Sportstars
ONE for the Road. Seniors Lead San Ramon Valley To First Lacrosse Section Title
In Their Final Game Together, Eight Exemplary Seniors Led San Ramon Valley To Its First Boys Lacrosse Section Title Since 2015 • In the end, for the San Ramon Valley High boys lacrosse team, it was all about “this one.” The “one” on May 17 was big: the North Coast... Read more
SportStar of the Week: Christian Encarnacion-Strand
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
Berkeley’s Center of Attention
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
Full Speed Ahead
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
Coach Brian Dietschy’s Journey To State Finals Started In Elementary School
Thirty Years After After Losing A NorCal Basketball Final As A Las Lomas Player, Brian Dietschy Coached A Serendipitous Knights Team Into The State Finals • Brian Dietschy story by CLAY KALLAM | Photos by JAMES K. LEASH The story starts on San Juan Avenue, a quiet Walnut Creek... Read more
Las Lomas Basketball To Its First State Finals Appearance
A Nine-Point Flurry From Senior Devin Payne Helped Lift Las Lomas To Its First State Finals Appearance • For almost three full quarters, Palo Alto High and Las Lomas Basketball teams played the equivalent of a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust football game, grinding out possessions and hoping to score. Then Devin Payne... Read more
Monte Vista Girls Soccer: Old Reliable, New Ground
Monte Vista Girls Soccer Goes Where No Monte Vista Girls Soccer Team Has Gone Before — And That’s Saying Something Finally, the Monte Vista Girls Soccer-Danville girls soccer team could celebrate something it had never done before. The Mustangs became the first CIF NorCal Division I girls soccer champions... Read more
March Of The Mustangs
Monte Vista Prepares For Showdown With Mitty-San Jose — A Match Between Two Nationally Ranked Teams For The First CIF Div. I NorCal Title Monte Vista High-Danville girls soccer player Rachel Anderson loves this kind of matchup: just her against the goalkeeper. Awarded a penalty kick after a foul... Read more
Emotional Father-Daughter Dance: Bamberger Family
Concord’s Bamberger Family Shares A Special Winter Through The Seasons Of Carondelet And Clayton Valley Basketball • Father-Daughter Dance: Eric Bamberger and his daughter Ali have a rule when it comes to breaking down her basketball games. “If I was able to see the game, I get five minutes... Read more
Clayton Valley’s Boy Basketball Team Is Rare Air
With 25 Wins And A Ticket To The Section Semifinals, The Ugly Eagles Boys Basketball Team Is Near Uncharted Altitude  Outside the Clayton Valley Charter boys basketball varsity team room, the locker room is practically still at 8:35 on a Friday night in late February. For a moment, all that’s audible is the... Read more
Foothill High School Softball: Queens Of The Hill
Recent History Shows Repeating As North Coast Section Division I Softball Champs Is No Easy Task — But Few Teams Have Been Built For It Like Foothill-Pleasanton • Winning the North Coast Section Division I softball championship with a very young, extremely talented team in 2017 was an impressive... Read more
Driven by Design – The Joe Iacono Story
It has been close to twenty-six years since I first met Joe Iacono, but the memory is crystal clear and etched in my psyche forever. One Livermore High School Cowboy wrestling family member in particular, I have had the honor and privilege to coach, as well as mentor beyond... Read more