Fischer went to Foothill, while Kribel wore the purple and gold of Amador Valley. And while the Whistle was walking around the scenic course in the Livermore hills, he thought back to the high school days of both Fischer and Kribel.
What he remembered the most wasn't how good the two were in high school they were very, very good but rather, that both played other sports growing up.
Kribel was a tremendous baseball player and Fischer a 3-point shooting specialist for the Foothill basketball team. Both advanced to the highest level of golf, but did so playing other sports growing up.
As we move further and further into the time when kids are specializing in just one sport, it makes the Whistle cringe when he thinks about parents holding kids out of other sports in favor of specialization.
Specialization in sports at least at the youth/high school level is a joke, plain and simple. And it's something that is perpetuated and promoted only by those who have something to gain financially from kids specializing in one sport.
Now, before any personal trainers/club team coaches get their feathers ruffled and start firing off e-mails to the Whistle, put down yourdumbbells/whistles, relax and read on.
Working with a personal trainer or playing for a club team is not a bad thing, provided the trainer/coach is not advising the athlete to give up other sports and focus on one.
People who tell kids they need to focus on one sport don't care about the kids, they care only about their own agenda. For people who run specialized programs, wins equate to dollars, plain and simple. Once you've outlived your usefulness to them, you're history in favor of someone else who can help.
There are good personal trainers out there, just be sure to do your homework before you commit to anything.
Listen to the Whistle when he says, let kids play what they want. In 20 years, when they reflect on the past from their 9-to-5 jobs, they'll be happy they participated as much as they could.
Let's start with a reality check here. Don't plan your future based on your child becoming a professional athlete the chance of it happening is remote at best.
Hey, the Whistle is a huge fan of his own kids athletic abilities, but there's not a day that goes by when he doesn't drill into his kids that it's not athletics, but academics that matter.
For those of you who know or see any of the Whistle's kids, next time you see them ask what their Dad says is the only thing that matters at school, and they'll answer, probably with a frown, "my grades."
So, as long as the kids are doing well in class, encourage them to play as many sports as possible.
Let's take a jog around the EBAL and see what we would be missing if kids focused on one sport.
At the top of the Whistle's list would be Monte Vista. How good would the Monte Vista basketball team have been this year if Ryan Whalen and Drew McAllister decided to focus only on football? And now McAllister is out running and running fast for the Monte Vista track team.
Foothill's another good example. Jordan Johnson could easily have taken the winter off from basketball after a big football season, but there was Johnson, playing basketball.
Softball superstar Val Arioto had nothing to gain by playing soccer except the joy of playing for her school and with her friends so there was Arioto out running around on the soccer field. And she even got hurt during soccer season, then fought to get back on the field.
Remember Foothill baseball/football player Brandon Crawford? He's tearing it up for the UCLA baseball team, but before he went south for college, he spent part of his senior year at Foothill playing quarterback for the Falcons, a spot the Whistle is convinced he could have played at the next level as well.
Over at Amador Valley, junior Amanda Nespor may be headed toward a lacrosse scholarship, but she's also turning out to be one of the top basketball players in the area as well.
At Livermore, you've got the Raber sisters Shayla and Ryann taking their turn playing softball, after being two of the better players for the Livermore basketball team.
California's baseball team may have gotten out of the gate a tad slow as Josh Slaats was late coming out after the Grizzlies basketball team went to the North Coast Section playoffs. But at least he's playing baseball and is an important cog in two of the Grizzlies top programs.
At San Ramon Valley, Vai Schierholtz came right out from the San Ramon basketball season to start for the Wolves baseball team.
And the list can go on which is the way it's supposed to be. If you're an athlete sitting out a sport in which you really want to participate, all because someone told you to focus on one sport, you're making a mistake.
Don't get caught up in the specialization garbage that is starting to seep in and cause a stench in today's sports programs. And if you're at a high school where the coaches frown on you playing more than one sport, drop the Whistle a line. It might make a good column.
The Whistle has preached a number of times over the years that high school is the best time of your young life make the most of it.