It was at this time a year ago that the high school winter sports season came to a standstill in the area.
The Thomas Fire that spread through the hills of Carpinteria and Montecito followed by the deadly mudslides forced the cancellation of several athletic contests.
Coaches at Monday’s final Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon of the 2018 looked back at the impact the devastating events in the community had on their teams.
“Last year was a disaster with the fire and the mud,” Santa Barbara High boys basketball coach Dave Bregante said. “We lost half of the season. The kids were young and we didn’t get a full schedule to get all that experience, which is really valuable.”
Said Dos Pueblos girls basketball coach Phil Sherman: “We lost a lot of our season last year to the mudslides and fire. I think we played 12 games last year. The three players we have returning (this season) didn’t really get to experience a full season.”
Lucy Carleton, the assistant girls soccer coach at Carpinteria High, said of the difference between this year and last: “The fact were not on hiatus for six weeks is a bonus. It’s definitely a bonus compared to last year.”
Sherman is playing three freshman almost full time this season. He wanted to bring them along slowly but they’ve played so well he felt he couldn’t hold them back.
“Like any coach in high school, playing a 14 year old on varsity is pretty tough. You almost want to protect them,” he said. “You don’t want to throw them into the fire, so I’ve been trying as coach to get them in a little bit at a time.
“They are starting to become acclimated to the varsity scene. I was wondering if we would win a game this year… it’s going to be pretty tough. But so far, we’re 6-4.”
He brought two of the freshman to the press luncheon: Lily Mires and Ava Sommer, who was named the Athlete of the Week.
“The emergence of the freshmen has been very refreshing,” Sherman added. “It happened a lot earlier than I thought.”
Bregante said the first loss his Santa Barbara team suffered was against an athletic Clovis West team in the Bob Hawking Classic in Simi Valley.
“We kind of figured it was going to be a tough game,” he said. “One of our players, Jasper Johnson, is 6-4, very athletic and jumps really well. He went in for a layup and one of the Clovis West kids blocked the shot.
“I looked at the tape and he was above the white box on the backboard. The rim is 10 feet and the white box is 11-6. That kind of gave me a clue we might be in for a little trouble.”
First-year San Marcos boys basketball coach Jelani Hicks said his young team has shown “good flashes at times, but at other times our inexperience comes into play.”
The Royals have only two seniors and three returning players.
One of those seniors is Beau Allen. He started on last year’s CIF championship team.
Hicks announced that Allen signed a National Letter of Intent with Duke for track & field.
Allen is one of the top high jumpers in the state. He cleared 6-10 last season and four times went over 6-8. He place fourth at the CIF State Championships at 6-8.
The Royals have played some tough teams during their non-league basketball season and are 1-5.
“We’re learning right now,” Hicks said. “The group we do have is willing to learn and willing to compete.”
Long-time Dos Pueblos wrestling coach Anthony Califano has discovered that he enjoys coaching girls.
Dos Pueblos and some of the other Channel League schools are fielding girls wrestling teams for the first time.
The Chargers did well in their first competition at the Hueneme Invitational. Paola de la Cruz and Jessica Urzua were runners-up in their weight classes.
“It’s actually pretty fun coaching the girls,” said Califano. “They listen better, they show up on time, they ask questions. It’s not bad.”
He said the team’s head coach is Arianna McDonald, a sophomore on the UCSB club wrestling team.
The local soccer teams are come off a grueling last couple of weeks in which they played up to nine games with tournaments and regular non-league games.
Dos Pueblos coach Matt York dubbed it “Hell Week.”
He said: We had nine games in eight days, two tournaments bookending on weekends and a couple of games in between. It was a lot on the boys’ legs.”
Carpinteria boys assistant coach Ryan Warner said, “We tried our best to rotate our lineup and throw in as many freshmen, sophomores and JV players into the mix.”
A new format was started Monday when the coaches introduced the athletes they brought.
Started by Laguna Blanca boys soccer coach Goffin Boyoko, the athletes came up to the front of the room while the coach introduced them from the podium.
Boyoko had players Dylan Young and Hector Lujon talk about the recent results and upcoming games.
It was a good way for everyone in attendance to see the athletes, who, when introduced, would just stand from where they were seated in the Ranchero Room.
Here is a rundown of what the coachers had to say about their athletes.
San Marcos Wrestling
Coach Danny Sifuentez of Ryan Fishman, who is 5-1 on the season: “We call him the technician. He’s very, very technical, has a lot of heart and is one of my leaders on the team.”
On Anthony Martinez (7-0): “He will soon get accepted into the Naval Academy. He’s a great wrestler, just an all-around solid leader.”
On Brandon Gonzalez (7-0). “Captain of the team, the heart and should of the team.”
Dos Pueblos Wrestling
Coach Anthony Califano on Paola De la Cruz: “She’s a first-first-year wrestler. She got down by five in the semifinals (at the Hueneme Invitational) and got a big pin.”
On Jessica Urzua: “She also battled all the way to the finals in her first tournament. Jessica has a martial arts background, so I think that has helped transfer over to wrestling.”
On Kade Uyesaka and Sean Yamasaki of the boys team: “There’s an expression in wrestling that champions come in pairs. I have two (league) champions, both returning CIF Finalists. The guys both went 10-0 last week and had six pins.
“It’s a great thing to build on with your team to have two guys who work so hard, that push each other. It makes everyone else around them better.”
Dos Pueblos Boys Basketball
Reported by Califano, Coach Joe Zamora on Jaron Rillie: “He has the ability to be the best player in the Channel League. He has superior leadership, great character and integrity. His court vision creates scoring opportunities for his teammates and has the ability to score for anywhere on the court. He’s my coach on the court.”
Dos Pueblos Boys Soccer
Coach Matt York on center midfield and captain CJ Rodriguez: “He is one of our best and smartest players as far he is able to control the game. He’s got a great touch and pass. He’s got a great feel for the game. I like that this year he is filling in a little more He’s really about being physical out there and controlling the ball, which really helps us dictate the pace.”
On junior midfielder Aldo Becerril: “Aldo is the intensity and fire for our team. He started out as striker for us, he drops back so he can out-run, out-muscle, out-fight anybody that comes near him. He’s one of the best goal scorers on the team. We look forward to a lot more productivity from him as year goes on.”
On senior Lucas Eilbacher: “He’s been with me four yers and has played any position I’ve ever asked him to play. He’s the heart and soul of the actual team here. He runs practices. When I need something, I contact him. He gets the information out there. Our team definitely will go much farther with all of this.”
Laguna Blanca Basketball
Coach Carlos Guerrero on Christian Branch and Ty Trosky: “I brought up some of our extended coaching staff. These guys possess the mental fortitude that makes me proud to be their coach.”
Carpinteria Boys Soccer
Assistant coach Ryan Warner on Eddie Mendoza: “He’s been a four-year starter for us who is a center back that should be a striker. He always finds himself wherever he can get the most tackles. He really anchors defense wherever he is.”
On Angel Orozco: “He’s one of my favorite players. He’s a leader just the way he communicates with the team, the way he sets an example. It’s fun to see this guy 1 on 1 outside of box, just trying to take people on. He’s got skills you can’t really teach.”
Dos Pueblos Girls Basketball
Coach Phil Sherman on freshman Ava Sommer: In the first game she started, she had 12 rebounds, 10 steals. I’ve never had a player get double figures in steals. If I had known during the game that she had a shot at that obscure triple double, I would have told her to take a couple of extra shots.”
On freshman Lily Mires: “We did have a lot of big expectations on her. She’s really figured out high school basketball. She’s kind of made the adjustment and she’s scored 16 points and 14 points, respectively.”
Santa Barbara High Girls Soccer
Coach Silas Fallstitch on senior Lauren Garnet and junior Mikayla Thoits: “The season is all about resilience and these two girls epitomize this for our team.”
San Marcos Girls Soccer
Coach Jennifer Sotelo on senior Maddie Fedor: “She’s our only senior defender. The others are sophomores. “She calls them all her babies and tells them what to do. She’s the leader and the boss back there.”
On midfielder Tobie Jessup: “She takes command, she’s a leader out there. I threw her into defense and I was really impressed. She might not leave there now.”
On Amoreena Hammond: “She’s the loudest one on our team. She communicates and I want everyone to communicate like here. She is epitome of a leader on the field and off the field.”
Carpinteria Girls Soccer
Assistant Lucy Carleton on Kendra Meza: “She’s our team captain. She is our leading scorer, close to 70 percent of the goals as well as lot of assists. There should be a lot more because her passes have been on point — just these Christmas presents and Hanukkah presents wrapped up with a bow. I don’t know why they don’t end up the goal.”
On Alyssa Rodriguez: “She is our center back and she’s just been a rock back there.”
San Marcos Boys Soccer
Coach Paul McLean on Javi Romero: “This week he has done a fantastic job coming in at center back, silently doing everything right. Javi hadn’t started until this last few performances. And now it’s made a difficult decision for us as it relates to the starting lineup.”
On Matt Hislop: “Matt has turned into an outstanding center forward for us. He can hold the ball, win the ball in the air as well as score goals.”