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HARKER: COACH DEDICATES OCCASION TO LATE MOTHER
Harker’s volleyball match against Branham was special for a number of reasons.
But beyond the novelty of playing a match on Harker’s football field, something else stood out.
As the teams huddled together after the match last Saturday night concluded, Harker coach Theresa Smith shared something personally meaningful with those around her.
“My mom was everything,” Smith said. “She was so proud of me. I played sports my whole life, not just volleyball, but basketball, softball. Sports was my outlet, who I am. My mom was there for everything, and my dad. And my mom got sick with cancer, and we brought her home in hospice on this day last year, and she passed away six days later.”
Smith took a hiatus from coaching last season, with her assistant coaches taking over the team.
“I didn’t really coach a bunch of last year, because I spent the time with my mom,” she said. “My life went into absolute chaos for a good six, eight months. I was really struggling to bring myself back. That being said, I’ve got a lot of good people around me that love me and care about me and lift me up.
“I’ve been trying to make my way back to be here for my kids, to be a positive role model, to show that you can get through things like this. That, yes, we shed a few tears, but we climb back and we fight back. We do that with those that love us, those that care about us, our family, our extended family, our team.”
The anniversary of her mother’s return home made the day an emotional one for Smith. But she’s happy to have a new memory associated with Oct. 4.
“It was a tough day for me, remembering that’s when we brought mom home, because we knew that was the end,” Smith said. “But it’s such an exhilarating moment to be able to put this in its place.”
Smith wasn’t the only one who was happy her pain could be eased.
“One thing that she said yesterday and today was that her mom would have been extremely proud of her,” Branham coach Heather Cooper said. “I want to take the opportunity to honor her and her mom, and her mom is extremely proud looking down on her.
“It’s a family unit between Smitty and I. The amount of times that we play against each other every year, we make sure it’s a mandatory match to start off our season against each other. This was a great opportunity under the lights and having her mom looking down.”
— Christian Babcock
CCS: COMMISSIONER TALKS CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
Nov. 8 will be a busy day in the Central Coast Section.
On that playoff Saturday, the CCS will host both its flag football and volleyball championships at sites including Santa Clara, Palo Alto and Gunn high schools.
This could present a conflict for some schools with teams in both competitions. But the CCS is going to do what it can to minimize overlap.
“It won’t be decided until the seeding meeting at the earliest, probably later than that,” Grissom said. “So you could have a scenario where you have the same school and championships of both girls volleyball and flag football in one of the divisions. And if that happened, we would do what we could to separate those games so that the schools could go to both of the games.”
Grissom expressed excitement for the section’s first-ever flag football championships, which will feature an Open division and three enrollment-based divisions.
There are no CIF Northern California regional or state championships yet for flag football, and the calendar currently prohibits CCS and NCS champions from squaring off on their own.
“I don’t think it is far away,” Grissom said. “But we’re doing our first section championships this year. I wrote an email to my reps yesterday, an email that I never write to any of my other reps, because they’ve just never done it before. We’ve never had a seeding meeting before (for flag football).
“It’s really still in its infancy stages. I know it’s moving really fast, but we’re still doing things that people aren’t accustomed to. It’s us working with them to get everybody up to the speed that the other sports are at. We’re just not there yet, so we’ll get there. I’m very confident.”
— Christian Babcock
CLAYTON VALLEY: BOYS HOOPS STACKS SCHEDULE
Clayton Valley is expected to be one of NorCal’s top boys basketball teams this season.
Despite losing star point guard Elijah Perryman, who is now a freshman at Utah State, the Ugly Eagles are returning a young core that has plenty of playoff experience.
With a loaded roster, the Concord school is challenging itself with a tough schedule.
Clayton Valley will open with a foundation game against Salesian. The Ugly Eagles will follow that with showcase games against Clovis North, St. Ignatius and St. Mary’s-Berkeley. Their nonleague schedule will also feature matchups with Leigh and The King’s Academy, along with tournament games at the Holiday Hoop Classic at Modesto Christian.
Not to mention, Clayton Valley will also play a tough league schedule that includes games against the likes of Acalanes, Campolindo, Ygnacio Valley and Las Lomas.
The Ugly Eagles will be led by junior sharpshooter Zion Grissom, senior point guard Vince Ellis and senior forward Cannon Simpson.
– Nathan Canilao