Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

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

25 Feb 2009 Issue #8

Coronado High School’s winter sports teams achieved a perfect quinella, as all five squads qualified for the playoffs and either have already (Girls Water Polo) or will (Everyone Else) host a first round playoff game.

The aforementioned Girls Water Polo Team rode into the CIF Division II Playoffs as the No. 1 seed and played to that level in their first round game against Serra High School, emerging with an 18-3 victory. Considering that the starters played only the first quarter and the score was 11-1 at that point, the score could have been far more lopsided. Scoring 11 goals in a seven-minute quarter means you are scoring a goal roughly every 38 seconds.

Ashley Young, Kelly Ronimus, Sidney Hoshko, and Shelby Couture all scored three goals each for the Islanders, with Lauren Carroll adding two scores and single tallies coming from Kathryn Bailey, Natalie Stringer, Michelle Carroll (senior sister of Lauren) and Kendall Martin scoring once each. 

In goal, Alex Adamson played the first quarter, while Colleen Moore was credited with five saves in two quarters of play. Brooke Bernardy had a save in the game’s final stanza.

Islander Head Coach Dave Throop said his crew was ready for the playoffs. “I thought the team prepared well for this game, especially with the understanding that the game (against the No. 16 seed) would be a mismatch.”

However, the mental preparation didn’t carry over to the quarter-final game against El Capitan, although Coronado prevailed 13-4. “We approached our first round game in the correct frame of mind,” Throop said. “But we played the quarter-final game with less than our optimum focus. It’s always difficult to play at a high level against a lesser opponent and that is some of the toxin we were snake bit with Saturday morning.”

Young and Estrada had three goals each, followed by Ronimus and Hoshko with two tallies each. Bailey, Couture and Laruen Carroll scored once each. Adamson was credited with seven saves and three assists in one half of play, while Moore and Bernardy had seven saves between them in the second half.

From here on, it’s relatively simple. Coronado plays Scripps Ranch Tuesday evening at 5:45 pm at La Jolla’s Coggan Family Pool. If the Islanders defeat the Falcons, a team they saw twice in Western League play for the third time this season, they will advance to the finals Saturday night at 5 pm, at La Jolla. It is likely they will find Bishop’s on the other end of the pool.

“I don’t feel that our team will be overly nervous heading into next week,” Throop elaborated. “It’s a grounded, talented and young team that I like. We’ve done a lot to prepare for these opportunities, although for most of the team, this is their first experience through the playoffs. We’re working hard, learning, trying to improve, and we’re relaxed.”

Islander Girls Soccer Takes Western League Crown

In what is believed to be the first time in school history, the CHS Girls Soccer Team captured the coveted Western League championship last week, by virtue of their 1-0 home victory over University City. The game and championship winning goal came from the right foot of Kaitlyn Couture, after a fine offensive push by Mackenzie Coutts. Andrea Davis was credited with the shutout in goal, but more on the senior Islander netminder a little later.

“We were working on the runs in practice that we needed to be making against University City,” said Head Coach Kiko Medina. “In the first half we had a lot of missed opportunities. Mackenzie made a great run and we got a one-touch finish from Kaitlyn. Their defense wasn’t ready for her to step in. That was the stuff we were working on all season long. It is fitting that was the clincher for us in league.” Couture’s goal came 13:42 into the game, using her right foot to find the lower left corner of the goal.

Coronado dominated the game, despite the paper thin margin of victory. However, it took a great one-on-one save by Davis with 8:42 remaining in the game to seal the victory and the title for Coronado. The Islanders needed an outright win against U.C. to win the title. A tie would have relegated Coronado (13-3-5) to second place.

“Our defense dominated U.C.,” Medina added. “But I have to give a lot of credit to their keeper, she kept them in the game. She frustrated us a little bit with some big-time saves. It would have been tough for us to dominate play the way we did and not be able to put them away. Andrea didn’t have much to do, but when it came down to it, she did great. Our outside mids, Mackenzie and Mallory Mitchell did a good job and created a lot of opportunities for us. We were often one pass or one touch from getting it done. Paige Berube and Sandy Shepherd kept the defenders organized in the back. We only gave up 11 goals in 21 games this season. That was very instrumental in our success and in only losing three games all year.”

As champions of the Western League and the No. 1 seed in CIF Division III, the Islanders get to sit out the opening round of the playoffs, and instead advance directly to the quarter-finals. They take to Niedermeyer Field Saturday, Feb. 28 against the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Southwest of San Diego and Central Union. Saturday’s game time is scheduled to begin at 7 pm.

CHS Boys Soccer Emerges With No. 3 Seed in Division III

It was a topsy-turvy week for the CHS Boys Soccer Team, as they tied Hoover 0-0 at home, before losing at Lincoln 3-2 Thursday afternoon. The loss to the Hornets was significant because a Coronado victory would have won the Islanders their third consecutive Central League title.

Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu is never one to mince words about his team, good or bad. “We were awful. The pressure, along with inexperience and a lack of veteran players (lost due to injury) got to us a little bit. We pretty much controlled our own destiny. Against Lincoln we missed some easy scoring opportunities and made mistakes in the back.”

The Islanders finished 4-1-1 in their last six contests, after the injury bug hit the team. Perhaps because they have played to their seeded position in their past several playoff appearances, or due to their strong finish in the Central League, the Islanders (13-4-5) earned the No. 3 seed in CIF Division III.

“We only lost four games all year, all by one goal,” Hiatt-Aleu said of his team’s fine season. “That’s the seed I asked for and that’s what we got. We beat some good teams. I wouldn’t be surprised that there are some upsets in the playoffs. There is no true clear cut favorite. There’s not one outstanding team that sticks out over anybody else. There will be close games, decided by penalty kicks. They (CIF staffers) said afterwards that Division III was the hardest division to seed. Saints (St. Augustine) was upset. They thought they should be up there in the seedings. They are a good team, but they lost a lot of games. It was interesting.”

Like the CHS Girls Soccer squad, the Boys advance to the quarter-finals Friday night, when they host the winner of the San Dieguito Academy vs. Mission Bay game at 6 pm.

“The week off will serve us well,” added Hiatt-Aleu. “We have lots of guys banged up with minor injuries. We’ll have a good week of training. The kids need to go out and see how far we can go. We always make it interesting. It would be nice to see a full stadium. The kids would enjoy that.”

Girls Basketball Hosts Tuesday Night Playoff Game

Faced with four of their final five Central League games on the road, the CHS Girls Basketball Team came up just short of the league crown last week. They defeated Point Loma on the road Tuesday night, paced by 17 points and 17 rebounds from senior stalwart Angela Strohbeck, to win by the score of 36-15. Due to injuries to freshmen Coco Abrantes and Peri Curtis, only five Islanders played in the game, with three players accounting for all of the scoring. In addition to Strohbeck, freshman Alex Evans pitched in 11 points and junior Maggie Harris added eight. Coronado led 25-5 at the half and according to Head Coach Toler Goodwin, “We played shot clock basketball in the second half,” to win the game. Inherent in the ‘running the clock’ concept was, ‘let’s not lose anyone else to injury.’

So, Friday night it was for all the marbles at Kearney, who had lost only to Coronado in the first round of league play, while the Islanders fell to Clairemont on the road in the early going. Coronado fell behind 13-4 in the first quarter, before falling 38-33. The Islanders won quarters 2-4 by the scores of 11-9, 7-6, and 11-10 but couldn’t put Kearney away.

“We had 22 turnovers in the first half and 39 in the game,” said Goodwin. “Still, I was pleased with the way we fought back. Angela had 19 points and 17 rebounds (36 and 34 total for the week) and got us back into it in the third. She got her fourth foul two minutes into the third quarter and had to sit out the rest of the quarter. We got it back to within three points with 1:40 to go. We had a couple of careless turnovers toward the end. It was their senior night and we let them get out ahead early. Then we were constantly battling uphill.”

Despite being nipped at the wire for the league title, the Islanders earned the No. 8 seed in Division IV, and will host Francis Parker Tuesday night at 7 pm in a first round game. “When we played them earlier in the season, they beat us by 30,” said Goodwin, somewhat ironically a Francis Parker graduate. “We know we are capable of beating that team. In the first game, we missed six or seven uncontested layups. We watched the game film Saturday in practice. If we show up and play good basketball, we should win.”

If Coronado (14-7) prevails, they will face Bishop’s on the road Friday night, playing the team most experts rank as the No. 1 Division IV team in the state. “Our kids are excited about the possibility of playing against Bishop’s,” Goodwin added. “They like that challenge and know they have nothing to lose. We look forward to the opportunity.”

Boys Basketball Earns Home Playoff Game

One of the more pleasant surprises of the winter sports season was the way the CHS Boys Basketball Team completed their regular season, on the road at Kearney (21-4) against the Central League champs, playing in a full house. None of that seemed to faze the Islanders (18-10) as they defeated the Komets 56-53.

Two full days after the completion of the game, Islander Boys Basketball Head Coach Ken Caesar was still fired up about the victory. “That was the best game the team has played all year, at a time when they really needed it. Justin Hebner hit five three-pointers. He was amazing. That was his coming out party. Krishna Samperio had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Justin Parsons (11 points) went right at them and gave their big guy two quick fouls. We shocked everybody. I don’t think anybody expected that.”

Caesar employed some strategy to help the cause. “We jumped out and man pressed them, then we fell into a zone. We put the zone in right away to keep Parsons and Samperio out of foul trouble. Then we went at their guys to get them in foul trouble. Their best big guy got in foul trouble and never really got going. We don’t normally play a zone, but we have to keep people in front of us defensively.”

Victory has many contributors and that was the case Friday night, as Caesar mentioned other Islanders that assisted in earning the win. “Bryan Beverly came in and gave us some minutes. Danny Hebert was big. He hit two big free throws at the end to ice it. We were up one with just a few seconds left in the game. Danny took care of the ball and moved it around. Chris Maskevich made a couple of nice plays for us. He’s better coming off the bench for us right now, because the pressure is off of him. The guys were able to pull it together. For us to go out and beat Kearney was huge for them.”

The Division IV post season pairings broke well for Coronado, as they earned the No. 7 seed and host Olympian High School at home Wednesday night in the first round of the playoffs. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm. The two teams played earlier this season, with the Islanders winning the game by 12 points. If the Islanders prevail, they will play at Francis Parker Saturday evening.

“After what I saw in that Kearney game, we aren’t done,” said Caesar of Coronado’s post season approach. “We’re not afraid of any of these teams’ size. We are the team that is really big. We’ve got some bodies. When we throw the ball into the post and attack the post, we’re good. We got the seed we wanted.”

Coronado Youth Football Adds Flag Football and Cheer Age Levels

Word comes from Don King that Coronado Pop Warner Football and Cheer will add flag football and cheerleading for boys and girls, ages 5-7 this coming year. “By popular demand, we’re adding the new divisions,” said King. If you would like additional information, please call King at 726-5270.

Odd Man Out is Funny and Poignant Baseball Read

Your Natterer got hooked by a book excerpt in a recent edition of “Sports Illustrated,” so I raced (a relative term) out to get a copy. The book is entitled “Odd Man Out” by Matt McCarthy and is about the Yale graduate’s season in low ‘A’ ball in Provo, Utah. McCarthy, who was cut by the Anaheim Angels organization in 2003, went on to enroll at Harvard Medical School.

So, you can guess the setup, which is Ivy League molecular biophysics major interacting with minor league teammates from, shall we say, diverse backgrounds. Some of the locker room stories are hilarious, but this is inside baseball stuff with adult themes throughout, not a kid’s book. 

Mentioned in the narrative were decisions that several minor league players had to make regarding taking steroids, which were universally seen as a means to help them reach their lifelong goal of playing in the Major Leagues. Apparently some players did and some didn’t, but the book doesn’t point fingers.

McCarthy clearly has options outside of the game, but the book is filled with teammates who see their one shot at fame and money coming through baseball. It’s a quick read, but one that will get you in the right frame of mind for the coming baseball season.

Save This Date for College Recruiting Presentation

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.

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.