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Nado Natterings |
A weekly column by David Axelson |
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Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive
Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation
2 July 2008 Issue No. 26
July 4th in Coronado is unlike anywhere else Your
Natterer has lived and one of the elements that makes the day unique is the
Independence Day 15K Run and 5K Run/Walk which is held at 7 am at Tidelands
Park. The proceeds from the race benefit the sports teams at Coronado High
School, Coronado Middle School and the Islander Sports Foundation.
The run is the biggest annual fundraiser for the ISF and
the teams at CHS supply more than 200 volunteers to make the race run smoothly.
In what has become an annual rite of summer, the parents of graduating seniors
can say, “I won’t have to get up early on July 4th for the race ever
again.”
Last year there were a total of nearly 2,000 runners and
walkers in the event. Specifically the runners for the 15K take off at 7 am,
while the runners and walkers in the 5K start at 7:10 am. Typically the total
number of participants is pretty evenly split between the two events.
The heartiest race participants are the folks who
volunteer to show up at 5 am to take money and help with registration. After
the initial wave of helpers arrives around 5 am, the volunteers come in shifts.
The Girls Water Polo Team is the first to arrive on site, helping with setup
throughout Tidelands Park. The last to leave is Boys Lacrosse as they have cleanup
duty. In between, virtually every team at CHS is represented.
Serving as volunteer coordinator for the second year is Mary
Humphrey, who brings a very organized, yet humorous approach to the
proceedings. The race and the events preceding the event have a lot of moving
parts and Mary is on top of all of them.
By the time you read this, the race will be two days away
and the only bad news is that you are now in the ‘event day’ race registration
category. Day of event registration costs $35 per person, with both the 15K and
the 5K event costing the same.
One of the behind the scenes heroes in the staging of the
event is the Unified Port District of San Diego, which is the owner and
operator of Tidelands Park. The Port is the presenting sponsor for the race and
in exchange allows somewhere near 2,500 people traipse through Tidelands for
four or five hours on an annual basis. Thanks also go to the City of Coronado
and the United States Navy for their great assistance in making the event
happen.
A varied cast of characters comes to Coronado for the
July 4th Race. Many participants are local families who have
participated for years and the run has become a tradition for them. Many of the
15K runners are serious competitors who enter because the race course, which
runs through the Naval Amphibious Base, is very fast and flat. Many of the 5K
walkers are just there to experience July 4th in Coronado with a
couple of thousand of their closest friends.
If you are interested in participating in either of the
races, please register online at www.kathyloperevents.com/cor/15K/5K, or call
619-298-7400 for additional information.
USA Men’s Olympic Water Polo Squad Set for Beijing
As was predicted in the space a couple of weeks ago,
Coronadoans Jesse Smith and Layne Beaubien have been named to the
USA Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team which will compete in Beijing in
August. Both players, who are Coronado High School graduates, have been to the
big dance before, playing for the USA in Athens in 2004. The tryout team, which
originally had 25 members, began workouts in January 2008.
The team, which was announced by Head Coach Terry
Schroeder, is comprised of 13 players. Seven of the team members, including
Beaubien and Smith, have prior Olympic experience. Only team captain Tony
Azevedo and Ryan Bailey, with two Olympics each, have more
experience than Smith and Beaubien. Thanks to Wayne Bean of USA Water
Polo for providing information regarding the team.
CHS Boys Basketball Fundraising Opportunity
The July 4th weekend is a time when locals and
their houseguests are looking for somewhere to eat which has good food and
won’t break your piggy bank. The CHS Boys Basketball Team and La
Salsa Restaurant are teaming up for a fundraiser which might be right for
you.
If you eat at La Salsa on July 3rd between 4
pm and 9 pm, 20 percent of your tab will be donated to the CHS Boys Basketball
Team. Go to www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com and download the flyer and present
it when you order your food. La Salsa has done this with a number of CHS sports
teams this year. The restaurant is located on Orange Avenue, across from the
Hotel Del Coronado.
CHS Boys Basketball Team Busy During the Summer
Prospective members of the CHS Boys Varsity Basketball
Team have been participating in some summer events this year. Two weeks
ago, the Islanders fielded a team in a large summer tournament held at Point
Loma Nazarene University. The team was guided through the games by CHS Varsity
Head Coach Ken Caesar and JV Head Coach J.D. Laaperi.
Coronado compiled a perfect 4-0 record in the event.
Tournament teams came from San Diego County, Orange County, the Inland Empire
and Arizona. In addition to the tournament at Point Loma, the team has been
playing against local San Diego area teams on Tuesday evenings at Hoover High
School. Their next tournament will be July 3-6 when Laaperi takes the team to
the ‘War on the Floor Tournament’ which will be played in Santee.
Players competing for CHS include: Chris Banks, Chris
Maskevich, Krishna Samperio, Blake Malkemus, Chris Allen, Brian Allen, Brian
Beverly, Tom Snyder, Josh McNeal, Danny Hebert, Billy Schmitt, Jake Meloche and
Hunter Ralph.
Pizza Note
This section has absolutely nothing to do with sports,
but Ron Chapman and his staff at the Coronado Brewing Company
have one of the world’s great pizza creations on their menu, the Baja Shrimp
Pizza. Described as, “A spicy combination with
roasted corn, sliced serrano chilies, salsa fresca, mozzarella cheese and pesto
sauce,” it’s a culinary treasure.
Girls Lacrosse Academic
All-Americans
Since our last column, the Unites
States Lacrosse Association announced that 28 girls from the San Diego
Section have been named Academic All-Americans. Coronado High School was well
represented with five athletes on the squad, including Greer Goebels,
Melissa Humphrey, Bria Phillips, Hannah Sebenaler and Sandy Shepherd.
Congratulations to the girls for their achievements on the field and off.
Thoughts on the San Diego
Padres
Being a life-long Chicago Cub
fan allows me to bring the following perspective to the 2008 edition of the San
Diego Padres; I know a bad baseball team when I see one. Last night the Padres
broke an eight-game losing streak and rallied late to beat the Colorado Rockies
on the road 15-8.
Monday night I spent a large
portion of the evening switching between the Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants game
and the Padres game. That same night, the Cubs broke a four-game losing streak
of their own. I follow baseball pretty closely and the Giants lineup featured
exactly two players I had heard of and they were rightfielder Randy Winn
and pitcher Barry Zito. Well, make that three Giants I knew, as one of
the three Molina brothers (the answer to ‘Name that Molina’ in this case is Bengi)
was behind the plate. Okay, I really knew four Giants with first baseman Rich
Aurilia added to the mix.
For several years the Padres
have overachieved relative to their player payroll and in 2008 the odds have
caught up with the local team. Injuries to pitchers Jake Peavy and Chris
Young, have taken a huge toll on the mound staff. Adrian Gonzalez is
having an All-Star season at first base and Brian Giles has finally
started to hit for average, though not for power. Rookie Chase Headley shows
promise in leftfield. Edgar Gonzalez, a career minor leaguer to this
point and Adrian’s brother, is turning in a fine season thus far.
The National League Western
Division has devolved into the weakest in Major League Baseball. The Arizona
Diamondbacks are the division leader with a record which is one game over .500.
The Padres ducked out of the divisional basement with Monday’s victory over the
Rockies and the divisional rivals the Giants and the Dodgers are not to be
confused with the 1927 New York Yankees. The Giants are rebuilding and the
Dodgers have a large payroll with a number of stars, or rather former stars,
injured.
San Diego is a small market
city and the Padres under their current ownership won’t ever have a huge
payroll because it doesn’t make financial sense to do so. Unfortunately money
talks in professional sports and the higher the payroll, the more likely you
are to have star caliber players on your roster. Star caliber doesn’t guarantee
titles, but it at a minimum makes the team more fun to watch.
If the Padres can get Peavy
back on track and Young is able to return after the All-Star break, they may be
able to return to respectability, despite being 9.5 games back at this writing.
Arizona, which looked like they were going to make a mockery of the division
race a month ago, has come back to the pack.
Is a Padre title likely in
2008? No it’s not. More likely to occur is a player personnel fire sale to save
money and collect draft picks for the future. Team President Sandy Alderson
and General Manager Kevin Towers have a fine track record, but the odds
of being competitive year after year, with a small payroll finally turned
against them this season. Keep in mind that Chicago Cubs fans are now in the
100th season of saying ‘Wait until Next Year.”