Issue 5, 08.12.2010

EntEr to win in thE big bikE givEaway! PagE 23

Twin counties meet. 2

William Brueckner tames Spyglass Hill. Page 7

John Hochstatter pitches his way across U.S. K-Man!K-Man!

vol. 1. issue 5

FReestarring east bay athletes • august 12, 2010

Page 16

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Health Watch ....................... 19

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oN THe CoveRPitcher

John Hochstatter by Bob Larson. Contact Bob at

[email protected]

mustang soccer roundup. 15

twin counties championships. 12 Here comes the hochstatter:

Pitcher’s powerful left arm

is taking him places. 16

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It was August of 2001. I had been a reporter in the East Bay

for barely more than six months. On the tail end of what had been a generally lazy summer, I was handed the assignment of covering the County Swim Meet.

For more than 500 recreation-level swimmers, this swim meet is a big deal. For me, it was pretty much a nightmare.

Most sportswriters prefer to cover events with clear characteristics and a lin-ear timeline: There’s a clock which marks a specific time frame, and a contest being played out between one team or individual and another. Clean. Crisp.

This would not describe the County Swim Meet.

I’m sure now, with more than 10 years of reporting under my belt, I wouldn’t blink at the chaotic atmosphere of the meet.

But back then, different story.I didn’t have any problem finding my

way to the actual event site. That was easy. I just followed the caravan of minivans and SUVs with swimming messages scribbled on every window.

“Eat our bubbles!”“Honk if you’re a Seahorse!”What?(As a quick aside, do the swim clubs

actually provide the window paint to the parents when they sign up their kid? This almost seems like a requirement of the swim community.)

Anyway, I distinctly remember getting to Pleasant Hill Middle School (the site in 2001) and seeing more than 200 swimmers and parents before I saw an ounce of water. People. Tents. Madness. Everywhere.

I don’t remember much of the rest of my experience that day, only that I walked away exhausted. And sunburnt. I did put together a story, but I have no recollection of who it featured.

It ended up being the only county meet that I covered. Over the years since, I dis-covered that reporters speak of their county meet experiences as if sharing war stories.

“You have to go in with a clear plan, man,” a colleague said to me once as he recounted his county meet experience. “You can’t try to be a hero. There is just so much going on.”

I can laugh at all this now, of course. But every year when mid-August rolls around, and I seem to find myself behind a painted car at every stoplight, well the memories start flooding back.

I will offer a congratulations to all the swimmers who will compete at the county meet on Aug. 14-15 at Diablo Valley College. However, I’m certainly not a seahorse, or an otter, or a terrapin (which is just a fancy way to say turtle!). So don’t expect me to honk.

My favorite time of yearMid-August doesn’t just signify the

arrival of the County Swim Meet. It also marks the arrival of the return of high school sports — and most notably, football.

The staff at SportStars is clearly fired up about this. We’ve already got the ball rolling on our first High School Football Preview issue, which will debut on Aug. 26. We know football is a serious matter in the East Bay, so we’re planning on giving it the full treatment. We’re even adding extra pages for it.

However, the fall has its share of sports not named football, too. We’re looking forward to those getting under way as well. Yes, even cross country.

The bottom line, just the fact that high school sports are about to return has us in a good mood. Dare we say giddy.

In the meantime, we need some help from coaches and athletic directors. When you get a moment, please fax or e-mail us your schedules. The more we know, the more we can cover and the more stories we can tell.

Our fax number is 925-566-8507. Or if you prefer email, send your schedules to [email protected]. ✪

August 12, 2010

Chace Bryson Editor

FIRST PITCH

Chace@ SportStarsMag.com

(925) 566-8503

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Battling county swim meet flashbacks

COrrECtiON: In our July 22 issue (Vol. 1, Issue 4), we ran a photo of 16-year-old swimmer, Donald Sherwood, as part of the feature “A swim through the park” on page 15. We incorrectly stated that Sherwood competed for Rudgear Estates Swim Club. He actually swims for Rudgear Meadows Swim Club.

of theweek

nominate your star at [email protected]

ered

by:

william bruecknerAcalanes . golf

So William Brueckner was playing Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach. Yeah, THAT Pebble Beach. He was playing it for the first time, in the first round of the Northern California Golf As-sociation Junior Amateur Championship.

And he shot even par. We agree, that’s a little bit ridiculous.

Brueckner went on to shoot four-over par over two days and won the 12-13-year old flight of the tournament. He’ll begin his freshman year at Acalanes High later this month.

sportstars: What attracted you to the game of golf?

William Brueckner: Ever since I could walk, I’ve been playing it. My dad loves the game. His friends love the game. He showed it to me early on and I’ve just always loved it.

sportstars: What was the key for you during your two rounds at Spyglass?

Wb: I was putting the ball in play. That always helps. But, when I was out of play and in bad spots, I was able to put it back in play and lessen the dam-age.

sportstars: What was the hardest thing for you to learn about golf?

Wb: When I’d have a bad hole, I’d get down on myself. I’d play well, but my scores would be bad because I couldn’t get that bad hole out of my head. A year and a half ago, I was able to learn how to move on and It’s really helped.

sportstars: On average, how many times during a round would you like to throw your club, even though you don’t?

Wb: If I’m being honest, I’d say an average of 10-15.

WilliAm’s QuiCK Hits:XBox or PlayStation: XBoxCookies or donuts: CookiesFavorite golfer: Bubba Watson

Madison whiteThe Carondelet High sopho-more competed, and certainly held her own at the ConocoPhil-lips National Championships in Irvine. She made the finals of the 200-meter backstroke and finished sixth.

Greg harper The Cal-bound Las Lomas grad swam in six events at the

Pacific Swimming Long Course Far Western Championships, tak-ing first in four of them. He also added a second- and third-place finish in the other events.

Robert stephenson

August has been a good month for the Alhambra High

pitcher. He competed in the ESPN RISE Area Code all-star games in Long Beach, and will pitch in the AFLAC All-American Game at San Diego’s Petco Park on Aug. 14.

honorable mention

Support Your Local Business • Say You Found Them In SportStars™ SportStars™SportStars™ Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsMag.com 9August 12, 2010August 12, 20108

One could say that Iris Tolenada’s first season of collegiate volleyball went better than expected.

And it would be a gross understate-ment.

Tolenada was a force for Deer Valley High, helping the Wolverines reach the North Coast Section semi-finals her senior year. But when she arrived at San Francisco State last fall, she knew there would need to be an adjustment period.

“Basically, you have to adjust to the speed of it all,” Tolenada said. “That’s what changes. Everyone has a fun-damental work ethic, so that doesn’t change. But the speed of the game is what I had to get used to.”

It didn’t take long. The setter made almost an instant

impact with the Gators. She closed out the year with 1,232 assists, and ranked fourth in the California Col-legiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference with an an average of 10.53 assists per set. She also re-corded 83 kills, 50 total blocks and 30 service aces.

It all added up to CCAA Freshman of the Year honors — a first for the Gators’ volleyball program, and any female athlete for any sport at SFSU.

“I was pretty much speechless (when I heard about receiving the award),” Tolenada said. “Then I was like ‘Wow! I can make a difference in this conference.’”

Her goal in her second year is to make that difference work team-wide, and help lead the Gators past the first

round of the conference playoffs. “My sophomore season I’m basically going to try and step up and be a bigger

leader,” she said. “I can’t use the ‘I’m a freshman’ excuse anymore. I’m going to try and push to make my team better and myself better as well.”

— Chace Bryson

Iris Tolenada, Deer Valley volleyball, 2009

A strange thing happened to us last week. We were taking a moment to relax, loafing on the sofa, and turned on the television. It was a Saturday in late July, right on the cusp of the doggiest days of August; there wasn’t much on. This, naturally, led to a certain amount of channel flipping. It happens.

We’d already been through all the 80s movie reruns and World Series of Poker highlights we could handle when we reached the bottom of the summertime television barrel: ESPNU. We were one small step away from The Ocho. Fearing another ‘instant classic’ replay of the 2007 Sugar Bowl, and yet still unable to help ourselves, we took the plunge.

When what to our wondering eyes should appear, but high school football. Sure sure. Touch football, but football nonetheless. Played by high schoolers. On a Saturday in July.

We had stumbled across a hidden gem: The Nike 7On Tournament, which annually pits eight top-notch 7-man flag football teams from across the country (California, Ohio, Texas, Florida, etc.) against one another at the Nike Cam-pus in Beaverton, Ore., for a grueling three-day throw-down.

Yes, this was a re-broadcast from the events in early July. And yes, it’s touch football — no pads, no linemen, no slavering, bloodthirsty middle linebackers. Heck, they don’t even play real touch football (the two-handed variety, like we used to play on the asphalt during recess). But there they were, heavily recruited high school quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and defensive backs flying around in 100+ degree weather like their tailbone protectors were on fire all for a little taste of bragging rights (and probably some pretty sweet Nike gear…).

We could almost smell the fresh-cut grass and hear the officials blowing pass-interference calls in our living room.

But do you know what this means? Do you? Have you any idea?

More than just signaling the impending return of the al-ways-wondrous prep football season, this means that we’re back, baby. High school sports will be in full swing before you know it. Football, water polo, cross-country, volleyball, golf, you name it: We’re up for all of it.

Let the games begin!— Bill Kolb

making SenSe of: HoW mUcH We

miSSed HigH ScHool SPorTS

Mike Getman/San Francisco State Athletics

Yup, football double-days CAN get worse. Really.So it’s that time of year again. The time when football players across the

county spend up to six hours, under pads, in the grueling heat of August. We did, however, come up with five things which we consider worse than two-a-day football practices (but just barely):

1. Three-a-day football practice.2. Any movie with Keanu Reeves in which his character is not named “Ted.”3. Lindsay Lohan’s grasp of the terms of her probation4. Watching soccer on television. We’re not letting this go.5. Cauliflower. Seriously. Yuck.

WHere’d SHe go?“the fire was literally right behind us as we were play-ing. you could turn around

and watch the hillside burn.”Pinole Valley High senior Caitlin Bal, who pitched

for the Pinole-Hercules Little League Big League softball team at the Regional Tournament in Palmdale last week while the Crown Fire was at its peak. The wildfire consumed close to 14,000 acres and had more

than 1,300 firefighters deployed to it.

SHe Said WHaT?!?


Several years ago, I dreamed I was working at Disneyland. And, on one particular day, I was the only employee who showed up for work.

It was horrible. I had to sell the tickets, operate all the rides, cook the food, track down lost children and memorize all the songs for my performance in “Bear Mountain Jamboree.” (Don’t even get me started on the parades.)

There were long lines of people everywhere, scream-ing my name and demanding immediate attention (and refunds. The line was long, angry and, I quickly reckoned, my lowest priority.)

Fortunately, somewhere between fixing the plumb-ing on the Matterhorn and donning my stovepipe hat for “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln,” I woke up in full panic-attack mode. One glance in the mirror, where I saw a face that looked like something out of the haunted house, and I finally decided it was time to quit one of my three jobs.

Fortunately, the memory faded over time. But I couldn’t help but be reminded of it Friday morning when I happened to cross paths with Randy Haberl, tournament director for the Mustang Stampede.

He really didn’t have much on his plate the next four days — just a 202-team tournament and several hundred games stretched across more than 20 fields, each equipped with the proper number of officials, volunteer parents, concession stands, porta-potties

and proper supplies. At any moment’s notice for the next 80-plus hours, he could have been summoned to any field, at any time, to settle any dispute or solve any problem for 3,000 kids who were housed at 20 different hotels.

By comparison, running Disneyland as a sole pro-prietorship might have seemed like a pretty tantalizing alternative.

“I have wondered what it would be like at Surf Cup,” he said with a calm smile, referring to the massive tournament held in San Diego every year. “At least it’s all at the same place.”

The Stampede might have been spread all over the Tri-Valley, but Haberl, his staff and hundreds of volun-teers were more than up to the task. And I’m not just talking about the games starting on time.

If you went to Osage Park at 8 a.m. and wanted cof-fee and donuts, they were ready. If you went over to the Mustang facility and wanted a burger at noon, no problem. And if you wanted to wrap up your day at Sycamore and needed a hot dog and a salad, they were still cookin’ there, too.

(OK, I did each of those things Saturday. I mean, a good reporter always checks the facts.)

To me, the weekend was a glowing reminder of what good parents and a supportive community can do when they work together. You’ll see the same sort of thing this weekend at the Contra Costa County Swim Meet at Diablo Valley College, and again Aug. 20-22 at the Mustang Stampede boys tournament (a mere 100-plus teams).

Say what you will about the Bay Area – when it comes time for parents and friends to roll up their sleeves and help the kids, they are there in a heartbeat.

“The whole thing is, the money we bring in from the tournament helps us keep the costs down for the kids in our program,” said Haberl, stating a fact that could be repeated on any given weekend at hundreds of East Bay locations.

Spoken like a true prince in the Magic Kingdom.Elsewhere, on the Goofy side:■ On the last day of the World Golf Champion-

ships-Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods shot a 77. Locally, on the day before the Bridgestone teed off, no fewer than 30 (!) young golfers beat Tiger’s score in the Concord City Junior Golf Championships at Diablo Creek, including three girls in the ages 15-17 division – Lauren Contreras (73), Shawnee Martinez and Jillian Lee (both 74). Shintaro Ban, competing in the boys’ 14-15, had the best score of the day, a 68!

(We know, there’s a big difference in distance. But there’s also a pretty big difference in salary.)■ It was rather nostalgic to see Terrell Owens catch

on with the Bengals. I mean, who can remember the last time he actually caught anything?■ Was that really Bill Walton announcing part of the

Giants game on “Jerry Garcia Night,” or just some sort of weird, Grateful Dead-induced flashback?■ In less time than it took to complete the Mustang

Stampede girls soccer tournament, Brett Favre retired. And unretired. Again. No, really. ✪

Running a Stampede is no stroll through Fantasyland

Mike Wolcott

WALLY’SWORLD

MikeW@ SportStarsMag.com

(925) 566-8500Ext. 109

August 12, 2010

Support Your Local Business • Say You Found Them In SportStars™ 11SportStars™August 12, 2010

Greg Harper and Jackson Miller are used to providing a one-two punch.

While competing for the Las Lomas High swim team this past spring, it was kind of their thing. And it stayed that way all the way through the North Coast Section championships when Harper and Miller finished first and second, respectively, in both the 200- and 400-yard free-style.

So, seeing the two power the Walnut Creek Aquabears to a seventh-place finish among 83 teams at the Pacific Swim-ming Far Western Long Course Championship from July 28-Aug. 1, was really no surprise.

This time, they didn’t have to steal each other’s thunder either.

Proving he’s ready for the next stage of his swimming career, which begins at Cal in the fall, Harper took home the gold in the Boys 17-18 200- and 400-meter freestyle events. Miller, who will return to Las Lomas as a sopho-more, and Harper’s heir apparent, won the same races in the 15-16 division.

The fact that the difference in age kept them from having to compete against each other was OK with Harper, who seems well aware that swimming against Miller was only going to get tougher.

“(Miller) will (break my records at Las Lomas) in the next three years,” Harper said at the Far Westerns.

With Miller nipping at Harper’s heels, it breeds the obvi-ous question: Is there a rivalry going on here?

“Yeah, there’s definitely a rivalry,” exclaims Miller which invokes laughter from Harper. “Really though, I’m just try-ing to compete with (Harper) and see what I can do.”

Miller knows that the torch has been passed now, at least when it comes to Las Lomas — a swim program that not

only has produced Harper, but also national-talent Kasey Carlson.

“I feel like I have a leading role now,” Miller confesses.

“But there are some kids coming in who are definitely going to chal-lenge me.”

While he may face some chal-lenges in the swimming pool next year, there are few likely to chal-lenge Miller as the varsity starting quarterback for the Knights in the upcoming season.

“(Swimming) is pretty much a full-time deal,” remarks Aquabears coach Mike Heaney. “In the fall, (Miller) falls behind in his training, but he works hard and catches up.”

While the age group differences kept the two from com-

peting in the same races at Far Westerns, the relays were open to 15 to 18 year olds. Thus, it was like old times. The two teamed up with Andrew Dossa, Mason Kinnard and Matt Williams to win the 400 and 800 freestyle relays in convinc-ing fashion.

With football two-a-days right around the corner, this may have been the last time Miller and Harper will ever team up again. But that won’t stop them from keeping in touch with each other.

“I’m sure I’ll see (Miller) now and then,” remarks Harp-er. “I’ll keep tabs on him.”

After all, his records are at stake. ✪

Hot summerKnightsFormer Las Lomas

High School teammates lead AquabearsBy EriK stOrdAHl | SportStars

MilleR HaRpeR


There was no shortage of swim meets over the final week of July and into August. Several league championship meets, as well as the Pacific Swimming Long Course Far Western Championship, all played out within the span of three or four days right here in Contra Costa County.

It’s all a precursor to the County Swim Championships being held Aug. 14-15 at Diablo Valley College. To get you geared up for recreational swimming’s last hurrah, here are some images from a few days at the Twin Counties Swim League Champi-onships on July 31 and Aug. 1.

— SportStars staff

DiVEin All roads lead to the

County Swim Championships

Bob Larson photos

Top: Liberty High senior Joey Cecchini swims to a first-place finish in the boys 15-18 division 100-yard individual medley at the Twin Counties Swim League Championship on Aug. 1. BeloW: Michael Filice competes in the boys 15-18 division 100 butterfly at the TCSL Championships on Aug. 1


Bob Larson

Sarah Sargent of the Crockett Swim Club competes in the 100-yard individual medley of the girls 13-14 division at the TCSL Championships at Diablo Valley College on July 31.


By the time Dwayne Bal had a chance to assemble a roster for the Pinole-Hercules Little League Big League softball team, there was barely even time for a trial by fire.

Actually, the fire comes later in the story. We’ll get back to that.

The barnstorming tour of PHLL Big Leaguers started back in late May, nary a week after the Pinole Valley High softball team had been eliminated from the North Coast Section Division II playoffs with a 3-2 extra-inning semifinal loss to Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park.

Bal, an assistant coach for the Spartans, along with head coach Tiffiny Valdehueza-Goode, decided that they would throw together a roster to compete at the Big

League level — a much more affordable al-ternative for the 15-18 years-old age group than some of the ultra-competitive travel ball options.

Besides, if a team is good enough, there is certainly travel involved. The Big League World Series is held in Kalamazoo, Mich., each year. But before the PHLL group could think about heading toward the Great Lakes region, it needed to qualify for the tournament. And that meant playing some games — in a hurry.

“We had to crash something like 12 games in two weeks,” Bal said. “Every time we played was essentially a doubleheader.”

To build the roster quickly, Bal drew heavily from the Pinole Valley program. Their group included four members of the Spartans varsity squad, including its

primary starting pitcher, Bal’s daughter, Caitlin. There were six more players taken from the Pinole Valley JV team, and one member each from the varsity teams of Miramonte and Hercules. Finally, they added Kelsey Leyntz, a Pinole Valley grad who just finished a promising first season at Contra Costa College.

“We had to find a lot of girls really quick,” Caitlin Bal said. “We hadn’t played much together at all, so I was a little surprised at how well we played (right away).”

With just enough games under their belts, the PHLL group qualified for the Di-visional tournament hosted in Sacramento.

The team opened the tournament with a convincing win over Sacramento, only to find out that a paperwork snafu resulted in a forfeit of the game.

Unfazed, the squad would eliminate Stockton 15-9, then return to beat Sacra-mento twice — the second in a 15-4 shel-lacking — to win the crown and advance to the Regional tournament in Palmdale.

In addition to the pitching of Bal, Pinole-Hercules was powered by offensive per-

formances from several players including Leyntz, the Pinole Valley tandem of Diedre Newman and Danielle England, as well as Miramonte’s Julianni Banni and Hercules’ Brandi Williams.

The vibe remained high a week later when the team began Regionals with a dra-matic 10-5 win over the Oregon represen-tative, scoring five runs late after Oregon had tied the game at 5-5. But then things got a bit more dicey — and smoky.

The Crown Fire, which eventually burned close to 14,000 acres, was right there in Palmdale. “The smoke was just sit-ting in the city,” the coach said. “There was no wind. Just sitting dead right there.”

Working on games being rescheduled, and a lopsided loss to a host team that was loaded with talent, the PHLL group never really regained its momentum. It finished the tournament 1-2, choosing not to play its final game due to the smoky conditions.

“It was still a good experience,” Caitlin Bal admitted. “If anything, it definitely makes us a stronger team next year at Pi-nole Valley.” ✪

BLAZEOUT IN

A

Pinole-Hercules sees run end at regionalsBy CHACE brysON | Editor

Bob Larson

Caitlin Bal, shown here throwing for Pinole Valley High in a North Coast Section playoff game on May 28, was the top pitcher for the Pinole-Hercules Little League softball team.


Bob Larson photos

Top RiGHT: Marchella Hughes (left) of Diablo FC 97 battles Placer United’s Lindsay Erl for the ball during a Mustang Stampede contest in the U13 Gold Division at Osage Park.

BoTToM RiGHT: Diablo FC’s Shelby Bornstadt (23) and Jade Rafallo celebrate a late second-half goal to tie the game against Placer United. The game ended in a 3-3 tie. Diablo FC eventually finished as the division runners-up.

BoTToM leFT: Marchella Hughes (left) mixes things up with Jordan Holt of Placer United.

For four days, the parks of Danville were flooded with girls sporting shin guards as the Mustang Stampede played host to more than 200 soccer teams. The tourna-ment crowned 17 champions by its conclusion on Aug. 9. Here’s a list of the championship scores for brackets of U12 and up.■ u12 PrEmiEr: RAYS 2, So. Cal Blues Draluck 1■ u12 gOld: Legends FC 99 1, Chelsea G98 Blue 0■ u13 PrEmiEr: Mustang Xplosion 1, Sporting 97 Green 0■ u13 gOld: Placer United Prestige 98 Gold 2, Diablo FC 97 1■ u14 PrEmiEr: Mustang Mavericks 3, Palm Beach Magicjacks 1■ u14 gOld: Santa Clara United Blue 1, Ajax Elite 97G 0■ u15 PrEmiEr: Santa Rosa United Shock 2, THUSC Sodium 1■ u15 gOld: Santa Clara Sporting 95G 1, SURF 0■ u16 PrEmiEr: Lamorinda United 94 2, CV Chili-peppers 0■ u16 gOld: OV Storm 1, Marin FC 95 Blue 0■ u17 PrEmiEr: SCA 94G 1, Central Valley Flames 0. — SportStars staff

Mustang Stampede crowns its champs


‘

August 12, 2010

John Hochstatter apologized. His chiseled 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame was strong and intact, but his mind had gone a little mushy.

Spending 40 days on the road and hitting hot spots like Cary, N.C., Farmingdale, N.Y., Minnetonka, Minn., and finally Thunder Bay, Canada, has a way of destroying memory cells. Trying to recollect dates, highlights and even how to spell his dear mom Jeanette’s own first name was a challenge. The articulate 3.75 student, who is being courted by dozens of Division I schools, including Stanford, laughed at his own verbal stumbles.

“I’m real sorry,” he said shaking his head. “It’s been a really long summer.”

One every baseball kid — especially Hochstatter — dreams of.

The 17-year-old incoming senior at San Ramon Valley High School is the East Bay’s hottest horsehide commodity, a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher with poise, polish

itARMEDWITH

‘There’s a lot more to John Hochstatter

than his fastball, curveball and changeupBy mitCH stEPHENs | Contributor


‘and command of three pitches, a true rarity among prep kids.

It’s why he earned a spot on the USA 18U team, which just finished its 21-game schedule and 19 -2 record with a tournament-best 7-1 record in the International Baseball Federation World Championships in Canada.

Hochstatter, one of the youngest members on the squad, picked up the win in the final game, an 18-2 triumph over Netherlands, and finished with a 1-0 record, 1.59 ERA and 10 strikeouts (three walks) in 11 1/3 innings.

It culminated his second tour of duty for Team USA in three years, after making the 16U squad as a 15-year-old. That team traveled to Taiwan for the World Champion-ships.

“It’s hard to describe what it’s like to play for your coun-try,” Hochstatter said. “You share blood, sweat and tears with these 19 other guys, most of whom you never knew before. Now I have new friends for the rest of my life.”

He made more friends two days after returning from Canada, zooming to Long Beach to participate with most of the country’s top talent in the coveted Area Code games.

That gave him just two more days to re-coop from that before making his 2010 Summer grand finale — to play at

Wrigley Field in Chicago in the 2010 Under Armour All-American game August 14.

The game will air live nationally on the MLB Network at 10 a.m. locally.

“We didn’t get ESPN growing up, so most of the games I watched on TV were the Cubs at Wrigley (on WGN),” Hochstatter said. “It will seem kind of surreal stepping onto that field.”

Touching home in Danville during summer months has actually been foreign to Hochstatter.

“I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home the last cou-ple of summers,” Hochstatter said. “It makes time at home all that more special. Plus it gives you something to talk about.”

ROOTED FOR GREENER PASTURESDon’t get the wrong impression here. According to

coaches and teammates, Hochstatter is as grounded as the Grand Canyon and adores his family and friends. You won’t hear chatter from Hochstatter.

“He’s no show boat,” incoming San Ramon Valley senior outfielder Ryan Drobny said. “He’s just a real good guy

who goes about his business. And everyone likes him.”But Hochstatter seemed destined — or at least versed —

for the jet life, if not stardom.His father’s hotel business landed the family in several

destinations — Long Beach — where Hochstatter was born — Oregon, Florida, San Diego and finally to Danville when he reached the eighth grade.

Every stop, Hochstatter had to prove himself athleti-cally. Every move gave him a different perspective and set of friends.

“The hard part was saying goodbye, but it also opened my eyes how life goes on — how you deal with adversity, how you make adjustments,” Hochstatter said. “It gave me a lot of life experiences that I’m grateful for. And it’s nice to say I have friends in all sides of the country.”

By the time he got to Danville as a new teen, he already had ‘it,’ said Erik Johnson, a former Major League infielder with the Giants, De La Salle High standout and San Ramon Valley Little League legend.

Johnson co-founded EJ Sports, which among other things organizes travel baseball teams that compete do-mestically and overseas. He first met Hochstatter when he was going into the eighth grade.

Bob Larson photos

John Hochstatter pitched in 11 1/3 innings for the U.S. during the International Baseball Federation World Championships in late July and early August.He finished the tournament with a 1-0 record, a 1.59 ERA and 10 strikeouts.


“He just had an immediate presence,” Johnson said. “He was very mature, very respectful. You could tell he had a good heart and good soul about him.”

That, Johnson said, was rooted right from his parents, who emphasized school, manners and hard work before flinging a ball at about 90 mph.

“His parents are rock solid,” Johnson said. “They care about him and love him and are realistic about his future. The apple definitely doesn’t far fall from the tree in this case. He’s no silver-spoon kid. “

BEASTLY COMPETITORSan Ramon Valley coach Chris deClercq had the same

impressions of Hochstatter when he first saw him pitch as a freshman. He also heard it.

“The ball makes a different sound when a kid with a par-ticularly live arm throws it,” deClercq said. “Every major leaguer makes that sound. So does John.”

But the fact Hochstatter went 11-1 as a freshman or had regular double-digit strikeout games wasn’t what blew away deClercq. It was his poise.

“You’ll see freshmen who are physically advanced and further progressed than John,” deClercq said. “But rarely do you see a freshman bigger and stronger and better than John who is also strong mentally. He never gets rattled. Al-ways composed.”

Said Johnson: “And fiercely competitive. Relentless.”A nice, approachable kid outside the lines, Hochstatter’s

competitive beast transforms inside them. And once he climbs to the top of the hill. …

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” deClercq said.Said Hochstatter: “Each batter is a fight. The pitcher is

supposed to be successful at least eight out of 10 times. The only thing I really focus on is not giving up runs. Guys are going to get hits, but if they don’t get runs they can’t win.”

And when Hochstatter takes the mound, Drobny said, “There’s no way we’re going to lose. That’s how we all feel. He’s a real easygoing guy and relaxed, but when he gets up there to pitch its Showtime. He’s ready to go.”

He was too ready heading into his sophomore season.Also a basketball standout, Hochstatter came out late and

tried to impress deClercq too fast. He developed tendinitis in his shoulder, and rather than risk a most promising ca-reer, he took almost the entire school season off.

By the time he got to summer ball with Johnson, he was champing at the bit. He led Johnson’s Titans team to a national tournament championship and that led to a spot on the USA 16U team.

Johnson, a member of the 1985 USA Collegiate team that featured Matt Williams and Joe Girardi, gave Hoch-statter a forceful endorsement.

“I told them you have to watch this kid,” Johnson said. “He’s got it all. He’s got ‘it.’ He’s got command of three pitches, he’s the ultimate team player. He’s never said any-thing bad about teammates. He gets so many accolades but never talks about himself.

“He’s just a kid you dream about coaching.”

WHAT YOU KNOWJust ask Drobny, an All-East Bay Athletic League out-

fielder who hit .327 with 15 RBI as a junior for the Wolves (18-8).

Drobny first met Hochstatter at Charlotte Wood Middle School and the two have played together on teams since the eighth grade.

“It’s miserable trying to hit against him,” Drobny said. “His stuff is just nasty. He mixes everything up and you just never know what’s coming.”

And that, experts say, is what truly sets Hochstatter apart — his ability to throw a fastball, changeup and curve-ball equally well and all for strikes.

“He can throw any pitch in any count,” deClercq said. “Most kids at this age, if their one pitch isn’t on, they’re in trouble. If John is off with one pitch, he still has two others.”

Hochstatter was rarely in trouble as a junior for the Wolves, going 7-3 with a 1.31 ERA. He had 70 strikeouts and 20 walks in 64 innings.

“It’s all about making adjustments on the mound and adapting. John can make those adjustments,” Johnson said. “For a 17-year-old, that’s impressive.”

And that partially goes back to his upbringing — being able to adapt to new situations, environments, kids.

Yes, he’s worked hard to develop his pitches, but it’s the confidence and poise he shows under stress that impresses scouts and college coaches.

“You have to think you’re the best whether you are or not,” Hochstatter said. “You don’t have to say it out loud, but you have to believe it.”

His understated confidence was pushed along by, of all things, a sticky note his mom often left around the house to combat a hard-nosed grade-school teacher Hochstatter once had.

The note on the note said: “It’s not what they think, it’s what you know.”

“I always tried to remember that,” Hochstatter said. “Sometimes I’d repeat it to myself growing up, but eventu-ally it kind of just stayed inside of me.”

Evidently, college coaches know what they think of Hochstatter.

On July 1, the first day by NCAA rules they could con-tact high school seniors, Hochstatter’s cell phone’s message machine was filled.

On Aug. 5, it was still filled.“I just haven’t had time to get back to everyone,” he said.

“I eventually will.”He’s narrowed his college choices to Stanford, UCLA,

Oregon and Oregon State, the latter is where his parents attended. His older sister Grace, a water polo standout at San Ramon Valley, is at Oregon.

It’s very likely, like most USA players, he’ll be drafted high in next year’s amateur draft. He’ll then have to decide whether to sign a pro contract or go to college.

“The guys (at USA Baseball) tell me don’t close any doors,” he said. “The draft is so unpredictable. I look for-ward to pro ball but if it’s not right, then I’m ready to go to college. Either way I’m happy. I’ve been very, very blessed.” ✪

“the ball makes a different sound when a

kid with a particularly live arm throws it. every major leaguer makes that sound.

so does John.”San Ramon Valley coach Chris deClercq


COnCUssiOn sYMPtOMs■ Headache■ Confusion■ Memory Loss■ Dizziness■ Nausea■ “Seeing stars”■ Ringing in the ears■ Trouble concentrating■ Vision Trouble■ Lack of Focus

‘Once an athlete has had his or her first concussion, the chances of receiving a second concussion are greatly increased. therefore, after an athlete has received a concussion it is im-portant to allow the brain to completely heal. Physical activ-ity can interfere with this process.’

Use your head: Be smart about concussionsWith football sea-

son on the cusp of getting back

into action, it seemed as good a time as any to break down concussions — one of the most common football-related injuries. How to recognize them. How to treat them. And ways to try and prevent them.

A concussion is an injury to the brain that is caused by a rapid acceleration or decel-eration of the head or body, usually from an impact or a blow to the head. A concussion, also called a traumatic brain injury, may cause a person to become temporarily confused, disorientated, have memory loss or become unconscious.

Signs of a concussion can include the following: Uneven pupils, slurred speech, loss of balance and fainting or loss of consciousness. Sometimes determining a concussion isn’t so obvi-ous, but some symptoms to pay attention to are headache and dizziness among others.

treatmentFor most head injuries, a thorough ex-

amination from a doctor or a neurologist is necessary. If the doctor finds that you indeed have had a concussion, rest is the most common treatment. This means

physical rest (no practice) and also neuro-psycholog-ical rest (no taxing mental activities) to allow the brain to heal.

Critical situationsIf an athlete is uncon-

scious on the field, it is imperative to stabilize the athlete’s head and neck and call 911 immediately.

If an athlete is showing signs such as convulsions, unequal pupil size, trouble using their legs and arms,

repeated vomiting, garbled speech, bleeding from the ears or nose, immedi-ate medical attention is required. These may be signs of a very serious life-threatening condition.

Return to playAfter an athlete has received a concus-

sion and has been examined by a doctor, the next question is usually “When can he or she return to play?”

This question is more complicated than it sounds. For a mild concussion, the athlete has to be totally symptom-free for 24 hours before they can begin to gradually re-introduce physical and/or mental exertion.

For more severe concussions, a more conservative plan should be used. Refer to your doctor or neurologist for guide-

lines for return to play after a concus-sion.

Once an athlete has had his or her first concussion, the chances of receiving a second concussion are greatly increased. Therefore, after an athlete has received a concussion it is important to allow the brain to completely heal. Physical activ-ity can interfere with this process.

PreventionWhile it is not possible to totally

prevent an athlete from receiving a concussion, there are steps you can take to minimize the chances of a traumatic brain injury. Wearing proper fitting equipment, especially with collision type sports such as football and lacrosse, is very important.

In collision sports, it is imperative to teach proper tackling and blocking tech-niques and learning not to use your head for initial contact. These techniques, in combination with strengthening of the cervical and lumbar stabilizer regions of your body, may decrease the injuries that occur from a direct impact to the body, including concussion. ✪

Jamie Faison is an athletic trainer and certified strength and conditioning specialist for the Sports Medicine For Young Athletes center in Walnut Creek. If you have questions or comments regarding the “Health Watch” column, write the SMFYA staff at [email protected].

Jamie Faison

Health Watch


When choosing a trainer for your child, you must make sure they have a system and a philoso-

phy.It’s a necessary ingredient for increasing

your child’s athletic potential and a miss-ing ingredient for so many trainers.

It’s not enough for them to decide on the spot what to do with your child just before the training session starts.

Trainers must be sensi-tive to the day-to-day needs, stresses and realities facing your young athletes. So even if a program or outline is ready for what is to be accomplished during a training session, they must be reactive to how your child feels that day.

A lot of homework; fight with the girlfriend or boy-friend; lack of sleep; nothing to eat for the past seven hours — these are intangible realities that must be accounted for in any given training session. By ignor-ing these important issues, trainers are setting your child up for injury and over-training concerns, something that happens too often and is evidenced by a 150% increase in injuries among young athletes.

Trainers must have a system within which to work. They must have a pro-gressive system of development for your young athlete that spans many years and involves many intricate details, including sensitive developmental periods, learning styles and lifestyle monitoring.

There are a lot of rights and a lot of wrongs, and seldom any absolutes. Due to the natural growth and hormonal condi-tions of your child, it could be argued that ALL training programs work. So the question is what works BEST. And more

often than not, a lot of that is based on the situation.

So the first question you must ask a trainer is what’s most important for your young athlete and what is important for the trainer themselves?

All young athletes need the basics. They need to learn to squat, lunge, rotate, push, pull, produce force and absorb force through a multi-directional bilateral and unilateral move-ment-based environment.

I look at training a young athlete from the perspective of developing skill. Once a young athlete understands the basics of a particular movement, I progress that

pattern via complexity. When they develop sound skill, then I can build on it in virtually any way — and that is the essence of

proper training.Mobility, flexibility, strength, power,

coordination and conditioning are all separate elements, but incredibly symbiot-ic and overlapping. General improvements in any, will lead to general improvements in all.

In the next issue I will discuss a system that entails a seven-step process for ensuring optimal athletic skill, speed and strength development as well as injury resistance that so often compromises your child’s life and athletic potential and can further empower you to choose a qualified trainer for your young athlete. ✪

Tim Rudd is an IYCA-Level 2 Youth Conditioning, Speed, Agility, and Nutrition Specialist. You can contact him with questions or feedback at [email protected].

August 12, 2010

Tim RuddTraining Time

Find a trainer who has a system


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Victoria Leon is no stranger to suc-cess.

She has earned several accolades in her high school years (CSF President, MVP of her high school golf team, and salutatorian for the class of 2010). She accredits some of her success to The First Tee Life Skills education.

Recently, Victoria was selected from hundreds of applicants to participate in the The First Tee National Leadership Academy.

“The Academy was an amazing expe-

rience! It not only helped me to improve my golf game, but also opened my eyes to the versatility of the life skills The First Tee teaches,” Leon said. “The lessons I learned there will help me in the future. The golf instruction at the academy helped me tweak my golf swing and improve my game, but the life skills also helped aid my improvement.

“Golf is a difficult sport and it’s really easy to be tempted to give up at times, but life skills such as the 4 R’s (Replay, Relax, Ready, Redo) help me stay calm, persevere and realize what I am doing incorrectly so I can fix it.”

With fall approaching, Victoria will be heading off to UCLA , but she has one more stop to make before she does. Once again from applicants throughout the nation, as well as international chap-ters, Victoria has been selected to be paired with a professional golfer on the

senior tour and participate in The First Tee Open.

If you would like to see Victoria in action The First Tee Open will be held Labor Day weekend at Pebble Beach. Children 17-and-under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Practice your entire short gameWay too often I see players practicing

their short games, and unfortunately, wasting time.

They don’t understand when and where to use the lob, pitch, chip or bump-and-run shot. The players who do know this valuable insight often excel to higher levels more quickly. Those who don’t stay stuck shooting the same scores and thinking they need to hit the ball

further and straighter. If you look at the best players in the

world, they still miss fairways and they still miss greens. Yet they get the ball in the hole and shoot great scores. Now, I will agree that it’s easier to shoot good scores when the ball is flying long and true, your approach shots are on the mark, and you’re left with easy pars. But when your ‘A’ game has disappeared; you still need to get the ball in the hole.

The first thing is to develop a tough mental approach so you can recov-er. Then, learn to play the high percent-age shot around the green by hitting it high or low when the shot calls for it. You need all the shots around the green to be good. So practice hitting each of the shots mentioned above and stop trying to just hit the ball in the air all the way to the hole and expecting it to sud-denly stop.

The two-day SolutionThe majority of the golfing population

August 12, 2010

Tee2green Tee2greenwww.twitter.com/sportstarsmag

notes from the pros

sportstars

Deer Valley graduate earns invite to The First Tee OpenThere’s more to short game than just the chip shotBy ANgElA PArAdisE | Contributor

Submitted photo

Victoria Leon participated in the First Tee National Leadership Academy in July.

Dave DeloNG

Continued, page 26

25SportStars™August 12, 2010


considers a “tournament” to be a one-day 9 or 18-hole affair. And, for the most part, they’d be right.

You see, the majority of families that involve their children in junior golf, begin their journey with 9-hole matches. This is a great start, but what about when the player turns 12 years old and begins to discover that what is really demanded of him or her is a multi-day tournament performance record.

At 12 years of age, a player begins being allowed access to national-level qualifiers and championships. I want to introduce you to something that I like to call “The Two-day Solution”.

The inaugural Junior Amateur Championship was administered by the United States Golf Association in 1948. This event drew 495 entries and grew to almost 2,230 entries in 1963 when the USGA finally decided to cap the field by establishing an index requirement of 10.

Now, not every family has a player that is talented enough to play in the U.S. Junior Amateur, or has the

money to get them there as well. However, starting your tournament career with multi-day events allows your player to begin collecting rankings on what is called The Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS).

The JGS is a ranking structure of multi-round junior golf events from all over the country. These golf organizations report to JGS in order for local play-ers to receive national recognition. It’s a free service provided by the local junior golf organizations that hold these multi-round events. The most important part of this equation is that NCAA coaches seek players that perform well during multi-round events. This shows a coach a player’s real ability to put together two com-posed rounds of golf, which is what they will face when they reach the college level.

The point to this story is to seek out junior golf asso-ciations that will not only expose your son or daughter to multi-round events, but to also administer junior golf events according to the rules of golf.

If you have a junior golfer that is looking to find a voice in the junior golf world, it is time to involve them in multi-day tournaments. Eventually, they’ll be comfort-able enough to begin qualifying for events like the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur and maybe the U.S. Open! You never know. ✪Pro Notes is a regular item compiled by Gary Xavier (Northern California Junior Golf Tournament director), Angela Paradise (Executive Asst. of First Tee Contra Costa), and Dave DeLong (PGA professional and director of instruction at Boundary Oak GC). Contact them at the following addresses: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

August 12, 2010

Tee2green join us on facebook!sportstarsContinued from page 24

Support Your Local Business • Say You Found Them In SportStars™ 27SportStars™

Aug. 13: Walnut Creek, Community Event — GPS Trivia Night “Road Trip,” California Tourism Trivia, 6-9 p.m. beginning at Sports Basement. Walk about 2 miles. GPS Trivia Hunt; pizza, drinks, raffle prizes; shopping. $18/person; $15/person with a group of 6 or more. RSVP: 925-482-5705, info@modernday treasurehunters.com; www.modernday treasurehunters.com.

Aug. 13-15: Walnut Creek, Swim — Fred Siegrist Memorial 2010 Summers End Swim Classic. Short Course Meet hosted by the Walnut Creek Aquabears at Clarke Memorial Swim Center. Begins 5:30 p.m. Fri.; 9 a.m. Sat./Sun. Meet director, Leo Lin, 925-933-2708, [email protected]; www.pacswim.org.

Aug. 13-15: Walnut Creek, Swim — WCAB “Summers End Classic”. In Walnut Creek. Info. and registration: 925-680-8372, www.terrapinswim.com.

Aug. 13-15: Pleasanton, Soccer — 2010 BUSC Summer Classic - Division 1 Tournament. Boys Teams only, U11-U19, at various Pleasanton locations. Registration: http://summerclassic.busc.

org. Kevin Crow, tournament director, [email protected]; www.busc.org.Aug. 13-17: Spokane, WA, Baseball — Watch the 2010 American Legion World Series live. All 14 World Series games taking place this year at Avista Stadium will be available for live viewing on the Legion’s Web site, http://legion.org.Aug. 14: Richmond, Basketball — Best of the Best Hoop Games Basketball Tournament 3 on 3 Championship Series. Games beginning 9 a.m. at 3118 Shane Drive. Team check-in, 4-7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at 3150 Garrity Way. Divisions: 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19U; male teams and female teams. 800-238-9137; www.hoopgames.com.

Aug. 14-15: Walnut Creek, Golf — 30th Annual Contra Costa County Amateur Golf Tournament. NCGA Player Point Event presented by Boundary Oak Golf Course. Both days: driving range opens 5:30 a.m. both days; restaurant opens 6 a.m. Pairings available Aug. 8 online at www.playboundaryoak.com. Entry fee: $100, includes green fees. 925-934-

4775.

Aug. 14-15: Walnut Creek, Soccer — Walnut Creek Soccer Club Summerfest Jamboree. Boys & Girls Division 1 & 3/Gold/Silver/Bronze U8 / U9 / 10 (Fall 2010 age groups). Entry fee, $150. Kevin Erwin, tournament director, 925-383-5957 kevinserwin@astound.

net; www.wcsc.org.

Aug. 14-15: Pleasant Hill, Swim — 50th Contra Costa County Championship Swim Meet. Events begin at 9 a.m. both days, at Diablo Valley College. Starting times for finals will be in the afternoon following all preliminaries and will be announced at the Meet.

Awards presentation ceremony follows finals on Sunday. Jeff Miller, County Meet director. Visit, http://lmyaswim.com.

Aug. 16: Walnut Creek, Race — Fun Run. 6:30 p.m. Meet in front of Sports Basement. The Fun Run is a great way to meet other local

runners of all skill levels. 925-941-6100, www.sportsbasement.com.

Aug. 16-17: Santa Cruz, Golf — Elite Tour Junior PGA Championship For players, ages 12-18, at Pasatiempo Golf Club. Gary Xavier, 707-449-4742, [email protected]; www.ncpgajuniortour.com.

August 12, 2010

game day calendarwww.twitter.com/sportstarsmagsportstars


what’s next WHAT’S NEXTwww.twitter.com/sportstarsmagsportstars

&wash, rinserepeat

Planning a car wash for your team’s fundraiser? Well, Diablo Car Wash & Detail Center would like to offer you the opportu-nity to do it in style.

The business, located at 1024 Alberta Way in Concord, has developed a unique program designed to support the local community and which takes (at least some) of the pressure off schools and non-profits.

“Charities, team organizations, schools, church groups, and others have the potential of raising more money (and doing it a bit easier) by working alongside the car wash, while at the same time, staying environmentally friendly,” says owner/manager and fundraising proponent, John Lucia. “We take pride in the fact that we only use environmentally safe soaps and waxes, as well as recycled water.”

Diablo has three easy-to-administer programs available, each designed to provide a quality service at a discount while raising much-needed funds for our teams and schools.■ Furthermore, if you are planning a car wash — either

at Diablo, or somewhere else — SportStars would be glad to promote it for you. Drop us an email with details at [email protected]

Patrick McCormick

Holding a car wash? Let SportStars help you to spread the word!

Get the bike out of the Basement

SportStars Magazine is ready to start taking on some subscribers, and we’ve struck a promotional deal with Sports Basement to give a brand new bike away to one lucky subscriber (see the promo-tional ad on page 23).

For the low price of $24, you’ll not only get a year subscription to SportStars (24 issues), but you’ll be entered to win a Cannondale Comfort4. Want to see the bike? It’s available right now at Sports Basement, located at 1881 Ygna-cio Valley Rd. in Walnut Creek. Go check it out!

BigBikeGiveAway

Cannondale Comfort series bike


what’s next WHAT’S NEXTsportstars

SportStars hooks on with Boys & Girls ClubThe list of budding partnerships between SportStars

and our local community youth centers is growing again.

SportStars and the Boys & Girls Club of the Diablo Valley will be working together to support each other in future endeavors.

Among the many things provided by the Boys & Girls Club of the Diablo Valley are programs centered on education and career development, character and leadership development, life skills, physical education as well as sports and recreation. All good things, if you ask SportStars.

Check out the center located at 1301 Alhambra Ave. in Martinez.

Coach speaks up in self-published bookIn his book “Put Your Game Together,” Clayton resi-

dent Donnie Howell brings the lessons he learned on the football field as a kid to his business endeavors as well as on the coaching gridiron.

“Building a winning program is not about building something just so it can win,” Howell writes. “It’s about building something that creates winning character.”

So why have so many coaches and parents lost track of these values in favor of what Howell calls, “scoreboard wins”? In the book, Howell addresses the metamorphosis of youth sports — using his experienc-es playing ball for impressionable coaches at Pinole Valley High to his years as head football coach at East Bay high schools — to encourage us to draw up a winning game plan that promotes ethics and moral character in youth sports as well as in life.

“Put Your Game Together — Ethical Management in Youth Sports and Business” is available in either hardcover ($26.95), softcover ($16.95) or e-book ($9.99). Contact the author (and order online) at www.donniehowell.com.

Clayton Community Derby draws nearThe popular community event produced and put on

by Clayton Community Church is getting prepared for another Labor Day of downhill excitement.

Each year, the event — which is completely free and strictly kids-only — draws more than 250 youngsters to race down Clayton’s historic Main St. Participants re-

ceive t-shirts and trophies. Beyond the racing, several peripheral activities are available thanks to the number of sponsors who take part in the day’s events.

For more information on the Derby, contact Dave Laventure at [email protected] or at 925-673-5337.


photo finish

Whether by car or by bike, there’s no escaping the traffic. Three members of the Tieni Duro junior cycling team compete during the Merco Credit Union Downtown Grand Prix in Merced last March. Leading the way is Reese Levin, 14, of Orinda. He’s followed by Henry Nelson, 15,

of Oakland and Tyler Hanson, 16, of Orinda. Tieni Duro’s season runs from February-July.

Want to submit your pic for Photo Finish? send it to us at [email protected] must be 300 dpi and at least 10 inches wide in the jpeg format. Please identify every person in the photo and include your contact information.

PhOtO by JasOn Kent

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