UCLA Coach Ben Howland Returns to Palisades for Youth Basketball Camp

A hush fell over the Palisades High gym Monday morning when UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland gave his opening speech to the aspiring players who signed up for his third annual summer youth basketball camp. When Howland talks, you listen… and learn. “I see a lot of talent out here,” Howland said after players were assigned teams in one of three divisions–the SEC (grades 1 and 2); the PAC-10 (grades 3 and 4) and the NBA (grades 5-7). “Possibly some future Bruins.” He should know. Howland led UCLA to its third consecutive NCAA Final Four in March and his defense-first philosophy has caught on up the road in Westwood. “We want the kids to have fun, but we also want them to learn the fundamentals of basketball,” said Howland, who was delighted that 210 kids signed up–70 more than last year. “This is a fun week.” Feeling a little extra pressure was Palisades High boys’ coach James Paleno, who once again is coaching the Bruins in the PAC-10 division. “My job is on the line if we don’t win this,” he joked before his team’s first game–a one point loss to Arizona in sudden death overtime. “Washington won it last year so we have to redeem ourselves.” Paleno has volunteered at Howland’s camp each of the three years it’s been in the Palisades. “This is just the first game but I think we can win some games,” he said during a timeout. “I’m having as much fun as the kids.” Both gyms and blacktop have been bustling with spirited five-on-five and three-on-three games. The camp runs through tomorrow’s “Championship Friday,” when the division champions will be crowned along with the winners of various individual competitions, leading up to an awards ceremony at 2:30 p.m. All week, campers have learned the basics of dribbling, passing, rebounding, defensive stance free throw shooting and jump shooting. So far, each day has ended with “Moneyball,” where players have the opportunity to display their clutch shooting prowess. A UCLA highlight video will be shown at 2:30 p.m. today, recapping the Bruins’ most recent season in which they won the PAC-10 championship and finished with a school-record 35 victories. On July 1 it was announced that Howland has agreed to a new seven-year contract that will keep him at UCLA through the 2014-15 season. No doubt local hoopsters hope he keeps coming back to the Palisades every summer as well.

By JEFF GOODMAN Palisadian-Post Intern It may not be as popular as baseball or football, but rugby is a growing sport and local youth don’t have to travel far to play thanks to the Santa Monica Rugby Club. Founded in 1972, it began as an outlet for local college graduates. In recent years, the Club has sprouted in numbers and popularity, largely because of the success of its junior program. Rugby is not a mainstream sport in the United States and many kids who join the Club have never even watched a match on television. What makes the game appealing, however, is that it combines elements of football and soccer. “Middle school boys play a sport like football and then they have all of this offseason time where they’re just kind of stomping around with all this energy with nowhere to go,” said Palisadian Amy Lemoine, whose four kids have all played in the Club. “I hear this a lot from moms in the Palisades.” Santa Monica Rugby Club’s youth program was established by Kilian Kerwin in the summer of 2003 and has expanded to include U8 and U10 co-ed non-contact divisions as well as four contact divisions for boys and three contact divisions for girls. During the season, which begins in February and usually ends in March or April, teams generally have two practices and one game per week. Registration costs $75-125, depending on the division. Anyone under 19 can play. “Almost every kid scores every Saturday and it gives them their moment to shine,” Kerwin said. “The kids need that and they get that in rugby. When you get the ball–which is often–you’re the quarterback and there are many choices you can make. That’s very empowering for kids.” Through the Club players learn the basics of rugby: how to move forward, pass backward and tackle the guy with the ball. Even though tackling has made the sport known, perhaps infamously, for its physical nature–especially because players don’t wear much protective gear–Kerwin insists that safety is paramount. Ironically, Lemoine’s children have sustained injuries during other athletic endeavors–but not during rugby. Lemoine’s son John, captain of the boys’ U14 team, was still playing in May. His squad traveled to San Louis Obispo and rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat the Fullerton Lions for the Southern California Youth Rugby Championship. “It was the world’s best lesson for them not to give up, especially in the Palisades where everyone is so privileged and nobody really has to work for anything,” Lemoine said. “The kids really learn respect. It’s not just about winning. It’s about learning how to be part of a team.” The Club facilitates informal training sessions for youth twice per week at no cost throughout the summer. Whether meeting on Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings, kids and their parents keep coming back for more. “There’s a lot of cooperation,” Lemoine added. “They have these all-day things and everybody just stays all day. The other teams stay and order pizza, they watch the older kids, they watch the men’s teams and the women’s teams. It’s just a big fun event.” That “fun” atmosphere gave Lemoine’s daughter Katherine, a senior-to-be at Palisades High, yet another reason to continue playing rugby after she graduates. On a recent tour of East Coast colleges she found that her hobby also boasted quite a network. “Rugby was a great hook in, because wherever we went we would meet women on the rugby team,” Lemoine said. “Because it was a small clubby thing, it was a great entry into the scene.” Largely through word of mouth, the youth program has grown to over 125 kids from communities throughout West Los Angeles. “We get a lot of foot traffic,” Kerwin said. “People come by and say, “What’s this?'” For more information about the Santa Monica Rugby Club, visit the Web site at www.santamonicarugby.com.

Former Palisades High football player Geoff Schwartz has signed with the Carolina Panthers, the NFL team announced Monday. Schwartz, a seventh-round draft choice (241st overall) out of the University of Oregon, was a three-sport star (football, basketball and baseball) at Palisades High and won the Post Cup Award as the school’s senior athlete of the year in 2004. A 6′ 6,’ 331-pound tackle, Schwartz started 36 of 41 games at tackle for Oregon. He made 13 starts as a senior last season and earned second-team All-Pac 10 Conference on an offensive line that led the conference in rushing with an average of 251.7 yards per game. Schwartz also opened holes for Carolina’s 2008 first-round draft choice, running back Jonathan Stewart, who set the Ducks’ single-season record with 1,722 rushing yards. Training camp begins Friday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Schwartz is vying for a spot on the 53-player roster.

Palisadian Ben Goldberg was ‘in the zone’ at last week’s Southern California 10-and-under Zonals in Orange County. Goldberg, who trains regularly at the Palisades Tennis Center, went undefeated and did not lose a set in singles in the entire tournament. Goldberg eliminated Bret Kettelson of Lake Forest, 6-3, 6-3, Kevin Wong of Irvine, 6-2, 6-3, and Kevin Orellana of Sun Valley, 6-3, 6-3. Goldberg, who attends Marquez Elementary, also won two doubles matches. PTC Invades South Bay Players from as far away as Utah, Texas and New York converged on Torrance for the 10th annual South Bay Junior Open last weekend but it was the Palisades Tennis Center’s contingent that made the biggest impact. In the boys’ 10-and-under division, Roscoe and Lucas Bellamy posted dominating wins while Charlie Sherman pulled off a three-set win. Roscoe Bellamy, who typically plays 8-and-under events, opened with a hardfought 7-5, 7-5 victory over Myles Webb of Glendale, then took out Jonathon Gunn of Beverly Hills, 6-2, 6-1. Older brother Lucas Bellamy, the No. 2 seed, got a bye in the first round, then beat Mason Zisette of Manhattan Beach, 6-0, 6-0. Roscoe and Lucas both attend Corpus Christi School. Sherman, who attends Canyon School, was seeded No. 3. After a first-round bye he lost the first set tiebreak to Jack Taylor of Centerville, Utah, before rallying to win the last two sets, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Pali Blues, a local women’s club soccer team, wrapped up their regular season with a 3-1 victory over the L.A. Legends last Friday and now look ahead to the W-League semifinals next Thursday in Virginia Beach. The Blues will likely play the No. 3 seed in the semifinals since the fourth seed will likely come from the Western Conference. The championship game will be Saturday, August 2 and will air on Fox Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. “I don’t think there are any negatives associated with not playing a meaningful game for 13 days,” Blues Coach Charlie Naimo said. “We now have time to rest our top players and get healthy.”