June 29, 2006

SPORTS

Who’s that Mustang?

With a host of new frosh/soph talent and some returning varsity
players, Pioneer boys’ basketball team takes on a whole new look

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

With the summer league boys’ basketball season underway, the Pioneer Mustangs’ coaching staff has quite a task on their collective hands.

Pioneer’s T.J. Watson (in blue), a bench player who received ample playing time last season, is expected to fill some of the void left when the boys’ basketball team saw seven seniors graduate in 2006. Photos by Jeff Frazee

In short, finding capable replacements for seven graduated seniors from last season’s squad remains the biggest question mark. To that end, Pioneer assistant coach Kevin Mack, who is helping head coach Joe Berticevich run the team during the summer, said summer league play is the perfect avenue to iron out the team’s wrinkles.

“With not a whole lot of experience coming back, just a couple of guys who played last year on varsity and got some minutes, I think it’s just to kind of see which guys will step up and be leaders and who’s going to start,” Mack said after a 48-43 win over Leigh on June 20. “We don’t even have a starting five set right now, we’re just trying to find where we’re at. We’re really trying to make our identity on the defensive end, trying to instill playing really hard and intense defense, which in turn will get us into our offense. I think it’s just about giving a lot of guys playing time and seeing what they can do out there.”

Of the few returning players from last season’s squad, point guard Matt Monte-longo, forward T.J. Watson and guard/forward Gilbert Mendoza are expected to contribute heavily this coming season, given the fact that each of them saw ample time off the bench last season.

Along with those three, Pierre Woods, Marty de Gier, Mike Collins and Adam Bowers are expected to vie for playing time and a possible starting spot with the team.

Still, like any program, an influx of frosh/soph talent is in the mix this summer, with some players expected to make an impact on the varsity level at times throughout next season.

Mack, who also serves as head coach of the Pioneer frosh/soph team, said players such as Andrew Springer and Mike Beltramo are the types of incoming players that can contribute right away.

Springer, who Mack said was one of his most consistent players at the frosh/soph level last year, will have the chance to compete for a starting post position with the varsity squad throughout the summer.

“I think he can be one of our best players two years from now,” Mack said of Springer. “I think he will be our best player talent-wise.”

Among the horde of new players up from the frosh/soph level is Mick Maggipinto, the younger brother of 2006 graduate and starting guard Nolan Maggipinto. Although Mack said both players are different in various ways, he also sees plenty of similarities.

“They both play hard on the defensive end,” Mack said of the Maggipinto brothers. “They get their hands in there and get deflections, and they go out there and play hard. … Nick still has a little way to go to get to Nolan’s level, but he’s only a junior and I think he’ll step up and get some playing time this year to get an understanding of varsity. In his senior year, I think he’ll definitely be a big contributor.”

All told, the summer league will provide a welcomed challenge for the Pioneer coaching staff, said Mack, in having to mix and match the right players, both experienced and green, on the court while at the same time, evaluating the talent on the roster.

“I think our coaching staff likes it,” Mack said of the challenge in molding a vastly different team from last season. “The last few years, we’ve always had a set lineup because we were always pretty young. This is a little different. We have a whole new group coming in and I think it’s a new challenge, but it’s a good challenge to see if we can get these guys to buy in to what we want to do, and to really get into our system and believe in what we want to do.”

Sports Briefs

Cheer coaches needed for South Valley Pop Warner
Cheer coaches are needed for South Valley Pop Warner. If you're interested in joining a team of outstanding coaches, call Tiana Zarate at (408) 464-3285 or Teresa Smith at (408) 603-8280, or go to http://www.stpopwarner.org/.

Sports officials needed for high school sports
FERMAR Corporation, which contracts with high schools in Santa Clara County, is recruiting officials for high school athletics. Officials are needed for fall season sports such as football, volleyball and field hockey.

Men and women are encouraged to apply. No experience is necessary, as FERMAR will provide training through classes, clinics and tests. All training materials are provided.

Officials are paid $32-$61 per game, depending on the sport and level of competition. Additional opportunities to officiate youth and adult sports are also available.

Interested parties are encouraged to call FERMAR at (408) 567-1700.

Central Valley Edge class 3, U18 girls’ team seeks players
Central Valley Edge class 3, U18 girls’ soccer team, is looking for players born after July 31, 1988 for the upcoming fall season. Contact Coach Ary Afsari at afsari@comcast.net or call (408) 507-7008 for more detailed information.

Almaden Valley’s All-Star cheer team, Cheer Divas, host cheerleading signups
The Cheer Divas program has a few spots available for the 2006-2007 season. Practices are held at Almaden Valley Gymnastics.  For more information call 408-370-DIVA or visit www.CheerDivas.com.

Almaden Ice are the champs

The Almaden Ice girls’ soccer team came in first place this spring season with an impressive record of  7-0-2. The Almaden Ice is coached by Dave Gold and Greg Johnston. Pictured are Jessie Jimenez, Stephanie Rebagliati, Kelly Richardson, Natalie Royle, Amelia Rodriguez, Kiki Bradford, Karina Mohajerani, Ashley Smith, Faith O'Malley, Morgan Geraghty, Nicole Johnston, Danielle Koehne, Ashley Cancilla, Katie Peck and Kristen Pitzen. Not pictured Ashley Ahlgren, Alex Kirchick.

Almaden Little League’s Cardinals end season
with 8-2 loss at TOC Championship game

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The long and unexpected playoff run for Almaden Little League’s Cardinals is over after the team lost 8-2 to San Jose American in the Tournament of Champions championship game on June 21.

Despite finishing the regular season in third place at 9-11 in the Majors South Division, the Cardinals marched through the Almaden Little League Playoffs undefeated to land in the District 12 TOCs, where the team battled for a chance to appear in the tournament’s championship game.

Although the loss ended the season for the Cardinals one win shy of being crowned TOC Champions, Cardinals head coach Kevin Mohs said his team will look at the year overall with great pride.

“No regrets,” said Mohs after the loss. “The kids are having a hard time with it, but I’m sure in an hour or two they’ll look back and realize they had a great season and they have something to be proud of.”

In the championship game, the Cardinals grabbed an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single off the bat of starting pitcher Bobby Rose, scoring Travis McCurdy in the top of the first.

The lead didn’t hold up however, as San Jose American struck back in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run to grab a 2-1 lead before extending the lead to 5-1 by the end of the third inning, aided by three Cardinal errors during that stretch.

San Jose American then put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on three consecutive doubles and a sacrifice fly for an 8-1 lead.

Rose, who took the tough luck loss as the starting pitcher, went the distance on the hill, striking out three batters through five innings. Rose also proved the be the lone offensive threat for the Cardinals in the loss, adding a solo home run in the top of the sixth to cut San Jose American’s lead to 8-2 after knocking in his team’s first run of the game with a single in the bottom of the first. Rose finished the game going 2-for-3.

“It was good to see him finish the TOCs with a home run,” Mohs said of Rose. “ … He’s a great kid. He’s like a coach on the field. If I had 12 of him, we’d be unbeatable.”

Mohs said the team’s offensive output was reminiscent of the regular season, when the Cardinals struggled to score runs. That changed in the playoffs, when the Cardinal bats came alive to help the team’s hot run to the TOC Championship game.

One of the players leading the charge on offense was Colby Campbell, who reached base via a hit or a walk all but one time throughout the playoffs.

“They always had a lot of potential,” Mohs said of his team. “They finally started coming around and started hitting. We struggled with hitting at the beginning of the year but always had good pitching, so all we had to do was put some runs on the board.”

And while the Cardinals will have to wait until next season for another chance at the District 12 TOCs, plenty of this year’s players will be returning to help. The Cardinals are set to lose just five 12-year-old players from this year’s squad, leaving most of the team intact for next season.

Almaden Little League's AAA Nationals conquer
District 12 Tournament of Champions

The Almaden AAA Nationals heated up their play during the perfect time of the year.

The Nationals took first place in the Almaden Little League AAA South regular season with a 12-8 record. They then dominated the Almaden South Minor Tournament of Champions with a 3-0 record to win the title. This title was hard won with great games against the AAA Red Sox and AAA Rockies, who were not going to go down without a fight. 

This success brought them to the District 12 Tournament of Champions, which was hosted this year at Willow Glen Little League. In sweltering summer heat, the Nationals won their first game against the Willow Glen Indians 14-7. It was a great battle with steady pitching from Kevin Asplund and Sam McDonald as well as great offense from the entire team. Key hits were contributed by Logan Whiting, Brian Grace and Josh Lynn to pull off the win.

Game two against the Cambrian Park Giants was smooth sailing with a 7-0 win. McDonald and Asplund together
pitched a no-hitter. The Nationals’ bats were hot that night with key hits by McDonald, Asplund, Whiting, Grace, and Tyler Moore.

Coach Greg Asplund said, “ The boys came to play that night and nothing was going to get by them. Even with the continued heat, they played great defense and kept the bats swinging.” 

This put the Nationals in the championship game against the Quito Athletics. Asplund again was strong on the mound for the Nationals as was closer James Ross. Defense was incredibly strong all night with key moments led by catcher Whiting, center fielder Grace, and right fielder Ryan Greene.

Manager Jeff Wells said, “All 12 Nationals players wanted this game and although they started out the first inning down by one (run), they came out from that point ready to fight and battle they did.” 

Solid hits by Grace and Makenze Kunzelman fired up the team in the second and they never looked back from there. This fearsome squad was rounded out by season-long solid defense from third baseman Rishi Savur and second baseman Josh Wells, who came through at key moments, and by Michael Cerone, who despite injury was able to drive in a run and score to seal the win.  

Final score: 7-2 Nationals.

“This team's heart throughout both the Almaden TOC and the District 12 TOC was incredibly impressive, ” said Wells.

“Every kid on this team is a true gamer,” added Asplund. “They rose to the occasion and it paid off.”

Athletic trio

Dad holds Guinness record, mom is national race
walk champion and son is the all-around athlete

By Margo Consul
Times Intern

What do you get if you cross the man with the record for fastest time doing 1,000 sit-ups and the female race-walk national champion? That would be Alex Sokol, an amazingly fast 7-year-old.

This young to-be-second grader, Alex Sokol, loves to run. He has competed in approximately 20 5Ks and has destroyed the competition. His mile time is 6:45 and has run 3.1 miles in 22:13.

According to his parents, Steve and Leslie Sokol, Alex got his love for running one day at the track while Leslie was training for her race walking competition Then 4 years old, Alex decided that instead of watching his mom train, he would run, too—beginning his running career.

Since he began, Alex and his father, Steve, run once a week. They go to La Colina Park to jog and do sprints, the only form of training Alex receives. Alex participates in many sports, and that is what keeps him in shape for running competitively, his parents said. Indoor soccer, karate, swimming and basketball are the sports that he loves and excels at.

Alex is a fierce competitor. At the Resolution Run on Jan. 1 in Los Gatos, it was pouring rain and windy. “I feared I would have to catch Alex because he would just fly off the hill,” Steve said of the conditions. But despite the weather, Alex ran and came out well by placing in the event.

At the Bay Meadow race, Alex and his father had to run on the actual racetrack, which consists of mostly sand. “Alex fell and skinned his knees, elbows and started bleeding right at the beginning of the race. Instead of stopping he got and finished the race. Even though he was bleeding and crying, he finished third in a 19-and under-division,” Steve said.

And Alex has Olympic-sized dreams.

He said he wants to run the event “with the longest distance,” in the Olympics someday. And, he also really wants to compete in a triathlon. But then he also said he might want to become a professional soccer player or an astronaut.

Steve said the reason his son can do so well in so many sports is because “he just doesn’t get tired. He is able to play hard until the end.”

Alex beat Steve in the Jeremiah’s Promise 5K by one second with a time of 23:13. And Steve has no problem finishing behind his young son.

“I’m looking forward to the day that I say ‘see you at the end’ and I do not see him after the gun goes off,” Steve said.

Steve Sokol is an exercise physiologist who helps fire fighters and police officers get into shape for their jobs. He also does personal training on the side. He decided to train for the Guinness record over the Thanksgiving break.

“It was just too cold and wet to run so I went upstairs to do some sit-ups and asked my brother to call me when dinner was ready,” said Steve. “By the time he called me, I had done 3,000 sit-ups. I thought to myself I’m pretty good at this.”

Since then, Steve has done 1,000 sit-ups in 10 minutes and 29 seconds, the current record in the Guinness book of World Records. Steve played water polo in high school and was a long distance runner while in college. He said that he “did OK, but never won.”

He added that he always wanted to ask his son what it is like to always win, but knows that his son will not say because he is so humble about his winnings.

“He doesn’t show off when he wins, he just acts like he’s been there before,” said his proud mom. “His teacher wrote on his report card that he helps others do their best in class.”

Leslie, meanwhile, is the national champion of race walking for the age group 45-49. She is a part of the Santa Cruz Track Club and trains daily at the Santa Teresa High School track.

The difference between power walking and race walking is that “power walking has huge steps while race walking is a heel to toe movement that is quick and short,” said Leslie. Leslie added that race walking “is very technical. It has its own style and way of staying legal. You have to one foot on the ground at all times, with mostly straight legs.”

She has won two gold medals and competed this year in Hawaii for the national championships.

When asked about what her plans are for her son, she simply said, “Whatever he desires. He just loves school. We’re happy as long as he’s happy.”

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