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Prince of Toads: For Willow Glen's Fasano family, frog jumping is a way of life
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Kissing Frogs
A fourth-generation frog-jumping family keeps looking for that record-breaking leaper
By Jessica Lyons
It's not the shiny black SUV sitting in the Dry Creek Road driveway that draws stares from passersby. It's the license plate: "WE (heart) FROG." Outside the doorway of the Fasano's home, a brown stone frog greets visitors. Another one squirts water from its mouth in a fountain.
Alma Fasano, 36, a woman with brown shoulder-length hair, opens the door of her Willow Glen pad. She wears a denim shirt embroidered with colorful croakers. A gold frog pendent hangs around her neck. Her three kids, Joseph, Amanda and Justin, run through the hallway in froggy T-shirts, shorts and socks.
"It's a whole family affair," Alma says.
But for the Fasano family, frogs are more than just earth-friendly decor. They're a way of life. Joseph, Amanda and Justin are all fourth-generation frog jumpers. Alma got roped into the froggy business by marriage. It was a painless process, however, and now she talks hops with the best of them. But when she describes her sister-in-law's initiation into the family, Alma turns a little green around the gills.
Froggy fatalities: Environmental damage is leading to the deaths of frogs in startling numbers.
"My sister-in-law got an engagement ring with a frog on it," she says. "That was a little too much for me--I wanted a diamond. But that's our family. They go to extremes."
Alma's husband, Bob, comes from a long line of champion frog jumpers. In May 1998, at Calaveras County Fairgrounds, he won the world cup of all frog-jumping competitions. Bob's hopper, a California bullfrog named Pretty Lady, leaped 19 feet, four inches to clinch the title. The victory marked the Gustine Frog Team's 40th anniversary as competitors in the International Frog Jump. (The Fasano clan named their team after the region where they get their famed frogs.) Bob's father, Gene Fasano, won in 1998. Bob's brother, Frank, won in 1979. This year, Alma and Bob's son Joseph, age 8, took sixth place. Six-year-old Amanda hopped away with second place in the junior jumper division. Even 16-month-old Justin competes in the baby class.
Family Ties
For the Fasano family, the frog jump ranks right up there with Christmas and Easter. "I've been doing this since I was in diapers," Bob, 36, says. "It's a family tradition. We never miss going to the Calaveras fair. It's one of the holidays."
His long-leaping frog landed him a spot on Jay Leno's show last May. The highlight of his television appearance, however, came before he even walked on screen, Bob says.
"The best part was the announcer at the beginning of the show saying 'On tonight's show, we have Sandra Bullock, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Bob Fasano.'"
A man with a warm smile, Bob, dressed in Silicon Valley casual work attire, passes as an average high-tech businessman. An executive at Exodus Communications, he looks the part. But Bob's just as comfortable wading in a bog, rounding up 300 leggy amphibians, as he is sitting behind a glowing computer screen.
"I'll come into work and say, 'Man, I'm tired, I was up all night catching frogs,' and it's kind of like, 'You do what?' " Bob says.
Every April the frog-loving family heads to the San Joaquin Valley in hopes of catching a record-breaking leaper for the Calaveras fair. But they're keeping the exact location of their frog pond on the low down.
"It's a secret," Bob says. The family doesn't want outsiders stealing their jumping champs, he explains.
They catch between 250 and 300 frogs, but after a rigorous selection process--a week of size inspection and trial jumps to test the critters' hops--they narrow the contestants down to the 80 frogs with the most potential.
"You typically look for a long, lean frog," he says. "I prefer a larger frog, they seem to jump better. Longer legs, longer jump, almost like a basketball player."
About 80 frogs travel to the fair with the Gustine team, so each of the 25 children, parents and grandparents in the clan will have their share of jumps. The amphibians are returned to their swamp following the contest.
Photograph by Chad Pilster
All in the Froggily: Amanda, 6, and her dad, Bob Fasano, display one of their prize jumpers, while Alma Fasano (rear), baby Justin and Joseph, 8, get friendly with another frog.
Leap of Faith
It takes more than just a leggy frog to jump into the title of world champion, however. There's a method to this madness.
"The big deal with training them is to train them to jump straight," Bob says. "Naturally, some will turn and naturally some will go straight. Our job is finding the ones who naturally go straight and preparing them.
"The idea in jockeying frogs is to drop them onto the pad in such a way that they will jump immediately, and take three straight jumps." Once the croaker hits the pad, it has 30 seconds to take its first jump. To encourage their green friends to start hopping, frog jockeys can yell, pinch, tickle or blow on the frogs. After the initial leap, however, it's hands off. Any touching will disqualify both frog and human. Each frog is allowed three jumps, and the total distance is measured from the pad to the ending spot of the third jump. The current frog jumping world record is 21 feet, six inches.
This year, 8-year-old Joseph was the family winner. Out of nearly 3,000 contestants, Joseph and frog Hopper took sixth place with a jump of 18 feet, four inches.
There is an ugly side to the sport, however. An Oregon team stole the gold from the Gustine Team this year. To add insult to injury, they won with a frog named Gunstiney from the Fasano's secret bog. Win some, lose some, Bob says philosophically.
"There's a very competitive side to it," Bob contends. "We are professional athletes." They have the Sports Illustrated feature to prove it. In the May 25, 1998, issue under the title of "Lean, Mean Leapin' Machine" is a photo of Frank Fasano jockeying his hopper into a record-caliber jump.
"It's a family tradition of fun," Bob says. "That's why I'm getting my kids into this. Everyone's really good at something, and for us, this is it."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
