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

Page 108 text:

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.

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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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To the casual observer, it may look as though an outfielder is isolated from the defensive game until a batter whacks a fly ball, or a grounder comes barreling to him. But the communication circuit is continu- ous-infield activity is constantly being relayed to the outfield. l'm able to pick up anything that is going on infield, Chuck james, Lion right-fielder said. Af- ter every pitch, l'm taking signals from second, sometimes first, base. Everybody is really together. This is the closest team I've played on, said james, who has been playing baseball since age 12. After receiving a signal of the pitch, the fielders lean according to how the indivi- dual batter will react to that pitch, in that situation. The fielders must be aware of any idio- syncrasies in a batter's hitting, as the pitcher strives to play on the batter's weakness. Research is done to determine the appropriate strategy and psychological warfare. The opponents' assets and liabili- ties are scouted prior to the game. By the championship game, the team knows how a certain batter hits to a right or left-handed pitcher, how he hits with two strikes on him, pitches he can hit against, where he hits the ball, his speed, and his stealing pattern, Harmatz said. For last year's championship game against Long Beach we had a 25-page scouting book to study. Baseball is more complicated than most people think, Harmatz said. By the scouting charts, ace pitcher Castillo said, I know whether to pitch inside, whether the batter can hit a curve ball . . . I know what pitch to throw. It's a batter-to-batter strategy. The pitcher must also be receptive to a catcher's signal for a pick-off play. When Perez gives me the sign, l'turn and throw to second base. When a runner on second gets a little too far from the bag, he gets picked off-saves a lot of runs, Castillo said. Reacting to and relaying these signals becomes a part of you, a second nature, said Harmatz. There is no time to think out there, everything must be automatic. Stu Bolin starts another double play against a Rio Hondo base runner. Ed Perez loses his mask, as practice continues at full speed. l K -' 4 1 ,K 3 V i ., 1 ... ,. ' ' X-E W 'fgf .2 ' J ' - ' 1, . 'Ji , T ry' .iir-my it.. 4. --..fva1f4 i . at-ff--is . 1-1,5 .. -if? 1' li f' 'gI,3 hT ' 7 -T.. TQ TN? ,, . os-' ,- , ' . , .. h h J., 1 -nllj-. lm ,I -,Ly ff- , --Qi.. -r '.-T ff.-ii.. M. . . .f T .' , :gi --f.-m '5 ' T gran- M f ' B' --- -- eb 1 T '44Qiur 'H' ... 'H -'w-I..-.arf-.T -1 '. Qi' .23 L 0 -bf' ,ft 3 -it fi. 7. ' Q-: f NT, ,l EQ? QI, Yin pi., out , -,.f.g,, ,.:1,,--i -.1 x , 4 I . fain. an, WA.. . 1W':'?w4.,,,.,tii'-.apt .N -if,-itll .rf f-'ff :'f1'f ?..-rf-4: -1' P-s9 '..-J' 'J i I'-fr. . firms..-'s-' -1 T -Q M.. . ' H-,Vg ' V . ' ., ,.. ,Q.,..,.'.. - gl. 5 I, 71,1 ,j'i, gif., -Q 'fu'--V.'i.f u Z' .-fig., .QU-J - Asif, Ffh f T -. fa' ---if V--rr -ei-'rfffr 'fr -fi-if ' . we -f v . .Ji ei -wsi.-fears. 1 i -1j'?qy'2'?i'9iwi'fi4'39.gfg e435fwJ2'Z!-1'2-'??7 ?7: :1fi' ' cr '+'Ei'f 3fi,t 5 312.551 '-,rn-41,754.2 aj--mg ui-if E,.,,51g.-I.-vgbrgi.1r2Qj,:'f'7g ,-,' iw ,13,,k,.i:,,n,4fwni gg. , . bk, Er, -r., - .. f Z - -.I - we ,,.,'5fa,, -I ,VrfH,?,:H,,,4'.'. ..-' QL y ,A , i .H - .n 4 .1 , ,E Vf.. -57:1 ,, r.,,,, I3 y l'Lili -V13f'v 'f'Tf:'1 f,f??2 :i,'IBQ'f'?'?i'--- - 57 --- .... ' -f-'S-still-3.-P95635 . - '9 s-learn?-TF was-L.,-, --:f5Lr4gr24...ta4'f-'a1 ,., ,, . ,.. ..r' a.a'.3, :,1 Yfi., T' 'r T'r-g r-tiers-15:55,-. Bart-,i,f.f rg g,.,,,,,,fL.3