November 5, 2004

Evergreen Sports

U12 Class III girls

Mt. Hamilton Voltage crowned Almaden Halloween Classic Tournament champions

By Gabe Foo
Special to the Times

Voltage celebrates Desiree Escalante’s Game 3 winning goal. Photo by Gabe Foo.

The Mt. Hamilton Voltage, a U12 Class 3 girls’ soccer team based in Evergreen, won the Almaden Halloween Classic Tournament Oct. 30-31 in Morgan Hill.

For the second-year, the Class III soccer team swept the competition as the only team in their age group to finish the tournament undefeated, scoring 13 goals while giving up only two goals in four games. A combination of rock-solid defense, relentless attacking, and awesome passing and teamwork were the keys to the championship title.

First game blow-out
Saturday morning the Voltage squared-up against a young (Class III U11) team from Almaden called the Flash, who were playing up one age group in the tournament. It was an uneven match-up as the Voltage team put four goals into the Flash’s net within the first 20 minutes.

In a tournament, teams are awarded points for a win, tie, number of goals scored and a shut-out. The Mt. Hamilton team was eager to earn the maximum 10 points to the dismay of the Almaden Flash.

Second game won
The Voltage played the Mid-Country Breakers from Aptos in the afternoon. The Voltage defeated the Breakers 1-0 in a Delgado League game last month and had confidence to repeat with another victory.

The Voltage outplayed the Breakers again and hoped to earn another 10 points with a three-plus goal victory. Yet the Breaker’s solid defense held the Voltage to only one goal, allowing the team to collect eight more points. The team was now ranked second in the overall standings with 18 total points. The Almaden Sparks were ranked first, they finished the first day with 20 points after beating the Flash and Breakers as well.

Nail-biting third game
The game against the Almaden Sparks was a crucial must-win for the Voltage. The winner of the Sunday morning game would move on to play the winner of the first flight of teams for the championship title, and the loser would compete for third place.

The Voltage had not played the Sparks in league play and had no indication what to expect. Game conditions were tough due to a strong southerly wind blowing in the morning that would favor the team defending the northern goal.
Coach Ruby Carino created a strategy to play into the wind during the first half, to play hard and wear down the Sparks, then to rush their goal with the wind to Voltage backs in the second half of the match.

The Sparks came out fighting, and the first 15 minutes of the match was fought with great intensity, both teams finding holes in the defense to challenge the goalies. On a corner-kick near the 20th minute of play, the Sparks sent a ball into the Voltage box, and that ball found its way into the Voltage goal.

The Sparks were celebrating their goal and the Voltage were emotionally drained because the entire game was already a tough cat-fight; players scrambling for every loose ball and firing lots of shots in attempt to score. But the Voltage has a successful record of coming from behind when needed, and the girls had to bring on their best game.

With five minutes left in the first half, one of the Sparks players used her arm to deflect a shot while she was standing in the Sparks penalty box. That gave the Voltage a free penalty-kick into a blowing headwind. Kelsey Foo blasted a ball that ricocheted off the top of the cross-bar and went into the Sparks’ goal to tie the game 1-1.

Within the first minute of the second half, Desiree Escalante, the Voltage’s left-midfielder, took the ball down the sideline and sent a curving left-footed shot into the Sparks goal to take a 2-1 lead. Mt. Hamilton was now headed into the championship game.

Stressful championship game
The Voltage played the championship game against the Los Gatos Wildfire, a team they had beaten 1-0 in league competition. It was still very windy in the afternoon, and Coach Ruby opted for the same strategy—play into the wind the first half of the game, and take the tailwind for the second half. Both teams played a very physical and hard-fought first half and the game remained scoreless at half time.

During half time, the girls walked off the field completely exhausted and had reservations about whether they could win. Coach Ruby calmly said, “Everything is going to plan; we are right on schedule and held them 0-0. Now we need to show everyone that we are the better team!”

In the second half of the match, Voltage players Olivia DeLaTorre, Emily Harrington and Cindy Mayoral scored three goals in 15 minutes to claim the victory.

The Voltage is undefeated in Delgado League play this fall with three more games scheduled this month. They will also compete in the District 2 Cup tournament Nov. 20 - 21 and the Association State Cup next January.

For more information on the team, go to the Web at www.voltageteam.org.

7 Evergreen runners finish regional finals in top 5

Seven cross country runners from Evergreen School District's Chaboya, LeyVa and Quimby Oak Middle Schools placed in the top five in their respective races at the Santa Clara County East Side Junior High Coaches Association regional finals meet held at Alum Rock Park Oct. 13.

The Chaboya eighth grade girls cross country took first place as a team, repeating the first place standing they earned as seventh graders last year. In this year's regional finals, the seventh grade girls team from Quimby Oak took second place as a team.

Combining all the race results by school, Brownell from Gilroy took first place, but Evergreen School District took the next top spots, with Quimby Oak earning second place and Chaboya taking third place.

The Evergreen contenders were among 20 schools from Milpitas to Gilroy that brought their strongest runners to the meet to compete in six races: C Class boys and girls, seventh grade boys and girls and eighth grade boys and girls. Between 125 and 140 runners competed in each race.

Water Polo hits the EVHS campus

Cougars clinch third place in first season

By Jeffrey Lo
Times Intern

What do you get when you mix Michael Phelps with some Michael Jordan and a little bit of Wayne Gretzky? You get a water polo player.

Mastering a unique blend of swimming, basketball and hockey skills, water polo players swim back and forth trying to shoot a ball into the opposing team’s goal, all while treading water in a 10-foot-deep, 30 x 20-meter pool. The game’s popularity is spreading and recently hit the Evergreen Valley High School campus.

Competing in water polo requires a great deal of leg strength to tread and swim in the water, as well as arm strength to shoot the ball. “The sport requires a great deal of concentration because you have to be paying attention and you have to be aware of what’s going on,” said senior co-captain Matt Avila.

The similarity to various sports attracts many different types of athletes to water polo. “All sports translate really well to water polo. If you’re athletic, you can play water polo,” commented boys’ Coach Paul McKenna.

In this first year of the program, the EVHS team had to build their skills on nothing but the will to play.

“We have a lot of kids fired up to play water polo,” said Coach McKenna. Although the team was brand new, McKenna felt it was a great position to be in as a coach.

“It’s fun coaching a new team, because you see a lot of improvement. It’s a rewarding experience,” he said, “I am blessed to be coaching here; this is a great facility to be in.”

Along with McKenna, the team leaders noticed the change in the team’s skill as the season progressed. Senior co-captain Kent Blakely said, “Our learning curve is almost straight up because we’re going from nothing to something. New teams learn and improve more than teams with more experience.”

The latest highlight of the squad’s inaugural season happened Oct. 19 as the Cougar boys’ clinched a third place finish in the West Valley League, with a chance at finishing second.

The Cougars fought hard in the rain against the Silver Creek Raiders, ending in a 17-6 victory. With the veteran leadership of senior co-captains Matt Avila and Kent Blakely, the squad demonstrated experience beyond their years.

“We had a real good game. We led throughout the game because we stayed calm and didn’t take any bad shots,” said Avila, who scored a personal game high of 5 points.

The guarantee of at least third place has the team feeling proud of their first attempt at water polo.

“I think we did an amazing job working together this season,” said Avila, “We worked really hard to learn how to play and it paid off.”

With a majority of the young team staying intact for the following season, the departing seniors feel optimistic for the future of the team. “We are all up and coming athletes with bright futures,” Blakely commented on the young group.

Quimby Oak wrestling team reigns undefeated

Four duels played and won

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Quimby Oak Middle School’s wrestling team from Evergreen heads into the Nov. 6 Mav-Cat Classic Tournament in Santa Clara with four duel wins under its belt. A duel involves just two teams, each providing wrestlers who face off in individual matches based on weight, from about 70 pounds through heavy weight.

The very last match determined the winner of the first duel between Evergreen contenders: Quimby Oak and LeyVa Middle Schools. “Heavyweight Emmanuel Scott came from behind to pin his opponent and score to ultimately win the duel for Quimby, 54—45,” said Sam Spengler, Quimby Oak’s wrestling coach.

Quimby’s second and fourth duels posed little threat, with the wrestling team beating Mathson Middle School from the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District 69—36 and Valley Christian, 94—9.

The third duel against South Valley in Gilroy, however, was a different story. “South Valley has historically been the dominant team in the county for middle school competitors for the last several years,” said Spengler, noting that Quimby won this duel 49—42 in a situation similar to the Quimby- LeyVa face off.

“Emmanuel [Scott] came back from behind and pinned his opponent to pull out a Quimby victory,” said Spengler of the exciting final minutes of the duel.

“The crowd was cheering me on,” recalls the eighth grade heavy weight, who credits the rest of the team for scoring all the previous points that paved the way for a victory. “It felt great, but I couldn’t have done it without proper practice and without my coach.”

Added Evan Crockett, who has made several quick pins in the matches he’s played in, “Mr. Spengler teaches us hard, and we come out with really good results.”

“We’re off to a fantastic start and working hard at practice to continue to improve,” said Quimby Oak’s wrestling coach Sam Spengler. “Our biggest test will be the upcoming countywide tournament.”

Spengler expects great results from eighth graders 70-pounder Andrew Amaya, 80-pounder Gino Dela Rosa, 120-pounder Demetrius Campbell, and 125-pounder Evan Crockett.

Quimby’s Sam Spengler and Ricardo Garcia from Evergreen Valley High School will be hosting club wrestling starting in February at EVHS. Any Evergreen boy or girl, age 5 to 14, interested in club wrestling can call Spengler at (408) 348-2169.

Evergreen Little League baseball/softball

Sign-up for the 2005 baseball season

As PAL and POP Warner football season comes to an end and basketball just begins, it is hard to even think about baseball. That's a spring sport isn't it? Even so, the volunteers at Evergreen Little League are hard at work preparing for the 2005 baseball/softball season. To help make the upcoming season a success, the teams are asking players to register early!

ELL is accepting registration for new and returning players for all divisions from now until Jan. 15. All players can register in person on the following dates and times:

- Saturday, Dec. 4, 1 - 4 p.m.
Starbucks at Yerba Buena and San Felipe

- Sunday, Dec. 5, 1 - 4 p.m.
Roundtable Pizza at White and Aborn

- Saturday, Dec. 11, 1 - 4 p.m.
Starbucks at Yerba Buena and San Felipe

- Sunday, Dec. 12, 1 - 4 p.m.
Roundtable Pizza at White and Aborn

- Saturday, Jan. 8, 15, 9 a.m. - noon
Chaboya Middle School

Fees increase $20 after Jan. 15, so register early. Five registration sessions will be held after that date:

- Saturday, Jan. 22, 29, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Chaboya Middle School

- Saturday, Feb. 12, 19, 9 a.m. - noon Quimby Oak Middle School

- Saturday, March 5, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Quimby Oak Middle School

New players must bring proof of residence and an original birth certificate or passport. Returning players may register by mail or in person. See the Web site http://ell-baseball.com for registration forms.

ELL has room for players in all divisions: T-Ball age 5-6, Pee-Wee age 7-8, Farm age 7-9, Minors age 9-12, Majors age 10-12, Juniors age 13-14, Seniors age 15-16, Softball ages 9-18, and Challenger al ages.

Fees for players registered before Jan. 17 are $60 for age 5-6, $70 for age 7-12 and $80 for age 13-16. All fees go up $20 after Jan. 15.

Try-outs
Try-outs for Minor and Major divisions (ages 10-12) will be held at Chaboya Middle School on Jan. 22 and 23 (ages 9-12) and on Jan. 29 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Try-outs for Farm division (ages 8-9) will be held at Chaboya Middle School on Jan. 30 and Feb. 5 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Try-outs for Junior and Senior divisions (age 13-16) will be held at Quimby Oak Middle School on March 5 and 6. Try-outs are not necessary for T-Ball (ages 5-6) and Pee Wee (ages 7-8) Divisions.

Pre-season clinics
Pre-season clinics are intended to prepare players for try-outs and to assist them if they are moving up a level. The focus is on fundamentals, fun and facts about little league baseball. Pre- season clinics will be held:
Saturday, Jan. 8 and 15 from 9 a.m to noon for ages 9-12 at Chaboya and on Saturday, Feb. 12 and 19 from 9 a.m to noon for ages 13-16 at Quimby.

The league is also looking for volunteer umpires. If you are interested, contact Evergreen Little League at (408) 534-1727 or playeragent@ell-baseball.com. We offer hands-on training as well as classroom training if you want to learn how to umpire or just want to brush up on your skills and knowledge of the rules.

Anyone interested in sponsoring a team this year can contact our sponsorship representative sponsor@ellbaseball.com. Visit our Web site at http://ell-baseball.com for updates.