Olympic series

16-Color-SPORTS

WindowSPORTSOlympic-sized dreams

As Jessica López makes her final preparations in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 5-foot gymnast has roots that are firmly tied to Colorado.

López, who qualified for the Olympic Games in London as the only gym-nast competing for Venezuela, will spend July training with the Spanish na-tional team. The former University of Denver standout spent the past sev-eral months working out at TIGAR Gymnastics in Wheat Ridge, where she received an impressive sendoff.

“She’s been a great inspiration for the little children that train with her,” TIGAR owner Beth Letzsch said. “She wanted to train while other kids were here so she’d be used to training in front of other people and not have this pristine, sterile environment where it was just her.”

TIGAR — which stands for The International Gymnastics Academy of the Rockies — opened in May of 2011. The facility offers classes in gym-nastics and cheerleading for a wide range of ages and abilities, from tod-dlers to teenagers, recreational to competitive.

The mission of the facility, according to Letzsch, is to use competitive sports to allow children to “develop their full potential — not just in that sport, but how that sport might have applications to real life later on.”

Gymnastics continues on Page 17

London is calling for Venezuelan gymnast López

Story by Brian Miller • Photo by Justin Sagarsee

16 Westminster WindowJuly 5, 2012

Horizon bound for Indianapolis after 7-on-7 triumphHawks win Broncos’ state event to advance to national tournamentBy Brian [email protected]

THORNTON - Championships may not be won during the summer, but Horizon’s football team left Dove Val-ley two weeks ago feeling pretty good about the com-ing fall season.

The Hawks captured the Denver Broncos’ 7-on-7 tournament, emerging triumphant from a field of 52 teams from around the state. Horizon defeated Fossil Ridge 21-14 in the title game to advance to the nation-al tournament July 13-14 in Indianapolis.

“It was pretty awesome. From the get-go, there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win it,” Hawks senior-to-be Chad Reffel said. “We have such good team chemistry; we play so well together I didn’t think there was anyone that could hang with us.”

Horizon played seven games in the tournament, defeating Fairview by three points in the semifinals before knocking off Fossil Ridge.

The 7-on-7 format features six skill position players and a center on offense, and seven defenders on the other side of the ball. Linemen don’t compete, so it’s not necessarily a true barometer of how good a team will be overall in the fall.

Hawks coach Frank Ybarra said the only thing the 7-on-7 format tells a team is how competitive it is and what kind of talent lies in the skills positions. Still, winning is never something to be taken for granted.

“I always tell the kids we don’t play for titles in 7-on-7 in the summer,” Ybarra said. “But they brought that trophy out and set it there before the champion-ship game and our kids’ eyes lit up. It meant a lot.”

Horizon won the Front Range League title a year ago and was the No. 7 overall seed in the Class 5A state playoffs.

After winning the postseason opener, the Hawks fell to eventual finalist Lakewood 10-0.

Coming back out this summer though and making a statement to the rest of the state has the team be-lieving 2012 can be another strong season.

As the countdown to the Opening Cer-emony commences — the events kick off July 27 — the various sports that are part of the Olympics figure to get a boost from the exposure the Games generate.

Gymnastics is certainly no excep-tion. Letzsch said statistically across the country, most programs see an up-take of nearly 30 percent in enrollment after the Olympics.

“It’s the darling of the Olympics,” she said. “Everyone loves to watch gymnas-tics, so we’re prepared for that. We’ve al-ready staffed for it and we know it’s going to happen here.

“But to have an Olympian at our gym, she’s the only one in Colorado that’s going this time around. It’s been generating a lot of team interest.”

Making Colorado proudThis will be the second go-around at

the Olympics for López, who placed 40th

in the all-around competition at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

“In 2008 I didn’t know what to expect. I was very focused on my gymnastics,” she said. “I took it as another competition.

“After the competition is when I real-ized what it was all about and I enjoyed the whole experience.”

Now 26, López may be a bit older than traditional Olympians in the sport, but her work in the gym has her feeling strong and confident. López has been training roughly six hours a day, six days a week, with the seventh day reserved for condi-tioning work.

“The age, I don’t think that’s a factor,” López said. “It depends how you maintain your body and obviously if you have in-juries. For some of the younger girls their body is more fresh than older girls, but at the same time, if you keep a healthy bal-

ance, you’re at the same place.”Her coach, Nilson Medeiros, has been

working with López since 2007. The for-mer owner of the Savage Elite Sportsplex in Thornton, Medeiros said he sold his gym because of the demands of the in-ternational schedule.

The degree of difficulty in her routine has increased quite a bit since the Bei-jing Games, and López placed ninth in the all-around finals at the 2010 World Championships.

“Jessica has a very good work ethic and she’s very disciplined, inside and outside the gym,” Medeiros said. “Her first expe-rience at the Olympics was a very posi-tive one. She hit all of her four events. She didn’t place higher only because of the name she had at the time. Now she has a much better international reputation.”

An Olympic hitGymnastics has always been one of

the most popular sports among view-ers in the Summer Games, and the United States has enjoyed ample suc-cess. From all-around gold medalists Mary Lou Retton (1984), Carly Patter-son (2004) and Nastia Liukin (2008), to the team gold medal in 1996, the sport never fails to inspire drama and pas-sion among viewers (i.e. Kerri Strug’s noble effort in the 1996 games).

TIGAR is one of several training facili-ties in the Metro Denver area but is among the newest. López has trained in Thorn-

ton and Fort Collins since leaving DU, but switched to TIGAR after it opened because it offered a chance to increase the difficul-ty quotient in her routine.

“I love this gym. I think it’s one of the best in Colorado,” López said. “I’m so thankful for everyone to welcome me and to train here.”

The all-around gymnastics finals be-gin Aug. 2 in London. Just as in years past, the sport is sure to be a winner, and a fu-ture Olympian could be created after the

games are finished.“Gymnastics is probably one of the

most watched events in the Olympic Games,” Medeiros said. “Definitely you’re going to see a huge boost in all the interest in the sport after the Olympics.

“I don’t know how long that lasts — un-fortunately it’s something that only hap-pens every four years. But I think a lot of the gyms in the area are going to capitalize on the interest that’s going to come from watching the Olympics on TV.”

Olympic gymnast Jessica Lopez trains for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at TIGAR Gymnastics in Wheat Ridge on June 28. Lopez will be competing for gold with her home country of Venezuela this summer. Photo by Justin Sagarsee

Gymnastics continued from Page 16

Editor’s Note: This is the beginning of a four-part series surrounding the Olympics and the buzz it creates that will run throughout the month of July. Coming July 12: Area facilities give home to athletes competing in non-traditional Olympic sports.

Gymnastics: Sport is the ‘darling of the Olympics’

Westminster Window 17July 5, 201217-Sports

Horizon bound for Indianapolis after 7-on-7 triumphHawks win Broncos’ state event to advance to national tournamentBy Brian [email protected]

THORNTON - Championships may not be won during the summer, but Horizon’s football team left Dove Val-ley two weeks ago feeling pretty good about the com-ing fall season.

The Hawks captured the Denver Broncos’ 7-on-7 tournament, emerging triumphant from a field of 52 teams from around the state. Horizon defeated Fossil Ridge 21-14 in the title game to advance to the nation-al tournament July 13-14 in Indianapolis.

“It was pretty awesome. From the get-go, there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win it,” Hawks senior-to-be Chad Reffel said. “We have such good team chemistry; we play so well together I didn’t think there was anyone that could hang with us.”

Horizon played seven games in the tournament, defeating Fairview by three points in the semifinals before knocking off Fossil Ridge.

The 7-on-7 format features six skill position players and a center on offense, and seven defenders on the other side of the ball. Linemen don’t compete, so it’s not necessarily a true barometer of how good a team will be overall in the fall.

Hawks coach Frank Ybarra said the only thing the 7-on-7 format tells a team is how competitive it is and what kind of talent lies in the skills positions. Still, winning is never something to be taken for granted.

“I always tell the kids we don’t play for titles in 7-on-7 in the summer,” Ybarra said. “But they brought that trophy out and set it there before the champion-ship game and our kids’ eyes lit up. It meant a lot.”

Horizon won the Front Range League title a year ago and was the No. 7 overall seed in the Class 5A state playoffs.

After winning the postseason opener, the Hawks fell to eventual finalist Lakewood 10-0.

Coming back out this summer though and making a statement to the rest of the state has the team be-lieving 2012 can be another strong season.

“It felt pretty good, especially after last year. We kind of left some question marks after our loss to Lakewood,” full-back/linebacker Chad David said. “People were still doubting what we could do. With all of our seniors leaving last year, our senior class coming in this year, represent-ing, even in summer ball - we’re proving we can be a forced to be reckoned with.”

Quarterback Austin Stackhouse, who will take over the starting reins for Brent Albrandt, put together a strong perfor-mance but said the weapons surrounding him make his job easier.

“All these guys can make plays and they’re all ath-letic and they know how to go to the ball and get the ball,” Stackhouse said. “It will help me out a lot.”

The national tournament in Indianapolis consists of 32 teams - one for every NFL team. The first day of the tournament is pool play, followed by single-elim-ination games.

“It finally hit me about a few days ago,” said wide receiver/defensive back Dustin Rivas, who scored the winning touchdown in the title game. “It seemed un-real because it’s just something you wouldn’t really think of accomplishing, but we did. I think it’s going to be a good experience and really pull our team to-gether.”

“It still really hasn’t hit us,” David added. “But knowing that we’re one of the best teams in Colorado, (we’re) about to show the nation how Colorado foot-ball can stack up against everyone else.”

Horizon quarterback Austin Stackhouse looks for an open receiver during drills on Monday morning. Stackhouse and the Hawks recently won the Denver Broncos’ 7-on-7 tournament and advanced to the national tournament July 13-14 in Indianapolis. Photo by Pam Wagner

16-Color-SPORTS

WindowSPORTS16 Westminster Window July 12, 2012

En garde! Fencing set for Olympic momentColorado Fencing Academy in Arvada helps introduce newcomers to one of world’s oldest sports

By Brian [email protected]

ARVADA — It may burst some bubbles, but true fencing isn’t what Zorro, Captain Jack Sparrow or even Inigo Montoya did on the big screen.

This is the first reality that those in the fencing community want the public to understand. Fencing is actually an el-egant sport, but one bound by rules and proper technique.

With the 2012 Summer Olympics set to begin July 28, fencing is one of the 28 sports that will be on display in Lon-don. Fencing’s followers are sure to be eager to wit-ness the world’s best engage one another on the sport’s biggest stage, competing in the three styles of épée, foil and sabre.

At Colorado Fencing Academy (CFA) in Arvada, a club that focuses on sabre, instructors think they may see an in-flux of newcomers because of the atten-tion the Olympics generates. That said, it’s important to understand what comes with fencing.

“We’re currently in a rebuilding phase. Most fencing clubs tend to follow a four-year cycle,” CFA President Aaron Severance said. “Kids will join, especially when fenc-ing’s big in movies.

“They’ll stick around for three to six months until they figure that sabre fencing really isn’t the same thing as they see John-ny Depp doing on the screen.”

Still, those who are interested will cer-tainly be tuning in later this month. Fenc-ing has been part of each Summer Olym-pics since the very first games in 1896 in Athens. Led by France and Italy, countries have been awarded some 571 medals since that time.

While épée and foil may draw the most participants, sabre is gaining in popular-ity in the United States. Mariel Zagunis, of the Oregon Fencing Alliance, has captured the past two gold medals in women’s sabre, and the 2008 bronze medalist, Becca Ward, actually got her start at the Colorado Fenc-ing Academy 12 years ago.

“In the last eight years anyway, fenc-ing has been getting more visibility in the U.S., most significantly due to the fact that women’s sabre fencing has been active in the Olympics for the last eight years,” Sev-erance said. “We’ve had the gold-medal winner the last two times around.”

Sabre involves targeting areas only above the waist, excluding the hands. Competitors wear protective gear to avoid injury, and scoring is done electronically.

“It’s the quickest weapon. We slash, we don’t poke,” CFA coach Wojtek Radz said. “It’s like the cavalry when people used to ride on horses — they used to slash.”

Radz, who was born in Warsaw, Poland, began training at the age of 7. He attended Wayne State University in the U.S., where he was coached by his father, and also trained at Oregon Fencing Alliance with Zagunis. Radz coaches three times a week in Arvada and also teaches in Evergreen.

While a number of prominent univer-sities, including the Air Force Academy, having fencing programs, Radz believes it’s important for the sport to be offered in communities.

“Without this, there would be no expo-sure. Nobody would know about fencing,” said Radz, who stressed that fencing is for men and women of all ages. “Especially

in Colorado, we still don’t have very well-developed fencing programs, compared to New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, where they have huge programs.”

Colorado Fencing Academy sent a pair of its members, Logan Kanary and Ian Severance, to Summer Nationals in Anaheim, Calif., last week.

Aaron Severance said CFA works to maintain a presence in the community by revamping its community outreach program. Radz has sponsored programs at local rec centers, and CFA did a demon-stration at the Arvada Festival and plans to attend the October Harvest Festival as well.

“I think people think it’s like movies — you come in and swing the sword and it’s fun,” Radz said. “But it’s a sport. You have to practice hard and you have to keep your head in it.”

For more information, go online to www.cofacademy.org.

Ian Severance competed in the 2012 USA Fencing National Championships in Anaheim, Calif. Severance fences at the Colorado Fencing Academy in Arvada and is coached by Wojtek Radz of Poland.

Ian Severance, left, and Dylan Cooper fence at the Colorado Fencing Academy during a practice session Monday night. Photos by Justin Sagarsee

Westminster Window 17July 12, 201217-Sports

WindowSPORTSEn garde! Fencing set for Olympic moment

Colorado Fencing Academy in Arvada helps introduce newcomers to one of world’s oldest sports

Ian Severance competed in the 2012 USA Fencing National Championships in Anaheim, Calif. Severance fences at the Colorado Fencing Academy in Arvada and is coached by Wojtek Radz of Poland.

Ian Severance, left, and Dylan Cooper fence at the Colorado Fencing Academy during a practice session Monday night. Photos by Justin Sagarsee

Judo’s faithful �nd home in NorthglennMartial art may not be mainstream in the U.S., but sport has passionate following locallyBy Brian [email protected]

NORTHGLENN — On a recent Tuesday evening, the gym-nasium at the Northglenn Recreation Center came alive with shouts of instruction and encouragement, and the repeated thump of bodies falling to the mat.

For the few dozen participants of the Northglenn Judo Club who make regular appearances here two to three times a week to train, these are moments to cherish with a sport that has a small yet de-voted following locally and in the United States.

As the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London draws closer, judo falls into the ranks of least publicized of the 28 sports that will be part of the games. While judo has been referred to as the most widely practiced martial art in the world, its origins and techniques are often misunderstood.

“The United States will have one or two, maybe three people place in the Olympics this year,” said Dennis McGuire, co-founder of the Northglenn Judo Club. “It is disappointing because people don’t understand it.”

Founded in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano, men’s judo has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1964, with the women’s competition becoming a medal sport in 1992. While the United States has never won a gold medal in the Olympics — Japan leads all countries with 35 — the U.S. has earned 10 medals over the years. One interesting note about the first U.S. Olympic team — former Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell was one of the five participants in 1964 in Tokyo.

As a martial art, judo is more wrestling-based in that par-ticipants attempt to throw opponents to the mat and can use submission techniques, while strikes with the arms and legs are allowed in formal demonstrations but not in competition.

“From what I experience with judo, everything you do is hands-on; you know immediately how your strength relates to other people,” said Warren Agena, head trainer at NGJC. “There’s no false sense of security or anything because the girls work out with the guys at full strength.”

Colorado’s 15 judo clubs around the state include a club at Colorado School of Mines in Golden and the Hyland Hills club in Westminster, but Northglenn Judo is the region’s larg-est and the state’s oldest continually operating club. Founded

in 1965 by McGuire and Page Baptist, the club has earned an international reputation over the years, sending a pair of participants to the Olympics.

At any given time 75-100 participants are regis-tered, with roughly 50 showing up to a given practice.

“Sometimes we see third-generation kids — I’ve seen their parents in judo and their grandparents in judo,” Agena said. “That’s a really good feeling that the parents and the grandparents know what we do is teach the kids a really good work ethic and good dis-cipline.”

NGJC is currently preparing to send 10 of its younger athletes to the Junior Olympics in Dallas. Agena said the sport requires plenty of discipline and patience, and it takes a long time for anyone to excel.

“There’s a passion that builds up,” Agena said. “It grows on you.”

The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team features five strong candidates, with Kyle Vashkulat, Nick Delpopolo and Travis Stevens competing for the men, and Kayla Har-rison and Marti Malloy on the women’s side.

The Northglenn Judo Club’s two Olympic qualifiers were Craig Agena in the 1984 Olympics and Jo Anne Quiring in 1992. In addition, a pair of first alternates also called the club home, including former Thornton High School wrestling standout Kenny Hashimoto. Hashimoto, who won state wrestling titles his final two years with the Trojans and was a runner-up his first two years, has trained at Northglenn Judo since 1991. Since graduating from the University of North-ern Colorado in Greeley, Hashimoto has continued to train with the hopes of one day reaching the Olympics.

“You always get excited. It’s once every four years, and it’s an honor just to be in the same breath of talking about it or having a chance of competing in it,” Hashimoto said recently by phone from San Jose, Calif. “Right now what I think about is helping competitors I know.”

Hashimoto was an alternate for the 2004 games in Athens and was among the top-ranked competitors in 2008 before having to withdraw from the tri-als with an injury two weeks be-fore competition was to begin. The 25-year-old won the nation-al championship at 66 kg in 2010 and 2011, and was on the 2010

Senior World Team that competed in Tokyo. Hashimoto said he hasn’t ruled out aiming for the 2016

Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, but it isn’t his immediate focus.“I think for now it’s definitely not out of the question, but

four years down the line is a long way to think about,” he said. “Even next year, thinking about worlds and nationals is closer to quite a good possibility.”

For more information on the Northglenn Judo Club, visit its website at www.northglennjudo.org.

Judo instructor Coleen Matthews works with 10-year-old Corbin Mallo during practice at the Northglenn Judo Club July 3. The Northglenn Judo Club is the largest in the region. Photo by Pam Wagner

Martial arts are a family enterprise for DelgadosTraining in taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, boxing among experiences offered at gym that has new home in DenverBy Brian [email protected]

DENVER — For more than 21 years, Nico Delgado has been training in taekwondo, honing his craft with the hope of one day finding his way onto the sport’s biggest stage.

That day could still come, but for now Delgado is giving back to the sport by molding young minds. The taekwondo instructor at Delgado’s Boxing and Martial Arts in Denver works with a couple dozen students each week, with eight of those individuals trained specifically for competition.

The 25-year-old Delgado, a 10-time state champion and former national champion, admitted he’s more on edge as a coach than he ever was while competing.

“It’s great to see the kids when it clicks and a kid finally starts to understand,” said the 2005 graduate of Arvada High School. “It’s great to see them aspire to become bet-ter, inside and outside of the gym. The downside is I get more nervous when I’m coaching, more so than when I fought.”

Delgado, who earned his black belt in taekwondo at the age of 6 and his black belt in Kenpo karate at 11, has been working his way back from a torn Achilles sustained a year ago. It was just four years ago that he found himself com-peting in the Olympic Trials, hoping for a bid to the Sum-mer Games in Beijing.

“It’s so demanding. It’s got to be every-day training,” said Henry Delgado, Nico’s father and the owner of Delga-do’s Boxing and Martial Arts. “He’s been training since he was four years old … this is all he knows.

“He’s at the world level, and so what he’s try-ing to do here is develop these kids and take them to

that same place.”Nico came close to his dream in 2008 but missed out on

a bid that went to Mark López, who comes from a family of Olympic mainstays.

“You have to realize that specific day just wasn’t my day,” he said. “Mark López is a great fighter, and he repre-sented the country well.”

Taekwondo didn’t become a full medal sport in the Olympics until 2000. Since that time South Korea has dom-inated with nine gold medals, though the United States has two gold medals and six overall. Steven López, Mark’s brother, captured both golds for the U.S. The sport hasn’t quite hit the mainstream in the United States, something Henry Delgado believes is a result of viewers not being able to develop a relationship with any of the fighters.

“It takes a backseat. I don’t know why that is,” said Delgado, who is also the manager for Skyview gradu-ate and undefeated professional boxer Mike Alvarado. “When they show it on TV, it’s kind of sporadic. There’s no story to follow.”

Henry Delgado has also earned a black belt in taekwon-do and has more than 30 years of experience in boxing and kickboxing. Delgado’s, which was founded in 1997 and was formerly located in Arvada, has found a new home in Den-ver near Coors Field with an impressive 22,000-square foot facility. Delgado, who has five children and 14 grandchil-dren, said the gym and martial arts in general is a family affair and a ministry for all involved.

“The mission for me is to keep my family together,” Del-gado said. “Seeing what the arts have done with my family, how it’s kept us together — everybody’s here.

“With other families too, it brings the unity together in a

good, positive way.”Delgado’s offers instruction in boxing, taekwondo, jiu-

jitsu, mixed martial arts and wrestling. Being community-oriented has always been important to the family.

“It’s not just for taekwondo,” Nico Delgado said. “We have individuals that come and do our program but they come in for the discipline and virtue of the actual martial arts.”

While boxing and wrestling are more established in the Olympics and attract a bigger following, Delgado is hoping taekwondo receives its due in future games.

“I think it’s making its way up. There are a lot of good up-and-coming fighters as well,” he said. “Hopefully in the futures things start to explode and it will get some more notoriety — what I think it deserves, anyway.”

For more information, visit www.delgadosgym.com.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a four-part series surrounding the Olympics and the buzz it creates headed into the 2012 Summer Games in London. Next week: U.S. Women’s Soccer Team has always inspired plenty of passion.

Lightning football camp

Legacy High School will hold its contact football camp

from July 23-27 at the high school. �e camp runs from 4-7 p.m., with a cost of $125 for five days of instruction.

For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.legacyfootball.org.

QUICK HIT

20 Westminster WindowJuly 19, 2012

20-Color-Sports

WindowSPORTSGolden goal: For U.S. women to take it allBack in the states, soccer fans revving up for London OlympicsBy Brian [email protected]

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Even after more than a decade, the memories of the 2000 Summer Olympics remain fresh for Mi-chelle French.

French, who was 23 during the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, was a mem-ber of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team that dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Norway in the Gold Medal game that year. The United States brought home the silver before going on to reclaim the gold in 2004 and 2008.

Now the time has come for the 2012 U.S. Wom-en’s team to make a push for a fourth overall gold.

F i r s t - r o u n d games begin July 25 in London.

“The feeling you have representing your country is like none other. When you put that jersey on, there’s so much pride,” French said. “For people to be able to come out and see — whether it’s future Olympians like (Colorado’s) Lindsey Horan or (Seattle’s) Stephanie Cox, who’s been an Olympian — it’s incredible for the country.

“Hopefully we’ll have great success with the Olympics this coming summer and then people will continue to support us in some regard.”

French was in town the final weekend in June to coach the Seattle Sounders in back-to-back W-League games against the Colo-rado Rapids Women’s team and the Colora-do Rush. In her first year with the Sounders, French has had the opportunity to coach four players — Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Sydney Leroux — who will compete in London.

“While the players were in and out, when they were there they were invested in be-ing a Sounders player,” French said. “When I first took the job, I never dreamed that’s what the team would develop into but I’m thankful it did — not only for our entire team but for the northwest.”

The U.S. women’s national team has al-ways attracted a big following, but during World Cup and Olympic years, the admirers tend to extend beyond just fans of soccer. Who can forget the images of Brandi Chastain ripping off her jersey and falling to her knees after helping the U.S. win the 1999 World Cup in a shootout?

Mia Hamm retired in 2004, but the former Olympian is still one of the most popular soccer players in U.S. his-tory. Colorado School of Mines senior-to-be Megan Wood-worth, who competed against the Sounders as a member

of the Rapids Women’s team earlier this summer, recalled winning an essay writing contest when she was 9 years old.

She received the chance to sit on the bench with the women’s national team, though Hamm, her favorite player, wasn’t there that day.

“That’s a moment I definitely will nev-er forget,” Woodworth said. “They had all been my heroes since I was so little.

“The U.S. women’s national team has always been a role model for me … to be able to see how hard they work and be able to see them play in the Olympics is defi-nitely something to look up to.”

Woodworth’s teammate at Mines and with the Rapids Women, Kelsey Neal, said she intends to watch every game she can and hopes the support will be there throughout the country. Having competed against the likes of Solo and Morgan earlier this season, Neal added that she under-

stands a bit better what it takes to compete at that level.“I think just watching these games and seeing how peo-

ple play at that high of a level will help me as an individu-al,” Neal said. “I do think we have a great group going into the Olympics. It shows we are a high-level country when it comes to soccer.”

Solo, the starting goalkeeper during the gold-medal run in 2008, was in net when the Rapids and Rush played in Seattle back in late May and early June. The Sounders won both those contests, though Lindsey Horan did score a goal for the Rush. Horan, who graduated from Golden High School in May and is headed to the University of North Carolina in the fall, said the experience was exciting but credited her team for helping her get the goal on Solo.

She’s also looking forward to the upcoming games.“I just watched them in the World Cup a year ago, and

I’ve been watching them ever since I was a little kid,” Horan said. “It’s a little inspiration for me so I can see what I want to be when I’m older. That’s my dream, to be on the full women’s national team.”

Colorado Rush defender Carlie Davis wins a header over Colorado Rapids midfielder Allison Belsterling during the first half on July 11 at Valor Christian. Photo by Justin Sagarsee

Seattle Sounders coach Michelle French discusses pointers with Lindsay Elston at halftime of Sun-day’s W-League game against the Colorado Rush on July 1 at Valor Christian High School. French was part of the 2000 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team that won the silver medal. Photo by Brian Miller

Editor’s note: This is the third in a four-part series sur-rounding the Olympics and the buzz it creates headed into the 2012 Summer Games in London. Next week: Removal of softball, baseball from games a controver-sial decision.

20COLORSPORTS

WindowSPORTS20 Westminster Window July 26, 2012

No longer a field of dreamsRemoved from next

two Olympics, so�ball

and baseball try to work

way back into mix

By Brian [email protected]

On two occasions Mike Candrea has coached the United States women’s soft-ball team to a medal in the Olympics, and both times he did so with a heavy heart — for very different reasons.

In 2004, the U.S. women dominated the field in Athens, outscoring opponents 51-1 on its way to its third gold medal in the sport. Candrea, in his first Olympic showing, led the team to victory despite having recently dealt with the death of his wife of 28 years.

In 2008 Candrea was back with the U.S. at the Summer Games in Beijing. This time Japan walked away with a 3-1 victory and the Americans took home sil-ver, but it was bittersweet for all involved knowing that the sport wouldn’t be back in the Olympics in 2012.

As the Summer Games get underway this weekend in London, it does so with-out softball and baseball. Both sports were voted out of the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) back in 2005, and won’t have the chance to return until at least 2020.

“It was pretty devastating. We felt like at that stage of the game, softball had grown considerably around the world,” Candrea said recently by phone. “It was just kind of sad that it was really a po-litical battle and a battle that there’s not much we could have done other than what we did.”

Softball still a big hitCandrea is the longtime softball coach

at the University of Arizona, where the Wildcats have won eight NCAA Division I national titles. He said that softball did all it could to prove it belonged on the world-wide stage.

“We brought the best players to the Olympic games. We never had a positive drug test throughout the entire time soft-ball was involved,” Candrea said. “I think we had grown the fan base to where it was one of the rare team female sports that had a strong interest and a great model.

“It was kind of confusing and hard for me to realize that’s what was going to happen to us.”

Softball officially entered the Olym-pics as a medal sport for the first time in 1996 in Atlanta. The U.S. defeated China that year and followed it up with a victory over Japan in 2000 in Sydney.

The 2004 team is still widely consid-ered to be the best softball team of all time. Led by the likes of Jennie Finch, Lisa Fernandez and Crystl Bustos, the U.S. rolled to nine victories.

“The team was there for more than just winning. They were there to set a whole new standard on the game,” Can-drea said. “I think the 2004 team played this game as well as any group of athletes we’ve ever seen play.”

Despite the success the sport was en-joying, on July 11, 2005, the IOC voted to remove both softball and baseball from the 2012 Olympics.

It was the first time in 69 years a

sport had been taken away from the games, and in 2009 the decision was upheld to keep both sports out of the 2016 Games as well.

The vote to remove softball ended up tied at 52-52 with one voter abstaining.

Ronnie Isham, the director of USA Softball, said people have regrouped and are trying to decide what the next step will be. The International Federations for softball and baseball are working togeth-er and could make a joint bid for inclu-sion in 2020, though no official decision has been made.

Isham said he doesn’t believe the ex-clusion from the Olympics hurt the sport

overall, but it did ruin some dreams of younger players.

“Even though the chances of making the Olympic team are very slim, they still have that dream,” he said. “I think we have lost players that chose other sports over softball.

“The sport is still alive and thriving big-time in the U.S., and that’s prob-ably due to the college game more than anything, and the high school and club game.”

Shelby Babcock led Legacy High School to three Class 5A state softball titles and is currently a sophomore under

University of Arizona pitcher Shelby Babcock went 21-10 with a 3.02 ERA for the Wildcats during her sophomore season. The Legacy High School graduate has combined with Kenzie Fowler to provide a dominant pitching rotation for the team. Photo courtesy of J&L Photo/Luke

Baseball continues on Page 21

Westminster Window 21July 26, 201221SPORTS

University of Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea... Photo courtesy of J&L Photo/Luke

Quick HitsJudo athletes compete at Junior Nationals

Thirteen athletes from Colorado - including a handful from the Northglenn and Hyland Hills judo clubs - won medals at the USA Judo Junior Olympic National Championship last weekend in Dallas. Five athletes from the Northglenn Judo Club won medals, including Golden’s Ian Cheatum, who took gold in the 15-16-year-old 81kg division. Naomi Butler of Westminster, who competes for Hyland Hills, won the gold in the 9-10 34kg division.

Sox win RMBL tournamentThe Colorado Sox, fresh off its regular-season

title in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League, stormed its way through the RMBL Regional tour-nament to clinch the only spot in the NBC World Series. The Sox defeated Impact Sports 6-4 in the title game Sunday at Double Angel Park in Parker. The Arvada Colts finished third in the tournament after falling to Impact Sports 8-5 on Sunday to just miss out on the title game. The team had beaten the Sox 7-1 on Saturday evening. The Jeffco Rock-hounds, who entered as the No. 8 seed, battled through the bracket to reach the semifinals before falling 12-2 to Impact Sports. Walker Transmission of Wheat Ridge dropped both of its game.

Pomona hoops clinic on tapPomona will sponsor a Shooting Clinic featuring

Duane Lewis from the Shot Doctor on Aug. 1. The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to noon at 9709 Alkire St. in Arvada, and is for those players in grades 6-12. The cost is $30; to sign up and reserve a spot, contact Pomona boys basketball coach Brian Zehnder at 303-328-7611.

A-West volleyball camp coming upArvada West High School’s Gold Medal Squared

Volleyball Skills Camp will take place Aug. 6-9 at Moore Middle School. The camp runs from 8:30-11:30 a.m. for those in grades 4-6 and from 1-4:30 p.m. for those in grades 7-8. Times are subject to change based on numbers or facilities. The cost for the camp is $85. For more information, contact Coach Debbie Pospisil at [email protected].

Melancon, Babcock on right pitching trackMelancon turning corner with Red Sox; Babcock finds form at ArizonaBy Brian [email protected]

The University of Arizona is known for cranking out some of the world’s top athletes over the years.

When it comes to the diamond, the Wildcats have a stellar reputation. The softball program has won eight NCAA Division I national championships, while baseball has four - the most re-cent coming in 2012.

Among those athletes have been some Colorado products. While their paths may not have crossed at Arizo-na, 2003 Golden High School graduate Mark Melancon and 2009 Legacy High School graduate Shelby Babcock took their talents to Arizona after stellar prep careers.

Melancon pitched for the Wildcats’ baseball team for three years before be-ing drafted by the New York Yankees in 2006. He pitched for the Yankees for two seasons and two more for the Houston Astros before being traded to the Bos-ton Red Sox last winter.

After a rough start to the 2012 season that saw Melancon sent to Class AAA Pawtucket in April, the relief pitcher re-turned to the Red Sox bullpen in June and has rediscovered his old form.

“I feel like the first couple outings were so bad. It was uncharacteristic of me,” he said recently by phone. “I wish I could have fixed it sooner. Whenever you struggle I think you end up learn-ing a lot about yourself and how to deal with your struggles.

“Hopefully in the long run it can make you stronger; in my case, I feel like it did.”

Melancon allowed only two earned runs in 21.1 innings pitched with Paw-tucket. Since his call-up back to Boston, the pitcher had given up only one run in his first 14 appearances before strug-gling a bit over the weekend as the team was swept by Toronto.

On the season Melancon is 0-1 with a 7.65 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. Before the break for the all-star game earlier this month, Melancon struck out friends and former team-mates Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira in a loss to the Yankees.

“I’ve got good relationships with those guys obviously,” he said. “Any time you play with friends and old teammates it’s fun.”

Melancon and his wife had their first child, a daughter, last fall. The 27-year-old said being a parent is an amazing experience.

“It’s by far the coolest thing to date,” he said. “Every day is new and exciting and I can’t wait to get home and see her.”

Babcock is still working her way through Arizona. After helping guide Legacy to three of its five consecutive Class 5A state softball titles, the pitcher has established herself with a Wildcats program long on tradition.

Babcock went 21-10 in the spring with a 3.02 ERA, striking out 164 in 197 innings of work. The Wildcats saw their season come to a close in the Super Re-gionals against eventual national run-ner-up Oklahoma.

“I absolutely love Arizona,” she said. “Freshman year was a little rough, but after sophomore year I just fell in love with the place. I just feel at home there.”

Babcock and Kenzie Fowler have provided a potent 1-2 punch in the rotation for Arizona coach Mike Candrea, who said in fast-pitch softball, teams only go as far as their pitch-ing can take them.

“Shelby is a very hard worker and has really picked up on things quite well,” Candrea said. “I’m very im-pressed with her. I’ve always been impressed with her velocity, but I think the big thing was trying to be-come a little more consistent with her location and more movement and trying to de-velop a good off-speed pitch.

“I think she made big strides. I thought she grew a lot as a player, both physically and mentally.”

Babcock said it was an adjustment going to Arizona, where every day the team plays “the best of the best,” but the competition has only made her bet-ter. She still recalls her time with the

Lightning fondly.“Coach (Dawn) Gaffin has sure set a

great foundation at Legacy,” Babcock said. “We were so grateful to have all the girls in the area of Legacy. We just meshed so well as a family.”

Houston Astros closer Mark Melancon warms up in left field with teammates during the Colorado Rockies’ batting practice at Coors Field on Aug. 22, 2011. Melancon is now the closer for the Boston Red Sox. Photo by Justin Sagarsee

Candrea at Arizona.The standout pitcher repeatedly

used the word “disappointed” when talking about the decision.

“I think Olympic sports are some-thing all girls strive for,” she said. “You can go play for the national team still and pro leagues, but there’s nothing like the Olympics anymore.

“I was very disappointed because it had always been a dream to play on the Olympic softball team. I’m still disappointed they’re not bring-ing it back.”

Baseball also working way backBaseball was officially given med-

al status for the first time at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

While Cuba has won three golds since then, the United States did bring home gold in 2000. It was the first year that the U.S. used minor-league players to compete in the games.

With baseball excluded from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, the Inter-national Baseball Federation cre-ated the World Baseball Classic in 2008 to give players from around the world the chance to compete against one another.

Mark Melancon, who graduated from Golden High School in 2003 and is currently a reliever with the Boston Red Sox, competed for the U.S. national team back in 2005 while at the University of Arizona.

“It was a very, very neat experi-ence. I’ll always remember it,” he said. “I feel privileged to represent our country and travel and see a lot of different cultures. It really gave

me an awareness to how baseball is played around the different nations that we went to.”

Melancon said he was disap-pointed and shocked after baseball was removed from the Olympics and is hopeful the sport will be back in the games as soon as pos-sible. The World Baseball Classic — which resumes in 2013 — is an alternative, but it doesn’t compare to the Olympics.

“I don’t know how much the World Baseball Classic is going to help the sport,” he said. “I think anytime you lose a sport in the Olympics, it’s probably going to hurt us a little bit, just because of how grand that stage is.”

An eye on 2020The federations for both sports

hope to bring baseball and softball

back to the Olympics in 2020. Sev-eral theories abounded as to why the sports were removed, and Candrea admitted that it’s expensive to build a stadium and practice facilities. Still, he doesn’t see why both sports couldn’t play at the same site.

The dreams of future generations could still be realized should the IOC be convinced that the sports belong back on the world’s biggest stage.

Candrea said softball deserves that chance because of the lack of opportunities to make a career of it.

“The college game is in good hands and gets good exposure, but unfortunately that’s kind of a dead end. A few kids are playing profes-sional softball, but none are making a huge living playing it,” he said. “I’m hoping someday people realize what they did wasn’t right and we’ll have softball back.”

Baseball continued from Page 20

BASEBALL: Medal status for first time