Brothers Prepared Him Him for Hart Knocks

Hart High coaches learned Tim Gregory was no ordinary freshman during football practice last fall.

Gregory was brought up for the playoffs and served as a scout team running back.

Patrick Norton, a fierce 250-pound lineman who probably eats raw meat for breakfast kept flinging Gregory to the turf.

“He’d get knocked down, pummeled to the ground, and get right up,” Coach Mike Herrington said. “We didn’t want to get a little freshman banged up and bruised, but he wouldn’t come out.”

Said Gregory: “I was always bleeding and told coach, ‘Tape it up and I’ll be fine.’ I wanted to be on varsity the next year.”

When spring arrived, Gregory put on his track uniform and became the fastest sprinter on campus. Last week he ran 100 meters in 11.1 seconds at a freshman-sophomore meet, which makes him a contender to win the Foothill League varsity title.

Not since Bobby Stamps won the Foothill sprint title as a freshman in 1981 have the Indians had a 15-year-old as fast as Gregory.

“He’s a gifted athlete who works hard,” said Larry David, the Hart sprint coach. “That’s the bottom line.”

Gregory exudes toughness, maturity and confidence.

Credit his older brothers, Peter and Matt, for preparing him for athletics. They played football at Canyon High and would take Tim into the backyard for pointers.

“They’d get their pads on and go, ‘Let us teach you some stuff,’ ” Tim said. “And they’d beat up on me. It made me tough.”

The big brothers couldn’t catch Tim now if they tried. He’s 5 feet 7, 155 pounds, with powerful legs and the kind of determination that leaves others envious.

“I just love competition,” he said. “Anyone who wants to challenge me, I’m always up for it. I’m not saying, ‘Oh, I’m going to beat you.’ I just let people talk their stuff, then, OK, we’ll see what happens on the football field or on the track.”

He fears no one. Asked if he’d like to race All-American receiver Jerry Owens, Gregory said, “Yeah, fine. Let’s go.”

Asked if he’s ready to catch passes from All-American quarterback Kyle Boller, Gregory said, “All right, I’ll go out. Oh, does he throw hard.”

Last fall, Gregory averaged 9.2 yards a carry for the 10-0 sophomore team, rushing for 1,159 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. In his brief varsity appearances, he gained 140 yards in 15 carries and gave every indication Ted Iacenda’s school rushing records could be in jeopardy by the time Gregory graduates.

“They hit hard--it’s no joke,” he said of varsity competition. “They’re out there to kill you. If I get away from them, they won’t be able to hit me.

“In the St. Francis game, I was running for a 60-yard touchdown and a kid a little bit bigger than me who’s probably a senior or junior has the angle on me and nails me. I go flying out of bounds on the four-yard line. I get up and go, ‘Whoa, I guess that’s what varsity football is all about.’ I shook it off. It’s not going to stop me.”

A 100-meter showdown with Manuel White of Valencia is looming later this month. Again, Gregory isn’t worried.

“I love the competition,” he said.

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When 13-year-old Zander Hartman returns to Chaminade Middle School this week and friends inquire what he did during spring break, they’ll get the same response.

Monday? Surfing. Tuesday? Surfing. Wednesday? Surfing. Thursday? Surfing. Friday? Surfing. Saturday? Surfing.

How about today?

“Surfing.”

Last month, Hartman spent seven days in Australia, where he finished sixth in a longboard pro-am festival in the under-14 category.

He’s stands 5 feet and rides waves on a gigantic 9-foot-5 longboard that makes him look like he’s balanced on an airplane wing.

“I just like to be different,” he said.

While others his age are doing fancy moves on trendy shortboards, he’s gliding on his 1960s-style longboard. He even has a 4-foot-5-inch skateboard.

“I like how it was back in the ‘60s,” he said of his board preference. “It’s a little more balanced, a little more stable and you can glide better.

“For longboarding, I like to have a nice wave, cruise, go up and down the wave, find a nice speed and try to ride the wave until it disperses on the shore.”

Hartman has become such a surfing fanatic that he’s persuaded his parents to join the sport.

His father, Lee, a doctor, has taken up surfing at age 49. His mother, Donna, a nurse, was given a surfboard for Mother’s Day.

“I think I’m going to get her up on a board this summer,” he said.

This week, his parents have been dropping him off at the beach at 6:30 a.m. and picking him up at 7 p.m., rain or shine.

“You never get bored,” he said. “There’s always something different going on.”

Hartman, a seventh-grader, was co-most valuable player for Chaminade’s middle school swim team and is a junior lifeguard. He intends to keep competing in longboard surfing competitions, with a trip planned next year to France.

He can do a nose ride, hang five, hang 10, hang two--whatever tricks you want on a longboard.

He’ll continue to take out the trash at home, do his homework and look for ways to be different.

Isn’t it great to be 13 and on spring break? Of course, there are only 71 days until summer, and that’s when you’ll find Hartman spending day and night riding waves in Malibu.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.