No Clipping Penalties

Keith Donerson rarely asks patrons their name when they settle into his chair at the Locker Room barbershop in Compton.

Chances are, he already knows it.

Donerson, first-year football coach at Compton Dominguez High, opened the shop in a converted church on Compton Boulevard three years ago. What started as an avocation--Donerson used to cut players’ hair in the school locker room--has turned into a thriving business. Old friends, family members and athletes from the area regularly stop by for a haircut or conversation.

“I would say the place is the equivalent of church,” Donerson said. “It’s a place that brings people together, a social gathering for the community.”

Last Saturday, it seemed like a town meeting. About 30 people stopped by before noon, all waiting for their turn in one of the shop’s five chairs. Nobody seemed to mind the wait. Everyone had someone to talk to and something to talk about.

“It’s like a high school reunion when you come in here,” said barber Randy Brown, a former Dominguez player. “Everybody knows everybody. People went to school together or played ball together at one time. We’re all one big family.”

Most conversations in the shop this week centered on Friday night’s long-awaited showdown between defending Southern Section Division II champion Dominguez (4-0) and perennial Division I power Long Beach Poly (4-0) at Veteran’s Stadium. More than 10,000 are expected for the first meeting between two schools 10 miles apart. It’s a game that is drawing national interest as well.

“I have been getting calls from people from Kansas and North Carolina asking for tickets,” Donerson said. “People are coming in from all over.”

Malculm Hunt, a former Dominguez player, drove in from Tempe, Ariz. for the game. He stopped by the Locker Room to talk about it.

“We never got a chance to play Poly,” said Hunt, who played for Dominguez from 1988-90. “We would play each other in passing leagues or see each other in traffic, but that was it.

“I have friends that I played with [at Chapman University] who went to Poly, so there are some bragging rights at stake. It’s like this: They’re the best in Long Beach and we’re No. 1 in Compton. So finally we get to play it out on the field. People have been waiting to see this game for a long time.”

They have been talking about the possibilities ever since the Locker Room opened. And with good reason.

The shop resembles a Compton-area hall of fame with a colorful “Locker Room” sign painted on one wall and pictures of area athletes such as Georgetown basketball player Kenny Brunner, former New England Patriot Bruce Walker and former Harlem Globetrotter Wun Vershur on another. It’s a perfect atmosphere to talk sports.

Donerson, son of longtime Dominguez coach and athletic director Willie Donerson, started cutting hair 12 years ago when he was an assistant coach. He cut players’ hair before lunch or after practice and eventually started taking appointments at home. But as his clientele grew, he and his wife Vicki decided to open their own shop.

Donerson stuck with the sports theme because of its universal appeal.

“The two things you never talk about are politics and religion, so the next best thing to discuss is sports,” Donerson said. “Sports brings everybody together and when the conversation is over, you can still remain friends.”

Friends will become foes Friday night. Many Dominguez and Long Beach Poly players know each other from youth competition and they are eager to back up what has only been talk.

Both teams, however, will be without one of their best players.

Dominguez quarterback Jason Thomas underwent surgery this week to repair a broken leg and ligament damage he suffered during Friday’s victory at Antelope Valley.

Long Beach Poly running back Herman Ho-Ching will not play because he was ejected from last week’s victory at Fontana after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Under Southern Section rules, a player who is ejected automatically misses his team’s next game.

“We lose a lot without Jason being in there, I’m not going to sit here and say we don’t,” Donerson said. “But we have enough talent to win without him, like Poly has enough talent to win without Ho-Ching. Whatever the case, people are going to see two very good teams.”

And whatever the result, the Locker Room on Saturday morning will be buzzing with conversation about it.