Tag Archives: sports
santabarbara

Spring Storms and Rock Climbing

by on 20. Apr, 2012 in Brian Pidduck


We didn’t have the chance to ski in the backcountry as much as we would have liked this winter due to the lower than average rainfall/snowfall in Southern California. However, Mother Nature seems to have been making up for it recently with some particularly heavy storms. The irony is that we have had to cancel or change several of our rock climbing trips this spring due to snow in the high country. This past weekend was a perfect example: it snowed 2 feet in Idyllwild, where we were planning on climbing! While it would have made sense to simply seize the opportunity and ski powder, we were excited to rock climb and have been training particularly hard lately. So, we visited some nearby crags in the Santa Ynez Mountains and camped at the beach instead. After a weekend of roped climbing at Gibraltar Rock, swimming in the waves of El Refugio Beach and a morning of bouldering at Lizard’s Mouth above Santa Barbara, we really couldn’t complain with how our plans had changed. We were treated to remarkably clear views of the Channel Islands (including the often obscured San Miguel Island!) and . . . the perfect climbing conditions we had hoped to have. I love our weekend trips!

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mtbpattons

Over the Ridge to Patton’s Cabin . . . and Back Again

by on 09. Feb, 2012 in Bob St. George, Brian Pidduck, Faculty

All Thacher students have ridden a horse over the ridge (the Nordhoff Ridge that is) and camped in the Sespe at some point during their Thacher career. This past weekend we did a variation of this excursion, also riding, but under full human power – on mountain bikes!

Adam Silberberg (CdeP ’15) joined my twin brother (Kevin Pidduck), Bruce Rogers (brother to Karleanne Rogers) and I for an 11 AM departure from the Sisar Canyon Trailhead in Upper Ojai. Together we climbed up and over the ridge and descended the Lion Trail (passing faculty member William Okin with several freshmen on their horseback ride back to Thacher after a night at Patton’s Cabin) to the Sespe River and our home away from home – Patton’s Cabin. The cabin is a remarkable refuge for trail weary travelers, whether on foot, hoof or by bike wheel. It is rustic yet comfortable, spartan yet remarkably functional. What a superb backcountry cabin we have for our use! We at Thacher are very fortunate.

The next morning we were met by Bo and Julie Manson, Bonnie LaForge and Bob St. George (faculty at Thacher) as well as sophomores Grant Ellman and Jamie Rush (CdeP ’14). Bo, Julie and Bonnie graciously carried our gear back out to the trailhead for us while we mounted our chromoly and carbon fiber steeds for an ascent back up the ridge via Henry Canyon. After admiring the view of the Channel Islands from the ridge top, we zipped down Gridley Canyon and were back at Thacher by 1:30 PM. It was a fantastic tour of the backcountry and a wonderful opportunity to share in the delights of bikes and trails with students and faculty. All of us can’t wait until the next mountain bike adventure we can cook up. It is remarkable to consider the potential for mountain adventures immediately out our back door at Thacher.

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Message from Coach

by on 08. Feb, 2012 in Faculty, Fred Coleman

After a sound defeat by a gifted Cate team recently, I sent the following message to my boys [the varsity soccer team]:

I want you to know you behaved magnificently yesterday, and I am forever impressed with your mental toughness, spirit, and ability to hang together as a team under challenging circumstances. You never gave in, and that shows the heart of a champion. It is a distinct honor to coach you.

Looking at both games as a whole it strikes me that Cate was about two goals-a-game better and the difference was simply their ability to finish, which leads me to the crystal clear fact that we were able to create excellent chances on goal in the first half from early crosses, but that for reasons not fully understood, we failed to keep them coming after the break, and generated only one good chance on goal in the 2nd half (Willie’s excellent run and shot).

I believe our best chance to beat Cate (and any really accomplished team), should we meet in the post-season tourney, is to keep early crosses coming for the full 80 minutes. As you know, we have players capable of doing this well. So, in every game we play we will emphasize early crosses even more until it is natural to employ them several times each half. To win in the post-season we must be able to score against the excellent teams.

Now we must dedicate ourselves to continuing to play 80 minutes of superb soccer every game, and then see where the chips fall.

In this note we find the dominant characteristic of Thacher soccer teams over the years: a willingness to play with great passion and energy from the very beginning to the bitter end, regardless of the situation. And then there is always looking forward to the next practice with a plan to improve. The final whistle of our final game will mark my last look forward to the next practice, as I will step down after over thirty seasons of coaching our soccer players from 3rd team to varsity, boys and girls. It has been a great run, full of passion and drama, victory and defeat. I could not possibly have asked for more.

 

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Patton’s Cabin via Mountain Bikes

Weekend Mountain Bike Trip in the Los Padres National Forest: Over the Ridge and Through the Woods to . . . Patton’s Cabin

by on 31. Jan, 2012 in Brian Pidduck, Faculty

All Thacher students have ridden a horse over the ridge (the Nordhoff Ridge that is) and camped in the Sespe at some point during their Thacher career. This past weekend we did a variation of this excursion, also riding, but under full human power – on mountain bikes!

Adam Silberberg (CdeP ’14) joined my twin brother (Kevin Pidduck), Bruce Rogers (brother to Karleanne Rogers) and I for an 11 AM departure from the Sisar Canyon Trailhead in Upper Ojai. Together we climbed up and over the ridge and descended the Lion Trail (passing faculty member William Okin with several freshmen on their horseback ride back to Thacher after a night at Patton’s Cabin) to the Sespe River and our home away from home – Patton’s Cabin. The cabin is a remarkable refuge for trail weary travelers, whether on foot, hoof or by bike wheel. It is rustic yet comfortable, spartan yet remarkably functional. What a superb backcountry cabin we have for our use! We at Thacher are very fortunate.

The next morning we were met by Bo and Julie Manson, Bonnie LaForge and Bob St. George (faculty at Thacher) as well as sophomores Grant Ellman and Jamie Rush. Bo, Julie and Bonnie graciously carried our gear back out to the trailhead for us while we mounted our chromoly and carbon fiber steeds for an ascent back up the ridge via Henry Canyon. After admiring the view of the Channel Islands from the ridge top, we zipped down Gridley Canyon and were back at Thacher by 1:30 PM. It was a fantastic tour of the backcountry and a wonderful opportunity to share in the delights of bikes and trails with students and faculty. All of us can’t wait until the next mountain bike adventure we can cook up. It is remarkable to consider the potential for mountain adventures immediately out our back door at Thacher.

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Unsung Soldiers

by on 28. Oct, 2011 in Fred Coleman

I decided to run boys who had not made the trip to Mt. SAC in a Condor League meet on a very difficult, demanding course.  Varsity runners and we coaches were on hand to cheer them on and as the race unfolded I was struck by the great effort and tenacity shown by these runners-on-the-way-up our cross country ladder.  Their courage and toughness were inspirational to our top seven girls and boys and added so much to a team culture designed for success.  We all saw that often the most important contributions come from the rank and file — unsung soldiers.

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