CALLER 1: Hello, Green Phone. I am just responding back to the gentleman that responded to me regarding the Little League and the Canez–Klauer scenario. Fortunately, yes, my son was an All-Star and we got lots of coverage and he has been on the front cover of the sports page quite a few times. All I was asking for is a little more coverage on some of the games, and I just want to thank the Free Lance for being out at the rest of the All-Star games which are going awesome.
I totally support Little League. I totally support all the Hollister boys and girls that have made it big and have gone off to college. I think this gentleman is just a little bit angry. Maybe he doesn’t have someone that is an All-Star and hasn’t been in the newspaper at all. And it’s unfortunate that he would have to be so snappy about everything. I think it’s just great and the coverage has been awesome since that letter came in. Like I said, it’s just unfortunate that this gentleman would snap, maybe because he hasn’t had anybody playing before. And I’m glad he’s going to go and watch the games.
One thing I do want to comment on is that not only have the boys been selected to go on to college, but there has never been any coverage of girls who have graduated from high school and have been on any covers of the Free Lance. I guess what I’m trying to say is someone like Amy Baxter who has made it big. She’s a great athlete. … I would just like to see some more coverage of girls as well, in general. You guys are doing a great job. To that gentleman who wrote in and wrote that article, how unfortunate he hasn’t gone out to any of the Little League games.
GREEN PHONE: We’re glad you wanted to straighten things out, Caller 1. Thanks for calling back. As you can see below, at least a couple of other people wanted to weigh in as well.
Regarding the lack of features on Hollister girls that go on to collegiate athletics, your point is well taken. We will strive to bring you those. But we respectfully disagree that our coverage in general and the post-‘Baler features in particular have been boy heavy, at least under the current watch. We try to bring you the best sports coverage, irrespective of the players’ gender. When we can cover the local games in person, we do – boys’ or girls’. It’s a bit trickier when events happen out of town – we’re quite dependant on cooperation from coaches. And that has nothing to do with whether boys or girls are playing.
As for the ex-‘Baler features, we simply haven’t done many of the boy or girl variety. Kyle Sharp and Rose Vandenburg centerpieces immediately come to mind, but that’s about it. Just as we kept the community abreast of Amanda Boyd heading to Northern Arizona, we wanted to alert you of Karson Klauer and Breyon Canez’s post-San Benito plans.
As always, we encourage you to alert us of exciting sporting events or athletic accomplishments in our community. After all, a recent Green Phone call led us to Jason Ballew and pro bass fishing! Keep up the good work, callers.
CALLER 2: Hello. Just wanted to comment about your “Quit Whining” article. It really sounds like he’s pretty riled up. Makes me laugh though about how ignorant this guy really is. If he would have read the article correctly, it just asked for some more coverage. By the way, I do know the lady who wrote this article and her son has been an All-Star every year and has made the sports page many times. So, tell the writer to ‘Just chill out mister and support some of your Hollister’s greatest athletes.’ It sounds like he doesn’t have one. And if he hadn’t made it out to the ballpark yet, maybe he should.
GREEN PHONE: Well put, Caller 2. We hope last week’s caller broadens his horizons, too.
CALLER 3: Hi. My name is Patty and I was just reading the Caller 1 comment about the Canez and Klauer boys. I’m pretty proud of them coming from Hollister and watching them grow up. On the other hand, talking about the Hollister Little League is a different story. I remember a letter to the editor about two years ago about a boy, a coach and team members, and what a bad incident. Being it was only the second game of the season, the family was promised its $85 back from registration. And as far as I know, that was never paid. No apology from the coach or the team or the board members about what happened to this boy. And to this day he hasn’t played baseball, to the disappointment of his family. And his little brother refuses to play, too, because he’s afraid of something like that. So, Little League is great for some people, but for others it can be a nightmare and can devastate a child and their perception of what sports should be about. The old board didn’t act responsibly. Let’s hope the semi-new board treats kids and parents with dignity and respect. And that’s all I gotta say about that.
GREEN PHONE: Without knowing the particulars of that incident, Caller 3, we can only hope the young ballplayers in question can still find the enjoyment of athletics and team sports. We’ll let the community at large tackle your concerns, if need be. Have at it, Green Phone callers.
CALLER 4: I’d like to respond back to the message left last week about Justin Sweeney being in the police blotter. First of all, why would you care? I find it very frustrating that someone would even leave a message for the Green Phone to ask such a question. He’s a kid and let me tell you that there are several kids that have done the same thing and they either didn’t get caught or they just didn’t have some jerk trying to make this a bigger issue than what it is. It was a prank that got blown out of portion.
Let’s keep the Green Phone open for positive energy! If you don’t have anything positive to say, then don’t say it. Having said that, you can rest assured that you will read about the talented Justin Sweeney in the upcoming issues of the Gilroy Dispatch once the football season starts. Go Justin!
GREEN PHONE: Yeah, often pranks get blown out of proportion that involve causing significant financial damage to private property. Oh, and let’s not mention Sweeney’s history of disciplinary problems. Or the fact that he is actually NOT a kid anymore. Soon-to-be college football players – even the good ones – are no longer allowed to hide behind that excuse. We hope Sweeney turns things around at Gavilan College and does something productive with his extraordinary talent. Meanwhile, remember, “Not words, but deeds.”
