Nado Natterings Back to Islandersports
A weekly column by David Axelson

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

6 August 2008 Issue No. 29

Nado Natterings World Headquarters was mostly vacant during the month of July as the lovely and talented Natter Wife and Your Natterer were traveling. One of our stops was Hawaii and we’ll have some musings on that portion of the festivities at the conclusion of this week’s column. However, as the high school sports season is rapidly closing in upon us, we have several bits of athletic information to present that discerning Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School parents need to know.

Athletic Physicals to Be Held August 6^th

An annual rite of summer is the athletic physical event held each year, for which both CHS and CMS student-athletes may participate. Starting in the mid-90’s Dr. Chuck Eaton and several local physicians donated their services to provide physical exams for athletes, a tradition that continues in Dr. Eaton’s honor.

All of the proceeds from the payments for the physicals go to fund the purchase of CHS athletic training room supplies, such as athletic tape, ankle wrap, ace bandages, etc. You might be able to throw some tongue depressors on the shopping list as well.

This year the physicals will be given at the CHS Gym and we have a 5:30 pm start for students with last names beginning with the letters ‘A-L.’ Last names that begin with the letters ‘M-Z’ will begin at 6:30 pm, and the last call for anyone who missed the first two times is at 7:30 pm. The event will conclude at 8 pm. Students should line up near the 6^th Street entrance to the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Center.

Costs for the exams are $15 per student, or $25 for two students from the same family. For those with three or more students, the fee is $10 per student.

Cash is accepted and checks should be made payable to the Islander Sports Foundation. Also, you must complete the two-page athletic physical form that can be found at IslanderSportsFoundation.com. Please complete all questions on Page 1 and bring both pages to the exam.

Please keep in mind that all students who participate in sports at either the high school or middle school level, must have a current athletic physical on file. This is your opportunity to accomplish that requirement while supporting the athletic training program that is so important to the athletes. Questions may be directed to David Axelson at 435-1343.

CHS Fall Sports Tryout Information

For parents and students new to Coronado High School, here is the complete information on tryouts for all of the sports teams that compete during the fall.

If you are interested in trying out for a fall sport at Coronado High School, here is the contact information and details regarding the first day of practice for each of the five (5) sports offered in the fall. Remember, to try out for any sport, students must have turned in their sports registration packet to the front office, including a current physical exam. The following information was provided by CHS Athletic Director Robin Nixon.

Cross Country – Now that the CIF non-contact period has passed, the Cross Country team will start having regular meetings. Please check the website Islandertrack.com for updates as to where and when workouts will be held. A couple of times per week the squad may work out at Morley Field, Balboa Park, or another location where the team can get some hill training workouts. Head Coach George Green can be contacted via E-mail at ggreen2@san.rr.com.

Football – Equipment will be issued August 12^th and the first practice will be held Wednesday, August 13^th at Niedermeyer Field at 8 am. Hell Week is scheduled for August 18-23. For more information, please contact Head Coach Bud Mayfield at the CHS football office at 522-8907, Ext. 2807.

Girls Golf –Tryouts will be held Monday, August 18^th and Tuesday, August 19^th from 3-5 pm at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course. Head Coach Hanna Cohan can be contacted via E-mail at whole-in-one@earthlink.net.

Girls Tennis – The first team practice will be Wednesday, August 13^th from 10 am to noon and again from 2-4 pm. Both practices are required for prospective team members and will be held at the school courts located on D Avenue behind the fire station. For further information, please contact Head Coach Rob LeBuhn at mrchicagoil@yahoo.com.

Girls Volleyball – All girls interested in playing at any level of high school volleyball will need to attend an organizational meeting August 13^th at 5 pm at the CHS gymnasium. Those interested in trying out for the Varsity squad will then practice from 5:30-7:30 pm after the meeting. Tryouts will continue Thursday from 10 am to noon (Varsity) or 1:30-4 pm for the Junior Varsity and Freshman teams. If you have any questions, please contact Head Coach Christina Lahr at Christina.lahr@cox.net.

Boys Water Polo – Interested players should meet at the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex Saturday, August 18 at 8 am. For more information, please contact Head Coach Randy Burgess at rburgess@coronado.k12.ca.us or consult the water polo website nadoaquatics.com.

Queisser Accepts Head Coaching Job at Fort Lewis College

When the Skyhawk athletic program at Fort Lewis (Durango, Colorado) College opted to start a women’s lacrosse program, they decided to hire CHS grad Kelley Queisser (CHS ’00) as their head coach. The team will start competition in the spring of 2009. The team will compete at the NCAA Division II level starting in 2010.

Queisser was a fine three-sport athlete for CHS, earning four letters each in volleyball, soccer and lacrosse during her prep career. She earned All-American recognition in lacrosse during her senior season.

Queisser, 26, continued her post-Islander playing career at Cal Berkeley, where she played for four seasons, helping the Golden Bears to a 42-27 (.609) record.

After completing her playing career, Queisser moved into coaching and was the head coach of the San Diego State University club program for four seasons, which included a Top 10 national ranking and two Top 20 rankings. For three of her four seasons at SDSU, the women’s lacrosse team won their league title.

Skyhawk Athletic Director Kelly Higgins said of Queisser, “Kelley brings an excellent background in collegiate lacrosse both as a student and as a coach, including teaching experience, which is a core skill of excellent coaches. She has a positive can-do attitude and the enthusiasm combined with the patience needed to get the Skyhawk women’s lacrosse program off the ground the right way, while building for long-term success.”

Kelley is the oldest of three children, who all competed in sports at CHS and all three were class presidents. Dayna Queisser (CHS ’04) and Pat Queisser (CHS ’06) excelled in their respective sports. Harold Queisser and Kandi Queisser of Coronado are the proud parents of the new coach and her siblings.

USA Men’s Water Polo Survives Brief Injury Scare to Smith and Azevedo

You may have thought that getting to Beijing was the hard part for the members of the USA Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team. But the coaching staff went through a brief scare recently during a workout, according to Head Coach Terry Schroeder.

“On the last play of the practice (Team Captain) Tony Azevedo took a shot with Jesse Smith blocking him. The shot scored, but nobody really cared. Jesse went straight underwater and Tony was grabbing his hand. Tony’s follow through had hit Jesse on the bridge of the nose.”

“This is actually a very common water polo injury. It’s dangerous for both the offensive and defensive players. My heart was pumping as I made my way to the side of the pool where Jesse was heading. As it turned out, Jesse had a small cut on the bridge of his nose which required two stitches. Tony had a jammed finger and right after lunch he seemed to be just fine. Everyone is healthy now and we plan on keeping it that way.”

Thanks to USA Water Polo’s Wayne Bean for passing along the information.

Aloha from Oahu

As was noted at the outset, the Natter Wife and yours truly went to Hawaii for a week recently and greatly enjoyed the experience. In addition to many of the touristy things we enjoyed, we also ate some great meals. The lowlight was a snorkeling session at Hanauma Bay that lasted literally two minutes before the beach was closed for the day due to a jellyfish invasion. In the paper the next day it was duly noted that 11 people were stung at our scenic location.

The sports scene in Hawaii takes some getting used to, primarily because of the three-hour time difference between California and Honolulu. One Thursday early afternoon baseball game played on the East Coast, had a 6:10 am starting time in Hawaii. NFL games have 7 am and 10 am starting times during the regular season on Sundays.

Another way to look at it is the sports cycle takes getting used to. Occasionally reading the morning paper in our beachfront abode, the game being written and read about was already over.

Perhaps the newspaper sports highlight of the week was an article in “The Honolulu Advertiser” about surfboard water polo. The sport was invented by the legendary Hawaiian athlete, swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku in 1929 and was played in Hawaii and California into the 1940’s.

In the column written by Eloise Aguiar, she quotes Peter Cole, namesake of the Peter Cole Invitational Surfboard Polo Tourney which was held a week ago on Waimea Bay. “The boards were heavy and we could whip them around and hit people in the head,” Cole said. “Nowadays they play on these soft foam boards, so it a lot safer.”

When you consider that two of the early practitioners of the sport were Buster Crabbe and Kahanamoku, the two fastest swimmers of their era in the world, you could probably get some pretty good torque on a 10-foot surfboard just before putting the wood to an opponent. Even the modern day 10 foot foam board could probably get your attention if properly placed.

The Hawaiian media is justifiably proud of their local and adopted athletes, including anyone who has attended the University of Hawaii. The current list of Hawaiian professional athletes is currently highlighted by Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies, who is enjoying a fine season for the pennant-contending club.

There is a seemingly endless list of football linemen who were drafted, made or just missed an NFL roster spot. Probably the best known lineman currently toiling in the NFL is Olin Kreutz, who is the starting center for the Chicago Bears. Each of the seven Hawaiian Islands probably went nuts over the weekend when former Rainbow quarterback Colt Brennan threw two touchdown passes and completed nine of his 10 passing attempts in the Hall of Fame game for the Washington Redskins.

In addition to the above, a total of eight athletes from Hawaii are on their way to compete for the United States in the Beijing Olympics. The sports represented include volleyball (three athletes), judo (two competitors), track and field, soccer and water polo.

A great time was had by all and the trip did include a hike to the top of Diamond Head. I would have liked to have a couple of more minutes in Hanauma Bay, but letting the jellyfish win this round was probably the smart approach.