Time Out with J.J. Barnett (2017 American Canyon High senior)

Vince D’Adamo: What have you enjoyed most about competing in athletics throughout your life?

J.J. Barnett: I enjoy the competition and challenge that comes from playing sports, as well as just having fun with your team. Having fun is the most important part for me in all sports.

D’Adamo: What are your plans after high school?

Barnett: My plans after high school is to get a degree and continue playing baseball hopefully at Saint Mary's College or any school that would take me.

D’Adamo: What might you choose as a major? What intrigues you about going that direction?

Barnett: I am thinking of majoring in business. I would like to own a business one day.
Not sure what kind but most likely it will be sports related.

D’Adamo: What has been your favorite class here at American Canyon High?

Barnett: My favorite class at American Canyon High is Financial Algebra. This class is only given to seniors if they choose. This class is my favorite because it teaches you real world concepts such as paying bills, manage bank accounts, credit cards and budgeting. This are one of the things that is very important in our everyday life.

D’Adamo:  Within your family who have been the most influential people?

Barnett: Both of my parents are very influential because they push me to keep grinding everyday to get good grades and keep working hard on and off the field to become better and always be humble. Even after my surgery on my elbow they were there to support me and help me get back to pitching emotionally and financially.  

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports, that you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?

Barnett: I would want to meet Madison Bumgarner because he is one of the best MLB starting pitchers and I am also a pitcher so I want to hear the story of his life. How he started in baseball, his struggles, his training, his obstacles, what he has gone through to get to where he is now.  I want to learn from him... maybe he can teach me a pitch or two.

Time Out with Andre Jose (2017 American Canyon high senior)

Vince D’Adamo: What have you enjoyed most about competing in athletics throughout your life?

Andre Jose: Being challenged and seeing what I am capable of are the things I most enjoyed about playing baseball. I love the work you put in to get all these accomplishments you feel during the games.  I know that I have to push myself harder to beat that other player. I also enjoyed how you could make bonds and friendships through your teammates and coaches.

D’Adamo: What are your plans after high school?

Jose: I plan on attending SFSU (San Francisco State) and transferring to Cal Poly SLO and studying Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.

D’Adamo: What might you choose as a major? What intrigues you about going that direction?

Jose: I have always loved and excelled in my math classes and was always very interest in cars, putting things together and that sort of thing. My older brother is definitely a big influence on why I wanna go this direction since he is the one that got me really interested in this stuff.

D’Adamo: What has been your favorite class here at American Canyon High?

Jose: My favorite class at American Canyon was Jazz Band. I was in that class my sophomore and junior year and it was a really great and fun experience. Playing jazz saxophone with all these talented musicians was really fun and made me really passionate about music and a lot of other things I did in school and sports. I really learned to be more confident and expressive with myself.

D’Adamo: Within your family who has been the most influential people?

Jose: My brother and my parents are the most influential people in my life. My brother is the person who has made me interested in a lot of the things I am interested today like cars and baseball. My parents have done so much for me and I really owe it to them to be successful in life. They are very supporting parents and I'm very thankful for all the things they do for me.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports, that you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?

Jose: I would want to meet Jose Altuve. I would want to meet him and ask how he has been so successful despite his size. I would ask for tips and ask when he realized how talented of a baseball player he is.

Kaepernick's latest stand is right -- and self-serving

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made news on two fronts within the last two days.

For openers, the 49ers announced that the star-crossed quarterback will opt out of his contract to become a free agent. There are also reports that Kaepernick will stand, as opposed to kneel, for the National Anthem. Kaepernick was scheduled to make $14.9 million in salary and bonuses, which will not count as savings on the team's salary cap. If Kaepernick had not opted out of his contract, the 49ers would have released him.

However, Kaepernick opting out of his contract would not preclude him from returning to San Francisco. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, both in their first season in their newly appointed roles, confirmed as much.

Kaepernick made as much news away from football as he did within it in 2016. He was a lightening rod for refusing to stand during the National Anthem, several other players in the NFL, college and high school followed the move. Kaepernick’s reason for changing his National Anthem stance is because he believes there has been positive change in America and he does not want to detract from that, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Kaepernick’s change of heart, however, was not met with rave reviews. He has been referred as a hypocrite and a sellout. Much of the narrative has been that Kaepernick’s move is self-serving so as to make himself marketable as a free agent to potential suitors.

I am all in favor of Kaepernick now choosing to stand for the National Anthem even if his beliefs are no different. Even though he had the right to kneel during the National Anthem, I do not believe the American flag is the platform to make political statements. My reasons, however, are not what most people give. The common narrative is to respect the flag because of the military (past and present). I have utmost respect for those serving our country past and present but I can’t help but be a cynic because people use the military angle when convenient, yet our veterans are treated like crap. You don’t believe me, go to any random VA Hospital.

My reason for saluting the American flag is because as a first generation American, i know my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles took a risk to come to the United States from Italy to make a better life for themselves along with me, my brothers, sisters and cousins. I would be disrespecting their efforts if I did not stand for the National Anthem.

I can’t help but be a cynic in looking at Kaepernick’s decision to stand for the National Anthem. The message reeks of, “I’ll stand up for what I believe in as long as I have millions of dollars in my pocket.” I guess football pays more than being unemployed.

While Kaepernick’s message is self-serving, we are guilty of the same thing when we are in the job market or dating market. You put your best foot forward so you can find suitors. Not to mention, in your first few months of dating or at a new job, you are on your best behavior.

I was skeptical of Kaepernick’s social movement all along even though the issues he initially addressed are real from oppression of minorities to police brutality. I became even more skeptical when after the presidential election he not only admitted he didn’t vote but has never been registered to vote. Really? You’re 27 years old, you get on your soapbox calling for change yet you don’t use a basic fundamental right to bring change. As polarizing as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are, I get not wanting to vote for them but at least vote a third party candidate and the other ballot initiatives.  

As for Kaepernick the football player, the narrative is that the 2012-2013 version that led San Francisco to consecutive NFC Title Games and a Super bowl appearance has vanished without a trace after subpar seasons in 2014-2015.

Though the 49ers were God awful in going 2-14 in 2016, Kaepernick played reasonably by numbers when replacing Blaine Gabbert after five games. He threw 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions. It’s not like he was throwing to Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens and handing off to Roger Craig and Ricky Watters.

The only question is are the 49ers in the present or past tense for Kaepernick.

Even with needed objectivity, covering winners more fun

When legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi coined the phrase “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” more than a handful of reasonable adults became overbearing when it came to youth sports.

In my 18 years as a sports reporter, I have written and talked about how those who are competitive automatically seem to get persecuted by some people as being “over the edge” or “win at all costs.” On the other hand, those who are not competitive in an outwardly demonstrative way get labeled as “soft.”

As if there were no in between.

Anyhow, those labels made me think back to another conversation I had with a former high school assistant football coach. This fellow asked me, “Vince, isn’t it easier to cover a winning team than a losing team?”

As one who has had the chance to cover everything from little league to the NFL, I would say the answer to that question is “yes and no” but more the former than the latter. If the team I covered was a winning one, my paycheck never increased all of a sudden. In one respect, my job never changed whether the team I covered won or lost. Cover the game. Report on it objectively. Talk to the coach and/or players after the game.

However, I should not use my time as a sports reporter in past tense as I continue to freelance as a side income and likely will continue to do so.

From my view, however, yes — it is easier to cover a winning team regardless of competition level but is especially true from high school age and younger.

At the pro and college level, media members have an unwritten rule of “no cheering in the pressbox.” That rule sounds good in theory because as media members you are paid by your news organization, not the team.

On the other hand, I’ve seen media members go out of their way to be too harsh on the team they cover just to prove they don’t play favorites. That approach isn’t good either because it comes off as too adversarial.

Covering sports at the younger level (i.e. high school and younger), however, is a different ball of wax. In multiple high school towns, you don’t dare show any form of allegiance because the rival school is looking for a reason to go to the Bush League “you’re against us” card. I use the term Bush League because it typically comes when the individual is on the losing side of the argument and is usually a desperate attempt to balance their on scale.

In  towns with one high school, sports reporters have a little more latitude to have a partisan approach. I have somewhat mixed feelings about that approach because it might lead to having clouded objectivity.

I will admit, however, that covering local teams when they win is far more pleasurable simply because, in general, athletes under age 18 have a psyche too fragile to want to read about anything construed as negative (i.e. a loss) in the newspaper.

On the other hand, I don’t need to worry about that if the team wins or loses but plays well in the process. Plus, the senior year of high school is going to be the pinnacle of most people’s athletic career.

In addition, I got asked from time to time, “How do you decide sports coverage or what your main story is?” Well, there’s no hard and fast rule because every week presents a different dynamic. Some weeks I had more stories that are lead material than I know what do with but others might be more of a challenge. The main things I seek are timeliness, newsworthiness and, of course, is the team winning. If a team plays well but loses, I’ll have no problem making them the lead or going longer on a story.

Some people might say, “Well, does youth sports have to be about winning?” Yes because people read a community sports section by and large for positive news. After all, there’s more than enough negativity to go around by watching newscasts. There’s also plenty of unfavorable news on Sportscenter pertaining to pro athletes breaking the law.

If I cover a local team that constantly loses, I’m not going to omit the final score because I’ve got to draw the line somewhere. If I bury the story, however, it’s not because I don’t like the players and coaches in question.

Instead, I do it because having been a high school athlete myself of a team that stunk and got little coverage, I felt my hometown paper did the team a favor by not shining the light of us because we got plenty of razzing at school on our own without it.

Again, I think the idea of “winning doesn’t matter” is pure nonsense. Notice how those buying into that notion often believe that having fun matters more.

Some folks would even argue that the reason winning is not important is that one out of every 100 high school seniors in America are going to get a scholarship to play a sport beyond high school.

True, however, I would argue that’s all the more important reason to preach the importance of winning.

If a young man or woman has only one chance to play youth sports, why not make the most of it?

Having said that, winning and competition are important but it falls on the adults to preach it in a constructive manner.

Contrary to what some may think, there are ways of doing it. An occasional loss can be a useful learning tool, but not preaching the importance of competition gives youngsters a delusional idea of what they will face in the real world.

In my real world, I enjoying covering winners and if the team loses, I focus no more on the negative than necessary.

If the home team plays well but loses a close game, I have no problem delving further because there’s no shame attached to that idea.. Plus, at least the team had a chance to win.

Reflecting on the inner workings of me and The GMan

There are relationships and there are working relationships. Then, there are working relationships that turn into friendships.

The latter of the two sentences would aptly define my former professional partner in crime turned friend, Garrett Whitt. To many though, he is known as “The G-Man.” My last blog entry encapsulated my ten-year stint on the Upvalley sports beat covering the Northern part of Napa Valley, CA:

http://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2017/02/reflections-on-my-career-as-upvalley.html

This blog entry, however, will center around how the GMan and I were a sports reporting tandem version of Batman and Robin, Tonto and the Lone Ranger or Bo and Luke Duke. The analogies could go on forever.

The GMan serves as a correspondent for the Star, where he has been since 2000, but he is a correspondent in name only. I knew him in passing from afar before I took over the sports beat covering St. Helena and Calistoga. I have worked with many great people in my career such as Mitch Sherman and Trevor Parks from my college newspaper days at the University of Nebraska. After I graduated, there were people like Marty James, Andy Ward, Brian Cornelius, Chris Navalta, Randy Johnson, and Andy Wilcox. However, there is only one GMan.

We are taught in journalism school to refer to someone with first and last name on the first name but simply their surname on the second and ensuing references. With Whitt, however, I am breaking that rule and simply referring to him as the GMan.

To understand the GMan’s value, you have to appreciate the obstacles that he has overcome in his life. The GMan has had cerebral palsy since birth, which means being wheelchair bound based on no use of his legs. He also limited dexterity with his arms, which it takes him much longer to submit a story, be it games, columns or features.

However, for all of GMan’s limitations, I could think of several great qualities. He’s a very intelligent fellow. After all, anyone that graduates from the University of Southern California (USC), has to be sharp upstairs. Of course with GMan, you have to live with him making a USC reference every third sentence but that’s OK.

My biggest appreciations of the GMan, however, are his passion for sports and a loyalty that is second-to-none. In my career as a sports reporter, I dealt with many talented people but they had high maintenance personalities. Even though he cannot physically jump, in a figurative work and friendship context you could ask the GMan to jump and the answer would be, “how high and how far?” GMan’s presence was invaluable to me since I had to fly solo covering Calistoga. In St. Helena, however, we were like 1A and 1B.

When we first started working together, we had to work out a few kinks but once those matters were figured out, we were like a well-oiled machine. If I were to make a sports comparison, I had the quarterback role, the GMan had a running back/wide receiver role. Since I took over the beat in January 2004, which was the middle of the school year, things were not easy at first but by the time the start of the 2004-2005 school began, I felt like GMan and I executed our game plans the way basketball fans can appreciate watching a well-run pick-and-roll.

Our writing styles were different but our reporting styles were similar. We understood the community’s needs and desires. We understood that you can’t cover the St. Helena Saints like you cover the New Orleans Saints. Without any further equivocation, we understood that covering high school athletics was about taking the approach of celebrating the team’s success but not unprofessionally gushing over it. Equally, if not superiorly important, were about reporting failures with the sensitivity of knowing for the majority of the youngsters, high school would be the pinnacle of their athletic career.

While people did not always agree with us, I firmly believe they respected our approach. Though it was never a reflection of the GMan, when I first took over the up Valley beat, I felt the need to be changes to the sports section to make it reflect what a hometown newspaper should be.  I know it frustrated the GMan under the previous regime but the newspaper did not have its own identity. The GMan was on board with the new ideas I wanted to implement.

Besides the one-on-one interviews that were known as Time Outs as well as historical snippets titled On this date, the GMan and I were lockstep in our philosophies on coverage. We both strongly believed in giving every sport at the high school their space in the newspaper from football to golf, JV and varsity. In the slower time of high school sports, we would make certain that youth sports and weekend warrior feature stories would have their time in the spotlight.

I knew in the early stages of our relationship that we would gell like a true team. The relationship before however was not simply a working relationship it's soon morphed into a friendship. Though I am two years removed from having change careers, that friendship still remains today.

Many people will come and go at that newspaper but I say without any reservation, there will never be a tandem like the GMan and I.

Reflections on my career as an Upvalley sports reporter

Some things put you in a reflective mood for no apparent reason.

As I have stated many times in this space, two years ago, I left behind the only career I had known post college -- sports reporter -- for 18 years. Though I have settled into my new career of route sales representative for Alhambra Water, writing remains my passion.

In May 2003, my career as a sports reporter was at a crossroads. I had worked for a startup online news service (GetLocalNews.com) for two years. The online newspaper covered Benicia and Vallejo, CA. The working relationship I enjoyed with Brian Cornelius and Chris Navalta was tremendous along with the ones that were formed in the communities.

One day we were called into a staff meeting, in which case management planted a seed that there would be a staff-wide layoff. Two months later, said layoff took place. The timing could not have been worse, I recently became engaged to my current wife (Jackie) and we were in the process of purchasing a home.

The next seven months, I picked up a lot of freelance work for both the Napa Valley Register and Silver & Black Illustrated. For the latter, I was a contributing writer for five years. Though I was able to gather enough freelance work to stay afloat, at some point that way of making a living would have diminishing returns.

Though I was open to changing careers, I did not want my career to end on someone else’s terms. Lo and behold in January 2004, my career fortunes changed. Seven months earlier, the Register purchased the St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan (two weekly publications in Northern Napa Valley). NVR sports editor Randy Johnson alerted me that Dave Williams was no longer the Upvalley beat reporter for the Star and Calistogan. After seeping through a few resumes, including mine, I became Johnson’s hand-picked choice.

I felt like a player that was cut by his previous team and was going to capitalize once signing with a new team. I was determined to kick ass and take names. Though Williams was a talented writer having previously covered the Oakland Raiders for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, I didn’t think his philosophy was lockstep with what a community newspaper sports section should be. For openers, he repeatedly wrote national columns. Honestly, people are not picking up the St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan to read about Kobe Bryant. You also can’t cover the St. Helena Saints like the New Orleans Saints. You also can’t cover the Calistoga Wildcats like the Kentucky Wildcats.

There was a public relations mess to clean up when I arrived. For openers, the Upvalley people were not happy about their community weeklies joining forces with the Register, which was corporately owned. Small town people are a provincial lot but even though I am a Napa native, my family have Upvalley ties, so I doubled down on that angle.

The PR damage control was much stronger on the Calistoga side than St. Helena. Though Williams was not well-received in St. Helena, he never did anything catastrophic there. Plus, the sports section had a great ambassador in Garrett Whitt (aka the GMan), who has been a long-time contributing writer for the Star. I’ll share extensive thoughts on my working relationship that became a friendship with the GMan in my next blog entry.

On the Calistoga side, however, the uphill climb would be much steeper. For openers, during coverage of the Gene Duffy Holiday Classic, a young man named Brannan Campbell was referred to in a caption as Billy Buttwipe. To add further damage, Campbell was a great-grandson of Duffy, a long-time business owner and supporter of Calistoga High athletics. There was yet another additional layer I had to combat. In 2003, the Calistoga Tribune was formed, which was a small independently owned news organization.

I would not be the Star and Calistogan sports editor by title but would be given similar autonomy.

The approach to game stories would be about celebrating the team’s success without unprofessionally gushing but report their shortcomings with sensitivity. However, there would be two very important elements that were going to be prominent and give both newspapers an identity.

There would be an “On This Date” snippet, taking various events that happened on the date of the publication. I admired that idea from afar with the Fairfield Daily Republic, compiled by long-time sports reporter and current sports editor Paul Farmer.

There would also be a one-on-one interview that later became known as a Time Out interview. I brought that idea with me from Silver & Black Illustrated, which is an Oakland Raiders fan magazine that served as a contributing writer from 1999-2005. During the school year, the feature focused on high school seniors but in the summer it focused on adults involved in local athletics.

To this day, I remain very proud of the CNPA (California Newspaper Publisher Association) in Circulation Category D in 2005 (sports story, Weekly Calistogan), 2006 (sports coverage, St. Helena Star), 2010 (sports coverage, St. Helena Star) and 2013 (sports story, St. Helena Star). The crowning achievement came in 2008 when the Weekly Calistogan took first place for sports coverage and the St. Helena Star taking second place.

Awards might not be the No. 1 reason why we do what we do as professionals, but positive recognition such as this is great for the news organization as a whole. When I took over that beat, I felt both sports sections needed changes to make this a championship product. I also felt that we had to restore our community connection. I might be the quarterback so to speak but this honor is also reflective of the weekly efforts of Randy, Garrett and Bill Ryan that make us a diverse section.

Let’s just say, I considered this our State Championship. St. Helena and Calistoga are great communities that have been supportive from Day One.

By no means am I suggesting I was liked by everyone, I can safely say I was respected. In one respect, relationships in a small town can get claustrophobic, but I found that if you demonstrate a vested interest in the community, gratitude will come in much greater volume than you imagined.

Community journalism is not just about writing stories. It is about thinking of fresh ways to tell them. It takes a certain relational ability that combines a willingness to celebrate success and report shortcomings with the idea that you are writing about kid.

Time Out with Natalia Adriance (2017 Justin-Siena senior)

Vince D’Adamo: What have you enjoyed most about competing in athletics throughout your life?

Natalia Adriance: I have played sports my whole life; they were essential to my development and personality. I love the competitive nature of sports and the sense of camaraderie and the relationships that I formed with my teammates and coaches. Some of my best memories have come from sports and it has taught me many valuable lessons in life such as leadership, teamwork, and work ethic.

D’Adamo: What are your plans after high school?

Adriance: I will be attending the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana to study business. Although it is far away from the Bay Area, Notre Dame is my dream school because of the stellar community, top-tier sports, and strong, ethics based academics. I hope that Notre Dame will help me define my dream career. Notre Dame has vast community connections across the country, which will help since I do want to come back and work in California, specifically the Bay Area.

D’Adamo: What might you choose as a major? What intrigues you about going that direction?

Adriance: I have been accepted into the Mendoza School of Business which allows me to take core classes in many different aspects of business before I have to declare my specialty at the end of my sophomore year. At first glance, I am a very logical and analytical thinker so I am considering finance as my major. But Business does apply across a broad range of jobs and fields, so I am keeping my options open for now.

D’Adamo: What has been your favorite class here at Justin-Siena High?

Adriance: My favorite classes at Justin-Siena High School have been APUSH (AP United States History) and AP World History because I am fascinated by history, believing that we are all the result of past events, choices, and actions. In particular, I have always enjoyed studying Roman and Greek civilizations, in addition to the Medieval Age in Europe, but I have become passionate about the 20th century in the United States.

D’Adamo: Within your family who have been the most influential people?

Adriance: Both of my parents have enabled me to be the person I am today. My parents hold me to high standards and constantly challenge me to try different activities and to be the best that I could be. Their presence at virtually all my sporting events and activities and their encouragement made me feel grateful and supported in all my choices. My parents have shown me that things of worth in life require time and effort and have given me the motivation to be successful in all that I do.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports, that you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?

Adriance: I cannot think off the top of my head a specific historical figure that I want to meet, but I do admire Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his courage, determination, and ability to guide the United States during the Great Depression. Being the history nerd that I am, I admire his intellect and his work ethic that were an inspiration to Americans during a time of despair.