Putting themselves in a position to receive an award for outstanding performance in the field of high school competition is not the pivotal reason student athletes at Coast Union go out for sports. That said, given all the time that must be dedicated to practice — and the continual conditioning that playing competitive sports requires, while keeping up with academics — receiving recognition at the end of the long season is gratefully accepted by all that are honored.

Football Awards

There were two “Coach’s Awards” given out by head coach Chuck Garcia and his Offensive Coordinator Charlie Casale. One went to offensive and defensive lineman Alex De Alba and the other to Tommy Howard.

The “Most Valuable Player” award went to senior Alex Bautista, a gifted running back who stepped in admirably at the quarterback position when starting signal-caller Nolan Baldwin injured his shoulder.

And as noted in last week’s Cambrian, freshman standout Lane Sutherland was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 8-man football team.

“Alex Bautista did everything for us,” Garcia explained. “He never missed a practice, he played on special teams, and he was a great performer and a great leader. Alex doesn’t say a lot to anybody but he goes out and gets it done.”

As for junior Tommy Howard, he didn’t miss a single practice and Garcia said Tommy’s work in the weight room paid off every time he went up to catch a pass and had to wrestle it away from a defender. “He played on every special teams and never came off the field unless we needed him to.”

Junior Alex De Alba is “…involved in everything at the school, he’s a great student, he played hard all the time and he was a great practice players as well.” De Alba was a “real joy to coach,” Garcia added.

Volleyball Awards

Coach Pam Kenyon gave the “Most Improved Player” award to senior Doris Steen. The “Coach’s Award” went to senior Amy Avina, and Kenyon awarded two players with the “Most Valuable Player” designation.

The co-winners of the MVP award were both seniors: Karla Soto and Roxie Mertens.

As for the All-League honors in the Coast Valley League, Amy and Karla made “First Team All-League”; Roxie was awarded “Second Team All-League,” and sophomore Sage Redecki was “Honorable Mention All-League.”

The All-League awards are considered by Kenyon to be “quite an honor,” because those players are chosen by all the other coaches in the league.

As to the MVP and “Most Improved” awards for the Lady Broncos, those players were nominated by the teammates. “It’s quite flattering,” Kenyon explained, “to be nominated by your own team members.”

Tennis Awards

Girls Tennis coach Ron Ruggles selected his awards this past weekend and it was no surprise that senior Alex Zaragoza was given the “Most Valuable Player” award. Zaragoza compiled a superb 45-6 record in her senior year.

The “Coach’s Award” went to senior Morgan May, who played doubles with senior Kylie Castle (along with Zaragoza the doubles team earned a CIF playoff spot). Junior Melissa Mathieson was named the “Most Improved” player on the girls varsity team.