February 19, 2009

SPORTS

Leland boys best Santa Teresa 54-47

By Kevin Jones
Special to the Times

The Leland varsity basketball team pulled themselves up to a .500 league record this season with a 54-47 win over the visiting Saints of Santa Teresa.

Overall the Chargers sport a record of 14-10 and with a 6-6 record in league play, they find themselves in fourth place in the Mount Hamilton Athletic League.

Riding a short win streak, Leland hopes to “win” out the rest of the season, which ends this week. If the Chargers can do that they would improve their position for a higher seed for the tournament. Tournament seeding is on Feb. 22. The CCS Tournaments get underway that day.

At the Santa Teresa game, Leland jumped out in front and never looked back in the victory, although the Saints were never far behind. Limited mistakes and key baskets kept Leland out in front to ensure the win.

Jake Peterson was tough inside all night, scoring and pulling down rebounds. Peterson led all scorers with 16 points. Trevor Marino continued his all-league play with his deft passing to teammates and scoring 11 points of his own. Greg Hipwell and Justin Dueck were steady, knocking down 12 and 10 points respectively. The spark of the night was provided by Alex Ramos who came off the bench to hit two three-pointers and a nice slicing lay-up to give the Chargers a nice cushion.

Next up for the Chargers is Overfelt at home Wednesday for the last regular season home game and a rematch against Pioneer on Friday at Pioneer. The Mustangs should be motivated for this rematch since they were routed at Leland in late January.

A cold warm-up for Pioneer baseball

By Luke Cunningham
Times Intern

Although the weather last Thursday was not ideal for baseball, the Pioneer Mustangs hung in and put on a good scrimmage game.

The team was practicing to prepare both varsity and junior varsity teams for the baseball season starting in two weeks. Overcast clouds and an icy breeze didn’t dampen the attitudes of the Mustangs. Deciding to play on a different field, because their varsity field was muddy from recent rains, the Mustangs showed that they have the dedication needed to put on a great season.

As the game progressed, family members and fellow classmates made their way to the baseball field to watch and cheer on their schools’ teams.

Because this was a game between the two teams at Pioneer, fans were mixed between two teams—the blue shirts and the red shirts—and there were equal amounts of varsity and JV players on both teams. It allowed the players to get to know each other better in terms of each individual’s unique playing style and helped them gel so when the games actually start, the players can read each other.

Make no mistake though, when they were playing, it didn’t matter that their ‘opponents’ were members of their own team, each focused on beating the other just as they would in a regular-season game.

Junior Matthew Wright, the team’s varsity catcher, has a shoulder injury that is likely to keep him out for the entire season, but he’ll be sitting on the bench cheering on his teammates. Obviously upset about his physical setback, Wright knows the importance of teamwork and his chance to help the team in a different way. However, although unable to be catcher, he says that he’ll be able to take a few at bats during the season since batting uses a different set of muscles than throwing the ball.

“I think we’ll be able to do really well this year, and hopefully move up a division for next year,” She says. “That would be cool since I’ll be a senior next year.”

If Thursday afternoon is a sign of what to expect from the Mustangs, then expect a baseball season full of excitement and outstanding game play.

Sports Briefs

CV Dynamo Soccer Club tryouts
The CV Dynamo Soccer Club will be holding tryouts for two teams, the Dynamo Red and Dynamo White.  We are looking for skilled and talented players to join the club.  Try outs will be held on Feb. 21 at Ida Price Middle School (Corner of New Jersey and Curtner) from 1 – 3 p.m.  Separate tryout requests will also be accommodated, up until completing our rosters.  Please contact John at Jshikash@eea.epson.com, (408)930-8748.

South Valley Lacrosse Club needs Players
Registration is now open for the Spring 2009 Season!

Space is limited due to our high rate of player return so act now to register!

We are looking for players ages 7-8 and 13-14. Our season runs from Feb 2 - May 29.  Practices are in the Cambrian area and games are on Saturdays or Sundays.  Questions?  E-mail Joy Bender at joy@joybender.com To register or for more information about our club: www.svlax.com.

Almaden Arsenal Boys’ U16 Class 3 “Comp” soccer team holds tryouts
Almaden Arsenal BU16 Class 3 soccer team is looking for highly competitive players with birthdates between Aug. 1, 1993 and July 31, 1994.  We are a year round soccer team (excluding the high school season) that play for the Almaden Valley Soccer League.

Tryouts will be held Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1-3:00 pm and Sunday, Feb. 22, from 3-5:00 pm at DeAnza Park (5500 Marquette Dr, San Jose, CA 95118 (off Meridian Ave across from Meryvns) For more information please contact Tim Steinkopf at 408-930-8102 or by email at tim.steinkopf@gmail.com.

Girls’ U-13 Comp Soccer Tryouts
The South San Jose Hot Shots, a girls’ Class 3 “comp” soccer team, is holding tryouts for experienced players born between 8/1/96 and 7/31/97. The team is comprised of players from the Almaden and Santa Teresa valleys, and has played in the Delgado comp league for the past several years. Please contact the coaching staff at ssj.hotshots@gmail.com for further details.

Santa Clara Sporting Girls U9 “Comp” Soccer Tryouts
Try outs are currently being held every Monday and Wednesday through the month of February from 4 p.m. till dark at Curtis Field in Santa Clara (890 Pomeroy Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95050)

Your daughter must be born on or after 8/01/2000 to play U9 in the Fall Season.

Two new teams are currently being formed.  For information on the Santa Clara Sporting Soccer Club, please visit their web page at www.santaclarasporting.com. Contact Coach Jeff Jenkins at 650-714-2873 or e-mail at: saprissafc@gmail.com regarding try outs

AVYSL 4v4 MicroSoccer Registration now open
Take advantage of one of the best sports deals in town, Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League’s Spring Recreational 4v4 MicroSoccer. Registration is now open from Jan. 8 through Feb. 27 for players aged U5 through U18 (teams are forming now). For more information and to register, visit WWW.ALMADENSOCCER.ORG.

Kiwanis Club of Almaden Valley invites you to the Races
Join the Kiwanis Club of Almaden Valley at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday, Mar. 7, 2009 for our sixth annual fundraising event.  Gates open at 11 a.m. with the first race running at approximately 12:45 p.m..   General ticket cost is $37 (kids 5-17 are $15) and includes valet parking, seating in the Turf Club and a buffet prepared with wonderful foods of the season.  Proceeds from this event benefit the following Kiwanis community outreach programs: Turn Around Scholarships, Key Clubs and K Kids leadership programs as well as other community service needs.  For tickets and information please email us at info@almadenvalleykiwanis.org or give us a call at (408) 997-6520 or 408-386-7410.

Almaden FC Boys’ U16, U17, U18 Class 1 & 3 Soccer holds tryouts
The Almaden FC – Boys’ U16, U17 and U18 Class 1 & 3 - are looking for highly competitive soccer players with birthdates between Aug. 1, 1993 and July 31, 1991. We are a year round, competitive team based in Almaden Valley and coached by Alex Saunders (Leland HS JV Coach).  Winners of four regional tournaments in 2008 and looking to increase our record this coming season, we believe in development play to give our players a chance to compete in high school and college. We are holding tryouts at the following date and time:

Saturday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Pioneer High School’s natural grass fields.

Tryouts will continue through the end of February at times to be determined.

For more information, please contact our team manager, Alex Saunders 650-644-6507 or by email at alexandersaunders@hotmail.com.

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