Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Defense key to success for local NJB team
Arsenal brings home the Gunners Cup
By Kevin Sparrer
Whoever said the best defense was a good offense had it all wrong. According to the Willow Glen Chapter of the National Junior Basketball Association all-star team, the best offense is a good defense.
The team from Willow Glen, which consists of local fifth and sixth grade boys, placed second in the Silicon Valley All-Star tournament that earned them a spot in the National All-Star championships in Los Angeles, but not without some stellar defense. The Willow Glen team lost a few of their taller players to other commitments, but it was the defense that drove the team. The use of a strong press allowed the team, on more than one occasion, to come back from a 20-point deficit to win. Eventually it came down to one game, win and go on, or lose and go home.
Willow Glen faced West San Jose and fell behind by 20 points in the first half, but the use of the press made it difficult for San Jose to score and Willow Glen came back to win by nine.
The win sent Willow Glen up against Los Gatos and the locals were able to take an early lead and hold on to it for a 15-point win and second place in the Silicon Valley All-Star Tournament after losing to Palo Alto in the final game.
Despite a size disadvantage, Willow Glen defeated Cameron Park with its strong defense and speed at the nationals. Willow Glen dropped its second game to a strong team from Los Angeles, but was able to win the third game against a Las Vegas team to take second in its pool and advance in the tournament.
Then it went slowly downhill as Willow Glen played the top-seeded team from St. Joseph's, Missouri. The game was back and forth, but Willow Glen missed a shot in the final seconds to lose by one.
In the consolation bracket, Willow Glen won its first game against Chino Valley, but lost to another Los Angeles team for a sixth-place finish.
Team members included Brett Bigger, Joey Gotelli, Kevin Cali, D.J. Nowak, James Johnson, Alfred Edmonds, Ryan Morgan, Jason DeLaRocha, Chris Repanich and Austin Green.
Arsenal wins cup
The Central Valley Arsenal Girls' Soccer Club from San Jose went to Bakersfield and brought home a cup. The Arsenal participated in the Bakersfield Gunners Cup where they faced four Southern California soccer teams and not only shut them all down, but shut them all out.
The girls powered their way past the Valley United Stars 5-0 in the first game and then went on to demolish United Black 7-0 with six goals in the second half. Palmdale Thunder was the next victim of the Arsenal. Quality defense and passing led the Arsenal to an 8-0 win. The final round of the tournament pitted the Arsenal against SVSC Eclipse. The Arsenal went ahead 1-0 in the first half and was able to score two more in the second half to win 3-0.
The girls earned their first tournament championship trophy scoring 23 goals and allowing none.
Blaze tryouts
The Central Valley Blaze, a girls under-17 Class 1 soccer team, will hold tryouts on June 6 and 8, 5-7 p.m., at Ida Price Middle School. For more information, contact coach Don Moser 408.857.5770 or dmoser@ earthlink.net.
Edge tryouts
The Central Valley Edge, a girls under-18 Class 3 soccer team, is looking for players (born after July 31, 1988) for the fall season. For more information, contact coach Ary Afsari at afsari@comcast.net or 408.507.7008.
Boys soccer
A boys under-13 Class 3 comp soccer is looking for players for the fall season. The team is currently training and will begin playing games in August. Practices are held in San Jose. For more information, call 408.559.1156 or 408.429.3054.
Strikers tryouts
The Central Valley Strikers, a boys under-13 Class 1 soccer team, are looking for players for the fall season. The team practices at Ida Price Middle School on Wednesdays, 5-6:30 p.m. For more information, call Todd Daniels at 510.376.0606.
Players needed
A boys under-13 comp soccer team is looking for skilled players for the 2006 season. For more information, call Monique Velez at 408.267.9771.
Arsenal tryouts
The Central Valley Arsenal, a girls under-9 Class 1 soccer team, is looking for a goalkeeper. For more information, contact coach Chuck Konrad at arsenalcoach@mac.com or visit www.cvarsenal.com.
Spirit tryouts
The Central Valley Spirit 93G, a girls under-13 Class 1, Division 1 soccer team, will hold tryouts for the spring and fall seasons at Fammatre School in San Jose. The team is coached by Albert Serkus, a former international professional player. For more information, contact Denell Lanphear at 408.559.8234 or nophear67@sbcglobal.net.
NJB 'Stars: The Willow Glen NJB all-stars finished second in the Silicon Valley and sixth at the nationals. Team members included (front row, from left) Brett Bigger, Joey Gotelli, Kevin Cali, Chris Repanich and D.J. Nowak; (middle row, from left) James Johnson, Alfred Edmonds, Ryan Morgan and Jason DeLaRocha; and (back row, from left) assistant coach Alfredo Edmonds, Austin Green and coach Mike Morgan.
