It’s time to find a distraction, and talking or reading about the positives in high school sports is going to be mine.
Join me on a daily journey. Haters, go away. Politics, stay away. Doom and gloom, you’re not invited.
It’s not going to be anything fancy. I will try to inform, entertain and most of all, make the readers’ couple of minutes of interaction here a positive one. That’s the simple goal. You’ll be able to wake up early and read or get home late and read. This will be about the positive experiences associated with high school sports, mostly in Southern California.
It’s something I’ve tried to do for 48 years, and now it’s going to be a daily notebook. Sometimes it will be short. Sometimes it will be long. It will be like being on social media but without the second-guessing and accusations of having an agenda. The only agenda will be focusing on the positives of high school sports.
This will be a no-hate zone, though the complainers are welcome to read. If you have a suggestion, a note or an idea, feel free to let me know at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com. Southern California has so many sports and so many intriguing personalities, it won’t be hard to find positive moments on a daily basis.
Let’s get started on this journey to maintain our sanity and promote those making a difference in high school sports.
Get ready for Arcadia High basketball to have fun with the Edwards brothers, Owen and Noa. Owen is a 6-foot-7 freshman. Noa is a 6-3 junior. They can’t wait to play together. Their father is Frankie Edwards, who was a 6-8 player at Long Beach State. Owen is also a promising pitcher for the baseball team. …
Winter baseball is in full swing, and it’s going to be hard to find two better teams in California, if not the nation, than Corona and Orange Lutheran. Their pitching staffs are so good with so much depth that their inevitable matchup this spring will produce a game for the ages. Corona’s Seth Hernandez and Orange Lutheran’s Gary Morse are the aces. …
Loyola’s Henry Casani has enjoyed a terrific season at linebacker for the football team. He had 16 tackles last week against Tustin. But the sport he has chosen to pursue in college is lacrosse. He signed with North Carolina last week. …
Receiver Shane Rosenthal of Newbury Park.
(Craig Weston)
Shane Rosenthal of Newbury Park, a Princeton commit, has become California’s all-time leading receiver with more than 300 receptions. He’s been playing with a heavy heart this season as his father battles leukemia. . . .
Basketball season begins this week with lots of tournaments and showcases. Ronnie Flores of CalHiSports.com has posted a must-keep tournament schedule. Here’s the link. …
Steve Hagerty has resigned as football coach at Bishop Amat after 17 seasons. He did his best to run a top-notch program based on teaching, ethics and preparing his players for the future. …
Girls’ basketball has a fabulous class of 2028 prospects. Windward will have six freshmen playing varsity. One to watch is 6-foot Amel Cook. …
Remember Stuart Gray? He was a 7-foot McDonald’s All-American at Granada Hills Kennedy, played at UCLA and in the NBA. Here’s from The Times’ archives a 1990 story on his career. . . .
Eric Sondheimer from his Sun Valley Poly days.
(Poly yearbook.)
Before Dr. John Dahlem, the Southern Section’s unofficial historian, passed last week at the age of 81, he sent me several pages of my past life at Sun Valley Poly, Cal State Northridge and elsewhere. He was cherished and appreciated by so many for his volunteer work. May he rest in peace. He impacted many lives in a positive way.