I
’m on the way out, Morgan Hill, it’s been a blast. And, now it’s
time for the farewells as I head into a new chapter of my life. How
do you say goodbye to all the people who have been such an integral
part of your professional life for the better part of two years?
How do you tell them what a
thrill it was to experience the continuous cycle of outstanding
athletic performances in this community?
I’m on the way out, Morgan Hill, it’s been a blast. And, now it’s time for the farewells as I head into a new chapter of my life.
How do you say goodbye to all the people who have been such an integral part of your professional life for the better part of two years? How do you tell them what a thrill it was to experience the continuous cycle of outstanding athletic performances in this community?
I have to admit, I had no idea what I was in for when I first joined the Morgan Hill Times as sports editor. My predecessor, Nathan Mixter, gave me a small hint – “they’re really into sports in Morgan Hill,” I believe were his words at the time. But how “into” sports is this area? That’s a moveable target that I’m still not sure I fully appreciate.
Simply put, Morgan Hill takes its sports pretty seriously. And, there’s nothing like covering a sports-mad town.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been entertained by more athletes, covered more thrilling sporting events, and hounded more coaches for the details at all hours of the day and night, than I can include in this final column. (You coaches all know what I mean about the hounding part. I hope you’ll all remember our interactions with generosity.)
I owe a special thanks to Live Oak High Athletic Director Mark Cummins for all his help over the past two years, as well as any coach in more than one sport (Mack Haines, Dean Raymond, Tony Goble, to name a few). Dealing with my incessant demands over more than one season a year, let alone an entire school year (that’s you, Mark), is more than anyone should have to bear.
But here are a few of the highlights that stand out in my memory. (Forgive me if I left anything, or anyone, out.)
Who can forget the exploits of the two Central Coast Section champion sports teams I had the good fortune to follow. In 2003-04, the Acorn girls soccer team went on a scintillating run through the playoffs that included a long-overdue victory over nemesis Santa Teresa and concluded with a unanimously disappointing yet oddly appropriate tie in the Division I finals. Coming as it did against a Leland team guided by LO coach Tony Vasquez’s brother John, the resulting co-championship and post-game party seemed fitting. And, then there was this year’s upstart, underdog Acorn softball team, which ignored its youth and the odds to make it all the way to the CCS Division I finale. Then, playing a hot league opponent that they had already beaten twice, the Acorns showed the character imbued by Coach Barry McDonnell and lone senior Juliette Bowers, refusing to lose and fashioning one of the most exciting comebacks in CCS history to snatch the title.
And, how about those Morgan Hill Pony baseball teams that have made a habit of stretching their seasons deep into the summer year after year? The Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League that cranks out great athletes every season, and the Pop Warner Raiders squads who seem to be perennially among the best in the western U.S. Youth sports are definitely alive and well in MH.
Then there were the programs that didn’t quite win it all but still acquitted themselves like champions. There was the LO football team, led by Glen Webb and Rick Booth, that exorcised the demons of a 24-game winless streak by winning its opener last fall and ending up in the CCS playoffs for the first time in several years. There’s Cummins’ baseball program that ran its impressive streak of making the postseason to 14 straight seasons this year. And, there’s Mack Haines’ dominant water polo and swim teams – boys and girls – that continued its long string of league titles while I was at the Times, and will continue to excel far into the future.
And, there are the talented individual athletes who provided so many great moments. Their names alone tell the tale.
Cobbie Jones. Doug Porras. Juliette Bowers. Steve Conner. Michelle McDonald. David Dunn.
As thrilling as all of that was, though, nothing beats watching a brand new sports program get off the ground. It’s something I’ve seen done before, and Sobrato High and AD Dennis Martin have done as good a job as any I’ve seen. The Bulldogs will be creating sports memories for years to come.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to do a little research into Live Oak High’s sports past in honor of its centennial celebration. I’m just happy to have witnessed a small part of it, and the rest of Morgan Hill’s fine sports tradition, myself.
Thanks for the memories, Morgan Hill.
Jim Johnson was the Morgan Hill Times sports editor. Leave messages for him at the Times offices.
