With the holiday season already in full swing and school about
to recess until the New Year, it’s easy to step away from the local
sports scene for a couple of weeks, thinking that you won’t miss a
beat.
Holiday parties abound, you have family coming to town and that
mile-long shopping list isn’t getting any shorter while you ponder
this column.
More to the point, school is on winter break, so there can’t be
any good games, right? League play either hasn’t begun or is hardly
under way, leading you to think that it’s safe to take a holiday
breather.
Ahhh, but lest you forget some of the best offerings of the
sporting year. They don’t crop up until the mistletoe comes out,
but I assure you, they are not to be missed.
Holiday tournaments.
With the holiday season already in full swing and school about to recess until the New Year, it’s easy to step away from the local sports scene for a couple of weeks, thinking that you won’t miss a beat.
Holiday parties abound, you have family coming to town and that mile-long shopping list isn’t getting any shorter while you ponder this column.
More to the point, school is on winter break, so there can’t be any good games, right? League play either hasn’t begun or is hardly under way, leading you to think that it’s safe to take a holiday breather.
Ahhh, but lest you forget some of the best offerings of the sporting year. They don’t crop up until the mistletoe comes out, but I assure you, they are not to be missed.
Holiday tournaments.
With the Bob Hagan Tournament set to begin this afternoon in Gilroy, you, the fan, have three full days of hardwood action on your doorstep. Gilroy, Live Oak and San Benito all take the court along with five other boys basketball teams, with regional bragging rights on the line.
Or if wrestling is your pleasure and your downtime takes you to Lake Tahoe, a brief jaunt brings you outstanding competition in Reno, NV. Gilroy tests its mettle in the Reno Tournament of Champions (Dec. 19-20) while San Benito tackles the field in the Sierra Nevada Classic (Dec. 27-29).
For these teams, tournament play means much more than simply the wins or losses. Precisely because those pesky things called classes and homework mercifully cease for the time being, the athletes can focus on improving, rather than worrying about exactly what happened at the Boston Tea Party.
“The players can concentrate their game,” said San Benito girls basketball head coach Al Rowe, whose ‘Balers take the court against an elite field at Antioch’s Nike Tournament (Dec. 27-29). “They don’t have to worry about school.”
By often pitting programs from different areas against each other, creating match-ups between teams that otherwise would never meet, tournament play features a contrast in styles, a boon to both the teams and the intrigued viewer.
“You face competition you’re not necessarily familiar with,” said Sobrato head coach Lawrence Crawford, whose team competes in the Carmel Invitational (Dec. 15-17) and hosts the Bulldog Chase (Dec. 29-30).
Crawford also cited the frequency of games as a benefit to a team looking to gain its identity early in the season.
“The real challenge is [playing] back-to-back,” said Crawford. “You learn to make adjustments quickly.”
But for you, the spectator happy just to take in the action, are there any downsides to the abundance of action? Too much left to do before the reindeer come to play? Well, my colleague Ana Patejdl gave you a primer yesterday on how to pair your thirst for sports with your obligation to complete Santa’s wishlist.
But, if you’re like me, sports are like presents … you can never have enough!
So take a break from the gingerbread and the eggnog and join me out at the gym. And bring your holiday cheer.
