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Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009

James Burns: 100 reasons to party out in Le Grand

The only thing The Burn List loves more than a good party...

Having all-access privileges to a good party.

So imagine The Burn List's excitement when Le Grand football coach Rick Martinez passed along an invitation to the school's 100th anniversary later this fall.

The birthday festivities will reach a feverish pitch on Friday, Oct. 23, when the Le Grand football team tangles with longtime rival and defending Southern League champ Mariposa.

A party ... with drama? The Burn List wouldn't miss it for the world.

To help set the mood, TBL played "Five Questions" with Martinez. He balked at "Truth or Dare."

Oh well.

Maybe next time.

TBL: Word on the street is Le Grand's the team to beat in the Southern League. What say you?

RM: Our mantra has always been to be that secret team, the one that slides under the radar. And we liked being that team.

Being a favorite is a first for us. I know I picked Mariposa, because that's how much respect I have for them. To me, to be the best, you've got to beat the best. They're the best right now.

Being picked to win, and being talked about, it's a great seat to be in. We haven't been there in a while. The kids seem to like it, too.

TBL: Some coaches would laugh off the preseason rankings and the buzz. Others might revel in it. What's it all mean to you?

RM: As a coach, it's great. It feels like we're doing the right thing and getting the recognition that comes along with it.

It's all due to the kids' effort. Being picked to win the league championship is a feather in their camp, and it makes them feel good about what they're doing.

TBL: The respect is warranted. You didn't lose much from a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff team. As a coach, how much of a blessing is it to have a seasoned group heading into the spring and summer months?

RM: When you have returners, they understand the schemes you're trying to do and what you're trying to accomplish.

The most important thing, though, is the leadership. We got kids taking on those roles and running with it. The core and camaraderie is getting tighter and tighter.

I'll share a story with you:

Our kids have been wanting an inflatable helmet to run out of. I told them we couldn't afford it -- that I'm worried about paying for transportation.

By the middle of the week, they had organized a car wash, talked to a property owner in Planada and raised $650. It's a $4,500 helmet. But the point is they're coming together as a unit. And to their coach, that speaks volumes.

TBL: The flipside is you only have 28 players. Some would say camaraderie comes easier to smaller groups. For a team with so much potential, how do you justify such a teeny-tiny roster?

RM: It's a small-school number. We have 250 boys on campus, and remember, our soccer team has done pretty well, too. Back in the day, we'd have 40 kids on our roster, but we didn't have boys soccer, either.

Every school with our same demographic has about the same numbers. It's just the way it's going to be. Of course, we'd like the numbers to go up, but they never will till our enrollment goes up.

(TBL: In other cities, football is king. No other sport can hold a candle to it. Except, it seems, at Le Grand. Does that strike you as odd?)

In places like Stockton and Modesto, they've got club soccer. A lot of our boys don't experience club soccer, so they're going to play (high school soccer).

Year after year, we've tried to recruit those soccer players, but they live and die for it. There are some athletic soccer players that I'd like to see on the football field.

TBL: Tony time. If this team can make a deep playoff run, does Tony Ortegon have a shot at 2,000 rushing yards?

RM: I meet with every player to talk about team goals and individual goals. When Tony and I sat down, he said, "Coach, I'd like to reach 2,000 yards."

I was like, "Wow. Two-thousand yards? OK, that's attainable, but along with that goal comes time and hard work."

We had 35 days this summer and he showed up every single day. He took a liking to lifting weights. He's committed to reaching that goal.

I hope he gets 2,000 yards, and carries us to a league championship and the playoffs.

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.