HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: FEEL-GOOD MATCHMAKING WHEN TOP AREA TEAMS PLAY EACH OTHER, IT'S GOOD FOR PLAYERS, COACHES AND FANS.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News The only thing preventing a matchup of the area's top two girls' volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. teams Saturday was three missing lines on a giant poster board. Although the players and coaches representing top-ranked Flintridge Sacred Heart The Sacred Heart is a religious devotion to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of the divine love for humanity This devotion is predominantly used in the Roman Catholic Church and also used in the Anglican Church. of La Canada Flintridge and No. 2 Valencia knew they had no voice in the matter, they also left Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. knowing a golden opportunity had passed them by. Having occupied the top two spots in the Daily News' rankings for eight weeks, a showdown between Flintridge Sacred Heart and Valencia would be the area's volleyball equivalent of Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village squaring off in football. So, when it appeared the area's two most successful teams during the past two seasons - Valencia is 53-9 and Flintridge Sacred Heart is 50-7 - were on a collision course collision course n. A course, as of moving objects or opposing philosophies, that will end in a collision or conflict if left unchanged: two planes on a collision course; dissidents on a collision course with the regime. to finally meet in the fifth-place match of the Redondo Power Classic, only to see their dream match go unfulfilled, their disappointment was justified. Since there was no fifth-place match designated on the tournament bracket, competition ended Saturday with the Tologs and Vikings both recording victories, but missing out on the bigger triumph of showcasing their talents to an audience of primarily Orange County- and South Bay-based spectators. ``Actually, I was looking forward to seeing Valencia, because they're a good team and they were seeded ahead of us (in the 32-team tournament) and I wanted to play them,'' Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Shelli Orlandini said. Valencia setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Taryn Robertson, jokingly hitting her fists together, said: ``So we can finally duke it out.'' Although Flintridge Sacred Heart - enrollment 420 - and Valencia (2,800) finished Nos. 1 and 2 in the area rankings last year, the possibility of scheduling a match this season was never discussed because the programs had to honor nonleague and tournament commitments from the year before. Valencia found the next-best option in scheduling its season opener against No. 3 Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , defeating the Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. in five games. La Canada boys' water polo water polo, swimming game encompassing features of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The object of the game is to maneuver, by head, feet, or hand, a leather-covered ball 27 to 28 in. coach Larry Naeve can sympathize with Verb 1. sympathize with - share the suffering of compassionate, condole with, feel for, pity grieve, sorrow - feel grief commiserate, sympathise, sympathize - to feel or express sympathy or compassion Orlandini and Valencia coach Ray Sanchez. For the past decade, La Canada and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City have been the area's top two water polo programs, but hadn't met in a nonleague or tournament game since 1998. Naeve and first-year Harvard-Westlake coach Larry Felix focused on changing that trend, as the two teams met in September, with the top-ranked Wolverines defeating No. 2 La Canada 11-8. More than the game's outcome, Naeve focused on the interest generated by a battle of area heavyweights. ``To showcase the outstanding local teams playing each other helps promote the sport,'' Naeve said. ``The importance of the La Canada vs. Harvard-Westlake game was that two of the top teams in the state played each other. How does it get better in this area? We should promote the excellence of these programs and I will do anything I can to help keep these sorts of games on our schedule. ``Just look at Orange County, there is a big game almost every day, so the level of play across the board is better. We need to promote these types of games Major categories: Sports
Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). football coach Ed Croson is another one of the area's biggest advocates for promoting local matchups that fans can get excited about. Birmingham's first four games this season were against Notre Dame, Valencia, Hart of Newhall and Crespi of Encino. ``I think the kids deserve to play in front of large crowds,'' said Croson, who estimated there were between 6,000 and 7,000 fans in attendance at the Patriots' games against Notre Dame and Crespi. ``We owe it to the kids to have them play in games that mean something. Plus, it's stimulating for the coaches, because it makes you work harder to prepare. And the feeling you get being in that kind of an environment can't be replaced. It's an experience the kids will never forget.'' After years of being criticized for playing a nonleague schedule that wasn't challenging enough, Oaks Christian's football team will face St. Bonaventure of Ventura, Archbishop Moeller of Cincinnati, Ohio “Cincinnati” redirects here. For other uses, see Cincinnati (disambiguation). Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. , and possibly Mission Viejo Mission Vi·e·jo A community of southern California southeast of Irvine. It is mainly residential. Population: 96,300. , next season. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Oaks Christian Athletic Director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Jan Hethcock, the Lions and Mission Viejo are in the process of negotiating a two-year contract. Oaks Christian's boys' swim team, the area's second-ranked team last season, has set up a nonleague dual meet against top-ranked La Canada on March 28, 2006. In an effort to promote his sport locally, Westlake girls' soccer coach Frank Marino - with the assistance of other area coaches - has organized a one-day showcase event Dec. 3 at Westlake High, featuring seven games, highlighted by Westlake playing Harvard-Westlake in the featured contest. ``We wanted to create matchups that might not otherwise happen, except for teams possibly playing each other in tournaments,'' Marino said. ``We figured if they have events like this for basketball, why can't it be done with soccer?'' Before leaving Redondo Union High on Saturday, Sanchez said he would be interested in contacting Orlandini to discuss the prospect of scheduling a match for next season. He also wanted to explore the possibility of entering the Gahr tournament, which could also lead to a possible showdown with the Tologs. ``I know that quite a few years ago, when (former coach Nancy Tinkham) was there, we used to play them,'' Sanchez said. ``But it's definitely something I would be interested in. We're looking to revise our schedule, so playing Sacred Heart is a possibility.'' A possibility that all area coaches, regardless of sport, should consider when putting together their schedules. Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Taryn Robertson, left, and the Valencia girls' volleyball team almost played against Rachel Salvo and Flintridge Sacred Heart in the Redondo Power Classic last weekend. Those two teams occupy the top two spots in the Daily News rankings. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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