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Nado Natterings

A weekly column by David Axelson

Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

11 July 2007 Issue #27

Thomas Hopkins (Coronado High School ’02, Stanford ’06) has recently been named to the Senior National Mens Water Polo Team that will compete in the Pan American Games starting July 18. Currently in San Juan participating with the team in the World League semi-finals against Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, Hopkins will travel with the team to Brazil for the Pan Am Games and then on to Berlin for the World League Finals August 8-15.

“I’m just really excited to be on the team,” Hopkins said. “It’s been a long journey for me working out every day and slowly improving my game. I’m finally breaking into the top group, which is definitely exciting, because our team is playing closer to our full potential right now. We should do very well in Germany and surprise a lot of countries.”

In the larger picture, Hopkins is the latest of four CHS alumni currently on the Senior National Team. He joins Olympians Layne Beaubien (CHS ’94), Genai Kerr (CHS ’95), and Jesse Smith (CHS ’01) on the elite squad. Another way to look at the latest USA Water Polo roster move is that four of the best 13 water polo players in the United States prepped at Coronado High School. “I think that says a lot about (CHS Head Coach Randy) Burgess,” Hopkins stated.

Hopkins elaborated on the skills of his fellow Islander alumni. “Genai plays goalie and Jesse and Layne both play 2-meter defense. Layne is one of our top four or five players and is in the starting lineup depending on the matchups with the other team. Jesse is one of the best players in the world and internationally is in the Top Two or better of the 2-meter defenders. Everybody in water polo knows who he is. Anybody who walks into the pool knows Jesse.”

Hopkins plays the ‘attack’ position, roughly the equivalent of a point guard in basketball. His primary job is to distribute the ball on offense, while keeping his scoring options open.

Being named to the Pan Am Games squad is the next step for Hopkins as he climbs the ladder to a prospective spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Beijing in 2008. Hopkins, who earned 13 athletic letters at CHS (four each in water polo, soccer and tennis and one in swimming) spent two years on the National Youth Team, two more on the Junior Team and has been training with the National Team since the conclusion of his junior year at Stanford.

Intermediate stops for Hopkins included being on the 2000 and 2001 CHS teams that were widely acknowledged as the best prep squads in the country.  In 2002 Hopkins and fellow Senior National Team member Tony Azevedo helped win the NCAA title for Stanford.

This being Coronado, there has to be a little controversy to go along with the accolades. “There’s a debate out there that the 1993 CHS team that Layne played on was better than our team,” Hopkins related. “They had Genai, Brian Bent and Jon Skaalen who were some of the best players on the Junior National Team. We had a legit team too and we had a similar number of guys go on to play Division I water polo. Layne also won the NCAA’s at Stanford in 1996.”

In addition to Hopkins and Smith, the 2000 squad included Jon Hopkins, Thomas’ older brother, who later was a multiple winner of the NCAA Division II Player of the Year Award. That team also included three players who would go on to be the captain of their respective college teams in Jamal Motlagh (Princeton), Tom Jay (UC Davis), and Alex Ratcliffe (U.S. Naval Academy). Goalie Gant Morgner and Motlagh played together at Princeton. Both the 1993 and 2000 teams featured multiple CIF Player of the Year winners and High School All Americans.

Hopkins handicapped the World League Tournament. “The favorite would be Croatia, who won the World Championships four months ago. Other teams in the hunt will be Hungary, Serbia and Spain. Australia is always good. At the Worlds, we got ninth place, but since then we had a one-goal loss with Croatia. I think we are playing very well right now. If we can keep it going for another month or two, we’ll surprise a lot of people. I wouldn’t be surprised if we wound up medaling in the World League.”

 

   

Add Water Polo

Congratulations to Joe McCarthy, who is heavily involved in the Coronado aquatics community as both a swimming instructor and as an athlete. McCarthy was the subject of a profile in the July 2007 issue of “Swimming World Magazine,” written by Eric Velazquez.

McCarthy, 27, sustained a severe spinal cord injury at the age of 16. Despite that setback he went on to become a U.S. Paralympian in 2004 in swimming, representing the United States at the Athens games. McCarthy is currently in training to return to the Olympics, this time in Beijing in 2008. He was a major factor in the fundraising success of the Aquatics Endowment Fund for the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex. The three page profile is inspirational and well worth reading.

    

July 4 15K Run and 5K Run/Walk Event a Success

A well-worn phrase, though applicable in this case, is ‘It takes a village to (fill in the blank here).’ The morning of July 4th, an Islander Sports Foundation contingent of 235 volunteer villagers helped steer 2,193 runners through the 15K and 5K courses.

The registration figure represents the most participants in at least the past seven runnings of the 32-year-old event. Thank you to all of the folks who participated in the event and a special ‘thank you’ to Volunteer Coordinator Mary Humphrey who cobbled the forces together in a coherent approach to cover the various work assignments. The race proceeds benefit the Islander Sports Foundation and its member teams.

   

Coronado July 4 Race Results

The best finish by a Coronado-based runner was turned in by CHS rising senior Ben Enowitz, who was the second place finisher in the 5K run with a time of 16:55. Other Coronado runners in the Top 50 included No. 15 Par Larsson (18:30) and No. 40 Jay Bartroff (19:43). For the first time in many years, there were no Coronadoans in the Top 50 of the 15K portion of the event.

   

Add Runners

CHS Head Cross Country Coach George Green sent word that there is a summer training program for interested runners at all levels, which is meeting several times each week. You can go to IslanderTrack.com or contact Coach Green at 435-3633 for additional details.

  

NBA Passages

Briefly mentioned last week in the national media was the passing of former NBA player Jimmy Walker (1944-2007). “The Walk” as he was referred to by those who knew him, played for the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Kansas City Kings and was a two-time NBA All-Star. The 6-3 Walker, who played collegiately at Providence was the first player selected in the 1967 NBA draft. His senior year at Providence, Walker led the nation in scoring at 30.3 points per game.

While with the Pistons, Walker teamed with Dave Bing and together they formed one of the best backcourt duos in NBA history. Let’s just say that if they had played together east of the Allegheny Mountains, all waiting periods for entrance into the Basketball Hall of Fame would have been waived. Unfortunately, Walker and Bing didn’t have the required frontcourt presence to defeat the other better NBA teams of the time, and as a result Motown wouldn’t win their first NBA title until well after the pair had retired.

I knew Walker in Kansas City, where he teamed with high scoring backcourt mate Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald for three seasons. From 1973-74 through 1975-76, Walker averaged 19.8, 16.7 and 15.7 points per game respectively. Only an average defensive player, Walker was an offensive force and wanted the ball for the shot at game’s end.

Walker’s later life was beset by financial and personal challenges. Playing in the days before huge contracts were the NBA norm, Walker held a variety of odd jobs before passing away at the age of 63 from lung cancer. Walker is also known as the father of NBA player Jalen Rose, although the father and son were estranged at the time of Jimmy’s death.

Walker was among the first NBAers to wear a headband while playing, which The Walk said helped remind him to play defense. Walker was one of a kind and the memories of Jimmy raining jumpers down on the opposition will last with me for years to come.

   

Padres Clinch National League Best Record at All-Star Break

Baseball is first and foremost a game of statistics. But the interpretation of the numbers is what generates conversation.

The Padres have had a great first half of the season, over the weekend clinching the best record in the National League at the All-Star Break by virtue of their won-loss mark of 49-38 (.563). My Cubs, although improved over last year, have a mark of 44-43 (.506) or just good enough to not to earn a Wild Card Playoff spot if the post-season began today.

However, there are five teams in the American League that have records better than the Padres. They include the Red Sox, Tigers, Indians, Angels and Mariners. Last season the prevailing opinion in San Diego was that the Padres should have made it to and won the World Series. I didn’t believe that was an accurate perception then and don’t think so now.

The addition of Milton Bradley will help the Padres offensively, but the club can’t stop there with their on-field improvements.  The local nine still ranks 29th out of 30 teams in Major League Baseball in team batting average. More offensive punch is still needed to place the Padres among the game’s elite teams.

Playoff pitching rotations need to go three deep and the third slot behind Jake Peavy and Chris Young falls to a pick ‘em situation among Justin Germano, Greg Maddux and David Wells. On some occasions that trio will make it work. Lately their results have been inconsistent. 

The drive for Padre Manager Bud Black to be named NL Manager of the Year, started in this column last week, picked up a little momentum at the break as national media members acknowledged the excellent job turned in by the SDSU grad. Here’s hoping the Padres success continues well into the second half of the season and beyond.

   

Athletic Physicals for CHS and CMS Athletes

The 2007-08 athletic season physicals will be given Wednesday, August 8, 2007 in the 500 building at Coronado High School. Student-athletes should enter through the 7th Street parking lot. Please note that this is a new location for the physicals.

Student-athletes with last names beginning with the letters A-L will start at 5:30 pm and those with M-Z surnames will start at 6:30 pm. Last call for physicals will be at 7:30 pm and the physical exams will conclude at 8 pm.

The cost for the physicals is $15 per student or $25 for two students from the same immediate family. The fee is $10 per student for three or more students from the same family. All proceeds from the athletic physicals are donated by the physicians to the operation of the athletic training room at Coronado High School.

Prior to the exams, the two-page athletic physical form found at IslanderSportsFoundation.com, should be downloaded and all of the questions on page one should be completed. Both pages of the physical form should be brought to the exam. Checks should be made payable to: The Islander Sports Foundation. For questions regarding the athletic physicals, please contact the Islander Sports Foundation at 435-1343.