Broc Sondgroth may not have been the leading scorer on the
Gavilan basketball team this year. But he could score when his team
needed him to. He wasn
’t the leading rebounder on the team, but he pulled down a board
when the Rams absolutely had to get one. But as dependable as he
was on the court this year for the Rams, who finished their regular
season on Friday, the one thing the 19-year-old depended on himself
let him down after graduating f
rom Hollister-San Benito High last year. His health.
Broc Sondgroth may not have been the leading scorer on the Gavilan basketball team this year. But he could score when his team needed him to. He wasn’t the leading rebounder on the team, but he pulled down a board when the Rams absolutely had to get one.
But as dependable as he was on the court this year for the Rams, who finished their regular season on Friday, the one thing the 19-year-old depended on himself let him down after graduating from Hollister-San Benito High last year.
His health.
Sondgroth had to sit out a season while suffering from mono after high school. Already lacking much meat on his slight 5-foot-8 frame, he lost more than 25 pounds during that time.
As weak as he felt, though, Sondgroth wasn’t about to stop working on his game. He wasn’t about to quit preparing to play after the recovery he knew would come.
While he was sitting out, he watched film of Gavilan’s games. Playing a starring role in those films just happened to be his own brother, Tommy, an All-Conference guard for the Rams who played from 2002-04.
The Sondgroths, one year apart, had one season on the court together at Hollister, when Tommy was a senior and Broc a junior. It was a tremendous time for them both, says Broc, who relished the idea of suiting up next to his brother for Gavilan before his illness struck.
“People have always compared us growing up because we were so similar in size,” said Sondgroth. “They’ve said he was quicker than me, but I had the better shot.”
Now Tommy is a red shirt at Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Two Sondgroth sparkplugs making life miserable for Gavilan opponents wasn’t to be.
Still, having just one of the brothers in a Rams uniform is a whole lot better than having none at all, says Gavilan coach Chris Shoemaker.
“(Broc’s) been a rock for us. He is the one guy you can count on every night. He has a wonderful attitude and is one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached.
“He has done everything I have asked of him, and there are not many guys you can say that of.”
The coach says plugging in Broc a year after Tommy’s departure was like deja vu all over again. “I really didn’t know too much about Broc other than what I learned from his brother,” Shoemaker says. “They are exactly the same type of kids – tough as nails. They refuse to back down.”
Sondgroth gives the Rams four assists and three steals to go along with nine points per game. And he’s a deadeye from downtown – actually shooting better from behind the 3-point arc (50 percent) than overall (45 percent).
Gavilan has won 11 games this season – their first with more than 10 wins since 1999-2000 – and Sondgroth has been a big part of that success.
But playing at the college level was still a big step for Sondgroth, especially after a year of recovery.
“Compared to high school, it is a totally new experience,” Sondgroth he says. “Just getting up to speed and playing with all the athletes on the team was a whole new experience for me.”
Sondgroth, back at full health this season after regaining his weight back, is one of the hardest working guys on the team. He regularly shows up to practice 45 minutes early.
“I’m not the greatest athlete out there,” he says. “I know I am going to have to work for everything I get. The biggest part of my day after school is getting out there. It’s all about getting in the right mindset.”
As an avid student of the game, Sondgroth is always looking for ways to improve. One of the things he works on extensively is his free-throw shooting. When the game is on the line, he’s not the guy the other team wants to foul – he shoots 86 percent from the charity stripe as a result of all that work.
“There are certain things you can control out there,” Sondgroth says. “I am a strong believer that I, or anyone on the team, should go out there and try his hardest. Shoemaker set a standard for us with how we would shoot the free throws. I’ve been sticking with it and it has been working.”
Sondgroth, a converted shooting guard, has effectively led the offense from the point position this season.
“They tried to make me a point guard when I was a freshman and sophomore (in high school), but I just didn’t have the skills to do it,” Sondgroth said. “I didn’t play that much until my senior year, when they made me into just a pure shooting guard.”
Coming into the season, Sondgroth said he didn’t really know what his role would be. He talked extensively to Shoemaker and played point guard in practice.
When the other point guard candidates who had practiced over the summer didn’t join the team, Sondgroth got the starting job.
“It was definitely something I’ve worked on because I couldn’t handle the ball that well,” Sondgroth said. “I worked a lot on handling the ball and learning the new position. I wasn’t unsure of myself. I just knew it would take a lot of work.”
Since the Rams’ first practice of the season, his role has continued to expand.
“I kind of took on the leader position,” Sondgroth said. “Now I am talking to everyone and keeping everyone on the same page. I like it a lot.”
During the first few weeks of practice, Sondgroth says the team hadn’t really gelled. In the weeks since, something clicked and the point guard and his teammates have been inseparable both on and off the court.
“We had a lot of new faces in the summer with guys coming and going,” Sondgroth says. “But I never doubted that we would be successful this year. Coach Shoemaker was telling me he hadn’t had this good of showing since he has been here. After the first week, I felt really good about things.”
Sondgroth says he hopes to transfer to a a four-year school to major in electrical engineering. And he is almost sure he will be returning to Gavilan next year.
“I’d like to play two more years of basketball, but school is coming first,” he says. “If a school doesn’t have the right programs, I’ve got to make that choice.”
