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Sports
Valley Christian basketball setting sights on gold ball
BY ZACH ALVIRA
Sports Editor
Greg Haagsma had to rebuild the entire boys’ basketball roster at Valley Christian heading into the 2021-22 season.
The head basketball coach and school athletic director graduated 10 of the 12 players on a team that lost just one game all year. But that lone loss came during the playoffs, cutting short the Trojans’ bid for a 3A state title.
Haagsma welcomed in a number of new players to the varsity level – four of which are freshman that see a considerable amount of playing time and have made a dramatic impact. He also welcomed in transfers Caleb and Luke Shaw from PHH Prep and Jaylen Lee from Canada.
The result: Valley Christian is now one of the top teams in the state, let alone the 3A Conference.
“We’re a little more athletic at the top this year,” Haagsma said. “We’ve had teams that were just as skilled. But when you combine all the different aspects of what makes a basketball team good, I would say this team probably has it in the athleticism category. That’s what makes them different from some of the teams in the past.”
Valley Christian took the summer circuit by storm, competing at a high level at Section 7, the massive multi-state tournament that returned this past year after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Trojans faced a variety of out-of-state teams at State Farm Stadium and neighboring Kellis High School in Glendale for the tournament.
They later went on to play in more contests outside of Arizona in the fall to prepare for the winter Arizona Interscholastic Association season.
Haagsma believes playing in multiple tournaments helped his team mature and build chemistry. Afterall, only one player from last year’s roster remained. Only one player – senior Austyn Gerard – was at the school when Valley Christian won its most recent boys’ basketball championship in 2019.
“We had a lot of growth to do,” Haagsma said. “We aren’t a school that practices every day in the summer. We had so many new pieces that had to get to know each other a little bit.
From left: Valley Christian sophomore Luke Shaw, senior Caleb Shaw and junior Jaylen Lee have been leaders for head coach Greg Haagsma’s program this season as they prepare to enter the playoffs as one of the top teams in 3A and the state. (Dave Minton/Staff) “For us, sharing the basketball, sharing the load I think is important, The other thing is capitalizing on how good we can be defensively. We’ve had the tendency at times to lapse defensively. You combine those things, we have an opportunity to do some damage at state.”
– Greg Haagsma
See VALLEY on page 34
Chandler teen among those honored Super Bowl week
BY ZACH ALVIRA
Sports Editor
Diego Foster was admittedly shocked when he was told he would be one of just 10 Hispanic student-athletes honored in Los Angeles during Super Bowl week.
He had applied on a longshot, knowing that his chances of being picked out of the more than 30,000 applicants would be slim. But he remained hopeful.
The Chandler native and senior at Tempe Prep spent the last week in Los Angeles, home to Super Bowl LVI. On Tuesday, Feb. 8, he was a part of a ceremony where one student-athlete was named a national recipient of the annual Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards.
“It feels amazing. When I found out I was a finalist in the first place, I was like, ‘Oh, wow,’” Foster said. “I worked really hard on the essays because I knew that was how they would really see me as a person. Finding out about it was so shocking. Even then, when I realized I was a finalist and found out about the Super Bowl experience, I was in disbelief.
“I knew working hard in high school and even before that would bring me good things.”
Foster first heard of the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards last year as a junior in high school from one of his friends. Every year different categories of students have the opportunity to receive the award.
A guidance counselor at Tempe Prep walked him through the process. He didn’t hesitate to get going.
A quarterback on the football team and Monmouth College commit in baseball, Foster applied under the Sports &
Fitness category, which is hosted by the NFL this year. He went through a rigorous application process, which includes a resume showcasing his 4.3 weighted GPA. He also had to answer five essay questions.
After a few months, he received the call. It was a special moment for the senior, who had the opportunity to bring a guest. He chose his grandfather, Kevin
English, who he said has made a dramatic impact on his life both on the field and in the classroom.
“The most exciting part is I get to spend the time with my guest, my grandpa,” Foster said. “It was a no brainer who I picked as my guest. He’s kind of the guy who taught me how to play baseball, taught me how to play football and basketball, all the stuff I’m interested in now.”
The Youth Awards were founded in 1998 by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation to honor Latino seniors in high school who excel in the classroom and community. The first-of-its kind ceremony is expected to draw several Hispanic athletes and celebrities, with the national winner rewarded grants to help fund or support an idea or project in the health and fitness space.
Foster said before the event he planned to use the award toward his education at Monmouth if he won. Before heading to Los Angeles, he was on the school’s campus in Illinois applying and interviewing for another prestigious scholarship offered by the school that would cover his tuition.
Along with playing baseball, Foster plans to major in kinesiology.
He said he was eager to meet the other finalist for the award who have similar interests. Some of them came as far as New York, Florida and Hawaii for the event.
“That’s one of the coolest things about this opportunity is I’ll get to meet people who are as interested in this kind of stuff as me,” Foster said. “I’m very overjoyed to have that connection with those people.”
Chandler native and Tempe Prep senior Diego Foster was among the 10 applicants chosen as finalist for the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards in the Sports & Fitness category. Foster flew to Los Angeles and took part in the ceremony, which was held Tuesday, Feb. 8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center as part of the Super Bowl Experience.
Seton girls eye threepeat under legendary coach
BY GABRIELLE DUCHARME
Cronkite News
Always apply full-court pressure. Always force opposing players to their left when they have the ball.
In theory, those simple building blocks explain how Seton Catholic women’s basketball coach Karen Self has built her program and keeps her teams on top.
Under Self, Seton Catholic has won 12 state titles, including the last two 4A championships, and has appeared in 17 championship games.
“Play defense,” Self said. “We have made a name for our program by playing outstanding team defense.”
Self’s players practice two hours a day, six days a week. They travel across the country, from New York to sunny California, to chase the best competition the nation has to offer. Late-night film sessions are followed by 6 a.m. weightlifting.
“Everybody’s gunning for you when you’ve won state the last two years, and 12 overall,” Self said. “Everybody’s always gunning for us.”
Coaches like Self don’t become legendary without maintaining high expectations.
That was evident midway through the third quarter of a recent game against St. Mary’s. The Sentinels were headed for another victory but Self called a timeout, visibly frustrated after one of her young forwards committed a foul.
“Play defense!” Self shouted. “Stop letting people drive by you so you can block their shot. That is horrible defense!”
Seton’s defense strangled the Knights after that timeout and Seton went on to win 53-33, outscoring St. Mary’s 25-14 in the second half. Senior captain Sasha Daniel led the way with 21 points.
Teams haven’t always been gunning for Seton, which was the Valley’s smallest Catholic school before a fire destroyed most of its old campus near downtown Chandler in the 1980s. Self arrived at Seton’s new campus near Ray Road and Dobson in 1992 as a 22-yearold, a year removed from playing basketball for Arizona State.
“My first season, we went 12-14 and I thought ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ Self said. “I was so afraid to tell them that I didn’t want to come back. It got to be a couple weeks before the season. My husband and I talked about it, and we’re like, ‘Well, I can’t really tell them now.’”
In year two, her system “clicked,” Self said. The Sentinels won their first state title in her fifth season. Seton has been clicking ever since, and Self is in her 30th season.
“It’s unbelievable to look back and think how quickly this has gone, how many people who have touched my life,” Self said. “And just being a part of, you know, going to this wedding or going to this baby shower (over the years).”
This year’s team is young, with four freshmen, one sophomore and just two seniors. As always, Self relies heavily on her team captains – Daniel and junior guard Amelie Cartagena – to lead the young players and ingrain Seton’s teamfirst culture.
Daniel and Cartagena grew up in the program, winning a state title in 2020 a week before the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold. They won again while playing under strict COVID-19 protocols in 2021. Then, they were appointed captains of one of the youngest teams in program history and tasked with handling the pressure that comes with pursuit of a three-peat.
“It’s pretty intense,” Daniel said.
“There’s never a day where we just kind of slack off. Every day has meaning.”
Daniel never stops competing because she’s on a mission to maintain the program’s level of excellence.
“When you look at the wall and see all the championships from girls basketball, you see that’s a big legacy to live up to,” Daniel said. “At school, people expect (us) to win all the time. You live up to this really big legacy.”
It’s been a tough season for Cartagena. During a practice in early November, the two-time state champion started feeling her throat close up. She was diagnosed with an allergic reaction. But to this day, doctors don’t know what caused it.
Then two weeks later, Seton traveled to San Diego for a tournament. Four minutes into their first game, Cartagena stepped on a player’s foot, causing a painful sprain. She was sidelined again.
During the St. Mary’s game, Cartagena sat next to Self and assistant coach Kayla Refner, cheering on her teammates.
“I wouldn’t expect anything else from her,” Self said. “She’s a very intense player. She’s very smart and has a very high basketball IQ.”
As a former player for Seton Catholic and Self, Refner has mentored Cartagena the same way she has supported many Seton players through the years.
“I really tried to focus on individuals
a lot,” Refner said. “So Karen has a big picture in mind and can see that very, very well. And she can see that for other teams.”
Daniel takes a place among the best in Seton history.
“Sasha is gonna be stellar every night, that’s just what she does,” Self said.
Self impacts her players far beyond the court, and she is well aware of the role she can play in their lives beyond their hoop dreams.
“When we are surrounded by strong women who can help these kids develop and follow their dreams, it normalizes something that wasn’t normal for me as a child,” Self said.
An economics and math teacher at Seton Catholic, Self is a mother of four children, including triplets and a child born 21 months before the triplets.
When she was pregnant with her triplets, doctors told Self to go on bed rest over Thanksgiving. But it was the beginning of the basketball season, so hopeful that she could continue coaching, she pushed back.
Naturally, she was persuasive and convinced the doctor to let her coach under strict guidelines. Self used a wheelchair and was hooked up to a terbutaline pump to ease her breathing and help prevent early on-set labor.
She coached all the way up to the state semifinals.
Her children were born just four days after the semifinals. She was unable to attend the state championship game, and the Sentinels lost.
All she could think about was not being present for her team’s heart-wrenching loss.
After that season ended, there was still the matter of Self and her husband raising four children all born within 21 months. So she hired what she calls a “basketball nanny” to help navigate the “baby chaos.”
“I would take a portion of my basketball pay and pay them to be there on every game day,” Self said.
Now, Self mentors younger female coaches. She advises many to also invest in a “basketball nanny,” and regularly consults with ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne, who raised three sons while coaching.
Beyond state titles, national tournaments and college scholarships, Self’s program is preparing players for the next chapter in their lives – whether it involves basketball or not.
Self hopes the sport helps her players envision the path to greater accomplishments.
“It just changes the way kids see those possibilities in the future that’s available to them,” she said.
Seton Catholic coach Karen Self has won 12 state championships and is hoping for a 13th in her 30th season. (Courtesy of Seton Catholic)
VALLEY from page 32
That didn’t happen until we were into November and maybe even December a little bit.
“We’re really learning how good we can be defensively right now. It’s taken awhile for all parts to gel at the same time.”
The Shaw brothers have been among key editions to the Trojan roster this season. Caleb, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, is averaging 25.5 points per game along with 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
It’s one of the best stat lines in the state and will likely continue to improve with the outings Caleb has had as of late. On Feb. 4 against Eastmark, Caleb scored 53 points.
Luke Shaw, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, is second on the team in scoring with 13 points per game. He is still coming into his own as a player but admires the opportunity to play alongside his older brother on a team poised to make a run at the title.
“Growing up with him, I know how he plays,” Luke said. “But to have the chance to play with him on a serious level, it’s really awesome. He’s a great player. The passes he makes, the plays he makes, I love playing with him and he’s a great leader.”
Basketball runs in the Shaw family.
Casey Shaw, the boys’ father, is an assistant coach at nearby Grand Canyon University. He was hired two seasons ago from Vanderbilt to coach under GCU head coach Bryce Drew, his brother-in-law and Caleb and Luke’s uncle.
Scott Drew, head coach of 2021 national champion Baylor, is Caleb and Luke’s other uncle. Their mother Dana is in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Their grandfather is Homer Drew, who coached Washington State, LSU and Valparaiso, among others. He currently ranks sixth all-time among Division I college coaches with 640 career wins.
Now, Caleb and Luke are trying to make names for themselves at Valley Christian this season.
“It’s fun being able to play together,” Caleb said. “I did it with my older brother, Isaiah, too. We set out at the beginning of the year to win a state title. That’s all we care about.”
But they admit they can’t do it alone.
Moving from Canada coronavirus lockdowns that kept him away from the court, Lee found a home at Valley Christian. And the Trojans found a 6-foot-5 junior who can do just about anything on the court.
He currently averages 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds, most of which on the defensive end, per game for the 21-3 Trojans. Lee has been key all season long helping the team secure wins against competition in higher conferences and keep games against the likes of 6A Centennial and Shadow Hills (Calif.) close.
“I just do as much as I can to help the team,” Lee said. “We all love the game and put our time into it. We all have the same goal and want to do what it takes to reach that.”
Valley Christian wrapped up the season Friday against Arizona College Prep. The Trojans had the opportunity to clinch the 3A Metro Region for the second straight season in their last two outings.
And with the top seed as of the final week of the season in the 3A Conference, they have secured at least two home playoff games.
Now, they hope the momentum they’ve had all season carries forward into the postseason. Haagsma believes that is possible if they stick to two basic fundamentals of the game.
“For us, sharing the basketball, sharing the load I think is important,” Haagsma said. “The other thing is capitalizing on how good we can be defensively. We’ve had the tendency at times to lapse defensively. You combine those things, we have an opportunity to do some damage at state.”
Caleb Shawk, a transfer from Phoenix Prep, has played lights out for the Trojans averaging 25.5 points per game and has gone off at times for 53 points against the likes of Eastmark.
(Dave Minton/Staff)
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