Royal Volleyball Coach Met His Match With Sands of Time

Hit the volleyball. Hit the beach.

Or do both, like the Royal High boys’ volleyball team did one day last week.

The Highlanders practiced at a beach in Ventura in what has become a Spring Break ritual.

First there was an hour of actual practice. Then came a full day of two on two.

The highlight--or, perhaps, lowlight--came when Coach Bob Ferguson and assistant coach Phil Watson lost to players Kevin Schommer and Nick Flanagan.

“He finally beat me after all these years,” Ferguson said of Schommer, a senior. “He got a big win against the coach.”

Hold the violins: Ferguson and Watson still won three matches that day.

Add ‘em up: Rio Mesa High softball Coach John Velasquez has found a way to improve his team’s concentration during practice and games: He appeals to their stomachs.

The Spartans earn points toward a pizza party if they execute a number of good bunts, hustle, or if ace pitcher Marcella Ramirez correctly predicts to which Rio Mesa fielders opponents will hit her pitches.

“After we get up to about seven or eight pizzas it’s time to eat,” said Velasquez, who chows down with the team at an Oxnard restaurant. “I have to remind the girls about some things but never about how much pizza we owe them.”

Record effort: Beth Burton of Cal State Northridge didn’t fool around when it came time to break her personal best in the shotput.

The Matador junior entered last Saturday’s nonconference track and field meet against Houston, UC Irvine and host UCLA with a personal best of 47 feet 7 1/4 inches and left with a school record of 52-3 1/4.

Her third-place mark crushed the previous school best of 49-1 set by Karen Marshall in 1978 and was only 4 3/4 inches short of the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore., from May 29-June 1.

Although Burton had placed eighth in the 20-pound weight throw in the NCAA indoor championships in March, she’d had an unimpressive outdoor season until Saturday. Northridge Coach Don Strametz attributed that to a heavy training regimen under Matador throws coach Candy Roberts.

“[Beth] hadn’t thrown real far

because of her training,” Strametz

said. “But Candy told [the throwers]

that they could expect to see some

improvement last week and they did.”

Honors

Brigham Young University middle blocker Ryan Millar, a graduate of Highland High, was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation freshman of the year Thursday. Pepperdine outside hitter Kevin Barnett, a transfer from Pierce College, made the MPSF second team and Cal State Northridge outside hitter Chad Strickland and UC Santa Barbara outside hitter Donny Harris, a La Canada graduate, made the third team. Pepperdine freshman outside hitter George Roumain was named honorable mention.

Stats

Pepperdine middle blocker John Bowling leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in hitting percentage with a .445 average that includes 137 kills in 66 games.

Things to Do

The Birmingham High boys’ track team will attempt to win its 70th consecutive dual meet this afternoon when it hosts El Camino Real in a Northwest Valley Conference meet at 2 p.m.

Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks High, Miguel Fletcher of Alemany and Ronney Jenkins of Hueneme are some of the region’s leading performers who will compete in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday. High school events run from 8 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.

The seventh-ranked Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team (15-10, 10-8) will play its first-round Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff game at No. 2 Long Beach State (21-5, 15-4) Saturday. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Pyramid.

Former Reseda High baseball players are encouraged to participate in an all-alumni game Saturday at 3 p.m., after the 2 p.m. dedication of the baseball field to Coach Quinton Quick, who died last year.

Information: 818-342-6186, Ext. 291.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Irene Garcia, Dana Haddad, John Ortega, Tris Wykes.

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