Downey High water polo train hard and early for next season
DOWNEY – The Downey High School boys and girls water polo teams are busy preparing for next season.
Practices are taking place Tuesday-Thursday from 6- 8:30 a.m. at the Downey Aquatics Center on the campus of Downey High School. Each morning 20-plus boys and 20-plus girls are in the pool practicing. Several students leave the pool at 7:30 a.m. because they are enrolled in summer school while other student-athletes remain practicing until 8:30 a.m.
Head coach Uriel Villa is now coaching both teams. Some names to watch out for next season for the boys are Anthony Torres, Andrew Cabrera, Nathan Lopez, Brian Repreza and Jerry Aquinada. All players have experience and skill and are looking forward to getting better.
Coach Villa, his staff and players are all looking forward to next season. Cerritos and cross-town rival Warren will be the teams to beat in league play.
■ The Downey High School boys’ volleyball team made a strong run in the C.I.F. Division 4 playoffs before falling to La Palma Kennedy in five sets at Cerritos College.
As a result of Downey’s strong finish, two Vikings were selected to the All-C.I.F. Team. Sam Carcamo and Matt Brito earned those honors.
Coach McCarthy and his staff are extremely proud of Sam and Matt and what they accomplished this season. The two All-C.I.F. players have set the bar high at Downey and the goal for next season is “get the ring in 2018.”
■ The Downey High School volleyball program will be offering several camps this summer for student-athletes of all ages. There will be four high school camps, one middle school camp and one elementary camp.
The first high school camp will take place July 10-12 and will be for girls only. The second high school camp will be from July 17-19 and will be for boys and girls. The third high school camp will be from July 24-26 and will be for girls only. The last high school camp will be from July 31-August 1 and will be for girls only.
Camps will take place Monday-Wednesday and will be from 8- 10 a.m. in the gymnasium at Downey High School. The high school camp for boys will cost $60.
The middle school camp will be for student-athletes entering grades 6-8. It will be from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Camp will be Monday-Wednesday and the cost will be $60. The elementary school camp will be for girls entering grades 3-5 and will also be from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Camp will be Monday-Wednesday and the cost will also be $60.
The girls summer league for varsity players will be Tuesday and Thursday and will take place July 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 and 27. The junior varsity dates will be Mondays and Wednesdays and will take place July 10, 12, 17, 19, 24 and 26. The cost for high school girls will be $190 and includes weight training in June and July, summer league, weekend travel tournaments and all camp dates.
Walk-ins are accepted if space is available. Special features to the camp include a t-shirt, age/group training, skill development and quality coaching. Coach McCarthy can be contacted at rmccarthy@dusd.net or bopmac1956@gmail.com or by cell at (559) 259-4561. Coach McCarthy hopes to see you on the volleyball court this summer.
■ The Warren High School boys’ cross country team is busy preparing for the start of next season. The high school cross-country season starts right as school starts in mid-late August.
Workouts are and will be taking place in June, July and August and the cost is $90.
Head coach Ramon Miranda and assistant coaches Eddie Rodriguez and Faustino Diaz are busy preparing to make a run at another S.G.V.L. title and beyond. In July, Warren’s top 15 runners will be invited to run and train in the altitude at the Lake Tahoe Camp. In early August, 30 runners will be invited to run and train at the Desert Camp Training.
This is an exciting time for runners because all the sacrifice and hard work thus far will be put on display as only the top seven runners will compete in varsity competitions.
The goal of the Warren cross-country program is “to bring out the best in every student/athlete, by leading through discipline, respect and overall body awareness.” Warren qualified for the state meet in 2013 and 2014 and have been San Gabriel Valley League champions in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Coach Miranda can be contacted with further questions by e-mail at championshipyear@msn.com or by cell phone at (562) 842-5115. Coach Miranda, his staff and runners hope to see you at a cross-country workout this summer.
■ The Warren High School football team is looking to improve on their 2-7-1 finish from a season ago. The Bears were young and inexperienced a season ago and that age and experience is a year older now and is looking much better this summer. Players have gotten bigger, faster and stronger and are working hard to get better.
The varsity team is in the weight room from 8-10 a.m. and is on the field practicing from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Warren appears to be deeper and more experienced on both offense and defense.
Assistant coach Daniel Singh likes what he sees and is upbeat for the season to start. Coach Singh added that “Warren won their passing league contest last weekend.”
Some offensive players to keep an eye on are quarterback Chris Venegas, wide receiver Robbie Colenzo, running back Nikko Tuala-Fierro, wide receiver Desmond Carnes, Sebastian Guerrero, John Herrin, Joseph Vargas, Justin Mendez and Mikel Trujillo. These athletes are impact type players who are bringing more experience and skill to their positions.
On defense, senior defensive lineman Steven Miranda, senior defensive lineman Diego Garcia and junior linebacker Alex Ortiz will all be stronger and more experienced this season.
The Bears will also have an excellent kicker on special teams. Senior kicker/punter Ismael Montoya will help the Bears score points from distance as well as help in the battle of field position. Senior long snapper Jeremy Serrano will also play a key role with providing good snaps.
Coach Lara, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2017 football season.