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.

Time Out with Eric Ewig (1990 Justin-Siena High graduate)

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

Eric Ewig: I love sports; especially football. I loved the contact. I enjoyed the strategy. I thrived on the competition. There is something extremely gratifying about challenging yourself and performing better. I even loved the grind of practice. Despite that, it is the relationships that matter most. The intensity of the athletic experience forms bonds that last. After the event fades, the teammates, coaches, and friends I shared the experience with in high school and college become more important.

D’Adamo: What have you been doing since graduating from high school?

Ewig: I own and operate Eric Ewig Physical Therapy. I treat patients, negotiate with insurance companies, interpret Medicare law changes, and manage employees, along with numerous other tasks associated with a running a small business. I enjoy that the work is constantly evolving. It is a privilege to participate in healthcare. After almost 20 years, I still enjoy the problem solving. And everyday I get to help people feel better. It is especially gratifying when a friend or classmate trusts me to treat their family member.

I am also the father of four amazing children. They make me a little crazy with their constantly changing wants and needs, but their love of life and unbridled enthusiasm fills me with happiness.  Whether coaching their soccer team, volunteering for the PTA, or shuttling them to activities, I try to remember that they are both the greatest challenge, and the greatest joy, in life.  

D’Adamo: What was your favorite class at Justin-Siena High?

Ewig: Two classes stand out. Creative Writing and Physics. I always enjoyed expressing myself, verbally and in written form, so creative writing was perfect for me. We had a great teacher, Ms. Spohn, who gave me the freedom to choose topics of interest, but also pushed me to improve. I also enjoyed the problem solving and precision of physics. I love to be creative, but it is satisfying to derive an exact and correct answer. Especially when that answer allows you to accurately launch a water balloon across campus!

D’Adamo: What was your favorite athletic moment at Justin-Siena High?

Ewig: My favorite athletic moment at JSHS was our final football game at Vanden. Our football experience at Justin-Siena was imperfect, I think we had a new coach every year. Our senior year was disappointing - losses piled up and I broke my hand and missed half the season - but our final game we rallied from behind to beat Vanden on a late field goal. I made a fourth down tackle in the backfield that helped the comeback. I think Michael Petersen scored two touchdowns and kicked two field goals.

D’Adamo: How much do you feel you have grown personally since graduating from high school and how much of that do you trace to athletics?

Ewig: I hope I have grown personally. I certainly try to keep evolving. Athletics taught me the value of hard work, perseverance. How to use failure as a starting point, not an end. Athletics started my interest in exercise, kinesiology and human performance which culminated in my physical therapy education and career. I still exercise every morning, a vestige of the "breakfast club" that accompanied football at Pomona College.  

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

Ewig: My parents were extremely influential. My father had a large community presence. He was the director of ALDEA, one of Napa's largest non-profit agencies. He modeled the importance of hard work and leadership. My mother was, and still is, an important role model. She juggled her own professional career with running the family. She was a multi-tasker who balanced everyone's needs. She was also an avid reader and modeled the importance of intellectual curiosity.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.

Ewig: Honestly it is difficult to choose one. Given a choice, I would prefer to spend a little more time with my father. He died almost 10 years ago. It would be great if he had a chance to see one of my children's soccer games or attend a birthday party.

Hall of Fame voters dropping the ball on Owens

In football, wide receivers catch and drop passes. When it comes to Terrell Owens, Pro Football Hall of Fame voters are guilty of the latter.

Owens’ NFL career spanned 14 seasons and five teams (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Cincinnati, Buffalo). In his career, Owens caught 1,078 passes for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns. The yardage ranks second in NFL history while his touchdowns are third on the all-time list.

He was a six-time Pro Bowler and five times was selected first-team All-Pro and three times led the NFL in touchdowns. Owens was named to the All Decade Team for the 2000s.

The last two years, Owens has been eligible to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Both times, Owens was denied. In the most recent class, he did not even make the Top Ten. Owens detractors, and even supporters, would say he was as equally known for being controversial and creating firestorms on every team he played for as a professional.

Boston Herald columnist Ron Borges offered another reason against Owens’ qualifications, pertaining to dropped passes:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/2017/02/borges_supporters_of_terrell_owens_need_to_open_their_fact_books_before_they

Borges is an accomplished journalist and I respect his work but I could not disagree with him more. Should Owens have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer? I could go either way with that argument. Owens’ numbers say first-ballot but because of the baggage he accumulated, the teams he played for, could not get rid of him fast enough.

I can understand not putting him as a first-ballot Hall of Famer because of the logjam of receivers not yet enshrined. However, there is absolutely no way on God’s Green Earth that Owens should not have a bust in Canton, Ohio.

If you do not know whether or not Owens belongs in the Hall of Fame, you have already thought about it too much. Do the words paralysis by analysis mean anything to you? I know eras change but Owens simply by the numbers is one of the five best receivers ever to play the game.

OK, so he did not make many friends in the media and had a reputation for being a bad teammate. In all walks of life, do you ever make apologizes on whether or not people like you? I understand why Owens is not enshrined, partially because the media is so butthurt because he was not good to them.

Who cares? This is football, not the Boys Scouts. Owens being in the Hall of Fame is such a no-brainer it kills me.

To take it a step further, I think it goes beyond people holding a grudge against Owens. It’s as if those with Hall of Fame voters want to show you that they know more than you about what goes into a player being great just because they write about it and go to football games. That is exactly the kind of arrogance that comes with sports writers who have been stuck behind word processors, computers and typewriters way too long.

Sure, Owens was a pain in the rear end but for all the drama he brought Monday-Saturday, give me the great performances he brought on any given Sunday. The one that remains historic was how he came back from a broken fibula on December, 19, 2004, against the Dallas Cowboys to play in Super Bowl XXXIX against the New England Patriots. Philadelphia ultimately lost 24-21 but Owens was a monster that day in catching nine passes for 122 yards.

The people that make arguments against Owens’ qualifications for enshrinement are only letting you know how unworldly they really are and how they only think sports works in a perfect vacuum with nothing but choirboys pulling all the strings.

I was a sports reporter for 18 years until changing careers. Most of my time was spent covering high school athletics in the Napa Valley with a smattering of freelance work for an Oakland Raiders fan magazine.

As a high school sports reporter, I was part of an all-Napa County selection team. I can honestly tell you with a straight face that I never voted against a youngster’s candidacy because I did not like him or her, the parents or the coach. If their performance said, “no brainer all-county,” they got my vote.

For Coach of the Year votes, I never voted against someone because I had issues with them. The coach that was the biggest pain in the butt for me was a girls basketball coach whose name I won’t mention. Fortunately, said coach’s team won only about 34 percent of their games so it was a non-issue.

By no means am I comparing an All-Napa County vote to a Pro Football Hall of Fame vote but it’s about principle.

Bottom line, TO belongs in the Hall of Fame, even if he never gave his mouth a TO.

Time Out with Kent Fry (Napa Valley high school football broadcaster/former coach)

Vince D’Adamo: Be it as an student/athlete, coach, and broadcaster what have you enjoyed most about being involved in athletics?

Kent Fry: Coaching has brought out the greatest satisfaction. I loved the competition as a player, to prepare through practice, to excel and do the very best you can was very satisfying. Broadcasting is fun as you remain neutral in watching teams. You watch the execution of game plans and individual assignments and then convey that to the listeners.

Coaching though is special. You get to be involved with young men on the field to teach and develop skills, teamwork, ethics, hard work, strategy and confidence within themselves.

Being a wide receiver coach, I always had 10 players for two positions. The Top 4 were definitely going to see the field and playing time. No. 5 would see some but 6-10 would see maybe a few minutes every other game. My goal was to teach those 6-10 the confidence that they could compete and excel on the football field from start to finish so that when their number was called in the game or on the practice field, they knew where to line up, they knew their assignments and they knew how to execute the skill. That was my personal thrill, watching those kids gain confidence in themselves.

D’Adamo: It is often said that athletics and academics coexist, how much have you found that to be true?

Fry: Athletics and academics go together. First, there are standards that the section and/or league has that each student must maintain to compete in sports. Then, each high school may have standards that are higher than the league or section. Each school is different. From the beginning, each athlete knows that he or she must maintain a certain GPA, attend class, do homework, etc. If the athlete cannot maintain these standards, they come off the field. In both the classroom and the field, you must be prepared, you must have studied your game/lesson plan, then you must execute the skills. The hard work you put in studying and practicing will give you great rewards. You must earn the rewards, it will not be given to you. It will be the results from your individual efforts.

D’Adamo: You had the opportunity to be on Coach Les Franco's staff at both Napa and Vintage, what stood out most about him as a leader?

Fry: I spent most of my coaching career with Coach Les Franco and it was a wonderful, fantastic experience. Les, first and foremost, was a teacher. He teaches down to the detail. He, in my opinion, always made the kids his first and top priority. He wanted the kids to excel and he led by example that through hard work and preparation in practice, you could excel in the sport you were playing on and off the field. Les always let his coaches coach. He would never second guess you. That is because Les would teach his game plan to the coaches first and then we as coaches would teach the kids in our specific area. He would always let us coach.

Les would never get rattled in a game or practice. He would remain calm and make great football decisions on the field. Another thing I remember about coaching with Les is that he always wanted his teams to play the successful teams in the area. Elk Grove, Pittsburg, Antioch and Nevada Union are examples. It always made our teams better by playing high caliber opponents. Les’ only blight is he is an LA Dodger fan. I just cannot forgive him for that ….  

D’Adamo: From a broadcaster's perspective, what do you most hope listeners get from hearing you?

Fry: Broadcasting is fun. It keeps me involved with “Friday Night Lights.” I know that is why you, Vince, continue to cover high school football. It is just a unique emotion to be involved somehow, some way with high school football. I try to paint a picture for the listeners so they can understand what is happening on the field. Not just use the comment “he ran for eight yards” but to convey what play was run …. Counter, dive, option drive, zones, pass routes, etc.  

Of course it helps when you can get as many of the kids names on the radio as possible. Everyone likes hearing their name on the radio, especially parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, etc.

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

Fry: My family was and is a close family. They were always there to support me in my playing days. My older brother by five years would always have to take me along to play ball in the neighborhood. He taught me how to throw, catch, tackle, shoot baskets, etc. I was always competing against kids five years older than I was. It taught me confidence within myself. Mom still listens to the radio via the internet on game nights. My father, who has been gone for nine years, was a very special man. He was definitely influential in shaping my mind and beliefs. My father was a man’s man.

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

Fry: There are so many historical figures that I would want to pick their brain. President Lincoln, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Commander Richard O’Kane. These are just a few of the historical figures that fought hard battles head on.

I can say though that one of my biggest thrills was sitting in the Giants clubhouse in Scottsdale, arizona, for two hours with my childhood baseball hero, Willie Mays. Listening to him tell us about his coming up to the big leagues, his practice routines, the toughest pitchers he faced, talking about players in his era compared to the modern day players and his love of the game. Let me repeat that, his love of the game. That by far was one of my highlights in my coaching days. Go Giants!

Time Out with Matt Brown (American Canyon high baseball head coach)

Vince D’Adamo: What is the No. 1 thing that keeps you coming back to coaching every season?

Matt Brown: The people I get to be around is the best part. Players, coaches, opponents - relationships that I might not have otherwise. What keeps me coming back is the reflection on the previous season and realizing how much more I could have and should have done for those people and wanting to do better the next year. I’ve learned more about different aspects and roles in this game over the last 5 or 6 years than I did in all of the years that I played. Being a baseball instructor, a baseball parent, community member, fundraiser-it’s all been a huge challenge, but I enjoy it and I learn a ton every year and I get excited to apply it in the next season.  

D’Adamo: Beyond wins and losses, what is your vision for American Canyon High baseball?

Brown: This program is ready to take the next step. We’ve kind of been checking things off over the years that we want to accomplish and have accomplished and the excuse that “we’re a new school” has worn off. No matter our record in any given year, I want anyone who sees us on their schedule to know that we are a consistently competitive program regardless of the players that we might have from year to year. Our program has outstanding coaches and we work very well together. We are working very hard to establish a consistently competitive culture and we know it will take continuous work to maintain, but we’re looking forward to the challenge and our players are too.

D’Adamo: Having played for your dad (Mike) at Napa High and later Matt Stewart at NVC, what did you learn from them and how much do you apply that to your coaching style?

Brown: I have been extremely fortunate to be surrounded and supported by very good baseball coaches and people. I am constantly talking to my dad and Matt Stewart about all kinds of things baseball and student related. Both of them are respected by the players that they have coached because of how much they cared about the guys on their teams and still do. I’ve gotten a ton of advice from my dad in regard to the workings of high school athletics as well as relating to high school athletes. Stew has such a passion for the game of baseball and never stops learning and I try and pick his brain as often as I can. I consider both of them mentors. In addition to those two, I would like to point out how much support I’ve received from Toddy Pridy at Napa and Rich Anderson at Vintage, both of whom I’ve played for. I don’t think there’s anything I could ask of either of them that they wouldn’t do for me if they could manage it. I am very aware of how lucky I am to be surrounded by talented coaches who are men of integrity.  

D’Adamo: Besides the Xs and Os of coaching, how important is it to be able to relate to kids?

Brown: Relating to the kids is the absolute most important part of this whole thing.  I really feel that relating to kids in the classroom is one of my best assets as a teacher.  As a coach it’s been a little more difficult for me because my approach to the game as a player was very different than theirs. The kids in 2017 have had a completely different childhood than any adult. In some ways they have experienced way more, but in regard to relationships, I think they have experienced less. So much human interaction is not face to face or even vocal, and that’s how the players we’re getting have grown up. In the past this has been frustrating, but I am looking forward to this season with these players and I realize that I need to change how we do some things in order to reach them and get the most out of them.  

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

Brown: Obviously my dad has had a huge impact on who I am. As much as I swore I would do my own thing and wouldn’t follow in his footsteps, I pretty much have. He has mentioned before that teaching and coaching is a calling and at this point in my life I know he’s right. My mom is as supportive as a parent could be and is the unsung hero who made sure that I was ready for every opportunity that ever came my way-athletics or otherwise. Both of my parents are some of the hardest working people I have ever met and they are extremely selfless. I hope that some of that rubs off on me, because trying to coach without those qualities in particular is a contradiction to the job. In regard to my particular position, I would have to say that my wife Tara was the one who made me believe that I could do what I’m doing. She became the head volleyball coach at ACHS before I was offered the baseball job. Seeing how she went about her business and created a viable program at the high school and expanded it into the community motivated me to try and do the same thing. Watching her former ACHS players and current Napa High players gravitate to her is truly inspiring.  

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.

Brown: This is probably a boring answer to anyone but me, however I would like to have a day with my grandpa, Bob Steen. He was a long-time teacher and coach in Napa and had a million stories, few of which I remember unfortunately.  He has a bunch of great-grandkids who love sports, including my little boys and I think he’d get a kick out of them as well as the fact that my wife is a coach too.  One more round of golf with my cousins and Grandpa would be a good day.

Time Out with Chuck Matto (2005 Justin-Siena High graduate)

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

Chuck Matto: What I enjoyed most about competing in athletics was the sense of family and commitment, particularly when playing high school football. It didn't matter who you were or where you were from. All we cared about was are you committed to the team and working hard? And I'm still proud to say that as a team, I think we truly did some great things. To this day, I hope all my brothers know I'd be there for them in a second... the former teammates I'm not currently in contact with for whatever reason. But that sense of family and brotherhood is unparalleled.

D’Adamo: What have you been doing since graduating from high school?

Matto: I went to SRJC to play ball and then I tore my rotator cuff. Then I realized I was done with football in the sense that, I didn't want to do the grind anymore. From there, I eventually transferred so Sonoma State and I studied psychology. I worked with troubled youth and families in need at the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma and then at the Valley of The Moon residential center for the County of Sonoma. Now, I'm working in the family business helping people protect themselves from everyday risk in Sonoma. I got married about a year and a half ago and my wife and I purchased a house in Vallejo. I also enjoy cooking and have been trying to pursue that as well as feeding the homeless. Now I'm just trying to live everyday to the fullest, enjoy my time and not waste any opportunities.

D’Adamo: What was your favorite class at Justin-Siena High?

Matto: My favorite class at Justin-Siena was English with Mr. Morrish. I had always done well in English and enjoyed it... but with him, it was more than that. He taught me so much about life. His classroom wasn't just a classroom, at lunch it was the spot to hangout at. He didn't care who you were or judge anybody. He just wanted you to be safe, have fun and learn something. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer my senior year. I remember visiting him at his home shortly before he passed and I remember him looking me in my eyes while he barely had the strength to speak and him telling me "I'm not afraid to die. I'm not sad about it. I'm sad that I'm not going to have the opportunity to meet anymore young people. It's the teaching moments with young people that I'm not going to have that I am sad about." Teaching was his passion through and through but he did it in a way that made you feel alive. He was an example of a what a thunderous force the human spirit can be and I'll never forget that. I'm confident that if you asked any student that had the privilege of being in his class that they would say the same.

D’Adamo: What was your favorite athletic moment at Justin-Siena High?

Matto: My favorite athletic moment was a comeback win against Novato. It was a rainy Saturday morning and we were down 0-17 at the half if I recall correctly. I remember our D-line coach, Coach Shanks told me that he was going to lay into me at halftime and he needed me to respond. I don't remember what he said to me or what I said to the team in my speech. I just remember feeling out of my body. Everyone was making huge plays, hitting key blocks and coming up big. We ended up coming back for what I think was a 21-17 victory. I'm not sure. Coach (Rich) Cotruvo had such an ability to inspire and I just know everyone was so committed we were a force that wouldn't be stopped. Outside of that, I think just the run the entire group of guys went of from 2002 to 2005 was amazing.

D’Adamo: How much do you feel you have grown personally since graduating from high school and how much of that do you trace to athletics?

Matto: Since high school I've grown tremendously and I continue to grow daily. I attribute that a large amount to athletics but more specifically to Coach Cotruvo. He taught me about accountability, being a self-start and motivator, about caring for those around you before yourself and about believing in a goal. I frequently think about the lessons he taught my teammates and I. And I often find myself thinking, Coach would be proud. Having said that, Coach always said to stay hungry, and I've got bigger dreams and goals and I still want to accomplish and it is only a matter of time!

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

Matto: I'm truly a product of the community and my family goes beyond those that I am biologically related to. First and foremost though, my parents are my greatest inspiration. They are so loving and so giving. They adopted me and have given me every opportunity I could ever have hoped for. I hope that I can change half the amount of people that they have for the positive. And if I can make my wife Erica look at me, like my mom and dad still look at one another after all this time, I'd say I did something right. Outside of them, my siblings all inspire me in their own ways. I also have several other Moms, Dads and siblings and I am so inspired and influenced by all of them. I was taught to love your neighbors, have an open heart, be yourself and just try to be a decent person. I know it sounds so simple and seems like it might be overused but I can't say it enough. And last but certainly not least, my wife Erica. She is my rock and my foundation. She loves me for who I am and has never asked me to change. She motivates me to be better. She supports my dreams and goals and I'm honestly not sure where I would be today without her.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.

Matto: I'm not sure if this counts as historical for you, but for me she does. My biological mom, Vanessa Briggs. I was adopted at 8 months old and I never had the chance to meet her. Sadly, the only time I ever remember seeing her in person was at her funeral. I know my parents have shaped me, but I want to see what I inherited from her. In addition, I want her to see the man that she brought in to the world.

Napa schools move to NCS strongly possible

Elvis Presley made the song “All Shook Up” famous.

Fast forward to February 2017 and the CIF Sac Joaquin and North Coast Sections won’t need a stage at the Grand Ole Opry to be all shook up but such a sentiment could resonate in Northern California.

The Napa Valley Unified School District has requested for Napa, Vintage and American Canyon high Schools to move from the SJS to the NCS. The news has become public-like official -- as in for three news organizations (Vacaville Reporter, Napa Valley Register and Santa Rosa Press Democrat).

The Register reported that the move is pending approval from the SJS Board of Managers and would not take effect until the 2018-2019 school year. While the move is speculative, I would lay odds that it will happen. The SJS’s realignment committee voted 9-0 in favor of the move. Realignment cycles come every four years and the current one ends after the 2017-2018 school year. The Register also added that the SJS Board of Managers could vote on the NVUSD request as early as April. Will DeBoard, who is the director of Communications for the SJS, offered his assessment to Register senior sports reporter Marty James:

DeBoard said: “From the Napa standpoint, nothing groundbreaking happened (Thursday). It’s the fact that they are trying to leave in the middle of our realignment process. It means that they have to plan as though they could potentially be leaving. We have to plan on the chance that they are not there. This is just strictly our realignment committee trying to move forward as though they are not there. I think eventually they’ll be leaving. It just didn’t happen (Thursday).”

Napa and Vintage play in the Monticello Empire League while American Canyon competes in the Solano County athletic Conference.

The vote on Thursday was to remove NVUSD schools from any of the SJS leagues for 2018-19. Napa and Vintage currently play in the Monticello Empire League. American Canyon plays in the Solano County Athletic Conference.

The move would return Napa and Vintage to its roots in the NCS, which both vacated following the 1975-1976 school year. Both schools played in the North Bay League. The SJS has been all American Canyon has known since opening its doors in 2010.

The back story to this news is that American Canyon, specifically former principal Mark Brewer and former football head coach Ian MacMillan, expressed desire to go to the NCS not long after the school opened.

Where the move to the NCS makes the most sense is travel and competitive balance. In my former career as a sports reporter, I covered mostly St. Helena and Calistoga but also had a taste of covering the aforementioned Napa schools, including Justin-Siena. Though the Upvalley schools make long and arduous drives to Lake and Mendocino Counties and Sonoma County on occasion, traffic is seldom an issue. However, driving to Sacramento, Elk Grove, Grass Valley or anywhere in the Central Valley, traffic is a crapshoot. You could either get smooth sailing on Interstate 80 or traffic could be a hot mess.

On the flip side, however, travelling to play league opponents has been significantly shorter but a move to the NCS would involve longer trips to Sonoma County for league contests, which would mean an increase in travel budgets.

As far as competitive equity, the challenge that Napa, Vintage and American Canyon face is that the Sacramento and Central Valley schools continue to grow. American Canyon (whose enrollment is about 1,400 plus or minus a few) is projected to grow to about 1,600 or so but will have its limits. Napa and Vintage, however, are projected to see their enrollments of about 2,000 decline.

To add further perspective, Napa and Vintage have combined to win just 18 SJS titles (12 for Vintage and six for Napa). However, only four have come in the two revenue generating sports of football and basketball. By no means is that meant as a slight against the other sports. I am all about celebrating success of section titles whether it is football or badminton. However, let’s be honest, section titles in football move the needle and to some extent so do ones in basketball and volleyball.

The move would be a win-win, the aforementioned Napa schools would add competition on the field and money at the gate. Napa, Vintage and American Canyon fans have demonstrated that they will travel.

The only questions remaining would be, which league the Napa schools fit? And would all three go to one league? The three possibilities: North Bay League, Sonoma County League or Marin County Athletic League.

The last time Napa County schools moved to out of the SJS and into the NCS was 2000. Justin went to the MCAL and St. Helena returned to the North Central League I. The former won six NCS titles in football since moving to there. The latter has benefited from much more competitive equity in the NCL I. Both teams competed in the since disbanded Superior California Athletic League, where St. Helena was like goldfish swimming in the ocean most of the time.

The other remaining layer is what happens to the MEL and the SCAC? Vallejo and Bethel reportedly desire a move to the NCS but would likely play in a league with West Contra Costa County Schools. Vacaville could potentially move to the Delta League. The remaining MEL and SCAC teams would be Benicia, Vanden, Wood, Armijo and Fairfield with the sixth team potentially being Dixon.

Confused yet? That makes two of us. I’ll take sifting through this kind of rubble over the August 2014 version.