Sportstars
SportStories, Ep. 4 | Ripple Effect: Remembering Mark Halvorson
The Pod Welcomes Its First Olympian As Robby Smith Joined Multiple Wrestlers To Help Us Remember The Late Youth And De La Salle Coach, Mark Halvorson • As the wrestling program director at Concord’s Community Youth Center, Mark Halvorson opened the door of wrestling to countless youth from all... Read more
Bulldog Blast | Bats Lead Alhambra Softball To First Win Since 2019
Behind A 13-Hit Assault, The Senior-Driven Alhambra Softball Team Topped Clayton Valley For The Program’s First Win In 22 Months For the Alhambra Softball team, a long year of waiting to play softball together again ended Tuesday, March 9. That was followed by a long 44 hours of waiting... Read more
SportStories, Episode 3 | Football Springs To Life
The Podcast Celebrates The Return To Football With A Tribute To Traditional Offseason Anticipation And Memorable NorCal Season Openers • If you’ve been someone paying attention to California high school sports — or lack thereof — over the last several months, then you know this week of March 8th... Read more
Aiyanna Co, Heritage Golf | SportStar Of The Week 2/22-26
Heritage-Brentwood Girls Golf Senior Leader, Aiyanna Co, Opens Patriots’ Season With Medalist Honors To Help Fuel Back-To-Back Wins • Golfing in a competition with her Heritage teammates for the first time since November 2019, Aiyana Co earned medalist honors in a Bay Valley Athletic League-opening win over Pittsburg. The... Read more
SportStories, Ep. 02 | Freedom Finishes The Business Trip
Former Freedom Softball Players And Coaches Mark The Five-Year Anniversary Of The 2016 Team’s Inspiring Championship Run In Honor Of Slain Assistant Coach Scott Lunger Scott Lunger was the “good cop” on the Freedom High School varsity softball coaching staff. The Freedom softball players loved the good-natured humor that... Read more
SportStories, Episode 01 | The Passion Of Patrick Walsh
For The Debut Episode Of Our SportStories Podcast, We Solicited Stories About Serra-San Mateo Coach Patrick Walsh — A Leader In The Efforts To Restart High School Sports Patrick Walsh has led the Serra High football program in San Mateo since 2002. In 18 seasons he’s won 155 games,... Read more
2020 Taught Me… | Athletes & Coaches Reflect, Share Outlook For New Year
NorCal Athletes And Coaches Sound Off On What They Learned Over A Difficult Year, And Express Hope As We Start Anew • From the pandemic to social unrest, 2020 was a tidal wave that hit us all. Especially the world of high school athletics.  Now that the water may... Read more
Who’s Got Next? | Readers Get Final 2020 SportStars Cover Choice
Vote On The Final 2020 SportStars Cover — What Image Should Represent An Issue Containing Our Favorite Work From A Frustrating Year Paired With A Hopeful Look Forward? So yeah, NorCal high school athletic programs are unlikely to remember 2020 with much fondness. We get it. However, SportStars worked... Read more
Divine Interception | One Final 2010 Concord Football Anecdote
CHACE BRYSON: One Last Tale From Our 2010 NCS Football Oral History Interviews — How One Concord Coach Nearly Lost His House Days Before The Game • We’ve come to December of what can only be referred to as a challenging year in high school sports.  And we decided... Read more
Maddie Gamble Is ALL IN | Carondelet Ace Doubles Down On Golf
With A Renewed Passion For Her Sport, Carondelet’s Maddie Gamble Is Slaying Amateur Competitions And Hoping For A Chance To Lead The Cougars One Last Time • Carondelet High golfer Maddie Gamble understands she won’t get a ton of sympathy.  After all she’s been able to play and compete... Read more
Concord, Rancho Cotate And One 2010 Night At The Coliseum | An Oral History
Revered As One Of The Past Decade’s Best NCS Football Championships, We’ve Used Several Interviews To Recreate The 2010 Classic Between Concord And Rancho Cotate • Not all great championship games are equal.  Over the magazine’s first decade, SportStars has covered its share of championship games across many sports.... Read more
SportStars 1-on-1: Ian Book | Star QB Talks Notre Dame, Oak Ridge, Pandemic & More
Seven Years After Appearing On SportStars’ Cover, Oak Ridge Alum Ian Book Spoke With The Magazine Just Days Before His First Chance At Becoming Notre Dame’s Winningest QB • Notre Dame image: Roy K. Miller/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press On Saturday, Dec. 5, Ian Book will start his last... Read more