Every athlete at every age has dreams; big or small, athletes dream of rising to the highest levels of their respective sport. The question is, how far and how hard will an athlete work to make those dreams into a reality? Those who put in extra hours and work hard even when no one is watching are often the ones that make their dreams come true. For anyone looking for proof of this, look no further than 17-year-old Coronado native CJ Fodrey.

On April 6, 2021, CJ signed a contract with the local professional soccer team, the San

On Thursday, July 8, CalHiSports.com released its awards and honors for the State Player of the Year at each Division inside the State of California. Included among those who take player of the years honors was former Islander Point Guard and current University of San Diego Toreros Point Guard Wayne McKinney. The award comes on the heels of Wayne also being named the CIF San Diego First Team. 

McKinney, who has signed with the University of San Diego, is the highest-ranked prospect ever signed by USD.

When the 2021 Tokyo Olympics start on July 23, a little over two weeks from today, the eyes of the nation will be locked on the hundreds of athletes that will be representing the United States as they go for gold in their respective sports and events. 

But for those here in Coronado, our eyes should be glued to our television sets when USA Mens Water Polo hopes are on.

Why you may ask? The USA Mens Water Polo captain happens to be a Coronado local and Coronado High School graduate, class of 2000, Jesse Smith.

The Coronado Islanders Boys’ Water Polo Team recently held its end of season awards banquet following the conclusion of its COVID delayed season. In Head Coach Laszlo “Laci” Gyori’s first year at the helm, the Islanders finished the regular season with a 7-8 record and returned to the CIF Open Division Playoffs before falling to La Jolla High School in the quarter finals. The season was highlighted by a thrilling come from behind, 14-13 overtime win over Westview High School. In a testament to the continuing strength of the program, it should be noted that the Islanders losses all came at the hands of fellow Open Division foes.

When I think of Rugby, I remember the film “Invictus” that galvanized South Africa in support of their Springboks or picture the New Zealand All-Blacks doing their Haka dance. But Coronado has its own Rugby star in Nico DiMatteo. DiMatteo is a rising senior at Coronado High who has been play…

This past week the Islanders Baseball team held its annual end of the season banquet. For the Islanders, it was another successful season. Despite a slow start to the season, which can be attributed to the Islanders losing several close games of Division I and other top-ranked teams in the c…

The CYS 10U All Star team has been having an outstanding run. The girls were selected in early May and they have been practicing and playing every weekend for the past several weeks.

The 10U All Stars won the Cool Breeze Tournament over Memorial Day Weekend. This past weekend, the girls beat Navajo and Santee teams to qualify for the 2021 Southern California State Championship. This is the first time in over a decade that a 10U CYS All Star team has qualified to move forward. The team will travel to Lancaster over the 4th of July weekend to play.

If you’ve been paying attention to the 2021 United States Olympic Trials you may have seen a familiar face come across your television screen at around 5:30 p.m. That familiar face would be former Coronado High School two-time CIF Champion and track and field star Alysah Hickey. 

On Saturday, June 19, the Coronado Islanders defeated Orange Glen High School in the CIF 4A Regional championship. 

It was perhaps the finest 35 minutes of basketball played in San Diego County this season. But due to postgame controversy, which will be addressed, will most likely be long forgotten. 

The game started in favor of the visiting Patriots of Orange Glen as they jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage. The Islanders seemed to be unable to find their footing offensively over the first 3 minutes as only a driving bucket from Wayne McKinney would get Coronado on the scoreboard. Orange Glen would continue to grow their lead in the first thanks to yet another three-pointer making it an 11-2 game.

The Coronado Islanders Lacrosse Club teams had a great success this past season, culminating in a great weekend, May 22 and 23.

The track season finally came to an end last Saturday at the Division III CIF finals. Field events started at 3:30 p.m., with track events beginning at 5:30 p.m. Once again, we were at Valley Center High School.

Lindsey Balsley and Zane Delcore were first up, with Lindsey competing in the long jump and Zane in both the long jump and shot put. Fortunately, the long jump pit and the shot put ring were close enough, so Zane didn’t have far to walk too far between the two events. The schedule for field events is structured so that athletes competing in one event don’t have to compete in another at the same time.

The Coronado Boys Soccer Team held its Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday, June 9 in the Coronado High School quad.

The Islander Girls Soccer Team, under the direction of Head Coach Mike Costaglio and Assistant Coach Jeff Roe, held their annual awards banquet. The Islanders were the City League Eastern Division Champs and made it to the semifinals of the Division II CIFs.

Thirty-one years. That’s how long it had been since the Islanders Boys Basketball team had captured a CIF title. But on Friday night JD Laaperi’s team put an end to that long championship drought with a 51-48 thriller victory over top seed Orange Glen High School.   

Even before the opening tip, you could feel the intensity in the air, as the Islander faithful packed the stands of St. Augustine High School in a sea of green, black, and white. 

The game started in an oh-so-familiar fashion, as after senior Alex Crawford won the tip, senior Point Guard Wayne McKinney would drive right through the Patriots’ zone defense and drop the opening bucket for the Islanders. The zone defense of Orange Glen would give Coronado some minor fits for their first few possessions.

At the CIF Track & Field preliminaries held at Valley Center High School last Saturday, June 5, seven Islanders moved on to the Finals set for June 12. The prelims included a Girls meet in the morning and a Boys meet in the afternoon to reduce the number of athletes and guests. Because the remaining number of athletes is now half that of the prelims, the finals are CoEd starting at 5:00 p.m. Again, we’ll be at Valley Center High School.

The Girls team advanced Sofia Van Arsdale in the 800, Abby Hundley in the 1600, Lily Clemons in the 3200, Claire Cook in both the 300 hurdles and the 400, and Lindsey Balsley

The Islander Boys and Girls Golf teams had outstanding seasons in 2021 with a mix of talent across all grades.

The Coronado Islanders High School Boys Rugby Team won the division title Friday night defeating Mission Bay 41-31.

The Islanders started the match on fire with some hard running by flyhalf Joe Williamson giving Coronado a 5-0 lead. Mission Bay quickly responded with a try (5 points) of their own leveling the score at 5-5. Axel Hernandez was perfect on the night with his lineout throw-ins as hooker repeatedly hitting Elias Valdivia who was lifted skyward by prop forward Johan Nokolai, and loose forward Asa Valdivia. The Islanders took advantage of a Mission Bay penalty, setting up a lineout and

The 2021 Men’s Islander Basketball season has undoubtedly been one to remember. Boasting an impressive 18-5 regular-season record that included an 8-0 In league play that earned them a San Diego City League title, the Islanders looked to keep their winning ways going in the opening round of the CIF Division II playoffs. The No.2 overall seeded Islanders welcomed the No.15 seeded Army-Navy Warriors with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.

The Islanders got the scoring started thanks to a corner three-ball from Zach

It was playoff time for the Islanders Girls Basketball team this past week. Fresh off a 2021 City League title, the No.7 overall seeded Islanders looked to make a deep run in the CIF Division II playoffs. For their first order of business, the Islanders welcomed the No. 10 overall seed, the Tigers of Morse High School. Despite the low seeding, the Tigers had a successful season of their own, posting a 12-9 record in a very competitive eastern league. 

The Islanders would come out a little sluggish in the first quarter. The two teams would trade opening jumpers, with the Islanders getting theirs from Halle Shipton.

There was a lot on the line for the Islanders softball team coming into last Thursday’s season finale versus the league-leading Chieftains of Clairemont High School. For starters, it was senior day, and the team honored the lone senior, and starting catcher, Sydney Dull. Not only would a win on Senior Day be a great way to end the regular season, but it also would give the Islanders a shot at being seeded in the upcoming CIF Division III playoffs. 

Junior hurler Marianne Akre would tow in rubber for the Islanders for their most pivotal game. The southpaw would make quick work of the Chieftains over the first three innings, as she would allow only two Clairemont batters to reach base. 

With Akre dealing, the Islander’s offense went ahead and provided the run support.

In the Intermediate Division championship game played Wednesday May 26, Team Smith and Team Sandie faced off at Bradley Field. Pitcher Chase Jenkins smashed a 2-run homerun in the top of the third inning to put Team Sandie in the lead 3-1. Team Smith got a run back in the bottom of the third…

The Coronado High School (CHS) swim season almost didn’t happen this year with restrictions and many schedule changes due to the pandemic. The kids were eager to get in the pool and worked hard through a condensed practice schedule. With a year away from the program and less time in the water, the athletes maximized the success of the season by coming together and exhibiting a camaraderie that brought out the best in each other. Head coach Paul Folts shared with me the highs of the season and how well all the swimmers represented CHS and the community.

At the City League Track and Field Championships held last Thursday at Serra High School, we advanced eight athletes to the CIF Finals in 12 events. For the boys, the Delcore brothers each qualified in three events. To advance, you must win your event, meet a performance standard, or post a mark among the top 18 in the Division (At-Large).

Zane Delcore won the 300 hurdles to advance with 43.91. Jack Delcore was only 1.38 seconds behind in second place and advanced as an At-Large runner in eighth place among Division III athletes. Jack won the triple jump and qualified as an At-Large

This past week The Coronado Islanders Tennis team sent several doubles pairings to compete at the CIF Division I playoffs, including singles players Isaac Del Rincon and Sinaia Haskal, Boys doubles team Ethan Harrington and Diego Girault, and mixed doubles entry Tiana French and Luis Madrid Safan and Girls doubles pairings Marla Steel and Ana de la Lama and Kate Perley and Sofia Yanez. All matches were played at Balboa park and were typically scheduled for either Tuesday or Thursday.

In Girls Singles, senior Haskal, who had already won her way into the playoffs after sweeping the back draw last week, continued her winning ways. She claimed her spot in the “feed-in round” play after winning her first two eight-game pro-set no-advantages games. Haskal would fall short of the Round of 16 play as she would lose the feed-in round match 6-8 to Bishop high School’s Oliva Weise.

In the Boys Singles, Del Rincon, the No.11 overall seed in

Last Thursday, the boys and girls Track Teams wrapped up their season with the final league cluster meet at Crawford High School. The three teams involved were Coronado, Christian, and Crawford. The meet was the last chance to establish marks for entry into the league finals this Friday, May 28, at Serra High School. In the girls’ sprints, Lindsey Balsley placed third in the 100 with 13.77, followed by Caroline Cole (sixth), Maya Voltin (seventh), and Skyler Smith (eighth). In the 200, Voltin was fifth, Smith sixth, and Cole seventh. Claire Cook doubled with wins in the 400 (63.09) and 300 hurdles (51.22). Balsley, running the 300 hurdles for the first