By Luke Johnson

After a marijuana and alcohol scandal nearly squandered their postseason dreams, Deer Valley High School baseball went on a 7-1 run to claim their second consecutive Bay Valley Athletic League Championship.

According to a variety of sources, four players were caught mid-season posting pictures, on the social network Instagram, of themselves using marijuana and alcohol. Two seniors and two sophomores were suspended a combined total of 30 games through punishment from administration and the athletic program.

Among those four athletes was one of Deer Valley’s premier players along with another being an everyday starter batting over .300. The absence of those key competitors wreaked havoc on the Wolverines as they lost five straight and found themselves at fourth place in the BVAL.

“My reaction was just complete shock,” Pitcher Tyler Vistalli said. “Kids always say ‘it’s never going to happen to me.’ And we never think it can happen to us… [But] no matter how slim that chance is it happened to us, and for us to overcome it was just huge.”

Vistalli was also a tremendous contributor to the Wolverines early in the season before suffering an elbow injury in early April that has sidelined him since. The ace was sporting a 5-0 record and a 0.88 ERA with 38 strike outs in 31 2/3 innings. Vistalli is currently probable for action in the playoffs.

This is the first year for Dan Peters as Deer Valley’s head coach, and only the second in school history after former Head Coach Dennis Luquet’s departure to Diablo Valley College. It was quite a roller coaster ride for Peters. After jumping to a 7-0 start the team began to have attitude issues.

“We had some players become selfish and jealous of other players’ success,” Peter said. “When we had a little adversity the worst came out in a player or two, [but] not all. Some players [complained] about things like, ‘Why am I hitting sixth [and] not fourth?’ A player or two were actually hoping that a teammate at their own position would do poorly in a game so that it would make them look better.”

During the ensuing five-game slide Peters gathered the coaches and players for a serious team meeting to set things straight. He instilled in the the minds of the players’ that they needed to encourage one another to be successful.

“We do not ever play against Deer Valley, we play against the other teams and against the game of baseball itself,” Peters told the varsity squad.

The Deer Valley coaching staff emphasized those kind of things over and over, and it appears to have paid off.

When asked how the four players involved in the scandal could have allowed this whole ordeal to happen, utility player Devante Boyd said, “That’s a tough one.”

Boyd was originally thought to be apart of the situation, but further investigation discovered that he had nothing to do with it.

Deer Valley finished with a 7-3 conference and 16-8 overall record. Coincidentally Liberty High School and Heritage High School were equal in both facets to make it a three-way tie in the BVAL standings. But Deer Valley was the successor in the tie-breaker due its victories over the other teams in their most recent match ups.

The play against Granada, the third-highest ranked team in the nation, during the playoffs, today, Friday, May 24.

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A car hit a CHP Motorcycle officer, today on Marsh Creek Road, during the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race. – by Bradley Bennett

BREAKING NEWS

By Bradley Bennett

A portion of Marsh Creek Road is down to one lane and under traffic control as a CHP officer was hit by motorist during the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race, today, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The officer was stopped and directing traffic for the race, when he was struck by a silver Mercedes.

The officer was transported to Round Valley Regional Park and airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

It was reported that he was off of his motorcycle when hit and evidently does not remember what had happened.

The race is currently under way, during Stage 7 of 8 stages, which began at 11:30 a.m., taking bicyclists from Livermore and to the top of Mt. Diablo.

For more information about the race and today’s stage, click here.

Cyclists race down Marsh Creek Road during Stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California race, today near Mt. Diablo. – by Bradley Bennett

Amgen Stage 7 route, May 18, 2013

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Sunday May 19, 2013, 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM

Babe Ruth Fields
902 Auto Center Dr., Antioch

http://www.antiochsportslegends.com

ASLAlumni@antiochsportslegends.com

Inviting all baseball players ages 9 to 15 to the “The First Annual Hall of Fame Baseball Clinic”

Come join former Chicago White Sox Pitcher Butch Rounsaville and World Series Champion Aaron Miles for a fun filled day of instruction and demonstration on the finer points of baseball fundamentals.

Key areas of focus will include:
Hitting | Pitching | Catching | Base Running | Infield Play | Outfield Play

$25 Registration Fee includes:
Admission to Clinic | Hall of Fame T-Shirt | Barbecue Hot Dog Lunch | Tour of Antioch Sports Legends Museum

Plenty of spots still available. Walk in registration welcome. Registration begins at 9am at the fields.

Pre-Registration is recommended to guarantee T-Shirt availability.

Click here for registration form.

For more information call Steve Parks at (925) 550-3819.

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Article & photo by Luke Johnson

Freshman lefty Ray White achieved a milestone Friday, April 26 when he became the first pitcher to throw a perfect game in Deer Valley High School history.

Twenty-one came up and 21 went down for the Deer Valley freshman squad’s 11-0 win over the Freedom Falcons. The 15-year-old White only needed 75 pitches and five strike outs to complete the challenging feat. Immediately after the last out of the seventh inning the Wolverines swarmed the mound in celebration of White’s accomplishment.

“I have to hand it to my defense,” White said. “They even made the more difficult plays look easy.”

White was referring to center fielder Devin Gould’s sliding catch in the second inning to keep the perfect game intact. White also went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored to help the team offensively and put one in the win column.

Even with history on the line Deer Valley Head Coach Darren Machado substituted everyone off the bench due to the team’s significant lead.

“The other coaches were excited and were trying to keep the same players in to save the perfect game,” Machado said. “But I was like ‘I know this game is for Ray, but I gotta get players in.’”

Machado and the coaching staff stuck to their superstitious beliefs during the game and did not blurt out the word “perfect” in hopes to keep this opportunity from being jinxed.

“They were making sure I didn’t say anything,” Machado said while chuckling.

One thing that sticks out about White is his maturity and poise on the mound. Even when it gets rough out there he stays calm and levels his emotions. His coaches notice his proficient knowledge for how the game is played along with advance leadership skills.

“Nobody works harder than him,” Assistant Coach A.J. McNally said. “He’s at every practice, and is always helping his other teammates step-by-step at their positions.”

After high school White has strong ambitions to play for a Division I college.

“My wife and I look forward to more great moments,” White’s father Ray White Sr. said. “We are proud of him and are very supportive of him in baseball, and hope he plays until he doesn’t want to play any more.”

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Marcus Lee – photo by Blue Devil Motion

By Luke Johnson

Deer Valley High School’s stand-out basketball player Marcus Lee has been selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American game on April 3.

Since this game’s foundation, many of the NBA greats have passed through; from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. In October, Lee signed a full ride scholarship with the NCAA defending champions, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and will be joining four of his future teammates in Chicago for the All-American scrimmage.

With these five high school athletes placing among the top 18 seniors across the nation by ESPN, many have speculated that this recruiting class could the best in history.

“I think it’s a really high statement,” said Lee. “It just gives us a barrier to break down, and we love barriers. It just makes basketball so much more fun.”

Lee calls Antioch his hometown, and his biggest mentor growing up has been his older brother Brian. A young Marcus would emulate Brian by following him around to every practice and game.

“I was pretty much his little mini-person,” said Lee.

Now standing at a staggering 6’9” Lee is averaging nearly 20 rebounds and 7 blocks a game and leading the Wolverines through the playoffs. Lee says he thrives in the loud post-season environment and is motivated when the crowd gets behind him.

He just led his team to Deer Valley’s first ever North Coast Section Championship on Friday, March 1^st. The team was preparing for the California Interscholastic Federation Northern Regional playoffs at press time.

Lee says he is going to wait until he arrives at Kentucky and will “let nature take its course” before he makes any decisions about playing professionally. If he does indeed earn a spot in the NBA, he will be the first individual out of Antioch to do so.

“It means everything to me just being the big role model of Antioch,” said Lee. “It’s saying you can do what ever you want even if you come from Antioch.”

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By Luke Johnson

Deer Valley High School played in its first Northern California Division I boys basketball regional championship on Saturday, March 16, but ended up falling to the Pleasant Grove Eagles, 73-60, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.

After the loss, Deer Valley’s UNLV-bound point guard Kendall Smith was brought to tears when he realized his high school career with his long-time friend and teammate, Kentucky-bound power forward Marcus Lee, was over.

“This has been my family, my cousin. I did everything with him. He’s been my point guard since day one,” said Lee. “Knowing this is probably my last game with him… it hurts. We’ve been through a lot and conquered a lot.”

Throughout the postseason, Smith averaged nearly 22 points and six assists per game, while Lee put up nearly 18 points, 19 rebounds and 9 blocks per game.

“One thing you can take to the bank is that you’re going to hear from both of these guys again. I promise you,” said Deer Valley Head Coach Lachet Phillips.

In the previous game, Smith suffered an ankle sprain against Bellarmine. In that game, Smith drove past three defenders to make a clutch layup that put the Wolverines up by two with only 10 seconds left in regulation. Then on the next possession he stole the ball in transition to secure a trip to Sacramento.

Smith said he felt about 65 percent healthy in the championship game, as he was unable to display his explosiveness. Clearly hobbling up and down the court, Smith still played all but about two and a half minutes of the game.

Pleasant Grove put constant pressure on the 6-foot-10 Lee by double-teaming him every time he touched the ball. The Eagle’s defensive strategy limited Lee to only 10 points in the contest.

“I saw a man in front of me and a man behind me,” said Lee. “They did a good job on us.”

The Eagles’ resiliency from the free throw line was one of the key components to their victory. Pleasant Grove was successful on 27-of-28 attempts.

“We really stress free throws in practice and shoot a lot of free throws over and over,” said Eagles Head Coach John DePonte. “Once we got on a roll, I think everyone just fed off the success.”

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By Allen Payton

Now, I’m not a sports reporter, but I had the chance to attend the NorCal Semi-Final High School Boys Basketball game on Tuesday night between the hosts Deer Valley Wolverines and the visiting Bellarmine College Prep-San Jose team and had to share what I witnessed.

What a game! It was a close one all four quarters, with just a brief six-point lead by Deer Valley in the fourth.

The gym was full of cheering students, players’ family members, school staff, administrators, school board members and other fans.

The officials made a few bad calls – mostly against the Wolverines, specifically in the lane, that most of us thought should have been offensive fouls. We just figured the official enjoyed doing that dance-looking move with his clinched fists next to his hips. LOL

It was the duo of the 6′ 9” All-American Marcus Lee and his friend since childhood, Kendall Smith who led the team to victory. And it was the final basket by Smith that gave Deer Valley the two-point lead to clinch the 54-52 win – but only after a court-long pass and a desperation 3-point attempt by Bellarmine that almost made it in at the last second. Whew! That was seriously too close for comfort.

It was an exciting game and the best part is Deer Valley won.

They’re making school history – since winning North Coast, last week. The team has never been this far, before.

The Wolverines are ranked 12th in the state and 59th nationally having moved up two spots, just yesterday. They have a league record of 9-1 and an overall record of 26-5. Very impressive.

Now on to the NorCal Championship game against Elk Grove’s Pleasant Grove High, this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at the Sleep Train Arena – where the Kings play, for now – in Sacramento. If you don’t have plans, go. If you do have plans, cancel them and go. I’ll be there.

If, er I mean WHEN they win on Saturday, the Wolverines will play for the State Championship against the Southern California champs, next week, also at the Arena in Sac.

Go Wolverines!

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Your Pro’s Corner

By Ron Parish, PGA Director of Golf, Lone Tree Golf Course

I passed on a quote I heard from the great instructor Jim Flick at a training seminar in last months article, “Golf demands you learn the game on it’s timeline”, well worth reflecting on if you seem to be practicing hard and not having much in return. Remember, trial and error are part of the game and part of learning.

Tributes to Mr. Flick continue this month and one thing he would strongly emphasize in his teaching was “Use the ground for leverage”. I find this focus is very worthwhile for many reasons but in particular, I think the average golfer benefits more from this emphasis then some of the mainstream current Tour Pro concepts.

For starters, realize that this is an idea that the great Jack Nicklaus embraced (Mr. Flick worked with Jack regularly) and used in his own game to be one of the most powerful hitters in his day and of all time. What does this mean, use the ground for leverage? Well for starters, where are the biggest muscles in your body? They are in your legs and “tuck-us”. So if we are going to get power effortlessly doesn’t it make sense to use these muscles and not just the hands, arms, and upper torso? Especially for your average Joe who can’t get to the gym everyday. To understand using the ground for leverage, here are some other sports’ motions where the legs are used that are worthwhile comparing to and can help shed understanding for how this power can be created:

• A field goal kicker using his “plant” leg

• A baseball pitcher shifting off the mound

• Snow skier shifting into the next turn.

• Hockey player shifting or stopping on the edge of their skate

• A hip throw in judo

All of the above utilize the body’s weight shifting with the strength and leverage that the legs and lower body can balance, store, and transfer. And when it transfers, it is amazing what power can be generated no matter what your size (fyi: Jack Nicklaus isn’t that tall or big). So above are some analogies, now some drills for you to try and go out and see if you can discover and dial into this concept:

1. 1/2 and 3/4 wedges with leg work. It’s like learning to dance. Got to start slow and small before you get going to fast. Hit half a bucket of balls and vary the distance on your wedges, only hitting anywhere from 40% to 80% your full wedge distance. Vary the distance on every shot. I recommend a sand wedge. As you do this. Just listen to your legs and how the weight shifts back and forth. If you do it right, you will find that the rest of your body (the torso turn, the arms and hands swinging) will synchronize with your legs. Hit it a little fat or thin? Out of synch I will bet you. As you continue with this, keep the grip pressure light and really try and power the shot with the shift of your weight. I bet you will learn something.

2. Step drill. Tee up a ball with a 7 iron. Set up to the ball with a normal stance but before swinging, bring the front foot all the way back to the back foot so that you are standing with feet together. Keep the knees flexed. Then start the swing back. Going forward, to hit the ball you are going to have to “step” off the back foot to get to the ball. You will really learn about the role of the back leg and foot here. Also a lot about timing. If the ball goes let of your intended line, you will have started the forward swing with your upper body. If your ball goes right of your intended line (not many do this) the lower body will have pushed to hard to start the forward swing or have started too soon. However, You are going to have to “step” forward before you completer your backswing. Play with this. Step earlier one time then the other. You will learn a lot. Allow your hands to have some hinge while you step forward. This is called loading or lagging and Guys like Sergio Garcia and Greg Norman used this to generate power. Great drill, but only do it for a portion of your bucket. I’ve found if it gets over practiced you can develop too much of a lateral motion.

3. “Heal lift” on the driver drill. Ok this one is fun. To use the ground for leverage, the weight has to coil and shift to the back leg during the swing. I think this drill really teaches that. Take the driver and set up to a teed up ball as normal. Before taking the club back, lift up the heal of the front/target foot. As soon as the heel is up (the weight will naturally shift back to your back foot) start the swing and go ahead and hit the ball. What you are going to notice is that you “really” get into your back leg this way. And if you get into it on the backswing, you are going to be able to shift off of it for the forward swing and understand what it is to use the ground for leverage.

Hey, you are going to have some swings on drill #2 and #3 that get out of synch, so don’t beat yourself up if you send one or two off line or thin/fat. That is all part of the learning. But if you pay attention, you are going to figure out what it means to use the ground for leverage and how to generate power from this concept. One last point, the key is to synchronize it. What’s that mean? Everything is in balance and working together. You will start to notice this more and more. One thing I think helps is to keep in mind that when Jack was asked what he wanted to do to hit one really big, he would always say, “I would take more time to swing”. Notice he didn’t say he would swing faster or harder, he just took more time to complete his swing and use his powerful legs

Thank you for all you do for Golf and for Lone Tree Golf Course and Event Center. Please help grow the game and invite someone new to join you in 2013! The game needs you ……and them.

Your Pro,

Ron Parish, PGA

If you are interested in reviewing other articles from Coach Ron go to www.lonetreegolfcourse.com under “The Course” tab.

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