Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

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

9 Aug 2007 Issues #29 - 30

Accompanied by the lovely and talented Natter Wife, yours truly grabbed a week of vacation and jetted off to the Akron, Ohio area, to visit my wife’s family. The immediate family ranges in age from 2 to the mid-80’s and in true Midwestern style, most of the family gatherings held during the week were accompanied by large amounts of food.

Tourist stops along the way included the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a stop at Jacobs Field to see the hometown Indians host the Minnesota Twins. The game we saw marked the return of Kenny Lofton to the Indians, which was a move that was extremely well received by the Cleveland faithful. Trivia Question: What other sport did Lofton play at the collegiate level and what is his Alma Mater?

Our visit to the Pro Football Hall occurred eight days prior to the Class of 2007 induction ceremonies over the weekend. My only previous visit to the Hall was roughly 10 years ago and the exhibits have been greatly upgraded and improved. In the huge room which contains the busts of all of the enshrinees, there is a touch screen console which allows the visitor to view 45-60 second action clips of all of the Hall of Famers.

The San Diego Chargers are well represented, due in large part to the recent touchdown scoring achievements of LaDainian Tomlinson, whose game uniform and shoes from the 2006 season when he broke the NFL single season touchdown record are on display. Following the advancements in uniforms and helmets over the past decades is remarkable in itself.

As a youngster, family lore included my grandparents Joseph and Florence Axelson, who while students at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, had blocks of ice for their ice box (forerunner of the modern-day refrigerator for our younger readers) delivered by a youthful future University of Illinois and Chicago Bear star Red Grange. Included in the Bears Hall of Fame exhibit is a huge pair of ice tongs used by Grange to deliver ice in his ‘Wheaton Iceman’ days. Grange was later known by the nickname ‘The Galloping Ghost’ and is considered to be the primary reason pro football gained a foothold on the American sports scene in the mid 1920’s.

In summary, it was good to see lots of green grass; thousands of trees; homes on large, expansive lots, many of them made of red brick; and to eat Skyway onion rings. But, it’s good to be home.

Trivia Answer: The 5-foot, 11-inch Lofton was the starting point guard on the Arizona Wildcat basketball team that reached the NCAA Final Four in 1988. He is one of two athletes (along with pitcher Tim Stoddard, N.C. State and Baltimore Orioles) to have played in an NCAA Final Four and a World Series. Lofton reached the World Series in 1995 with Cleveland. Lofton has now played with 11 different Major League teams and is on his third tour of duty with the Indians.

Athletic Physicals for CHS and CMS Athletes

A final reminder that the 2007-08 athletic season physicals will be given Wednesday, August 8 in the 500 building at Coronado High School. Student-athletes should enter through the 7^th 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 for 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.

CHS Fall Sports Starts

If you are interested in trying out for a fall sports at Coronado High School, here is the contact information and details regarding the first day of practice for each team. The following info was provided by CHS Athletic Director Sandy Ferguson.

Cross Country - The first day of High School Cross Country is August 28. Students who wish to participate must have their physical by that date. For information call George Green (435-3633) or visit: islandertrack.com.

Football - Equipment issue is scheduled for August 13. Conditioning practices will begin August 14 and all participants must have a physical by that date. Hell Week is scheduled for August 20–25. For information call the Football office at 522-8907 ext. 2807.

Girls’ Golf – Parents and/or Athletes should plan on meeting at the Coronado Golf Course at 5pm Thursday August 23. Tryout process will be explained and dates and times of tryouts will be announced. Golfers must have a physical to tryout. For information call Hannah Cohan 990-8755.

Girls’ Tennis - Practice (tryouts) will begin Monday, August 20. Interested girls should meet at the High School Tennis Courts at 8am. Tryout schedule will be Monday, Wednesday Friday: 8am-10am and 4pm-6pm. Tuesday & Thursday will be 8am-10am. Anyone wishing to tryout must have a physical by August 20. For information call Robert LeBuhn at (619) 602-9713 (cell) or contact by email at: mrchicagoil@yahoo.com

Girls’ Volleyball - Practice (tryouts) will begin Tuesday, August 14 at 3pm at the Coronado Community Recreation Center. All potential players must have a physical in order to tryout. For information contact Christina Lahr at: 619-920-6536 or by email at christina.lahr@cox.net.

Boys’ Water Polo - Interested players should meet at the Coronado Municipal Pool on Monday, August 20. All players wishing to tryout must have a physical by that date. For information call Randy Burgess (619-851-9733) or David Throop (619-851-9734). Information is also available on the water polo website nadoaquatics.com.

CHS Lacrosse Stars Head East for Summer Play

Two senior Islander Boys Lacrosse players, attack Cory Couture and defender Ryland Stanley, earned their way onto the West Coast All-Star team that recently went 3-0 in games played over two days at Yale University and 4-1 in games played at the University of Massachusetts. The team was comprised of 20 athletes, with 12 coming from California and the remaining players from Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Texas.

One of the interesting results of the recent explosion of lacrosse, both boys and girls, is that the sport which had its origins on the East Coast, now finds that the talent pool now extends to the West Coast as well. As one UMass recruiter said, “This year’s West Coast team’s athletic ability was far superior to any East Coast team.” But, I guess we knew that already.

“We were ready for the typical weather back there,” said Couture, who figures to be offensive focal point for the Islanders this coming spring. “We didn’t get to play or practice as a team until the Thursday before the tournament started. Then we got to meet all of our teammates and start practicing. Within two hours, we played like we had been together as a team for a few years. You have to remember that the teams we played against have been playing together since they were in grade school.”

Another consideration was that on the California team, a few of the All-Stars are rivals during the prep season. The team contained a player each from Poway and Torrey Pines, but that wasn’t a problem according to Stanley. “Before we started, I wasn’t sure how well our team would mesh, being that some of us were rivals during the season. But we really did come together and form a strong bond.”

The event allows players from all over the country to be seen and scouted by coaches from virtually all of the lacrosse-playing colleges and universities. Stanley weighed in with some thoughts on that element of the event. “Going back East to play against elevated competition was a great opportunity. Playing in front of the college recruiters was nerve-racking at times, but we played like we know how to do. Obviously it worked. Our athleticism and knowledge of the game was underestimated by the competition, as it usually is. I am glad to know that with every game we won, we gained respect for West Coast lacrosse.”

Couture Earns Cape Cod League All-Star Slot

As occasionally happens, we have two members from the same family, in this case cousins Cory and Kevin Couture, doing good things in different sports. Kevin (CHS ’06), who pitched for USC last season, was recently named to the All-Star team of the Cape Cod Collegiate League, considered to be one of the best wood bat summer baseball leagues in the country.

Since colleges and universities use aluminum bats for their in-season games, how players adjust to playing with and against the wood bats employed in the professional game, is important.

Playing for the Chatham A’s and then the Eastern Division All-Stars, Couture pitched the eighth inning in relief and retired the 2-3-4 hitters in the Western Division All-Star lineup in order, striking out two of the hitters. The Eastern Division All-Stars won the game 3-2 and Couture was credited with a ‘hold.’

According to CHS Head Baseball Coach Sam Ceci, the highlight of the experience for Couture may have been being introduced, along with the other All-Stars, at Fenway Park prior to a recent Boston Red Sox game. Much like Padre relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman, Couture uses his fastball and curve to set up his ‘out’ pitch, which is his changeup.

According to an interview posted on the Chatham website, Couture is enjoying his time in the Cape Cod League. “It’s great meeting new baseball players. We’re all close and love hanging out together. Chatham is the place to be.” And this just in, the A’s qualified for the post season playoffs which start Friday evening.

Add Baseball or That Was the Week That Was

Returning from vacation, Your Natterer scanned a week’s worth of newspapers to get caught up on local happenings (How about that 171-ton engine falling off a truck as NASSCO?) while in the Heartland.

San Diego Padre starting pitcher Clay Hensley had an interesting week from accounts published in “The San Diego Union-Tribune.” In the paper of Saturday Aug. 4 he was quoted as saying about Giants slugger Barry Bonds, “I’m going to pitch to him. I’m not going to lay one over the middle of the plate. But, I’m going to pitch to him.” In Saturday’s game Hensley gave up career homer 755 to Bonds. Sunday he was sent to AAA Portland by the Padres. But Hensley did receive an autographed bat from Bonds as a consolation prize of sorts.

Privett Progresses to Triathlons

Apparently not content to be just an outstanding prep distance runner, CHS sophomore Sallie Privett has branched out into the world of triathlons, winning her age group in the recent Solana Beach Triathlon. The event consisted of a one-quarter mile swim, a nine-mile bike ride and a three-mile run.

The positive results triathlon came despite Sallie recovering from participating in the two-day Poway Cross Country camp and a 5:30 am departure to Solana Beach. Here’s hoping Sallie’s parents Mike and Robin Privett are ready to invest in a new bike, a new helmet, new swimming gear, as well as competition clothing and shoes to match. And perhaps identical gear for younger sister Mollie Privett as well.