Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

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

11 Feb 2009 Issue #6

While sitting  in the ‘Nado Natterings’ world headquarters, pondering the lead for this week’s opus, it occurred to me that the Coronado High School winter sports team had quite a six-day stretch since we last visited. The five teams compiled an aggregate won-loss record of 13-2, with only the Girls Water Polo Team losing two games and that was in the prestigious Irvine SoCal Championships, competing against some of the best teams in the state. The Islanders wound up finishing seventh in the 32-team field, a fine result by any measure.

So, where do we start this week? Since basketball led off the proceedings last week, let’s go with soccer in this edition, where we find the injury-riddled Islander Boys Soccer Team hanging a 4-0 shutout on Christian to start their week. We previously noted that four CHS starters had varying degrees of injury, ranging from season-ending to nagging. Add another member to the ‘walking wounded’ list, this time Ruben Perez-Burton, who injured a tendon in his ankle. At some juncture, CHS Athletic Trainer Connie Martinez will have to dedicate a wing of the training room to the Boys Soccer program.

But the good news is that after Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu performed a major line-up shuffle, the Islanders handled Christian easily. Islander goals were scored by Michael Gasparro, Curtis Nixon, Eduardo Sacal and Christian Herrera. Patrick Toomey earned the shutout in goal

“I was surprised,” said Hiatt-Aleu of the comparatively easy result over the Patriots. “Toomey was solid in goal. Gerardo Llanos, who is usually a forward, played defense the whole game and shut down their best forward. He did a really nice job for us back there.”

The second game of the week was to be a non-conference affair against South Bay neighbor San Ysidro High School, but the Cougars lost a sizeable portion of their team to academic problems and were unable to field a team. Net result, two games into the victory column for Coronado.

“This coming week will be a lot tougher,” said Hiatt Aleu. “We have a big game Tuesday at 6 pm against Crawford at our place. Thursday we travel to Madison. The last time we played Crawford we tied 2-2 and we beat Madison 1-0 in Coronado. We’re 11-3-4 right now, so we’ll see what happens during these last four (regular season) games. It should be interesting.”

Islander Girls Soccer Earns Two Western League Wins

The CHS Girls Soccer Team led off their week with a 1-0 victory over Our Lady of Peace, courtesy of a goal from sophomore Mallory Mitchell. “Mallory scored off of a free kick and struck it well,” reported Head Coach Kiko Medina. “It was a great goal and the ball went into the upper right corner of the net. We were really struggling in the game and things just weren’t happening. Offensively we couldn’t get it going. Honestly, we were lucky to walk away with a 1-0 win.”Islander goalie Andrea Davis was credited with the shutout.

Medina used the game to find some playing time for freshman defender Ariel Ochoa and sophomore Mariah Stacy. “Our defense played well and I thought the player of the game was Mariah,” Medina said. “She stepped in and did a really great job. OLP didn’t get much going and didn’t mount a big threat. I had in mind going into the game to try to get everybody some playing time. Other players who had good games included freshman Katie Centeno and junior Stefanie Pietkiewicz.”

Friday night’s game against Christian was a 3-1 victory for Coronado, which avenged a 1-nil (soccer term) Islander loss on the road in the first league meeting between the two clubs. Medina discussed the game in detail. “That was a tough game, believe it or not. Christian is a very physical team. Technically they are not as good as we are, but they stay busy and they do a good job of working hard and taking teams out of their game. We really had to match them physically and play a lot harder than anticipated. The girls stepped up and played really well.

We had a goal from Kaitlyn Couture, who hadn’t scored in a while. That was big for her to get a goal and some confidence. Cassie Callahan had the second goal and Mallory Mitchell scored the third goal.”

Over the past couple of weeks, several different Islander players have scored goals, leading to a question posed to Medina about his deep and varied offensive attack. “We do have a lot of players who have the ability to score when we need it. We have a handful of girls who have at least five or six goals this year. The scoring is spread out and it’s good to know any of those girls can get it done. We have a lot of quality players.”

But fun time is over, as the coming seven-day stretch is “the week from hell,” according to Medina. “Monday we play at Cathedral Catholic at 3 pm and Wednesday we play at La Jolla, also at 3 pm. This week will pretty much determine the final Western League standings and the CIF Division III seeding. We play University City for the second time the following Wednesday. Two wins this week and a win against UC will get us a title, which hasn’t happened in a while. Hopefully we can get it done.”

Three Victories for CHS Girls Basketball

The Islander Girls Basketball Team trumped their male counterparts last week with three victories as opposed to two for the Boys, so we’ll lead with the team with the most ‘W’s.’

The first two contests were Central League tilts, the first of which was a 45-29 victory over Madison, where senior post player Angela Strohbeck earned game-high scoring honors with 24 points. Maggie Harris added nine points, Cory De Marco had five, Alex Evans added three points, while Peri Curtis and Delaney Luna contributed two points each. The Islanders led by nine points at half time, lost the third quarter by a scant two points and cruised to an 11-2 fourth quarter result to put the game away.

Friday was a Girls/Boys twin bill at Christian and the Islanders prevailed 42-23 for their second league win over the Patriots this season. The usual suspects led the Islander scoring attack, including Strohbeck with 15 points and Harris with 12. Curtis added nine rebounds, seven of which were off of the offensive glass.

Curtis, a freshman, plays a variation of point-forward for the Islanders. One of the team’s better ball handlers, Curtis is also a fine shot blocker and rebounder. Curtis is capable of gliding along through a game and at the end of the festivities has pleasantly surprising stats on the ledger.

Saturday’s game in the Coaches’ vs. Cancer Event played at Coronado was a case in point. Curtis scored eight points, but grabbed 13 rebounds as the Islanders bested former Central League member Hoover 41-29. Harris turned in game-high scoring honors with 16, with most of her points coming on long three-point bombs that found the bottom of the net.

Other statistical leaders included Strohbeck with 13 points and 12 rebounds and freshman point guard De Marco with only one point, but dishing out eight valuable assists.

The good individual efforts from his team were noticed by Head Coach Toler Goodwin. “Maggie played well all week and Delaney is giving us some help while Coco Abrantes (injured hamstring) is out. Alex Evans is up from the JV and has provided us with some additional speed. She had eight rebounds in the game against Christian. She is athletic and looks like she enjoys basketball. She has done some nice things.”

Abrantes will practice lightly and try to prepare for Coronado’s lone game of the week, a Friday night home contest against Clairemont, which has a 6 pm tip-off. “Coco’s injury is to her right leg,’ said Goodwin, “which is her push leg because she is left handed. Being left handed seems to add an element of surprise to her defenders. It seems simple, but one quick step and she is by somebody and she will get three or four quick scores. She has the ability to find the basket and she was scoring six or eight points a game before she got hurt. She gets a quick start before people realize they have to account (defensively) for her.”

After one trip through the Central League and the start of the return portion of the schedule, it looks like the league title may come down to Coronado (12-7 overall) at Kearny in the final regular season game. “We have to continue to get better,” said Goodwin of his team. “We need to get more efficient with our possessions and stop turning the ball over.”

Twice is Nice for Boys Basketball

Normally CHS Boys Basketball Head Coach Ken Caesar has no problem articulating his thoughts regarding his team, but when it came to last Tuesday’s 44-36 home victory over Madison, it took Caesar a protracted moment of silence before saying, “That was the worst game we played all year. We were flat and had no energy. We’re going to have to stop with the Tuesday afternoon stuff, where we are flat and not being able to win.”

The good news is that Coronado held on to win 44-36, paced by 14 points from Justin Hebner and 13 from Krishna Samperio. The second quarter, won by the Islanders 16-8, provided the difference in the game. Each of the other three quarters were either tied or decided by two points.

Then it was off to Christian, as the Islanders again aimed to hold Brazilian import Luiz Bidart well below his lofty 25.7 points per game scoring average. In their first meeting, Bidart was held to 19 points and in the return match, last Friday the Sao Paulo native was held to 16.

It sounds easy, but holding Bidart below his average took a strong effort from Islander three-sport star Blake Malkemus (football and baseball are his other two sports). Caesar acknowledged that Malkemus played a huge role in the 50-38 Islander victory. “Blake was all over him. Bidart is an assignment, that’s how you have to look at him. What Blake does is he stays in front of him and wears on him the whole time. With his defense he generates a lot of traveling calls and charging fouls. You can tell by watching Bidart that he has played with a lot of older guys. When I watch him play, he isn’t a high school player. No guard at our level can post up like that. He’s been around. He knows what he’s doing.”

Samperio continues to come up big for Coronado and against Christian the lanky center scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. “Krishna could wind up on the All-League team,” said Caesar. “He has been huge for us. Krishna has five double-doubles (double figures in points and rebounds) in the past six games. Justin Hebner had just one turnover in the game and he’s starting to figure it out. When he gets pressured, he needs to keep the ball in his hands. We also knocked down some free throws down the stretch.”

Justin Parsons, who recently signed to play water polo and baseball at Cal Berkeley, added 12 points, Hebner had 11 points, Malkemus added eight, while Brian Allen added four points. Danny Hebert accounted for three points, with Sean O’Brien and Chris Maskevich adding one each.

Parsons, who missed seven games due to injury, is rounding back into shape. “Justin played well, rebounded and hit some pretty big shots,” said Caesar. “When he turns it on, he’s just a man. He comes in and gives us a security net back there. It’s always just a matter of time before we have foul trouble each night. He plays big.”

With no game until next Friday, when the Islanders host Clairemont at 7:30 pm, beating Christian on the road was important to Caesar. “I’m really glad we won that game. I would have hated to go the full week with a loss. I hope we can get that team back, the one that beat Christian last week, instead of the one that played Madison. Last year we were the No. 9 seed in Division IV and we’re better this year. It would be nice to get the No. 8 seed this year and get one home game at least in the playoffs.”

Girls Water Polo Plays Six Games in Four Days

Although they are batting fifth in this week’s literary lineup, the CHS Girls Water Polo Team probably had the most demanding week of any of the winter sports teams, playing six games in four days, with five of them in the hyper-competitive Irvine SoCal Tournament.

Starting the week, the Islanders defeated La Jolla Wednesday 10-4 to keep their Western League title hopes very much alive. Ashley Young led the Islanders with four goals and two steals, while Hillary Estrada and Kathryn Bailey scored twice each. Kelly Ronimus and Michelle Carroll rounded out the scoring for Coronado with one tally each.

Alex Adamson, who recently announced that she will continue her water polo career at the University of Michigan (Hail to the Victors Valiant!), was credited with six saves, one assist and one steal.

Game 1 of the SoCal Tourney found the Islanders facing Cabrillo High School and paced by six goals from Young and four more from Estrada, the Islanders rolled to a convincing 18-7 victory. Maddie Murphy and Bailey scored twice each, while Bronte Benesh and Shelby Couture were two of four Islanders with one goal each. Goalies Colleen Moore (seven saves and one assist) and Brooke Bernardy (one save) both saw time in goal, along with Adamson.

Later in the day Thursday, Edison High School, ranked No. 6 in Division I of the CIF Southern Section, provided the opposition and Coronado won again 10-3. Young scored four goals and Estrada added a pair. Natalie Stringer joined the scoring parade with a single goal, one of four Coronado players with one goal in the game.

The two victories Thursday qualified the Islanders to compete in the quarter-finals, where they ran into Coronado Del Mar, who holds the No. 1 Division I ranking in the Southern Section. The Islanders, despite 12 saves from Adamson and goals from Young, Murphy, Estrada and Bailey, lost 8-4.

“It was a close game, tied 2-2 at halftime,” recounted Coronado Head Coach Dave Throop. “Fatigue and inexperience settled in during the fourth quarter and we allowed a couple of transition goals in the fourth quarter. We were outscored 3-1 in the final frame, by the eventual tournament champion.”

Saturday’s first game was against Foothill, another highly-ranked Southern Section Division I team (No. 5). Coronado lost 6-5 despite two goals each from Young and Murphy and a single goal from Carroll. Goalies Adamson and Moore each had five saves while playing one half each. The game was won by Foothill by virtue of a 4-2 scoring run in the third quarter.

The final game of the tournament quintet of games was a 9-6 Coronado victory over Montebello, ranked No. 2 in Division II of the Southern Section. Murphy scored three times, Estrada twice and Sidney Hoshko, Ronimus, Young and Carroll scored once each in the victory. Adamson had 13 saves, two steals and one assist, and she was rewarded with an All-Tournament selection.

“It was a very challenging tournament for us,” said Throop. “And to come away in seventh place out of 32 teams, against that type of competition, is a nice accomplishment. We are a little hobbled by the injury bug, but as opposed to the Boys Soccer Team, our injuries are temporary and we will recover in time for the playoffs. We had two starters with shoulder injuries, one with a thumb injury, one with a back issue, a key role player with a thumb injury, one substitute with mono and two players with the flu. All in all the tournament tested our resolve to play through adversity and the girls did a nice job of that.

Overall there were some outstanding moments of play by the team and a lot of learning opportunities for our younger role players. We have one week of regular season play left before we enter the playoffs as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed (in Division II). The seeding position is dependent upon Thursday’s final Western League contest against Cathedral Catholic. We will use our remaining time to focus on some basic elements of our system of play, in preparation for the playoff fortnight, if we are fortunate enough to advance through to the final game. We’re looking forward to the challenges ahead and also to enjoying a few days of practice, as opposed to competition, to sharpen our skills and techniques in a few areas.”

CMS Girls Soccer Wins League Crown

The Coronado Middle School Girls Soccer Team recently won the South Coast Middle School League title, by defeating Christian Middle School 3-0 at Niedermeyer Field in Coronado. The day before in the semi-finals, Coronado defeated defending league champion La Jolla Country Day on the road by a single goal. Coronado finished the season with a record of 8-2.

CMS team members included: Abigail Andreason, Ashley Bennett, Sydney Bennett, Christina Beverly, Theresa Brandt-Guerrera, Abigail Callahan, Ashley Engleman, Allie Hecht, Maude Hoffman, Kailyn Janis, Madison Keenan, Ashley Lilligraven, Emma Pietkiewicz, Mollie Privett, Lauren Ramirez, Taylor Ramos, Katie Shepherd, and Emily Zahn-Schmidt.

CMS Softball Earns Second Place Finish

Another fine winter sport season was turned in by the CMS Softball Team under the direction of Head Coach Randy Adair. The girls lost the finals, played at Green Field, by the score of 7-6, despite mounting a furious rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Competing for CMS were: Casey Bottomley, Katie Brooks, Grace Fahrenthold, Brooke Gensler, Bridgette Ginnane, Ashley Harbin, Lakota Kane, Marina Richard, Hollyn Toomey, Bianca Valle, Laura Williams, Haley Wilson and Brittany Withouski.

Like the Girls Soccer team, the Softball squad finished with an 8-2 mark this season.

Save This Date for College Recruiting Presentation

By popular demand, the Islander Sports Foundation is bringing Jack Renkens and his ‘Recruiting Realities’ presentation back to Coronado Monday, March 23^rd at 7:30 pm. There will be no admission fee charged for the presentation, which will be paid for by the ISF and will be held at the Coronado High School Theater.

Parents of Coronado Middle School and Coronado High School athletes and all student-athletes themselves are invited to attend. The community at large, including parents and athletes from Christ Church and Sacred Heart also invited to attend.

Renkens appeared last year and was a resounding success. Officers of the Islander Sports Foundation thought the presentation was so important for parents and students to hear, that Renkens was contacted to return again in 2009.

For now, circle the date on your calendar. The presentation, which lasts for a total of roughly 90 minutes, is a no-nonsense, realistic recruiting seminar from a former coach and parent, who knows the topic and presents the recruiting information in an entertaining fashion.