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As sometimes happens when you are in the weekly newspaper business, breaking news can get lost in the early week deadlines that allow us to get the paper printed in time for our readers to enjoy on Fridays.
Such is the case this time with what appears to be the Pleasanton Unified School District’s decision to not extend the Amador Valley High School wrestling coach Travis Chubb’s contract for next season.
Details are still hard to come by as of Monday afternoon — the deadline for my column this week. But what our hardworking team has committed to is finding out all the information we can about the situation, then passing it on to you as soon as possible.
That likely will come first in the form of online coverage, as our print version is put away earlier this week as mentioned above. We’re hearing there could be significant community turnout at the school board meeting, which is scheduled for this Thursday.
As for me, next week I promise to use my column to give you my views on the situation and the impact it may have in the future.
I have mentioned many times in the past about how coaching high school sports is a tenuous situation in these times. History has shown that oftentimes it takes all of one family to launch a claim against a coach, and from there on the coach is guilty until proven innocent, fighting from behind the 8-ball whether the claim is substantiated or not.
A complaining parent now has more control than at any other period in time. Whether this situation is the same, or whether the concerns are justified, remains to be seen.
What I know for sure is the large contingent of wrestling parents and wrestlers that are upset at the purported decision and the number seemed to be growing by the hour on this Monday.
It’s time for us to now do our diligence before reporting back to you.
I thank you for your patience as we work to bring out the facts and pass them on to you.
Amador boys’ lacrosse
The Amador Valley boys’ lacrosse teams started with a split of games to open the season.
The Dons opened the season with an 8-6 win over College Park on the road.
Sebastian Diligent (3 goals, 3 assists) and Will Coultrip (3 goals, 1 assist) led the offense. Dillon Duke (2 ground balls, 3 forced turnovers) and Matteo Gervasoni (3 ground balls, 2 forced turnovers) led the defensive effort for the Dons.
Braden O’Donnell and Owen Heck combined to win 50% of their faceoffs, and Heck also collected five ground balls. Goalie Alex Smith faced 19 shots and only gave up the six goals.
Next the Dons hosted Saint Francis last Friday and lost 17-4. Brady Macisaac had two goals, and Diligent had two assists.
Foothill boys’ lacrosse
The Falcons faced Mitty on March 1, and while turning in some strong play, they came up on the short end, falling 10-6.
Senior goalie Mikey Paulson had some amazing saves against a very strong offense.
On offense, the Falcons picked up two goals from AJ Becker and Darrin Lau, along with junior Wyatt Lam. Tyler Walsh added two assists.
Graham Zander was a defensive force both in recovering ground balls and running up the field to clear the ball. Freshmen Jagger Sakamoto and Avery Fink both saw productive playing time, and senior Jake Clevenger and junior Jack May turned in a big effort in the midfield.
Foothill boys’ volleyball
The Falcons kept their unbeaten, early-season streak alive with another pair of wins, finishing the preseason with a 4-0 mark.
The first match saw Foothill take down American: 25-21, 25-18, 25-21. Highlights came from Tyler Keala (17 kills, 9 digs), Landen Meonske (34 assists, 7 digs) and Kayan Vohra (7 kills, 2 blocks.
Game two of the week saw a win over Mission San Jose by a 25-16, 25-5, 25-23 final.
This time the Falcons were led by Yun Bae (13 assists, 1 ace), Noah Mitzenmacher (12 service points, 4 aces) and Caden Stedman (7 kills, 2 blocks).
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
Travis Chubb is an amazing coach. Parents and kids absolutely love him! And in my opinion, for good reason. It’s a shame that this is happening. I hope many many people rally around him.