High School Roundup: Laguna to hold alumni boys’ basketball tournament
Dugger Gymnasium will welcome back some familiar faces Saturday when the Laguna Beach High boys’ basketball program hosts its seventh Alumni Tournament.
The daylong event will include approximately 60 players including current members of the Breakers’ program, Coach Bret Fleming said.
The tournament, which took a hiatus last year, started in the summer of 2007, he said.
“We’re trying a new format this year,” Fleming said. “Instead of having teams formed by the years they graduated or era in which they played, we are mixing all the players together and selecting teams. It’s a little like a golf scramble, and we’ll have a draft, so to speak.
“This whole thing started with me being a little selfish in wanting a reunion with guys who have played for me in the past. From there, it turned into a fundraiser. This year, though, we will be more low-key and return to what was the original intention of this tournament.”
Fleming said six to eight teams will compete. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m. and pool play games will start at 9 a.m. A single-elimination tournament will start at approximately 12:30 p.m. and the tournament will conclude by 4 p.m. Former players interested in competing can still do so by showing up at check-in Saturday morning, Fleming said.
The public is welcome to attend.
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Football
The Breakers went 2-2 July 24 at the Los Altos 7 on 7 Passing Tournament.
The tournament featured some teams that mixed junior varsity and varsity players. Laguna handled Downey and Coachella Valley, and lost to West Hills Chaminade and Corona Centennial teams that had a combination of JV-varsity players.
Downey was a CIF Southern Section Southeast Division finalist and Centennial won the Pac-5 Division championship last year.
The Breakers lost to Centennial, 31-18.
“Our kids made some really athletic plays, and that bodes well for the coming season,” Laguna Coach Ted Clarke said. “Jack (Simon) and Curtis (Harrison) both took snaps at quarterback. Jack zips the ball around and is just a real competitor. Curtis is a very talented athlete and when he wasn’t at quarterback, he was running plays at wide receiver and cornerback.
“Our receivers, all of them, did very well. Adam Armstrong made a great, great catch in one game where he went up and made a fantastic grab over the top.”
The Los Altos tournament was the second and final passing event of the summer for the Breakers who went 2-3 overall at the Duarte 7 on 7 Passing Tournament July 18.
The Breakers open fall camp Aug. 10. They scrimmage at Fullerton Sunny Hills on Aug. 21 and open their 2015 season at home on Aug. 28 against Cerritos Valley Christian.
“The improvement our guys have made between our two passing tournaments was huge,” Clarke said. “We have some kids on this team who also play basketball and baseball here, and coaches here before me, Bret Fleming (boys’ basketball) and Mike Bair (baseball), those guys have instilled a winning attitude in their players.
“We’re still in the infancy stage here but taking steps forward. These are bright kids who are picking up concepts quickly. We’re definitely coming along as a team and getting better at the little things.”
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Girls’ Volleyball
Indoor volleyball camps for incoming freshmen at Laguna Beach High are underway at Dugger Gym. Laguna girls’ volleyball Coach Raul Papaleo said the camps will run through Aug. 14.
For registration information for the camps, visit www.lagunabeachcity.net.
The Laguna girls’ volleyball team will compete in the preseason Foothill Queens of the Court Tournament Aug. 22. The Breakers officially open their 2015 fall season in September.
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Cross-Country
The Laguna girls’ and boys’ cross-country programs currently are in summer training. Both programs will go on a team retreat in August.
For information on both summer camps, visit www.lagunabeachcity.net.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca