Taking Sides Taking Sides (March 10, 2000)@takesidesq: NCS titles for Amador, Foothill basketball teams: Game-winning strategies from the coaches @takesideshead: It's been a great run for Amador girls

by Elizabeth Stanley

Amador Valley High School prides itself at being the school of champions. In fact, that statement has been inscribed on the main gym wall to remind players and fans of our legacy.

So it's with a great deal of pride that Amador girls basketball brought home the school's first North Coast Section title in the new millennium. It's been a great run - for these outstanding players, for me as coach in my seventh season, for students, parents and our wonderful Pleasanton fans who have helped make girls basketball a truly popular competitive sport in our city.

This was an especially tough season, both game-wise and emotionally. Last year, we finished second in the state, so we had that record to match. Since no other Amador athletic team had been successful at winning an NCS title, we knew we had to bring one home to keep our school pride intact.

Throughout NCS playoffs, every team we played had a height advantage and often they possessed more offensive weapons. But there's a saying that while good offense sells tickets, it's defense and rebounds that win championships. Defense has been our strong suit - with quick rebounds and good blocking to create openings so that our shooters can hit open shots.

The strategy worked! After a slow start (we finished the regular season at 24-5 compared to 30-3 last year), we picked up steam and victories by mid-season to a winning finish. We were able to keep control our opponents' strong point guards and to otherwise contain their lethal forwards, guards and centers.

The NCS playoffs were especially grueling. As the No. 3 seed, we had a bye for the first round, then came up against rough-and-tough Hayward High girls, beating them 70-39. For the semi-finals, it was a 3-1/2 hour bus trip to Ukiah High and a noisy, Ukiah-dominated crowd (about 50 Amador fans made the trip with us). The noise was deafening from all sides, with Ukiah supporters taking our seats to accommodate more than 1,600 attending. Ukiah was 29-0 and ranked No. 3 in California going into that game, so we had to play hard, smart and well. And we did, beating them in a very competitive game 63-57. Again, defense and rebounding produced victory.

The championship game last Saturday against Carondelet of Concord was equally challenging. We worked hard to stop the Carondelet girls, whose inside game has been lethal. With Vanessa Rodgers, Steavie Kernan and Tessa Winter guarding their guards, Ashley King-Bischof, Mia Fisher and Brittney Kernan were able to get inside and get the job done. We won 65-57, the first time in my seven years at Amador that we've beat this talented, competitive team.

I'm often asked what makes a winning team. As both a psychology teacher and physical education instructor at Amador, I've helped instill strong attitudes of teamwork, commitment to practice and an absolute passion for doing your very best in academics as well as sports. These were fundamentals I learned back at Gridley High (near Chico), where I played basketball and also coached since I was a freshman there. Again, in my years at St. Mary's College, strong values were always part of the sports program.

I'm proud that the girls in Amador basketball are both good students and players. These girls are in honors and advance placement classes; our teams' overall GPA is 3.3. They know if they ever need to stay after school for pre-exam briefings and tutoring, that took precedence over making practice. They also know that, as talented as they are on the court, they probably won't be making a career out of basketball.

I want to pay tribute to this great team: In addition to Mia, Brittney, Steavie, Ashley, Vanessa and Tessa, we've seen great playing from Allison Biggs, Anna Franzen, Lauren Gray, Stephanie Kautz and Krystal Lagosh.

Many of these girls will be back next year. Joining us will be our JVs, who have just moved up to varsity. They are Christina Gordet, Anne Lockyer, Angelina McGrath, Marissa Wyatt and Emily Zimmerman. Emily is a junior and point guard who stayed with the JVs this year at my request to help facilitate a great season for her young team.

To our top-notch seniors, I hope your expectations have been met. You have been a uniquely wonderful group of role models. With the skilled players now moving into those roles, we can look for another great season in the coming winter months. Thanks to all in our community for supporting us.
Elizabeth Stanley, a graduate of St. Mary's College, teaches psychology and freshmen physical education at Amador Valley High School, where she has coached girls basketball for seven years.
"While good offense sells tickets, it's defense and rebounds that win championships."

Taking Sides Taking Sides (March 10, 2000)@takesideshead:Dedicated teamwork gives edge to Foothill Falcons

by Randy Isaacs

What a thrill to be coach of one of the greatest boys basketball teams ever at Foothill High School. After hundreds of hours of dedicated teamwork, the 14 players and coaching staff brought home the first EBAL championship in 12 years and the first North Coast Section championship ever.

To win in this league and the tough North Coast Section, you have to have good players, team leadership and, sometimes, just plain luck. Fortunately for Foothill, we had them all. Once we got into this challenging season, the boys and I and our assistant coach Sheldon Alexander were committed.

During the season, it takes 15 to 20 hours a week either playing games or practicing or, in my case, spending time in the field scouting the teams we'll be playing and watching videos. In the sectional games last week, we played four games in five nights, beating John F. Kennedy of Fremont 65-59, De Anza from El Sobrante 68-52, Analy from Sebastapol 56-26, and the championship game against a very talented Del Norte 56-46.

I especially want to compliment the hundreds of Del Norte fans who made that six-hour trip from Crescent City, near the Oregon border, to support their team. The roar of the crowd made it tough to get the calls out to my squad, but it was heartwarming to see the team-support these folks give their players.

Foothill has the same enthusiastic team and fan spirit. Our games have been "sell-outs" with guards at the door on order of the fire marshal to stop a dangerous overflow. For those who were turned away, our apologies. With more games this week in the Nor Cal play and a possible championship game tomorrow at the Arco Arena, my advice to fans: If we make it at these games, come early!

I also want to salute the winning players. Each of them gave their all to the game and their team. Guard Jay Chess, a senior, was voted the most valuable player in the EBAL this year, a decision by coaches of all the teams. Guard E. J. Costello, a junior, and Forward Matt Burkholder, also a junior, were selected for "first team" honors in the league, with seven others coming in after them. Our center, Mike Hoefs, another junior, received honorable mention. Hoefs, Chess and Costello will be remembered, too, for their many three-pointers that often made the winning difference.

It's significant that one team has so many top award winners. With all but Chess as junior classmen - and with so many other outstanding juniors on the team and coming along through the JV, we look for a robust start to the 2000-2001 season at Foothill.

Besides the team, I owe a real debt of gratitude to my wife, Karen, and our 2-year old twin daughters, Alyson and Haley. Like me, Karen commutes 45 minutes each way from our home in Discovery Bay to her job in San Ramon while our wonderful parents and extended family take care of the twins. It takes a heck of a great partner to put up with all of the responsibilities while I add another 20 hours a week to coach and travel.

I think I wanted to be a coach ever since seeing games and starting to play when I transferred to Donlan Elementary in Pleasanton for the third grade. Later, I went to the old Pleasanton School for seventh and eighth grades, and then to Foothill (where I first met Karen). Some of basketball coaches I had were very important people in my life, something I remember today when I'm on the court.

After playing college ball at Chico State, I grabbed an opportunity to play national basketball in Australia for a year before completing my teaching credential at Cal State Hayward. Today, I teach physical education at Alisal Elementary each morning (where that 7:30 start time comes a bit early after a late-night game), and then mathematics and P.E. at Foothill in the afternoons.

A championship team takes players who are willing to make the same sacrifices - missing social events and other school activities and burning the midnight oil to keep up with their studies. Every boy on our team has better than the required 2.0 average; I can't recall ever having a player dropped because of grades.

That's why I especially salute the Foothill boys basketball players of the year 2000 squad: Matt Burkholder, Jay Chess, E. J. Costello, Mike Hoefs, Craig Jarmuz, Mike McCarrick, Evan Patak, Matt Sheridan, Kevin Sjadahl, Mike Stanton, Steve Stewart, Tim Sturdevont, Tim Taggart and Mike Wood.

Good luck to all of them and thanks from all of us to the students, parents and fans of Foothill boys basketball.
Randy Isaacs, a graduate of Cal State Hayward, teaches physical education classes at Alisal Elementary School in the mornings and mathematics at Foothill High School every afternoon. He has coached boys varsity basketball at Foothill for the last six years.
"What a thrill to coach one of the greatest boys basketball teams ever at Foothill!"