Coaching girls basketball is probably a bit different than the boys as Antonio Veloso has learned at Half Moon Bay High
Veloso has been doing a good job with the Cougar girls and has them sitting solidly at third place in the Peninsula Athletic League-North behind Oceana and South San Francisco.
Oceana clinched at least a PAL-North title on Tuesday night by defeating Westmoor. South City can earn a piece of the title tonight be defeating visiting rival El Camino.
A few weeks ago Half Moon Bay was struggling after a second loss this season to Oceana. It was a tough defeat for a team that entered the season as one of the favorites to win the league.
So Veloso, the St. Ignatius College Prep and Santa Clara University grad, put on his Jesuit thinking cap and devised a scavenger hunt for his girls that replaced practice. After several months of grinding practices it was just the tonic the Cougars needed as they responded with a 47-39 home victory January 29 against Westmoor.
“Instead of having practice we had a scavenger hunt for team bonding,” HMB player Carolyn Inglis said. “That was a really good way to boost everyone’s morale and get our spirits up.
“It was all over. We were at It’s Italia, Pasta Moon, San Benito House. We were taking pictures everywhere. It was awesome. Antonio set the whole things up. It was a total surprise; it was fantastic.”
The girls had to take pictures in specific spots such as “where they slide into home plate” (the softball field). During another segment of the exercise the Cougars scurried over to the nearby New Leaf Market where they each had to help elderly people with their groceries. Half Moon Bay star Siobahn Calhoun gave aid to an older gent who just happened to own an un-released Tesla sports car.
“It had the doors that open like wings and Siobahn loves those cars,” Inglis said. “She took a picture next to it and that was awesome.”
The mental and physical break helped the Cougars.
“We definitely needed it,” Inglis said. “We’ve been practicing pretty intensely six days a week and that kind of takes its toll. Getting that break and just having fun as a team really made everyone feel better. We were ready to play (next game).”
Said HMB point guard Addison Walling: “I don’t think Antonio coached girls very much before, but he’s good at it. He knows how we act and what we need. We thought we were coming to practice to watch film and he has a scavenger hunt set up. It was a fun time. Tensions were high and it relieved the stress.”
MAKING PROGRESS: There has been a void in Central Coast Section sports this school year with the absence of Half Moon Bay Review sports editor Mark Foyer from the scene. Foyer since last spring has been stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. Foyer hasn’t worked since incurring the mysterious illness and I’ve been filling in for him at The Review on an interim basis since September.
The good news is that Foyer is making progress. He was off his breathing equipment for an hour Tuesday. That’s awesome because it means his muscles that control breathing are bouncing back. He is also able to speak now using a contraption attached to his breathing machine.
The 50-something scribe continues physical therapy. It’s a long road back, but these are all good signs for the popular Coastside journalist known affectionately as “Scoop.” I’m sure we’re all thinking good thoughts for him.
HANDFUL OF SPOTS OPEN FOR TIGER AIR
There are six slots left for the eighth annual Tiger Air Passing Tournament on Saturday, June 18 at Terra Nova High’s Tiger Stadium, said TN coach Tim Adams via release. Adams is asking that coaches who have expressed interest in competing complete both their registration form and submit their registration fee. More information: timadams@juhsd.net
LARSEN TURNS 60: Keith Larsen, the Menlo School boys basketball coach, turns 60 Friday. He transferred into my "grammar school" as we used to call them back in the day, in fourth grade. We became fast friends. Larsen bailed me out during a sixth-grade hoops game after I got confused and made a shot in the wrong basket. His 15-footer at the buzzer saved me from being the goat. After the game my brother Jim asked me how many points I scored and I said "Two for us, two for them."
I've known Larsen so long that my mom once had to cut a wad of gum out of his hair at the Nut Tree Restaurant in Vacaville after I inexplicably stuck it in the poor kid's locks. Sorry about that, Keith.
I was also in Larsen's wedding and managed to arrive late, just as his bride Shaun was going to walk down the aisle. "What are we going to do with Murph?," Shaun said. "Don't worry about it," said the wedding planner, who took me around the side of the church and spirited me up to the altar as all eyes turned to Shaun during her big moment. It worked like a charm and nobody was the wiser.
Keith Larsen, 60 years old. Where does the time go?
Briefly: Monterey Peninsula College is seeking a women's soccer coach ... Greg Guio is the new golf coach at Half Moon Bay High ... Montgomery High of Santa Rosa is seeking a new boys and girls cross country coach.
John Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@prep2prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat
