September 4, 2008

SPORTS

The Coach’s Corner

Leland High’s 2008 football outlook

By Mike Carrozzo
Head football coach
Special to the Times

This has been a busy summer for the Leland football program. A few of the highlights include 6 a.m. workouts five days a week, two full contact/full gear team camps, an intense strength and conditioning program.

There has also been a lot of fun and team-building events during this off-season including a paintball competition versus Santa Teresa football, dodge ball competitions, the annual Charger Olympics and more.

“The football camps were a lot of fun. It also gave me a chance to get better,” said senior Ben Delamore.

The end result is a frosh/soph and varsity program that is totally committed to success. The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of the dedication and sacrifice made by this group of young men. If it is true that “the harder you work, the luckier you get,” then this should be a very lucky season.

“The best part of the summer is hanging out with my friends almost every day” says senior linebacker Mike Santini.

“We worked very hard everyday to get faster, stronger and improve our football IQ, but still had time to enjoy our summer due to the morning practices,” added senior lineman Amir Tadros.

“All of the players are really looking forward to finally gearing up and keeping score. There comes a time every year when you tire of hitting your teammates. Hitting another colored jersey is very gratifying. This summer made me better and I know it will help us a ton in the long run. Now is when it starts to get really fun,” said senior lineman Tony Carrozzo.

The weightlifting sessions and Jumpsoles (a training aid) helped improve our athleticism a lot,” added senior Josh LaPlante.

Looking down the barrel of the upcoming season, we see many challenges ahead. After a second-place finish last year (7-3, 5-2 in league) in the Santa Teresa Division, Leland made the jump to the top-tiered Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. With the ultimate goal to make the CCS playoffs (and surprise some teams once we are there), you need to be in the top half of the league to succeed. The top four teams in Mt. Hamilton automatically advance to the playoffs. We are hopeful to be one of them. We also know it won’t come easy.

The varsity program has a good mix of senior leadership and talented underclassmen. The team’s strength this year lies in our offensive and defensive lines. Junior Alex Rorie (league sophomore of the year last year), junior Mike Economy, senior Tony Carrozzo, junior Sean Dalton, senior Joey Grammatico and returning All-League senior Amir Tadros (pre-season All CCS) represent a very strong and agile offensive line. Senior Josh LaPlante, senior Ben Delamore, senior Alex Nunes, junior Anthony Russell, senior Jun Fowler, senior Matt McDonald, and senior Alex Oberman, will all share time on the D line.

After graduating every starting offensive skill position last year, there were concerns as to how solid we would be. Those worries were put to rest. The Leland league championship frosh/soph program of last year coached by Jon Flowers resulted in some very talented incoming juniors including RB/DB Vince Gemette, RB/LB Jon Ruel, LB/TE Shane Pizzo, RB/DB Evan Vuckovic, WR/DB Ryan Smith, WR/DB Matt Aita and many more. Senior Will Boring will take over the signal calling for the Chargers this year after battling all summer with talented junior Alex Gonzalez.

Leland’s varsity football players worked hard this summer and kept busy attending workouts, team camps and an intense strength and conditioning program. But they also had fun with teambuilding events.

Another strength of this year program is at linebacker. Joining juniors Pizzo and Ruel will be returning All-League linebackers Matt Machado and Mike Santini (voted the league’s most outstanding LB of the year last year and pre-season All-CCS in 2008). Other players expected to complete a fast defense and powerful offense include seniors Yuta Kai, Tom Felt, Zach Hill, Nick Armann, Shwan Zuhdi, Jay Perez; juniors Justin Faris, Matt Herbert, Eiden Babaoghli, Jared Sandoval, Aubtin Deilami; and sophomore Michael Reeve.

After Chris Hansen stepped down as athletic director (and we are grateful for all she has done for our program), it was critical that a new leader was appointed that could help continue the winning tradition at Leland. We are extremely fortunate to have longtime Almaden resident, Leland teacher, coach and alumni Scot Gillis on board as the new AD. Thus far I am extremely impressed with him and the new administration at Leland. It is an impressive team that works well together.

The last and most anticipated addition to the football family was the long-awaited installation of lights at Tillman Stadium. That, coupled with the recently completed two additional field turf fields (totaling three full Field Turf fields, including the Tillman Stadium field), the new concession/rest room building and all the other amenities makes the Leland High School athletic facility one of the best in the Bay Area. With nine regular season night games and one day game on the schedule, we are assured of finally embracing the “Friday Night Lights” tradition at Leland. School spirit will be through the roof.

High School Sports Schedule, Sept. 5-11

Leland
Friday—Football vs. Prospect—JV at 4 p.m. and varsity at 7 at Prospect

Tuesday—Girls field hockey vs. Westmont; at Westmont
Tuesday—Girls tennis vs. Piedmont Hills—at 3:15 p.m. at Leland

Thursday—Girls tennis vs. Leigh at 3:15 p.m. at Leland

Pioneer
Friday—Football vs. Aragon—JV at 4 p.m. and varsity at 7 at Burlington High School

Tuesday—Girls tennis vs. Del Mar at 3:15 at Pioneer
Thursday—Girls tennis vs. Lincoln—at 3:15 at Pioneer


For more information about Leland and Pioneer sports events, go to:

Pioneer athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletics League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

Almaden Elite seeks players
Almaden Elite U16 Girls Soccer needs Select Division 1 team members. Interested players should contact Irene Johnston at 859-3617 or irene_johnston@yahoo.com.

2008 Komen San Francisco Race for the Cure
This annual 5K Race/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
Race path is along the Embarcadero, starting at the Ferry Building.

Register online at www.komensf.org. For more information visit www.komensf.org or call 415-397-8812

Bike MS: Waves To Wine Ride Celebrates 25th year
Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride is celebrating its 25th Anniversary.  This ride takes you on an unforgettable two-day journey from San Francisco up Highway 1 to Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park and then to Healdsburg in Sonoma County.  More than 1,600 riders will cruise along scenic roads riding any distance from 40 to 175 miles.  Six full meals, generous amenities, stunning landscapes, stocked rest stops every 12 to 15 miles at spectacular sites, and spirited festivities with music and a beer garden are all included.  Bike MS raises money to fund cutting-edge research and provide services to help people with multiple sclerosis.

Join us Sept. 13 - 14 for Waves to Wine 25th Anniversary Ride. To register for the event, sponsor a rider or team or to learn more about the event details and other ways you can volunteer and support the society, please visit http://www.wavestowine.org/ or call 1-800-344-4867.

Get listed!
Sports Briefs listings are subject to the following fee structure: $25 per month, per publication for the Evergreen and Almaden Times; $10 per month, per publication for the monthly newspapers. Indicate publication placement at the time the listing/payment is submitted. Sports Briefs accepts checks – payable to Times Media, Inc – VISA or MC.
To charge your payments call Sonia Pineda at 494-7000 x205. Be sure to reference your team/organization with your payment. Listings appear once payments are received. TMI sponsored events and full-proceed charity fundraisers
exempted. Email, fax or mail listing text to: candy@timesmediainc.com 1310 Tully Road, Suite 107, San Jose, CA 95122. 408-494-7078 (fax) Limit 200 words. Questions? Call 494-7000 x225