant athletic director and has coached numerous sports at a handful of high schools throughout the Bay Area. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email him at claykallam@gmail.com.

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Public Opinion Naming NorCal’s 2019 State Public School Football Team Of The Year

O

ver the last four football seasons in Southern California — as the mega-sized football programs at private schools St. John BoscoBellflower and Mater Dei-Santa Ana have become virtually unbeatable — several of the region’s public schools have begun to clamor for the mythical crown of being the No. 1 public school team.

Those claims caused us at Cal-Hi Sports to launch a State Public School of the Year selection that was introduced early in the 2019 season. By December it became a close call between CIF Division 1-AA state champ Central-Fresno, CIF 1-A state champ Corona del Mar-Newport Beach and CIF Southern Section Div. I semifinalist Mission Viejo.

We went with Mission Viejo despite not being unbeaten like the other two. The Diablos’ only loss was to Mater Dei and they had other significant wins during the season.

The gap between St. John Bosco and Mater Dei and the rest of the state shows little chance of narrowing. That’s particularly true as more blue-chip recruit athletes continue to transfer in.

The latest to head to the Monarchs was talented sophomore running back Raleek Brown from Edison-Stockton. Brown, who scored 26 touchdowns as a sophomore for a 10-2 Vikings’ team in 2019, already has several big-time college offers, including one from Alabama.

Northern Californians have, of course, known about dominating Catholic, private schools for many years. And while De La Salle-Concord doesn’t bring in the multitudes of transfers like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, the Spartans do attract players from a wide area of the North Coast Section with no boundaries. They still haven’t lost to a team north of the Central Section for 28 years.

So with that said, it’s time for a NorCal Public School Team of the Year to be named right alongside the ones from SoCal and the state.

For this magazine, NorCal doesn’t count the CIF Central Section (it does for Cal-Hi Sports) so Central-Fresno wouldn’t be the pick for 2019. It would have to be Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I champion Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, pictured above right. The Trojans (11-3) won the division that included NorCal’s best public school program over the past 10 years, Folsom. They’d be in front of NCS Div. I runner-up Pittsburg or the only public school from the Central Coast Section Div. I semifinals (Wilcox-Santa Clara).

As you can see from the chart at right, most of these teams are from the SJS. They’re listed often because they were just one or two positions higher than the NCS runner-up to De La Salle in the final state top 20 rankings from those years. We weren’t going to diverge from those rankings for the purposes of this column, but the list should provide a glimpse of what the No. 1 public school teams in Northern California would be during the years when just one private school would be listed for each of these seasons. ✪

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Continuing back to 1991, which was the last time De La Salle wasn’t the NCS champion, below is a list of NorCal Public School Football Teams of the Year (again not counting the Central Section): 2019: Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (11-3) 2018: Folsom (14-1) 2017: Folsom (16-0) 2016: Freedom-Oakley (11-2) 2015: Folsom (14-1) 2014: Folsom (16-0) 2013: Folsom (14-1) 2012: Folsom (14-1) 2011: Del Oro-Loomis (13-2) 2010: Folsom (14-1) 2009: Rocklin (14-1) 2008: Grant-Sacramento (14-0) 2007: Oak Grove-San Jose (12-1) 2006: Grant-Sacramento (13-0) 2005: Del Oro-Loomis (13-0) 2004: Montgomery-Santa Rosa (13-0) 2003: Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (12-1) 2002: Monte Vista-Danville (13-0) 2001: Elk Grove (14-0) 2000: Lincoln-Stockton (12-1-1) 1999: Oak Grove-San Jose (12-1) 1998: Elk Grove (14-0) 1997: Elk Grove (13-1) 1996: Grant-Sacramento (11-2) 1995: Pittsburg (11-2) 1994: Nevada Union-Grass Valley (13-1) 1993: Nevada Union-Grass Valley (13-1) 1992: Grant-Sacramento (12-2)

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Left to right: Ainsley Hasty, Allison Casey, Maddy Goldberg and Audriana Templeman

D

Story By Mike Wood | Photos By Berry Evans III

on’t expect Maddy Goldberg to quietly, unassumingly hang out around the goal box. The Foothill High-Pleasanton junior is always vocal and is in constant motion, whether the action is headed her way or toward the opponent’s goal.

Similarly, Goldberg’s soccer pursuits have been in constant motion for several years now. She has been part of the Olympic Development Program since she was 12. In many ways, she has started early and is ahead of the game. True to form, Goldberg, 16, has already made her collegiate call, committing to Oregon in August.

In high school she is an integral part of a Falcons team that was unbeaten through Jan. 13 and in the top-tier conversation within the East Bay Athletic League, perhaps the top league in Northern California. She also stars on the top-flight Pleasanton Rage ‘03 ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) team.

“Her physicality is good, but more importantly, it’s her presence. Her voice, her command, she is very mature for her age,” said Walter Pratte, who coaches her at Foothill and for her Rage team.

In his four years coaching her, he has witnessed her leadership skills soar.

“The team responds to her,” he said. “The team feels confident when she is in the back. Her presence really helps us to be more calm. She is a complete leader. She is the captain of the team here in high school, she is the captain of her team in club. The girls look up to her.

“It starts at home,” Pratte added. “Both mom and dad are great people, both police officers, so she understands. It’s ‘Yes, coach. … No, coach. … What do I need to do?’”

Goldberg began playing at age 6. At those early stages, coaches would rotate players into positions. Something clicked when it was her chance to play in goal.

“The day it was my turn, I loved it,” she said. “My dad (Cary) was a goalkeeper. So a little bit of it ran in the blood. I had decent hand-eye coordination from the beginning and so my coaches were happy and they kept me in goal and I just fell in love with it.”

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Yet Goldberg was not initially that whirlwind of activity and a vocal leader, constantly conversing and directing teammates.

That took a while to develop.

“It was definitely not like that at the beginning. I was like a mouse standing there,” she said. “I am very vocal now. Being a goalkeeper, it’s important being connected with your team. I had to do more work to be more vocal.”

Goldberg was selected for the ODP when she was 12, the first year she was eligible.

“When I was little I didn’t know what to expect. It was definitely a higher level of competition than I expected. But I am very thankful for it, that it challenged me. I think it has helped my game in every way possible. I highly recommend the program.”

Everything escalated from there. Goldberg recalls the excitement upon reading an email in 2016 that she had been selected for the U.S. Soccer U-15 Girls National Team training camp in Carson, California. She was one of 40 girls and one of five goalkeepers nationally to be chosen.

“I was so surprised for such an unexpected lucky thing to have happened, because I had worked so hard to get to that point,” Goldberg said.

When her mother, Michelle, asked her what she’d remember most of the experience, she said it would be the locker room, seeing her name above her locker, with a jersey set there for her amid all the decor. “I took a panoramic picture of it because it was so cool.”

Her ODP journey has led to working with some of U.S. women’s soccer’s greatest. Last year, Brandi Chastain coached her at the regional level, and her first two years, her coach was Tiffeny Milbrett. At the national camp, Nicole Barnhart was the goalkeeper coach.

“It’s crazy to be able to learn from those great players,” Goldberg said. “The giving back is such a big aspect of it all. It is what makes women’s soccer 10 times better, because the generation behind it is learning from the best, and the spirit of giving back is so important.”

In that spirit, she is welcoming to younger players. This Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

year’s Foothill team is quite young. She is one of 11 juniors, with just a handful of seniors who see significant playing time.

One of those seniors, Audriana Templeman, is going to Chico State next year. Younger players are starting to get college attention, and turn to Goldberg for support, the coach said.

“She is very supportive of her teammates,” Pratte said. “She has played at the highest level, and though some of the girls that are playing in high school maybe don’t play at the level that she does, she is very open-hearted in the sense of trying to help them.”

Goldberg honed her skills playing up an age group for three years with the Rage, but because the older group wouldn’t be traveling much this season, she returned to her old ‘03 Rage ECNL team. She and her teammates will go to Arizona in April, New York in May and North Carolina in June.

When she makes her way to Oregon, it will be part of a new era for the Ducks, who named Graeme Abel as its new women’s head coach on Dec. 30. Abel was an assistant with the 2015 and 2019 FIFA World Cup champion U.S. Women’s National Team. Once again, Goldberg is excited about the prospect of being on the ground floor.

“It’s going to be super exciting to be coached by someone with the amount of coaching experience he has,” she said.

Playing up, and always trying to get better, has led Goldberg to this point. “Soccer is very tricky, because some people think the result is what gets you recruited,” Pratte said. “But what gets you recruited is the work you put in day in and day out, how hard you train, your dedication. Those are the things the college coaches look at.”

She welcomes being held to a more stringent standard.

“I don’t like to be sugar-coated,” Goldberg said. “He praises me when I need it, but he can be brutally honest, which I respect.”

It’s that resolve that has become a factor in Foothill’s success thus far.

“One of the keys to being successful is being honest with everybody,” Goldberg said. “That helps us perform well. I am not seeing a weak player out there.” ✪ Support Your Advertisers — Say You Found Them in SportStars!

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To list all the college players who graduated from the St. Mary’s girls basketball program would fill up a book.

So here, alphabetically, are the major NCAA Div. I stars from coach Tom Gonsalves’ time with the program.

MI’COLE CAYTON (CAL): Cayton’s career has been almost completely derailed by injuries.

AQUIRA DECOSTA (BAYLOR/LOYOLA MARYMOUNT): The McDonald’s All-American spent one year at Baylor before transferring to Loyola Marymount. She will be eligible next year.

JACKI GEMELOS (USC, WNBA): She was considered by many to be the heir apparent to Diana Taurasi, given her size (6-0), talent and charisma. But five knee surgeries robbed her of her explosiveness — still, it’s a credit to her talent and work ethic that she made it to the WNBA even though she wasn’t close to what she had been.

ALI GIBSON (OREGON STATE): One of the key pieces in the rejuvenation of Oregon State, Gibson’s shooting and grit was invaluable to Scott Rueck as he turned things around.

CHELSEA GRAY (DUKE, WNBA): Gray has a WNBA title to her credit as point guard for the Los Angeles Sparks, and she’s definitely in the mix for a spot on the United State Olympic team, either now or in 2024.

CHARISE HOLLOWAY (ARIZONA/SANTA CLARA): A powerful guard, Holloway began her career at Arizona before finishing at Santa Clara.

AFURE JEMERIGBE (CAL): Jemerigbe was a key contributor in her four years at Cal, and helped the Bears to the Final Four in 2013.

NAJE MURRAY (SAN DIEGO STATE/CAL): Murray will suit up at Cal next year after sitting out last season as a transfer.

KAT TUDOR (OREGON STATE): A deadly 3-point shooter, Tudor followed Gibson to Oregon State and, like Gibson, played a big role in the program’s rise.

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T

Amaya Oliver

he coach has the whistle at practice – and the power to say “Line it up” and send a bunch of teenage boys or girls on a set of wind-sprints that could go on indefinitely.

The coach draws attention during games by calling plays, making subs and having measured, substantive discussions with the officials (sometimes).

But to think that the coach is the only leader a team has, or that a team needs, would be to miss a vital part of team sports, especially at the high school level.

The difference between an 18-year-old and 14-year-old is stark. How much more likely is a senior to understand commitment and taking things seriously as opposed to a freshman?

And yes, the coach is there to make his speeches about working together and teamwork and all the other clichés, but a high school sophomore is way more likely to pay serious attention to what a high school senior says than anything an adult says.

That’s one reason high school coaches value seniors, and they value them even more when there aren’t many of them — as is the case for St. Mary’s High girls basketball team this season. As always, Tom Gonsalves’ perennial Stockton powerhouse has a roster chock full of Division I talent, but the coach has only two seniors to help him guide the group. And in fact, there’s only one junior.

Of course, leadership roles aren’t defined solely by age. The best players are the ones others look up to. The perfect combination for a coach is to have his best player be a senior, which is why Gonsalves is particularly happy about the way his

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team is coming together. Senior Amaya Oliver is not only the best player on the floor for St. Mary’s, she’s the team leader.

“I’m communicating all throughout practice,” says Oliver, a 6-1 wing who, finally healthy, is playing the best basketball of her career. “I’m correcting them all the time for not being in the right place, or not communicating. I have to be a leader.”

Freshman Brooklyn Perry, one of several promising youngsters on the roster, is happy for the help from Oliver and fellow senior Monique Vasquez. “They’ve helped us a lot,” she says, “picking us up when we get yelled at and being vocal at practice.”

And speaking of practice, Oliver is happy to be back at practice after struggling with a knee injury through all of last year and most of the summer.

“Even in AAU, I wasn’t 100 percent,” she says. “Now I can make stronger moves and I’m getting more rebounds.”

“She’s the biggest steal in California,” says Gonsalves of Oliver’s college prospects. She purposely waited before making any kind of decision because she knew coaches hadn’t seen her at her best. And in fact, she wants to play in the Martin Luther King Jr. showcases before settling on a college to play for.

“She’s so versatile. She can play two through five — and she made her first eight 3-pointers this year.”

Oliver’s rebounding and defense add more to the mix, and so far she’s been the main cog in a St. Mary’s machine that opened the year 8-4 against one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Some of those losses, of course, can be attributed to youth. Gonsalves has sometimes started a perimeter that consists of two freshmen and a sophomore.

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Brooklyn Perry

“I was definitely a little bit shocked,” Perry said of her introduction to the intensity and competitive level of high school basketball, “but I quickly got used to it. I love playing high school — I enjoy watching film, and I like the preparation before each game.”

But she’s had to adjust to playing off the ball, as Gonsalves often has sophomore Tai Sherman or freshman Nia Anderson run the point.

“It’s the same thing Jacki (Gemelos) had to adjust to,” says Gonsalves, referring to the brilliant offensive star whose career was stalled by five knee surgeries in college.

“Brooklyn is our best freshman scorer since Jacki.”

Perry does her damage as a fine 3-point shooter who’s figuring things out once she penetrates.

“There’s 6-5 girls in there,” says the 5-7 guard, “so the defense is a lot better. And I’ve started working out more – I’ve had to.”

Perry’s work ethic has impressed Gonsalves (“She’s the first one on the floor for practice”) but he’s been more impressed with the way this young team has come together.

“They’re a really good group,” he says. “I’m enjoying them a lot.” Of course, “enjoying” a team is different than “being completely happy with,” and Gonsalves knows there’s a long way to go.

“The three point guards are learning to play together,” he says, a thought Perry echoes.

“Our chemistry is getting better,” she says. “We’re finding ways to do our own thing and let the others do theirs.”

Of course, freshmen have the luxury of time. At 14, three more years of basketball seems like eternity. But for Oliver, who can see the end of her high school career just around the corner, there’s a greater sense of urgency.

“We’ve grown more as a team and we share the ball pretty well,” she says, “but we need to communicate more. If we work on the things we need to work on, we can win a state title.” ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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And so it begins. This is the first installation

of what’s planned as a 10-months long

anniversary project to celebrate what will be 10 years of SportStars this June. From now

through October, we’ll be releasing lists of the

Top 10 players and teams of the SportStars Era from across several sports. Many will debut in

our monthly editions while many others will be

exclusive to SPORTSTARSMAG.COM. Readers will even have a chance to vote on some.

Here’s our take at girls volleyball, a sport that

featured 28 state titles for NorCal teams over

the past 10 seasons. So naturally, no shortage of talent to choose from.

Here’s The Big 10, listed alphabetically.

EMILY BAPTISTA | HILMAR ’16 | OH We feel confident in saying Baptista’s 2,440 career kills led all of NorCal over the past 10 seasons. She topped the state in kills in both her sophomore (772) and junior (751) seasons. Her four-

year varsity career also included 1,375 digs, 357 aces and 137 Hilmar wins. She was an All-West Coast Conference first-team

selection for Pacific as a sophomore, then transferred to USC and earned an All-Pac 12 honorable mention in her first season with the Trojans.

KATHERINE CLAYBAUGH SAN RAMON VALLEY-DANVILLE ’16 | OH The Wolves’ career kills leader exceeded 2,000 during her fouryear career, with a season-

The youngest member of this list, Edwards is the only one who hasn’t begun her collegiate career. She will head to Pacific next fall after finishing her four-year prep career as the Troubadours’ all-time leader in kills (2,083) and digs (1,577). She also had 219 career blocks and 132 aces.

KATE FORMICO ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE ’17 | L/DS Generally considered one of the Bay Area’s best liberos of the past decade, the cousin of U.S. Olympic beach volleyball icon Kerri Walsh-Jennings was a true defensive dynamo while winning

high 655 as a junior. As

three consecutive state titles with the Monarchs. In three seasons,

named the MaxPreps.com

She’s since added two NCAA national titles, appearing in every

the Year after 646 kills and

JULIA HANDY | TURLOCK ’18 | S

a sophomore, she was

Formico compiled 1,245 digs, 1,116 serve receives and 138 aces.

National Sophomore of

match of Stanford’s championship runs in 2018 and 2019.

358 digs. SportStars thrice named her to its annual

list of the Bay Area’s top 75 athletes of the year.

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ALEXA EDWARDS ST. FRANCIS-SACRAMENTO ’20 | OH

A two-time PrepVolleyball.com All-American and recipient of regional Player of the Year honors from multiple media outlets, Handy was a master facilitator and stat sheet monster. In four

Her collegiate career at

seasons she amassed more than 4,200 assists to go with 222

leading the River Hawks

twice in her tenure, winning it all in 2017. She redshirted at

UMass-Lowell included

aces, 505 digs and 442 kills. Turlock reached the SJS Div. I final

in kills in 2018.

Arizona before transferring to Fresno State for the 2019 season.

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TAYLOR NELSON | GRANITE BAY ’14 | S Her four-year varsity career was great, but Nelson would’ve

made this list for her senior season alone. She had 46 assists in a four-set state finals victory (to complete a 45-0 season) and

finished 2013 with 996 assists, 192 kills, 135 digs and 90 aces.

She was named PrepVolleyball.com’s National Player of the Year, CalHiSports.com’s Ms. State Volleyball and Gatorade’s State

Player of the Year. She was an All-Big West Conference player at Cal Poly and spent 2019 playing professionally in Germany.

EMILY SKLAR PRESENTATION-SAN JOSE ’11 | OH Like Nelson, Sklar’s prep career reached a perfect apex her

senior season. She led the Panthers to a 34-1 state-title season

with 584 kills, 487 digs, 61 blocks and 33 aces. She was named to four different All-America teams in addition to being named

the 2011 Gatorade State Player of the Year and CalHiSports.com Ms. State Volleyball. Sklar went on to a four-year career at Duke, where she ranked fifth in program history with 1,496 kills.

RONIKA STONE VALLEY CHRISTIAN-SAN JOSE ’16 | MB The daughter of former NFL All-Pro offensive lineman Ron Stone, Ronika was an athletic marvel for the Warriors. She used her 6-2 frame to amass 1,673 kills, 337 blocks, 826 digs and 147 aces

across her four years. After leading Valley Christian to state titles in 2013 and 2015, she became Oregon’s highest-rated recruit

ever (#10 by PrepVolleyball.com) and delivered on the promise as a multiple All-Pac12 selection.

TATIANA TOLEAFOA JAMES LOGAN-UNION CITY ’18 | OH Her arrival and maturation single-handedly turned the Colts into an East Bay power. Despite being just 5-7, Toleafoa compiled

2,033 kills, and added 1,411 digs and 158 aces. She surpassed

600 kills as both a junior and senior. The Colts reached the Div. I state final her senior year. She attended Cal State Fullerton as a

freshman, but transferred to Chaminade University in Honolulu.

MELANIE WADE | PALO ALTO ’12 | MB An absolute force at the net, the 6-4 Wade helped power the Vikings to state titles in 2010-11. She finished her career with

1,384 kills, 295 blocks, 377 digs and 139 aces. PrepVolleyball.com ranked her No. 17 among all national recruits before signing with Washington. She ranked fifth in program history with 484 total blocks, and reached the Elite Eight her senior season. ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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months less than 10 Just a little d its first club secure after its girls ational all Junior N USA Volleyb young ip berth, the Championsh b is cellleyball Clu UC Elite Vo tional bid. first boys na ebrating its in the place finish With a sixthNCVA ision at the 18 USA Div lifier National Qua Far Western ite 18 2, the UC El on Jan. 11-1 y for the made histor Randell team tabased club es Union City-b , which is 14. The team lished in 20 ayers from prised of pl mostly com compete n High, will James Loga from l title in Reno for a nationa y 4.

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Far Reno at the hed tickets to nc pu s ub cl ys Slainte r NorCal bo n Division), enty of othe 18-1 (18 Ope VB y Ba To y cluded: Ba demy U17 erns. They in cific Rim Aca (18 USA), Pa ite El 18 ), e USA), Cor ack (17 USA latinum (18 n View 17 Bl ai nt ou M ), 7 USA S (16 17 Titans (1 CVC 16 ASIC Open), Aspire (16 USA), N k ac Bl 16 h Beac n), 6 USA), City Red (15 Ope ends 16-1 (1 ntain View 15 ou M ), SA U 6 ntain h 16 Blue (1 4 Open), Mou A), Main Beac ew 14 Red (1 Vi n ai nt ou M , d NorCal VB S (15 Open) (14 USA) an CVC 15 ASIC ew 14 Black Vi n ai nt ou (14 USA), M ew 14 White USA). ✪ ub 14-1 (14

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SportStarsâ„¢ January 2020

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p

erhaps the only wrestler in CIF history to go 0-3 at the state championship tournament, Valley-Sacramento junior and Afghanistan native Salahdin Farukh is determined to take advantage of the fortuitous opportunities that have opened for him.

Two years before limited mastery of the English language allowed him to wrestle the wrong Clovis wrestler at state — thus getting a second shot at the round that eliminated him — Farukh began his second life in America. Memories of his first one are never far.

“It was a suicide bomb, a little bit far away… about that far,” he said, gesturing to a nearby line of trees following a tournament in late December.

“Afghanistan is war, and you don’t know when you are going to die, you just know it’s going to come.

“America is like… so chill.”

Farukh knew he wanted to wrestle when he landed at Valley in 2017, but he barely spoke English.

His first lesson — don’t lock your hands.

They don’t teach folkstyle wrestling in Afghanistan. Weaned on freestyle, Farukh struggled with the new discipline his freshman year, and went 0-2 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Divisional round, missing a Masters qualification. Last year, he was a Division IV champion at 103 pounds, and an unknown name at Masters.

Lacking in his ground game, but dangerous from his feet, Farukh attacked the 32-man bracket at Delta College with quick shots and continuous movement. He beat Tracy’s Anthony Nunes 15-2 and stunned Vista del Lago-Folsom’s Ethan Cota 23-12 in a second-round flurry.

After slipping 12-6 to SJS runner-up Dylan Maples (Bella Vista-Fair Oaks), Farukh beat Yuba City’s Keola Abreu 18-9 and stuck Patterson’s Jesse Cota in just over two minutes to guarantee a top-six finish and CIF qualification.

Farukh lost his next match 7-2 to Vacaville stalwart Isaiah Medina, setting the stage for his best match of the tournament, a fifth-place showdown with Union Mine-El Dorado’s Michael Mallot. The bout featured constant scoring over five thrilling minutes, leaving Mallot with a 23-21 win to close the tournament.

Despite the narrow loss, Farukh became Valley’s first state qualifier since 1995. A week later he lost three matches by points at state, slipping in a close bout to Clovis wrestler Matt Torrence in his second match, before tourney officials realized Farukh should have toed the line against Noah Arsitio of Clovis North-Fresno. He waited 45 sheepish minutes before wrestling Arsitio, losing just 5-2 to end his season.

DEAR OLD DAD

Farukh’s mom, dad, brother and sister are all thriving in Sacramento.

They have dear old dad to thank for it.

Bashir Farukh worked as a translator and contractor for the U.S. Army during the war in 24

SportStars™ January 2020

Salahdin Farukh is congratulated by teammates after winning a title in the Marty Manges Tournament this past December at Casa Roble High in Orangevale.

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“It was a suicide bomb, a little bit far away… about that far, (gesturing to a nearby line of trees). Afghanistan is war, and you don’t know when you are going to die, you just know it’s going to come. America is like … so chill.”

— Salahdin Farukh

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Afghanistan. His 12 years of service made his family eligible to receive a Special Immigrant Visa to move to the United States.

Bashir said the opportunity became an urgency after rumors of U.S. withdrawals from Afghanistan forced him to fear for his family’s safety.

One harrowing 2015 day in the Afghanistan capital city, Kabul, he was forced into action.

“Right across the place where we were living, right across the street there was a suicide bombing,” Bashir said. “We saw pieces of human beings fall down in front of our wrestling club.

“I was really concerned with what was going on, even just the kids going to school or the wrestling club. It’s not like here, where I feel safe.”

Soon after the bombing outside the wrestling club operated by Bashir’s brother, he applied for the Special Immigrant Visa.

Now Bashir gets by as a ride-hail driver for Uber and Lyft. Even though he contracted with the U.S. Army, he said construction opportunities in California are difficult because of expensive and arduous requirements to secure proper licensing.

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The dream is to own a construction business and see his sons and daughters achieve success in America. Salahdin wants to be a firefighter after school and wrestling.

“Every father wants the best for their kids, based on their unique talents,” Bashir said. “I try my best to provide for them and afford what they want.”

Bashir doesn’t hate his current schedule, which allows him to help coach the Valley wrestling team alongside eight-year head coach, David Caldwell.

“Coach Bashir has really helped, especially with the language barrier, because three of our wrestlers speak Farsi (Persian),” Caldwell said. “Luckily, physicality is the same language anywhere, so I think wrestling has helped them fit in.”

FORTUNE AWAITS

Salahdin’s remarkable improvements have transformed his career on the mat. The wrestler who struggled to win only one match at many of his tournaments in 2018 is ranked No. 4 in Northern California (113) by SportStars and No. 14 in the state by the California Wrestling Newsletter.

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His big jump between freshman and sophomore seasons looks like a bunny hop compared to the leap to his junior campaign. As of Jan. 13, Salahdin is 22-1 with three tournament titles. His only defeat was 8-2 against Palma-Salinas’ Zachary Thompson, ranked No. 2 in Nor Cal and No. 8 in California with four CIF wins under his belt in two trips to Bakersfield.

That defeat came in the finals of the prestigious Tim Brown Memorial Classic at Cal Expo Jan. 11.

Three weeks prior, Salahdin won the Marty Manges Tournament at Casa RobleOrangevale. In the finals he drew Mallot, who beat him in that 23-21 thriller last year. This time, Salahdin took a 14-4 lead before pinning Mallot with a minute remaining in the bout.

“I showed that I had more improvement than last year,” Salahdin said. “I have been working real hard. He was hella cocky but I didn’t care, I just wanted to go beat him.”

Salahdin will wrestle at the Overfelt Classic in San Jose on Jan. 25.

NorCal No. 1 and state No. 5 Brayden Abell of Oakdale is a heavy favorite to win the SJS title at 113 pounds and a second straight state medal. If Salahdin can capture SJS gold before he graduates, he will be Valley’s first section champion since heavyweight Anthony Cook captured a bracket in 1992. This year, Salahdin wants to win a state medal.

Since Salahdin’s younger siblings also wrestle, Valley should prosper from the blessings of the Farukh family and the urgency of coach Bashir.

A year after the family emigrated, The New York Times reported that 26 wrestlers were killed and another 91 were wounded when the Islamic State bombed another wrestling club in Kabul, home to many of the country’s champion wrestlers.

It’s the kind of fate the Farukhs escaped by moving to America.

The grind of a wrestling season — muscles straining, sweat leaking — seems trivial in comparison, but it’s the kind of suffering the Farukhs embrace. ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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building on Daniel Adler

MOVEMENT Technique, Proper Mobility Are Focal Points Of College Park Football Grads Who Started Concord’s The Foundation Training Facility

Daniel Adler’s training facility is known as The Foundation: House of Movement for a good reason. His goal is to get young athletes to move the right way.

Activities at the Concord facility are about “building capacity” in an athlete’s body to enhance movement and strength. To explain maximizing your potential mobility, Adler lays it out in tech terms.

“Think about mobility as your hardware and think about your movement and your potential as your software,” he said. “So your software is only going to be as good as your hardware. We can squat all day and power-clean, but you are really decreasing your overall movement if you are not developing your mobility and your capacity to move joints equally.”

Mobility is a focal point at The Foundation, which opened in August 2017. Daily sessions are typically comprised of 45 minutes of mobility training and 45 on power and strength development.

“The power-strength part is absolutely essential,” said Adler, a College Park-Pleasant Hill graduate who also played football in the collegiate and professional ranks. “But there are so many kids who don’t have the prerequisites to even start strength training. They don’t have the

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proper joint angles. They say if you don’t use it, you lose it. Well, we use everything. And we use it in full range of motion.”

Adler’s optimal plan is that athletes train with him three times a week. Many are high school or junior college student-athletes; baseball players, golfers, football and soccer players. A good number are from the College Park and Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill sports communities.

Experiences from high school to college to the pros and then to graduate school were significant steps in Adler’s philosophy.

He began playing football for the Pleasant Hill Rebels at age 9, and honed his skills at College Park and at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. He credits Ryan Byrne, his DVC offensive coordinator, as a major influence.

Adler next played wide receiver at Northern Arizona. At 5-foot-8, he had to work harder to get opportunities. But he earned them, including playing in Germany and with the Professional Indoor Football League’s Columbus Lions in Georgia.

“I finally made a pro team, and I felt really good; all the frustration was totally worth it,” Adler said. “It was amazing to be out there, go through camp, and make a team. I finally got to play in a game in Week 4 and scored a touchdown. That was pretty significant for me to do that.”

His stay was short-lived, as he was released in Week 10 because the Lions needed an open roster spot for their depleted secondary.

Opportunity again knocked when a friend helped Adler get a two-day workout with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the Arena Football League in 2015. Despite a practice squad offer, he reached the conclusion his playing career was over.

“I was in Vegas for a week and I realized I was done playing football,” he said. “I just put way too much energy into this, and I don’t want to continue to put energy into something that is not giving back. You see the pinnacle and what you are capable of doing, and at best, I’m a good Arena receiver. Which is cool.”

Adler spent “one long, depressing summer” trying to figure out what was next. That turned out to be graduate school at Mills College, where he earned a Master’s degree in Management. He was intrigued by many aspects of athletic life, including mental health and the mental approach to training. Prompted by his own postplaying career struggles, he wanted to find ways — Daniel Adler to help athletes who experienced frustration and depression in their athletic and life pursuits.

“I want to train, but I really want to integrate philosophy and give kids a more accurate framework of how they go about their stuff,” he said. “I saw that mental health was really bad. … I wanted to be part of the solution, I didn’t want to be part of the problem.”

The Foundation name came from Adler’s original business partner and College Park classmate, Travis Raciti. Raciti played at San Jose State and in the NFL with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Denver as a defensive end.

“We were going back and forth with ideas and my names were not very good,” Adler said.

“I had the idea of what I wanted to do. One day he just said ‘The Foundation’ and that’s so strong. There are different ways why we are the Foundation. Simple and strong. It stuck.”

Enhancing mobility, effective power-strength training and a proper mental approach have led to a sense of accomplishment from his students, he said.

“They are telling me that they feel better, they are telling that they just have more range of motion,” Adler said. “They are not so stiff. An injury is when the load placed on the joint is larger than the capacity to absorb that load. You push on a joint and that joint’s able to move, it won’t get hurt. But if you can’t articulate that joint, then there you go, you’re hurt. Mobility really allows you to do more variation and you’re just more adaptable to whatever’s happening.”

He’s seen the benefits of training for trainees and is excited College Park junior centerfielder Primo Rodriguez committed in October to play at Sacramento State. His goal is to build more success stories and grow The Foundation.

“I want to have at least 40 kids in here a week,” Adler said. “It’s so important in our community to have a conscious training place that is determined to get this stuff right. Cut down on injuries, Get kids to have a better framework going into high school. I would like to build a gym somewhere in the East Bay, from the ground up. That’s my goal.”

It sounds like a solid Foundation has been set. ✪ — Story And Photos By Mike Wood

“Think about mobility as your hardware and think about your movement and your potential as your software.

So your software is only going to be as good as your hardware.”

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getSMART Spelling Out A Strategy For Setting Goals

nutrition: jill daniels Are you ready to set some goals for the year, but unsure if you’ll really follow through? New year’s resolutions typically don’t have lasting results because people don’t formulate a realistic plan. There are several successful ways to do some planning.

One model for setting goals is called SMART and can be very simple yet effective.

Creating SMART goals can help you implement the changes you desire. Here are a few tips on setting SMART nutrition goals: ›› S — Specific. Be as specific as possible about what your goal is and why you’d like to reach it.

“I’m going to eat breakfast every day so my body gets the nutrients it needs for muscle repair and energy during the morning,” or “I’m going to fuel my body during practices so I can stay mentally focused and energized; finishing each practice strong, which will help me for games and tournaments.” ›› M — Measurable. Being able to measure your progress lets you know how you’re doing, and whether you are on track, or if you need to step up your game.

“I’m going to consume at least 300 calories of carbohydrates during each two-hour practice.” ›› A — Attainable. Keep it real. If you’re setting a goal to gain 10 pounds of muscle in two weeks, or to eat seven servings of fruits and veggies every day when currently you don’t eat any, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment. Double-check to see if you have the energy, time, knowledge and focus to attain your goals. ›› R — Rewarding. If you are fueling your body better during practices, and that transfers over to better performance during competition, you’ll find yourself enjoying your sport even more, and may even find yourself with faster times, and a few more wins. ›› T — Time-based. Setting a goal with a deadline can help create a sense of urgency, or add a level of accountability that could be helpful. Achieving small milestones along the way can help you stay encouraged and committed.

“I’m going to eat breakfast four times a week by Jan. 31; 6 times a week by Feb. 14; 7 times a week by Feb. 28.”

There are several nutrition-related goals you can set that will help you improve your performance this year. Whether you want to increase muscle mass, improve energy levels, recover faster or something else, take time to write down some SMART goals and make this year your best one yet. ✪ Maximize your athletic performance by seeking personalized advice from Nutrition Coach Jill Daniels, MS, RD, CSSD, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. www.JillDanielsRD. com

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