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Publication Date: Friday, September 03, 2004 Prep sports season off and running
Prep sports season off and running
(September 03, 2004) Local football teams look to gain experience
By Colleen Corcoran
"I think every coach would say his goal would be to go to CCS playoffs. They may not admit it openly, but I think all in their hearts would think that," said Robert Sykes, head football coach at Los Altos High School.
His team is young and, for the most part, inexperienced at varsity-level play. Many starting seniors from last year's 4-5-1 team have graduated.
But, said Sykes, "I expect to do better now. The kids seem to have better character. They seem to like each other. We have a lot of kids who have a lot of natural ability.
"We're just trying to be consistent in what we do -- control the football and not make any mistakes. As long as we do those things, I think we'll do well."
In many ways, the story is the same for all teams. The goal is improvement and victory. The method is a consistently high level of play. The game is the same. Only the players, the coaches and the competition vary.
Los Altos will face Mountain View High School in the SCVAL El Camino Division this year. According to league rules, the El Camino Division champion advances to the De Anza Division while the last place De Anza finisher moves down to El Camino.
Last season, the Spartan football team went 2-7-1 in De Anza, finishing last, and is moving down this year. But with 12 returning starters, Mountain View has experience.
Because most El Camino schools have a limited number of players (around 35), injuries can play a key role in a team's success.
"How our team stays healthy, how our team comes around and develops team chemistry and how new players gain experience will go a long way to determine how we do," Mountain View head coach Dan Navarro said. "This team I would think could do okay."
The St. Francis Lancer football team also has high hopes.
"Our goals are always fairly clear: undefeated season, league champions, CCS champions," assistant coach Dan Quinn said. "And we always believe that we can accomplish these goals."
With a 10-2 league record, taking losses only to De La Salle in the preseason and to Palma in the Division I playoffs, St. Francis won the 2003 WCAL title.
This year, only three starters return. The team is young but, according to Quinn, "This year's team has some great raw talent. They have character, enjoy each other on the field and have really started to come together on both sides of the ball.
"The program seems to bring the best it can out of each player, regardless of ability."
Girls volleyball
In November last year, Mountain View, Los Altos and St. Francis met in the Division III playoffs of CCS. The Spartans had finished third and the Eagles second in the De Anza Division. The Lancers had taken second in the WCAL.
St. Francis was the most dominant, winning CCS for the tenth consecutive, time, then won NorCal, then State. Los Altos was the only team to take even one game from St. Francis during CCS.
Since that time, four seniors who earned Division I college scholarships have departed.
"We have a core of young women who are very, very talented," said head coach Kim Oden. "The goal for the year is to reach the potential that this team can reach, and we'll be excited about what that could possibly be."
The keys to Lancer success are high-caliber, competitive athletes with a strong work ethic who think of other players before themselves, according to Oden.
Because of an increase in school sizes, St. Francis and Mountain View have moved to Division II in CCS. With no private schools in Division III, Eagles head coach David Winn said that the playoff scenario for his team has never been more open.
While seven Los Altos seniors have graduated, four starters are returning, including silver medal Junior Olympian Lauren Schaefer.
"A lot of people have been trying to say that this is a rebuilding year for us but I wouldn't say that yet," Winn said. "We want to be the most improved team in the league.
Winn said he also hopes to make CCS and finish first or second in league. So does Mountain View, a team that graduated only one starter last year.
"I really think we've improved tremendously from last year," said Spartan head coach Gerrie Phillips. "We were so young last year, and now we're a bit more experienced."
Boys and girls water polo
"Water polo is a demanding sport," said Lancer boys head coach Terry O'Donnell. "It's one of those sports where if you want to be really successful at it, you have to be in great condition and really work hard."
Testament to this is the fact that all of his athletes play on a club team year-round. Last year, they took third in WCAL and lost in overtime to Menlo at CCS semifinals.
"They're really hard-working and have a lot of intensity. And they want to learn. We'll do even better than we have," said O'Donnell, whose team has lost few players from last year.
Unlike St. Francis, three of 30 athletes play year-round for the Spartan boys. Few starters graduated, but the team remains young. In 2003, they finished third in the lower El Camino Division.
Nonetheless, head coach Rafael Alapont is optimistic. "This year the program's stronger. Better attitude. Offensive improvement. Better athletes. Our division is really even. Anyone can win any given year," he said.
After placing first in El Camino last season, the Spartan girls advance to De Anza, minus four graduated seniors.
"I'd like to develop the players that I have and try to remain in this league," said head coach Danielle Rokitta.
In the first round of CCS last year, Mountain View lost to St. Francis, the section champions for the seventh year in a row. Four starters are returning for the Lancer girls.
Another set of CCS and WCAL titles are on their list of goals.
"But more than that, we want to enjoy our experience of playing the game," head coach Brendon Reutebuch said. "We want to make all the hard work and dedication worthwhile."
Boys and girls cross-country
This fall, Mountain View advances to Division II, probably the toughest cross-country division in the state and possibly even in the country.
But Spartan head coach Samantha Read is undaunted.
"This year looks to be one of our strongest teams ever. I think we have an excellent chance of making it to CCS," said Read.
At the El Camino championships last year, the Spartan boys placed sixth and the girls fourth.
After graduating their top two boys and their second- and third-finishing girls, the Eagles are rebuilding in Division III. In 2003, the boys qualified for CCS but the girls did not.
"Last year, we had a very close team but no outstanding runners," said Los Altos assistant coach Steve Perry. "We're hoping to see if anyone comes out of the woodwork this year."
Girls tennis
"It's not last year," said St. Francis head coach Lynn Horiye. And that might not be a good thing.
In 2003, the team made it to CCS semifinals. But, Horiye's number-one singles player has graduated, and last year's number-two singles, Denise Dy, the top 14-year-old in the nation, quit school to play tennis.
"It's going to be a tough year. We're going to be in the middle of the WCAL, I think," said Horiye.
Los Altos, meanwhile, has improved, adding nationally-ranked freshman Samantha Lam, who will play number-one singles, to the roster.
"Last year, everyone seemed to be our biggest competition," said head coach Cuong Duong, whose 2003 team won two matches in De Anza. "This team is definitely better than last year. We're expected to have a winning record in league play."
Girls field hockey
With 12 seniors that graduated, Los Altos is expecting a rebuilding year.
Despite having a relatively experienced team last year, the Eagles won three games in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's Santa Teresa Division.
"I've had everything from CCS champions to a team that lost a bunch of seniors," said Los Altos head coach Gerri Baldwin. "We've been there and we've done that, so we'll just rebuild."
The Lancers tied for first with Los Gatos in CCS last year. But St. Francis will need to find a way to replace U.S. Junior National Team Member Nicole Ng.
"Anyone in our league we can't take lightly," St. Francis head coach Kathy Lincoln said. "We want to be playing on Nov. 20 [CCS finals] so that's how we try to approach it. Not that we look too far ahead. We try to play every game and just see where the chips fall."
E-mail Colleen Corcoran at sports@mv-voice.com
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