Last week for the Coronado Islanders Men’s basketball team was one filled with a bit of heartbreak.

Before the Coronado Islanders’ Week 3 matchup versus Hoover, I had the chance to speak with head coach Kurt Hines. He told me two of the main focuses this week were to take advantage of the, at times, undisciplined Cardinals and tighten up on defense. A message and game plan that everyone on the Islander sideline understood.

It would not take long for one of Hines’s goals to come to fruition as on the Cardinals’ second play from scrimmage, Clark Anderson read the Hoover screenplay perfectly and intercepted the first pass the game. Setting up the Islanders at the Hoover 30-yard line for their opening drive. With Anderson and the Islander defense bringing the thunder early, the Islanders offense did their part and provided the lighting. Coronado’s first play from scrimmage quarterback Hudson Herber would find his wide receiver John Cook down the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown, giving Coronado the early 7-0 lead and setting the tone for how the rest of the evening would transpire.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the 2021 Coronado Islanders men’s basketball, I urge you to pay attention. This year’s team, when it’s all said and done, may rank as one of the finest in school history, and on Tuesday, March 23, in their game versus Scripps Ranch, they gave us a glimpse as to us why. Coming into last week’s matchup, the San Diego Union-Tribune listed the Islanders as one of San Diego County’s “Teams to Watch,” thanks in large part to the team’s depth and their 1-2 punch of seniors Alex Crawford and Wayne McKinney.

The first quarter started exactly as Coronado had hoped, as for the first 10 minutes, the Islanders dominated both ends of the floor. Coronado would open the game on a

Dominant. If there were one word to describe the Coronado Islanders Women’s Lacrosse home opener, that would be it.

On Wednesday, March 24, the Islanders squared off with the Broncos of Rancho Bernardo, and it was clear from the first whistle that the visiting Broncos were in over their heads. The Islanders wasted no time finding their opening goal, as just a mere 56 seconds into the match, senior No. 16 Allie White would find the back of the net, giving Coronado the early 1-0 advantage. In the following 2 minutes, Coronado would quickly add another two goals. One courtesy of No. 8 Ella Ackerly and the other on a bounce shot from No.7 Abby Bryant.

At the Western League finals for Cross Country on March 16, there were two races for boys and girls. Each race consisted of three schools. The combined results produced a championship event for each gender. The protocol of no more than four schools in a race and no more than 40 runners kept us from running all six Western League schools together.

On Friday, March 26, the Coronado Islanders football team returned home to play a game under the lights for what seemed like the first time in forever. You could feel the buzz and excitement in the air among all in attendance, even an hour before kickoff. And Friday night’s game certainly matched all the pre-game buzz, and then some. 

The Islanders offense was the first to take the field on Friday and did so with a new signal-caller under center. As freshmen quarterback No. 19 Hudson Herber got the start, his first career start as an Islander. Coronado’s opening drive would, unfortunately, end in a three and out. On the flip side slide, the University City Centurions would go on a quick seven-play drive that would set them up with a first and goal at the Coronado 5-yard line. However, with their backs up against the wall, the Islander’s defense would stand tough.

After a year of waiting and wondering, on Friday, March 19, Friday Night Lights returned for the Coronado Islanders Football Team. Regardless of win or loss, the fact that parents were able to sit in the stands and cheer on their kids for 60 minutes on a Friday night was a victory in its own right.

But even so, there was a game to be had. On Friday, the Islanders traveled up the I5 to face Division I powerhouse, the San Marcos Knights. The Knights came into Friday ranked just outside of the top 10 here in San Diego county. It was a test that some in Coronado might have questions about, but it was one that Head Coach Kurt Hines felt his team was up to.

For Islander Golf, the second week of the season in many ways mirrors that of their first week. Head Coach Stuart Gordon walked me through what was yet another strong week for both men’s and women’s golf teams. 

Last Tuesday’s dual meet with Cathedral Catholic, March 9, marked the end of the Cross Country season for all but the five runners who will go on to the League Finals on Tuesday, March 16. This year was a very unusual season with no Invitational meets and five dual meets in less than a month. All of the runners who made it through the entire season had their fastest race in one of the last two meets. Their course is 3.11 miles and runs 15-20 seconds slower than a typical 5000-meter race.

This past week the Coronado Islander Tennis team returned to the court for their first match in well over a year as they hosted West View High School. For head coach Robb Moore the team’s first match of the season was just about knocking the rust off. “It’d been over a year since we had played in a match setting, so I think we’re really just getting the feel back for match days.”

The first match and the formant even showed signs of rust; most matches last around two and a half hours, but the Islander’s first match went four hours long.

“The match was noticeably longer,” said Moore. “Having to do player intros is no longer with the larger team. Plus, with the co-ed team, we have about double the amount of people playing each match. We were even playing no-advantage scoring to try to speed things up. But the one word I would use to describe the day would be chaotic.”

For the past four weeks, the Cross Country team has been competing in dual meets with other schools in the Western Division of the City Conference. While this is better than not competing at all, it’s a far cry from our pre-pandemic schedule of clusters where all six Western schools compete …

The abbreviated Cross Country season is rapidly moving along. Last Tuesday, Feb 23, the Islander Cross Country teams had their fourth league meet, this time with University City.

It seems as if just a mere month ago that the idea of high school football being played in California again was impossible. And if I’m honest with myself, I even at times laughed at the idea that we would be in a place where football would be played in the late winter and early spring of this year. But yet, here we are.

On Monday, March 1, I watched the Coronado Islanders football team run a full 2-hour practice that featured padding and contact. Was it completely normal? Well, no. Players still had to maintain social distancing between parts of practice and during water breaks, had to wear masks when not a part of a drill, and coaches had to wear masks at all times when within 6 feet of their players. But nonetheless, it was clear that for 120 minutes, a group of players was enjoying something normal again.

It’s been nearly a full calendar year since the country was put under a lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. And just like so many other spring sports, It has been almost a full year since the Coronado Islanders Baseball team has taken the diamond. But with conditions improving and a schedule now in place, head coaching Morgan Cummins now looks forward to the season that lies ahead.

As the head coach of the Coronado Islanders baseball team, Cummins will be entering his sixth season at the helm. With two CIF titles and two League championships under his belt, he has continued to lead an already historically successful program to just that, more success. “Every time we take the field, our expectation is to win,” said Cummings. “This is a program that has been built on winning, and we plan on continuing that trend here in the 2021 season. But it’s hard to say what everyone will do after missing games for the past year. I expect that we will compete as a team every time we take the field.”

On Friday, Feb. 19, following weeks of ongoing discussions between the California Department of Public Health and CIF and coaching advocacy groups, the Governor announced the state’s updated regulations and rules for youth and high school sports. On Feb. 26, the following sports will be cleared to resume play, but with restrictions: Football, Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer, and Softball. These sports will be allowed to play only if Covid case rates stay below 14/100,000 in their respective counties. Some of the significant stipulations and rules

Just two days after their first meet on Feb. 13, the Islander Cross Country team had their second meet on the Feb. 16 because access to Morley Field became available. Previously teams had altered their schedules to have all meets on Saturday on various school campuses. Once Morley reopened, …

For nearly 40 years, Coronado Youth Soccer has been a staple of youth sports among the Coronado Community. Supplying many kids in the Coronado community the opportunity to learn, grow, and play soccer at the recreational and competitive level. But like so many youth programs around the city of Coronado, Coronado FC was struck hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Financially, we were hit hard by the whole situation,” said Club President Cindi Gehler. “We have three key areas of our soccer program: Our recreational soccer, which occurs on an annual basis with two seasons per year. We have our competitive FC teams, which is more expensive due to having to contract out coaches. And lastly, we have our tournaments like the Crown Classic. When covid hit, we had to shut down everything.”

For a select few Coronado Islander sports, this past week marked the first time that a select number of teams could return to regular practices. And in doing so, it returned some sense of normalcy to those Coronado High School athletes. One of those sports given the preverbal green light was…

After a six-month delay, the Cross Country season started last Saturday, Feb. 12. Had the season started last August, we would have had all of our league meets at Morley Field on the City Conference course. We would also have scheduled “Cluster Meets” where all schools compete in the same race, with the results sorted out by team matchups.

To comply with COVID restrictions, the Western League Coaches got together and created a schedule of dual meets at various schools, the first being at Cathedral Catholic last Saturday, followed by meets every Saturday throughout the season. Last Saturday, all six schools had a meet with one other school. The schools in the Western League are Coronado, Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Cathedral Catholic, University City, and Point Loma.

In anticipation of more Coronado High School sports activities possibly getting the green light to begin play soon, Coronado High School (CHS) Athletic Director Robin Nixon encourages Coronado athletes to check frequently for announcements about which activities will open and when, as they will be on a sport-by-sport basis with short registration periods.

Nixon works closely with the state’s high school athletics governing body, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). CIF determines which sports might be next to open abbreviated seasons under

Though middle school soccer for both boys and girls isn’t new, coaching a sport under the required COVID safety protocols is definitely new for Coach Taylor Swope.

Swope, a native of Ohio, has been coaching middle school boys for three years, while also coaching the girls’ team at Coronado Football Club (CFC).

With parents looking for safe physical activities for their active sons, there was initially a large turnout, with 15 players signing up. The players were divided into two separate groups with different time slots, in order to maximize play time while staying safe on Cutler Field.

For many Islander sports and head coaches, the 2020-2021 season has been one that has measured and tested the ability to adapt and adjust. Even in some ways redefining what it means to coach. While some Islanders will officially return to practice this week, for others like Head Coach Aaron Brooks and the Islanders Men’s Soccer team, the resumption of official practices will have to wait a little while longer.

“We’ve been doing our best to keep our players in shape and prepared for when the season starts,” said Brooks. “When we work out in our camps, we try to make our drills very competitive so that our players stay engaged and working hard.

With the Pandemic eliminating most of last year’s track season and delaying this season’s cross country start, Islander Distance runners haven’t competed in nearly a year. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t had opportunities to train.

Like many of the other coaches in the section, I started an AAU club that’s been meeting several times a week for focused training. Additionally, the Islander Sports Foundation authorized camps that meet once a week. So everyone who wanted to train with a group has had the opportunity to do so. The AAU club, called “The Coronado Milers Club,” has 24 members, all of whom are also participants in the ISF Cross Country Camp. Many of the

With area schools and some high school sports and clubs taking cautious steps toward reopening, many students and their parents are relieved, seeing a hopeful glimmer of light at the end of a long, twisting tunnel.

That said, while local public schools set to gradually bring back students for in-person learning, most activities for the pre-teen and tween sets have still not resumed, leaving many moms, dads, and kids frustrated.

On Jan. 26, Coronado Middle School announced that it would open registration for its Spring Sports camps. The sign update for these camps will be from Feb. 1 through Feb. 22. The Spring Sports will run for a 10-week period from March 1 through May 21, including a two-week break for spring break and Easter, according to the press release from ISF.com. 

The Spring sports camps that will be offered this season will be Co-ed Advanced Tennis, Co-ed Beginner Tennis, Co-ed Beach Yoga, Co-ed Beach/Grass Volleyball, Co-ed Recreation Sports, Co-ed Rugby, Co-ed Running Club, Co-ed Sports Enhancement, Co-ed Track, and Girls Basketball.

Like so many around the state of California and here in Coronado, I awoke to the more than surprising news that Governor Gavin Newsome had announced that the stay-at-home order for all counties across the state would be lifted effective immediately, citing improving intensive care unit capacity statewide. And while the lifting of this stay-at-home order obviously has an effect on my businesses here in California, it also has a large impact on the return of prep sports across the state. 

Last weekend we learned that CIF and ISF had announced that teams that fell under the purple tier, those being Golf, Swimming, Cross Country, Co-ed Tennis, and Track, would all be allowed to begin practicing again at the start of February.

Over the past year, Coronado Youth Sports have been at a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With COVID-19 still being a fluid situation, it has caused many to fear that the return of sports maybe off until this fall. But for some youth sports here on Island, like Coronado Youth Softbal…

With the departure of long-time Coronado High School (CHS) girls’ basketball coach Toler Goodwin, life-long San Diego resident Peter Ruiz Jr. has been named the new head coach for the varsity program.

Taking the reins of a well-established program presents its own challenges, and this year the COVID—related restrictions have added an extra layer of obstacles. Ruiz, however, is no stranger to challenges.

In 2001, while on duty as a campus security guard, he was shot in the back by a 15-year old student gunman on a rampage at Santana High

Many here in Coronado have waited to hear for months when practices and games will regularly resume for Coronado High School sports. And on Jan. 15, that question was answered, at least for some sports. Islander Sports Foundation (ISF) and Athletic Director Robin Nixon announced that at the start of February, Co-ed Cross Country, Girls Golf, Boys Golf, Co-ed Swim, Co-ed Tennis, and Co-ed Track & Field would be allowed to resume normal practices.

This local announcement came following the announcement of the California Interscholastic Foundation (CIF) COVID-19 tier list came out showing which teams would be allowed to practice in each tier. While these sports are being allowed, there will still be no competitions/games allowed until San Diego county is taken off the stay at home order.

When it comes to becoming a college athlete, there is no cookie-cutter method. No directions, map, or person to tell you exactly how it’s done. Perhaps the only constant between all these athletes is the necessary drive to be great and be dedicated to constant self-improvement on the field a…