Training Camp: A week's worth at Maranatha
It was a mission for me to get to Maranatha. Nevertheless, I found my way onto a campus that felt like an oasis; one of the most peaceful and beautiful high school campuses I have ever seen.
Got to talking with Coach Joel Murphy, in his third season as head coach, and he's looking for good things from his quarterback Matt Shields. The line is young but they have a good group I feel will compete with Brentwood in the Alpha League.
One interesting thing I noticed as I walked up to the coach's office:
The entire football team stays in a dorm-style building for one week. The team checked in Sunday night and will pack for home on Saturday after the 10:30 a.m. inter-squad scrimmage and of course, a BBQ (by the way, I'm not doing anything that afternoon in case .. you know .. wanna send an invite ... ha ha, j/k).
In the meantime, the players get an opportunity to bond with a week's worth of each other. Football teams often are referred to as a family and in almost all cases it is another family. But Maranatha found a way to take it to the extreme, which is a great thing for the school, the team, players and family.
Coach Murphy is fortunate to have the parent support who take care of the breakfast (from pancakes) to lunch (double-doubles from In-N-Out) to dinner (pasta?). Parents bring breakfast at around 6 a.m. The large room is littered with mattresses and inflatable beds and of course TV's spread around the room hooked with PlayStations playing Madden and Halo.
Another cool thing is that there are no cell phones or internet access during the one-week stay. Every little detail, from practice time to shower and sleeping time, is scheduled by the coaching staff who also stay with the team, of course.
I would have loved something like this when I was in school. Being a student at Maranatha alone is quite an adventure, studying and mingling with friends at a picturesque campus. The school has come a long way from when it was bouncing around from building to building just a few years ago.
The football field is impressive. When the lights come one Friday I can't imagine the electric atmosphere that'll spread throughout. The same dingy football field from a few years ago now is a perfect synthetic field with a working scoreboard.
I wonder if there are any other schools that do something similar to what Maranatha does, staying together for a week on or near campus.
8 Comments
Leave a comment
About this blog
|
|
Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
Hey TomS,
Not sure why they don't show up ... On my computer at the office the pics show up and sometimes they don't, and on my laptop at home the pics usually show up.
Problem is that I took the pictures with my cell phone (it's a Helio phone) so I think that's where the problem is; the coding sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't. It's too bad it doesn't work because you can really tell how the "dorm" is set up.
Miguel:
How come none of the pictures above work?
I dont blame you for not wanting to cover the same team two weeks in a row. There are plenty of other good St Francis games you can go to for example St. Francis vs Bishop Amat.
are you guys really trying to persuade the people of the west sgv that the maranatha vs la salle game is going to be bigger than arcadia vs st francis?
if you cant get yourself to cover two arcadia games in a row to start off the year, i dont know why you wouldnt, at least cover the st francis tilt. the monrovia game is not as big. this game is riley vs golper II.
does muir play diamond ranch in week 0?
st francis, muir and arcadia in a class of their own when it comes to football programs in the west sgv. i said programs since any team can beat another team on any given friday night. however, if you want tradition, pageantry and consistently good football teams on a friday night, you gotta START with those schools on the top of your list.
dont quote me saying that these teams are on the same page as mater dei or hart, but you can quote me saying that alhambra, monrovia or rosemead doesn't match up.
No way am I covering Arcadia two weeks in a row. That's not my style. But to be honest with you I haven't really taken the time to schedule which games I'll be covering. I do know I'm covering Arcadia-Monrovia in the season-opener.
BTW, I've been to St. Francis numerous times before (their soccer team is really good) and my vote still goes to Maranatha.
And yes, the parking at St. Francis can be a disaster. It's bad at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday for soccer games. I can't imagine what it's like for Friday night football.
Not so fast Miguel. You know there is another good game between local schools that night. St Francis vs. Arcadia. This game has the two best players in the SGV playing in it. This should be a good game with both teams trying to replace key players from last years teams. You talk about Maranantha having a nice campus. I would say that St. Francis' campus is second to none, but I would recommend getting there early because the parking can be tough.
Hey TomS,
I posted this comment in a thread a while back but here's what I wrote with some more additions.
==
St. Margaret's, under the direction of Harry Welch, is a powerhouse in its division. The Tartans from what I remember still have a very balanced attack. They can explode on the ground and exploit you in the air.
I don't think they'll go undefeated this season but they'll give everyone a run for its money for another divisional title.
Having covered a share of St. Margaret's football games at the Register I can tell you guys Welch runs a tight ship over there and is well-respected among the players, parents and coaching staff.
==
Upon further review, I do now believe St. Margaret's will go undefeated again and it would not surprise me if the Tartans went undefeated.
As far as Sept. 12. I'm excited about that game, too. It's got a bit of David vs. Goliath feel to it with a small school going up against a bigger school.
I'm trying to lose weight so luring me to your game with In-N-Out might not work. Keyword: Might.
I can't say for sure but early indications are I'll be at that game reporting from the 50-yard line. Thanks for checking in.
Miguel
I posted this earlier but didn't get a response from you, so since you got this going for Maranatha I put it up again
"Tom S said:
Miguel:
Well, let’s get this started. You should pencil in Sept 12th on your calendar to be at Maranatha for what should be a great small school game when La Salle comes to play the Minutemen. Many of these kids have gone through local youth programs together and whenever these two schools meet in any sport the rivalry is on. I know these two schools haven’t played each other over the last few years and I’m not sure it they’ve ever played football against each other. These are the only two local schools to make the CIF finals over the last couple of years. We’ve got the In-N-Out truck scheduled to do the concession so what’s a better way to spend a Friday night then with a Double-Double and a high school football game.
Since your coming from the OC Register I’d like to know your take on the St Margaret’s football program and your thoughts on Henry Welch. I’ve read the comments on why he left a Div I program and came to a Div 13 school. They have the longest winning streak in California and are they a shoe in for another undefeated season and championship?
Tom S"