NorCal Issue 223, September 2023

Inderkum’s Mickey Garcia

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Breaking New Ground

In what is our 223rd issue, it’s pretty exciting to write that we’re able to still claim a ‘first.’

That’s what we have when it comes to the cover story for this issue: Our first article (and, of course, cover) featuring flag football. The new CIF-sanctioned girls sport has been enormously popular throughout the state, and especially so in Northern California.

The popularity in the Bay Area has even spread to the coaching ranks where some very notable names have taken on programs. Perhaps most notable among them is San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who is assisting with his daughter’s team at Menlo School in Atherton.

However, in the East Bay, two coaches who spent over 20 years running varsity football programs stepped up to take on teams. When former Pittsburg High coach Victor Galli and former Freedom-Oakley coach Kevin Hartwig faced off against one another for the first time in 2002, there’s zero chance they would’ve guessed that 21 years later they’d be squaring off as girls flag football coaches. But they did, on Sept. 25.

We’ve been noting the various coverage of the new sport, and when freelancer Nick Lozito reached out to us with a story pitch about the Inderkum-Sacramento program, we emphatically agreed.

Lozito’s story on the Tigers provides plenty of insight on what it’s like for some of these startup teams and their coaches. It also makes clear that these aren’t “Powder Puff” games. These are legit athletes from other sports trying to execute real football concepts – and doing it quite well.

Inderkum flag football coach Terrance Leonard is a long time football and 7-on-7 coach who is leading a varsity program for the first time. His enthusiasm for the girls, and the opportunity they’re getting through the new sport, is evident throughout the story.

When we first published the story at SportStarsMag.com, Leonard messaged us a Thank You online and added the following message: “It’s an amazing thing giving these young ladies and opportunity to learn this sport.”

We couldn’t agree more, and we look forward to offering more coverage moving forward. Until then, enjoy Lozito’s inside look at a program learning on the fly. ✪

herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos, and letters to the editor are welcome. All material should be typed, double-spaced and e-mailed to editor@sportstarsmag. com. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics, Know and GO Podcast ™, SportStories Podcast™, and 7 Friday Nights Podcast™, are trademarks of GoSportzStars Media LLC.

9.11.10

From the very first cross country meet SportStars ever photographed, this is the start of the large school varsity girls race at the 2010 Ed Sias Invitational at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez. College Park-Pleasant Hill’s Catlin Schillings is in the center and Monte Vista-Danville runners Mikaela Hammitt (#1438) and Amy Ingram (#1444) are to her right and left, respectively.

Bob Larson photo

FULL SWING

Between Boys Power League And Upcoming Girls Tryouts, Club Volleyball Seasons Has Reached High Gear In The Northern California Volleyball Association

The Northern California Volleyball Association’s 2023-24 season is officially underway. After a busy first month and a half, several clubs will take a much needed breather before the schedule winds up again in October.

NCVA Boys Seasons began the weekend of Sept. 9-10 at @TheGrounds in Roseville as the U17/18 and U13/14 divisions held their Power League qualifiers. The 17/18s division has seen a ton of growth this season with an increase of more than 25 percent, according to the NCVA.

The 15/16s Division also has seen participation increase more than 25 percent this season. That division held its qualifier along with the U12 Division on the weekend of Sept. 16-17. Teams get back to action beginning Oct. 7-8 at @TheGrounds. That will be a Power League weekend.

From Oct 11-14, NCVA girls tryouts are held throughout Northern California.

In addition to all the volleyball being played over the next month, the NCVA is also excited to announce a new partnership with the GameChanger app. GameChanger is made for club sports at all levels (player, coaches, parents) and offers live streaming, full stats, play tracking, team event coordination and much more.

Finally, NCVA’s High Performance program is coming back this season for both boys and girls. High Performance is an NCVA program in which players from clubs within the region tryout to make an ‘all-star team’ for a chance to compete in tournaments in the U.S. and abroad. It’s a great opportunity to not only play with and against the best, but to travel around the country (and world)!

The first set of tryouts are happening on Nov. 12th in Livermore. For more information visit https://ncva.com/highperformance/ ✪

Inderkum receiver and quarterback Mickey Garcia

Terrance Leonard looks up from his playsheets and roster, his interest piqued by the flag football debate at hand. “I hear they’re spinning in the Southern Section,” the head coach interjects.

“Are they!?” Inderkum High School assistant coach Chris Miller responds, surprised and a bit perplexed having dutifully studied the rulebook on girls flag football, in its inaugural season as a California Interscholastic Federation sport. Two weeks into the season, nuances of the game are still being ironed out. Perhaps ball carriers down south are getting away with illegal moves.

“Each referee crew has its own style,” insists Miller, a social studies teacher, during warmups before a September 6 game under the lights at Woodcreek High in Roseville.

It’s understood that ball carriers can’t leave their feet, stiff-arm or guard their flag to prevent it from being pulled off the belt (the flag football equivalent to a tackle). But the spin move is a football staple, perfected by Barry Sanders in the 1990s, and a move Tigers coaches hope becomes legal.

A Tigers player hovers over a sideline garbage bin, a bit nauseous, ready to heave her lunch. “Can you make it to the bathroom?” Leonard calmly asks. She takes off, covering her mouth.

Two other players dig through their bags. “Hey, what are you doing?” the coach inquires. The girls freeze. It’s the same voice that commands their respect in the high school hallways, where Leonard has served for a decade as Inderkum campus security and, to many, as a mentor.

“Looking for our mouthpieces, Coach.”

“What do you need your mouthpiece for? We’re running. We need to be together. Catch up!”

Another Tiger precariously carries a water cooler over her head from the team bus, which is parked just outside the Woodcreek stadium fence. “Aww, we shouldn’t have left you to do that alone,” Leonard says before thanking the player. “Catch up. Run half a lap and come back.”

Mercifully, the temperature has now dipped below 90 degrees in Roseville this evening, minutes before the second road game of the Inderkum conference schedule. Lexie Lucas sets a brisk pace for the Tigers’ warm-up lap around the 80-yard flag football

field.

Quarterbacks lead. It’s tradition, and girls flag football is no exception.

Terrance Leonard never saw himself coaching girls flag football. He played just one season of high school tackle football in the Bay Area before the heavy hitting took its toll. He worked in a Richmond community center, opening the gym in early mornings, carrying a pocket notebook to scribble football plays in his free time. He left Richmond in 2001 with a heavy heart, moving in with his brother in Sacramento after his mother passed away, and football on his mind.

Inderkum High opened to the sprawling North Natomas community in 2004, named for a dairy farmer, Frank Inderkum, who once owned the land and delivered milk to schools into his 70s. Leonard became coach of the Junior Tigers, a youth football feeder team that Sacramento-area high schools use to build stability. Leonard was eventually hired to help ensure campus safety for a public school of more than 2,000 students. He was a head JV coach and an assistant on the varsity staff.

When longtime Inderkum varsity football coach Terry Stark stepped down in 2020, Leonard applied. He didn’t get the job. Leonard chose to assist at other programs. When girls flag football was unanimously approved by the CIF this spring, 51 years after Title IX legislation ensured equal funding to women’s sports, Inderkum athletic director Justin Reber reached out to Leonard.

He now has his first varsity head coaching position.

ROCKED IN ROSEVILLE

Inderkum didn’t hold spring practices like some schools, and only a handful of girls showed up when a coaching staff was assembled in July. However, word of the new team spread when the school year opened and nearly 30 players dressed for the inaugural game on August 21, a 20-6 home victory over Mira Loma. The Tigers finished their preseason 2-4, with both wins against Mira Loma and each loss by at least 20 points.

Some players have no previous experience with organized team sports. For those with football experience, it has come from the “Powder Puff” games during homecoming week when boys football players help coach the girls. Patronizing, perhaps, but any excuse to play a sport they grew to love through television and video games.

Now girls across the state have their own leagues (Inderkum plays in the six-team Capital Valley Conference), coaches, referees, stat keepers and stadium lights, too. The schedule plays out more like basketball, with two or three games per week in a season that runs through October.

A handful of parents trekked the 20 miles east to Roseville to watch Inderkum take on unbeaten Woodcreek High. Within the game’s opening minutes, any momentum gained from the previous night’s victory at Oakmont High is dashed. The offensive precision of Woodcreek, which began flag football practice in the spring and touts a junior varsity team, leaves defenders in a daze.

The Timberwolves girls basketball team won 25 games last season, and that talent is translating to the gridiron. Izzy Deveroux hits basketball teammate Amaya Grant in stride 30 yards down field, then throws underneath to leading basketball scorer Ryan Nair. Inderkum defensive backs can’t backpedal fast enough, and seem too focused on their assignments rather than making plays.

“Nobody out here wants to be a dog right now!” shouts Cebrina Jackson, who is an Inderkum assistant coach along with her daughter Shauna, an Inderkum graduate.

“Go into man!” bellows coach John Knowles. The coverage might expose his defense further, but Inderkum needs to give Deveroux a different look. “We’re going to see who gets roasted!”

A defensive back misinterprets a call from the sideline and botches her assignment. “I’m not going to lie, Coach,” she confesses, jogging to the sideline, “I was confused.”

Sensing the game slipping away early, Leonard attempts to settle his players: “Stay composed!”

The Inderkum defense holds and Woodcreek elects to punt (in flag football rules, a punt results in the defending team getting the ball on its own 20-yard line). Lucas, who grew up playing catch in the yard with her older brother and father, finds her rhythm at QB. She connects on an out pattern pass to receiver Alaysia Godbold, then finds Micky Garcia on a swing pass. Garcia, a varsity soccer and softball player, is dangerous in the open field and turns on the jets for a 30-yard touchdown, her team-leading fifth of the season.

The halftime deficit is 28-6. There’s no chance of a comeback if the defense continues to play passive. Senior Mi’arie Richmond, or Cornbread as she likes to be called, takes charge in a players-only huddle: “Forget the flags; play the ball!” After a few overthrows, Lucas implores her receivers to stick to their routes: “I’m the one getting yelled at!”

Cornbread asks freshman Hailey Flores, always eager to dance and yelp, to break the huddle: “Hailey, get us hyped!”

On the opening play of the second half, Deveroux hits Nair over the middle. The basketball star shakes a defender and completes a brilliant 60-yard touchdown that cements Inderkum’s fate.

Deveroux has been too comfortable in the pocket, and on the next defensive series Knowles calls for a blitz. Sophomore Caleya Kitcher

Inderkum coach Terrance Leonard and quarterback Lexie Lucas

applies the pressure, forcing the quarterback to throw on the run. Senior Paris Broadway collects an interception. With pride at stake, the Tigers take solace in holding Woodcreek scoreless over the final 19 minutes.

On offense, Garcia and Lucas rotate at quarterback. Signal-callers are allowed to run once per series of downs, and Garcia finds plenty of room. Lucas keeps the defenders on their toes with option tosses. On third down, Garcia, the softball team’s starting shortstop, shows her impressive arm strength by slinging an off-balance spiral to open receivers. They lose their footing, however, and the ball bounces through the end zone. The dejected receivers get supportive high-fives from Garcia.

Leonard huddles his team. The longtime coach isn’t upset by the final score, 35-12, but rather that a player wasn’t prepared to enter the game when called upon. “This isn’t about everybody playing,” he explains, eschewing any notion of varsity flag football being a participation sport. “It’s about everyone getting ready to play. … We’ve all had tough days. We have to get tough.”

“GOT TO GET THERE”

The final school bell of Thursday classes has rang and athletic director Justin Reber directs the traffic outside of Inderkum’s bustling football stadium. The varsity team, which has outscored its last two opponents 128-0, will soon prepare for Friday’s game at Cosumnes Oaks. The junior varsity team has practice as well and the freshmen, looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Rocklin, is hosting Oak Ridge, under the lights, on recently refurbished turf in 90 minutes.

Metal detectors and security are in place for this footballcrazed community. Pads and helmets line the perimeter fence. Around 50 football players are eager to take the stadium field, with more to come whenever the Oak Ridge bus driver navigates through the packed parking lot.

A few dozen girls in gym shorts and t-shirts rest in the shade, finding some solitude outside the stadium, reliving last night’s thumping at Woodcreek. The girls are resigned to practicing on the muddy soccer fields today. Coach Terrance Leonard, or Coach T as he’s known on campus, emerges from the gym with a wide smile. Apparently he has put last night’s game behind him. The girls and assistant coaches follow their flag football coach to a padlocked gate that secures the soccer fields. Leonard fumbles his keys. He rattles the padlock a few times. “Is this the soccer team?” a loitering student asks the girls, with a snicker. The girls ignore him.

“Hey, they’re leaving!” one girl alerts the group. Coach Leonard turns to the stadium. Sure enough, the freshman team is picking up its gear and exiting the stadium. “We got the field?” another girl murmurs, almost in awe. It’s a new day in California high school football. Leonard has a quick conversation with Reber and, after team stretches, huddles his players in the end zone. “Ok, we have an hour on this field before the freshman game; we can not waste time.”

Leonard wears a black hat and white t-shirt, both featuring “TMP ELITE” in bold letters, branding for the renowned 7-on-7 football academy he has coached for a decade in high school football’s offseason. Research has revealed the lasting head trauma that tackle football can cause, and 7-on-7 football allows potential college recruits to refine their skills without taking big hits. There are similarities to flag football

as well: Neither allows tackling (7-on-7 is touch), and both emphasize route running and speed.

Leonard’s experience has earned the trust of his assistants and players, but even the venerable coach scratches his head at times. Unlike 7-on-7 football, flag football has a center who snaps to the quarterback and is then allowed to run a route. There is no kicking. Defenders standing at least seven yards from the line of scrimmage can blitz. Offenses need 20 yards for a first down. And the 20-minute halves, with running clocks until the final two minutes, are over in a flash. Olivia Lopez lines up at left receiver. The junior had high hopes of playing quarterback when joining the Inderkum flag football team. Her brother played quarterback at Inderkum before earning a college scholarship to play linebacker. But between Lucas and Garcia, the Tigers have plenty of arms. Leonard, however, is never shy of adding an offensive wrinkle, and here was a play that called for Lopez to catch a lateral from Lucas and fire a pass downfield.

Lopez broke to her right, sweeping behind the quarterback and receiving the ball. She looked down the field, cocked the football over her right shoulder and … tucked it by her hip, sheepishly bowed her head and turned around. “Throw it!!!” cries a frustrated Mi’Arie Richmond, who surely has heard her teammate’s quarterbacking fantasies all season.

With some renewed competitive spirit, Lopez turned around and fired a pass 20 yards directly into her receiver’s hands. “Look at that! Beautiful!” Richmond, the animated vocal leader whose braids nearly reach the grass, screams across the field. “I love to see you guys support each other,” Leonard tells reserve players lined behind the offense.

By now the Oak Ridge and Inderkum freshman padded players have begun to trot through girls flag football practice, taking both sidelines. Soon, Leonard will direct his team to the soccer fields. Leonard’s tone has changed. It’s time to work on defense. “I want the fastest players to huddle,” Leonard says. Coach Knowles helps pluck the seven swiftest Tigers.

Following Wednesday’s defeat in Roseville, Leonard and Knowles agreed that, more than skill or experience, the defense needs speed and hustle. There’s no better source to identify those traits than Knowles, Inderkum’s track and field coach who also operates Sac Speed Factory Track Club and annually sends kids to the Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships.

Before turning practice over to his defensive coordinator, Leonard makes one final plea to his defense. “You gotta get to the upfield hip!” he mandates, with his volume reaching unfamiliar decibels. “You got to get there!!!” he screams, staring dead into their eyes. “Got to get there!!!”

It’s a boiling aggression previously reserved for boys wearing pads and helmets. For kids who need structure, something to reach for and, in many cases, a role model. It’s rooted in a pursuit for perfection under Friday night stadium lights that, at times, rides the line between motivation and fear.

Whether the Inderkum defenders can get to the quarterback in time to turnaround their inaugural season remains to be seen. But they’re here, under the lights, and that’s what counts. ✪

— Story by Nick Lozito

Woodcreek quarterback

Izzy Deveroux

On The Bus With Charlie Ramirez And The Pirates — SportStars Took A Nine-Plus Hour Road Trip With The Pittsburg High Football Team As It Takes Shape Under Its New Coach

Since being appointed head coach of the Pittsburg High football team over the summer, Charlie Ramirez has received his share of congratulations from friends, family, community members and fellow coaches.

But, on this particular Friday afternoon at around 3 p.m., that praise has decidedly faded into the background. Instead, he’s faced with one of the operational responsibilities that come along with helming one of California’s most prestigious and historic football programs.

He’s getting back on a bus.

Don’t feel too bad for the Pirates’ new leader. It’s a comfortable charter bus — the kind you book when you figure you might be sitting in traffic for a while.

As Ramirez settles into the first row for a Week 2 journey to take on perennial Sacramento-area power Granite Bay, he’s actually quite content. One week earlier, the Pirates took the familiar yellow school bus across the Bay Bridge to take on Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco at historic Kezar Stadium.

So, this is a definite upgrade.

For the last 10 years, Ramirez has left team bus duty to longtime Pirates head coach Victor Galli, instead opting to chart his own route through traffic and meet the team at their chosen destination. Such is life for a high school football assistant coach.

“I told Victor last week, man if we were playing this game and I was defensive coordinator Charlie, I would for sure have gone to the Niners game the night before, stayed in a hotel and met you guys at Kezar,” Ramirez said. “And that’s OK. I know what comes with the territory. That’s one of the things I learned from Victor. How to manage this thing. Being there next to him, seeing what it looks like and seeing what it should look like, that’s what made this transition not feel like a burden, if you will.

“It’s fun. I like it, I welcome it, and I’m making it my own at the same time.”

Eschewing the bus is exactly what most of his current assistants have elected to do for the trip to Granite Bay. When the nearly three-hour trip finally comes to an end, those coaches are waiting to meet the Pirates.

The faces that are there to greet Ramirez and the team are familiar to longtime Pittsburg football followers. Most of the staff has remained in the transition, and even though Galli didn’t make this particular trip, he remains an invaluable resource as he continues to teach physical education at the school.

The former Pirates’ coach has even found a way to stay on the field, directing Pittsburg’s new girls flag football team as it gets off the ground.

“He’s been a big help. He had everything in place, and he’s been there to coach me up along the way from day one, not just last year,” Ramirez said. “He was kind of teaching me the ropes but that was more along the lines of in case I was ever going

one of the things I learned from (former coach

to be a head coach anywhere. This (year) has been more hands-on. It’s ‘now I’m really giving you the keys and really giving you the information.’ It’s been a huge help.”

ROOTED IN PITTSBURG

Ramirez works as a Dean of Students at Pittsburg, an administrative role that tasks him with overseeing the building immediately adjacent to the football facility. Stroll through that football facility and it looks and feels largely the same, with a few subtle tweaks here and there.

If you pay close attention, you can find Ramirez among the framed player bios on the wall. A starting linebacker on the famed 1991 Pittsburg team that was the last North Coast Section squad to beat De La Salle-Concord, he went on to earn a host of all-region honors, and as a senior in 1993 was named as Most Inspirational, Most Dedicated, and Mr. Defense for the Pirates.

That history is important in a community that loves and supports its own unique version of Friday Night Lights.

“Before the year started, we went to the old weight room. There’s only two buildings left from back then,” said assistant head coach Isamu Falevai. “We went to the old weight room and Charlie was able to explain to our players where it started. They were able to see how small that area was. It was a locker room where so many greats came before them. A lot of them didn’t know that.”

As the team arrives at Granite Bay, Falevai is one of the coaches waiting. He is one of three former head coaches on Ramirez’s staff, having previously led the program at Fremont High in Oakland. Fellow assistant Robert Hubbard was at one time the head coach at nearby Deer Valley, and offensive coordinator Jimmy Shipe has served as a head coach at the junior varsity and freshman levels.

They are keys to Ramirez’s transition, both on the field and off.

“We had another staff meeting talking about that earlier this week. Delegating that work, if you will. They’ve done a great job,” Ramirez said. “The staff has done a fantastic job of picking up that part of it. We obviously reduced the number of coaches on the staff but these guys have all been here, they’re all Pittsburg guys, there are former head coaches, guys who have been coordinators. That was important to me because as I grow as a head coach, I have those reliable guys next to me who know how it works.”

Falevai is proud of his friend, but his is a pride that is rooted in more than just football. The two joined Galli on the Pittsburg varsity staff around the same time, with Falevai moving to Pittsburg and Ramirez moving up from the Pirates’ junior varsity team.

A deep believer in family, faith and community, Falevai sees Ramirez and the Pirate staff as a reflection of the community it serves. Ramirez is one of only a handful of Hispanic head coaches in high school football, and in a town like Pittsburg that boasts a diverse ethnic population, that fact carries significance in itself. As a whole, the staff is about as diverse as you’ll ever find.

"That's

Victor Galli). How to manage this thing. Being there next to him, seeing what it looks like and seeing what it should look like, that's what made this transition not feel like a burden, if you will. It's fun. I like it, I welcome it, and I'm making it my own at the same time."

— Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez

“There are a lot of minorities that play the sport, but it’s very rare to actually hold that position and be able to be a head coach. In all sports, really, no matter what level. That’s what excited me,” Falevai said. “It fits so perfectly for the community of Pittsburg because of the demographics and because of the diversity we have at the school and in the community period. If you look at our roster, and you’re a fan or not a fan, and you just see our student athletes when they take their helmets off, there are all different cultures and backgrounds.”

On this night, that same coaching staff also finds time to give their new head coach a bit of good-natured ribbing. As Ramirez jumps in to help tape a few ankles prior to heading to the field, he earns jeers from his nearby colleagues, who make sure to point out the “1990s tape job” he’s giving to defensive back Tim Edwards.

By the time the team makes the short walk from the locker room to the stadium, the Pittsburg machine looks like it always has — a group of talented athletes heading out to do battle.

SPEEDING UP, SLOWING DOWN

Ramirez’s role once the game begins is definitely different. He gets plenty of steps in when the Pirates have the ball, hustling over to the bench to join the defense as it reviews film in realtime before returning to the field to keep an eye on the offense. He still makes the defensive calls for the Pirates, and designing Pittsburg’s defense remains perhaps his most comfortable task.

For one half, Pittsburg’s talent is blunted by mistakes. Poor field position plagues the Pirates throughout the first half, and penalties limit their ability to unleash their newest weapon — an uptempo approach. Those factors, combined with a quality opponent, result in a 7-7 tie head-

ing into halftime.

The Pirates need to play under control.

Their new head coach is certainly capable of delivering a paint-peeling speech, and this version definitely carries enough force to get the point across.

Ramirez implores his team to fix the penalties and fix the field position issues. Do that, and he is certain that the ride home will be a happy one.

The message is the right one. Pittsburg begins to correct its mistakes and scores a pair of touchdowns — one a 3-yard run by Elijah Bow and one a 42-yard pass from Marley Alcantara to Makari Kenion — to take a 21-14 lead after three quarters.

The Pirates add three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter and the defense grabs two interceptions to salt away a 41-21 victory. After the win, a few players stick around to do interviews, including heralded junior defensive back Jadyn Hudson.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound safety expresses his love for Galli while also praising the small changes that Ramirez is beginning to implement.

“I’d say he’s putting a lot more structure and discipline into the program. A lot’s changing for the good,” Hudson said. “He’s a defensive coach and our defense has been one of the best for a few years. He’s really been changing it in a good way for sure.”

Alcantara is also a member of Pittsburg’s vaunted junior class, but he also got to know Ramirez the assistant as a sophomore on varsity in 2022 and can also identify the adjustments that are beginning to take hold.

“I love both of them with all my heart,” Alcantara said of Ramirez and Galli. “I feel like we

came here with a new culture and we’re going into the facility every day ready to work and have that state championship mindset.”

LIVING THE DREAM

That mindset is an extension of Ramirez, who doesn’t shy away from goals like winning state championships and maintaining Pittsburg’s reputation as one of the state’s top programs.

But one piece of the puzzle that perhaps got lost in the overall coverage of Ramirez’s hiring is the motivation for taking on such a lofty task. After 20 years of coaching at the school, it’s easy to see what the responsibility means to him.

Now that he has the job, the natural question is the obvious one.

Has it always been a dream to be the head coach at Pittsburg High?

“It really has. I didn’t want to say it before, but it has. It absolutely has,” Ramirez said. “Being a graduate, being a young boy and coming to the games and always loving Pittsburg football, staying in the community all these years, coaching the past 20 years at Pittsburg High School, it absolutely has. I never really tried to let on that it was, but I put the work in to make sure that this was going to happen and I was lucky enough that it did.”

The group of Pirates that hop back on the bus for the ride back to Pittsburg is considerably smaller, with many opting to ride home with family. Those that do take the bus benefit from a clever move by their bus driver, who avoids traffic on Interstate 80 by heading down Interstate 5. That saves considerable time, and the bus pulls onto School Street at precisely 12:15 a.m.

A tired group of players files back into the building to drop their gear off, and Ramirez heads for the big television in the weight room. The film from that night’s game has already been uploaded, but at this late hour, the review can wait.

While the players have earned a Saturday off, Ramirez and his coaches will be back at it a few hours later, starting all over again as the Pirates prepare for their home opener against Monterey Trail.

Metaphorically speaking, the Pittsburg bus has a new driver and a new route to travel. He’s making sure to enjoy the ride. ✪

— Story & Photos By Ben Enos

Ramirez

"Being a graduate, being a young boy and coming to the games and always loving Pittsburg football, staying in the community all these years, coaching the past 20 years at Pittsburg High School, it absolutely has. I never really tried to let on that it was, but I put the work in to make sure that this was going to happen and I was lucky enough that it did."

—

Zoe Allison

After a long stretch of focus on club volleyball, Jacky Yao was merely excited to get back into a high school coaching situation.

Then the newest Amador Valley High girls volleyball coach heard about the team and players he was inheriting.

“There were just a lot of coaches from the volleyball community who kept telling me, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re going to be good,’” Yao said with a light chuckle.

They weren’t wrong.

Heading into the final week of September, the Dons held a 15-4 overall record and were tied for second in the always-competitive East Bay Athletic League. They trailed only cross-town rival, Foothill-Pleasanton, in the standings. And that was only after going five sets with the Falcons on Sept. 19.

Coincidentally, second place is where the Amador Valley finished during the EBAL regular season ago. That was before they reached the North Coast Section Division I semifinals and fell to the eventual champion.

Just three seniors graduated from that team, and the group left behind is not only very talented but also extremely tight-knit. The latter is something Yao noticed right away when he got a glimpse at the group his coaching friends had told him would be good.

“They had played a lot of volleyball,” Yao said of his first impression seeing the girls in action during their first workouts. “It’s also just a really tight-knit group. They are so close to each other. In my 18 seasons as a coach, this group is right up there as far as how supportive they are of each other on and off the court.”

That closeness spans the length of the roster, according to Yao.

“We’ve got a couple of kids on the roster who don’t get a lot of playing time, but they are actually all-in,” the coach said. “The player that each of our opponents game plan to stop, she’s our biggest cheerleader on the floor. It just sets the tone for everything else.”

That player opponents single in on is Charlotte Kelly. She’s a junior middle hitter with a commitment to Cal Poly — and impeccable leadership skills.

Kelly is one of three captains on the team, joining the senior tandem of setter Mackenzie Mapes and libero Katie O’Sullivan.

The Dons hit the ground running by winning seven of their first nine matches, all in tournament play. They followed that stretch by opening EBAL play 4-0. In fact, the loss to Foothill was the first best-of-five match Amador Valley had lost all season.

Yao called it the team’s best performance, however.

“We lost the first set badly, like 25-13,” Yao said. “And the girls just settled in and really battled after that.”

“The player that each of our opponents game plan to stop, she’s our biggest cheerleader on the floor. It just sets the tone for everything else.”

— Amador Valley coach Jacky Yao, speaking of Charlotte Kelly, left

Amador Valley won the second set 26-24, lost the third set 25-16, and then tied the match at two sets apiece with another 26-24 win. The Dons then took a brief 11-9 lead in the decisive fifth set before Foothill squeaked it out 15-13.

Yao loved the effort he saw in the loss, but it was the 24-hour aftermath that told him even more about the team he has.

“I sent a text to all three captains about 30 minutes after the match,” Yao said. “I asked them if they thought they wanted the following day to be a Mental Day with a focus on team bonding, or if they just wanted to get back in the gym.

“They unanimously responded within 30 seconds and said they wanted to get back in the gym. … The entire group came in the next day fired up to get back to work and get better.”

In addition to the trio of captains, the Dons are powered by a core of seniors that includes the outside hitting tandem of Ellie Ma and Zoe Allison. When the ball isn’t being fed to Kelly, it’s either Ma or Allison attempting to send it to the deck. Fellow senior Piper Bailey has also come off the bench to be an extremely effective outside hitter of late.

Allison’s sister, Sophia, is a junior who’s also

starting for Amador Valley. They are one of two sibling pairs on the roster. The other is senior twins, Dani and Maddie Kostalnick. Junior Sydney Goldstein is a returning varsity starter who also spends time at middle.

There’s plenty to be happy with when your team wins 15 of its first 19 matches. Yao is most impressed by the squad’s defensive prowess.

“They play defense,” the coach said. “Part of my coaching philosophy is winning the serve and pass, but also keeping balls alive as long as we can.”

Amador Valley will take its desire, talent and rally abilities on a tough stretch through the schedule to begin October. The Dons will meet defending section-champion San Ramon Valley-Danille as part of EBAL play on Thursday, Oct. 5. Then two days later, the team will travel to the Stockton Classic — arguably the deepest NorCal tournament around.

The Dons will have just three more EBAL matches following the Stockton tournament. The last match, Oct. 17, is a visit from Foothill.

Yao’s team will be ready — and he won’t need anybody telling him so. ✪

— Story and Photos by Chace Bryson