In The Running Mood

A few months ago, one of my friends asked me if I wanted to participate in something called "The Giant Race".  Given the name, I figured it was a running event and I was correct.  The event was sponsored by the San Francisco Giants baseball team.  My friend's reasoning for asking me?  He said I played too much basketball and it was time to do something "different".  I couldn't argue with my friend so I signed up.

Alas,  I had forgotten about the event until my friend reminded me a few days before.  Thus, about 10 days ago (on August 4th, 2013), I got up early, met my friend and participated in the event.  My friend and I had decided to join the 5K race (3.1 / 3.2 miles).  

I didn't know what to expect as my friend and I trekked to AT&T Park in downtown SF.  As I got there, I wasn't too nervous.  In fact, it was pretty exciting to be part of a race that had 7000 people registered!

As for the event itself, the 5K event was a mix of walkers and runners.  I chose to run most of the race and weaved through the various walkers.  It wasn't easy but it also wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I completed the event in about 30 minutes and 17 seconds which surprised me (about 9:46 per mile).

Participating in this event brought back to the last time I ran competitively.  That was in high school when I ran cross-country.  My high did not have a sports program until my sophomore year.  I spent my freshman year volunteering as a basketball coach at my old grammar school.  When the school announced that a sports program was being started, I had to make a choice of a sport to participate in.

In the fall, there were a choice of soccer, tennis and cross-country (football is fall sport too but my high school was too small to form up a team).  I didn't really like soccer.  I didn't think I was good enough to play tennis so I basically defaulted to cross-country.  I can't even say if I knew what the heck cross-country was.

In any case, I spent my last three years of high school participating in cross-county.   I was strictly a high school runner and not a competitive runner.  I only conditioned during the season and wasn't dedicated enough to try and condition during the offseason.

While I didn't win any medals during my high school running career, it was a good time.   I bonded with teammates since we had to run a lot for practice.  We got outside a lot and had to commute on the bus home.   That gave my teammates and I plenty of time to chat.

In participating in "The Giant Race", I actually found that I enjoyed running again.  I hadn't run much since high school.  But getting out there last week was fun and I think I will keep running every now and then in the future.

I'll wrap with a point of comparison.  During my FINAL high school cross-country race (All City Championship) in 1991, I ran 3.1 miles in about 22 minutes and 51 seconds (the winners were in the 18 to 19 minute range).   While I didn't complete last week's event like I did when I was 17, I'm still proud of what I did.

Athlete Of The Year: Then And Now

If someone were to ask you, what does the words "Athlete Of The Year" mean to you, what would you say?   I am sure that MOST people would imagine that an athlete of the year would be a star athlete of some kind:  Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade, or someone along those lines.

If I were asked, I would have probably thought the same thing.  Yet, 20+ years ago, I was awarded the "Athlete Of The Year" award by my high school.  It was a great way to cap my athletic career and senior year in high school.  

For quite a time after receiving the award, I remember telling a friend that I didn't feel like I deserved the award.  After all, from the standpoint of athletic accomplishments, I was not a stand out athlete in either of the sports I participated in.  It took my friend sometime to convince me that I was deserving of the award.  After all, there were some reason it was given to me.

Recently, with the 20th Anniversary of my high school graduation passing, I thought about the Athlete Of The Year award and what it meant to me.   I am quite proud of the award as it not only represented my time athletically in high school but also the great senior year I had.  I became friends with someone I would grow close to and I had a great academic year as well.

Additionally, I decided to look up what criteria is used to determine an "Athlete Of The Year".  Interestingly, unlike Most Valuable Player awards, athletic accomplishments isn't necessarily a requirement.  Some of the criteria included leadership, commitment to the team and academic performance.

Looking back, I see WHY I was given the award:

1.
I was captain for one my teams and a three year vet on my other team.

2.
I showed complete dedication to both my teams and provided a good example.  This is just not me bragging as both my teams gave me the "Coaches Award" during my senior year.

3.
I was NOT a good student throughout my high school career and yet I had a 3.2 or above GPA throughout my senior year.

4.
I was a volunteer basketball coach for my old grammar school.

It's funny how someone's perspective changes over the years.  I don't talk much about an award I got 20 years ago.  However, besides my high school and college diplomas, I put my Athlete Of The Year award as one of the items I am most proud of.

I also see a trend in all of my awards.  Besides my Most Improved Player award, all my other awards involved me being a good example to others (Two Coaches Awards, Four Most Inspirational Player awards).   I definitely try (and don't always succeed) in being a good example to people young and old.

It is good that I have been recognized for it, though I have never asked for it.

20th Anniversary High School Redux

A few days ago, it occurred to me that it had been 20 years since I graduated from high school.   In celebration of this event, let me share some of my favorite memories from high school:

1. During my freshmen year, my high school did not have an athletics program.  Due to demand, the school eventually started a program in my sophomore year.    I chose to run cross country in the fall and was among the first set of athletes to participate in official practices and events for the school. 
2. Along the lines of athletics, my cross country team's first event was a memorable one.   I had run my race as a sophomore and was watching the rest of our team run in the varsity race.  One of my fellow sophomore friend & classmate was running in the varsity race.  At the sound of the gun, my friend took off SPRINTING.  He had run track in middle school but not distance running and he treated this face like a track meet.  Thus he led the 3.1 mile race for about 30 seconds before he faded and the rest of the pack caught up and passed him.    Even though my friend finished pretty far back, it is still a funny memory to remember.  
3. October 17th, 1989.  That date will be memorable for those of us who lived in the Bay Area.  That was the date of the Loma Prieta Earthquake that struck at 5:04 PM.  The earthquake interrupted Game 3 of the Bay Bridge World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics.  It is also memorable to me and my cross country teammates as our team was participating in a race at Golden Gate Park that day.  I had completed my race and was waiting for the varsity runners to finish as well.  At 5:00 PM, I remember looking at my watch and hoping that my mom remembered to record the World Series game on TV.  A few minutes later, I remember feeling something shaking.  I thought someone was shaking the bench I was standing on until I realized the benches were bolted to the ground.  It was then that I (and the others around) that an earthquake had hit.  The rest of the time was a blur.  Many of my teammates lived close to me across town and it was a long few hours getting home.  We had some bonding time though and that was a positive in light of the effects of the earthquake. 
4. I chose to participate in the sport of fencing in the spring.  Unfortunately, while trying to run through the hallway to get some snacks, I tripped and fractured my wrist and my fencing season ended abruptly.  I still hung around at practice and did some drills though never participated in any matches. 
5. While my first fencing season was a lost one, my second season went a lot better.  To be honest, most of the season was a BLUR.  I remember winning at least one match though don't remember much else.  HOWEVER, whatever I did, I did enough to be named an alternative fencer for the All-City tournament.  When one of the three fencers in the tournament was hurt prior to the All-City, I got a chance to participate in my first and only All-City tournament.  I was eliminated pretty quickly but was named Most Improved Fencer during our Spring Sports Awards night. 
6. It may surprise people, but I was not much of a student during high school.  My freshmen year went decently as I remember getting something along the lines of a 2.80 GPA.  My sophomore and junior years were less successful as I barely stayed about 2.0 GPA to stay eligible to play sports.  Yet, my senior year was a revelation.  I stayed about a 3.2 GPA (hitting 3.4 a few times) during my while senior year.  I did well enough to garner Student of the Month as well.  
7. During my senior year, I had one of my best teachers ever.  That same teacher got me into reading a genre of books that I still read today.  The teacher taught english and she did something interesting.  She had the students fill out a form which inquired about things we liked to watch or read (I think).  After filling out the form, she recommended a book for us to read and write a report on.  The book that I was assigned?  The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.  Even after 20 years, The Andromeda Strain is still easily the BEST book I have ever read.  That might explain why I still like to read sci-fi / thriller books to this day.  
8. My senior year was a successful one academically but also athletically.  I didn't do great on the field but off the field, I had a good year.  I was named the Coaches Award winner for both cross-country in the fall and fencing in the spring.  During the spring awards dinner, I was also named the Athlete of the Year for the 1991-1992 season.  
9. Not being a star athlete, I don't think I fully grasped what the award meant.  To me, the award meant you were "good" at your chosen sports.  But in reality, that was the "Most Valuable Player" award was for.  It took me a long time to realize that the Athlete of the Year was given as I was doing well academically, always gave a good effort athletically and overall was a good role model to other students. 
10. Lastly, I made quite a few friendships during my time in high school, many of whom I still maintain.  There was a long standing one that has faded due to time / distance but was still a valuable one during the time it lasted.  

Basketball from a different perspective

A couple of days ago, I blogged that in my twenty years of adult league basketball experience, I had seen just about everything.   Today, I learned something about basketball that I didn't realize or understand.

A couple of weeks ago, I had planned some activities with my friends.  Alas, the plans had to get adjusted to later due to logistical issues.   With my original plans changed, I made new plans.

As I was suddenly free this morning, I made plans to visit a young high school basketball player I knew.  Even though I had officiated her games quite a bit, I had actually never just watched her play as a spectator.  As it turned out, she was playing in a tournament this morning at a gym close by to my house.

For some backstory on why I was visiting this player, read this blog entry:

Behind The Whistle:  Encouraging Players As An Official

The main plan was just to watch her play.  However, I wasn't going to just watch and leaveI.  Knowing the tournament structure, I knew there was some down time between her team's games.  I figured we would have some time to talk as well.  I wanted to know more about her struggles during the high school basketball season as we had not discussed in detail the last time.

So after the young lady's first game, we took a few minutes to talk a bit.  In sharing her story, she opened my eyes to her experience as the last player on the bench of a high school basketball team.    It definitely WASN'T what I was expecting.

While I have played years of adult league basketball, I never played high school basketball.  I just never really good enough to make my school team.  I've known plenty of people who have played high school basketball but only really talked to one person about their experience.  That one person was a guy friend who played one year of JV ball and was a bench warmer throughout.

For the young lady I visited today, her experience sounded like a combination of politics and poor communication.  I won't share her whole experience as that is for her to share.  However, it really opened my eyes to the high school players WHO DON'T get to play a lot.

There are kids who are good enough to make teams but aren't good enough to play regularly.  In this young lady's case, she is a talented and skilled player but yet somehow got buried on the bench for reasons not entirely clear.  In many ways, this is almost the same problem Jeremy Lin had, except the young lady didn't get much of a chance to show she could play this past high school season.

As someone who didn't play basketball in high school, I always wondered how that experience would be.  I did play other sports but none were as high profile as basketball (or football or baseball).  This young lady's experience shows that just being on the team isn't always glamourous and can be a frustrating experience rather than a rewarding one.   

It is unfortunate that the young lady had to go through the experience she did.  However, she has a good head on her shoulders, has great parents and goes to a good school overall.  She has a lot of support and other basketball activities (via her club teams) to fall back on so she will be fine.

However, I did tell her that if she never needed anything, she could always reach out to me.   I know that I lean on friends quite a bit and having extra support is never a bad thing.

Writing For Dollars

A couple of weeks ago, I made a tough decision to take a leave of absence from high school basketball officiating.  The reasons for this are plenty but nothing I really want to discuss at this point in time. However, the decision was not made without having some plans in mind.

Some weeks ago, I felt I had an inkling to start writing more again.  I do various blogs throughout the year. I write a monthly column on Apple II and other retro video games.  A couple of years ago, I had embarked on freelance writing covering high school sports.

The reason for freelance writing was that high school sports coverage is pretty sparse in the area I live in.  Since I was unemployed at the time, it was a good idea to try and I did it for the better part of a year.  The issues I ran into was that I was a freelance operation and I had to do everything myself.  When I returned to work a few months later, I continued to write as much as I could but it proved difficult to juggle freelancing with my job.  Eventually, I stopped my freelance writing.

However, another enterprising person saw the same gaps in high school sports coverage I did and started up his own website and got a staff of writers to work with him.  In fact, I was asked at one point to contribute to this site.  I declined as I was busy with work, officiating and other stuff.

Alas, as I had an inkling to write again, I asked the website if I could potentially contribute to their site as a writer.  The owner/editor noted that he would love it if I could help out.  At this point, there is nothing formalized but I do plan to contribute as much as I am available to watch games.

It was time for a change and I am fortunate to be given an opportunity to try and do something different.

CIF NorCal State Division I Boys Basketball Playoff: Washington (SF) vs. Santa Teresa (San Jose)

I was working in Santa Clara today and realized that the Washington High Eagles boys basketball team would be playing in San Jose tonight against Santa Teresa at 7 PM in a CIF State Playoff game.  Since I was in the area (sort of, it was estimated to be some 19 miles + 30 minutes away), I decided to head over to the game.   Some thoughts......

The drive to Santa Teresa High School took about 40 minutes as I ran into rush hour traffic.  As I pulled into the school's parking lot, I was surprised to see a lot of cars already there.  As I walked to the gym, I saw a short line out the door.  It was then I knew I would be walking into hostile territory.

The environment was crazy.  Both sides of the gym were packed with fans (the majority of them Santa Teresa).  There was a student cheering section as well as cheerleaders.   The entire gym was loud, especially since Santa Teresa played well and eventually beat Washington 70-60.   I don't know if Santa Teresa is like this every game they play, but it was definitely a boost to their team and hostile to the visiting Washington team.

The Santa Teresa team deserves some credit too.   I haven't watched a ton of varsity basketball games this year but Santa Teresa was one of the better teams I have seen.  Santa Teresa shot the lights out from three point land, had great fundamentals,  played hard defense and crashed the boards.  In my opinion, Santa Teresa was probably the best team Washington had seen in recent weeks.   I don't think Washington had seen such a balanced team in a while and that proved frustrating.  Washington's defense couldn't lay back as Santa Teresa would hit the three's.  If Washington played tight, Santa Teresa was able to blow by the defenders.

The Washington team wasn't bad though.  While I am not a graduate of Washington, I had officiated one of their games during this past season and knew the coach personally.  After winning the San Francisco AAA championship against Mission last week (first championship since 1982), I was curious how Washington would do in the bright lights of the CIF State Playoffs.

Some of the things I had noticed during the AAA championship game came to light against Santa Teresa.  Washington and Mission both thrive on up tempo games as evidenced by the 75-72 final score in the championship.   I thought it was interesting that Washington didn't hit a lot of outside jumpers.  Most of their shots were put backs or layups.

This proved to be a key against Santa Teresa.  With Santa Teresa hitting their shots, Washington was forced to play half court and had trouble generating offense.  They went through a cold streak from halfway through the first quarter into the second quarter and allowed Santa Teresa to pull away to a 20 point lead.  Washington never really challenged after that.

While it was a tough night for Washington, they should keep their heads high for making a great effort.  Good luck to Santa Teresa as they travel to Sacramento for their next game.