Nado Natterings Back to Islandersports
A weekly column by David Axelson

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

13 August 2008 Issue No. 30

As we went to press, the U.S. Men’s Olympic Water Team earned a victorious start in pool play competition during the Beijing games by defeating the host team China 8-4. Contributing to the victory were two Coronado High School graduates Layne Beaubien, who scored two goals and Jesse Smith who added a single tally. The  leading scorer for the U.S. was Team Captain Tony Azevedo with five goals.

Head Coach Terry Schroeder has shared his thoughts regarding the team and their first game via a journal he sends to men’s water polo Publicist Wayne Bean. Some excerpts from the journal follow, with the permission of both Schroeder and Bean. 

“Before the China game, we had a light training and then had some down time before we had our pre-game meeting at 2:15 pm,” Schroeder said. “We went over the game plan and talked about playing with a calm confidence. We also talked about the fact that each game we play here will be a dog fight and we could not take these guys (China) lightly.

I felt good all day until 30 minutes before game time and then I got that sinking feeling that I often get as a coach. ‘Had we done everything we could have done to be ready?’ Maybe I still have a little too much of a player’s mind set. I always knew as a player that I could totally impact the outcome of a game. There are certain things during a game that you can control and there are other things that you can’t control. Coaching, I feel the pressure build up and then the game begins and you really have no outlet for that pressure. Anyway, I had the pre-Olympic butterflies and I had to go and sit in the locker room by myself, just relax and pray.

The game went well for us as we jumped on the Chinese 3-0. At the end of the first quarter, we were in control 3-1.The second quarter we kind of lost our composure and things got a little sloppy. The Chinese came back and tied the game 3-3, before we scored one near the end of the second period to take a 4-3 lead into the half. At the end of three quarters it was 6-4 and we went on to win 8-4. It certainly was not our best effort. We struggled on offense and had many opportunities to put the game out of reach but just could not shake them. Our defense was pretty solid, even though we gave up a couple of cheap goals. We held them to four goals and that is definitely a positive.

Tuesday we will play Italy in a huge game. This will be a big test for us. In our World League Super Final, we were ahead of Italy most of the game and then let them back into it with a few minutes to go in the game, which ended in a tie. We lost to them in a penalty shootout. Italy has a couple of good centers and some good outside shooting. They are definitely beatable and if we play well on defense, we will handle them. It is a nice feeling to have one win under our belts. No time to relax though. The tough ones are coming.”

Water Polo squad members have had an opportunity to interact with other U.S. Olympians, including the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team, an experience that Schroeder described in a journal entry filed the day of the Opening Ceremonies. “Practice went well and as we finished the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team was finishing up their practice (nearby). A bunch of the guys had pictures taken with them. Adam Wright even played Kobe Bryant in a game of PIG. Just for the record, Kobe made two slam dunks and made Adam look a little silly.

The basketball team was actually very friendly to our team and made the guys feel pretty special. Like I said, the Olympic Games are full of great life experiences and many memories that will last a lifetime. I am sure that we will create many more in the next two weeks. I’m good with all of this as long as the guys focus when they need to. All of these things can certainly be distractions if we let them.”

Athletic Physical Event Honoring Dr. Chuck Eaton A Success

One week ago today, the annual athletic physical event honoring the late Dr. Chuck Eaton was a success, as a total of 256 student-athletes had their exams provided by an array of Coronado doctors and nurses who donated their time to the cause. Proceeds from the athletic physicals will go directly toward the purchase of supplies for the CHS training room.

Doctors who provided their services included: Dr. Nancy Adam; Irene Wong, NP; Dr. Gretchen Deel; Dr. Stan Salinda; Dr. John Pedrotty; Dr. Patrick Yassini; Dr. Kevin Considine; and Dr. Monica Cepin.

Nurses who took vital signs of the athletes included: Keturah Lujan, Nicola McMahon, Kim Fitzgerald, Bridget Thackston, Carol Ryan, Jackie Henderson, Pam Fallon, and CHS Trainer Connie Martinez.

As he has for several years, Costa Azul Restaurant Owner Brant Sarber treated all of the doctors, nurses and volunteers to dinner at his fine establishment. Thanks also to Dr. Cassandra Stroud, CHS Athletic Director Robin Nixon, ASB Secretary CJ Lindeman, and Capt. Lee Pontes for assisting with the administration and setup of the event. All of the people listed above and more helped raise more than $3,600 for training room supplies.

Athletic Physical Make-Up Date

If you were unable to make the August 6^th physical date described above, one of Coronado physicians who worked the original event has agreed to hold a make-up physical date Friday, August 15 from 4-6 pm. Dr. Gretchen Deel will host the made-up date at 230 Prospect Place, Room 340D. Dr. Deel’s office is located in the same medical building as the Sharp Coronado Pharmacy, adjacent to Sharp Coronado Hospital, on the third floor.

The charges ($15 per physical, $25 total for two children from the same family) will be the same and all of the proceeds will go to the training room supply fund. Checks should be made payable to the Islander Sports Foundation. Blank physical forms will be available at Dr. Deel’s office Friday, or they can be downloaded from IslanderSportsFoundation.com.

CHS Boys Basketball Pizza Fundraiser

Village Pizza in their new Ferry Landing location is helping the CHS Boys Basketball Booster Club with a fundraising special event. Saturday, August 23^rd from 5-8 pm, Village Pizza will donate 15 per cent of your food tab to the basketball program.

Event coordinator Leah Beske summarized the event as “Easy and Tasty,” and urged possible participants to download the required flyer from IslanderSportsFoundation.com, or pick up a copy of the flyer from a CHS basketball player at the door the night of the event.

Great pizza and a great cause combine to assist the Islander Boys Basketball program.

Joe McCarthy Olympic Send-Off Party

Joe McCarthy has become a fixture on the aquatics scene in Coronado and some people may not know that McCarthy is also a Paralympian of considerable accomplishment in the sport of swimming.

Friday, August 15^th at 5:30 pm, all interested parties are invited to attend a function designed to be McCarthy’s Olympic sendoff to Beijing. The event will be held on the pool deck of the BBMAC Aquatic Complex, located on Sixth Street, immediately adjacent to Niedermeyer Field.

Light snacks, hot dogs, beverages and dessert will be provided. Donations will be requested to cover the cost of food, drinks and facilities and to send Joe on his way. McCarthy will be presented with a plaque and there will be a banner for all of the kids to sign for Joe. Cards and personal notes for McCarthy will also be accepted.

If you can assist with logistics, including set-up, clean-up during the night of Aug. 15^th, please contact Anne Morris at 300-6043.

Got Cross Country?

The CHS Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams are practicing in earnest now and their training schedule can be followed by checking in with IslanderTrack.com. Head Coach George Green welcomes all participants to the team.

Got Brett Favre?

Let the record show that Your Natterer really admired former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre. But the constant coverage and the harsh glare of the constant media spotlight have diminished his stature in my opinion. Unfortunately, his relocating to the New York Jets franchise will only prompt more media attention until the regular season starts.

Got Gold?

This column is being written the same evening that swimmer Michael Phelps won his third gold medal at the Beijing Games, this one in the 200-meter freestyle. Phelps has seemingly conquered his toughest events, the 4 x 100 free relay and the aforementioned 200 free and is well on his way to his target of eight gold medals in the games.

Thus far, he has been the top story in the 2008 Olympic Games. Here’s hoping he continues to enjoy the experience and success.

Got Wins?

I got nothing here and so do the Padres.

Chargers Start on a Positive Note

Watching a pre-season football game is always a mental challenge, but with a house full of out of town relatives, the process becomes even more bizarre.

From what I could tell of the Chargers game, when they were playing their first team offense against the Dallas Cowboys first team defense and vice versa, the San Diegans looked very good. Seeing Charger signal caller Philip Rivers on the field into the second quarter was totally unexpected.

The Cowboys first possession and their resulting touchdown concerned me, especially considering how wide open several Dallas receivers were during the drive. San Diego to their credit rebounded well and in the words of the late Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame Coach Hank Stram, “matriculated down the field” and countered with a score of their own. Dallas scoring so easily on San Diego’s first team defense would concern me if I was involved with personnel matters.

Once the first teamers leave the field, the game becomes meaningless and to borrow a basketball phrase, becomes ‘extended garbage time.’ Without stars LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates, San Diego’s offense still rallied for touchdowns when they needed them.

All in all, good efforts for the Chargers, but the last three hours were a waste of time for the fans and meal money for the owners. Until Tomlinson steps on the field, that’s a reflection that the fans paying regular season prices for game tickets are being ripped off.