Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 23, 2010

14

SPORTS

 MountainViews-News Saturday, October 23, 2010 

Sierra Madre’s Oktoberfest Tennis Champ: Betty Cleveland

 
At the 6th Annual Oktoberfest sponsored 
by the City of Sierra Madre earlier this 
month, eighteen tennis players, 14 women 
and 4 men participated in a round robin 
tournament to find out who would be 
No. 1. Of course, the children who are 
involved with the city’s youth programs 
are the big winners as the proceeds from 
both events (golf and tennis) will be 
donated to the Youth Activity Center. 
However, Betty Cleveland, who at age 
82 handily won 1st place in the tennis 
tournamnent, was, without question, the 
biggest winner! Cleveland, left, a Sierra 
Madre resident beams with pride when 
she speaks of her accomplishment. “It 
probably will never happen again”, she 
says. 

 Another milestone was reached this year. 
All places in the tennis tournament were 
won by women. In addition to Betty’s 
1st place victory, Lynn Knoblauch and 
Marnie Ceporius won 2nd and 3rd place 
respectively. Lynn and Marnie are shown 
below with Anreas Weyerman, coach for 
all three ladies. 


GOLF GRIP - Check Your Knuckles


By Bobby Eldridge

In order to hit the golf ball further 
and more consistent, after you 
grip the club-check your knuckles 
EVERY TIME. I have a question for 
you that you have to answer in two 
seconds. Is gripping the golf club 
an art or a science? Think about it 
for 10 seconds if you want to. Do 
you know why I am giving you 
10 seconds to think about it? Ten 
seconds is longer than you take to 
think about gripping the club when 
your on the golf course.

When most amateur golfers struggle with their golf game it can be traced 
right back to the grip the golf club. What I have heard for the past 35 
years is “I am really struggling with my swing”-DON’T TOUCH MY 
GRIP. “I keep coming over the top”-DON’T TOUCH MY GRIP. “I 
can’t stop hooking the ball”-DON’T TOUCH MY GRIP.

Here is the problem. Changing your grip can be a nightmare. I don’t 
care if you have played for six months or 30 years, for you to make a grip 
change, it can be a long and painful process. I started playing golf when I 
was 2 years old, by the time I was 13 I was bigger and stronger and I had 
a very strong grip. I hooked the ball way too much. My mom told me it 
was time to weaken it, It was the longest year of my life.

I am going to let you in on two little secrets that nobody talks about. If 
you slice the golf or if you hit weak fades to the right, changing your grip 
will be the most exciting and rewarding thing you will do for your golf 
game. You will fall in love with me in five minutes. (OK, maybe a little 
overboard-can you tell I am excited)? On the other hand. If you hook 
the ball you will want to wrap that driver around my neck for about three 
months AND then you will also fall in love with me.

That is secret number one. Now for secret number two. Whether you 
are a slicer or hooker of the golf ball, changing your grip can be very 
uncomfortable. I have a saying that I have used with my students for 
20 years. As soon as they change their grip and make solid contact they 
always say to me “it doesn’t feel good”. And I always say to them “you 
have a choice, you can either hit it poorly and feel good or hit it great 
and feel poorly”.

Let me tell you why the knuckles are so important. Let’s talk about slicing 
first. After you grip the golf club and address the golf ball, when you look 
down at your left hand, you probable don’t see any knuckles. of the left 
hand. You see the top of the left thumb. The problem is the clubface will 
not close in time for you to hit a draw. This next part is really important. 
Before you start your backswing, simple turn BOTH hands to the right 
the same amount. Do it in baby steps. Turn the hands on the club so you 
can see one knuckle, and hit some balls from this position. If you get rid 
of your slice then stop. You have hit gold, that is the correct grip for you. 
This is a very powerful change, that is why you will love it.

On to the golfers that hook the ball. After you grip the club and address 
the golf ball you will look down and see three or four knuckles of the left 
hand. The clubhead will close way to fast in the downswing from with 
this grip. You have to move BOTH of your hands to the left the same 
amount. Do it in baby steps, one knuckle at a time. The reason this is 
more painful than the grip change above is because you are going from 
a stronger position to a weaker position. You will not feel the love for 
some time. I know you can do this, I did.

In closing after you grip the club-check your knuckles EVERY TIME and 
you will begin to see the ball start flying straighter and further.

Golfingly yours, Bobby Eldridge 

You can email me at: bobby@igolffixes.com 

or go to my website: www. igolffixes.com

1st place winner Betty Cleveland proudly 
holds the Oktoberfest Tennis Perpetual 
Trophy.

Alverno X-Country JV Wins League Meet 

My Call By Guy Miali, Sports Writer

Helmet to Helmet 

Taught or Not?

 

 All American football, Pop Warner football, high school 
football and college football all teach their football players 
to tackle with their arms and shoulders not their heads. Not 
the NFL, they teach to lead with their heads, this is called 
spearing. It is intended to physically hurt the opponent. All 
the coaches, from the head coach down to the equipment 
manager, all of the rules committee and the commissioner 
all watch the game films of the previous week and they keep 
turning their heads and closing their eyes to this brutal 
tackling that continues every week. 

 For all of you young players, do not see these players 
as your role models, they are not. They spear tackle to 
inflict pain, they are in the same position to spear tackle 
or to arm tackle, the same position, so why not arm tackle? 
When do the owners, the coaches and the commissioner 
take responsibility and just use common sense to stop this 
brutality? 

 In baseball when a pitcher throws at a hitter, whether he 
hits the batter or not, it is up to the umpire to decide the 
consequences. He has the ability and the responsibility to 
warn the pitcher, eject the pitcher and he also has his 
input on whether the pitcher should be suspended and the 
duration of the suspension. 

 So why is the NFL so far behind in protecting their 
players? If this mentality continues by all parties, the 
players, the owners, the coaches and by the commissioner, 
football as we know it will be like watching gage fighting. 

 Enough is enough. 


(l to r) Nicolette Rodriguez, Holly Coates, Sascha Rosemond, Andrea 
Gochez-Wilson, Reagan Dowd, Bella Daniels-Campos, Madi Daniels-
Campos and Victoria Pintado. Story and Photo by Lara L. Larramendi

 Under rainy skies the Jaguar’s top 
five runners, Sascha Rosemond 
(3rd), Miranda Akkari (6th), Bella 
Daniels-Campos (7th), Reagan 
Dowd (9th) and Victoria Pintado 
(10th) led the Alverno X-Country 
JV squad to victory over San 
Gabriel Mission and Sacred Heart 
of Jesus and won the Horizon 
League meet held on October 20th 
at Eaton Canyon. The constant 
rain and mud throughout the 
rugged hilly course did not deter 
the Jaguars from their resolve to 
win on their “home turf”. All 
members of the JV team played 
significant roles in the team victory. 

 With the final regular season 
League meet next Wednesday 
October 27th at Griffith Park, the 
JV runners have the momentum 
to capture the League’s top honor 
at the Horizon League finals on 
November 3rd.

 The varsity runners, Eryn Blakely 
(21:56) and Audrey Davy (23:01) 
finished 1st and 2nd place in their 
meet. But, even with Ashley 
Haylett, Jessica Lopez, Bianca 
Melkonian, Francesca Rueda and 
Adrianna Martinez rounding out 
the scoring runners, they fell short 
and came in third behind Sacred 
Heart of Jesus and San Gabriel 
Mission.

 On Friday October 22nd, the 
Varsity team will participate in the 
63rd Annual Mt. Sac Cross Country 
Invitational. 


Duarte Youth Boxing Club’s Sedano and Velasco to Compete at International Boxing Match in Tahiti

 Last week 20 year-old Duarte Youth Boxing Club member Luis Sedano competed in a boxing match in Tulare, CA. But next week, he 
and team mate 16 year-old Jacobe Velasco will be on the island of Tahiti, not only representing the City of Duarte but the USA in an 
international boxing match.

 The Duarte Youth Boxing Club has opened doors to 
travel and experiences that many of its young men and 
women never dreamed of. Along the way, these young 
amateur boxers are learning what it takes to be a winner 
in life: hard work, discipline, dedication.

 Head coach, Victor Valenzuela said the invitation 
for Sedano and Velasco to participate in the international 
match as members of the USA team came through the 
USA Boxing Federation. The Tahiti Boxing Federation 
will pay all expenses for the trip Oct 23 through Oct. 31 
that will include side tours to the islands of Bora Bora 
and Moorea. 

 “It’s an amazing trip. We are ecstatic that these 
two young men will have the opportunity to travel and 
experience another part of the world,” said Valenzuela. 
There are currently about 50 youths 8 to 20 years old in 
the Duarte Parks and Recreation’s Duarte Youth Boxing 
Club that operates out of the Duarte Teen Center. Most 
recently six of the young boxers competed in the Manuel 
Torres International Tournament in Tulare. All six, 
including Golden Gloves U.S. National Women’s National 
Tournament Novice, Faith Franco, Ryan Coulter, Joseph 

 Martinez, Jesus Gomez, Edgar Acosta, and Luis Sedano 

 won their tournament matches. 

 For more information about the Duarte Youth Boxing Club, contact Victor Valenzuela at (626) 303-0863.


Neutral Grip


Luis Sedano

Jacobe Velasco

Weak Grip


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Strong Grip