VC Pop Warner cheer team takes second at Jamz Nationals

The Valley Center Pop Warner Midget Cheerleading team traveled to Jamz Nationals this weekend and brought home a second place trophy.
The team competed in two different divisions, Show Cheer, which is traditional cheerleading and dance, and Character Dance, which is a dance division that must incorporate many styles of dance as well as tell a story.
The team took second plac in the Character Dance, which was based on the popular James Cameron movie Avatar.
The team had a very successful season, and is now off for a break. If you are interested in joining the team for the 2011–2012 season, which will begin practice again in August, please give Jeanna Slattery a call 760-484-3578 to find out more about up coming registration for the season. Or check out the Web site at www.vcpopwarner.com/
There is a cheerleading team for all ages beginning at five years old up to 15. The competitive teams start at around ten years old. It is a great way to make new friends, get in shape and develop dance, stunt, and tumbling skills for the future VC High School Dance and Cheerleading.
The VCPW Midget Cheerleading team consists of Brittani Bennett, Gabi Cloutier, Christine Diepstraten, Alexis Gomez, Kaelin Head, Sabriena Lopez, Angelina Luna, Camryn Meyers, Janelly Miranda, Faith Mitchell, Maritza Morales, Natalia Garcia, Marissa Neumann, Brittany Pfizenmaier, Tessa Redmond, Victoria Rodriguez, Maya Taylor, Breanna Todd, Aubrey Wolf. Coaching Staff: Jeanna Slattery, Monika Diepstraten, Janet Nelson, Letreasa Harris, Shelby Thorpe and Sarah Mitchell.

ESPN report: Dillon Baxter admits he's not working hard enough at USC

For those of you who watched the CIF Division IV football championship at the end of last season, you'll remember (painfully, if you're a Valley Center fan) that Mission Bay's Dillon Baxter ran roughshod through the muddied Jaguar defense for upwards of 400 yards.

At the time, I remember thinking that this kid was a prodigious talent, but I couldn't help but notice that his attitude seemed...a bit off.

For example, before the game started, both teams were out on the field warming up, each team on its own half. Baxter managed to situate himself right at the 50 yard line, closer to the Valley Center sideline than his own, and lo and behold, ended up in a bit of a jawing match with some of the Jaguars.

During the game, despite the fact that he was running around the field like a grown-up on the playground field with a bunch of kids, Baxter's teammates all but ignored their star on the sideline. Perhaps he purposely stood by himself, perhaps his teammates just didn't want to talk to him, perhaps it was a little of both. But it was in sharp contrast to Valley Center's recently-graduated phenom, James Johnson, who was always pumping up his teammates with encouragement, cheering on the team during the brief moments when he wasn't in the game, and talking with coaches about the game plan. Baxter seemed like he was already finished with Mission Bay (a theory supported by the USC beanie he was wearing after the game, which I noticed only after he was the absolute last player to go through the line to shake hands with the Jaguars).

He was pretty highly touted coming out of high school, and USC landed him. But this week, after a few disappointing efforts, this report came out on ESPN.com about Baxter's lack of effort.

He may be superbly talented, but as Johnson has shown at the University of Washington (earning a starting WR spot as a true freshman, but having been slowed by an ankle injury in his sophomore year) that hard work is what separates the great from the pretty good.

VC Grad James Johnson Ready For Sophomore Season At University Of Washington

Heading into his sophomore year at the University of Washington, Valley Center High School graduate James Johnson has plenty to be excited about this football season.
Johnson was named The Roadrunner’s Newsmaker of the Year in 2008 after a stellar senior season at VCHS, in which he caught 57 passes for 1,261 yards and 17 touchdowns. As a Jaguar, Johnson broke the CIF San Diego Section record for most receiving yards in a high school career with 2,930 in four years as a varsity starter.
In his first season with the Huskies, Johnson made 39 receptions for 422 yards and three touchdowns, including a 17-yard touchdown on his first collegiate reception. He also helped Washington to a thrilling 16-13 win over No. 3-ranked USC last season by hauling in seven catches for 72 yards, and was named to the All-Pac 10 Freshman team for his outstanding first season.
This year, Johnson says he learned a lot from his freshman season, and that it has helped him gain a deeper understanding of the game.
“I’ve learned a lot about the business aspect of the game,” he says. “What I mean by that is that I see the way the coaches constantly stress competition at each position to make everyone better. In college, everyone’s much more equal that way. And you have to have a lot more mental toughness at this level—a lot more than in high school.”
Along with the mental toughness, Johnson will need physical toughness to bounce back from an ankle injury that kept him out of preseason mini camps, and allowed him to return to practice only recently.
“I missed a couple of weeks; it was a pretty bad strain,” he says. “But I’m back at practice and getting back in the mix of things, trying to get back to one hundred percent.”
Even though he’s not sure he’ll be fully healed in time for this Saturday’s game at Brigham Young University (BYU), Johnson says he’s looking forward to how the team is coming together this season.
“I’m really excited about our team chemistry this year,” he says. “We have a real sense of camaraderie that’s better than it was last year. We only won five games last season, but I can tell we’re going to win a lot more than that this year.”
One reason the Huskies are looking so good heading into the season is senior quarterback Jake Locker, who threw for 2,800 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, and is an extremely likely candidate to become the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL draft.
“It’s just a blessing from God to be able to play with a guy like Jake,” Johnson says of his quarterback. “He’s a great guy on and off the field, he’s always studying the game, and he’s a tremendous leader. It’s a great opportunity for me as a wide receiver to play with such a great quarterback.”
And even as the college football season gets underway this weekend, Johnson hasn’t forgotten the Jaguars and their upcoming season opener on Friday night.
“I would just tell them to enjoy the game and have fun out there,” he says about the Jaguars. “You only get to be in high school once, so take advantage of the time you have there. I love being here in Washington, but I miss Valley Center too. There’s nothing like those Friday nights out there on the football field.”
Johnson and the Huskies start the season on Saturday at BYU at 4 p.m. PST. Two of Washington’s games are scheduled to be televised nationally: a home game against No. 3 Nebraska on Sept. 18 is set to be shown on ABC at 12:30 p.m. PST, then the Huskies’ home game against UCLA on Nov. 18 will be shown on ESPN and online on ESPN3.com at 5 p.m. PST.

James Johnson Earns Starting WR Spot

Freshman wideout and Valley Center alum James Johnson (No. 3 in the above photo) is at it again, earning a starting spot for the Washington Huskies in their season opener against Louisiana State (LSU) on Saturday.

Johnson told me he's "excited" about the opportunity, and that he's been preparing for this "since I got off the plane." As always, he sounded cool and confident when I talked to him on Monday, but I imagine there will be a few butterflies when Saturday evening rolls around. Not that it will affect how he plays, because in all the big games he played at Valley Center, he always seemed to step up the biggest when the pressure was at its greatest.

Be sure to watch the Huskies play the LSU Tigers on Saturday at 7:30 pm PST. The game will be shown on ESPN and online on ESPN 360.

Go Huskies!

VC Grad James Johnson Dazzles In First Practice With Huskies

Valley Center High School grad James Johnson is already wowing the coaches (and the media) at the University of Washington.

Check out this article from the Seattle Times about Johnson's first practice, in which he caught three touchdowns, including one in some heavy traffic.

I sent a quick text message to James this week, and he says he's working hard, and I know I'm looking forward to the season. I'm hoping to talk with him a bit this weekend to see how life in college football is going so far...so check back in later this week and make sure to pick up a copy of The Roadrunner.