SJ Issue 48, June 28, 2012

inspiration comes from everywhere

vol. 3. issue 48

FREE

June 28, 2012

Pg. 8

best in prep sports

sac joaquin

POW! local athletes leaving dent in MMA scene

heavy medal NorCal VB club aiming for hardware

top dogs Pit Bulls ready for their close-up

FORE! Del Oro’s Austin Smotherman top male athlete

no heroes without villains. we have villains.

Pg. 11

daje pugh jets to athlete of the year. pg 30

PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson. Ext. 104 • Chace@SportStarsOnline.com Contributors Bill Kolb, Erik Stordahl, Mitch Stephens, Doug Gardner, Matt Smith, Clay Kallam, Jim McCue, Eric Gilmore, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Jonathan Okanes Photography Butch Noble, Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, James K. Leash, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco. Ext. 103 • MikeD@SportStarsOnline.com Publisher/President Mike Calamusa. Ext. 106 • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com

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Advertising & Calendar/Classified Sales Sales@SportStarsOnline.com, (925) 566-8500 Account Executives Erik Stordahl • Erik@SportStars Online.com, Phillip Walton • PWalton@SportStarsOnline.com Sac Joaqin edition: Ron Davis • RonD@SportStarsOnline.com • (916) 564-0111, Dave Rosales • DaveRosales64@gmail.com

James K. Leash

fight night Joseph Morales, left, and Angelo trevino break into mma

BronBron has a ring?

Now what?

spring’s best

Daje Pugh and Austin Smotherman did what they do better than anybody else this spring. Pg. 30

now it’s their turn

Take it easy there. We know hatin’ ain’t easy, so we have suggestions for you. (But we’re still not sure if you’re supposed to hate the player or the game. Both?) Pg. 11 James K. Leash

a picture is worth ... Well, sometimes more than 1,000 words. Pg. 14 on the cover Daje Pugh of Fairfield.

Photo by James K. Leash.

First Pitch.....................................................8

NorCal Volleyball Club’s boys and girls teams are ready to take the next step and claim their rewards. Pg. 24

Training Time............................................ 28

Locker Room........................................... 10 Health Watch .......................................... 34 Impulse...................................................... 35 Behind the Clipboard............................. 12 Powered by Trucks.................................. 36 AAA SportStars of the Week............... 13 Camps + Clinics...................................... 38 Club Scene................................................ 16 Photo Finish.............................................. 46

Reader Resources/Administration Ad Traffic, Subscription, Calendar & Classified Listings info@SportStarsOnline.com • Deb Hollinger. Ext. 101 • Distribution/Delivery Mags@SportStarsOnline.com Distribution Manager Butch Noble. Ext. 107 • Butch@SportStarsOnline.com Information technology John Bonilla CFO Sharon Calamusa • Sharon@SportStarsOnline.com Office Manager/Credit Services Deb Hollinger. Ext. 101 • Deb@SportStarsOnline.com Board of advisors Dennis Erokan, CEO, Placemaking Group Roland Roos, CPA, Roland Roos & Co Susan Bonilla, State Assembly Drew Lawler, Managing Director, AJ Lawler Partners Brad Briegleb, Attorney At Law 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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your ticket to bay area sports admit one; rain or shine This Vol. #3, June 2012 Whole No. 48 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, 5356 Clayton Rd, Ste. 222, Concord, CA 94521. SportStars™© 2010 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: 24 issues, U.S. 3rd class $42 (allow 3 weeks for delivery). 1st class $55. To receive sample issues, please send $3 to cover postage. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos and letters to the editor are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor. All material should be typed, double-spaced on disk or email and will be handled with reasonable care. For materials return, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics are registered trademarks of Caliente! Communications, LLC.

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Serving up smiles

SportStars’ two weekends with inspirational athletes

I

t came across my desk recently that a small point of contention had been lodged against SportStars.

In the eyes of one reader, it is believed we focus too much on the elite athletes.

And while I will grant that we do devote a lot of coverage to some of the best high school athletes and teams in Northern California, I stand firm in the belief that this is not our only mission.

We’ve devoted pages to more than a handful of stories on everyday athletes returning from hardships, or those who are trying make it in less mainstream sports. And we’ve also taken the time on occasion to highlight athletes with disabilities. This issue happens to be one of those times.

Two summers ago when the magazine was a mere three issues old, I met youth softball coach Chris Ball while covering his Antioch Little League Juniors softball team in the District 4 All-Star championship game. Ball’s team won that day and advanced to the state tournament.

I hadn’t heard from Ball in more than a year and a half when he called me during the first week of June. We caught up briefly. He asked about how the magazine was doing and he shared about the new competitive travel softball team in Antioch he’d started called the NorCal Diehards. He had called hoping to get some coverage of an event the Diehards were taking part in — though it really had nothing to do with competitive softball.

Ball and his players were going to be volunteering their time and assistance at Antioch Little League’s final day of Challenger Division baseball. Ball thought of calling us because he assumed the exact opposite of the reader I mentioned earlier — that we WOULD devote space and time to some non-elite athletes. And of course, he was right.

Myself and a photographer spent close to two hours out at the Antioch Little League fields on June 10, and for those who have never gone out to watch these games, there are three things you notice right away.

1. The kids can play. Sure, some need more assistance than others — and obviously many of the rules are bent to follow the golden rule that “everybody hits and everybody wins” — but many of these kids do possess varying degrees of real athletic talent and love having the

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First Pitch Chace Bryson Editor

Chace@ SportStarsOnline.com (925) 566-8503

Want to see both photo spreads?

All our editions are available digitally at our website!

opportunity to use it.

2. The volunteers. To notice how much fun the kids are having is to also to notice the countless number of people who are helping to make it happen. On this certain day, more than 20 softball players were spread across two fields helping the coaches and other adult volunteers in assisting players and making sure each kid is enjoying his experience. Many of these volunteers selflessly devote much of their Sundays each spring to make this happen. Programs like Challenger Little League wouldn’t exist without these people.

3. The smiles. The fun each kid has is infectious. You can’t miss the smiles, and it’s hard to leave without a smile on your own face.

Our Bay Area edition of this issue has a few pictures of those smiles on pages 1415. We hope they make you smile, too.

If you’re reading our Sac-Joaquin edition, pages 14-15 have a different set of smiles. These come from the Special Olympics Northern California Games, which were held at UC Davis from June 22-24.

It goes without saying that the same elements I used to describe the Challenger baseball games are just as prevalent at Special Olympics events. Only on an even grander scale.

The athletes prove they’re capable of so much more than one might think. The volunteers work selflessly to make it all go. And the smiles never fade from your memory.

Doug Guler, the photographer we sent to UC Davis to take the photos, was seemingly overwhelmed with the event.

Here’s an excerpt from the email he sent me when he filed his photos.

“What a humbling experience to see these athletes compete, but in the same breath they don’t care who wins. It is all about “heart”. They are genuine human beings that make the best out of everything in front of them. ... I’ve never had so many high fives in my life. This was an incredible event to have been part of.”

So let us suggest that the next time you have a chance to witness these types of event, go check it out for an hour. We’re betting you walk away inspired. But in the meantime, let our pictures tell the story. ✪

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What’s the one thing you’d never do on Fear Factor Eat a cockroach

rapidFIRE Favorite Real books movie or e-readers series?

Favorite summer food

Best new song you’ve heard recently?

Real books

Madagascar

Grilled chicken

‘Rumor Has It’

by Adele

Real books

Harry Potter

Fresh fruit

‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’ by One Direction

What app do you use the most

Pandora

Katie King, River City-West Sac., hoops

Eat a scoprion

Fruit Ninja

Sarah Robinson, Gunn-San Jose, soccer

random act offactness

Amador Valley-Pleasanton softball pitcher Johanna Grauer, far right, became just the second North Coast Section softball player to earn the state’s Sophomore Player of the Year award from CalHiSports. The only other NCS recipient? Her coach. Dons coach Julie Marshall, right, was named the state Sophomore Player of the Year in 1992 while playing for Liberty-Brentwood.

The 2012 Junior Player of the Year also went to a Northern California player, Gabrielle Maurice of JohnasenModesto. Maurice is committed to UCLA, which just so happens to be Marshall’s alma mater.

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Butch Noble photos

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Sports Villains To Replace LeBron

The King finally got his crown. So enough already. Enough vilifying LeBron for The (admittedly idiotic) Decision. Enough crucifying him for taking his talents wherever, and promising “not five, not six, not seven.” Just. Enough. Let it go. He was a kid. He made some mistakes. He figured it out and grew up — kind of right before our eyes during one of the most impressive NBA Finals performances in recent memory. So quit picking on the kid. Pick on these guys instead.

1. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals — Why Harper, you ask? That’s a clown question, bro.

2. Roger Clemens, Dirtbag (retired), Somewhere In Texas — Wasn’t the Rocket already a villain? Haven’t we hated him for, like 20 years, or something? Sure, sure. But the guy keeps reinventing himself, finding new and exciting ways to be a jerk. So we’re keeping him on the list.

3. A Soccer Player, Europe-ish — We wanted to pick a really villainous villainy footballer from Euro 2012, but then we remembered that we don’t care enough about Euro 2012 to actually know any of their names. Is Zinedine Zidane’s gigantic head-butting cranium still around? That would work.

4. Tim Tebow, Homewrecker, New York J-E-T-S JetsJetsJets — Singlehandedly destroying the harmonious, contented, winning vibe that Mark Sanchez has cultivated in East Rutherford. Oh wait.

5. Tim Duncan, Power Forward, San Antonio Spurs — We heard that, after the OKC Thunder ousted the Spurs from the 2012 NBA playoffs, Duncan politely thanked his opponents for their spirited competition, then quietly went into the weight room to begin preparing for another run at the title. What a prima donna.

How is this guy still in the Association?

— Bill Kolb Allen Eyestone/ Palm Beach Post/ Zumapress.com

Throughout the week we like to poll our Facebook fans on random things that come to our mind here at SportStars HQ. Come ‘Like’ us at www.facebook.com/sportstars to join the conversation. You just might find your comments in a future issue.

On the heels of Roger Clemens being acquitted of perjury charges in his recent trial surrounding performance enhancing drugs, we ask: Should Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

■ “Absolutely, with no hesitation,” Peter S. ■ “Yes. And Pete Rose, too,” Randy C.

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By the way, just in case you needed another reason to join our Facebook community, you can win stuff! This past week we gave away $125 gift cards for Fit 2 The Core Training Systems to three lucky winners, Derrick Stom, Kisha Gaines and Joseph Cota.

June 28, 2012

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Skip the jogging and try to be sport-specific in summer workouts My dad wants me to go out and jog five miles every day to get ready for the high school season. Every day? That seems like a lot.

S.T., Milpitas

o here’s the real question: In what sport do you jog? Even cross country runners run … no one jogs on the football field, or on the basketball court, or during a soccer game (at least not for long). Almost all sports are about sprinting, and even volleyball is about quick explosive movements.

So what exactly does jogging get you ready for? Well, basically, more jogging.

OK, it does give you some baseline conditioning, so it’s not completely useless (though if you have bad knees or a bad back, it’s most likely going to make things worse). But whatever your sport, try to get your conditioning done in ways that mimic what you actually will be doing.

For example, if you’re a football player, you go really hard for seven seconds or so, and then rest. So sprint for seven seconds, and then rest — and do that every day. Or if you’re getting ready for basketball, you also need to sprint, because if you jog during the game, you’re going to jog right over and sit next to the coach the next time the whistle blows.

Volleyball players need to be explosive, and conditioning should help with jumping, diving and recovering — and you can do all of that and condition at the same time.

Again, the thing jogging gets you ready for is more jogging.

And while we’re talking about summer workouts, remember that if you don’t do 45 minutes of weight training a week during school, all those muscles you build in July and August will melt away after about a month away from the weight room. If you’re going to go to the gym three times a week all summer, then you better make sure you’re going at least once a week during the school year, or it’s really just a waste of time.

The same is true of honing your skills at a camp. If you spend two weeks of your time and your parents’ money, then you better spend at least an hour a week refreshing those skills after camp is over. If you add to your soccer footwork at camp, that’s great — but if you don’t practice the skills you’ve learned between the end of camp and the first day of practice, then you’ve really accomplished nothing.

The most important thing to remember about summer conditioning is to understand what you’re trying to get better at, and then work on things that help you get there. If it’s football conditioning, then sprint; if it’s soccer skills, then practice those skills.

Of course, doing something is better than doing nothing, but really, jogging? Unless they start giving out letters for moving very slowly, it’s pretty much a waste of time. ✪

S

Behind the Clipboard Clay Kallam

Clay Kallam is an assistant athletic director and girls varsity bas-

ketball coach at Bentley High in Lafayette. To submit a question for Behind the Clipboard, email Coach Kallam at clayk@fullcourt.com

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The Huskies’ guard has led the team to three summer basketball tournament titles, including the Sheldon-Trail Summer Jam hosted by Sheldon and Monterey Trail High Schools from June 22-24. Allen, who will be a senior next season, was a key player in the Huskie’s run to the CIF Division I state final. This summer, Allen has been the floor leader and mentor to younger players while teammates D’Erryl Williams and Armani Hampton recover from injuries. In the 60-team SheldonTrail Summer Jam. Sheldon was a perfect 4-0 in pool play before earning the tourney’s top prize by winning the Platinum Division title with a 79-42 victory over CentralFresno.

SportStars Magazine: What is the advantage of playing summer tournaments with new or younger players that will be counted on during the 2012-13 season?

Dakarai Allen: These tournaments are more for the young guys like Devon Green and Ian Miller to get lots of playing time.

It’s good to get out there with them and help them correct any freshman mistakes and get them used to playing at the varsity level.

SSM: What is your role as a leader or mentor during the summer?

DA: It’s my responsibility to help the younger players understand what they are supposed to

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dakarai allen sheldon-elk grove . basketball . senior

honorable mention

megan dulaney The RodriguezFairfield freshman won the girls shot put competition at the Golden West Invitational with throw of 35 feet, 7.25 inches.

andrej bevins The Christian Brothers golfer shot a 4-under 140 to finish second at the Yolo Fliers Club qualifier on June 24-25. The top four advance to the 2012 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Golf Club of New England in mid-July.

James K. Leash be doing and where they need to be in certain situations. I try to draw upon my experience to give them advice on the floor and tell them what they should expect at this level.

SSM: Between summer high school tournaments and AAU prac-

tices and tournaments, when do you get any free time for yourself?

DA: I usually have a couple of workouts each morning and practice

at night, so I have from like 1-6 PM for some free time. (Play Hard,

Play Smart AAU team) travels to Philadelphia, LA, and Las Vegas this

ALEX SBOROV The FoothillPleasanton senior placed second in the US Junior Amateur Qualifier shooting a 2-over 74 at Mira Vista CC on June 18. Her twin sister Katie is also qualified for the event.

summer, too, so basketball keeps me real busy.

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Special Moments

The Special Olympics Northern California held its annual Summer Games on the campus of UC Davis on June 22-24. The event kicked off with the arrival of the “Flame of Hope” at Aggie Stadium on Friday evening to light the cauldron.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run ended a two-week journey throughout Northern California before reaching Davis.

More than 900 athletes and volunteer coaches gathered for the Summer games this year, with athletes from 32 Northern California counties participating in various competitions. After weeks of training and participating in qualifying competitions, the athletes competed in Aquatics, Bocce, Tennis or Track and Field.

The mild weather provided for ideal conditions for the events, but victory in the competitions is secondary to participation and to fulfilling the mission

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of the Special Olympics Northern California, which is to provide athletic opportunities to children and adults with intellectual disabilities, which instill the confidence needed to succeed in life.

We sent photographer Doug Guler out to Saturday’s events to capture some of the positive vibes.

Special Olympics Northern California is a free year-round sports training and competition program for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

More than 15,700 athletes compete in 154 competitions throughout the region in 12 sports. For more information on Special Olympics Northern California or to donate, visit www.SONC.org or join us at Facebook /SONorCal and Twitter @SONorCal. — Jim McCue

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All World Sports adds Prospects Exposure Event for August All World Sports has mastered the baseball and softball tournament scene, but the latest venture it has in the works will be an event to give high school baseball players exposure to college and JC coaches as well as professional scouts.

Individual players can sign up for the All World Prospects Exposure Event held Aug. 1-5 in Sacramento, where seniors, juniors, and select sophomores will receive training and evaluation by coaches and scouts while participating in showcase-style games over the course of three days.

The event will provide an opportunity for local high school players to get exposure at the next level. For more information on the event, visit http://www.allworldprospects.com/ events.html In the meantime, the All World Sports tournament universe kept spinning in June. Here are the champions and runnersup from the first four weekends of the month.

June 2-3 — MARTINEZ: 13U champs, NorCal Titans 12U Blue (Brentwood); runner-up, Ross Valley Royals (San Anselmo). 14U champs, South Bay Diamondbacks (San Jose); runner-up, MH Baseball (Pleasanton).

VACAVILLE: 11U champs, Patriots Baseball Club (Concord); runner-up, SV Storm (Yuba City).

June 9-10 — WOODLAND (World Series NIT): 13U champs, NC Sluggers (Sacramento); runner-up, Nor Cal Baseball Cardinal (Livermore); 14U champs, Bombers BB Club (Marin); runner-up, Chico Aces. SACRAMENTO (World Series NIT):12U champs, Hank’s Bombers (Sacramento); runner-up Delta Pirates (Antioch). CARSON CITY (World Series NIT): 9U

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champs, Stanislaus Sting (Turlock); runner-up, Bret’s Muckdogs (Reno); 10U champs, Bret’s Muckdogs; runner-up, Fallon Hornets;11U champs, Bret’s Muckdogs; runner-up, Cepeda Baseball Club (Martinez); 12U champs, Team Velocity (Sparks); runner-up, Bret’s Muckdogs; 13U champs, Cepeda Baseball Club; runner-up, All Around baseball (Reno); 14U champs, Stanislaus Sting; runner-up, Sierra Valley Storm (El Dorado Hills).

June 16-17 — BRENTWOOD/MARTINEZ (Bob Caldera Memorial): 9U champs, NorCal Titans Blue (Brentwood); runner-up, Oakland RBI. 10U champs, Delta Dawgs (Brentwood); runner-up, Sierra Valley Storm; 11U champs, Bombers Baseball Club (Marin); runner-up, Martinez Bulldogs; 12U champs, Lamorinda Spartans 11U (Lafayette); runner-up, OCR (Oakland); 13U champs, Delta Dawgs; runner-up, Norcal Titans Blue; 14U Blue Division champs, Rakers (San Jose); runner-up San Ramon Slammers; 14U Red Division champs Delta Dawgs; runner-up, Davis Crush.

FREMONT (Father’s Day Classic): 10U champs, Fremont Fury; runner-up, NorCal Storm (Belmont); 11U champs, Dublin Dawgs; runner-up, Lamorinda Immortals 10U (Lafayette); 12U champs, Fremont Reds; runner-up Belmont Blasters; 13U champs, San Jose Pitbulls, runner-up, Tri-Valley Lightning (Livermore); 14U champs, East bay Rays (Hayward); runner-up, Central Coast Hustlers (Salinas).

June 23-24 — CARSON CITY (Midnight Madness): 11U champs, Nevada Gunslingers (Reno); runner-up, SL Bomberz (Livermore); 12U champs, Regulators (Yuba City); runner-up, Black Hawks (Klamath Falls, Ore.); 13U champs, Bulldog Baseball Club (Vacaville); runner-up, Patriots Baseball Club (Sacramento); 14U champs, Bulldawg Baseball Club (Walnut Creek), runner-up Fallon Hornets; 16U champs, Star City (Sacramento); runner-up, JMA Bulldogs (Richmond). BRENTWOOD/OAKLEY: 10U champs, Vacaville Pony All Stars; Runner-up, Elite Baseball; 11U champs, Patriots Base-

ball Club (Concord); runner-up, Brentwood Blast; 12U champs, Mudcats (Brentwood); Runner-up, San Ramon Hawks; 13U champs, Grant Baseball 12U (Oakland); runner-up, NorCal Titans White (Brentwood); 14U champs, Brentwood Blast; runner-up, Brentwood Pony All Stars 4-1

For information regarding All World’s tournament schedule for the remainder of 2012 (nearly 150 more tournaments) go to www.playallworld.com. It is very easy to create a team and start playing exciting tournament baseball.

DIVING

The Sherman Divers of Lafayette had five qualifiers come out of the Region 10 Championships held at Santa Clara International Swim Center on June 8-10.

Asher Lichtig, Morgan Matranga, Brenna Cetrone, Miranda Gold and Harrison Fisher each qualified to move on to the Zone E Diving Championships in Riverside from July 11-15.

Lichtig, Cetrone and Fisher qualified for both 1- and 3-meter springboard. Matranga qualified on the 1-meter and Gold on the 3-meter.

It was Matranga, a sophomore at Campolindo-Moraga, who ended up with the highest Region championship finish of the five. She scored 284.05 to grab a fifth place finish.

Cetrone and Lichtig also had Top 10 finishes. Lichtig placed eighth in the 1-meter springboard (435.60 points) and Cetrone placed ninth (218.85). ✪

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Pro basketball world is beginning to take notice of the East Bay Pit Bulls

W

By erik stordahl | SportStars

hile most NBA hopefuls go undrafted this time of year, they keep their dream alive by playing elsewhere. And the options are always aplenty.

For some, the NBA’s Development League is the way to go, where they can be one hot stretch of playing from being called up to the big time. For others it’s traveling overseas or staying in the mainland competing in the ABA (American Basketball Association). One of the teams among the latter option is the East Bay Pit Bulls.

Located in Livermore, the East Bay Pit Bulls formed in 2009 and play their home games at Las Positas College. Their roster is comprised of former high school and college standouts, including Philip “Tree” Thomas, who grew up in the Bay Area.

Thomas played for three years at Skyline High School in Oakland then transferred to San Leandro for his senior year.

His path continued in the college ranks as he played for the University of Idaho, but due to a coaching change, transferred to a junior college in Utah before ending up at Portland State where he recently graduated.

“It has been great actually,” Thomas said of playing for the Pit Bulls. “I came on to the team kinda late in the season.

Right away, the environment, the arena and fans were all supportive and it was great.”

The fans always provide plenty of energy at Pit Bull home games in large part because the Pit Bulls bring it on a nightly basis.

Last season, they were ranked No. 24 out of 96 teams in the

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East Bay Pit Bulls

East Bay Pit Bulls center Marion Thurmond signs autographs for young fans following a game last season. The Livermore-based Pit Bulls are gaining notoriety within the American Basketball Association.

league. They provided fans with enough jaw-dropping dunks and plays to fill a SportsCenter Top 10 and made it all the way to the quarterfinals.

No doubt a strong season, the Pit Bulls will be back when

the 2012-13 season starts up in November; maybe they’ll get to do some more traveling too. Recently, they toured China and displayed their talents in front of thousands of fans.

“That was a great experience,” said Jordan Boreman, who plays for the Pit Bulls. “We had a two-week tour, we played against one of the best China teams in the CBA (China Basketball Association). We played in big stadiums that held like six to 7,000 people. The best part about it for me, the fans showed a lot of respect; they appreciate the art.”

Playing for the Pit Bulls serves as a two-way street for guys hoping to advance their careers and for others who are coming off that mountain.

“I think some of them do and some of them don’t,” Thomas said of athletes in the ABA wanting to keep the dream alive.

“Some of them like the level of play, some of them are aspiring to go overseas and play in the NBA. … Some of us just have that drive to play basketball.”

Only a couple seasons old, the Pit Bulls are headed in the right direction. The ABA is taking notice.

“The ABA is looking to do some nationally-televised games,” said Deb Tenenbaum, owner of the Pit Bulls. “And 10 teams have been selected and we’ve been one of the selected teams.”

National exposure will place the spotlight on the Pit Bulls, who will be putting on clinics throughout the summer: July 10 (Point Guard), Aug. 6 (Big man), and Aug. 10 (Skills & Development).

To learn more about these clinics and to register now, go to www.eastbaypitbulls.com. ✪

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KICKst After leaving behind team sports for wrestling, recent high school grads Angelo Trevino and Joseph Morales are rising in the MMA amateur ranks

T

By jim mccue | Contributor

he images of mixed martial arts (MMA) portrayed on television and other media appeal to the consumer willing to shell out cash to watch modern gladiators battle to submission on a bloodied canvas inside a steel cage.

But don’t confuse that with MMA’s appeal to young athletes.

There are plenty of young athletes drawn to MMA who simply want to be in top shape while enjoying one-on-one competition similar to what wrestling offers at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels.

“It’s just a sport to us,” said Angelo Trevino, a Rio Americano High graduate and current student and wrestler at Sierra College in Rocklin. “We don’t do MMA because we have anger issues or like to get into fights. We don’t want to be considered fighters, but rather mixed martial artists or sportsmen.”

Trevino and Joseph Morales, a recent graduate of Inderkum who will also wrestle at Sierra College in the upcoming school year, have been avid MMA sportsmen for years. Both athletes and their families, including parents and younger siblings, have embraced the sport and its physical and mental benefits.

“The life lessons that it teaches are great,” said Joseph’s mother, Deborah Morales. “The kids are taught about discipline, respect—on the mat, toward their training partner, and opponents—and safety. Of course, I do worry about injury, but the sport is very regulated for safety, especially for kids.”

Ironically, Morales was brought to MMA because of an injury he suffered on the football field.

Playing youth football, he suffered a fractured hand that turned his attention away from the gridiron to the mat. His father, An20

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thony, introduced his son to wrestling and the pair also watched some MMA training and competition at a local gym. Joseph immediately embraced the mano-a-mano aspect of wrestling and MMA, and left team sports behind.

“I like the independence of fighting and wrestling,” Morales said. “All of the pressure is on you and you have no one to blame but yourself if you do not win. Controlling the outcome is very appealing to me.”

Trevino took a similar path to wrestling and MMA, minus the injury as a catalyst. A solid all-around athlete as a youth, he tried nearly every team sport, including baseball, basketball and soccer, before focusing solely on individual competition on the wrestling mat. Trevino’s father had Angelo participating in wrestling tournaments as early as elementary school, and the pair bonded over any and every kind of one-on-one grappling or fighting competitions.

Both Trevino and Morales ended up at Urijah Faber’s Ultimate Fitness Gym in Midtown Sacramento, where they became fast friends as well as training partners and supporters.

For nearly six years, the pair have learned, trained, and fought out of Faber’s gym, drawing upon the knowledge and experience of a high-profile staff that includes the “California Kid” Urijah Faber himself and MMA professionals such as Dustin Akbari and Jeromy Freitag.

While the young pair has blossomed into successful amateur MMA competitors with legitimate opportunities for professional fighting careers, they both have placed a priority on education before pro fighting.

“I would love to go pro, but I really want to finish school first,” said Trevino, who recently won an amateur welterweight title in the main event of a local Titans Cage match.

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tart

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Joseph Morales, left, and Angelo Trevino spar during a recent workout.

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angelo Trevino

joseph Morales

“All of my idols in the sport went to school and got an education before going pro.”

Both Morales and Trevino have chosen the path of education and wrestling at Sierra College before hoping to transfer to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to earn degrees while continuing to wrestle collegiately and participate in MMA as amateurs. For both, the challenges of a professional MMA career can wait until the challenges of a college degree are overcome.

“I want to get to the top of MMA and winning a UFC belt would be the ultimate,” Morales said. “But my focus is on school first.”

As amateurs, MMA competitors can still use the sport to travel and see the world. Morales travelled to Hungary and Trevino to Serbia to compete in the Pancrase World Championships in March, and both have been offered opportunities to compete throughout California and the United States. Morales won all three divisions (MMA, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and submission grappling) while in Hungary, and Trevino found success in Serbia despite competing with a knee injury he suffered during his college wrestling season.

There is also an effort to add Pancrase or Pankration (a sport in the ancient Olympic games) to the Olympics in the future. The “hybrid wrestling” competition is scored on points and technique similar to Olympic judo scoring, and could expose more people to MMA worldwide.

Wrestling and MMA are complimentary in regard to training, staying in shape, and competition, but separating the two can become important when facing off with an opponent on the mat or in the cage.

While Jiu Jitsu dictates that fighters go to their backs to succeed, wrestling’s main goal is to avoid going to one’s back at all times.

Both Morales and Trevino admitted to brief lapses in wrestling where they have caught

themselves preparing to go to their backs in a defensive position, but neither has ever felt the urge or need to strike a blow while on the wrestling mat.

That discipline is what has kept the pair of young athletes on the right path, and both have worked hard to pass along their experience with discipline and self-control to younger athletes and students.

Morales developed an educational program for 3rd- and 4th-graders to satisfy a senior project requirement at Inderkum. He taught introductory techniques in wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu to the youngsters, while emphasizing discipline, respect, and safety. The program, in which Morales instructed multiple 45-minute classes, allowed him to pass along his skills to teach kids about self-defense, bullying, and self-control, while at the same time learning humility, by teaching youngsters.

Trevino’s primary followers are his four younger brothers, age 8 through 11, that look up to him as a role model—a title the 18-yearold takes very seriously.

“They look up to me, so I don’t want to lead them in the wrong direction,” Trevino said.

“They see me as someone who knows how to act right and how to conduct myself. I want to be a role model to them and for those who want to pursue MMA, so I can show them to be smart, finish school, and to be in control.”

So far, Morales and Trevino have shown growth as MMA competitors as well as role models in the community. Professional MMA fighting will have to wait while their development continues inside and outside of the cage.

“The greatest appeal to me about MMA is seeing myself grow as a fighter,” Trevino added. “It is great to win, but it is more satisfying to see progress in the ring and in my confidence and professionalism.” ✪

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OPEN UP

Following are the Northern California boys and girls teams qualified for the Open Division of their respective Junior Nationals tournaments.

BOYS - July 1-8 in dallas ■ 18U: Bay to Bay Black 18-1 (San Jose); Mountian View Red 18-1.

■ 17U: Bay to Bay Black 17-1; Diablo Valley Tool Shed 17U (Concord); Mountain View Red 17-1; Northern California Volleyball Club “NCVC” Black 17-1 (Rocklin); Renegades Black 17-1 (Dublin).

■ 16U: Bay to Bay Black 16-1; Mountain View Red 16-1; NCVC Black 16-1.

■ 15U: Bay to Bay Black 15-1.

■ 14U: Bay to Bay Black 14-1; Pacific Rim Volleyball Academy 14-1 (Pleasant Hill).

GIRLS - June 28-July 7 in Columbus, OHio ■ 18U: Vision Gold 18-1 (Los Gatos) ■ 17U: City Beach Black 17-1 (Fremont/Santa Clara); NCVC Black 17-1; Paye’s Black 16-1 (San Carlos); Vision Gold 17-1.

■ 16U: City Beach Black 16-1; Delta Valley 16-1 (Lodi); Vision Gold 16-1.

■ 15U: Five Starz 15-1 (Davis); Force 15-1 (Elk Grove/Sacramento); Paye’s Black 15-1.

■ 14U: City Beach Black 14-1; Paye’s Black 14-1; Vision Gold 14-1.

James K. Leash

NCVC 17-1 girls setter Taylor Nelson prepares to contend a kill attempt during a NCVC practice.

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serving

notice With three teams in the Open Division of Junior Nationals, the NorCal Volleyball Club is hoping to take the next step — medal

T

By jim mccue | Contributor

he Northern California Volleyball Club (NCVC) is trying to make its mark while gaining recognition beyond its local audience.

So why not do so on the largest of stages?

The club is sending nine teams to the USA Junior National Championships, including three teams in the Open Division (the highest level of competition for each age group at the Junior Nationals).

No Sacramento area team has ever won a gold medal in the Open Division, and a fifth-place finish by NCVC’s 18-1 boys’ team is the best result turned in by the club. This year, the boys and girls 17-1 squads and the boys’ 16-1 team earned spots among the nation’s top 32 teams in their age brackets. All three teams feature players that will be considered among the best in the Sac-Joaquin Section during the 2012-13 season.

“We often find ourselves trying to play catch-up with teams from Southern California,” Robert McNutt, NCVC Director and the Boys 17-1 coach said of the competition to qualify for Open Division bids, “but our kids are starting to get noticed more in Northern California and even nationally.”

NCVC’s best shot at an Open Division medal may be the Girls 17-1 team coached by Jason Borchin, which earned an automatic bid to the top division in Columbus, Ohio, for the Junior Nationals. Borchin, who is coaching girls for NCVC for the first time after previously coaching boys for the club, has benefited in his rookie season from a deep roster filled with solid, yet unspectacular players.

“We have no superstars on the team,” Borchin said. “There is no one that stands out above everyone else. We are successful because we are a good team and everyone buys into the system.”

That system is built on defense and consistency, and it has quietly raised the team to the elite level in the nation.

“We know that we are a good team, but other teams often overlook us,” said Maddie Cannon, a middle blocker, who will be a senior at Rio Americano in the fall. “Some of the big teams underestimate us and we surprise them with our game. We are not going to give up and will block, dig, and just keep playing until we win.”

Cannon has played a key role in the team’s rise to prominence. Despite playing inside and having a primary focus on defense and blocking, she is often first or second in hitting percentage at the end of the team’s matches. Setter Taylor Nelson of Granite Bay High relies heavily on Cannon when the team responds to opponents hitting with a quick transition attack.

“Maddie is a very athletic hitter and a smart attacker, so we like to give her the ball a lot on offense,” Borchin said of Cannon’s versatility. “She sets up the defense by reading hitters and blocking, or funneling the ball toward our libero, which helps us quickly transition to attacking.”

Nelson, who will only be a junior in the fall, has thrived among her older teammates and has assumed a quiet leadership role as the team’s quarterback. Borchin attributes her game knowledge and leadership ability to being a “volleyball junkie” who learned the trade from her mother. Vera Nelson captained the women’s volleyball team at

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Contributed (above), James K. Leash (right)

ABOVE: Griffin Galvin has been a key outside hitter for the Vista del Lago-Folsom boys team. However, he is the NCVC 17-1 boys primary setter. RIGHT: Despite being 5-foot-9, outside hitter Allie Wegener is among the 17-1 girls most potent weapons.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is in her sixth year of coaching the women’s volleyball team at Sierra College in Rocklin.

“She is like a second coach, giving feedback about what she sees on the floor in practice and games,” Borchin said of his floor leader. “I have grown to trust her and her teammates trust her on the floor.”

The Girls 17-1 leading hitter is Allie Wegener, who was fresh off a Section Division I championship title with St. Francis-Sacramento before rejoining her club teammates in the winter. Wegener epitomizes the team’s deceptive strength.

Standing just 5-foot-9, she is one of the team’s smaller attackers but has the biggest vertical leap on the squad and is usually noticed by the end of the team’s matches.

“We are not going to scare anyone in the hitting lines before a match,” Borchin said of his scrappy team’s lack of an intimidation factor. “We are efficient on offense and will keep the ball alive and make you play for every point.”

The Boys 17-1 squad is as dissimilar to their female counterparts as the boys’ and girls’ games often are. While girlsmatches see more rallies and longer points, the boys game relies more on the simple power formula of bump-set-spike.

Coach McNutt’s team, who earned an at-large bid to the Open Division in Dallas, has three players at 6-foot-5 or taller and relies on overpowering opponents.

“We are a big, physical team,” McNutt said. “We try to win by out-hitting and out-blocking our opponents at the net.”

Nevada Union teammates Trevor Bryant and Bobby Curtis are two of the team’s big men, and both play a big role in the physical offensive scheme. Bryant is a 6-foot-6 captain that can exploit defenses with precision setting and powerful kills if the opportunities present themselves to the offensive catalyst. Curtis plays on the right side at opposite hitter, and is the leading hitter for McNutt.

“He is our big gun,” McNutt said of Curtis. “We try to give him the ball as often as we can because he can pound the ball through or around blocks.”

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working on improving its consistency on defense and in the passing game to compete with the nation’s best clubs.

Griffin Galvin, an outside hitter for two-time SJS Division II champion Vista del Lago-Folsom, is at the heart of the team’s defense. Galvin has to quickly transition from offense to defense when the high school season ends in order to assume the role of the Boys 17-1 setter. Galvin and his teammates jump right into tournament play when the high school season ends, looking to qualify and prepare for the Junior Nationals in the summer.

McNutt recently took his squad to Anaheim for a high-profile tournament to assess the top teams in Southern California and work on fine tuning to face the stiff Junior Nationals competition those teams and powerhouses from Hawaii and Puerto Rico will provide.

The challenge in Dallas will be made more difficult by the loss of outside hitter David Parker. The Whitney-Rocklin standout, who was just a sophomore last year and plays up a level with NCVC, earned a spot on the U.S. Youth National Team that will be competing in Mexico at the same time his NCVC teammates will be in Dallas.

Despite the absence of Parker, the Boys 17-1 team remains confident that it can make some noise at Junior Nationals.

“We know that we need to be more consistent, but we think we can do well,” Curtis said of his team’s chances at Junior Nationals. “We can do good things, but we just need to play big in big games.”

The Girls 17-1 squad is equally secure in being capable of beating the best of the best.

“We definitely have medal in our mindset,” Borchin said.

“At the beginning of the year, our goal was to qualify in the Open Division. But, we know that we can compete and our attitude is one of ‘Why not us?’”

That attitude and resulting success from NCVC teams at Junior Nationals would definitely earn some recognition for volleyball in the region. ✪ Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com

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College scholarships built on hard work, not exposure

n this issue’s column I want to share a recent article I received from Mike Boyle, owner of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning. He is one of the top Strength and Conditioning Coaches in the world and someone who has had a big impact over my career on how I train and prepare my athletes. This article has a very important message for parents and athletes trying to improve their chances for a college scholarship. He has helped and continues to help hundreds of high school, college and professional athletes succeed in their respective sports. — T.R. ■ The Road to College Parents are being misled.

Yes, all the tournament and camp organizers are deliberately misleading you. Parents shell out thousands of dollars for exposure camps and exposure tournaments for their sons or daughters. The organizers tell you that attending a certain camp or playing in a certain tournament will improve your chances of getting a scholarship.

The bottom line is it’s not true. If your child attends four days of camp it will not change him or her. Neither will weekend tournaments.

Unfortunately, parents make a critical error at the wrong time. The most critical time in a young athlete’s career is the summer prior to his or her senior season. This is when a young player needs to train to prepare to have a great senior year. However, instead of preparation, parents choose exposure.

The result is usually the same. The athlete goes to 5-6 exposure camps to be seen by college coaches. Instead of training and preparation, the summer is about travel and exposure. The final result is that the athlete is not physically prepared for the senior year and ends up either getting injured or having a sub-par year. Coaches that might have had interest suddenly disappear. Sure things turn into maybes.

Suddenly all the time spent on exposure seems wasted as there is no product to expose.

The road to college sports should go right through a weight room.

I know this sounds old fashioned, but it’s true. If your goal is to play college sports, then, get ready to play. Don’t spend all summer trying to convince coaches how good you are.

Spend the summer trying to get better so coaches will notice you.

You can’t network your way into college sports, and even if you can, in these days of email etc., send a letter and a video.

In football it’s camps, in basketball and baseball it’s AAU, in hockey it’s tournaments. Every sport has entrepreneurs and organizers who swear they know the answer. The problem is they have a vested financial interest in you and your child. They need you to make money.

The reason we have had such great success is because we do it right. Our program is intentionally modeled on the programs that have helped high school, college and professional athletes succeed for decades. The programs are not flashy or sexy.

In fact they are difficult and demanding. However, they are designed around a successful formula, not a quick buck strategy. This summer you have a decision to make. You can try to show everyone how good you are in a few camps or tournaments, OR you can actually work at getting better and preparing for the seasons that really matter. ✪

Training Time Tim Rudd for IYCA

Tim Rudd is an International Youth Conditioning Association specialist in youth conditioning (level 3), speed and agility (level 2), and nutrition specialist (level 1). For more information on anything you read in Training Time, email him at tim@fit2thecore.com. For more articles from Mike Boyle and to learn more about him go to: www.bodyby boyle.com

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BEST OF THE SPRING BOYS COACH OF THE SPRING: Bryan Kilby, Franklin-Elk Grove Baseball — In his first year at the helm, Kilby led his young Wildcats to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I- North title and a 22-12 record. Franklin finished third in the powerhouse Delta Valley League before embarking on an improbable playoff run through the area’s top seeds to reach the Div. I finals.

GIRLS COACH OF THE SPRING: Mary Jo Truesdale, Sheldon-Elk Grove Softball — In perhaps her most impressive coaching campaign at the softball powerhouse, Truesdale rallied the Huskies to a second consecutive SJS Div. I championship after barely qualifying for the playoffs. Sheldon outscored its final five playoff opponents 70-6 to convincingly claim the section title.

BOYS RISING STAR: Derek Hill, Baseball, Elk Grove — The sophomore outfielder moved to California to join his father, a Northern California scout for the Dodgers, and made an impact on the already-powerful Thundering Herd. Hill batted .446 with 20 runs and 19 RBI to bolster an Elk Grove lineup that will return stars Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez next season.

All photos by James K. Leash

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GIRLS RISING STAR: Allie Walljasper, Softball, Sierra-Manteca — The sophomore pitcher has already committed to play at LSU after two more years of high school where she has compiled a 31-5 record with 439 strikeouts in 135 innings pitched during her first two years in the pitching circle. Walljasper led the Timberwolves to the Division IV championship as a freshman and the team finished as runners-up this year.

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r Yea e h of t e t e thl A ale m e 2F 201

h g u ld P e ie f j r i Deanior - Fa

g rin p S

S

At long last, Daje Pugh finished on top — and in a big way, on the biggest stage.

Despite four years of qualifying for the CIF State Track and Field Championships in both the 100 and 300 hurdles, Daje Pugh had never finished her high school track season the way she wanted to. But, in her final trip to Clovis to compete with California’s top hurdlers, the senior reversed her fortune with the best performances she’s ever delivered.

Pugh finished third in the 100 hurdles before shattering her personal best in the 300 hurdles with a record-setting victory. Her time of 40.57 was more than one second better than her previous PR (personal record) and was the fastest high school girls time in the nation this season. The mark also ranks in the top 10 best times ever run by an American in the event.

“This year, I was so focused on training hard to have a good season and get colleges interested,” she said. “As a freshman, I fell; I tripped in my sophomore year; and I was not in top shape as a junior. Going into the state meet, I wanted medals. I knew that I wanted the gold, but never knew that 40 (seconds) was possible.”

After she crossed the finish line and saw her time, Pugh let out a scream, knowing that all of her hard work had paid off. She sailed over the final hurdles ahead of rival Jordie Munford of Rancho Cucamonga and has been flying high ever since.

“Daje matured this year,” Fairfield track coach Dave Monk said. “She had a renewed commitment and dedication to work ethic. She worked like I had never seen her work before and that work culminated in near perfection at the state finals.”

Daje’s father, Lewis, ran the hurdles back in his day, but he concedes that he did not possess the talent that his daughter was blessed with. As a mentor and coach, Lewis has provided training and encouragement for nearly 12 years, so the culmination of Daje’s high school career may have brought as much satisfaction to him.

While father and daughter certainly envisioned a first-place finish in the season’s final event, the record-setting performance was an incredible feat after three relatively disappointing season-ending results.

“I thought that if I ran hard that maybe I could win,” Daje said, “but I never even thought that what I did was possible.”

— Jim McCue

THE PUGH FILES

■ THE STATS: Pugh won four consecutive SJS Division I titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles, including a section record-tying performance in the 100 this year (it was her own record). She qualified for the State Meet four years and finished in the top three in both events in 2012.

■ SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: After finishing third at state in the 100 hurdles with a section-record time of 13.69 seconds, Pugh recorded the top time in the nation this season (40.57 seconds) to claim the state title in the 300 hurdles.

■ FAVORITE ATHLETE: Sanya Richards-Ross, reigning 2012 World Indoor Champion (400 meters) and Olympic gold medalist (4x400 relay, 2004 and 2008).

■ THE NEXT LEVEL: After a dream senior season, Daje will run for the University of Washington next year. “They have a state-of-the-art indoor facility and I really saw myself having a better fit with the coaches and athletes there. I liked the atmosphere, and the coaches focus on each individual on the team.”

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HONORABLE MENTIONS Regan Porteous, Senior, St. Mary’sStockton The senior led the Rams to an SJS Division I championship and No. 2 national ranking with 36 goals and 21 assists (93 Contributed points) over the team’s 31 games.

The CSU Monterey-bound striker was especially effective down the stretch, posting 18 goals and six assists in her team’s final nine games. That included four goals in three playoff matches.

Alexis Cooper, Senior, SheldonElk Grove Cooper pitched 186 of a possible 190 innings and compiled a 19-7 record and 1.99 ERA for the Huskies, who won their second consecutive SJS Div. I championship. The Arizona State-bound pitcher struck out 192 batters and allowed just four earned runs in six playoff starts for Sheldon. She also batted .379 with four home runs and drove in a team-best 34 runs.

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Spring 2012 Male Athlete of the Year

Austin

Smotherman Senior Del Oro-Loomis HONORABLE MENTIONS

Austin Smotherman likes company, so it is no surprise that his senior season was his most successful and rewarding.

Watching his Del Oro team and the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top young golfers develop through his four years on the high school scene, Smotherman enjoyed his CIF Boys Golf Tournament individual championship with plenty of company from near and far in Northern California.

Smotherman shot a 4-under 67 at San Gabriel Country Club to win the state title while NorCal swept the top three team spots, led by Sierra Foothill League rival Granite Bay. “My whole high school experience has been awesome,” Smotherman said. “It was great to be getting better each year and seeing the team getting better, too. Northern California junior golfers showed that we have arrived this year.”

As a junior, Smotherman was the section’s lone representative at the CIF Tournament where he finished fourth with a 1-under 71 at Poppy Hills in Monterey. But the 2012 state convoy from the Sac Joaquin Section was packed with five individuals, the Granite Bay team, coaches, friends, and family members.

“It felt different at state this year,” Smotherman said. “I felt that we had a chance to go to state as a team and we were right there to the end before missing out. But it was great to have (Del Oro teammate) Dustin Rankin with me and a lot of other golfers I know from juniors and high school.”

The SMU-bound senior understood that the state tournament was his last chance to shine as a high school golfer — his final high school “major,” if you will — and that he would have to step up to cap off a memorable season.

Just over two weeks removed from setting an SJS Masters Tournament record 65 (7-under), he stepped up in a big way to edge Beau Hossler (the same Beau Hossler that made a

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splash at the recently-concluded U.S. Open) by one stroke.

Smotherman’s signature shot of the championship came on the penultimate hole when he stuck his approach shot to within about a foot of the hole to secure a birdie and claim the lead with one hole to play.

“I am comfortable leaving now with the relationships I developed with teammates, friends, competitors, and the entire school and community,” he said. “We did a lot of great things this year, and I was just glad to be a part of it.”

— Jim McCue

THE SMOTHERMAN FILES

■ THE STATS: Averaged 35.6 in Del Oro’s nine-hole dual matches and broke par in every postseason 18-hole tournament, including a Sac Joaquin Section Masters Tournament record 65 (-7). Smotherman won the SJS Masters individual championship and the individual state championship.

■ SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: Made five birdies and just one bogey to record a 4-under 67 at San Gabriel Country Club to claim the state individual title. On the second-to-last hole of his round, Smotherman landed a wedge from the fairway within two feet of the hole and tapped in for birdie to seal the championship.

■ FAVORITE PLAYER: Ernie Els. “I have always liked his demeanor on the golf course. He is relaxed, but can get excited and feed off the energy of the crowd when he needs to.”

■ THE NEXT LEVEL: Smotherman will headline a class of five incoming freshmen at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in the fall after a busy summer schedule which could include the Cal State Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, and the U.S. Amateur Championships.

Rowdy Tellez, Junior, Elk Grove The powerful first baseman set a school record with a .587 batting average and added six homers and 46 RBI during the regular season. The USC commit posted a 1.013 slugging percentage and .673 on-base percentage despite having opposing pitchers offer very few good pitches to hit.

He added depth at pitcher as well before suffering an elbow injury at the start of the postseason.

Joey Caffese, Junior, St. Mary’s-Stockton The right-hander compiled a 6-1 record and saved two games with a 1.01 ERA to lead the Rams to the SJS Division I baseball championship. Caffese recorded a pair of wins in the playoffs, including the victory over Franklin-Elk Grove in the first game of the final series. At the plate, he batted .322 with three home runs, 22 runs, and 22 RBI.

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A pointed look at the various types of common finger injuries

O

ur hands have more than 30 bones and major joints. So it’s no wonder our fingers are vulnerable to sprains and strains this time of year, during the heights of the baseball and softball seasons.

The force of a fall or a flying ball can easily bend and injure our fingertips. Some of the most common injuries include: ■ Fractures ■ Sprains ■ Dislocations ■ Mallet fingers

FINGER SPRAINS A sprain happens when you overstretch or tear a ligament — the tough tissue that holds our finger bones together. Ligaments are often completely torn with a dislocation of a finger joint.

While a sprained finger may feel better after several weeks, soreness often persists for six to nine months.

Health Watch Eric Stuffmann

MALLET FINGER Strains are damage to tendons, which connect muscles to bones. In the hand, the most common example of this is a mallet finger.

A mallet finger injury happens when we rupture an extensor tendon at its insertion into the last bone in the finger tip. In healthy fingers, the extensor tendon allows us to straighten the finger tip, but a mallet finger injury renders it impossible to straighten this joint. The majority of these injuries can be treated conservatively with a splint, but delay in treatment can compromise the ultimate result. So it is imperative to seek medical attention immediately.

FINGER FRACTURES Fractures of the small bones in our fingers should also be evaluated by a doctor immediately. The majority of fractures in the hand can be treated conservatively. However, some fractures require surgery.

In children, finger fractures present special issues. On the one hand, children are able to remodel their bones given the presence of growth plates. This means that a finger that is angulated or deformed can turn into a straight bone as the child grows. But if there’s any rotation at the fracture site, the bone will not remodel. Another special consideration with children is that it’s possible to injure the growth plates in fingers, which could result in abnormal growth of the digit.

With finger injuries in general and fractures in particular, stiffness in finger joints is common. Patients need to work hard to regain motion and flexibility.

A specialized hand therapist is frequently necessary to address stiff fingers.

WHAT YOU CAN DO Most finger injuries have similar symptoms: ■ Swelling ■ Pain ■ Limited motion Rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE) work well for minor sprains.

You should see your doctor if the pain and symptoms persist after one or two days. Sprains can be diagnosed by physical examination while fractures are diagnosed by X-ray.

See your doctor immediately if you think you have a fractured or dislocated finger. He or she will administer the appropriate treatment, which may include realigning the fracture, if necessary, or immobilizing the finger in a splint or a cast. In some cases, surgery may be required to realign and/or stabilize a fracture.

If not treated, finger injuries can sideline athletes of all ages for months. Stay in the game — see your doctor for early medical care. ✪ Eric Stuffmann, M.D., is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and hand surgeon affiliated with Eden Medical Center.

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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.

There’s a Storm a brewin’

The California Storm women’s pro soccer team is invading Tesoro Fields again on Aug. 11, and SSM will be there for every last minute of it. You know the drill: suit up with your cleats and shinpads and get schooled by some of the best female soccer players NorCal has to offer. When they’re through with you, they’ll take on one lucky girls soccer team. They may or may not come out of this alive (they will).

Eastbay

It may be summer break but don’t think you can galavant your way through the next 10 weeks without getting some work in. It’s time for waking up at 5 a.m., downing an egg smoothie and running the streets of downtown Philly. Cue the Rocky music! (If that reference is lost on you, ask your folks or, you know, google it). If you need new gear, it might be wise to browse www.eastbay.com. Eastbay has the latest deals on shoes, cleats, gloves and other gear. Don’t worry, there’ll still be time this summer for endless video games, TPing your ex-girlfriend’s house, and frequent trips to Cold Stone.

Splash & Dash

It’s time for the first annual Tri-Valley Splash & Dash brought to you by our friends at Tri-Valley Tri Club. If you’re between the ages of 7-15, show up at the Dolores Bengston Aquatic Center in Pleasanton on July 15 and get ready to rock ‘n’ roll. This swim/run event introduces kids to the wonderful world of triathlons. When you register you get a swim cap, finishers medal, event t-shirt, and goodies from sponsors. What are you waiting for??

Register at www.trivalleytriclub.com now!

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iPhone case

Are you getting sick of just having a boring ol’ iPhone? Join the rest of us! If you’re wishing there’s something you can do about it, wish no more! Go to www.exclusivephoneskins.com and choose from some of the most innovative, retro-y (it’s a word) phone covers known to mankind. Designs like DJ turntables, XBOX controller, Angry Birds, Hello Kitty (Awwww!!!!), cassette tape and Game Boy.

iPod armbands

Get one of these bad boys, strap your iPod in, and enjoy the ride… or marathon… or just enjoy. Go to www.exclusivephoneskins.com and get yours now.

Seriously, holding your iPod while running is so 2005 (or something).

Odwalla

Not only do they have tasty smoothie drinks, but their health bars are the bomb-diggity.

They’re also really good for you.

Choose from the protein bar (for working out) and the original (for everyday munching). You can find these at just about any grocery store, mini-mart or even De La Salle and their summer camps.

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You don’t know squat: Lift won’t help you if your technique is wrong Athletes use their legs in almost all sports. Also, every sport takes explosive power to create dominating speed and agility traits. The most important aspect to true power is overall strength.

So if you are an athlete who uses your legs and needs to build lower body strength, the squat — and its many variations — is a necessity to have in your training regimen to increase speed and agility. It’s like a muscle car. You can tune it up and have it running like dream, but at that point if you want to increase the speed you have to add some NOS. Your speed and agility training is the tune up, your strength is the NOS. The only major problem I see is that many people perform the lift so poorly they end up wasting the lift or even hurting themselves.

So here are some basic principals and a progression to help you get the most out of the squat.

First of all, every athlete needs great mobility and range of motion strength. In order to develop this you must focus on going through as full a range of motion as physically possible to create a long powerful movement. In this case you need a lower body power base that can slow you down and redirect you almost instantaneously, or give you long explosively powerful strides to accelerate like a Ferrari. The best way to gain initial mobility and flexibility is to do a movement screen to find out problematic movement patterns, and then infuse corrective exercises and stretches to fix those movement patterns.

Next, progressive load is key. It is much better to have less weight with a great movement range, than more weight with a minimal and horrible movement range.

It’s scary seeing athletes stack the bar with weight just to show off and kill their technique. So make sure to choose the CORRECT weight and not go too heavy.

Technique is king. In order for anything you do in the weight room to show up on the field or court you must utilize proper technique. This way when you are coached through sport-specific movements in practice or speed & agility training your body is CAPABLE of performing the movement effectively.

Powered by Trucks

Anthony Trucks

Simple Squat Coaching Principals 1) Feet shoulder width apart and toes slightly pointed out 2) Upper back tight with a firm solid grip on the bar 3) Eyes forward throughout lifting range 4) Start the lift by pushing the butt back and “sitting” 5) Keep heels flat on the ground at all times 5) Keep the torso upright and do not let your back lean forward 6) Get as deep as possible and make sure your hips break parallel 7) Press the knees out on the way up like you’re trying to spread the floor apart 8) Breathe out on the way up

Trucks Training Squat Progression 1) Body weight patterning: TEACH the squat before adding an external load 2) DB/KB Goblet wall Squat: Add a light weight while ingraining the proper squat pattern 3) Stick overhead & back squats: Before putting a weighted bar on an athlete we teach bar skills with a wooden stick or PVC pipe 4) BB back/front Squats: After the athlete has shown proper mastery they are ready for a weighted bar to perform the lift 5) Single leg squats: This variation helps athletes increase unilateral (single leg) strength, stability and balance, which is imperative, because rarely are both feet on the ground together at the same time. ✪ Anthony Trucks was a decorated football player for Antioch High and the University of Oregon before spending time on multiple NFL rosters. His Trucks Training facility has been operating since 2008. Powered By Trucks runs once a month in the magazine and will include additional content at SportStarsOnline.com. Send your weight training questions to Anthony at Contact@TrucksTraining.com.

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BASEBALL/SOFTBALL All American Sports Academy All American Sports Academy aims to train and educate all student athletes on the correct physical skills and mechanics needed to compete at all levels, as well as understand the proper practice habits and time management skills needed to improve their game.

The organization is holding camps at various locations through July 26. Info: (209) 833-2255, Email: dnelson@ allamericansportsacademy.net Blankenship Baseball We are a year-round competitive baseball program based in Danville. The Camp focuses on teamwork, hustle and sportsmanship. We also offer small group training as well as one-on-one training.

Info: lancerblankenship@ sbcglobal.net or 925-708-3173.

Cabernet Baseball Club The Livermore-based club hosts baseball and softball

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camps for players ages 8-14. Lil’ Baseball also offered for ages 3-7. 925416-1600, http://cabernet. thepitchingcenter.com.

East Bay Youth Sports Baseball is Fun Beginner Camp. July 25-Aug. 4, 9 a.m.noon, Mon.-Thur. at Tice Valley Park; Extended day/week available with Deluxe Sport Option. Ages 5-9. $35/$75.

Registration: 925-952-4450, www.walnutcreeksportsleague. com.

EJ Sports EJ Sports provides individual, group, team, coaching and manager clinics in many levels of baseball.

Among the numerous different services offered, the Spring Clinic, Summer Clinic and the Fall League for children of Little League age. Contact EJ Sports for a list of upcoming clinics. Info: 925-866-7199, www.ejsports.com.

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The Pitching Center In an effort to develop baseball players to their full potential, The Pitching Center has become the Total Player Center (TPC), a full-service baseball/ softball training academy. Ageand skill-specific programs available for students age 8-High School. Info: 925-4161600, www.thepitchingcenter. com.

BASKETBALL CalStars The Stars Basketball Academy (SBA) is pleased to announce our youth and high school summer camps.

The SBA is a fundamental based skills development camp for kids in 3rd gradeHigh School. We offer three youth (3rd-8th) sessions and two high school (9th-12th) sessions. Go to www.calstars. org for more info.

East Bay Youth Sports Basketball is Fun beginner camp. July 11-21, 9 a.m.-noon,

Mon.-Thur. at Tice Valley Park; extended day/week available with deluxe sport option. Ages 5-12. $35/$65 per week. Registration and info: 925-952-4450, www. walnutcreeksportsleague.com.

FastBreak Basketball Margaret Gartner, the highlydecorated girls basketball coach for Carondelet High in Concord, leads this girls basketball camp focused on fundamentals. Three week-long sessions remain: Session III, July 9-13, Grades 1-6; Session IV, July 16-20, Grades 6-10; Session V, July 23-27, Grades 4-10. Info: www.

FastBreakBball.com; or email Fastbreak_club@yahoo.com CHEER CheerGyms.com Six camps are offered through July: Coaches Camp, Freedom High School 2-day Cheer and Dance Camp, 2-Day Cheer Camps at ALL Cheergyms.com facilities, Jr. High/High School Cheer Camp-California Session 1,

Individual/Group Stunt Cheer Camp, Jr. High/High School Cheer Camp (Elite)-California Session 2. For more info: 925- 685-8176, 866-685-7615, info@cheergyms.com; www. cheergyms.com.

East Bay Sports Academy East Bay Sports Academy offers the best in gymnastics and cheerleading training. Our top of the line recreational and competitive programs earned us the exclusive “Best in the East Bay” award for Best Gymnastics Classes 2011.

All of our team camps are custom-built to complement your coaching needs and team goals. Info: 925-680-9999, www.EastBaySportsAcademy. com.

Sheldon Junior Huskies SJH Cheer Camp is put on by the Jr. Dragon Cheer Staff featuring members of the Sacramento

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Kings cheer squad. Camp dates are July 10-12 at T.R. Smedberg Middle School (8329 Kingsbridge Dr., Sacramento). Each session will run from 6-8 p.m.. Cost is $35 per camper. More info: Contact Korean Peoples/Cheer Coordinator 310-531-6569.

Xtreme Cheer Camps Xtreme is a competitive All-Star Cheerleading, Dance and Recreational Tumbling Gym in Antioch. All of our camp classes are fast-paced, fun and geared toward achieving your child’s goals. Info: 925565-5464; xtremetumble andcheergym@ yahoo.com ENRICHMENT Dianne Adair Programs Come join any of our eight Dianne Adair summer sites for our fun and exciting summer program. Each week campers will be able to choose from several camps, including sports, fashion, drama, CSI, science and so many more. In addition to our weekly camps, we offer weekly field trips and in-house entertainment. Field trips and camps vary by site. Please consult your site of choice for more details. Bring in this article and receive half off our $40 summer registration fee. Info: www.dianneadair.org.

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FITNESS Fit 2 The Core As a Youth Conditioning, Speed/Agility and Nutrition Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association, Fit-2-The-Core Training Systems offers an innovative approach to getting your young athletes back on the field of play post-rehabilitation (which gets your athletes to normal function). For F2C’s Back to Sports programs we offer training weekdays, with 2 days/week or 3 days/week program options. Sign up today for your two-week free pass at www. fasteryoungathletes.com, or call 925-6390907 for more information.

Walnut Creek Sports & Fitness Walnut Creek Sports & Fitness is offering a wide range of different sports fitness camps and classes in 2012. Here are three we’re featuring. Pilates for Sports — An ideal form of fitness for athletes to improve performance & prevent injuries. Hardcore Golf Fitness — A four-week golf-specific fitness camp is the ultimate physical conditioning program for golfers of any age who want to take their game to the next level. TRX Team Fitness —A cutting-edge six-week small group personal training program

is a team-sports inspired program for athletes of all levels who want results in a challenging, motivating environment.

For all info: Contact Bob Boos, Personal Training Director. Phone: (925)932-6400 or email: bob@wcsf.net FOOTBALL Football University From the creators of the U.S. Army AllAmerican Bowl comes a one-of-a-kind football training experience exclusively for the nation’s most elite youth and high school players. Born out of the appreciation that the most successful and skilled football players have mastered great technique, and that for many younger players this level of coaching is simply not available, the Football University (FBU) experience focuses on intense positionspecific technique training taught by our expert faculty of former and current NFL coaches who have a passion for sharing this experience with young athletes.

Sheldon Junior Huskies The Herb Berry Football Camp will take place from July 10-12 at T.R. Smedberg Middle School (8329 Kingsbridge Dr., Sacramento). Each session will run from 6-8 p.m.. Cost will be $65 per child. More info: Contact Reuben Peoples/

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President 916-613-5606.

GOLF The First Tee-Contra Costa The First Tee Summer Camp is a youth development Golf program for boys and girls ages 7-18.

Participants will learn about golf and the life skills and values inherent to the game. In addition to golf skills, rules and etiquette, participants are introduced to The First Tee Nine Core Values. Our Summer camps are four days a week, 4 hours/ day @ Diablo Creek Golf Course, Concord. We have several weeks and facilities from which to choose. Fee assistance available. Info: Angela Paradise, 925-6866262, Ext. 0, angela@ thefirstteecontracosta.org; www.thefirstteecontracosta. org.

The First Tee-Oakland The First Tee of Oakland participants receive a minimum of 12

hours of instruction over an eight-week period. Instruction is conducted at three City of Oakland affiliate golf courses.

Each of the golf courses donates their range, golf course and classroom use. We introduce the game of golf in a way that allows participants to progress with the mechanics required, and that teaches the values of the game, celebrates the fitness aspect of playing, and is offered at little or no cost. Info: 510-352-2002, info@thefirstteeoakland.org; www.thefirstteeoakland.org.

The First Tee-Silicon Valley The First Tee of Silicon Valley develops youth through the game of golf throughout Silicon Valley.

We impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices though the game of golf.

Seasonal classes are offered at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course (San Jose) and

Palo Alto Golf Course. We welcome participants ranging from second to twelfth grade. Scholarships are available upon request. www. thefirstteesanjose.org.

The First Tee-Tri-Valley We’re a youth development organization using golf and its etiquette to teach important life skills and core values. We offer seasonal The First Tee Life Skills Experience Classes and Summer Camps for youth ages 7-17, held at the Pleasanton Golf Center on the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

Once-a-week Summer Classes will be held Monday-Saturday beginning in June. Junior Golf Summer Camps will be held 8-10 a.m., Tuesday-Friday.

Upcoming camps begin on the following Tuesdays: July 9, July 16, July 23 & July 30. Info: Call our office, 925-462-7201; www.TheFirstTeeTriValley.org.

HORSEBACK RIDING

Earthquake Arabians Spring and summer camps are around the corner for

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Earthquake Arabians!

Registration is OPEN. Log on to www. earthquakearabians.com for more info. 925-360-7454.

LACROSSE Atherton/Vitality Lacrosse Join Atherton Lacrosse and learn the basics of the game in their spring, summer and fall camps.

Every camper receives a free t-shirt and access to the best high school, college and professional lacrosse coaches in the Bay Area in a setting with an extremely low coach to camper ratio. Every camper needs a lacrosse stick - we have partnered with Sling It! Lacrosse to bring the best value possible. Go to www.athertonlacrosse.com for more info. Sign up with Vitality Lacrosse to join one of their summer leagues in the Peninsula, Marin, East Bay, Petaluma and San Francisco.

We serve the entire Bay Area!

Info: www.vitalitylacrosse.com.

MARTIAL ARTS USKS Adult and children’s programs, kick box fitness, mixed martial arts.

Providing excellence in martial arts instruction and services for the entire family. 925-682-9517; www.usksmartialarts.com.

OUTDOOR/ADVENTURE Bear Valley Mountain Bring the entire family to mountain summer camps. This summer, Bear Valley has residential & day camps for soccer, archery, climbing & a variety of outdoor adventures including kayaking, tennis, cycling, hiking, camp fires & so much more. Bear Valley’s summer camps offer outdoor recreation programs for the whole family & is a great place to visit. Info: www.bearvalley. com.

Diablo Rock Gym We will be offering kids summer camps every week starting in late June and ending

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August 18.

Sign up for a week at a time or multiple weeks.

Ages 6-12; multiple kid and/or week discounts. Call for pricing, 925602-1000.

RUGBY Diablo Rugby Youth rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Based in Clayton, our club is dedicated to providing a positive rugby experience for boys at High School, Jr. High School and Youth levels. 925-381-5143, diabloyouthrugby@gmail. com; http://diabloyouthrugby. clubspaces.com.

SOCCER Diablo FC With a history that goes back two decades, the Diablo Futbol Club has proved to be the premier training ground for youth soccer players in the area. Headquartered in Concord, Diablo FC offers training to boys and girls from levels U6 to U23, and has premier, gold, silver and bronze level teams with players from throughout Contra Costa, Solano and Alameda counties. For complete info, call (925) 798-GOAL or visit www.diablofc.org.

Gino’s Soccer Academy Gino’s Soccer Academy is in its 14th season of running summer soccer camps. We are offering eight one-week programs this summer and have programs to challenge and enrich the game of every soccer player. Half- and full-day sessions available.

Ages 4-17. Info: www. ginossocceracademy.com.

Heritage Soccer Club In 2012, HSC not only offers membersonly summer soccer camps, but is also offering a separate soccer camp for girls on July 9-12 that will be open to the community. HSC will also conduct its second annual Harvest Cup Tournament in October. HSC is based in the Pleasant Hill/Martinez area and serves the surrounding community. Info: www.

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heritagesc.com.

Walnut Creek Soccer Club The Walnut Creek Soccer Club uses all the resources available to provide the proper coaching and playing environment for all members.

Our goal is for every member of our club to learn and grow as a soccer player and person.

We will promote a positive learning environment for our players and families as we work to provide the highest level of coaching and coach’s education. Info: wcsc_info@ wcsc.org; www.wcsc.org.

West Contra Costa Youth Soccer League Our program caters to competitive youth players ages 8-9 regardless of race, creed, gender or religion. The main focus of our program is not on winning, but on the development of the total soccer player within the framework of a team. We also offer specialized training for strikers and goalkeepers.

We desire to promote personal responsibility, fitness, sportsmanship and teamwork.

510-758-5288, http://wccysl. com.

SWIMMING-DIVING Sherman Swim School Our year-round schedule allows children and adults to learn, retain and improve their swim skills with little interruption. Lessons are usually offered in sessions of 3-4 weeks. (During the slower months of Fall, Winter and Spring, schedules can be more flexible, such as M-W, W-F, or only one day/week.)

We teach from age 9-months to adults, from non-swimmers to competitive levels. Since our lessons are private, they are tailored to each student’s age, ability and readiness.

We also offer beginning and competitive diving classes.

Beginning sessions typically have three students and are 30 minutes long. Classes are taught in three-week sessions.

Info: 925-283-2100, www.

ShermanSwim.com.

Walnut Creek Swim Club Summer practice sessions will be offered 7:30-10 a.m. daily beginning

in June @ Las Lomas High School. Info: www.walnutcreek swimclub.org.

TENNIS ClubSport Valley Vista ClubSport Valley Vista has successfully been hosting summer tennis camps in Walnut Creek for 33 years, with expert instruction. Tennis pro Dale Miller and his team of seasoned professionals will teach your children the fundamentals of tennis or help them improve their skills for recreation or competition.

Camps are designed to touch on every major aspect of the game. Players will be grouped according to level of play and age. ClubSport Valley Vista members receive discounted rates. Info: 925-934-4050.

VOLLEYBALL Pacific Rim Volleyball Through private lessons, and the opportunity for year-round skills classes, athletes of any age or level can learn and improve the skills needed to gain a competitive edge. Our advanced training, for junior levels (12th grade & below), will provide athletes the opportunity to excel at becoming elite players in preparation for high school and/or collegiate volleyball.

Info: www.pacificrimvolleyball. com.

U.S. Youth Volleyball League The USYVL is the leader in developing and maintaining youth volleyball leagues for boys and girls ages 7-15.

USYVL summer camps are typically three days, with each day meeting for three hours. Camps are for beginner, intermediate and advanced players, and players will be grouped accordingly, based on age and playing experience. Info: 888-9887985, www.USYVL.org.

Velocity Core Volleyball Club The Girls Volleyball Summer league is open to youth in 5th-8th grades. Highly trained and experienced staff will teach the fundamentals using philosophies from Gold Medal Squared and USA Volleyball.

Teams will train twice weekly

during this six week program with one Saturday tournament.

The registration fee includes a t-shirt for each participant.

Lead instructor: Jack Cowden, Foothill College and USA Volleyball High Performance coach. Dates are Tues/Thurs from July 9-Aug. 15, 2012.

Cost is $200.00 WRESTLING Community Youth Center The CYC wrestling program offers young athletes the opportunity to participate and excel in one of the world’s oldest sports. The program trains and challenges wrestlers at all age groups from kindergarten through high school, and all experience levels from beginner to champion. The program is nationally recognized under the guidance of Head Coach Mark Halvorson. Info: 925671-7070, Ext. 229, www. communityyouthcenter.com.

The Creighton School of Wrestling CSW was established to provide a successful youth wrestling program in the Palo Alto/Mid-Peninsula area that serves youth of all ages. Info: 650-219-6383; creightonschoolofwrestling@ yahoo.com.

MULTI-SPORT Velocity Sports Camps Our Spring Break Sports Specific Summer Camps provide campers with a funpacked, enjoyable environment where they can increase their athleticism and develop a wider range of skills.

Velocity Sports Performance is looking for boys and girls ages 8-14 who are dedicated to making themselves better as athletes. Our Team Training programs are designed to deliver a challenging workout that is organized, educational, progressive and customized for entire sport teams. Info: 925-833-0100, velocitydublin. com.

Cal Camps Camps are offered in a variety of sports for girls and boys ages 5-19, with weeklong, half-day,

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full-day and overnight options.

Most camps will take place on campus in Berkeley from June through August. Camps include the following sports: Baseball, Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Rowing/Crew, Field Hockey, Football, Boys and Girls Golf, Girls Gymnastics, Rugby, Boys and Girls Soccer, Softball, Boys and Girls Swimming, Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Volleyball and Girls Water Polo. Information: CalBears.com/camps. Or email calcamps@berkeley.edu.

Saint Mary’s College Camps We offer boys and girls overnight, day, team and specialty athletic camps. We have camps available for ages 4-18. Dates are posted and registration is open. Our various camp offerings include: Multi-sport, baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball, golf, rugby, girls lacrosse, strength and conditioning, boys soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. Info: Click “summer camps” at www.smcgaels.com

for detailed information and to register online. More info: smccamps@stmarys-ca.edu, 925-631-4FUN (4386).

City of Walnut Creek We offer 9-13 year-olds a fully-staffed and supervised recreational athletic camp.

The program consists of eight weeks of sessions with your choice of two different sports for each of the sessions, with a ninth week session offering bowling. Our camp is specifically designed to teach and develop training skills, basic individual skills, sportsmanship, team strategies and concepts as well as building confidence and self discipline. Sports to choose from include: Tennis, Baseball, Multi-sport, Flag Football, Soccer, Lacrosse, Basketball, Golf, Volleyball and Bowling. Camp offerings run through August 17th. Info: www.walnutcreekrec.org or call 925-943-5858.

William Jessup University camps William Jessup University in Rocklin is hosting various summer sports camps in the coming weeks. Nike Basketball Camp, led by coach Aaron

Muhic, runs from July 1619. Open to boys and girls ages 8-18, this overnight camp promises to “provide quality individual instruction to young people and ultimately improve their basketball skills” according to Coach Muhic. Also July 16-19, the Competition and Junior Skills Camp will be held. Call coach Muhic at 916-577-2362 for more info. Girls Soccer Camp will also be held on from July 16-19. Directed by coach Jamie Howard, camp will focus on Team Development/Tactics, 1 vs 1 Attacking/Defending, and more. Email jhoward@ jessup.edu for more info. Girls volleyball camp led by coach Terry Stafford is on July 23-26 for girls 12-18. High-quality staff with player-staff ratio of 8:1 to ensure quality teaching of camp skill and training techniques. Setters Camp (Boys/Girls) will be held from July 27-28. Contact Coach Stafford 916-834-9801.

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Advertiser Index

❒❒ All World Sports..............................................................................................48 ❒❒ Army National Guard Recruiter..........................................................................4 ❒❒ Bald Eagle Sports Camps.................................................................................41 ❒❒ Big 5 Sporting Goods........................................................................................5 ❒❒ Big O Tires.........................................................................................................2 ❒❒ Cal Athletic Camps..........................................................................................44 ❒❒ Championship Athletic Fundraising................................................................36 ❒❒ Cheergyms.Com..............................................................................................26 ❒❒ Children’s Hospital And Research Center..........................................................18 ❒❒ City Beach Sports Club....................................................................................27 ❒❒ Club Sport Renaissance...................................................................................16 ❒❒ Concord Youth Football & Cheerleading..........................................................40 ❒❒ Core Volleyball Club.........................................................................................40 ❒❒ Crowne Plaza..................................................................................................45 ❒❒ Diablo Car Wash & Detail Center......................................................................44 ❒❒ Diablo Rock Gym.............................................................................................36 ❒❒ Diablo Trophies & Awards................................................................................36 ❒❒ Dream Courts U S A.........................................................................................47 ❒❒ E J Sports Elite Baseball Services.....................................................................38 ❒❒ East Bay Pit Bulls.............................................................................................29 ❒❒ East Bay Sports Academy................................................................................22 ❒❒ East Bay Summer Camps 2012........................................................................37 ❒❒ Eden Medical Center..................................................................................21, 45 ❒❒ Epic Indoor Skatepark.....................................................................................38 ❒❒ Excellence In Sport Performance.....................................................................40 ❒❒ Fit 2 The Core...................................................................................................39 ❒❒ Franklin Canyon Golf Course............................................................................38 ❒❒ Halo Headband...............................................................................................45 ❒❒ Home Team Sports Photography.....................................................................43 ❒❒ Hyatt Place Sacramento / Roseville.................................................................34 ❒❒ Image Imprint.................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Kinders B B Q.....................................................................................................3 ❒❒ Law Offices Of Frankel & Goldware..................................................................44 ❒❒ Mountain Mike’s Pizza.....................................................................................17 ❒❒ Norcal Courts...................................................................................................12 ❒❒ Oakley Raiders................................................................................................38 ❒❒ Passthaball......................................................................................................44 ❒❒ Pleasant Hill Youth Football Rebels.................................................................41 ❒❒ Red Zone Training............................................................................................45 ❒❒ Renegades Volleyball Club.................................................................. 39, 40, 41 ❒❒ Rocco’s Pizza..............................................................................................28, 36 ❒❒ Rockin Jump................................................................................................9, 39 ❒❒ Saint Mary’s Athletic Summer Camps........................................................28, 44 ❒❒ Sheldon Jr. Huskies Youth Football & Cheer.....................................................38 ❒❒ Simply Selling Shirts.......................................................................................36 ❒❒ Sky High Sports...............................................................................................36 ❒❒ Skywest Golf Course........................................................................................45 ❒❒ Sports Stars Magazine.....................................................................................42 ❒❒ Stevens Creek Toyota.........................................................................................7 ❒❒ Taking The World By Storm Soccer...................................................................19 ❒❒ Tesoro Golden Eagle Refinery..........................................................................23 ❒❒ The First Tee Of Contra Costa................................................................ 40, 42, 44 ❒❒ The First Tee Of The Tri Valley...........................................................................44 ❒❒ Tpc / The Pitching Center.................................................................................34 ❒❒ U S K S Martial Arts.........................................................................................44 ❒❒ United States Youth Volleyball League............................................................44 ❒❒ Valley Christian Vikings...................................................................................45 ❒❒ Velocity Sports Performance................................................................. 8, 36, 41 ❒❒ Walnut Creek Soccer Club..........................................................................39, 41 ❒❒ Xtreme Tumble And Cheer Gym.......................................................................39

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Dominic Foscalina of the East Bay SportStars keeps his eyes on the ball as he attempts to make a play near second base during the Northern California National Team Identification Series event at Big League Dreams Ballpark in Manteca on June 13.

Photo by Butch Noble

Want to submit your pic for Photo Finish? Send it to us at editor@SportStarsOnline.com. Photos must be 300 dpi and at least 10 inches wide in the jpeg format.

Please identify every person in the photo and include your contact information.

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