Los Angeles Valley College - Crown Yearbook (Valley Glen, CA)

Page 107 text:

The referee examines Tom Morand's hold ttopl on his defensive opponent, determining whether a 'pin' has been executed. It Start with ands ak By Elaine Nevelow Illustrated by Robert Lachman . . . Two athletes come forward from opposite corners of the mat, get instruc- tions, shake hands, and step back. The referee blows the whistle and signals wrestle, They come forward again, eye- ing each other hard, trying to appraise their opponent's capabilities. Locked in combat, pushing, twisting, pulling, they come crashing clown on the mat . . . straining, sweating, rolling, till one gets the advantage . . . forcing his opponent's shoulders to the mat. . . Wrestling, at the collegiate level, is a grueling contact sport that demands much from its players. lt takes, on the average, three to four years of high school training in a good program before a wrestler is ready to participate in colle- giate intermural competiton. A minimum of two'hours a day is spent working out on the mat, and this does not include the many hours a wrestler spends running and lifting weights iust to keep in shape. Wrestling is not just for the 'big' guys, there are 10 competition weight divisions Monarch Larry Hibshman ttopj makes a human pretzel out of his opponent. which range from 118 pounds to the heavy-weights, who can run well over 200 pounds. But not everyone can become a wrestler. lt takes a dedicated, hard- working, disciplined, aggressive indivi- dual. This aggressiveness which a good wrestler must exhibit while in competition is not necessarily taken with him when he leaves the mat. Bernie Christian, Valley's wrestling coach, feels that many of his players are not overly aggressive off the mat, on the contrary, he feels that wrestling mellows them and gives them an athletic maturity. Coach Christian be- lieves that any physical activity is an excellent pressure valve for the release of tensions and anxieties brought on by life in our complex society. He also feels that athletic competition fulfills the void that was left after man curtailed his primal instinct of hunting. . . . The referee counts . . . one second . . . two seconds' '... slaps the mat to signal a pin, and the end of the match. Six points for the offensive team! 103

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Thank SBVBH for Pxer ce The pogo stick kid, Rick Garcia, gets ready to rack up another two points for Valley, while Rori Davis, 22, guards him from the opposing feam. By Derek Lawson Illustrated by Robert Lachman Players must have the feeling that they can beat good teams, said Coach Gaston Green. Without the idea of positive thinking one cannot win in this game of basketball. The Monarchs, who improved their league record from last year by three games, added more points per game than in the year before and improved in their overall team play. Rick Garcia, Allen Green, and Rori Davis were constantly in double figures this year. Garcia had the highest point production in one game, with 34, and played a major part in the league victories over Pierce and El Camino. ValIey's first league victory came against Pierce after being defeated in 14 consecu- tive games. That ballgame featured Rodol- pho Arthur who sparked the Monarchs with eight points in the overtime segment. Davis and Green were also instrumental in that victory, which had Pierce tie the game seven times in the last five minutes. The second Pierce meeting saw Mark Holman, Dave Small, and Mark Edwards control the tempo of the game. Valley controlled the ball and the backboards at both ends of the court, giving Green, Garcia, and Doug Andersen plenty of time to shoot. We must improve quite a bit on our defense and our rebounding for next year, said Coach Green, if we hope to knock off Long Beach, Bakersfield, Pasa- dena and extend our winning streak against Pierce and El Camino. Airbom, Valley Monarch's Rori Davis, 22, and Alan Green lrightj, lend their fellow team- mate, Rick Garcia, a hand.

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Robert Castillo and Dave Lorenz team up for exercises. Monarch's Coach Ed Bush watches intently as his team tries for another win. Spring's Strategy- - - Summer's Game - - - By Dale Fink Illustrated by Wes Preston The batter has one-half second to de- cide whether to swing at the pitched ball. I need more time than that to adjust to a particular batter and situation, center- fielder Mitch Harmatz said. I have to know in advance how the batter will react to the pitch. As the batter steps up to the plate, the fielders receive word on what pitch Cas- tillo will throw. The message travels through the infield to the outfield by a coded chain communication system, be- ginning with catcher Eddie Perez. I get a sign from Castillo or Coach Weinstein indicating what the next pitch will be. I relay the message to the basemen and shortstop by secret hand signal, said Perez. The basemen then feed the pitch to the outfielders by forming sly hand signals behind their backs. Watching a winning baseball team play the outfield, one would immediately see strong pitching and fielding. As important to the defensive game, but not as visible, is the team strategy and communication. The ability to outsmart the opponent, to relay an entire forthcoming play to a team- mate with one subtle gesture, is as neces- sary to a winning team as physical ability. A team depends on fast reception of effective signals to organize and carry out their defensive strategy, successful com- munication can determine a win or a loss. Even before Monarch Robert Castillo has completed his windup for the pitch, the fielders know whether he will release a curve ball, change of pace, fast ball, or slider. And they know how the batter will react to the pitch. Q Iii .A ...xc Valley pitcher Robert Castillo peers in, as the umpire calls strike three.