Sportstars
James Logan Girls Wrestling | Colts Claim State Title As Sport Skyrockets
James Logan Girls Wrestling Clutches CIF Championship As Girls Wrestling Builds NCAA “Emerging Sport” Momentum • Saturdays are officially for the girls. And the James Logan Girls Wrestling team is here for it. Wrestling’s highest divisions have been invaded by college and prep athletes looking to define their generation... Read more
Chase Saldate | Gilroy Wrestling Star’s Countdown To Liftoff
National No. 1 And CIF State Wrestling Champion, Chase “Satellite” Saldate Is An Other-Worldly Sensation — And Our NorCal Wrestler Of The Year • 10. For Chase Saldate, the countdown for his liftoff into orbit begins now. After he graduates from Gilroy High, the 152-pound InterMat National No. 1... Read more
Is Sports Betting Legal in California?
Not yet, but you can bet it’s coming. Paid College Athletes and Sports Betting Present Big Changes for California Sports. Two significant changes are on the horizon for California sports in 2020. The recent move to allow payments to NCAA college athletes and a fall approval of sports betting... Read more
Viral Disruption: NorCal Teams Cope With State Basketball Cancellations
Twelve NorCal Teams See Title Dreams End After CIF Is Forced Into State Basketball Cancellations As The Coronavirus Outbreak Accelerated • And then there were no championships. On the morning of March 12, the sudden CIF State Basketball cancellations brought the stark reality of the Coronavirus pandemic to the... Read more
SportStar Ashley Hiraki Mitty Girls Basketball
Ashley Hiraki, Archbishop Mitty-San Jose — Basketball – Senior named SportStar of the Week Amidst the concern and confusion of the COVID-19 outbreak, stellar student-athletes continue find ways of standing out. And wowing us! At the time this piece was written, girls (and all) high school basketball has been... Read more
Lindsey Berg: Volleyball Short Setters Handbook
MOVING TO THE BALL Olympian Volleyball player Lindsey Berg espouses one thing that she thinks all might agree on in the volleyball world. That there is a big possibility that a  shorter/smaller setter will make faster moves to the ball. But that wouldn’t be a good enough reason to... Read more
Salesian Basketball Sr. Jaden Lazo Scores SportStar of the Week
SportStar of the Week Jaden Lazo Salesian-Richmond – Basketball Senior Wing Thursday’s CIF Division 1 Norcal Regional quarterfinals pitted Salesian basketball against Grant-Sacramento. Jaden Lazo came out firing on all cylinders. The senior wing scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter to help the Pride... Read more
Acalanes Softball | Here Come The Dons – Fences Beware
A Dynamic Incoming Freshman Adds To An Already Fierce Lineup That Has Acalanes Softball Aiming For Its First NCS Title • Freshman prospect Hailey Stripling made a big impression in her first live action as a high school player. Literally. Just look at the fence on the Acalanes High... Read more
Lujan, Nagao, Haas Join Prestigious State Champions Club
120 – Tristan Lujan (Selma, CS, 12) joins Nagao, and Haas in prestigious 2x California State Wrestling Champions Club There have been precious few to reach such achievement in four quick years of high school sports. These three men among boys, Lujan, Nagao and Haas) have entered the within... Read more
Kelly Sopak | Clear Vision: Miramonte Hoops Coach Nears Milestone
As Miramonte Girls Basketball Coach Kelly Sopak Nears 400 Career Wins, He’s Taking A Calmer Approach • Kelly Sopak had a question: “What are those progressive lenses like?” Sopak, in his 11th year coaching at Orinda’s Miramonte High, turns 51 this month, and is considering his vision-improving options. Though... Read more
California Wrestling Championship Teams 1973–2020
SportStars wrestling Insider, Al Fontes (The California Wrestler) offers his retrospective report of California State Wrestling Championship Teams dating back to 1973. There’s a photo gallery included. Click this link also for a player-by-player list of 1973 & 2020 CIF State Individual Champions. Perpetual stalwart, Buchanan High School-Clovis caps... Read more
Peak Performance Training: Right Place, Right Time
Understanding How To Maximize Your Training So You Can Play Your Best Comes Down to Peaking In my last post, I shared the training concept called periodization. The idea of sectioning your training time and setting specific goals during each section of time. We reviewed the four phases to... Read more