February 11, 2005

Evergreen Sports

Santa Clara Midget A1 team hooks Silver Stick Championship in Dallas

By Hal Nunn
Special to the Times

The Santa Clara Valley Blackhawks Midget A1 hockey team

Evergreen area hockey players Kyle Nunn (17), Aaron Hernandez (18) and Sean Scarbrough (18) helped the Santa Clara Valley Blackhawks Midget A1 hockey team defend its Midget A Silver Stick title in Dallas over the holidays. With just nine skaters and two goalies, the team erased all early concerns of canceling the trip when they returned home with a victory.

Blackhawks vs. Penguins A1
In their first game, the Blackhawks faced the same Dallas Penguins A1 team from last year’s semifinals.

The strong team outplayed the Blackhawks, outshooting them 36 to 21. But the Blackhawks’ goalie Willie Matthews was very hot in net and kept the score close.

In the third, the Blackhawks were down 3-1 and somehow summoned up enough energy for a comeback, which set the tone for the entire tournament. With about 11 minutes left, Patrick Castagna cut into the zone and gave Kyle Nunn an excellent drop pass as he drove the defense deep.

Kyle rifled a wicked wrister into the top right hand corner and the Blackhawks were on their way. With about six minutes to go, Patrick deflected in a point shot from Derek Fredericks to tie the score.

Late in the game, Patrick spotted Phillip Wong breaking loose at center ice and hit him with a long pass to send him on a breakaway, which he converted for the win with 24 seconds left. That was a huge confidence builder for the team, knowing that they could come back against the best team in the tournament, even when they were shorthanded.

Blackhawks vs. Penguins A2
It was the opposite story later that day when the Blackhawks faced the Dallas Penguins A2 team. The Blackhawks outplayed and out chanced them, but their goalie played very well. Road legs set in third period and again the Blackhawks went down 3 – 1.

Just as the Blackhawks started their comeback and Patrick converted a wrister with three minutes left off a great pass from Kevin O’Brien, one of the defensemen took a five-minute penalty for a check from behind.

All hopes of another dramatic comeback faded, and the team fell 3 – 2. Worse yet, the defenseman was suspended for the next game, leaving the Blackhawks with only eight skaters. Devon Luna posted a solid effort in net, stopping 20 Penguins shots. Patrick got both goals in this game, with assists from Kevin and Kyle.

Day two
Playing with only five forwards and three defensemen, the Blackhawks gutted out a tough 3 – 1 victory against the San Antonio Rampage. The Blackhawks did tire in the third as expected, but again Willie was there in goal to preserve the win.

The next game on the second day wasn’t even close as the Blackhawks overwhelmed the Dallas Titans 7-0, out shooting them 41 to 14. Patrick again set the tone with four goals while Eric, Kyle and Phillip added the others. Derek, Dustin Holt, Billy, Kyle, Chase Brevoort, Kevin, Patrick and Eric garnered the assists. Devon Luna’s outstanding performance in net earned the shutout.

The highlight of the game was scoring three goals on the same shift in a span of 27 seconds in the third period. With this win, the Blackhawks were seeded second to the Penguins A2 team for the championship round.

Semifinal game rematch
The semifinal game, a rematch against the Penguins A1 team, was an incredible hockey game. In front of a huge crowd of Penguin home supporters, only 19 seconds into the contest, Kyle swooped in to pick up a rebound of Billy and Patrick’s close-in shots and fired a wrister for the 1-0 lead.

The Penguins battled back hard and scored shorthanded to tie the score. The Blackhawks again took the lead when Patrick split two defenders and deposited a backhander on great feeds from Derek and Chase. The period ended 2 – 1. In the second period, Dallas scored after a turnover to tie the score.

The fireworks really started in the third period as the penalties suddenly started going the Penguins’ way. With excellent man advantage skills, they converted on a rebound to take the lead for the first time only 30 seconds in.

The ref seemed to be favoring the home team as the period wore on, whistling three of the first four penalties in the period on the Blackhawks. Willie, in the meantime, was rejecting shot after shot to keep the Blackhawks in the game.

Just when it looked the darkest for Blackhawks, the unthinkable happened. With only four minutes left in the game, one of the Penguins’ defensemen grabbed the puck during a frantic struggle in front of their net and threw it into the corner.

The ref called for a penalty shot from any one of the Blackhawks players, and Patrick executed one of the best penalty shots ever as he first faked a wrister to freeze the goalie and then went upstairs on his backhand to tie the score at 3 – 3.

Just 30 seconds later, Patrick won a face-off cleanly at the left circle over to Kyle and he one-timed a snapper in the upper right hand corner to give the Blackhawks the lead. The Penguins came roaring back with several good chances to tie the game, but Willie rejected all of them.

With two seconds to go, Willie made a great save on a hard shot from the circle and the puck sat spinning right in the crease in front of an open net. As a Penguin rushed in for the rebound, Kevin just beat him to puck and golfed it away. With such a hard-fought, clean contest, it was a shame either team had to lose. The shots ended up 28 to 28, indicating what a close game this had really been.

Championship Game
Before the championship game against the Penguins A2 team the following morning, Kyle woke up sick and unsure if he could play. Once again, the team rose to the occasion. Playing mostly with only eight skaters, they out shot the Penguins 10 to 3 in the opening stanza and took the lead on a goal by Eric from Phillip and Derek.

The Blackhawks went up 3 – 0 in the second on goals by Eric and Patrick with assists from Patrick, Kevin and Willie (yes, the goalie!). Eric, who saves his scoring for the really big games, managed to tally an empty netter on a nice feed from Kevin to complete the championship hat trick.

The Penguins came on strong in the third, but Willie faced 15 shots in the period to preserve the championship 4 – 1. Because of their efforts in the third, the Penguins wound up out shooting the Blackhawks 30 to 24 for the game.

It was a great effort by the Blackhawks, who earned accolades from officials and refs about the sportsmanship and tenacity of the team. And it was especially rewarding to win back-to-back Silver Stick championships.

Evergreen resident Hal Nunn is head coach for the Santa Clara Valley Blackhawks Midget A1 hockey team. He extends his thanks to Joe Castagna for helping with the coaching duties and special credit to the defensemen Kevin, Chase and Derek for playing so hard and well manning the blue line.

Undefeated record, 10-0

Quimby Oak seventh grade girls win basketball league championship

By Bea Baechle
Editor

When 62 girls showed up to try out for 13 spots on the Quimby Oak seventh grade girls’ basketball team Oct. 31, Head Coach Doris Olden grappled with the tough job of determining the best fit for the team. Who could she motivate to win? Who could handle her grueling workouts?

Apparently Olden’s gut instincts paid off, because six weeks later, the seventh grade Lady Lobos won all 10 of their league games and earned the title of SCSEHGL league champions.

“It was totally hard to cut kids, but I looked at the skills,” said Olden, whose son Kenny Olden, Jr. serves as assistant coach. She had six weeks to shape up a team where only three of the players had actually played together in the past.

“Not only did the girls practice at school, but they often would practice on their own to improve their skills of fast breaking, great ball handling and defense,” added Olden. “I told the team that defense is what wins games, not offense. Rain or shine [during the season], we’d meet every day after school in the gym or outside on the blacktop.”

Inanna Eshoo explained that several of the team members also had older siblings who played basketball together, and sometimes they would sit and watch their moves. Kelsey Taku said, “We all bonded together.”

Olden quickly transformed a group of girls who liked to play basketball for fun into a motivated team on a mission to win. While maintaining grade point averages of 3.1 or higher, “each player worked hard to acquire the skills taught to them by their coaches,” said Olden.

“These girls believed in dedication, determination and the will of working as a team to conquer their dreams,” she added. “As their coach, I try to instill in each player to ‘believe in yourself and you can do anything,’ and ‘Do your best in whatever you do.’

Play-off game highlights season
Olden and her team agreed that the second play-off game against Valley Christian was the most difficult game of the season.

Valley Christian’s team record was identical to Quimby Oak’s. “This game was a battle,” recalled Olden. In the first quarter, Quimby outscored Valley Christian 13 to 10, then Valley Christian outscored Quimby in the second quarter 14 to 8 and again in the third quarter 8 to 6.

“During a time out, I reminded my wounded Lady Lobos of our mission,” continued Olden. “We said our chant, ‘You’ve got to want it to win it, and we want it more.’ We said this three times, and low and behold, our Basketball Angel took control. The fourth quarter began, and Quimby started scoring again. Alyssa scored 7 points, Samantha 4 points, Inanna 2 points, and 1 point for Kelsey.”

Quimby outscored Valley Christian in the last 1:28 of the game 14 to 5, beating Valley Christian 41 – 37.

“We worked hard. My legs were numb at the end of that game,” said Samantha McCluskey, who remembers how the game took a turn in the fourth quarter once they saw that they could do this. “We can do anything possible in the world if we set our minds to it.”

Olden said the championship game against Britton was also exciting. “Britton was up by one point at half time, however, the Lady Lobos captured the win 45 to 30. What a great feeling and what a super season,” said Olden.

“If feels good to be a champion,” said Shreya Iyer. “All my friends are at Chaboya and Ley Va, and it’s fun to brag, but I don’t want to be too conceited. If we still work as a team, next year we’ll win again. They can’t stop us.”

Season Wrap-up:

Quimby Oak Seventh Grade Lady Lobos
outscore opponents

Quimby vs. Morrill 45 to 9
Quimby vs. Bret Hart 48 to 28
Quimby vs. Willow Glen 38 to 4
Quimby vs. Ley Va 50 to 35
Quimby vs. Fair 54 to 2
Quimby vs. Sylvandale 41 to 10
Quimby vs. Chaboya 41 to 19

Play-offs
Quimby vs. Rancho 50 to 6
Quimby vs. Valley Christian 41 to 37

Finals
Quimby vs. Britton 48 to 30

Evergreen Little League partners with Stanford’s Positive Coaching Alliance

Scott Karstetter
Special to the Times

As Little League baseball season approaches, I look over my team roster, practice drills and rule books and find myself thinking about the bigger picture.

What are my goals for this team? Can we go undefeated? Can we do better than .500? Are these even the right questions to be asking? Maybe we should just have fun and not care about the win-loss record.

What skills do I want my players to learn? Do I want these players to learn “life” skills above and beyond the specific athletic skills they’ll learn—skills such as discipline, teamwork and perseverance?

I’ve been coaching various youth sports—PAL Football, NJB Basketball, Soccer and Little League Baseball—for 10 years now. I have been a volunteer coach, manager and board member and am now serving as the president of Evergreen Little League.

Over this period of time, I’ve noticed that my goals as a coach have changed. I’ve moved from a “got to have a winning season” coach to a “got to use the sports experience to help teach my players ‘life lessons’ that will help them succeed in every aspect of their lives” coach.

Most of the kids I coach won’t pursue competitive sports after they graduate from high school. In fact, only 1 percent of all youth athletes play sports in college. So, I ask myself, is it ultimately the most beneficial to spend most of my time teaching kids a skill that they’re rarely going to use after eight to ten years?

Sure, they need to know how to catch, throw, hit, run and learn game situation strategies. But why not concentrate more of my effort on helping them develop into successful individuals who know how to work hard, cooperate with those around them and respect others?

There’s an organization I’ve become familiar with that shares and promotes many of these objectives. It’s called Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), and it’s part of Stanford University’s Department of Athletics. This non-profit organization has been around since 1998, and its mission is to “transform youth sports so sports can transform youth.”

PCA includes three main positive coaching themes, which are

- To redefine a “winner,” so that a winner is an individual who’s given maximum effort, continually learned and improved and is not afraid of mistakes.

- To honor the game by respecting the rules, officials, teammates, opponents and traditions of the game.

- To fill players’ emotional tanks, by giving them much more positive feedback than criticism.

I now consider myself to be a “positive coach.” I have two goals for this season and for every season. One is to try our hardest to win. The second is to help my players use their Little League baseball experience so that they can be successful in every aspect of their lives. If my team and I can accomplish these objectives, then we’ll have had a winning season.

To find out how you too can become a “positive coach,” Evergreen Little League is hosting a Stanford Positive Coaching Alliance Parents Seminar on Feb. 15 from 7 - 9 p.m. at Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road.

Let’s play ball!

Evergreen sets sights on Championship(s)

Basketball teams aim to win

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Evergreen Valley can’t miss. With one week remaining in the Blossom Valley Athletic League pool, both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are contending for league titles.

Boys
At 16-6 overall and 9-2 in league play, the boys’ momentous 53-41 victory over Leland Tuesday, alerted skeptics that the Cougars will likely challenge first place Overfelt (18-2, 10-1) for a share of the BVAL, Santa Teresa Division title.

Despite an earlier loss to the Royals, Evergreen caught new wind when Leland dropped Overfelt 67-45 Friday, Feb. 4.
If the Cougars win Feb. 18, at Overfelt, a share of the B League title is theirs.

In the meantime, Evergreen must take down Andrew Hill and Willow Glen High Schools. Wins at Hill and versus the Rams assure the Cougars their chance for redemption, in addition to the title.

“We have to go undefeated,” said Fernandez. “We’ve been blessed to have another opportunity to still win the championship.”

The Cougars played with a sense of urgency at home versus the Chargers Tuesday. They came out firing and took advantage of Leland’s apparent lack of focus.

“I was very pleased,” said Fernandez. “We did a lot of the things we wanted to do and came at them aggressively.”

After battling to an 8-8 tie in the first quarter, Evergreen sprinted to the halfway mark outscoring Leland 23-11 in the second.

They never looked back.

According to Fernandez, Leland coach Dave Frandsen made a crafty attempt to stagger the Cougar onslaught, positioning his team at four corners, leaving one true center as a passing option in the middle.

“It was a good move, trying to draw our big kids away from the basket,” said Fernandez. “But I told Cody [Coppernoll] not to go anywhere.”

It worked. With 6-foot, 7-inch Coppernoll controlling traffic inside, Evergreen junior Morgan Blakely was freed to rain his trademark jump shot.

Blakely finished with 16 points on the night.

“It was a good win,” said Blakely, who fractured his thumb in the Cougars’ last second, 48-45 victory over the Chargers on Jan. 14. “Last time they were getting a lot of second opportunities, but we crashed the boards a lot better this game.”

Blakely’s back court-mate Edward Lapitan connected for 10 points.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” he said. “We thought it was going to be really tough tonight, but we took it. It was a big game.”

“We set the goal early last year that we wanted to win league in the higher division this season,” said Fernandez.

“Everything going on here—according to plan—is a team effort. Chemistry is a mental thing. You have to have the attitude to go out there and get it done. I think we’ve turned the corner. These kids have all the tools. They don’t make many mistakes; they’re fundamentally sound. If we continue to play this way, we’ll be OK.”

Girls
The Lady Cougars already won. Barring an impromptu case of bubonic plague, Evergreen’s girls (16-7, 10-0) will clinch at least a share of the BVAL West Valley Division championship this week.

Most recently, Coach Leo Olmscheid’s gang handed Yerba Buena High School a 67-19 drubbing on Tues, Feb. 8.
Senior Cathleen Reboton led the charge lighting up the Warriors for 25 points.

“It’s been a great season,” said Olmscheid. “The girls are gaining a sense of continuity, having played with one another for about three years now.”

Olmscheid implements a run-and-gun scheme—somewhat rare in women’s basketball.

“It’s all up-tempo,” he continued. “We play man-to-man full court and try to score as fast and as many times as possible.”

As a result, the Cougars have averaged 63.7 points to their opponents’ 34 during league contests.

Two games remain, one versus San Jose High at home on Tuesday, Feb. 15 and away, at Lincoln, on Thursday, Feb. 17. Both begin at 7 p.m.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Olmscheid, looking ahead to CCS.

While the Cougars have competed in the C-league, WVAL this season, they will likely land in the Division II pool during CCS playoffs.

“It’s tough with all the privates up there,” said Olmscheid, referring to West Catholic Athletic League powerhouses, including his former employer Archbishop Mitty. Olmscheid served as an assistant on Mitty championship teams.

“We’re just going to try to stay focused and play together as a team,” he added.

It’s worked so far.

EVHS girls basketball continues undefeated 8-0 winning streak

The Evergreen Valley Cougars extended their unbeaten record in West Valley division play to 8-0 following a convincing 71-38 win over Overfelt at home on Feb. 3. The Cougars are currently 14-7 overall and two games ahead of Lincoln in the West Valley division standings of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

In the win over Overfelt, the Cougars reached a team-high 14 points from both forward Krista Frausto and Kathleen Reboton, with junior guard Courtney Taku scoring 12 points as well.

40th annual Overfelt Classic showcases Evergreen-based wrestling talent

Fourth-quarter run by Dons nearly sinks Silver Creek

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Silver Creek boys’ basketball team hung on to first place by the slimmest of margins, fighting off a comeback by the Del Mar Dons to take a 48-44 win on Feb. 1.

Coming into the contest, the Raiders, at 7-0, held first place in the West Valley Division by one game over the Dons. The win over Del Mar gave Silver Creek a little elbow room and a two-game edge in league standings with only four games left to play in the season.

“This is basically playoff basketball, and that’s what we’re getting ready for,” Raiders Head Coach Cliff Warren said of the game. “They’ve proven they are ready for the playoffs because when they’re up, teams are coming at them and they’re hanging in there battling until the end.”

With the Raiders holding a 38-26 lead, the Dons began their comeback at the start of the fourth quarter by going on a 12-2 scoring run in just over four minutes. Leading the way for the Dons during that stretch were Dyante Kirksey with six points and Randy Barnes, who chipped in four more points on lay-ups.

But the Raiders found their offense right after calling a timeout toward the end of Del Mar’s run, beginning with a lay-up from Ruben Loya at 2:58. Loya’s basket started a modest 6-3 scoring advantage for the Raiders, stretching a two-point lead to a 46-41 edge with just 23.4 seconds to go in the game.

“We went into the timeout and got our acts together,” Loya said. “Basically, if we wanted it, we needed to go and get it. We wanted a win, and we just got our act together and we pulled it off.”

The Dons didn’t go quietly however, as Barnes took the ball and drained a long three-pointer from the left wing with 14 seconds left, cutting the Raiders’ lead back down to two.

The Dons then went into a fouling strategy in the hopes of saving some time on the clock for another scoring opportunity. With 12.9 seconds left, the Dons fouled Chigozie Ndekwe and sent the junior guard to the free-throw line.

Ndekwe sank both of his shots from the line, bumping the Raiders back up by four.

The Dons, down to their last possession, took the ball back up court and tried to make another quick basket. After Kirksey missed a 10-foot jumper, Barnes rebounded and shot a turnaround jumper in the paint, but the attempt fell short of the rim, sealing the win for the Raiders.

“I thought both teams gave everything they had,” said Del Mar Head Coach Eric Ostrowski. “It was just a great game. It was a great game to be a part of, but unfortunately, we just came out on the short end of it.”

The game started out anything but close for the Raiders, who put together an early scoring run in the second quarter to take a 17-6 lead. During the run, Loya chipped in seven of his game-high 20 points, including a 5-for-5 performance from the free-throw line.

“Ruben’s our ace in the hole,” Warren said of Loya. “When we can’t get the other guys working, then we go to Ruben. Ruben’s like that ace of spades you got. You know you got it, but you just want to make sure you’ve got something to go around it to make it work.”

Later in the second quarter, with the Raiders holding a 26-12 lead, the Dons began to show signs of life on offense, ending the first half on a 6-0 run in the final 1:12 to cut their deficit back down to eight.

The Dons continued to revive the offense in the third quarter, opening up with a 7-2 run to cut the Raiders’ lead to 28-25. But the Raiders responded with a run of their own, piecing together a 10-1 run to end the third quarter. Silver Creek reserve forward David Carranza proved clutch during the run with two three-pointer for six of his game-total 11 points.

“Carranza is our energy man,” Warren said. “He doesn’t start, but comes off the bench. When there’s a lull, we just turn it over to him.”

For Del Mar, the loss was significant but not without a few bright spots. Despite a 6-for-12 performance from the free-throw line, Barnes led the Dons with 17 points, including his three-point shot with 14 seconds left in the contest.

“That was a huge shot,” Ostrowski said of Barnes’ three-pointer near the end of the fourth quarter. “Randy is just a huge player. He’s a gamer and he’s definitely our team for us. We love the guy and that’s just the way he steps up.”

The Raiders made it 9-0 in West Valley Division play on Feb. 4, getting a 66-52 win over Mt. Pleasant to stay on top of the division standings. Loya again led the Raiders on offense, scoring 21 points and snagging 24 rebounds in the win.

Sixth, seventh grade
Evergreen-Colt Basketball League begins March 11

Based on the popularity of an independent basketball league last fall, Chaboya Middle School will host the Friday-night Evergreen-Colt Basketball League from March 11 to May 13. The first 72 sixth and seventh grade boys and girls to register will be enrolled in one of the eight teams of the league.

Sign up today by picking up a registration form at Chaboya Middle School, 3276 Cortona Dr., or by calling (408) 270-6939, (408) 410-3570 or (408) 605-1513. Cost is $100. League Directors John Franza and Allen Ventura need volunteer coaches for each team.