NorCal Issue 192 March 2021 by Sport Stars Magazine

MARCH 2021 NORCAL EDITION VOL. 12 ISSUE 192

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2.17.19 Woodland High senior pitcher Cooper Hjerpe throws during an early-season practice. Hjerpe’s second freshman season (last year’s COVID-shortened season did not count) got off to a great start on Feb. 20. The hard-throwing lefty pitched the Beavers to their first win of the season, a 14-1 blowout of New Mexico. He allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked just one over 5.1 innings. Photo by David Gershon

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lot has happened since I last filled this space. Sports are back. And there’s even going to be football. That’s due in no small part to a pair of Northern California football coaches. Serra-San Mateo coach Patrick Walsh and De La Salle-Concord coach Justin Alumbaugh both played major roles in the efforts to get team sports restarted. Alumbaugh is featured in this issue, and we highlighted Walsh in the first episode of our podcast. That’s right, we’ve got a podcast now. Chalk it up as another thing we taught ourselves while there were no games to cover. For those who haven’t heard about it or listened yet, the podcast is named SportStories. SportStars Magazine has spent the last 10 years seeking out NorCal’s best high school sports stories and writing about them. And while our staff of award-winning contributors has always done a great job of bringing those stories to life, it’s hard to beat the experience of just sitting back and listening to a coach or athlete spin a really good yarn. That’s what we’re hoping to bring to listeners with SportStories — we want to turn our favorite stories back over to those who lived it. Each episode, we’ll be selecting a coach, team, former athlete or classic game. Then we’re gonna find the storytellers with the best anecdotes about them, and see what happens. Our first episode focused on Walsh. We used coaches and acquaintances from his past to detail the passion that has made him such a good coach and advocate for kids. The most recent episode marks the fifth anniversary of the Freedom-Oakley softball team’s inspiring championship run in honor of their fallen assistant coach Scott Lunger. We brought on a pair of former coaches and players to share their memories from that team and season. We’re certainly excited about the project and can’t wait to share more walks down memory lane with listeners. New episodes launch every two weeks and currently can be found on seven different platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Radio Public, Pocket Casts and Anchor. If you visit our Anchor site, there’s a function that allows you to leave us a voice message. You can let us know what you think of the show so far, as well as suggest a topic or story for a future episode. There’s even more good news to share from SportStars HQ. Our web home, SportStarsMag.com, will be getting a fresh new look this March. You’re gonna want to check it out, especially now that we have games to report on again. And let’s just circle back to that one last time. After nearly 11 months, games are back. We knew they’d be back eventually, but there were a lot of moments when the doubt outweighed the hope. We know that we’re thrilled, so we can only imagine what coaches and athletes must be feeling. And on the flipside of that, what the coaches and athletes of indoor sports are feeling right now too. Basketball and volleyball may not be back just yet, but hold on to the hope. Football games seemed out of the question just six weeks ago. A lot can happen by the time I fill this space again. ✪

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AIyANNA CO HERITAGE-BRENTWOOD - GOLF - SENIOR

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Golfing in a competition with her Patriots teammates for the first time since November 2019, the Heritage captain and top seeded golfer earned medalist honors in a Bay Valley Athletic League-opening win over Pittsburg. Co earned top honors by shooting a 1-over par 37 on the front nine at Lone Tree Golf Course in Antioch. Her round included a chip-in birdie on the par-4 fifth hole. Heritage golf went 2-0 in its

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opening week of play.

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breaking

After Six Weeks Of Helping Lead The Activism To Get Youth Sports Back In Action, De La Salle Football Coach Justin Alumbaugh Got To Exhale

t’s Friday evening and Justin Alumbaugh is driving home. The De La Salle High football coach is driving home after a win. As the coach of the fabled Spartans program, driving home after wins on a Friday are commonplace. But this was a Friday in February. And the win wasn’t a win for De La Salle football. It was a win for nearly every athlete on campus. A win for every Spartan opponent. It was a win for kids across the state. “I’m tired, man,” Alumbaugh said. “I’ll say that for real. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired, and legitimately before a season has even started.” That was the win on this Friday. Alumbaugh got to share with his players that their season will indeed have a start. The Spartans coach was one of three football coaches, along with Serra-San Mateo’s Patrick Walsh and Torrey Pines-San Diego’s Ron Gladnick, who acted as primary lobbyists in an extremely coordinated effort to convince Governor Gavin Newsom and state health officials to relax guidelines pertaining to the safe return of sports amidst the coronavirus pandemic.Mike’ The three coaches represented the Golden State Football Coaches Community, and they worked in partnership with the parent-led advocacy group of Let Them Play California. After multiple meetings with state officials, and multiple press conferences, the coaches reported progress and a promise from the governor’s office that updates would be coming. The clock kept ticking. Finally the coaches were told to expect something by Friday, February 19. And a statewide community of youth athletes and coaches held their breath. “I was in the middle of giving a test on the Great Depression,” Alumbaugh says with a laugh of acknowledgement toward the irony. Student-athletes’ mental health was a major talking point the coaches leaned on when meeting with government officials. “I was speaking at the front of the class when students began telling me that my phone was going off like a machine gun,” he said. The new guidelines, which were released at approximately 10 a.m., allowed for several outdoor sports to resume in counties with a COVID-19 adjusted case rate equal to or less than 14 per 100,000. The guidelines went into effect on Feb. 26, and pave the way for competition in football, baseball, softball, water polo, soccer, rugby and lacrosse. Close contact outdoor sports like football and water polo will require weekly testing until the case rate number drops below 7. As soon as his class ended, Alumbaugh relished his moment to share the news with his players. “I ran out in the quad and told the couple of guys I saw,” the coach said, adding that a few even teared up. “There are zero times in my life that I was privy to information that was going to bring that much joy.” Seven of the nine Bay Area counties were already below the case rate threshold of 14 as of the announcement. Solano and Contra Costa County were not, though both of them reached it when new numbers were announced on Feb. 23. That meant a three-week conditioning/practice/scrimmage window began for the Spartans. How many games the season lasts remains somewhat uncertain. When the state’s stay-at-home order ended in late January, the North Coast Section reworked its calendar and set a football end date of April 17. If the section chooses to stick to that, six games would likely be a best-case scenario. If it chooses to extend to May 1 — something the Central Coast Section has already allowed for — eight games are a possibility. Alumbaugh isn’t shy about acknowledging that there are still things that need to be figured out. That could be a Monday concern. On Friday, it was about celebrating that any of that was even a concern to begin with. “Our kids get to play,” he said. “I think at this point, who cares whether it’s 5-6-7 games. That’s 5-6-7 more than we ever thought we’d have. Whatever it is, that’s fine. “The section has a lot of juggling to do. Whatever decision they make we’re going to follow and move forward. The biggest thing is we get to move forward.” For now, De La Salle has settled on a six-game slate announced by the school on Feb. 23. It includes four East Bay Athletic League games and two non-league contests. If all goes to plan, the Spartans’ first game will be a March 13 home game against St. Mary’s-Stockton. That will be followed by home EBAL games against Monte Vista-Danville and San Ramon Valley-Danville, a nonleague home game against Jesuit-Carmichael and EBAL road games at California-San Ramon and Clayton Valley-Concord. Alumbaugh pulled into his driveway and was ready to revel, and rest. He mentioned being up and on the phone until almost 1:45 a.m. the night before. “(Today’s announcement) was pretty much the best case scenario with everything we’d been talking about in the meetings,” he said. “Governor Newsom and Jim DeBoo deserve a lot of credit. They listened to three high school football coaches. They listened, and they didn’t give us lip service. “I think that’s pretty awesome. I really do.” Indoor sports such as basketball, wrestling and girls volleyball had reason to be less enthusiastic about the announcement. Those sports are still tied to the state’s lowest tiers and infection rate numbers. Alumbaugh, whose niece plays indoor volleyball, understands the angst from those communities but thinks those sports can still look at the Feb. 19 progress as a win. “If you look at what the state did today, it made sense,” he said. “There had to be an initial step, and today’s announcement doesn’t close the door on indoor sports. Throughout the process, (state officials) said they were going to listen to everything — and they listened to us. “Today proved that. Whatever comes down the way, everyone is going to be happy.” ✪ This story has been updated from its original version that appeared on SportStarsMag.com.

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o are the administrators who make high school sports tick breathing a sigh of relief that sports are coming back? Only if by some miracle they’ve found time to exhale. After nearly a full year of no high school sports competition in California, the floodgates have opened for outdoor sports. Schedules that lingered in uncertainty for months are now a reality. Busy just got busier. “The difference is now we are scheduling with a purpose,” said East Bay Athletic League commissioner Leo Lopez of the process that had been imagined and reimagined for months. That preparation became reality on Friday, Feb. 19, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Public Health announced that football and other outdoor high school sports were allowed to resume on Feb. 26, providing they met testing and other guidelines. The prevailing criteria is that COVID-19 case rates be inside a threshold of 14 per 100,000 residents in a county, a standard met by many but not all state counties. It’s also a go for baseball, water polo, lacrosse, soccer and softball, which along with football were all previously in a more restrictive tier and unable to go forward. “People had become cautiously guarded against hoping for it,” Heritage-Brentwood athletic director Nate Smith said. “And the clock was ticking, so it was one of those now or never moments.” Lobbying efforts by groups like Golden State Football Coaches Community and Let Them Play California led to meetings with state officials, culminating in the announcement that football indeed could return this school year. When California’s stay at home order was lifted in late January, non-contact sports in the state’s least restrictive tier like golf, cross country, tennis and track and field were allowed to commence. That rekindled hope that had dwindled over the previous months as COVID-19 surged nationally around the winter holidays and beyond. “You prepare for the best and brace yourself for the worst, and we have become mentally braced to handle bad news so now we have to prepare ourselves each day to handle good news,” Smith said. Even before the pivotal events of Friday, Feb. 19, athletic directors and league commissioners have been on nonstop Zoom meetings, taking multiple phone calls or brainstorming endless schedule possibilities. “For months now we’ve learned to live with change and to be flexible,” said Lopoz. It’s an example of how preparation is vital in any aspect of sports. Much like the basketball player who is a whiz at making free throws because he or she has tossed thousands of practice shots, administrators have put in months of reps of scheduleoverhauling and getting protocols into action. “Since May of last year, we have been in constant meetings, to go over updates and statuses,” Acalanes athletic director Randy Takashashi said. “Even in summer when we had never met (before), we met every other week. The last three months we have met weekly with the superintendent.” Schedules that had been painstakingly planned and approved earlier in the process had to be overhauled or shortened as the window for having any sports grew narrower, Concord athletic director Megan Coddington said. “We’ve had to have nonstop flexibility to the situation, and

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LEFT: East Bay Athletic League commissioner and De La Salle administrator, Leo Lopoz, looks on during De La Salle’s first tennis match of the spring. ABOVE: Members of the San Ramon Valley-Danville baseball team get loose during one of their first full team workouts. we’ve changed schedules multiple times because we want to do right by the kids,” Coddington said. “We do not want multi-sport athletes to have to make a choice.” Schools have had varying degrees of regulated workouts, and athletes already are practicing protocols. Smith said the Liberty Union High School District realized the importance of athletes being able to work out safely on-site, which has helped in the return to competition. “Our kids have been on campus and required to follow these protocols,” Smith said. “So to get ready to hit the ground running, hey ... we’re there.” When the football news hit, Smith already had four straight days of multiple Bay Valley Athletic League events planned for the next week. There were cross country meets being run on football fields or tracks the next day. Golf clubs and tennis racquets are being swung in matches that count. “When I first saw the news (Friday) morning, my first thought was excitement, then immediately my second was ‘I’ve got a lot of work to do,’” said Takahashi. Lopoz said that although good news had been anticipated, there was elation from it being reality from those long involved in the process. “It was a feeling of ‘Alright, let’s go!’ and lots of high 5s and celebration,” he said. Then everyone jumped into myriad phone calls and meetings. “A lot of emotions run through those who have been intimately involved. I’m happy for all those student athletes who can participate. This is a lot of work and a daunting challenge, but we feel all the hard work will be worth it.” Staging a high school football game or a track and field or swimming meet without the massive support structure that pro and college sports have is not easy. Now, throw in COVID-19 protocols, including testing. As high-contact sports, football and water polo are required to have weekly testing if the county case-rate is between 7-to-14 per 100,000. Everything is happening in a compacted time frame, a big change from a highly-structured, long-established three-season sports year where conclusions of one season intertwine with the start of another. It’s a delicate balance between teams using the same field or gym. Somehow that has always worked but this will take extra work, with a scenario of football, soccer and track and field — each usually with its own separate season, all vying for field usage at once. It’s been left to individual leagues, or in some cases schools or districts to orchestrate when all those sports start seasons. “I’m grateful our coaches are very cognizant of that and that we say we are 23 sports but we are one team,” Smith said.

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At smaller schools like Berean Christian, often outside facilities are used, which adds another layer of planning. The school will continue to play football on campus on Saturday afternoons, which Wells is relishing. “Football is a big part of the community and I feel that not having it has been detrimental to the community,” Berean Christian athletic director La Shawn Wells said. There will be athletes who want to play multiple sports, so schedules and practices cannot be overwhelming. “The last thing we want to do with kids is deny them the opportunity to compete, or make it too difficult for them,” Smith said. “If there was a game every night of the week, when would they practice? .. and that is across all the schools,” said Coddington, who spent five hours one recent evening to mesh schedules together to get an extra practice day. And indoor sports — basketball, volleyball and wrestling — still have no timetable for a return, leaving those athletes in limbo. “It would be a shame to have no indoor sports at all, to have boys volleyball miss out two years in a row,” she said. At this stage, it’s impossible to gauge how many schools, districts, leagues or athletes will opt out. Some may not have enough teams or even someone to coach a team. It’s begun to play out in Southern California, a region extremely hard hit by COVID-19. When Concord and Mt. Diablo each saw they wouldn’t have enough players to field a boys tennis team, the solution was to combine the two schools into one team. “The whole premise is for kids to compete, to have some sort of athletics,” Coddington. “High school is about experience, so I encourage them to try different experiences,” Wells said. “If you are playing volleyball, try an event in track and field. The goal is they didn’t sit the whole year without doing something.” If you can play, who do you play? State guidelines only permit competition with teams in the same county or a bordering one. It’s led to leagues pairing down to strictly divisional games. For instance, the EBAL will have its Alameda County schools only play each other and the same for its schools in Contra Costa, a plan in place since July. Lopoz said it’s pure luck the EBAL schools evenly split to five per county. The Bay Valley Athletic League is geographically specific to East Contra Costa County, though it does involve three school districts. For leagues that encompass multiple counties and school districts, it’s more difficult. The Diablo Athletic League has schools from four districts, plus private schools Berean Christian-Walnut Creek and St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo, and a range of school sizes from Divisions I through IV. St. Patrick was added to the mix just for this school year after the Tri-County Athletic League splintered when its West Contra Costa County School District schools opted for play only within its district, and Jesse Bethel and Vallejo decided to wait to play until their campuses reopen, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported. It’s all being done with no plans for postseason play. No North Coast Section playoffs and no CIF state championships. Though the drive to win is still there, getting to play is cause for celebration. So are the chances for building of character and personal skills. “I am a big believer of coaching from the inside out,” Wells said. “This is a great opportunity with no playoffs, no championships. It is ‘Can I make an impact on this person’s life?’ This year we can really focus on that.” Smith was thrilled to see the level of excitement on the second day of girls tennis tryouts, when he handed out goodie bags from Gatorade in the school breezeway to a cheerful reaction from the student-athletes. They would be practicing, but not just in workouts for an uncertain season. “To see the look on their faces — and their excitement to practice — was something else,” Smith said. “And it is completely different because there is now a schedule with games on them.” Berean Christian has been functioning as a hybrid of distance and in-person learning, so there have been some interactions, but now Wells can give firm answers for eager athletes. “With our kids you see them and talk to them, and they ask ‘Coach Wells, are we going to play?’” he said. “Now you can say, ‘It looks good.’ And you can really see the joy in their eyes.” Coddington went to a cross country meet that featured some of the area’s smallest teams, each running separately but still experiencing running together as a team. Even with the changes, it was an “awesome” event, she said. “The kids were so excited to be competing,” she said “They were smiling, and though they were wearing masks, you could see their eyes were crinkling because they were smiling. They have been training for seven months, so to be able to put that into action is so exciting.” ✪ — Story By Mike Wood

Masked members of the Heritage softball team get some infield work in during an early February workout. Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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Several Sac-Joaquin Section Stalwart Programs Find Themselves In Different Places As Schools Race To Play Abbreviated Seasons There will be football. The state’s relaxation of its youth sports guidelines on Feb. 19 opened the door for many SacJoaquin Sections to hold a spring season — albeit a short one. Several SJS programs were able to hold their first padded practices on Feb. 26 as some counties reached the required COVID-19 case rate threshold of 14 or less per 100,000. Others were left to wait another week, but began releasing schedules with opening games on March 12 or March 19. Everything remains fluid though, and some programs find themselves in very different places than others. SportStars writers Jim McCue, Ike Dodson and Steven Wilson spent a few days checking in on some of the section’s top programs. Here’s a look at where each is amidst the whirlwind. WALK THE LINE: Oak Ridge And Folsom On Different Paths The line is said to be a difference maker in football, and lines will play a major role in the success of area high school football programs for the shortened spring schedule set to kick off on March 12. The line that may play the biggest factor for programs is not made up of roadgrading giants or run-stopping beasts. It just may be the demarcation line on a map. County lines have already provided some programs an advantage as schools in counties with less severe COVID-19 restrictions in the past year have been able to practice with a football and worked out in a weight room before the Feb. 19 announcement that finally lifted limitations on youth outdoor sports participation. In the Sierra Foothill League — one of Northern California’s deepest and strongest leagues — the seven member teams reside in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado Counties. Teams in Sacramento County spent more time in the state’s purple tier (widespread COVID-19 infection rate) and were more restricted throughout 2020. El Dorado and Placer Counties were in the lesser orange tier at times, which allowed for practice with a football and even some weightlifting. Five of the seven teams — Rocklin, Whitney-Rocklin, Granite Bay, Del Oro-Loomis and Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills — got a significant head start while Folsom and Grant-Sacramento lagged behind. Grant announced that the Pacers would opt out of the SFL season, leaving the six-time defending league champion Bulldogs with an uphill battle to make it seven straight titles. “It’s not a level playing field,” Folsom coach Paul Doherty said, “but we’re just happy to have a chance to compete.” Folsom and Oak Ridge finished 1-2 in the SFL in 2019 and were expected to compete for league and section supremacy (the Trojans won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship in 2019) in 2020, but circumstances arising from the pandemic have put the two programs on different trajectories in 2021.. OAK RIDGE: Coming off of the program’s first-ever SJS Division I championship, head coach Eric Cavaliere believed his 2020 Oak Ridge Trojans 20

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could be the best team in program history, and have a shot at winning a CIF State Bowl Championship. Highly-recruited quarterback Justin Lamson was leading a strong group of players from the 2021 Class, and expectations were high as the calendar turned to 2020. Of course, COVID-19 arrived and altered plans, including Lamson’s decision to graduate early to leave for Syracuse University’s spring program. But Cavaliere and a strong core of returners never stopped working, and will have an opportunity to prove how good they are — just without section or state playoffs to cement their legacy. “There is a lot of excitement now,” Cavaliere said of the chance to play a shortened league-only schedule. “These guys have been showing up through all of this, so it is great to see them rewarded with six games after sticking it out.” The strength of the Trojans lies in the “front six” on defense, led by senior middle linebackers Ryan Enney and Hunter Nabers that Cavaliere calls “the best inside linebacking tandem we’ve had.” Paul Doherty The pair combined for 210 tackles, including 18 tackles for loss, and six fumble recoveries as juniors, and are hopeful to take their talents to the college gridiron. On the outside of the defensive front, senior ends Peyton Vota and Elijah Hansen will wreak havoc from both directions to make moving the ball a serious challenge for opposing offenses. On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Brandon Barthel returns with added size and vast improvement after an All-SFL campaign as a junior. Barthel caught five touchdown passes from Lamson in 2019, and will be key in the development of new Oak Ridge passer, Drew Cowart. The 2020 plan, according to Cavaliere, was for Cowart to learn and develop while backing up Lamson. Instead, the young signal-caller will be the first sophomore to start at QB for the Trojans since Ian Book in 2013. “His development will need to come quicker as the opportunity is coming earlier than expected,” Cavaliere said of breaking in the new quarterback. But the new QB will be surrounded by plenty of veterans eager to finally show the SFL and SJS just how good the program has become. FOLSOM: While Oak Ridge is loaded with returning seniors excited for a last hurrah, the Folsom Bulldogs’ normally overflowing cupboard of returning talent is unusually bare. Head coach Paul Doherty has just four seniors on a roster that shrunk from 75 varsity players in 2019 to just 31 for the six-game spring slate. “We got a little thin,” Doherty said of the reduced roster caused in part by the early graduation of several seniors, “but we would rather be getting ready to play six games than not play football.” Expected 2020 starting quarterback Ari Patu left for Stanford spring practices and defensive star Kaleb Higgins also graduated early to join Cal, which only added to the impact of 2020 graduates like Elijhah Badger, CJ Hutton, Daniyel Ngata and Jacob Reithmeier, who accounted for most of

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the Bulldogs’ vaunted 2019 offense. Junior Tyler Tremain will take over the quarterback position — one that comes with great expectations at Folsom — after excelling as a dual-threat QB for the Bulldogs’ JV squad that beat De La Salle in the 2019 season opener. Tremain will be protected by a young offensive line that Doherty tabbed as the team’s “best position group.” Junior Braidan Freeland will anchor the line at left tackle and fellow juniors Isaiah Rheaume and Christian Newberry-Jones will fill the guard slots. New starters, including transfer Rico Flores, Jr., will aid in the re-tooling process that might be more of a rebuild than the typical reload associated with Folsom. Flores, Justin Eklund, and Walker Lyons are all getting college offers from Power 5 programs, and will use the shortened season as a stepping stone to a Fall 2021 season that programs and players are hopeful for. “With just 31 players, we will try to play all of the kids and let them compete,” Doherty said. “We will try to get better every week, and believe that the shortened season will be worth the effort and that the process will get us to where we want to be.” — J.M. GOLDEN EAGLE SURPRISE: Del Oro Set To Debut New Look Like everyone else, first-year Del Oro-Loomis football coach Mike Maben responsibly uses a mask to cover his mouth and nose. But when asked about the new offensive system tasked with revitalizing the firepower of one of Northern California’s most storied programs, Maben takes Personal Protective Equipment to the next level. It’s the old mouth-zipped-shut technique. “It does have a name, but not one that I’m going to reveal,” Maben said cagily. “I have this one-game surprise, and after that everyone has film on me. “This is all the surprise I get.” Maben said Del Oro could face most of its Sierra Foothill League opponents this year, but he doesn’t have a concrete schedule. Schools, counties and school districts are still scrambling to manage play within California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines announced Feb. 19. Getting back on the field with a new, effective offense will be critical when Del Oro kicks off a shortened spring season in March. Del Oro’s defense has been consistently stout for the last five years, thanks in large part to Coordinator Josh Parry, a former Philadelphia Eagle. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles offense has struggled. In 2019-20, despite winning 13 games and reaching a CIF bowl game (21-14 loss to Grace Brethren-Simi Valley) Del Oro averaged under 17 points for its final five games. Last season, Del Oro closed the year with three straight 21-point games. Turlock scored 42 to win their first-round playoff game, keeping Del Oro from the second round for the first time in 12 seasons. The Golden Eagles should see scoring power from senior receiver, defensive back and kick return specialist Maclain Stoneking. Senior running back Logan Foster will likely lead the backfield, behind senior guard and Claremont McKenna commit Brian West, and hulking sophomore tackle Akio Martinson. Maben said he has a few stellar senior athletes, like Isaiah Oates and T.J. Wilson, who could play several offensive skill positions. Wilson is a preferred walk-on at TCU. Del Oro has three good quarterbacks, senior Logan Stough (2019-20 season cut short by injury), junior Ryan Lewis and junior Kyle McCormick. “It’s been a good but friendly competition between all those guys,” Maben said. The Del Oro defense is anchored by senior linebacker Reagan Arney. It’s a good crew for a first-year coach to put in work with. And though it’s not always easy to see, their spirits were considerably lifted by the CDPH announcement signaling upcoming games. “The real positive about getting back on the field is the smiles on kids’ faces,” Maben said. “You can’t see the smiles with their masks on, so it’s a smile with their eyes. “I guess you call it a ‘smize.’” Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

— I.D. MUSTANGS ROAM FREE: Monterey Trail In Schedule Limbo Monterey Trail-Elk Grove continues to practice, but the program’s spring season is in jeopardy. Coach TJ Ewing says the team’s Metropolitan league decided not to play, and he’s been calling other programs to find replacements and claw out a schedule. “Right now we’re scrambling for games,” Ewing said. “We’re talking to a few schools right now, and any school that touches our county can play (us). We could go out to Concord, Yolo, Stockton… so we might have a lot of away games, but at least we’re playing.” When Grant-Sacramento anMonterey Trail’s Prophet Brown nounced it would not play this season, the Mustangs petitioned to the Sierra Foothill League to take the Pacers’ spot. Thinking that each SFL team would be down one game, and since most programs are sticking to league competition anyways, maybe they could strike a deal. “We are kind of like De La Salle was with their open schedule,” Ewing added. “But we don’t have the EBAL to fall back on. So we wanted to slide into the Sierra Foothill League, but they basically said they didn’t want us, and that’s the same for the Delta — they didn’t want to play us.” Ewing says he has a full team ready to play and many seniors like Prophet Brown — who is committed to USC — are looking forward to one last chance at a high school season. “I’ve told our guys that we’re going to play the most competitive kids like we would normally, and our seniors deserve that opportunity to compete for jobs,” Ewing said. “So our mindset is we’re going to play our season out. If you’re around, you can get as much playing time as you want. It’s what you earn, and the kids have been working their tail off.” — S. W. SQUARE ONE: Cosumnes Oaks Braces For Unknown Although the spring season is two weeks away for some programs, that’s not the case for Consumnes Oaks-Elk Grove. The Wolfpack weren’t given the go-ahead on Friday, Feb. 26 to issue shoulder pads and they haven’t issued helmets. While other teams get ready to play on March 12, they await clearance from their district. It’s a frustrating reality for a program that was in the midst of a meteoric rise within the section, and had built a notably grueling 2020 schedule to test its mettle. “We’re still at square one,” head coach Andrew Bettencourt said. “We’re only allowed to do pod work, minimum amounts of people in each pod, and we’re not allowed to have helmets or equipment yet… We haven’t even been told by our district if we’re playing.” Despite the slow response, Bettencourt has a few games scheduled. The team will face Monterey Trail, Davis High and Elk Grove — a potential senior night for both programs. He’s had to resort to a mismatched schedule because only two Delta League teams were willing to play. “Teams in our backyard, three miles from our school are calling other teams out of our league (to schedule games),” he said. Bettencourt noted roughly ten seniors — all of whom signed letters of intent — won’t be suiting up for this season as they prepare for college careers. Those seniors who aren’t signed yet will get the chance to play. “Realistically, we have to focus on our future of ’22s and ’23s because they’ve been stripped of a full year of games and workouts,” Bettencourt pointed out. “You’re potentially going to have schools with seniors who have never played a down of varsity football. That’s a scary sight.” Bettencourt says he’ll continue to search for more teams to play as he shapes their spring schedule. ✪ — S. W.

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While a few cross country meets officially ended the agonizing 10-plus month wait for high school sports, things really broke loose the week of Feb. 22-26. Here’s a few shots from that week. All photos by Chace Bryson. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: De La Salle-Concord’s No. 1 singles player Ben Beernink locks in on the ball as prepares a forehand; Freedom-Oakley golfer Maddie Knight watches the path of her second shot on the fifth fairway at Lone Tree Golf Course; Mya Miles of Pittsburg checks her ball before putting; San Ramon Valley-Danville singles player Matthew Ohara prepares to return a shot during a match against De La Salle’s Tom Cumbelich; Heritage-Brentwood junior Geraldine Critica strikes a pitching wedge.

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a club f

or a couple years in the late 90s, one of the best kept secrets in club volleyball resided at a single high school in San Diego. Its co-founders were Byron Shewman, a former Men’s National Team player, and Kim Oden, a former Olympian. But the goal of the small club wasn’t to attract the region’s top talent. Experience wasn’t even among the requirements to join. Today, Starlings Volleyball has chapters in 21 states, Washington D.C. and even one in Juarez, Mexico. And through the continued support of the Northern California Volleyball Association and Bay Area universities, Starlings continues to expand its NorCal footprint. The mission of Starlings Volleyball is to provide athletic opportunities along with a place of safety and guidance to young girls from low-income homes and at-risk environments. Shewman was inspired to create the program, which started with just 11 girls at Lincoln High-San Diego in 1996, after volleyball helped him find his own way out of a disadvantaged childhood. “The vision behind Starlings is to positively impact the lives of at-risk girls through the sport of volleyball,” Starlings Executive Director Lucy Jones said. “We aim to provide quality skills training and competitive opportunity, and we use that platform to support them academically and

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that Cares provide college and career counseling.” Among the statistics Starlings lists on its website include: ›› Girls who participate in sports are 92 percent less likely to use drugs, 80 percent less likely to become pregnant and three times more likely to graduate high school. ›› Just 15 percent of youth sports participants come from low-income homes due to the rising costs of participation. “The average cost per player in a regular USA Volleyball club will be about $1,500 for a full season,” Jones said. “We’re able to reduce that to as low as $500 per kid through a number of corporate partnerships that significantly reduce the overhead costs enough that families can get close to handling it. We also have various funds that allow club directors and players to apply for assistance in fees, gym costs, or whatever.” Clubs also receive help from sister college and sister clubs. All three Bay Area universities, Stanford, Cal and Saint Mary’s, work as sister colleges to provide skills clinics and other assistance. There are currently four NorCal Starlings chapters up and running. There is Starlings-Oakland, Starlings-Berkeley, Starlings-Marin (within Marin Juniors VBC) and Starlings-Vision (within Vision Volleyball in Redwood City). Jones said they are currently looking at directors to help start Starlings-San Francisco and Starlings-San Mateo. Starlings’ outreach in the area is currently stifled by the state’s strict COVID-19 protocols. Typically, communities will learn about the opportunity through school outreach as well as free skills clinics. “As soon as we can do that, we’ll be doing that in the Bay Area,” Jones said. “Either through the sister colleges, sister clubs, high schools or wherever.” In the meantime, those who want to learn more about Starlings can visit their website at Starlings.org, or call Jones directly at 760-6816813. If one is interested in donating to the program, there’s a place on the website for that as well. ✪

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Heritage-Brentwood Volleyball Setter Rochelle Mosley Rocks A 4.8 GPA And An Inner Strength Built From Learning And Loss

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For anyone concerned that young athletes might short-change their study time during this virtual school year, they should meet Rochelle Mosley. Mosley is a junior at Heritage High in Brentwood, apt for her role as setter for the volleyball team, a job that requires attention to detail and solid leadership skills. What’s astonishing is her mastery of academic studies. Just try to wrap your head around her latest semester grade point average — 4.88. That number blasts past the 4.0 barrier because of remarkable grades in seven Advanced Placement classes. Yes, seven of her eight classes are AP. “I like challenging myself,” Mosley sums up her approach. “I welcome any challenges, whether academic or not.” Her mother, Tammie, has seen many exceptional academic performances, having spent much of her life in academia. She’s a professor of finance and real estate at Cal State East Bay. Still she was wowed by her daughter’s semester GPA, which pushed her cumulative GPA past 4.3. “I was just completely amazed,” Tammie Mosley said. “4.88 … I never have seen that.” Rochelle’s inspiration is a moving tribute to her mother and to her father, Rolph, who passed away in 2017 but remains part of her life and her actions. “He is always in the back of my mind,” Rochelle said. “He still is playing an active role in my life even though he is not physically here.” It’s that inspiration that is the basis of an incredible ability to focus. Janet Hannigan, her coach at Heritage, saw that for herself at a pre-dawn practice during Mosley’s sophomore season. “When I got there, the gate was locked, and the girls had their music playing and were dancing outside the gate, at 6:30 a.m. in the dark,” Hannigan said. “Then I noticed Rochelle is not there with them. She was in the car with her mom, studying, working to stay focused.” Her determination was evident when she was really young. She tells a story of her mother trying to teach her ABCs, writing them down on a piece of paper for her 4-year-old to emulate. “What we would do, my husband and I would dot out the letters so (she and three siblings) could trace over them,” Tammie Mosley said. “She didn’t seem receptive to that.” Rochelle explained: “I crumbled it up and threw it away because I wanted to do it myself.” “She never wanted any help when learning,” Tammie said. “She didn’t want you to read to her. She is very determined but quiet about it. She does not tend to talk about accomplishments unless you ask her.” Mosley credits her success and inspiration to values and examples instilled by her parents. She keeps her father in the present. He plays a key role in her decision-making, as does her mother. “I think about what he would say, which makes it easier because I know what he would do in that position,” she said. “I give a lot of credit to him for being the person I am today,” she added. “He wasn’t just saying to work hard, he was demonstrating and was a prime example. So I saw I worked that hard, too.” Her father earned an MBA and worked in sports marketing, He played defensive end at Weber State and enjoyed coaching football at the high school and youth levels in East Contra Costa County. His example has helped Rochelle develop as a leader, which suits her as a setter. “You want that leader, and she has that quiet leadership and she is really good in that role,” Hannigan said. “Go in and just get the job done. Someone’s who’s not focused on self and wants the betterment of the team, and Rochelle fits that bill pretty well.” “As a setter you have more control as to what is going on, and they say you are the quarterback of the team,” Rochelle said. She has two older sisters, Rocquel, a sophomore at Arizona State, and Roxanne, a freshman at University of Arizona. Her younger brother, Rolph Jr., is an Adams Middle School seventh-grader. They have had quite a scholastic foundation to draw from. Her mother’s extensive scholastic journey brought her to Cal State Northridge, Tulane University and then to University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her PhD in business, majoring in real estate with a minor in financial quantitative theory. Her father earned a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State in political science and sociology and went on to earn his MBA at Cal State East Bay. Tammie and Rolph, who were close friends dating back to junior high, were married in 2000. Growing up, all the Mosley children swam and took part in First Tee golf. Rolph got to share his enjoyment of football with his son, whom he began coaching when his son was 3. When he was 8, Rolph Jr.’s head coach for East County Lions football was his dad. “They won everything, including their Super Bowl,” Tammie said. “It was wonderful he had that experience of coaching him. “It was so important to him for our children to make sure that they are successful and they are happy,” she added. “It’s heartbreaking he’s not here to be a part of their development.” There were challenges early on for Rochelle. She was born eight weeks premature and didn’t walk until she was almost 2 years Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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old, her mother said. She had a knack for studies, something her dad found assuring. “He would say, ‘Rochelle is smart, we don’t have to worry about her,’ and that was when she was in elementary school,” Tammie said. Her father told Rochelle when she wanted to be serious with sports, he would work with her, and trained her on strength and conditioning. He also shared his love of cooking, Tammie said. He taught Rochelle to make lumpia and spaghetti, among other dishes. “He was the primary person who cooked,” she said. “He preferred his cooking, so did the kids. To this day, my kids say ‘Can Rochelle cook?’ They prefer her, more so than myself.” When Rochelle was starting eighth grade at Adams Middle School, her father passed away unexpectedly after surgery. He was just 47. The loss was felt throughout the community at Heritage High where he was a member of the freshman football coaching staff, and foremost by his family. “He was completely their best friend,” Tammie said. “He was the most amazing father someone could have. He gave so much to them. He gave his time, he gave them wisdom, he gave them actual tools in how to think about problem-solving.” Tammie said that for Rochelle, volleyball provided her with something to focus on after her father’s passing. “My husband really supported her in sports, so in playing she feels a connection with that,” her mother said. Along with golf and swimming, Rochelle also tried volleyball, water polo, tennis and a little bit of track and field. When she entered high school, her mother advised her to specialize in one sport. She chose volleyball. She has been with Xceleration Volleyball Club out of Martinez since eighth grade and is now with the 17 Blue team Always working ahead, she’s zeroed in on collegiate and career goals. She wants to go to USC and study biomedical engineering. “I want to eventually become a neurosurgeon, or if not, I want to become an engineer,” she said. Even in middle school, she was ahead of the curve, taking high school Spanish 1 and Algebra 1. At Heritage, she dove into AP studies by taking AP Human Geography as a freshman. From there she took two AP classes her sophomore year before making the jump to seven as a junior, and that is with distance learning. So what is her favorite subject? “Honestly, I like all of them,” she said “Math and English are my top two. With math I like how there is one answer. In English, I try to explore the depths of my own mind.” Even with all the AP classes, she is taking online collegiate coursework in subjects ranging from philosophy to jazz through Sacramento’s Los Rios Community College District. She is in her second year as class president and aspires to be student body president her senior year. And she is CFO of a nonprofit that provides tutoring services to younger students. Rochelle wrote the grant proposal, which was awarded for $2,500, her mother said. It’s about hard work, a point she strives to get across. “She tells them, ‘Even if you think I make it look easy, it is not easy,” Hannigan said. “She is class president but it is not like she has her head in the books and can’t talk to kids.” Even when Mosley was a freshman, Hannigan saw that ability. Two other students were in a verbal argument, and before the coach could walk over to handle the situation, Mosley was already taking care of it. “She is very well balanced, especially (after) what she and her family have gone through,” Hannigan said. “She is very mature sounding and her presence is very mature. She’s calming. She is never one to express outward frustration that would bring down the team.” It’s that approach that is helpful for Heritage, a team with a lot of potential but eager to see when high school sports will resume after being shut down for nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In their most recent season back in fall 2019, the Patriots went 15-8 overall. They finished 8-2 in the Bay Valley Athletic League, placing behind a resurgent Pittsburg team. Hannigan has seen her athletes persevere in the unusual twice-weekly outdoor settings, working out with masks on, and finding enjoyment in the mere ability to be together. “With all that, I’ve been blown away when kids have told me, ‘Coach, even if our season is not happening, this is good for us.’” At this point, any season would be a short one, without playoffs. But Mosley is hoping for a little something. ✪ —Story By Mike Wood | Photos By Chace Bryson 30

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