High school sports around the country look a lot different than they did a year ago, due to the often frustrating domino effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While still impacted by the shutdown, surfing, by nature requires a lot of physical distance, and thus local board riders of all ages have, for the most part, been able to enjoy the quintessential Southern California sport. 
The Coronado High School Surf Team, under the seasoned leadership of long-time local and competitive surfer Mike Gillard, has been able to practice, with the exception of the period when most county beaches were closed at the beginning of the shutdown. Gillard picked up the reins of the team after the tragic death of beloved local waterman and coach Stan Searfus in January of 2018.

The season, which runs from October through March, was somewhat affected by the shutdown in the spring, with only a few of the meets,

Last weekend, Coronado Lacrosse Club headed to Salt Lake City, Utah, to compete in a regional lacrosse tournament that drew teams from all over the west. America’s Finest Rivalry, organized by San Diego-based, locally owned Adrenaline Lacrosse, brought a wide range of teams from west of the Mississippi. Coronado Lacrosse Club (CLC) Select, coached by Loren Generi and Courtney Reidarson, sent a team consisting of sixth and seventh grade players primarily from Coronado.

With much of our work and social lives taking place in front of a screen these days, many kids and parents have been searching for outlets that allow for safe physical and social activities.

For many, the fall sports camps offered through the Islander Sports Foundation at the Coronado Middle School (CMS), have provided a welcome break from the constant screen time, providing exercise as well as the opportunity to safely socialize.

Kristen Guymon, parent of both a Village Elementary fourh grader and a CMS seventh grader, took on the position of CMS Athletic Director (AD) in May, after the departure of former AD Meredith Hinz.
Taking on any new job, even in the best of times, can be a challenge, but during a world- wide pandemic and a shut-down, creating safe activities that meet the state and county guidelines adds yet another hurdle in what might be described as an ever-changing obstacle course.

Local sailing legend and Olympic gold medalist Robbie Haines (Coronado High School ’72) was one of 9 sailors inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame on Sept. 12, in a virtual ceremony. Introducing him was fellow sailor and 2018 NSHOF inductee Vince Brun, who first met Haines in 1973.

I met with Haines at the Coronado Yacht Club on a beautiful afternoon following his induction, and

With the start of the fall 2020-2021 CUSD school year almost three weeks ago, in pre-COVID times, we would also have seen the launch of the Coronado High School (CHS) Fall sports season.

Team photos would have been taken, programs printed, rosters and team captains announced. Looking at the “what-would-have-been” calendar this weekend, both of Coronado’s pools would have been roiling with the America’s Finest City men’s water polo tournament and Islander Football would be hitting the turf against the Kearny Komets on Friday evening. Parents and students would be filling the stands in the gym, on the pool deck, and in the stadium. Our Islander Cheerleaders would get the fans going with my favorite cheer:

Coach Jorge Perez, who is a familiar face to many area local water polo players, is serving as the new coach for the Coronado Aquatics Club age-group players, along with David Throop and Asante Sefa-Boakye, who coach the senior women’s group and senior men’s group.

Sefa-Boakye, Coronado High School class of 2010, who played the sport under legendary coach Randall Burgess during his high school years, and has played around the world at the international level, is acting as interim coach while Laci Gyori travels and trains in his home country of Hungary.

In his 1972 book “Semi-Tough,” Dan Jenkins, who was undoubtedly one of the best three or four sportswriters ever, said, “The hunt’s over. It’s time to put out the fire and call in the dogs.” After 22 years of writing ‘Nado Natterings’ this is my final sports column as I head into retirement. In next week’s issue of the Coronado Eagle & Journal, my final city-side column will run and contains details of my career and future plans. But this week I’m going to write about some of the athletes and teams which stood out over the last two decades, plus some anecdotes you might enjoy. Keep in mind these are athletes and teams I have covered in person, post 1995.

There is some irony to the fact that last week’s Retro Nado Natterings featured the 2017 Islander Boys Tennis Team which won the Division I title and their star player, Ryan Seggerman, who went on to win the CIF Singles title on his way to an undefeated season. Seggerman matriculated to Princeton

Yet another sign The Apocalypse is upon is The San Diego Union-Tribune no longer publishes out-of-town box scores, further diminishing their product. Conversely the other daily paper I read, the Chicago Tribune, has an entire page of box scores accumulated from all sports… Despite a lifelong…

Islander rising senior Wayne McKinney has committed to play for the USD Toreros, he announced last week. An All-CIF First Team selection last season for Coronado, McKinney averaged 28.4 points per game and led his team to the CIF Division III Finals where the Islanders lost to San Ysidro 71-59, although the game was closer than the final score reflects.

“USD was the best academic school that offered me,” McKinney said by phone last week. “It’s the place my family and I decided on because it’s close to home. I’ve been in communication with the USD staff for about a year now. I’ve been pretty comfortable with them and I went to watch the team play. Their guards are aggressive and the coaches let them play. The guards really run the show. I’m looking forward to meeting the team after COVID and their gym is open. The USD campus is beautiful and the gym is awesome. All of that was an add-on for me.”

Via a press release issued Monday morning, June 20, 2020, the State CIF, the governing body of high school sports in California, did the expected and delayed the start of the Fall 2020 sports season until mid-December

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, sports teams and programs are forced to get creative and that would certainly apply to the Coronado FC, which began skills practice for players in small groups Monday, July 13. Club Head Manager Cindi Gehler, who also has the fun jobs of being registrar and in charge of field scheduling and permits, talked about the goals and procedures of the workouts. “We’re in Phase 1 of four phases, and we will be working on individual skills, technique and a little bit of fitness. We have 16 teams currently and they aren’t all full. When COVID hit, we went to one-hour sessions, two days a week of Zoom training with our coaches. Now we are going into groups for 45-minute sessions, with between seven and 11 players per group. Each of our players will have to pass the COVID safety protocols. Our guiding entity is the California State Soccer Association-South (Cal South), who developed a comprehensive plan, which each group can elaborate on in their local environment. And we had input from the school district.”

Last week we provided an overview of the financial issues facing Major League Baseball (MLB), with the suggestion the sides were far apart. One week later the sides are farther apart, and national sports commentators are divided on what they think is going to happen. On a recent podcast, Bil…