SJ Issue 59, Jan. 17, 2013

Wrestling Preview.

Pg. 12

vol. 4. issue 59

January 17, 2013

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Bella Vista’s Shayne Tucker is the state’s best.

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d n i m f state o Rich Plasma 26 Platelet therapy has been in the news. But what is it and is it something right for you? emergence as a girls 22 McClatchy’s basketball force makes the Metro conference even tougher. top Sac-Joaquin wrestlers 16 The to watch in 2013 La Salle football coach Bob 18 De Ladouceur defined greatness.

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January 17, 2013

all know how to 27 We do a push-up.

Or do we? healthy lifestyle 29 Acan’t just be lipservice to a resolution. It has be a way of life.

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us on facebook

room: It’s not easy 8 locker being the guy after The Guy.

6 first pitch: It’s a New Year and it’s a new SportStars.

Check out what we have in store for you in 2013. Here’s a hint:

11 Clipboard: Turn up the volume and listen to a theory on shooters.

of the Week: 10 SportStars Avonna Lee, Pleasant Grove It’s Lionel Messi’s 36 IMPULSE: world and we’re lucky to live in it.

Gear up like the best there is.

Fence: Tryouts, sign-ups, 32 The fundraisers and more!

37 Advertisers Index

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Another Step Forward

It’s never fun doing the same thing over and over again, which is why 2013 is bringing a new, improved SportStars

W

ell, hello.

It’s been awhile. Or so it seems. Here’s hoping all of you loyal SportStars readers had a great holiday season. Santa was definitely good to us. We especially liked him coming through on delivering our seemingly over-the-top request of putting the 49ers back in the NFC Championship game. Well played, St. Nick!

After taking a modest break to play with our new toys and gadgets, we returned to SportStars Headquarters and began brainstorming on how we could become a better magazine in 2013.

We built a pretty big list, and I’m proud to introduce a handful of the changes we’re implementing in this issue.

First, let’s talk design. One of the changes you may have already seen on your way to this page. Our table of contents page (P. 4) has a new look now that we hope provides a better guide to what you can find inside each Chace@SportStarsOnline.com issue. We have more of our content listed and (925) 566-8503 highlighted than ever before. We’re all about presenting options, though we hope you’ll want to read it all anyway.

More design. For those of you who have enjoyed our health-related content in past issues — our health, training and fitness columns — we’re now grouping them into a new health and fitness section featuring a fun new design.

We’ve titled it “Level Up.” With Level Up we’re hoping to expand our fitness and training content, through the magazine and online. Look for us to feature more experts sharing their knowledge in the coming issues. But for now, make sure to flip to page 26 and check out the debut.

The next changes stemmed from our desire to become more interactive, and to find ways to take advantage of the gluttony of technology swallowing up the publishing world.

We were introduced to a new smart phone application called Layar. If you didn’t see it’s logo on the cover, you should notice it right here on this page and be prepared to see it a lot in the coming pages as well — . The app, which is free and available for both iPhone and Droids, is a way for us to connect the physical pages of SportStars to the the online world and all its possibilities.

Once downloading the app, you can scan any page of SportStars and Layar will offer you a number of online extras such as exclusive video content, photo slideshows, ways to connect to our writers or buy our advertisers’ products. The bottom line is that we can now pack a more significant amount of content into these pages. And in turn, that means we’ll be attempting to produce a much larger exclusive online content — all the more reason to get reacquainted with SportStarsOnline.com. We’ve got plans for giving that part of SportStars a facelift as well.

So Happy 2013! We’re excited about another year of SportStars, and we’re glad you’re along for the ride.

We’re going to call Santa now and see if we can ask for our 2013 gift about 11 months early. We’re sure he’s a fan anyway, the 49ers wear red after all. ✪

First Pitch

Chace Bryson Editor

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PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson • Chace@SportStarsOnline. com Staff Writers Erik Stordahl, Jim McCue Contributors Bill Kolb, Mitch Stephens, Matt Smith, Clay Kallam, Bryant West, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Jonathan Okanes Photography Butch Noble, Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, James K. Leash, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler Intern Ryan Arter Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco • MikeD@ SportStarsOnline.com Publisher/President Mike Calamusa • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com Advertising & Calendar/ Classified Sales Sales@SportStarsOnline.com, 925.566.8500 Account Executives Erik Stordahl • Erik@SportStarsOnline.com, Phillip Walton • PWalton@SportStarsOnline.com Sac Joaqin edition: Dave Rosales • DaveRosales64@gmail.com Reader Resources/Administration Ad Traffic, Subscription, Calendar & Classified Listings info@SportStarsOnline.com Distribution/Delivery Mags@SportStarsOnline.com Information technology John Bonilla CFO Sharon Calamusa • Sharon@SportStarsOnline.com community SportStars™ Magazine A division of Caliente! Communications, LLC 5356 Clayton Rd., Ste. 222 • Concord, CA 94521 •info@SportStarsOnline.com www.SportStarsOnline.com

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rapidFIRE Movie character you’d like to meet

Last app you downloaded

Shooter McGavin

Ninja, robot or wizard

Coke or Pepsi

Nike, adidas or other

Sport you wish you could play better

Wizard

Golf

Ninja

Baseball

(Happy Gilmore)

Brett Stephens, Campolindo baseball

Iron Man Mike Protheroe, Clayton Valley football

say WHAT

“We’re a pretty deep team, and we’re able to wear some teams down in the second half. As long as we’re down by a reasonable amount of points we feel OK because we always tend to have big second halfs. I think it’s just because we’ve got so many guys and they are all in really good condition — that’s why they dislike their coach at times.”

Campolindo-Moraga boys basketball coach Matt Watson following his team’s 66-54 win over rival Miramonte-Orinda on Jan. 11.The Cougars opened the second half on a 13-0 run.They outscored Miramonte 40-24 in the second half.

GIRLS HOOPS: St. Mary’s-Stockton MLK Showcase, Jan. 19, all day — There will be 12 varsity games over two days but seven happen on 1/19, including a state power tilt between the host Rams and La Jolla Country Day, plus an interstate battle between St. Mary’s-Berkeley and South Medford (OR.). Find out more on pg. 32.

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BOYS WRESTLING: Mission San Jose Inviational, Feb. 1-2, all day — A stacked field tends to provide last true tune-up before postseason.

GIRLS SOCCER: Bishop O’Dowd at Castro Valley, Jan. 30, 6 p.m. — A match sure to affect the crowded WACC-Foothill race.

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it’s thenew guy It’s never easy to follow a legend, but here’s a closer look at the guy replacing Bob Ladouceur as football coach at De La Salle High School.

■ NAME: Justin Alumbaugh

Top 5 Tougher Jobs to Take Over Than Head De La Salle Football Coach

■ AGE: 33 ■ COACHING EXPERIENCE: 14 seasons as a member of the DLS coaching staff; Primary duties in recent year has been the offensive line and inside linebackers coach, as well as running the strength and conditioning program.

So. After 34 years, 399 wins, 25 losses, 3 ties, 20 unbeaten seasons, a national-record 151-game winning streak spanning over a decade, 28 North Coast Section titles and a smattering of No. 1 national rankings, Bob Ladouceur stepped down as the De La Salle High School football coach. That means you’re up, Justin Alumbaugh. Um. Good luck with that. No pressure or anything.

Not as if you have, like, gargantuan shoes to fill or anything. Hey brother. Take a deep breath. Be cool. Relax. It’s high school football. So. There are totally more rigorous jobs, right? Here are the top five positions for which we think it would be tougher to be the successor than Alumbaugh taking over for Lad. 1. President of the United States of America.

Incumbent: Barack Obama. We think that just about the most self-defeating, dumb, demoralizing thing you can possibly do to yourself is run for president. Next up after that? Run for a second term. No matter what you do, roughly 50 percent of the people think you’re an idiot. And possibly a crook. And a liar. And maybe the devil. So. Anyone who steps into those shoes is a) kind of a glutton for punishment and b) waaaaay more idealistic than we have ever been. Bon chance, friendo!

2. National Baseball Hall of Fame Voter.

Incumbents: A bunch of gibbering knuckleheads and a handful of thoughtful baseball writers. Nevermind the steroid nonsense surrounding Bonds, Clemens, et. al. But. Really? It woulda been soooo hard to write down Biggio, Schilling and Piazza? Come ON you guys. You let Bert Freakin Blyleven in. Pay attention.

3. Master of the Pan Flute. Incumbent: Zamfir. That thing just looks really, really hard to play.

4. Universal Creator. Incumbent: God. Lad is good.

We mean, really, really good. Nobody runs a veer running attack like that guy. Still. The whole world-in-seven-days thing is pretty compelling. And have you taken a look at the human autonomic nervous system lately? That stuff is complicated. A little trickier than drawing up ways to beat a two-deep zone.

5. Top Five Writer. Incumbent: Us. You think you could do this, issue in and issue out? Man. We make this look easy because we’re just that good.

— Bill ‘You think you’re better than me?’ Kolb

■ AN ORIGINAL SPARTAN: Alumbaugh is a 1998 De La Salle graduate who played three varsity seasons under Ladouceur. The Spartans set the national record for consecutive victories during his senior season (1997).

■ ULTIMATE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: “I’m his biggest fan,” Ladouceur said of Alumbaugh on Jan. 4. “I felt I owed it to him (to finally step aside). I want him to do it and succeed, and I know he will.”

ONLINE exclusive: Watch our interview with Alumbaugh at SportStarsOnline.com.

Or use the Layar App to scan the page now.

by the numbers

7

GIRLS HOOPS: Campolindo Shootout, Jan. 26, Bentley High, Lafayette, all day — Mitty-San Jose vs.

Miramonte-Orinda highlights strong day of matchups.

BOYS HOOPS: Deer Valley-Antioch at SheldonSac., Jan. 19, 7 p.m. — Division-I talent galore in this nonleague showdown.

BOYS SOCCER: De La Salle at Monte Vista-Danville, Jan. 24, 6 p.m. — Can MV hold off the four-time NCS champs to win the EBAL?

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Number of goals the Acalanes-Lafayette boys soccer team — with goalkeepers Eric Sirott, right, and Eric Rogstad — has allowed over its first 16 matches this season. Not surprisingly, the Dons were unbeaten through Jan. 12.

BOYS HOOPS: De La Salle’s MLK Classic, Jan. 21, Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, all day — 16th MLK event hosted by De La Salle with six games, the first beginning at 10:30 a.m. The biggest matchup features the host Spartans against defending Div. IV state champ Salesian-Richmond. Full schedule on P. 30

GIRLS HOOPS: Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove at Oak Ridge-ED Hills, Jan. 29, 7 p.m. — Title implications loom in the Delta River League showdown.

BOYS HOOPS: Bellarmine-San Jose vs. MittySan Jose, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m. — First WCAL title between teams went to Mitty 65-63.

BOYS SOCCER: Alhambra-Martinez at Dublin, Jan. 30, 6 p.m. — This DFAL matchup may have a playoff berth on the line.

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The guard led the Eagles to the Platinum Division consolation title at the West Coast Jamboree over the holiday break. Lee had 28 points, 12 rebounds and had three steals in the consolation final, a 65-55 victory over local rival Monterey Trail. In the four games of the tournament, Avonna averaged 20.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and five assists for Pleasant Grove, who also defeated UniversityIrvine and Kinkaid-Houston (TX.) in the consolation bracket. Lee also scored 26 in a 76-45 road win over Ponderosa.

SportStars Magazine: What was the competition and atmosphere like at the Jamboree?

Avonna Lee: We knew the competition was going to be very good and we just wanted to use the tournament to help us prepare for league.

SSM: How have tournaments like the West Coast Jamboree prepared you and the team for the rest of your season?

AL: It was great to have everyone together playing as a team.

It brought us together and we got better at picking each other up and working as a team.

SSM: How would you assess the state of the team after holiday tournaments and start of league?

AL: I am pretty happy with where we are at. We are working on playing stronger team defense to keep games like the Oak Ridge game (a 66-44 road loss) from happening again.

January 17, 2013

avonna lee pleasant grove . basketball . senior

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honorable mention

nick fiegener The Folsom senior took second place in the 160-pound division at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis. Fiegener was 4-1 at what is considered the top in-season tournament in the state.

megan roberson Del Campo’s senior center dominated the paint at the Monterey Bay Sweet 16 tournament, leading the Cougars to a 2-2 mark. Roberson almost averaged a triple-double with 9.8 points, 17 rebounds, and 10.5 blocks.

devin moss

James K. Leash

The Rocklin senior guard scored 30 points, including 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, to lead the Thunder to a 68-59 win over Del Oro in the Sierra Foothill League opener for both teams.

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Being called a volume shooter isn’t necessarily a bad thing So what does it mean to create a shot?

At the most basic level, it means having the ability to get a good look at the basket without any outside help.

The great players can all create a shot.

My coach called me a “volume shooter” but I didn’t know what it meant. It was hard to tell if she meant it as a good thing or a bad thing, and I was afraid to ask. So what does it mean?

—K.L., Hayward

O

n the most basic level, a volume shooter is a player who shoots a lot — but there’s more to it than that. First though, it’s important to realize that the basketball team that wins the game is the one that scores the most points. And, as the saying goes, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, so it’s very important to shoot the ball.

In girls basketball, where ballhandling is more of an issue than on the boys side, shooting the ball before a team has time to turn it over is even more important. A very patient offense, with lots of screens away from the ball and several passes, can work very well, but only if the team handles the ball extremely well, or the defense is very passive.

On the boys side, patience is more often rewarded. But even so, the ability to create a shot is one of the most important in the game — and it’s a hallmark of volume shooters.

So what does it mean to create a shot? At the most basic level, it means having the ability to

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get a good look at the basket without any outside help. The great players can all create a shot, but it must be noted that it’s a lot harder for a center like Dwight Howard to create his own shot because he has to get the ball first — which means someone must pass it to him.

Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, touches the ball almost every possession, so he can make the decision himself on whether to take a shot or work the ball around.

Another way to create a shot is to penetrate and pass the ball to someone else for an open look. Steve Nash, for example, is very good at that, so even though Nash is far from a volume shooter, he definitely creates shots — just not for himself.

There’s also a distinction between a “shooter” and a “scorer.” Some players are great shooters, but because they can’t create a shot on their own, they are dependent on their teammates

Behind the Clipboard Clay Kallam

or the offensive system to get them the looks they need. Scorers, on the other hand, might be shooters or they might not, but they find a way to produce points, at the free-throw line, in the paint or wherever.

A volume shooter, then, is a scorer who takes a lot of shots, but there’s more to measuring his or her effectiveness than just shooting percentage. Getting fouled is very important, for a variety of reasons, and making three-pointers is more valuable than making two-pointers. An advanced stat called True Shooting Percentage (Pts/(2*(FGA + (.44*FTA))) is the best measure of shooting efficiency, and a volume shooter with a good True Shooting Percentage should just keep on shooting.

So back to your original question: When your coach told you that you were a volume shooter, was that a good thing or a bad thing?

It depends on your True Shooting Percentage relative to the other players on your team. ✪ Clay Kallam is an assistant athletic director and girls varsity basketball coach at Bentley High in Lafayette. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email Coach Kallam at clayk@ fullcourt.com” clayk@fullcourt.com

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m McCue Story by Ji s K. Leash e m a J y b o Phot 12

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Bella Vista senior Shayne Tucker is the top-ranked 152-pound wrestler in the state, and he can’t wait for a chance to prove it

H

ave singlet, will travel.

Bella Vista senior Shayne Tucker has logged thousands of miles during a long wrestling career that started at age five. His high school travels will soon end, but the state’s No. 1-ranked wrestler at 152 pounds has his sights set on one final road trip down Highway 99 to Bakersfield this March.

Tucker hopes to return home from the Central Valley then with a state title and a clear vision of the path to college competition.

In the meantime, he will draw upon his past experiences on the road and on the mat to pave the path that he believes he can travel.

As a junior, Tucker ran into a detour on his road to a state championship when his season ended with a narrow 4-3 loss to College Park’s Brian Sergi in the 138-pound final. While the defeat was heartbreaking—Tucker had beaten Sergi earlier in the 2011-12 season—he is determined to use it as motivation to complete the journey in 2013.

“Dropping that match and taking second only makes me want it more,” Tucker said of winning a state title this year. “That will help me stay focused and avoid senioritis or anything else that could keep me from winning.”

These high-profile events provide the competition and atmosphere that In pursuit of a CIF State Championship, Tucker has hit the road early in Tucker and his teammates need to thrive at the Sac-Joaqin Section Masthe 2012-13 season to prepare for the best that the state has to offer. In ters and CIF tournament. While the Broncos might suffer defeat at December, he travelled to Ohio to compete at the Walsh Ironman “We the hands of some of the best grapplers in the state and nation, national tournament and finished fourth against some of the best go all over they view it as an opportunity to prepare for what matters most wrestlers in the country. Shayne was seeded eighth at 152s, and to them—the final competitions in the postseason. exceeded expectations with an impressive effort. to find the best “The experience at the Ironman and Doc B is big,” Tucker Tucker followed up the Ironman tournament, one of the competition. We said of facing fierce competition. “The Ironman is the biggest toughest national events offered during the wrestling season, event I have been at and the environment and atmosphere with California’s top tournament, the Doc Buchanan Invitawant to go where were great.” tional in Clovis. At the “Doc B” event, Tucker lived up to his we can face the “I go out to win every time, but those experiences are only top state ranking with a second-place finish, losing only to going to get me better. Facing top wrestlers whenever I can will Oregon’s Reed Van Anrooy 5-3 in the championship match. best.” help at state.”

Traveling to face top competition is a regular routine for Bella Vista coach National events like the Ironman and summer freestyle tournaTucker and his Bella Vista teammates. Head coach Michael Lee, Mike Lee ments also give top wrestlers like Tucker exposure to collegiate prowho is in his 22nd year leading the Broncos after wrestling at the Fair grams looking to replenish their rosters each year. With just 9.5 scholarOaks campus in the 1980s, is a firm believer in going to great lengths to ships to fill 10 collegiate weight divisions, though, the competition for a full expose his wrestlers to the best competition.

“We go all over to find the best competition,” Lee said. “The Ironman is probably ride is often more difficult than facing a nationally-ranked opponent.

Tucker has dreamed of wrestling for Oklahoma, his longtime favorite college, but the toughest in-season national tournament and the Doc B is the toughest in the state. he understands that program fit and depth in weight class take a front seat to simple We want to go where we can face the best.”

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love of a program. While bigger sports like football afford more scholarship opportunities to top recruits, wrestlers are often faced with fewer choices. Fortunately for Tucker, there are a good deal of options for him to determine the best fit.

“I have been talking to lots of schools and took an official visit to North Dakota State,” he said of the recruiting process.

“My dream school is Oklahoma, but I will be looking at a lot of programs (including Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Arizona State) and taking some more trips.”

College will have to wait for Tucker while he makes a final run at the league, division, section, and state levels of competition. Bella Vista has won three Capital Athletic League titles in Tucker’s first three seasons at the school, and a fourth league crown is expected for the Broncos.

With Tucker and teammate Victor Trujillo (126 pounds) both ranked in the top two in their respective weight classes, the Broncos were ranked the No. 9 team in California in the preseason. Lee hopes that up to five wrestlers on the team can qualify for the state tournament to give the program a shot at a top 10 or 15 team finish in Bakersfield.

“If I have my best team and we are healthy, then we are hard to beat,” Lee said of his team’s prospects at the section and state levels. “If the team mentally believes in themselves, then we can go far.”

Tucker is obviously the Broncos’ No. 1 wrestler and, according to Lee, ranks among the best that the program has ever had. Past Bronco greats include state champions Ken Gaudreau, Tony Kitchen, Mark Loomis, Lynn Mason, Tracy Yeates, and California’s first three-time state champion David Lee. “I think that Shayne is every bit as good as (the program’s past greats),” the coach said. “In terms of past greatness in the program, he stands right with them.”

Tucker’s greatness is a product of exceptional athleticism

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and technical wrestling ability. Lee says that his current star is strong in all positions—top, bottom, and neutral—and opponents have to be at their very best to beat Tucker.

“Shayne does not lose matches,” Lee said. “He thinks well on the mat and stays calm throughout every match. He never loses his composure or focus.”

Shayne attributes his athleticism and success to his father, Mark, who is an assistant coach at Bella Vista and has been Shayne’s coach, mentor, and role model since his youth.

It was Mark, a former baseball star at San Juan High School, who inherited the Junior Broncos Wrestling Club and built it into the California Extreme Wrestling Club that feeds the Bella Vista program today. Upon finding out that he was taking over the club, Mark Tucker bought a 13-volume set of VHS tapes to learn the Granby System to teach and coach wrestling to his sons, nephews, and other interested local athletes.

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The elder Tucker, who has been the Lead Pastor at the New Life Community Church in Fair Oaks for 20 years, would take his boys to tournaments throughout California and beyond to give them the chance to compete and learn against top youth programs.

“We would load them up and leave on Friday right after school and drive all evening and night to Oregon,” he said.

“The kids would wrestle in the tournament all day Saturday, and we would head home so that I could get up early Sunday after a few hours of sleep and get to church on time.”

That family connection with wrestling grew and lived on through Shayne and his brothers and cousins. As a sophomore, Shayne’s Bella Vista teammates included older brother Colton and cousins Grant and Landon Burkhalter, who were all seniors in 2010-11.

Relatives still follow Shayne in his wrestling pursuits as Tucker had a large cheering section at last year’s state final inside Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. And, as the stakes get higher, Mark Tucker expects that the size of the Tucker crew at state will also grow.

“We expect an even bigger contingent this year,” he said of Shayne’s cheering section at state. “The family and friends want to see Shayne in his last shot to get a state title.”

A state championship would be a first for the Tucker family, so Shayne is excited to have the opportunity to share the experience under the spotlight in the middle of the arena with close relatives and friends.

“All eyes are on you and it feels almost like you are in slow motion,” Shayne said of the state finals setup. “It is great how they do the finals. It makes it real special.”

And nothing would be more special to Tucker than to earn a state championship medal at the end of the long road. ✪

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Sac-Joaquin's Top 10

Wrestlers to Watch JOHNNY CALLAS

PETER SANTOS

››››› ■ School/Grade: Nevada Union-Grass Valley/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 145 ■ 2012 highlights: Sierra Foothill League and SJS Div. II champion (126) vaulted higher seeds, including Folsom’s Connor Pollock and Ponderosa’s Sean Melton to win the SJS Masters title. Callas finished in the top 12 at state.

■ What may be next: Callas will compete in major tourneys at 152 pounds, but has captured the Vista del Lago and Bear Creek tournament titles at 160.

Sixth at Reno TOC. Currently ranked No. 10 at 152 pounds by TheCaliforniaWrestler.com.

JEFF CAMIlLI

■ School/Grade: Ponderosa-Shingle Springs/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 285 ■ 2012 highlights: In field full of senior standouts, including eventual state champion Johnny Schupp of Vacaville and runner-up Michael Lowman from Foothill, Camilli was highest finishing underclassman at the SJS Masters (fifth).

■ What may be next: The football standout is high on the radar of recruiters as a lineman and wrestler. Camilli is SJS’ highest-ranked heavyweight (No. 6) in the state, and could make a run to keep the heavyweight title in the Section this year.

KASEY KLAUS

■ School/Grade: Vacaville/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 120 ■ 2012 highlights: As a key component of the Bulldogs’ SJS Masters team championship, Klaus followed up league and division titles with an individual SJS Masters title at 120 pounds.

■ What may be next: Klaus is the section’s top-ranked wrestler in state.

Seventh at Reno TOC. Won Bear Creek Invite at 126. Will face solid competition in both weight classes in dual meets before seeking a spot on the state podium at 120s.

RAY LOMAS IV

■ School/Grade: Central Catholic-Modesto/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 170 ■ 2012 highlights: At 145 as a junior, Lomas rolled through strong field at the Masters before recording a 5-2 decision over Union Mine junior Sean Tow in the final. He followed up the section win with an impressive fifth-place finish at state.

■ What may be next: Lomas helped Raiders win the Div. IV state football title. Jumping up four weight classes will be a challenge, especially at 170 pounds where the SJS is loaded with talent.

GIONN PERALTA

■ School/Grade: Vacaville/Junior ■ Wt. Class: 106 ■ 2012 highlights: A dominating sophomore season produced league, division, and Masters championships for Peralta in the lowest weight class. His third-place finish at State helped Vacaville finish sixth as a team in Bakersfield.

■ What may be next: Just a junior, Peralta is the state’s top-ranked 106-pounder. A fourth-place finish at the Reno TOC could be the start of a run at another State champion for the storied Bulldogs’ program.

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■ School/Grade: Oakmont-Roseville/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 170 ■ 2012 highlights: With so much attention on teammate and defending state champ Jake Elliott, Santos quietly established himself as major player at section and state level. Won 170 Masters title before finishing fifth at state.

■ What may be next: Santos is the top dog for the Vikings and proved his No. 2 ranking in California with third-place finish at the Iron Man national tournament in Ohio. The 170s will be challenge within SJS, but Santos is favorite to repeat, make run at a state title.

ISRaeL SAAVEDRA

■ School/Grade: Modesto/Freshman ■ Wt. Class: 113 ■ 2012 highlights: Before joining brother Emilio at the high school level, Israel was making his mark in national tournaments over the summer.

■ What may be next: Saavedra has already captured titles at three early invitationals (120, 126 pounds), and will be a handful for the 113-pounders when the Masters and state tournaments arrive in February and March.

TREVOR SMITH

■ School/Grade: Ripon/Senior ■ WT CLASS: 182 Pounds ■ 2012 highlights: The Division V champion rolled through the Masters field before edging Vacaville’s Chris Lai 1-0 in semis. Won title with 9-4 decision. He was the top section finisher at 182 pounds in Bakersfield, finishing sixth.

■ What may be next: No. 4 ranked 182-pounder in state, Smith won Western Invitational in Modesto at 195. Second at Clinch Gear TOC at 182. Will be battle with Lai again for section crown. Winner gets higher seed in wide open state field.

JERAMY SWEANY

■ School/Grade: Vacaville/Junior ■ Wt. Class: 195 ■ 2012 highlights: The league and division winner finished as the runner-up to Khymba Johnson at the Masters before placing eighth at state.

■ What may be next: One of many key returners for the Bulldogs as they make a run for a top 5 finish at state, Sweany is top-ranked in state at 195. Alltournament at Larry Nelson Classic at 220. Won Reno TOC championship at 195.

ALSO ON THE RADAR

■ Nick Fiegener (Folsom), Sr., 160 ■ Chris Lai (Vacaville), Sr., 182 ■ Emilio Saavedra (Modesto), Jr., 126 ■ Jordan Sepeda (Natomas-Sacramento), Sr., 220 ■ Keaton Subjeck (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills), Sr., 170 ■ Scott Votino (Elk Grove), Sr., 195 ABOVE: Jeramy Sweany, Vacaville.

James K. Leash photo

VICTOR TRUJILLO

■ School/Grade: Bella Vista-Fair Oaks/Senior ■ Wt. Class: 126 Pounds ■ 2012 highlights: Trujillo won league and divisional titles before finishing as runner-up to Vacaville’s Klaus in the Masters final at 120. Sixth-place finish at state helped the Broncos to a top 20 team finish in Bakersfield.

■ What may be next: Rising star ranked No. 2 in the state’s deep 126-pound weight class. Trujillo has impressed early this season with the 132-pound title at the Clovis West Shoot-Out and a fourth-place finish at the Reno TOC. ✪

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A MANfor all

seasons There’s always been more to Bob Ladouceur than coaching, and few know better than De La Salle basketball coach Frank Allocco

By frank allocco | Special to SportStars

C

oach Bob Ladouceur, the legendary football coach and my great friend, has retired as head coach at De La Salle.

Writing the above words seems a bit strange despite the fact that Coach Lad had confided in me a year ago that this would probably be his last season.

A trip we took to Chicago started with him complaining at the gate about his seat on the plane and asking me to switch so he could have the window seat. Then at the hotel room he required the bed closest to the window.

And then there were the meal decisions, which found him ruminating about where and when we should eat. Coach Lad is an amazing coach but he is not a great traveling companion!

Despite the challenges, each day ended with us in deep discussion about a wide variety of topics. Although our good-natured bantering and kidding never stops, our conversations are never trivial. They are always about our lives, our pasts, coaching, developing kids, teaching methods and the blessing that we share — coaching and the chance to make a difference. Its constant communication that has occurred in a number of different settings: travel, phone calls, during workouts and at DLS. It is these moments that I have always treasured in my friendship with Bob Ladouceur.

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Frank Allocco When I first came to De La Salle I did not know Ladouceur. I obviously knew all about him and his amazing accomplishments, but like many public school coaches, I was a bit skeptical. Our first conversation was a daytime phone call when he asked me about my position on kids playing two sports. I told him that I had played two sports in college so I was very receptive, provided they would share the same commitment level to each sport.

He went on to tell me about a great two sport athlete at De La Salle named D.J. Williams. He said D.J. wanted to play both sports and he thought it would be a great idea for both of us to sit down with D.J. and tell him our philosophies.

When we got together in a classroom a couple of days later, Bob introduced me to D.J. and said the following: “D.J., we know that you will hear rumors about what each of us believes about multi-sport athletes, but we wanted you to hear directly from us that we are both on board with you playing football and basketball at DLS.” Bob then said; “Coach Allocco, why don’t you speak first?”

“D.J., I don’t know you,” I said. “But you are obviously a

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Bob Ladouceur

Allocco family photo

EDITOR’S NOTE: Spend enough time covering football and basketball at De La Salle and it doesn’t take long to witness the strong friendship between the school’s two most successful coaches. Frank Allocco and Bob Ladouceur have 989 combined wins as Spartans coaches (as of 1/10). And since Allocco’s arrival in 1997, they’ve become very close friends. Thus, we asked Allocco to write a tribute to Ladouceur to include in our coverage of his decision to step down as head football coach.

great athlete, and I think if you are willing to come to open gym and lift weights a couple of days a week in the summer with our team, I think you might be able to play varsity as a sophomore.”

Coach Ladouceur thanked me for my words, and then said; “D.J., we have had great success with our teams here and have several players in the NFL. I think that if you will work hard you can be the best player to ever play here at DLS.” My mouth dropped as D.J. actually turned his back to me, his body language clearly expressing “I think I like the other guy a little better.” (For his own reasons, Williams chose not to play basketball beyond his freshman year. In 1999, he would prove Ladouceur correct by cementing his Spartan legacy by being named Mr. State Football.)

I walked out of the room and told my long time assistant coach Brian Sullivan; “I just learned my first lesson at DLS, never go first with Bob Ladouceur.”

I have so many amazing memories of my friendship with Coach Lad. I will never forget my first halftime in the football team’s locker room during their classic 1998 match up Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com

with Mater Dei-Santa Ana. I couldn’t wait for halftime, so I could watch the legend in action and hear a fire and brimstone motivational speech. As the players assembled at the half, I heard him softly asking the lineman what plays they thought would work. He then grabbed a black marker and spent the entire half diagramming the blocking on a quick trap play.

I left the locker room disappointed that he had spent the entire half diagramming one play. I had expected a lot more than that. But then in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line and the Spartans facing a 3rd-and-32 situation, he called that quick trap. The blocking was perfect and the play went for 58 yards, a first down, and an upset over Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei. It was then that I learned there was a little bit of magic in this guy.

I will always treasure our pre-game runs together. We would run long distances, sprints, combo walk and jog. He always determined the workout. We were constantly teasing and challenging each other. I remember beating him in a 440 yard sprint and afterwards he said, “well, you might have won, but you are starting to look really old when you run.”

After each workout, we would lay on the grass, gaze at the clouds and talk about the challenges of coaching. The time would fly by as we shared stories of success and disappointments, but always zeroing in on how to improve and better serve kids.

Coach Lad is so much more than a football coach — he is truly a man for all seasons. He is a respected teacher and motivator who has served as a team leader on our school’s outstanding Kairos Retreats. These retreats are held in Healdsburg and bring together approximately 50 of our students for three days of sharing, reflection and prayer. I was proud to

serve on his team as an adult leader, and was amazed to see his skill in a whole new environment.

In just three days, he brought out the best in our kids and their leadership team. He had the perfect touch in serving as an understanding and compassionate mentor to these young men navigating through the difficult adolescent years. But each night, after they were asleep, the guitars came out and we laughed and shared memories of our past as we sang our favorite 60s oldies with our beloved (and now deceased) school chaplain, Father Coz, a man we both reverently and respectfully called “grandfather.”

Coach Ladouceur’s record as a coach is amazing and needs no restatement here. In a game defined by statistics and numbers, his are unparalleled. He has the greatest high school coaching record in history (in terms of win percentage). Many will look at the irony of him retiring when he did, just one win short of 400. When I heard Bob was retiring with 399 wins, I called him and asked if that number was on the pro side of the potential retirement decision list. He laughed and said it was, that the number of wins meant nothing to him. The only numbers that truly matter are the numbers of lives he touched in the classroom, on retreats, in the community and on the 100-yard classroom on Winton Drive.

I love Coach Lad and consider him one of my closest friends. I am grateful that since that first meeting we have made a special connection, and I am truly blessed to have had him as a friend, mentor, and role model. I will miss seeing those deep, dark eyes penetrating the action on the field, but I am excited to see the unfolding of this new chapter in his life — one that I am sure will make an even more profound statement than the past 34 years. ✪

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After each workout, we would lay on the grass, gaze at the clouds and talk about the challenges of coaching. The time would fly by as we shared stories of success and disappointments, but always zeroing in on how to improve and better serve kids.

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metro to the

MAX McClatchy’s emergence as a contender may make the Metro the most competitive girls basketball league in the region

K

By jim mccue | Senior Contributor

ennedy vs. McClatchy has always had lots of meaning when the girls’ basketball teams face off on the hardwood. Metro League and local rivalry has fueled the showdowns for years, but the games are taking on more importance this season.

McClatchy’s recent visit to the Cougars’ gymnasium had the added intensity of a rising young program attempting to join the established league power as a title contender and playoff threat. In recent years, Kennedy and Sacramento High have owned the Metro and won section titles in their respective divisions while McClatchy has fought to return to the top tier of the standings and revisit past playoff glory.

After a year in which the Lions fell just short of earning a playoff berth in longtime head coach Harvey Tahara’s final season at the helm, McClatchy has regrouped with a determined group of young players eager to be a worthy foe in the improving Metro League.

To start the season, McClatchy made the entire Sac Joaquin Section take notice with a 12-0 start under the direction of first-year head coach Jessica Kunisaki. That included tournament titles in River City’s Rumble By the River and Folsom’s Lady Bulldog Winter Classic. The Lions then opened league play with a 49-29 victory over Metro foe Valley-Sacramento for the program’s hottest start in years.

“Our overall goal is to get to the playoffs because we missed the playoffs last year by one game,” first-year coach Kunisaki said. “I didn’t know what to expect in league play.

I know it’s a very competitive league and we just want to compete every game.”

The Lions were competitive against Kennedy in a game filled with scoring runs. Despite trailing by 19 after three quarters, the Lions fought back with a 16-2 run to cut the Cougars’ lead to 43-38 with 1:34 left, serving notice to the rest of the league that McClatchy will fight to the final buzzer to join the Metro elite.

“McClatchy is a team that you definitely have to look out for,” Kennedy senior Lynette Johnson said. “They play hard, and they are all underclassmen.”

McClatchy has five seniors, but the bulk of the minutes have gone to a strong group of freshmen and sophomores.

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top dogs

The Metro League had five teams with at least 10 wins through Jan. 12. The league sent four teams to the SJS playoffs a year ago.

McClatchy...............14- 1 Sacramento*............13-2 Kennedy*.................12-3 Florin*.......................10-4 Burbank...................10-7 *Playoff team in 2011-12.

The fourth Metro team to reach the postseason last year was Valley.

James K. Leash photos

Freshman Gigi Garcia, center, has played a huge role in McClatchy’s emergence — this coming just a year since tearing right knee ligaments as an eighth grader.

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In just her first year coaching McClatchy, Jessica Kunisaki has taken a young nucleus and built an immediate contender.

Frontcourt forces Gigi Garcia and Destiney Lee have the potential to cause problems at both ends of the court while young guards Lauren Nubla and Kelsey Wong bring high energy and playmaking. The Lions’ upperclassmen add valuable experience and clutch outside shooting, but how far the team goes is likely to rely on underclassmen.

Lee leads with 11 points and seven rebounds per game, but foul trouble limited the sophomore post player to just four points in the team’s first loss. Garcia, a freshman, has been a pleasant surprise, averaging nearly 10 points, six rebounds

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and more than four blocks per game.

“She had a torn ACL last year in the eighth grade, so I didn’t really know what I had with her,” said Kunisaki, who had never seen Garcia play until August tryouts. “I heard that she was a guard, so I thought that was where I would play her. But she seems to play better down low.”

Regardless of where Garcia plays, Kennedy coach Dave Parsh knows the league will have their hands full with the freshman forward and the rest of the young Lions.

“I have to look forward to that for another three years,” Parsh said of McClatchy’s young lineup. “(McClatchy) is another one that you have to spend a lot of time preparing for, but that’s good. It makes it more fun to play in the league with more competitive games.”

League stalwarts Kennedy and Sacramento have been challenged by Florin recently, and Burbank started the season well with a 9-5 nonleague mark before splitting their first two league decisions. With McClatchy added to the mix of potential Metro playoff participants, coaches like Parsh and Sacramento’s Michele Massari may be forced to put in extra hours.

“It used to be that there were only two or three teams that you had to really prepare for,” Johnson said. “You would spend your league season working on your game to face those teams, but we can’t do that anymore.”

Parsh attributes the increasing strength of the Metro League to improved coaching and sees a deeper league as a boost for his team and other playoff hopefuls from the Metro.

“These Metro League wins are important, and it doesn’t matter who you beat,” Parsh said. “I anticipate that we will have a good power ranking from league wins with now four or five teams doing real well in nonleague play.”

Kunisaki will happily accept improved power rankings coming from league play, but she hopes her young team can take the next step in the Metro League to earn some wins against top tier teams. Last year, the Lions were 8-0 in league contests against Burbank, Johnson, Rosemont, and Valley, but winless against Sacramento, Kennedy, and Florin.

“Mentally, we have to get stronger,” Kunisaki said. “Against the best teams, we need to learn how to step up and execute.

“The girls are still learning how to play together and maturing mentally and physically.”

With maturity will come stronger challenges to the top programs. Kunisaki believes that it can also lead to some big Metro League victories in the near future. ✪ Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Truth Behind The Hype With nearly a whole football season behind us and the basketball season just hitting its stride, injuries in professional athletes are a common source of discussion in the media. It has become increasingly common to hear athletes receiving Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections to recover from injury.

Athletes such as Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and Alex Rodriguez have all undergone PRP treatment.

But what exactly is PRP? In order to understand PRP therapy, you have to first understand the composition of blood. The majority of blood is a liquid called plasma. Within the plasma are several solid components: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Usually, the function of platelets is to help clot blood, but they also contain proteins called growth factors which can help to heal injury.

PRP is actually plasma that is more highly concentrated with platelets (and its potential growth factors) than regular blood. In order to make PRP which is suitable for treatment, a patient’s blood is drawn. A special centrifuge then “spins down” the blood so that the platelets are separated from the rest of the blood, creating the PRP preparation that is ready for treatment.

This PRP is then injected into the injured area and/or is injected into an area that has just been surgically repaired. The thought is that by injecting PRP into an injured area, an increased concentration of growth factors is then available to heal whatever damage is present. Since the procedure involves taking your own blood and immediately injecting it back into your own body, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and the World Anti-Doping Agency have all stated that PRP treatment is allowed.

Now before you run out to your local doctor and ask him to inject that nagging injury with some PRP, it’s important to understand our limited knowledge about PRP treatment (which is the reason why many insurance companies do not cover the treatment).

First, we are not exactly sure how PRP actually works to speed up injury healing. Although we have a theoretical explanation (putting more growth factors into an injured area), it is unclear what, if anything, is actually occurring on a more microscopic level. In addition, there is no standard PRP injection. Different methods of preparation, protocols, and even the PRP obtained from the same patient (due to diet, time of day, exercise, medications, etc.) can vary greatly.

The most important limitation to understand is that PRP therapy has really only shown to be effective in research studies which look at the treatment of chronic tendon injuries (tendons connect muscles to bone) such as tennis elbow (irritation of tendons about the elbow). Unfortunately, the media concentrates on PRP in the treatment of acute muscle injuries such as hamstring strains in professional athletes; something which has not been consistently proven in research studies.

Therapies such as PRP may potentially hold promise in the future, but further research is necessary to determine what injuries PRP is best suited for, standard protocols for preparation, and the long term risks and benefits. It’s always important to remember that even though professional athletes are portrayed as making “miraculous” recoveries after receiving PRP injections; you can’t forget that they have an entire team of people working with them 24/7 getting them ready for the next game with an integrated program of exercise, rehab, and nutrition. Remember, the best injury treatment is always prevention.

Health Watch Nirav K. Pandya

Dr. Nirav K. Pandya is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializing in pediatric sports injuries at the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. He sees patients and operates in Oakland and at our facility at Walnut Creek. If you have any questions or comments regarding the “Health Watch” column, write the Sports Medicine for Young Athletes staff at Health@SportsStarsOnline.com.

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PUSH-UPS: Importance of technique

Push-up variations are excellent for core and upper body strength as well as shoulder and elbow health when done correctly. Unfortunately, it’s a movement that seems to be taught and performed incorrectly — resulting in poor movement quality through the core and shoulder complex.

The biggest issue I see with push-up performance is an issue with scapular (shoulder blade) retraction and protraction through the entire movement. Most athletes will drop into a push-up without retracting their scapular into adduction (toward spine of upper back) resulting in impingement in the shoulder joint, resulting in humeral anterior (forward) glide which causes stress to the tendons of the shoulder and elbow joint as shown at right.

Here are three tips to cueing and correcting an athlete’s push-up performance:

Training Time Tim Rudd for IYCA

1 2 3

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The athlete should be in the top position of a push-up.

Then place a dowel on your athletes’ back ensuring that the head, upper back and butt are in contact with the dowel, cueing core stiffness.

As the athlete starts to drop down into the pushup cue them to lead with their scapula (shoulder blades) without shrugging of the shoulders.

You should see the shoulder blades retracting toward the spine without any tilting forward of the scapula, which will result in shrugging of the shoulders and poor scapula function.

Once an athlete reaches end range of motion toward the bottom of the push-up and the scapula reaches it’s end point of retraction, the elbows and the push-up should stop at the side of the athletes’ body not beyond!

Then cue the athlete to push the ground away from them while retracting their scapula back to neutral at the start point of the pushup. Properly cueing the push-up movement will ensure that the scapula moves freely along the rib cage, which will maintain the congruency of the ball socket of the shoulder joint, eliminating stress to the tendons of the shoulder and elbow joint of your athletes.

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powered by trucks: anthony trucks

Have resolve, not a resolution

Welcome to the New Year. If you are anything like the MILLIONS of people across the world you have started this New Year with a resolution to exercise more, lift more weights, get stronger, lose weight, etc. The problem with this process is that the major gyms across the country bank on signing people up and locking them into long contracts KNOWING they will not continue working out consistently past the month of February. How do they know this? Simple, people over-train their bodies early on and never come back.

The reason this takes place is because new gym goers are so adamant about gearing up and tackling this obstacle with the fervor of a starving lion eyeballing a fresh piece of meat, that they do too much work too early and kill their bodies.

The most important part about starting a new regimen is to think about the process as a marathon and not a sprint. If you haven’t worked out for months, then you need to realize that the harder you train, the longer you need to recover. Overtraining is a very real problem and does considerable damage to muscles, bodily chemicals, your emotional state, and your ability to train safely. So if you train right out of the gates at full speed, and don’t take adequate time in between workouts to recover your muscles, you will end up over training your body and counteracting your entire purpose of starting a new regimen.

When someone experiences over training they physically and emotionally no longer want to train, which stops the process in it tracks and leaves the person back at square one. Moral of the story: Realize that as long as it took you to get out shape, its going to take double that time to get back into the shape of your dreams. So put on your big boy/girl pants and dig in for the long haul, not the short sprint.

Levelup tips

● Don’t work out more than three days a week to begin with, allowing you four days to recover ● Set a goal and create a workout plan to track your progress towards that goal ● Drink more water and less coffee, sugar filled drinks, energy drinks; and sleep!

get mental: erika carlson

Know what YOU can control

Tryouts are often met with fear regarding outcome (“Will I make the team?”), politics (“This coach hates me.”) and performance (“Can I play my best in front of these coaches?”). How can you better manage the pressure of tryouts and earn that spot on the team?

The answer is surprisingly simple: Control the controllables.

Learning to control the controllables is not only a skill that helps you perform well in tryouts, it helps you perform well in all aspects of life. A common mistake athletes make is focusing only on making the team (outcome). This creates anxiety and worry, which manifests in your body as tension, hesitation and overly conservative play. Coaches see you thinking rather than dominating. Let’s see if you know what’s controllable during a tryout session. In the box below, circle what you believe is controllable.

Why is this important information for you? Because it gives clues on how to prepare and perform during tryouts.

1. Knowing skills/tests Wasting time on things are not controllable is just that 2. Decision by coaches/scouts — a waste of time. Being fit, practicing drills, showing up 3. Fitness recovered and well-fueled gives you an advantage over 4. Rest/Recovery those who aren’t. Being mentally prepared (knowing you 5. Preparation have done “the work”) and focused on your personal 6. Nutrition/Diet strengths will create better performance and therefore in7. How you compare to others crease the odds of making the team. This is what mental 8. How well you perform during toughness is all about. tryouts 9. Attitude 10. How coaches see you 11. Focus 12. How precisely you demonstrate sport skills 13. Grouping for testing/ scrimmaging 14. Making the team 15. “Politics” (favoritism)

ANSWER KEY: Controllables = 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, Uncontrollables = 2, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15

Levelup feedback ● Have a comment or question for our panel? Email us at editor@SportStarsOnline.com.

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Records through Jan. 12 (source: MaxPreps.com) Rank, Prev. Team

Record

1. (1)

Salesian-Richmond

12-3

2. (2)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

11-3

3. (3)

Sheldon-Sacramento

12-4

4. (4)

Modesto Christian

12-2

5. (6)

Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

11-3

6. (7)

Deer Valley-Antioch

12-3

7. (5)

De La Salle-Concord

12-2

8. (9)

Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove

15-3

9. (12)

Sacramento

11-4

10. (8)

Serra-San Mateo

12-3

11. (14)

Capital Christian-Sacramento

14-2

12. (NR)

Monte Vista-Danville

12-3

13. (13)

Newark Memorial

8-6

14. (15)

Dublin

12-4

15. (NR)

Sacred Heart Cathedral-SF

11-4

16. (19)

El Cerrito

12-5

17. (16)

San Leandro

12-3

18. (17)

Bellarmine Prep-San Jose

12-3

19. (NR)

St. Ignatius-SF

12-3

20. (20)

Heritage-Brentwood

13-3

DROPPED OUT: No. 10 Palma-Salinas, No. 11 Antelope, No. 18 Freedom-Oakley BIGGEST MOVER: Monte Vista, which had fallen out of the Top 20 just two weeks prior vaults back in to the No. 12 slot after an impressive Jan. 8 win at then-No. 5 De La Salle. Among teams which were already ranked, Sacramento continues to show that it’s young core is growing up quickly. The Dragons have won 5 of 6 and are back inside the Top 10 after jumping three spots.

TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 14 TEAM TO WATCH: Berkeley didn’t jump into the rankings this week, but few teams have had a better January. The Yellowjackets have gone 4-1 in the month, including wins over three NorCal Top 20 opponents — No. 16 San Leandro, No. 18 Freedom-Oakley and No. 20 Heritage. Their only loss was a 76-73 defeat against No. 6 Bishop O’Dowd on Jan. 11.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR: Enterprise-Redding (143), Oakland Tech (13-4), Freedom-Oakley (10-6), Antelope (11-6), Campolindo-Moraga (11-4), McClymondsOakland (11-6), Montgomery-Santa Rosa (11-3), Mt. Eden-Hayward (12-3), Archbishop Riordan-S.F. (10-5), Piedmont Hills-San Jose (13-2), West-Tracy (14-5), Weston Ranch-Stockton (10-5), Berkeley (7-8).

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Time Runnin’

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Oldest annual boys tourney turned 71 in 2012 and little has changed By matthew kimel | Contributor Historic Earl Crabbe Gym was once again rocking, playing host to the 71st annual Kendall Arnett Tournament at Placer High School.

The storied Arnett, the longest running hoops gauntlet in Northern California, typically takes place between Christmas and New Year’s Day, allowing alumni of the hometown Placer Hillmen to drop by during the holiday season and remember the good old days of when they attended the Auburn school. In a way, it’s like a giant reunion for Hillmen of all ages.

Aside from a brand new snack shack installed this year thanks to a generous donation from Placer cross

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kendall arnett tourney country coach Randall Fee, the gym looks exactly the same as it has since it was built in the late 1930s. Many compare it to the arena that might be seen in the movie “Hoosiers,” as its high-rise wooden seats don’t resemble most of today’s modern gymnasiums.

Those rows of wooden benches were jam-packed for this year’s rendition of the Arnett, particularly the title matchup which pitted the Hillmen against the defending champion Del Campo Cougars.

The Cougars captured the title again, beating Placer 78-66 in a Dec. 29 game that was much more entertaining than the final score suggests.

Though Placer fell behind 16-2 out of the gate, the Hillmen rallied behind a boisterous crowd and energetic high school marching band to come within five points late in the contest.

Surely the Hillmen, who haven’t won the Arnett since 2004, would have enjoyed a victory in their own tournament more than the Cougars. Every basketball-playing Auburn boy dreams about hoisting the first-place Arnett trophy during the tournament’s final award ceremony.

“The kids grow up wanting to win the Kendall,” Placer coach Mark Lee said. “Every group that comes through here wants to win the Kendall cause it’s our tournament and there’s history and tradition that go along with it.”

But Del Campo was still rather ecstatic to come away with top honors when it was all said and done. And as Cougars coach Dave Nobis was quick to point out, the Arnett is practically a flawless event.

“This is a tremendous tournament,” he said. “Everything is first class. We get such a great experience out of this from the hospitality room to playing on this court to everybody treating us well. It’s great. Coming here and winning is an honor.”

That hospitality room, a cordoned off area where coaches, referees and media are fed, is one of the most well-known aspects of the occasion — featuring dishes well beyond the standard cold cuts and finger foods. This year alone, Placer football coach and teacher Mike Sabins made his famous pulled pork and another saw Lee’s barbecued tri-tip as the main course.

The history of the tournament is rather well documented.

For instance, Roseville’s Fred Besana holds the Arnett record of most points scored in a single game (41). Besana accomplished the feat in 1971, which happened to be the only time the tournament was held twice in one calendar year Another Roseville alumnus, Rocky Perry, holds the record for most points tallied in the span of the three-day event. Perry put up 99 points in the ’73 Arnett.

This year, Placer’s Isaiah Pineiro and Del Campo’s Vasilije Sabara both flirted with the Kendall record books.

Pineiro, a 6-foot-5 center, recorded 91 points in three games, including a 34-point outing. Sabara, the 2012 MVP, dropped 35 points in the finale while also connecting on 17-of-18 foul shots in the deciding game.

Colfax, a regular entry into the field of eight being only a short trek down Interstate 80 from Auburn, also draws a large crowd to its rival’s gym. Colfax apparently now holds an unofficial record of having won seven of the last nine consolation championship games, including this season’s.

Records through Jan. 12 (source: MaxPreps.com)

Rank, Prev.

Team

2. (2)

St Mary’s-Stockton

14-1

3. (3)

St. Mary’s-Berkeley

10-3

4. (6)

Miramonte-Orinda

14-1

5. (8)

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose

11-3

6. (9)

Salesian-Richmond

13-4

7. (4)

Carondelet-Concord

11-3

8. (7)

Sacramento

13-2

9. (10)

McNair-Stockton

17-0

10. (11)

Oak Ridge-El Dorardo Hills

14-2

11. (12)

Brookside Christian-Stockton

13-2

12. (15)

Kennedy-Sacramento

12-3

13. (5)

St. Ignatius-SF

12-3

14. (13)

Heritage-Brentwood

11-4

15. (NR)

Sacred Heart Cathedral-SF

11-3

16. (19)

Lynbrook-San Jose

13-2

17. (20)

Eastside Coll. Prep-E. Palo Alto

9-5

18. (NR)

Oakland Tech

12-3

19. (18)

Monte Vista-Danville

13-3

20. (NR)

Enterprise-Redding

15-1

1. (1)

Michael Kirby

LEFT: Placer guard Brennan Entz pushes the ball up the floor in the 2012 Kendall Arnett semifinal against El Camino-Sacramento on Dec. 28.

ABOVE: Hillmen big man Isaiah Pineiro fell eight points shy of the tournament scoring record, posting 91 points over three games.

The Arnett, of course, is named after the legendary Placer coach Kendall Arnett, who was a popular baseball, basketball and football coach at the school. Arnett started the tournament in the 1940s and it was later renamed after him when he passed away in 1954.

The annual tourney started in 1942 as a postseason event, and was originally known as the Washington’s Birthday Patriotic Tournament. In its inaugural year, the tournament was played all in one day on the George Washington birthday holiday — now more commonly known as Presidents’ Day. Seemingly every Hillmen alum around has a story or two about the Kendall Arnett to share. Some say in the tournament’s heyday, extra rows of seats had to be brought in to accompany the larger crowd that showed up to see the fine event.

Nowadays, even without the need of extra seating, the affair still seems to be the biggest draw for preseason hoops in the foothill area. ✪

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Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland

Record 10-3

DROPPED OUT: No. 14 Wilcox-Santa Clara, No. 16 Branham-San Jose, No. 17 Alameda WHO’S NO. 1?: A case could certainly be made that St. Mary’s-Stockton should be No. 1 and Bishop O’Dowd No. 2, but the complexities of ranking systems mean that a game in Florida impacts the order in Northern California. Dillard of Florida is the only team to have beaten St. Mary’s, but Dillard just lost to American Heritage on the other side of the country, which hurts the Rams. Of course, the two teams will settle on the floor Feb. 9 at O’Dowd, so there will be no doubt after that.

BIGGEST MOVER: St. Ignatius dropped eight spots after losing to Sacred Heart Cathedral, which made its debut at No. 15 — the biggest positive mover TEAMS STILL RANKED FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 15 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR: Wilcox (14-1), Campolindo-Moraga (12-3), Burlingame (13-1), Bear River-Stockton (16-1), McClymonds-Oakland (16-2), Placer-Auburn (17-2),Alameda (12-4), Pinewood-Los Altos Hills (12-3), Christian Brothers-Sacramento (10-6), St. Francis-Mountain View (8-6), Soquel (13-2), Florin-Sacramento (10-4).

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The Girls Play Too

MLK Madness means showcase events at several sites featuring plenty of the state’s top girls basketball teams By clay kallum | Contributor It’s a long weekend, right? That means the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday is time to kick back and recover from actually having to do things like go to school and go to work after the Christmas break, right?

Not if you’re a basketball player, though.

The MLK weekend has become home to a variety of shootouts, classics and other gatherings of teams for daylong sessions involving multiple teams.

This year’s fun begins on Jan. 19 at several sites, most notably St. Mary’s-Stockton, and concludes Jan. 26 at the Campolindo Shootout, which just to confuse things, is at Bentley School in Lafayette.

But before worrying about why one school’s event is being played at another campus, a better plan is to Google the location of St. Mary’s, because Saturday’s lineup is pretty special.

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Among the many highlights is the presence of South Medford of Oregon, which will play St. Mary’s-Berkeley at 7:30 p.m. (Well, sometime after 7:30 p.m. is more likely, as it’s the seventh game of the day, and the odds of all of them fitting into the 90-minute time frame allotted for game play and warmups are pretty low.) South Medford is one of several very strong Oregon teams this year, and owns a win over MaxPreps’ No. 21 in the nation, Riverdale Baptist of Maryland.

St. Mary’s-Berkeley, though, has a signature win of its own, knocking off Long Beach Poly 47-45 to win its bracket at the Nike TOC in Phoenix. The Panthers are led by elite junior wings Gabby Green and Mikayla Cowling, but if you happen to see a tall young woman wearing Stanford colors wandering around the gym, it’s very likely 6-4 Tess Picknell. The Stanford freshman helped lead South Medford to the Oregon 6A title last year.

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Jonathan Hawthorne

Bishop O’Dowd’s Asha Thomas

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›››

Scan this page with your Layar app to view game lineups for the showcase events featured in this article.

There’s also a great rematch scheduled at 1 p.m., as Sacramento and Hanford will go at it again. They met at the West Coast Jamboree Dec. 28, with Sacramento winning 70-68, and round two promises to be just as entertaining.

The 4:30 p.m. game between McNair-Stockton and Dougherty Valley-San Ramon features two of the top posts in Northern California: 6-4 Mandy Coleman of McNair and 6-2 Jasmine Jenkins of Dougherty Valley.

Because we’ve got so much else to cover, we’ll slide quickly past two other very good games — Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove vs. Deer Valley-Antioch and Clovis West-Fresno against Miramonte-Orinda (which has lost only to national No. 8 Windward-L.A.) — to touch on a couple other events.

At Pittsburg High, NorCal’s top-rated team, Bishop O’DowdOakland, will take on small but mighty Brookside Christian-Stockton, the defending Division V champion that pretty much plays everyone.

That game is at 5:30 p.m., and is preceded by two good teams whose records reflect the very tough schedules they’ve played.

Both Christian Brothers-Sacramento and Oakland Tech have tested themselves against the top teams in the area, and this should be a very good matchup.

The nightcap at 7 p.m. matches two resurgent programs that are going to be relevant in the postseason: Kennedy-Richmond and Pittsburg. Both schools have struggled a bit in recent years, but are definitely back on track.

Also on Jan. 19, three strong teams will make their way to Modesto Christian, including the host. Bradshaw Christian and Vanden-Fairfield also have excellent records, but none of the trio will

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play each other.

Unlike years past, there will be no girls’ game at Haas Pavilion on the actual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but Tom Gonsalves has stepped in and will bring back many of the teams that played on Saturday.

For example, St. Mary’s-Stockton will take on South Medford at 1 p.m., while Bishop O’Dowd will arrive to play Kelsey Plum and La Jolla Country Day at 2:30. Archbishop Mitty, the defending Division II champion, will meet Sacramento at 6 in the fourth of five games that day.

The venerable Campolindo Shootout, which has undergone several name and location changes, will be played at Bentley School in Lafayette, but will still offer some excellent matchups on Jan. 26.

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and Miramonte will play at 3:30 p.m., followed by Carondelet and Berkeley at 5 p.m. and St. Mary’s-Berkeley against Brookside Christian at 6:30 p.m. (These games are more likely to start on time as an extra 30 minutes is added onto the time frame after the 1:30 p.m. game between Division I powers Heritage-Brentwood and Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills.)

There are other games at that site, and other games at all the other events, but there’s only so much room — and so much time.

And speaking of time, did we mention that all these teams have at least two leagues in the weeks before and after? And that some of them take finals too?

It may be a holiday, but it’s definitely not a vacation. ✪ Jonathan Hawthorne

Breanna Grigsby and Brookside Christian will take on two of the top three programs in the SportStars NorCal Top 20 over the next two weeks. They take on No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd on Jan. 19 and No. 3 St. Mary’s-Berkeley on Jan. 26.

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Welcome to Impulse, your one-stop shop for gadgets, gizmos and gear.

Compiled by staff writer Erik Stordahl, Impulse provides you with the latest and greatest and what’s currently hot on the market. Since high school soccer is in full swing, we offer up a smorgasbord of items.

soccer shoes

We all know Lionel Messi is the world’s best soccer, er football, player. But what you didn’t know is that it’s all in the cleats. Come on, you seriously didn’t think he was that good — taking on five defenders at once and putting that crazy spin on the ball just because “he’s talented.”

Messi wears Adidas AdiZero F50 cleats and he gets ’em for free. You on the other hand will have to pony up a couple hundred bucks but we think it’s worth it. If that’s too rich for your blood, fine, choose from these less expensive alternatives:

Messi jersey

• Nike Air Legend Women’s

Hey, even if you can’t play like him or dress like him, you can still pretend to be him!

Don this jersey and your friends will be none the wiser.

• Nike Mercurial Miracle III (alliteration award) • Diadora Macarana RTX 12

• Adidas Predator Absolion LZ TRX (best name award)

• Puma evoSPEED 5

SJ Earthquakes gear

These guys played out of their minds last year and it’s time to hop on the bandwagon. Pick up a jersey, t-shirt or shorts and go crazy cheering on the Quakes as they go for another MLS Cup. Remember: Goonies never say die.

(Quakes fans get it)

Gameface

You might be a big sports fan, but are you hardcore enough to endure the frozen tundra of Candlestick, shirtless and lathered up in red and gold for four hours?

If not, may we suggest Gameface? It’s temporary face paint. It’s comfortable, doesn’t sweat or rub off, doesn’t itch and you won’t break out in hives, etc. Go to www. thegamefacecompany.com, find your colors and have at it.

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Advertiser Index ❒❒ All- Star Academy Baseball Media Day.......................35 ❒❒ Antioch’s Great Family Entertainment Centers............37 ❒❒ Army National Guard Recruiter.....................................5 ❒❒ Baseball Mentoring Program.....................................34 ❒❒ Bay Area Festivals Inc.................................................35 ❒❒ Big O Tires Northern California/ Nevada.......................2 ❒❒ Championship Athletic Fundraising...........................11 ❒❒ Cheergyms.Com.........................................................36 ❒❒ Children’s Hospital And Research Center.....................28 ❒❒ Club Sport..................................................................28 ❒❒ Community Youth Center..................................... 17, 24 ❒❒ Core Volleyball Club....................................................32 ❒❒ Diablo Futbol Club......................................................37 ❒❒ Diablo Rock Gym........................................................37 ❒❒ Diablo Trophies & Awards...........................................37 ❒❒ E J Sports Elite Baseball Services................................32 ❒❒ East Bay Bulldogs Basketball......................................34 ❒❒ East Bay Panthers Basketball................................ 32, 34 ❒❒ East Bay Sports Academy..................................... 14, 33 ❒❒ East Bay Youth Sports Camps.....................................38 ❒❒ Excellence In Sport Performance................................29 ❒❒ Fit 2 The Core..............................................................29 ❒❒ Halo Headband..........................................................24 ❒❒ Heritage Soccer Club..................................................25 ❒❒ Hillside Karate Kai......................................................35 ❒❒ Home Team Sports Photography................................35 ❒❒ Image Imprint............................................................24 ❒❒ Jump Highway...........................................................35 ❒❒ Kali Ball Training........................................................34 ❒❒ Kinders B B Q................................................................3 ❒❒ Mike Allen Sports L L C...............................................39 ❒❒ Mountain Mike’s Pizza..................................................7 ❒❒ National Scouting Report...........................................32 ❒❒ Pro Hammer Bat.........................................................34 ❒❒ Rocco’s Pizza...............................................................37 ❒❒ Rockin Jump...............................................................40 ❒❒ Sky High Sports..........................................................37 ❒❒ Sport Clips..................................................................19 ❒❒ State Farm Jimmy Harrington Agent..........................23 ❒❒ Stevens Creek Toyota..................................................15 ❒❒ Sutter Delta................................................................27 ❒❒ The First Tee Of Contra Costa.......................................24 ❒❒ U S K S Martial Arts....................................................33 ❒❒ Velocity Sports Performance......................................37 ❒❒ Velocity Sports Volleyball...........................................33 ❒❒ West Coast Soccer Club...............................................33

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