Dynamite Dolphins

Moscot & Goldsmith Win Post Cup as Outstanding Senior Athletes at PaliHi

They may play different sports, but Jon Moscot and Laura Goldsmith know what it is like to perform under pressure. They have been doing it ever since they donned Palisades High jerseys and their ability to perform at their best when the stakes are highest is what earned them this year’s Palisadian-Post Cup Awards as outstanding senior athletes at Palisades High. Moscot was the ace pitcher and one of the leading hitters on the Dolphins’ baseball team, which went 18-0 en route to the Western League championship this spring. He was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player and made first-team All-City for the second straight year. In a game full of individual statistics, though, Moscot places greater importance on team goals–namely victories. “Years from now, what I’ll remember most is going 18-0,” he said. “I won’t remember a certain pitch or hit but I’ll remember all the hours of sweat we put into becoming undefeated league champs.” Teammates voted Moscot a captain this season along with fellow seniors David Skolnik and Brett Whalen. Moscot had longed for that opportunity ever since he was a freshman and took the title seriously–so much so that he went from being among the slowest players on varsity to one of the fastest, with a 40-yard time of 4.6 seconds and a 60 sprint in 6.9. “In baseball, if you fail 70 percent of the time you are a successful player so there are a lot of ups and downs,” said Moscot, who has spent countless hours refining his swing at the batting cage in the backyard of his house by Will Rogers State Park. “Being a leader is being able to pick yourself and teammates up in these rough situations.” If Moscot was the “go-to” guy on the mound, Goldsmith was the “go-to” gal for the volleyball team, leading the Dolphins in kills and hitting percentage. She, too, was plunged into the role of captain after five players graduated, making the goal of repeating as City champions that much harder to reach. Goldsmith, an outside hitter, made a conscious effort to coach the younger players on the court. At season’s end Palisades was back on top–and Goldsmith was named City Player of the Year. “The best part was watching a team that got killed in a few tournaments at the beginning of the year gel at the right time, overcome some big injuries and win it again,” she said. “I’m not the loudest or most verbal leader, I just lead by example. I’ve also found that specific advice always works better than ‘Come on, play harder!'” Goldsmith, who lives in the Alphabet Streets, also played defense on Palisades’ soccer team, which won the Western League and advanced to the quarterfinals of the City playoffs. “I’d say volleyball is a little more mental and soccer more physical,” she said. “Hitting the decisive kill is amazing but you are getting them 20 times a game so for me scoring the winning goal is more satisfying because they don’t come as often.” Moscot led the Dolphins’ pitching staff in wins and strikeouts. The flame-throwing right-hander allowed four hits with eight strikeouts in a tough 1-0 loss to Banning in the first round of the City’s Division I playoffs. One memory that stands out in his mind happened in a league game at Hamilton: “I turned to my friend Ryan Holman right before my at-bat and I was like ‘Dude, I’m so tired I don’t even want to bat, maybe I should just hit a homer and come sit down on the bench.’ Sure enough, I got up and hit a home run on the first pitch. When I got back to the dugout he looked at me and said, jokingly, ‘I hate you.’ That was really funny.” Goldsmith attributed her team’s late-season success to a certain pre-match meal: “We started a ritual of going to Taco Bell before each playoff game. Tait Johnson would pick me up in her van, we would order a fresca taco each, then pick up [teammate] Chelsea Scharf on the way to the gym. It seemed to work so we even made sure to bring our tacos on the bus to the City championships.” Asked to name their favorite classes, Moscot picked AP history with Mr. Burr “because I love the subject and we used to always talk about baseball” while Goldsmith chose physics with Mr. Schalek “because I enjoy learning about how the universe works and how things interact to create the world we live in.” Both expressed gratitude upon being awarded the Post Cup–a tradition that began the school’s very first year (1961-62). Their names join a long and distinguished list of winners on a plaque in the main office. “It’s very exciting,” Moscot said upon receiving his award at a senior banquet last Friday night at Mercer Hall. “All my years of hard work have rewarded me with this great honor.” Goldsmith was thrilled to hear her name announced: “It’s a great culmination of my high school athletic experience. I’m proud to be recognized in my community as an outstanding athlete.” When not denting the gym floor with her thunderous spikes Goldsmith is likely at the beach or in the mountains snowboarding. Moscot, too, enjoys the outdoors. In fact, he is in the Boy Scouts and will soon be receiving his Eagle Scout certificate. Goldsmith was considering Dartmouth but ultimately found the coaches and the environment at Colorado College more to her liking. She will continue to play volleyball, of course, but can’t wait to “go skiing every weekend.” The next step on Moscot’s life journey will be Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo, where he will have an opportunity to play immediately, get stronger and decide on whether or not to go Division I or possibly get drafted. After tonight’s graduation Moscot plans to spend his summer teaching baseball at the Palisades Recreation Center and in West L.A. while Goldsmith will be teaching a volleyball camp in July for Paul Revere Middle School’s Sports Mania program. “The most important thing Coach [Mike] Voelkel taught me is to go 100 percent at whatever I do, whether it’s in practice or in a game,” Moscot said. Through volleyball and soccer Goldsmith has learned the same lessons–how to win and lose with grace, how to overcome adversity and, most of all, how to lead: “You gain confidence when you know someone wants you to succeed. Giving everyone individual support makes the whole team better.”