SportStar of the Week: Christian Encarnacion-Strand
High School Baseball/SoftballNorth Coast SectionSportStars of the Week May 17, 2018 0
College Park Falcons Baseball Player, Christian Encarnacion-Strand COLLEGE PARK-PLEASANT HILL – SENIOR – BASEBALL It’s been an up and down season for the College Park Falcons baseball team, but not for their senior shortstop. The four-year varsity player recently went 1-for-2 with an RBI double to help fuel a 9-5... Read more
Benicia Is Arguably The Sac-Joaquin Section’s Most Complete Softball Team — Will It Equate To A Division III Title? • At times, softball can become a singular sport: One team’s ace pitcher facing off with the opponent’s big hitter and the game on the line. But the Benicia High... Read more
Franklin-Elk Grove Wildcats Survive A Frenzied Final Week Of Delta League Baseball To Emerge With Their First Title Since 2015 • For the last 19 years, the last remaining team in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section North bracket was from the mighty Delta League. Elk Grove, Jesuit, Davis and... Read more
Masterful Communication Aids Elk Grove High Softball
High School Baseball/SoftballSac-Joaquin Section May 10, 2018 0
21st Century Clout Coach Amanda Buck operates her Elk Grove High softball team like a finely-crafted marketing plan. The team mission adjusts pitch-by-pitch to the calls of assistant coach Jake Lively, corresponding with color-coded commands on each player’s arm band. Play is often stalled to discuss strategies with coaches,... Read more
With Talented Center Fielder Michael Dixon Leading The Charge, Berkeley Baseball Is Turning Heads In 2018 • Story By JAMES G. KANE | Photos By BERRY EVANS III Berkeley High School baseball coach Curtis Sandeford put his chin to his hand and gazed his glance downward. A few seconds... Read more
Turn It Up! Freedom High Softball Is Blasting Confidence After 11-0 Start When the going gets tough, the Freedom High softball team GETS LOUD! Really, really loud. L-O-U-D loud. The noise generated by the Falcons isn’t just the typical dugout chatter. Their April 17 Bay Valley Athletic League opener... Read more
How to Stop Overthinking in Pressure Situations
High School Baseball/SoftballLEVELUP INSIDERS May 2, 2018 0
One of the things that happens with athletes when under pressure situations, is that the mind starts racing… Under Pressure Situations, your mind speeds up because it is doing it’s best to “think” of all the possibilities of how it can prevent the bad thing from happening. That’s the pressure… trying to... Read more
SportStar Of The Week: Patrick Wicklander
High School Baseball/SoftballSportStars of the Week April 13, 2018 0
Patrick Wicklander Strikes Out 18 In A No-Hit Shutout Of Riordan-S.F.; Lowers ERA Under 1.00 • PATRICK WICKLANDER | Valley Christian-San Jose – Baseball – Senior A University of Arkansas-signee and the cover athlete to SportStars’ NorCal Baseball/Softball Preview this past March, Wicklander is doing more than just delivering on... Read more
3 Mental Strategies To Get Over Fear of Failure
High School Baseball/SoftballLEVELUP INSIDERS April 10, 2018 0
Now that March Madness (including the Masters) are behind us and as the sports world’s attention shifts over to Baseball and Softball, I am going to make that my segue to talk about tackling the biggest problems of those two sports, Fear of Failure, by sharing 3 Mental Strategies... Read more
With Eight Wins In Its First 11 Games, Dougherty Valley Baseball Has Already Matched Its 2017 Total — And It’s Not Looking Back • Story by MIKE WOOD | Photos by CHACE BRYSON The Dougherty Valley High-San Ramon baseball team had just completed a loss to Monte Vista-Danville, one... Read more
Hit Squad
High School Baseball/Softball April 5, 2018 0
Led By A Pair Of Legitimate Sluggers, Bella Vista Softball Is Literally Going To Take Its Best Swing At A Championship • Story and Photos by IKE DODSON Speak softly and carry a big stick. It’s the unspoken motto of the Bella Vista-Fair Oaks softball team, one of the... Read more
Why is Baseball Striking Out On TV Air Time?
High School Baseball/SoftballLEVELUP INSIDERS April 5, 2018 0
The state championship basketball games are on TV, even the Division V ones. Kids get excited about basketball and football, even when the teams aren’t that good. But when our baseball team is good, no one seems to care. It just doesn’t seem right. We’re just as good as... Read more
