Densberger to step away from his passion

There are jobs and there are passions.

More so than any high school/youth sports coach I have ever known, 1980 St.
Helena High graduate Joe Densberger uttered this phrase more times than I can
count, “Coaching is not my job but it’s my passion.”

After 25 seasons, Densberger revealed on social media his decision to step away
from coaching on Friday.

Densberger said: “After a 25 year run of coaching high school basketball I've
decided it's time to step away, I just wanted to take a minute to thank all that I've
coached with, the many players I've worked with, many of whom have become
close friends over the years, and lastly the parents that have been there for support
and encouragement. You have all been a huge part of my life and I will miss you
all! It's been an amazing run, Thank you all.”

One thing I want to make clear, I’m not writing this to break news. My media career
ended in Dec. 2014 but my writing passion has never left.

Yours truly texted Densberger, who works for Trinchero Family Estates, after having
seeing his post. Densberger cited more job responsibilities along with the need for
a break after 25 years as his reason for stepping away from the sideline. Densberger,
however, added that he has not closed the door on a return to coaching at some
point in the future. Besides his aforementioned increased responsibilities at his job,
Densberger added that he needed a break after 25 years of coaching.

Densberger’s coaching career is mostly linked to basketball, coaching at Vintage as
a JV head coach and varsity assistant under Russ Critchfield and later Mike Flohr.
As his son, John, got older, he returned to St. Helena, coaching the JV team while
Tom Hoppe and Ray Particelli coached varsity. After Hoppe resigned, Densberger
took over as the varsity head coach. The win-loss record was 39-67 but Densberger’s
strength was getting younger players ready for varsity and being a buffer between
player and varsity coach.

His coaching career, however, also involved baseball. Densberger was the Saints
varsity baseball coach for two seasons (2005-2006). The 2005 St. Helena team
went 10-8, which marked the first winning season since 1982 (10-8) and first
non-losing campaign since 1988 (13-13):

http://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2015/11/time-machine-2005-st-helena-high.html

Densberger has also regularly helped St. Helena Little as a volunteer umpire and
occasionally as a coach. Most recently, he also helped the Saints as a JV assistant
coach.

I have repeatedly said, youth sports coaches in California don’t do it for the money.
At the high school level, whether they are a teacher or off campus, they get just a
small stipend of about $3,000 per year (give or take a few). That’s about enough to
pay for a year supply of beef jerky. There is not just the coaching games aspect.
There is time spent at practice in and out of season along with time spent scouting
opponents. Then there are the parents. Most of them have the right intentions but
there are a select bunch of bad apples that can louse up the basket.

Then you factor in how off-campus coaches have no security in that even if they
have a winning percentage of Vince Lombardi and do all the right thing for the kids,
they still have to reapply for their jobs after every season. Densberger did not like
that reality but he dealt with it enough to where he coached whether his kids were
involved or not. To deal with that reality, you really have to love coaching.

In my past career of sports reporter (1996-2014 if you include my college years),
I had many interactions with Densberger. We still text from time-time and he sees a
colleague of mine (Anthony Goode) regularly since Densberger’s employer gets
service from mine. If you ever got the three of us together, the conversation might
take an off-ramp or three.

I related with Densberger on three fronts. For openers, he went to St. Helena High
at the same time as a cousin on my mom’s side. His dad (Roy) and my grandfather
(Alfredo) worked together at Charles Krug Winery. Alfredo (known as Nonno to me)
had a nickname for anyone that talked too much. The nickname was Pappagallo
(English translation is parrott). Roy Densberger and I shared that common ground.
Suffice it to say, Joe and his brother, Will, enjoyed a chuckle out of that story. Roy
also went to St. Helena High at the same time as my mother and two aunts.

In my interactions with Joe Densberger, we frequently agreed with the notion that
kids competing at big schools and small schools are like apples and oranges. Are
there small school kids that would get swallowed up at large schools? Absolutely.
However, there are also large school kids at the end of the bench that would not
be impact players at small schools. Since Densberger coached at both Vintage
(1,800 enrollment) and St. Helena (about 500 enrollment), I always gave his opinion
on this matter credence because he had seen both because it was more objective
than others.

One aspect, however, where Joe and I were adversaries but he eventually saw the
light was the University of Nebraska, where yours truly graduated in 1997 and his
son (John) in 2012. Densberger’s family has roots in Nebraska but being the
contrarian, Joe was an Oklahoma fan until John decided to go to Nebraska. Joe,
it’s about time you saw the light.

So much of the sports media/coach relationship in a small town is not just about,
“How do you feel about the execution of the pick and roll?” It is about finding fresh
ways to tell stories and developing an interest in your sources along with ways you
can relate to them. Regardless of outcome, Densberger was always gracious with
his time and answered questions honestly.

All kidding aside, you made a difference in many lives as evidenced by the
responses you have received on social media. Hopefully, this step away from
coaching is simply a pause button but there are other passions you’ve more than
earned the right to enjoy.

Time Machine: 2003 Bethel High graduate Dallas Bernstine

There are times you watch an athlete perform, and his talent takes your breath
away.

In the two seasons I had the chance to cover Vallejo and Jesse Bethel High
Schools from 2001-2003 for a startup internet news service that became defunct,
I remember being in awe watching 2003 Jesse Bethel graduate Dallas Bernstine
every time I had the chance to witness him in person.

As reporters, we are told to be objective but watching some, you find yourself
being a fan, not so much that you unprofessionally gush over his success but
because you are so amazed by what this person can do.  

Bethel and Bernstine were like a perfect storm. The former opened its doors in
1998-1999, beginning with just freshmen and sophomores. The following year
(1999-2000), the junior class was added and then in 2000-2001, all four grades
were integrated. The Jaguars JV team went 8-2 in 1999 but went 0-10 as a varsity
team with no juniors in 2000.

In 2001, Bernstine along with classmate Andrew Green opted to transfer from
Vallejo to Bethel. The Jaguars went 6-5 that season, reaching the CIF Sac Joaquin
Section Div. I playoffs, losing 22-15 to the eventual champion, Elk Grove Thundering
Herd. That game was a prime example of a losing team gaining more respect than
the winning team earning its glory.

The Jaguars fell behind 22-0 before their late rally fell short. I remember driving to
the game. Elk Grove was ranked in the Top 10 in various polls in the state of
California. In the process, I remembered thinking, “If Bethel can stay within four
touchdowns, I’ll consider it an achievement.” I was covering the game from the
pressbox, which was on the Elk Grove fans section. The longer the game stayed
close, the more nervous Herd fans became.

Bernstine, who has been inducted into the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame, played
basketball and baseball for Bethel. Though his role was not as prominent, he helped
the basketball team to reaching the postseason and winning a game. In baseball, he
batted .467 and had a 14-game hitting streak.

While Bethel has had its share of stars including but not limited to Bobby Guillory and
C.J. Anderson, Bernstine was the first that raised other people’s antennas.

While you realize that the sports Bernstine played were team oriented, his brilliance
made those in and out of Vallejo take notice. That stardom was significant because
you had two established schools with Vallejo and Hogan. The latter has since closed
and become a middle school. Bethel was the new kid on the block looking for respect
and it was going to take a brilliant individual to facilitate that appreciation.

The most defining moment came in a pivotal Monticello Empire League home game
against Vintage. The MEL, which was a 10-team league, had four allotted SJS Div. I
playoff spots. Vintage and Bethel were fighting for the last spot.

Bernstine rushed for a Northern California record 555 yards and five touchdowns.
Four of those scores went for at least 60 yards and he also played safety the entire
game as Bethel won 59-38. The game was not a nail-biter by any stretch but close
enough to where the Jaguars needed all of Bernstine’s production to secure the win.

One year later as a senior, Bernstine rushed for 1,942 yards on the way to leading
Bethel to an MEL II title and league MVP honors. That summer he was also MVP of
the East-West All-Star Game.

Bernstine became the first Bethel athlete to receive a full-ride scholarship but wound
up foregoing that opportunity when he daughter (D’nyia) was born during his senior
year. Bernstine instead played two years at San Francisco City College.

Athletics were not his only talent, Bernstine has talents as a musician as well. He
used those skills in high school as well. I remember he and various Jaguar teammates
making a rap tape that was football related. I forget the lyrics but there was a lot of
satire.

Regardless of sport, every chance I had to cover one of Bernstine’s games, I knew
there was a good chance I was going to be amazed. I had many conversations with
Bernstine on and off the record, His personality was a perfect mix of sweet as sugar
but cold as ice. His athleticism, however, was thunder and lightning.

He had amazing speed and athleticism but I remember him as a great competitor as
well. There are a number of people with the last name Bernstine that starred as
athletes in Vallejo. Dallas, however, might have the most unique legacy in that he
was the first great athlete at a school that was just opening its doors.

Dallas Bernstine’s legacy still resonates strongly nearly two decades later.

"Things happen for a reason" not just cliche

“Everything happens for a reason.” I must say that phrase brings out the cynic in me.

When fate deals an undesirable hand, that’s the last thing you want to hear. Years later,
you wind up in a better place and you understand the reasons for your previously
undesired fate. In August 2008, I traveled back to Lincoln, NE, for the first game of the
season as my alma mater (University of Nebraska) ushered in the Bo Pelini era against
Western Michigan. I was a 36-year old first-time father as my wife and I were expecting
twins to enter the world two months later. At the time, our oldest child was 17 months old.

My thinking at the time was that I might not have a chance to do this for a while, to visit
the place where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in journalism. Like most students back then,
I had dreams of being either on network television or being a beat writer for a metro
newspaper covering college or pro sports. Neither one of those dreams came true but such
does not affect how I view the outcome of my past career/current hobby. Instead, I wound
up being a sports reporter for 18 years (10 with the St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan).
If you would have asked me in 1997, I would have considered my career unfulfilled. As I
was living that life in real time, however, I felt fulfilled in ways I never imagined.

So I decided to reach out to the University’s journalism alumni magazine for a feature
story. I let the editor know that I was not doing this for selfish reasons. My purpose stemmed
from the fact that I know what it’s like being 21-years old, being starry-eyed in my dreams. I
wanted my story to deliver the message that there is an entirely different world that they do
not see now but will appreciate later. I really felt that if my career path story could reach
only a few youngsters, I would feel better.

It was also a chance for me to give thanks to the professors I had such as Rick Alloway and
Jerry Renaud to name a few. Though my degree was in broadcasting, I decided to practice
the written word in gaining experience as a sports reporter with the university’s newspaper,
the Daily Nebraskan. I did that in conjunction with being a production assistant and
occasional on-air talent for Broadcast House, which had three radio stations.

Though I left the newspaper industry in December 2014, I think about how my journalism
career path turned. In a sense, I appreciate the journey more than the destination. In 2001,
I was one of five finalists for a sports reporter job at the Contra Costa Times. The fact that
I knew a few people at that newspaper, I felt confident I would get the job. Then, I picked up
the phone only to discover that I was not hired. I was greatly disappointed.

Long story short, I went on to work for a startup internet news service (GetLocalNews.com)
based out of Benicia, CA. The organization covered Benicia as well as Vallejo. Two years
later, the company folded and did a Florida Marlins like staff-wide layoff.

After freelancing for eight months, I landed with Napa Valley Publishing as a sports reporter
for the St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan, where I remained for nearly 11 years before
changing careers.

Community journalism was the last thing I envisioned doing when I was a 21-year old kid in
college but I soon discovered many blessings. For years, small newspapers were a starting
point for a career. It was a place where you labored in the vines before moving on to bigger
news organizations.

As big newspapers began cutting from staffs more massively with each passing year, I
became thankful that I never reached the Contra Costa Times or any other metro newspaper.
Though the massive cuts have trickled down to the smaller, community newspapers, at the
time such was not as prevalent because such organizations offered something unique like
local news with more authenticity.

There were pitfalls such as hypersensitive parents to name one but I found the relationship
with coaches, administrators, etc. to be more of a partnership. That is not to suggest that the
relationships would not have stumbling blocks but it is more comforting for a coach to talk to
a reporter one-on-one rather than press conferences you see at the college and professional
level that resemble a state of the union address.

Unlike that level where you have public relations and sports information staffs, you have to
nurture relationships much more. Translation, you can’t cover the St. Helena Saints like the
New Orleans saints or the Calistoga Wildcats like the Kentucky Wildcats. The approach you
take is simple, celebrate success without unprofessionally fawning and report failures with
sensitivity because they are kids. High school is the pinnacle for most of their competitive
athletic endeavors.

The responsibilities I had were vast because they were not limited to writing stories and
thinking of fresh ways to tell them. The job also involved taking photos and paying out pages.
The multitasking was not easy because you always felt like you were sacrificing quality but
on the other hand, I liked it because I felt like I had control.

Being a small town sports reporter carried that “big fish, small pond” vibe. The relationships
could get claustrophobic at times and there were people you had to keep at arm's length.
The relationships, however, turned into friendships, not in the sense of doing things together
socially but when you talk to them, they feel like friends.

I guess things do happen for a reason.

Neller a deserving honoree at SAA fundraider

By definition, the word volunteer means “freely offer to do something.”

In a nutshell, that term aptly describes long-time St. Helena coach Randy Neller. The
Saints Athletic Association will be hosting its annual Fajita Fest dinner on May 5 at the
Native Sons Hall. Yes, fajitas on Cinco de Mayo, how’s that for timing? The event raises
funds for St. Helena High athletics that features a no-host bar, delicious food along with
live and silent auction items.

The event does not have a guest of honor every year but the 2018 version will be Neller.
The 1974 St. Helena High graduate coached from the time he got out of high school until
2012. He began coaching the Carpy Gang, which is St. Helena’s youth football program,
but primarily coached the high school program. Neller was also an assistant coach for the
Saints track & field team. He volunteered at the school outside of football, operating the
clock for Saints basketball home games.

Neller was a prime example of a tireless worker. For openers, he is a long-time employee
for Beringer Winery, one of the oldest wineries in the entire Napa Valley. Neller’s coaching
was not limited to games and practices. It involved planning for practices, watching film,
scouting future opponents, and performing grade checks. The scouting trips included but
were not limited to trips to Petaluma and Upper Lake. Those trips are often two hours
round-trip if you’re scoring at home. As for the grades, they had to meet his standard, not
the school. Translation, the 2.0 minimum grade point average was not going to suffice.

I got to know Neller in my years as a sports reporter, most specifically between 2004-2014
when I covered the Upvalley sports beat. Neller and I had our differences, mainly because
he was about as fond of dealing with the media as Bill Belichick and Gregg Popovich. While
it bothered me at first, I eventually came to realize that some people are that way in part
because perhaps they were not treated well by the media in the past. Neller is notorious for
saying, “It’s about the players not the coaches.” While I can appreciate the humility, I believe
it’s a mixture of both because while players perform on the field, they also seek guidance
from the coaches. To that end, Neller guided many youngsters.

In fact, I lost a bet with my partner-in-crime, Garrett Whitt (aka The GMan), because of Neller.
When I took over the beat, I implemented a Q&A feature known as a “Time Out.” GMan said
to me one day, “I bet you I can get a Time Out with Randy.” I replied with, “GMan, I’ll give you
a case beer if you get one with Randy.” That was my way of saying, “Yeah, I’ll locate a rabbi
in Montana.” Lo and behold, I get an e-mail from The GMan and the subject line says, “Time
Out with Randy Neller.” So I had to cough up a case of Budweiser for the GMan. I guess
there are rabbis in Montana.

I would go as far to say that Neller is the biggest reason why Saints football is still standing
today. Before Brandon Farrell arrived on the scene as varsity head coach in 2008, the
program was in a constant state of change. From 1980-2008, the program endured 13
coaching changes in 28 years. Fortunately, Farrell has provided much needed continuity as
he enters his 11th season.

Each time the varsity head coach resigned, Neller would be the de facto varsity coach so
as to keep the seat warm until the new hire arrived. The biggest role Neller played was
overseeing the weight room and occasionally spring football practices if the new hire had
not arrived yet.

Neller was the Saints varsity head coach for two seasons. Dan Boyett, who also taught at
St. Helena High, resigned before the 1998 season to care for his ailing daughter, who
passed away in 2011.

The 1998 Saints had one of the best seasons in school history going 9-2 led by a storied
senior class that included but was not limited to Adam Beattie, Cliff Little, David Binstock,
Joe Luna, Lane Dickson and Mario Scullati to name a few. Boyett played the Bill Walsh
role in rebuilding the Saints. Neller played the George Seiffert role in keeping the ship
on course.

The program struggled the following season, going 2-8. After which time Kyle Schuh was
hired and Neller went back to being the JV head coach.

The other layer to all of the coaching changes was that with each new coach came a new
system to learn.

The narrative that I constantly preach is that many volunteers of youth sports get involved
when their kids start playing but they tend to exit when they leave. That was not the case at
all with Neller. He coached whether his kid was involved or otherwise, which speaks volumes.

The guests of honor in past years included great coaches that reached legendary status
like George Davis and Donna McCornack. Other honorees included Jim Hunt, Gordon
Anderson and Dr. Robert Darter. Hunt was a 1962 St. Helena High graduate who became
an Upvalley sports historian. Darter was a local doctor who volunteered his time on the
sideline for both Saints and Carpy Gang home games. Anderson coached baseball and
was considered a favorite teacher by many at St. Helena High.

Though Neller’s personality is such that he shuns the spotlight, he is extraordinarily
deserving of being honored.

Calistoga High football facing a precarious position

Though A does not always lead to B, most of us use the past to predict the future.

Mike Ervin resigned as the Calistoga High football coach within the past month. The 1962
Calistoga High graduate had two coaching stints at the school, 2006-2010 and 2015-2017.
Details regarding his resignation were chronicled in a March 30 entry:

http://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2018/03/ervin-should-be-remember-as-difference.html

In a nutshell, with Ervin being an off-campus coach, he must reapply for his job every year.
If an on-campus employee applies for the job, he is given higher priority in the pecking
order. In past years, no such person applied for the job, thus clearing the path for Ervin.
This year, however, the Calistoga Joint Unified School District opted to test the market.
That eventually perpetuated a feud between Ervin and Craig Wycoff (Calistoga High
principal) and Karen Yoder (Calistoga High athletic director).

The job remains posted on edjoin.org with a deadline of April 20 to apply. At the present
time, the weight-room remains unopened for players to have supervised workouts. That
angle is significant but little did I realize it at the time.

Rewind the clock to 2005-2006.

The Wildcats played just four games on the field that season which began with the
excitement of the return of Dan Conner as head coach. Conner replaced John Antonio
after just two seasons and had coached the Wildcats in two others stints (1974-1977;
1996-2000). Calistoga won the 1999 CIF North Coast Section Class B title in 1999.

The 2005 season was full of weeks like that in addition to academic ineligibility and even
when games were played on the field, it was not a good representation. The poor
on-the-field representation included things like post-possession penalties that revealed
lack of self-control.

Frustrated with the constant issues, Conner wanted to cancel the rest of the season. That
led to strife between Conner and the Calistoga administration (specifically principal Kevin
Eisenberg and to a lesser degree, athletic director Frank DiFede). The latter would make
the argument that Conner only had the authority to cancel individual games but not an
entire season. Conner resigned and Joe Russo took over as head coach the rest of the season.
The Wildcats would only play one game, which was a 27-20 win over Laytonville. The
remainder of the contests were forfeited. At 1-0, Russo is the only undefeated football head
coach in school history.

Throughout the entire offseason, there were questions as to whether or not Calistoga High
would have a football team in 2006. The other problem facing the future of the high school
football program was that the Calistoga Cubs, which is the youth football program, did not
have a season in 2004 and 2005. I remember asking DiFede throughout the offseason, “at
which point do you decide one way or the other whether or not Calistoga will field a football
program?”

In late June, it was like the cavalry arrived. First, Ervin in June 2006. Ervin had coached in
various locations both at the college and high school levels including but not limited to
Mendocino College, Sonoma State University, Cardinal Newman, Anderson Valley, Analy
and Reid High in Sparks, NV. Shortly thereafter, Laura Wilson, who graduated from CHS
in 1985, came aboard to become Cub football president. The Cubs generated enough interest
for a JV and varsity team.

If you would have told me, “Vince, make a parlay bet that both Calistoga High and the
Calistoga Cubs will have a season in 2006,” my response would have been, “There’s a better
chance I’m going to climb Mount Everest.”

When Ervin resigned after the 2010 season, Calistoga middled along to a 5-6 season. However,
at least there was a talented freshmen and sophomore class coming up with then JV and former
Cubs head coach Paul Harrell ready to step forward. By no means am I suggesting Harrell is
Vince Lombardi but at least at that time, the Cub program was going at full cycle with JV and
varsity football and Harrell was ready to step forward to lead the way. He did so for four
seasons. The Wildcats went 16-25 in that span but 14-7 in 2012-2013 combined including a
share of the North Central League II title.

Harrell resigned after the 2014 season. Ervin was hired about four months later. The Wildcats
have played nine-man football since that time. Without Ervin being willing to step forward to
coach, who knows what might have happened.

There are a couple of theories in play. In 2006, the bigger surprise in hindsight was Cub
football returning. There was no season in 2004 or 2005. Calistoga kids that continued playing
football either went to Santa Rosa or St. Helena. Wilson arriving to become president in June
2006 and later finding coaches for varsity and JV along with enough players for both teams.
I did not see that coming.

For the high school, it was generally assumed the program was dead but that was not entirely
the case. Assistant coach Shawn Garrity, who was a teacher at Calistoga High, oversaw the
offseason program between opening the weight-room and organizing team fundraisers that
included a car wash. Garrity even oversaw spring practice.

At present, the Calistoga Cubs still have a program but no one is overseeing the weight-room
for the high school program. That problem becomes significant because it becomes easier for
kids to lose interest.

The clock is ticking on Calistoga football. They have been down this road before in 1994 and
2006 most specifically. In the former scenario, there was Conner to save the day because he
was a teacher. In the latter scenario, Ervin was found when least expected. Conner has long
since retired from teaching. Jim Hunt and Frank Stagnaro are no longer with us, passing
away in 2004 and 2017 respectively. Marty Sherrin left Calistoga over a quarter-century ago.

I posted the possibility of Calistoga High football not having a season. Jonah Pelter, who
graduated in 2015, replied with, “Calistoga football will never die!” J.T. Blakeley, who
graduated in 2010 replied to the effect of, “I’m going to do all I can to create and keep the
love of the game in town.” I think highly of both young man and can appreciate them
fighting the good fight.

However, reality speaks that various high schools are dropping football because of
diminished interest. It nearly happened at Napa High, which for years was the No. 1 ticket
among Napa Valley High schools in terms of football following.

Can Calistoga muster this version of a fourth quarter comeback?