Time Out with Zach Geary: 2018 Vintage High senior

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

Zach Geary: What I have enjoyed about competing in athletics all my life is the feeling it gives me when I'm on the field. It gives me a different type of vibe that I can't get from anything else and being able to do what I love the most is a blessing and something to not take for granted because not everyone is able to do it.

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

Geary: My plans for after high school is to go to college and hopefully continue my career in football and keep doing what I love.

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

Geary: What I want to do isn't really a major but I want to do paramedic studies and become a paramedic then hopefully become a firefighter. I've wanted to become a firefighter all my life because I'm passionate about it and I've had respect for firemen all my life and I want to save people's lives.

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

Geary: My favorite class at Vintage High has been math because it gets you thinking and you have to use a lot of your brain to be able to figure things out and I like having to work through problems to solve something.

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

Geary: The person in my family that has been most influential has been my mom. She is a very strong woman because her and my dad separated when I was young so she has been raising two kids by herself and that is a really hard thing to handle. She works very hard in providing my sister and I food, clothes, and shelter over our heads. She is the reason I work so hard on the football field and is a very big role model to me.

D’Adamo: You have been chosen to play in the Blue-Grey All-American at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, describe how thrilling it is to be chosen.

Geary: Being chosen to the Blue Grey All American Bowl is a blessing. It is an honor to have this chance to go to Texas and compete with some of the best guys from all around the country and prove myself to college coaches that I have what it takes to make it to the next level. Being invited definitely isn't something to take for granted because I was 1 of 90 out of 6750 players. I will take what I have learned from Coach Leach, Coach Archer, and Coach Dupree and apply those skills on the field. It is a true honor and blessing to be named a Blue Grey All American.

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

Geary: A figure that I'd love to meet is Odell Beckham Jr. I want to meet him because he is my favorite player to watch in the NFL and I respect him a lot because he is very humble with everything he does. He works very hard and he is one of the best receivers in the league. It is my dream to meet him.

Round Two of Vintage-AC is a compelling one

The novelty is not as strong as it was last season but the anticipation is just as plentiful.

Round Two of a Napa Valley based high school football matchup between the American Canyon Wolves and Vintage Crushers takes place Friday night at Wolf Den Stadium in American Canyon.

For the historical and community significance of this matchup, refer to this post from March, 2016:

http://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2016/03/vintage-american-canyon-football.html

For the last couple of years, yours truly has lobbied quite strongly for Vintage, Napa and American Canyon to be in the same league. That alignment appears to be all but a certainty with all three leaving the CIF Sac Joaquin Section for the North Coast Section. Vintage and Napa will vacate the Monticello Empire League. American Canyon will leave the Solano County Athletic Conference. After the 2017-2018 school year, all three schools will be in the same league together with Justin-Siena, Casa Grande, Petaluma and Sonoma.

However, there is still the 2017 football season to play. American Canyon won last season’s matchup 42-14 at Memorial Stadium in Napa. The game started as a back and forth contest as each team traded touchdowns in the first quarter with Vintage leading 14-13 after one period. After that point, American Canyon went “forth” and Vintage went “back,” with the Wolves scoring 29 unanswered points.

Last season, the Wolves were in a position of advantage. They had a roster of returning players. Larry Singer was in his second season as head coach. He also has been an American Canyon Wolf since the school opened in 2010. He was the freshman coach that season, the JV coach from 2011-2014 and then the varsity coach in 2015. As for Vintage, it was Dylan Leach’s first season. The 1992 Vintage High graduate inherited a program that needed cosmetic surgery more so than reconstructive -- but it was surgery nonetheless. Plus, he did not become the Crushers head coach until April 2016.

The Wolves tied the best season in school history going 11-2 and reaching the semifinals of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. III playoffs, just as they did in 2012. The Crushers went 5-5 in Leach’s debut in 2016, despite being 2-4 at one point.

The preseason narrative was that despite losing some key pieces from last season, American Canyon would keep on rolling. Then, the season opener on Friday against Woodland took place. American Canyon led 28-13 late in the third quarter only to take a nosedive and lose 36-34 in overtime. Though the loss was a disappointment, it does not deter my thoughts on the season the Wolves can and will have. This team has too much talent not to have a very good campaign.

For Vintage, the narrative has been, this is Leach’s second season and he had an entire offseason. He knows the kids better. The kids know him better. With coaches in their second year, you hear the phrases, “we’re comfortable,” “we can react instead of think,” etc. You cannot underscore that difference. What we don’t know yet is how it translates for the 2017 Crushers because they have not played a game yet.

However, I am also intrigued by this edition of Vintage-American Canyon because I think the Crushers are trending up as a program. I also believe that despite Friday’s disappointing loss, the Wolves are too good to keep struggling.

What Friday’s game amounts to is this, Vintage has not played a game yet but it believes now is its time. American Canyon got a piece of humble pie in its opener.

This game amounts to two hungry dogs. I like that.

NCS re-alignment at last appears to be resolved

California has been known to have earthquakes from time-to-time but it did not take a tremor to shake up the CIF North Coast Section.

After much speculation, the landscape of the NCS will have a much different look when the 2018-1019 school year begins. On Thursday, a CIF North Coast Section alignment committee unanimously voted to approve a proposal to group Napa, Vintage, American Canyon, Justin-Siena, Sonoma Valley, Petaluma and Casa Grande-Petaluma into a league together starting with the aforementioned school year.

If the move is approved, the seven-school league will be part of the Marin-Sonoma-Mendocino Conference. Try saying that seven times really fast.

The alignment committee, at its meeting at the NCS offices in San Ramon, voted 5-0 to accept and support the proposal.

The next move for the proposal will now go before the NCS Board of Managers at its meeting on Oct. 3 at Mira Vista Golf and Country Club in El Cerrito. The proposal is for the mid cycle alignment, for 2018-2020. NCS Commissioner Gil Lemmon indicated to various Bay Area news organizations that they move appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Napa, Vintage and American Canyon high schools were each accepted into the North Coast Section at a board of managers meeting in April. Each school received unanimous approval during a vote of the board of the managers, which consists of school district superintendents, league commissioners and presidents, principals and athletic directors.

For Napa and Vintage, the move represents a return trip to the NCS. The two school vacated that section to join the Sac-Joaquin Section after the 1975-1976 school year. American Canyon opened its doors in 2010-2011 but has longed to joined the SJS. Justin relocated to the NCS in 2000-2001 to join the Marin County Athletic League.

The move takes effect for the 2018-19 school year and returns Napa and Vintage to the North Coast Section, where they were members through the 1975-76 school year.

From the beginning, I was in favor of this move. The only curious move was including Justin in the same league as the aforementioned schools. Napa and Vintage were once schools of enrollments of 2,000 and change. That number has dropped to the 1,600 range. American Canyon had about 1,300 when reaching all four grades in 2012 and is now in about the 1,600 category, plus or minus a few. To that end, it makes perfect sense to have Napa, Vintage and AC in the same league. Though Napa and Vintage always have each other, AC is a great addition. That is not to suggest Justin does not add value but I’m about to say a few things that chap the daylights out of a few schnooks. However, I don’t give a damn.

Napa, Vintage and AC being in the SJS was an unlevel playing field. If all three did well in the regular season, great. Welcome to playing Sacramento and/or Central Valley schools that are growing, while conversely you are not. Translation, unless you are 2007 Napa High football with John Boyett and Jake Croxdale, you’re not winning section titles. When Justin moved to the NCS, between football and baseball alone they won 11 NCS titles between football and baseball.

To add perspective, Justin is a private school of about 600 enrollment that comes from communities other than Napa. However, public schools, cry like wimps that they are limited geographically on their drawing power. I call BS on that. There are plenty of out of district kids in these parts going to schools other than those in their district. I’ve got no problem with that but don’t throw stones at glass houses. However, I can also understand from Napa and Vintage’s perspective that in the postseason they face teams that were much better than the regular season. Whereas in the MCAL, Justin faces schools double their size in the regular season but not as good in the postseason. If I’m Justin, I take it, run with it and don’t apologize. However, I don’t blame Napa, Vintage or AC for saying, “welcome to playing us, folks.”

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.

Nobody owes Kaepernick a damn thing

Having the right to do something versus you should do something are two entirely different things.

In case you have been living in technology exile, current/former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is biracial and formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, started a movement against racial inequality and police brutality when he declined to stand for the National Anthem during an exhibition game, initially sitting but later opting to take a knee. The stand continued elsewhere throughout the season and has continued into the 2017 NFL exhibition season with Seattle’s Michael Bennett and Oakland’s Marshawn Lynch to name a couple.

On the positive side, there were recent forms of racial solidarity in Oakland and Philadelphia. In Oakland, Derek Carr, who is white, put his arm around Khalil Mack’s, who is black, shoulder while in Philadelphia Chris Long, who is black, used the same gesture for Malcolm Jenkins, who is black. Mack and Jenkins were standing for the National Anthem.  

These gestures are significant because the racial divide in the United States has intensified within the past year on the heels of the most toxic election in United States history between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. In addition, there was the rally last week that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in fatal violence involving white supremacists and counter protesters.

Because of his declining play on the field and sullied relationship with the 49er brass, Kaepernick opted out of his contract when the free agency period began in March. The surprise to many folks is that here we are in August, just two weeks shy of the regular season beginning, and Kaepernick is still NFL unemployed despite the fact that one narrative has him ranked ahead of nine teams that currently field starting quarterbacks. Also, most fans and talking heads claim that backups Kaepernick is superior to have jobs and he does not.

Both points are valid but the talking heads and fans miss several points in their attempt to paint Kaepernick as a victim:

1. Freedom of speech is a slippery slope: Kaepernick had the right to take a knee during the National Anthem. However, his movement lost ground a) when wearing “pig” socks depicting police officers, b) admitting he never voted nor has he ever been registered to do so and c) espousing Cuban politician Fidel Castro in Miami of all places.

For Part A, there are police officers that sully the profession’s reputation but wearing such socks is antagonistic so don’t expect any police officer to be long on understanding. For Part B, I get not wanting to vote for divisive candidates but don’t get on your soapbox and tell me how there needs to be change if you’re not going to vote. Plus there were two third parties on the ballot, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. Part C demonstrates that it was not just 65-year old white conservatives that Kaepernick angered. The espousement of Castro went over in the Cuban community like a screen door in a submarine. Last time I checked, Cubans are also minorities.

2. He was trending down as a player and that goes back to the last season of the Jim Harbaugh era in 2014. Kaeperback flashed greatness from 2011-2013, leading the 49ers to two straight NFC Title Game appearances and one Super Bowl appearance. Sure, the talent and organizational structure around him plummeted. The Kaepernick apologists will point to a 16 touchdown to 4 interception ratio for a 2-14 team in 2016 under Chip Kelly. They also forget that he has shown little ability to read defenses and throw from the pocket. Those are two skills that are a must to have longevity as an NFL quarterback. At best, Kaepernick is a fringe starter.

3. Money: While I concur that Kaepernick is superior to most if not all current NFL backup quarterbacks, because of his experience as a starter and skill set, Kaepernick commands more money than the normal backup. If a team has a quarterback that’s any good, that team will have a lot of money committed to said player.

The Seattle Seahawks, for instance, were interested in signing Kaepernick even though barring injury there is no way on God’s green Earth he would unseat Russell Wilson as a starter. The Seahawks were willing to sign him but head coach Pete Carroll intimated the decision not to sign him was because they were convinced Kaepernick would be a starter. Sounds like a euphemism for “Kaepernick was offered backup quarterback money but still believes he is a starter.”

I have no problem with celebrities speaking out on social and/or political issues if the matter is something they have passionate feelings about, as long as a) they are educated on the topic and b) they don’t belittle those with dissenting views.

Kaepernick may have been right and just to address the aforementioned issues but he articulated his message very poorly. If you are going to take on a topic that deep, you need to be prepared on how to articulate your message because you will face the firing squad. We live in a world where people look to cut down even the most trivial opinion. For aforementioned reasons, such as Item No. 1, Kaepernick pissed all over himself.

Let’s say for a moment that Cam Newton or Russell Wilson took a knee during the National Anthem? How would the backlash be? I use those two as examples because Newton is black and Wilson, like Kaepernick, is bi-racial. They would get blowback but they would also still have jobs because they are Top Ten level quarterbacks.

Those categorizing Kaepernick as a victim also need to realize that the NFL is like any other business. It is a privilege, not a right, to have a job. Most employers in the real world are at-will employers. Translation, you have your rights as Americans but they also have the right to hire you or not hire you.

Neither the NFL nor its 32 teams owe Kaepernick a damn thing.

Time machine: 1999-2000 Justin-Siena High baseball

There are times that you remember a stretch of greatness but constantly refer back to when it started. Your reasoning behind that memory tends be without the beginning, there is no middle and end.

Justin-Siena (Napa) High baseball had two stints of greatness under head coach Allen Rossi, 1999-2006 and 2012-2015. Scott Wright was the Braves head coach from 2007-2011. Rossi’s hiatus from coaching in that span was primarily caring for his wife after enduring an automobile accident. Justin won four Section titles in Rossi Part I, one in Sac Joaquin Section Div. III and three more in the North Coast Section Class A with two more title game appearances. The Braves won a pair of NCS Div. IV titles in Rossi Part II.

However, it was the 1999-2000 teams that sowed the seeds for greatness. Before the 1999 season, Steve Meyer stepped down as the Braves head coach after 12 seasons. The fact that Meyer juggled Dean of Students duties with varsity baseball head coach was a tough task. Rossi’s teams had a long run of success as a manager for the Joe DiMaggio Baseball League, compiling a record of 238-55 with six league titles and a state championship in 1993. The Justin brass doubled down that such success would translate at the high school level.

My goodness did it ever.

Rossi’s philosophy centered around making practices the hard part so games were the easy part. Whether it was on the record or off, Rossi frequently uttered: “Throw strikes, make the routine plays and put the ball in play.” The license plate on his truck read “EXECUTE” and his teams did with aplomb.

Assistant coaches Mitch Boggs and Mark Dunn, each complemented Rossi. Boggs, who died after a sudden illness in 2003, preached a disciplined hitting approach. Dunn, who was the pitching coach, got senior left-handers Matt Tindall and Kirk Spreiter to anchor the staff in 1999 followed by right-handers Jon Foreman Justin Aspegren in 2000.

Offensively, the Braves resembled a 1980s National League team. Get the leadoff man aboard, bunt him over to advance a base and put relentless pressure on opposing defenses and pitchers. As for Rossi’s offensive approach, Earl Weaver he was not.

Rossi immediately made the Braves relevant by going 17-9 in 1999 to win a share of the Superior California Athletic League title. Though the season ended in the first round of the playoffs, it was clear that a new day had dawned for Justin baseball as it made its first postseason appearance since 1989 under the aforementioned Meyer, who remained in the program as the Braves’ JV coach and led Justin to a co-SCAL title in 2000, going 25-1 (5-0 against Monticello Empire League teams).

The 1999 season started 0-3 for Rossi. When I read that stat researching for this story, I nearly fell out of my chair because looking at the subsequent success, it was so hard to fathom.

I recall two moments that changed the baseball culture at Justin. Rossi shared one with me publically. Before the 1999 season, Rossi had players write down their goals centered around individual and team. Many players had written down “beat St. Helena.” The Braves and Saints had, at times, a heated rivalry in various sports but in baseball, Justin won the vast majority. Rossi put the kibosh on that being the main goal and emphasized beating Vanden and St. Patrick’s (Vallejo) because they were the ones that owned SCAL, which was a five-team, 15-game schedule with each team playing each other three times.

Against St. Pat’s, Justin lost 3-1 in the first meeting and beat the Bruins 2-1 and 6-5 in the ensuing matchups. Against Vanden, Justin lost 2-0 and 7-2 in the first two meetings before winning the third one 12-5 in eight innings. The 3-1 loss to St. Pat’s was followed by the 2-0 loss to Vanden. I remembered interviewing Rossi and Tindall after the St. Pat’s loss, both echoed the sentiments of being tired of moral victories.

Each team had both similar and different casts of characters. In 1999, it was Tindall and Spreiter dominating on the mound and at the plate as seniors. I also be remiss not to mention fellow senior Joe Roualdes, who after struggling as a junior hitting just .205, thought about forgoing baseball before Rossi convinced him he could be an asset. Roualdes rewarded Rossi by batting .375 with 15 RBIs. Then there was sophomore shortstop A.J. Paniagua, who showed why he belonged on the varsity right away both offensively and defensively.

In 2000, the Braves rewrote the school record-book led by co-SCAL MVPs Rick Carpenter and Foreman. As a team, Justin broke the school record for batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored and total bases, all of which stood since 1984. With that lineup, there were no soft spots featuring Paniagua, Steve Andres, Foreman, Ron Duvall, Carl Gray, Eduardo Borrego and Ji-Hoon Kim to name a few.

Andres, who went on to play college baseball at Notre Dame, batted a .621 with runners in scoring position and closed the season on a 23-for-47 tear. Andres’ grand-slam cemented a 10-0, six-inning, 10-run rule win over Vanden to seal the SCAL.

Justin won its first ten games of the season with the lone defeat being a 10-9 loss to Vanden in which the Braves led 9-3. Justin would not lose again until the 2001 regular season.

The 2000 Braves had many cast of characters with Carpenter being the ringleader. With the eye-black, the lambchop sideburns and the tenacity he displayed as a catcher, Carpenter looked more like a 1970s Pittsburgh Steeler or Oakland Raider linebacker than a high school baseball catcher.

With the starting pitching tandem of Foreman and Justin Aspegren, opponents were in for long days with 0.82 and 2.32 ERAs respectively. When Foreman wasn’t silencing opposing hitters, he was creating havoc for opposing pitching as he batted .338.

I could spend all day reciting stats but what stood out most about these two Braves teams that paved the way for others were the intangibles. From Day One, Rossi demanded nothing less than the best effort from players. Rossi’s practices and pregame warmups were a model of efficiency so much so that come game time, the Braves were rarely caught out of position.

Though Rossi had the reputation for being intense in practice, on gameday he could be Tom Landry-like stoic. Translation, Rossi took the approach of “practice time is for coaches, game time is for players.”

Rossi’s license plate read “EXECUTE,” his teams simply executed their opponents.

Time machine: 1999 Vintage High baseball

The basic ingredients of a thunderstorm are moisture, unstable air and lift.

Thunderstorms are most likely to occur in the spring and summer, especially in the evening hours. Well, high school baseball season happens in the spring and the 1999 Vintage High baseball team was a perfect storm if there ever was one.

The through the idea of team chemistry is floated around too frequently, this Crusher team personified that quality. Most of all, the 1999 Vintage Crushers had a tenacity level that made you think you were watching a team from 1975. In a nutshell, this was one of the most self-motivated high school sports teams I witnessed on a regular basis.

I’ve said this so much people are probably tired of hearing it but to understand a team’s success, you have to understand its journey. The Crushers entered the 1999 campaign having lost its ace pitcher, Charlie Frasier, to graduation. Vintage had 12 of its 18 players that were seniors that had gone 14-14 in the Monticello Empire League the previous two seasons. Some of those seniors had varsity experience as sophomores and in shortstop Steve Skinner’s case, as a freshman. Second baseman Lorin Brambila, pitcher Wes Frey, pitcher/outfielder Dal Wilson and catcher Derek Texdahl played on the varsity as sophomores.

Throughout the journey, head coach Rich Anderson preached the importance of being fundamentally sound and his players executed in such a manner all season. Assistant coaches Billy Smith and Fred Scaruffi, who died in 2002, complemented Anderson with their presence, the former on the hitting side and the latter on the pitching side respectively. The latter was commonly known as “Scroof.” The coaching staff appealed to all generations. At the time, Smith was experienced but still in his early 30s. Scroof was in is late 60s, he was the old-timer that could be gentle and funny one moment but the ball-busting old-timer the next.

If I had to think of a word to describe this Crusher team, it would be “grinders.” While that phrase has become overused, it aptly described Vintage baseball less than a year before Y2K. The Crushers went 27-5 and 13-1 on the way to the MEL title, edging out league rival Fairfield. What was most compelling about that season was how Vintage and league rival Fairfield were polar opposites in how they carried themselves. Though Vintage won the MEL title, Fairfield went on to win the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Division I title, something that sticks in Crusher fans’ craw to this day.

Fairfield was the team that carried a swagger and was not afraid to tell you how good they were. Though the Crushers went 2-2 in the SJS Div. I playoffs, they proudly carried narrative of playing with your bats and gloves, not your mouths. When Vintage won the MEL title, they walked off the field as if their parents called them home for dinner. Translation, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a less celebrated league title by a team.

The 1999 Crushers rewrote the school record book with the 27 wins and 196 runs scored, recording winning streaks of 12 and  games along the way. Vintage won 21 of its last 22 regular season games.

With the loss of Frasier, Anderson had a decision to make, so he moved Frey into the starting rotation and the hard-throwing righthander rewarded him with an 11-0 season after going 0-5 as a junior. Frey recorded an ERA of 2.51 and struck out 52 batters in 53 ⅓ innings. Wilson, who was a lefthander, was the perfect compliment to Frey in that he was a mixture of power and finesse. If you needed someone to punctuate the game out of the bullpen, Andrew Workman was your guy with his Kent Tekulve like sidearm delivery.

On the offensive side, the Crushers were a machine led by the record-setting Skinner, who broke the season mark for batting average (.528), hits (48), runs scored (39), stolen bases (22) and home runs (8). Skinner was the MEL MVP and though he was undersized at 5-8, 170, he had incredible range and howitzer for an arm. You name the play, Skinner could make it. Diving, backhanded stop deep in the hole between second and third? Check. Charge a slowly hit groundball? Check. I have never seen a shortstop double-clutch and still fire a Brett Favre like bullet to first for the out.

Vintage’s lineup gave opponents no breaks as the Crushers compiled a .338 team batting average with 12 guys registering averages North of .300. Those players included but were not limited to Brambila, centerfielder Jared Kimball, Brian Massey, Texdahl and Wilson. The Crushers offense and pitching was so dynamite that it became easy to overlook the stout defense of Skinner, Brambila, Massey and Texdahl to name a few.

Though the Crushers outscored MEL opponents 124-54 and averaged 6.9 runs per contest, the season was also typified by clutch-hitting. However, if there was one such moment that exemplified that quality was Brambila’s game-winning RBI single in the MEL opener against Vacaville to kickstart Vintage’s 13-1 stretch in league play. Brambila also had a game-winning two-run single in a 10 inning win over Fairfield to avenge Vintage’s lone MEL defeat.

When I look at the 1999 Crushers, they didn’t have sweat stains and grass stains on their uniforms just to keep laundry detergent companies in business, they wore them as badges of honor.

Napa Valley high school football teams have different narratives for 2017

When you go out to dinner, whether it’s to a restaurant or someone’s house, before the main course comes the hors-devourses, otherwise known as appetizers. Then you have side dishes like soup or salad. Then you get the main course.

Regardless of which stage of the meal comes your drink of choice. For some, such a drink puts you in an altered state.

As it pertains to high school football season, August before games start is the appetizer stage, be it bread and butter or bread and olive oil. It could be veggies dipped in ranch dressing. It could be chips and salsa.

The non league portion of the schedule is the soup and salad part. For teams playing a difficult non league slate, the soup or salad might be excessively filling or spicy. Some of such teams recover in time for the main course, others get waylayed.

The league and playoff portion of the schedule is the main course -- and if you remain hungry dessert is included with after dinner drink think might involve coffee, altered in some cases. Most main courses involve meat, potatoes and/or pasta. If you are playing on Thanksgiving weekend, however, the main course will involve turkey.

August is also Kool Aid season. Every team is better than it was a year ago. Every team has more unity than last year. Every team is working harder than it did last year. Every team is also 0-0. I say, “If you can’t be optimistic now, when can you be?”

As it pertains to Napa Valley high school teams, every club bears watching for different reasons. Four of the six Napa Valley teams open their season on Aug. 25: Woodland at American Canyon; Pittman (Turlock) at Napa; Piedmont at Justin-Siena. On Aug. 26, Calistoga hosts Round Valley (Covelo).

One week later, the spotlight will be at Wolf Den Stadium as Vintage opens its season at American Canyon on Sept. 1. If you go 25 miles North on Highway 29, St. Helena opens its season at home against Sir Francis Drake (San Anselmo).

Like any team and season, there are compelling storylines. The 2017 campaign figures to be no exception. Here’s a look in alphabetical order:

American Canyon: For most games last season, the Wolves were an Indy 500 racecar and their competition was a Buick that couldn’t get past 55 miles-per-hour. American Canyon went 11-2 including the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. III playoffs, outscoring foes 609-260. American Canyon is loaded with skill position players like quarterback Lavar Seay and running backs Kama Aalona and Brendan Johnson. On the offensive line, Lucas Gramlick, who at 6-7, 285, is bigger than most people’s first apartment, returns but gone is Jonathan Roeder. The Wolves are so loaded at skill position that if the line is even middle of the road, they’ll score a ton of points.

Besides the aforementioned matchup against Vintage, the non league games to watch are against Inderkum (Sacramento) and Wood (Vacaville), at home on Sept. 8 and 15 respectively. The Solano County Athletic Conference race involves three horses -- American Canyon, Vanden and Benicia. I believe the Wolves are the best of the three but I can’t bring myself to selling Vanden or Benicia short.

Calistoga: The Wildcats enter Year Three in the Mike Ervin Part II Era. I’ve beaten this drum several times, Calistoga is in 8-man football to stay in all likelihood. Being the second largest school in the North Central League III, the Wildcats have the roster size to play 11-man football but finding a league with competitive equity is another matter.

Calistoga’s biggest problem has been encountering forfeits from its opponents. To that end, the NCL III will be divided into North and South. The latter will consist of Calistoga, Tomales, Rincon Valley Christian, Branson, Potter Valley and Stuart Hall. The North will be comprised of Upper Lake, South Fork, Roseland Prep, Round Valley, Laytonville and Upper Lake. Ervin is hoping this format leads to a 10-game season, rather than eight contests from the last two seasons.

Justin-Siena: The Braves enter head coach Brandon LaRocco’s second season playing the role of fallen champion trying to rise from the canvas. After winning six CIF North Coast Section titles in 14 years, Justin plummeted to 3-7 last season.

Ron Carreti (running back/defensive back), Ret Torkelson (tight end/linebacker) and Colby Bates (offensive line/linebacker) are Braves top players. Justin has a solid core of returning players on defense but some inexperience in the trenches. Improving on last season’s win-loss record is possible, potentially probable, but reaching or getting North of .500 is no easy task. The non league schedule is no joke with Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), Piedmont and Sacred Heart (San Francisco). Having a record good enough to reach the NCS Div. IV playoff would be a nice start at the program returning to its contender status.

Napa: The best news is that at least the program is having a season. The question is, what kind? The program went through the wringer of intense turmoil based on alleged hazing incidents that led to coaching staff power struggles with the administration and subsequently head coach Troy Mott and staff’s resignation. JV head coach, and Napa High 2004 graduate Jesus Martinez, is now the head coach -- and frankly was the best choice they could have expected under the circumstances.

Though some players opted not to return after the shakeup, Dawson Trent, Chase LaRue, Brandon Herter, Sean Madigan, Alex Perez De Leon, Ethan Harrison, Colby Kelnhofer, Christian Sanchez, Issac Delgado, Keola Frazer, Erick Castro, Logan Zampa, Isaac Castrillo, and Cameron Ross give the Indians a solid group of returnees. As of this writing, there was hope that those who initially opted not to return would have a change of heart. The problem the Indians face a brutal non league schedule with Pittman, Rocklin, Riordan, Nevada Union and Pleasant Valley. For a program that needs good things to happen, that non league schedule will make that an uphill battle.

St. Helena: Though the talent on the roster is not at the level it was in the early 2010s, head coach Brandon Farrell added to an already quality coaching staff that included long-time assistants Sam Licina and Matt Cia. Steve Vargus and Steve Shifflett, two long-time Justin assistants under Rich Cotruvo, join the varsity staff. Ian MacMillan, who was the Saints varsity coach from 2004-2006, is the JV head coach.

St. Helena’s top returnees are quarterback Christian Cia (Matt’s nephew), Connor Dotzler and Casey Walker. Fort Bragg and Middletown are the top two teams in the NCL I with Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Clear Lake improved from years past. The Saints went 6-5 last season with three straight losses to close the year. Can St. Helena reverse that momentum?

Vintage: After going 5-5 in Dylan Leach’s debut as head coach, the Crushers are confident they can climb in the MEL hierarchy. Vintage’s core returning players are Isaiah Garcia, Ronnie Porter, James Robert, Zach Geary, Bruno Martinez, Nolan Brown, Abdiel Ballines, Sam Carter and Max Craig.

The Crushers non league and MEL slates open with significant tests against American Canyon and Vacaville respectively. The former was a 42-14 winner over Vintage last season. Vacaville defeated the Crushers 29-20. Vintage also has some talented young players from a JV team that went 8-2 last season. If they become viable contributors sooner rather than later, that will help Vintage ascend.

Vacaville would be considered the favorite to win the MEL with second place being a three-horse race between Napa, Vintage and Wood while Rodriguez and Armijo pick up the rear.

Time Out with Mike Krzyzewski -- Duke men's basketball coach

Editor’s note: The original version of this story appeared in the St. Helena Star. Garrett Whitt, who has been a contributing writer for the newspaper since 2000, caught up with Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski at the V Foundation Wine Celebration at Nickel & Nickel Winery in Oakville.

Garrett Whitt: This is the 19th annual V Foundation Wine Celebration, what are your reflections on the maturation of this event?

Coach Krzyzewski: Well the main thing is how it’s grown, and how Napa Valley has embraced us where $80 million dollars have been raised and more and more over the last few years and a lot will happen during this one. But even more so than the money is the incredible confidence that’s developed with the amount of researchers that have been funded that they’re finding cures for cancer, and the advancements in the last couple of years have been staggering and some of them were announced. Now we’re going to have the BRCA grants to marry up to amazing families to give $3 million dollars for research. So, (former NC State men’s basketball coach) Jimmy (Valvano) would have been shocked that something like this could happen.

Whitt: It has been 24 years since Coach Valvano delivered his iconic speech at the inaugural ESPY Awards. What are your reflections of that evening over a generation later? And it (the speech) seems as poignant today as it was then.

Coach Krzyzewski: Well, you bring up a great point in that it’s never going to outdate itself because it’s fundamentally right where he had a vision to fight cancer. And even though he knew he was going to die he (Coach Valvano) wanted to make sure that he set the stage to help others. And that’s what the V Foundation is all about, providing help, providing hope. And he would have been very, very proud, and the game’s not over because the V Foundation’s going to keep going until this disease is eradicated.  

Whitt: You are the keynote speaker (Saturday night) what is your message to the people who attend The Wine Celebration?

Coach Krzyzewski: Well, the theme of heart, mind and soul. I will try to emphasize that and use some examples with what we do with USA Basketball to get those guys to not just play but, be, feel, own, but also, I am going to do something at the end where we try to bring maybe the souls of some of the people from the past that will enter the hearts of all these people and maybe motivate us to do even a little bit more.

Whitt: Cancer has touched your family a couple of times, and it recently touched my family with the passing of my mother, Barbara Whitt, this past Monday, July 31, due to lung cancer. When your family has been touched by cancer what have you learned from the experiences? And what would be your advice to somebody or a family that is going through it for the first time?

Coach Krzyzewski: Well, first of all it’s a tremendous loss. You’re angry at cancer, but then you’re sorrowful because you’ve lost someone. And we have to maintain that anger toward cancer as we find remedies as we find cures. The one thing I would say is whenever it happens is to make sure you celebrate the life of that person and not maintain sorrow. But also, it motivates you to join a team. Jimmy used to say a person doesn’t become whole before he or she becomes part of something bigger than himself or herself and that is really what the V Foundation is about is for us to be a part of this.

Whitt Where do you see your role as part of the V Foundation team? And how would you define your role?

Coach Krzyzewski: Well, I’ve been on the Board (of Directors of the V Foundation) Jimmy recruited me in his hospital bed. I’ve been there (from the start in 1993). I know my place. I hate to say this. I’m the pretty face, maybe not the pretty face, (smiling), but you end up being one of the faces of the foundation. And I try to always, at board meetings and that, reference what Jimmy might think.  But the board has grown immensely. There are so many smart people and the Scientific Board.

Whitt: It’s amazing.

Coach Krzyzewski: It is amazing and what’s been done. And so, I just try to fit in and whatever they need me to do, I try to do it.

Whitt: So, in about two weeks you will begin your 38th year at Duke. How do you react to the fact that a couple of your grandchildren are as old or nearly as old as most of the players on your team this year because you have one of the youngest teams you’ve ever had?

Coach Krzyzewski: You know Garrett, I feel very fortunate to have been at a great school. I’ve been at two great schools, my alma mater, West Point, and Duke. And (Duke) has attracted great young men who are balanced and they’re good players and they want to be a part of a championship team and so what I try to do is be in their moment, and it keeps me young. Instead of looking in the rearview mirror and saying boy, you did this; no, we haven’t done anything. Let’s see what we can do. So, I’m very enthusiastic about that. We start in two weeks because we take a foreign tour to The Dominican Republic for about eight days.

Whitt: How has Gary Trent JR been doing?

Coach Krzyzewski: Gary’s going to be one of our key players. He’s already more physically mature than most freshmen. He’s kind of a man already. I think being out here at Prolific Prep (Napa) has helped him mature even more.   

Whitt: What has been the biggest adjustment you have had to make in connecting with and relating to your players in your 43 years as a head coach?

Coach Krzyzewski: Things are constantly changing. So, it never stays the same, and that’s why cultures have to be renewed. You adapt. To me, the thing is don’t change your fundamental principles: how you work together, how you form a team, how do you develop loyalty, trust. How do you do those things within the current culture that you have? For us, the biggest change, lately, has been the fact that we don’t have the amount of upperclassmen to teach our culture.

Whitt: And you only have one senior (Grayson Allen).

Coach Krzyzewski: And one junior (Antonio Vrankovic).  So, we have to think of different ways of doing that in a shorter period of time. But yeah that’s one of the challenges. So, we’re going to try to meet that challenge.  

Whitt:  So what do you want the people who attend the Wine Celebration to take away from their experience?

Coach Krzyzewski: Well, we want them all to become part of our V (Foundation) family, not just to attend the event and drink wine, and give money, although all those things are good. We want them walking away being part of our team. So, in addition to raising money this is a big recruiting dinner, and a recruiting weekend. And that’s a huge part of what (the V Foundation) wants. They want to develop the feeling of family.