By Dr. Paul Drew
Welcome to the sixth issue of volume five of Swish, a weekly periodical with recaps and photos of Santa Monica YMCA youth basketball games, and other pertinent info such as announcements and updates from the program.
The Santa Monica YMCA is proud to announce our new partner to the youth basketball program:
The Santa Monica YMCA is very honored, excited, and thankful to have the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation to help support and provide assistance for our goals of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility, by providing jerseys, grants, and experienced trainers to help this generation of youth become our future leaders.
This amazing adventure will begin in 2020 with the start of our winter youth basketball season at the Santa Monica YMCA. Registration for the Winter season will become open to the public on November 6th online at http://welcome.ymcasm.org/programs/youth/sports-play/
Or in person at the front desk of the Santa Monica YMCA.
Chickisms
In honor of Laker tradition, I would like to introduce Chickisms after the late great Chick Hearn, the longtime Laker play by play broadcaster who set the Gold standard for basketball announcing, or should I say “Purple and Gold” standard.
The particular phrases that Hearn used during his broadcasts were labeled “Chickisms”. Many are staples of basketball.
20 foot lay-up: A jump shot by Jamaal Wilkes.
Air-ball: An errant shot that fails to touch either the rim or the backboard.
(He sent that one back) Air-mail Special!: A strongly blocked shot, often sent high into the stands.
Bloooows the layup! : Missed a very easy layup.
Boo-birds: Fans who boo their own team when they play badly.
(He did the) bunny hop in the pea patch: He was called for traveling.
(You could) call it with Braille: An easy call for an official, e.g. a blatant foul.
(He got) caught with his hand in the cookie jar: A reaching foul.
(The) charity stripe: The free throw line.
(That player is in) civilians: The player is not in uniform.
(He’s got ’em) covered like the rug on your floor: Really good one-on-one defense.
(They) couldn’t beat the Sisters of Mercy: The team is getting beat badly.
(They) couldn’t throw a pea into the ocean: The team’s shooting is really awful.
(It’ll) count if it goes …: A player that is fouled in the act of shooting, or alternatively gets off a shot just before the buzzer sounded. It go-o-o-oes!: The shot is successful.
(That shot) didn’t draw iron: A shot which misses the rim, but hits the backboard. Sometimes he would add but it drew a lot of flies.
Dime store score: A 10 to 5 score.
Dribble-drive: A player drives the basket while dribbling.
Finger roll: A shot where the ball rolls off the shooter’s fingers.
(He) fly-swatted (that one): A shot blocked with force and authority.
Football score: A score resembling one often seen in a football game (e.g., 21-14).
(He threw up a) frozen rope: A shot with a very flat trajectory.
(We’re) high above the western sideline: Chick’s perch at the Forum, from which he called his “word’s eye view” of the game.
Hippity-hops the dribble: A player dribbling the ball does a little hop step.
I’ll bet you an ice cream: Hearn and Keith Erickson (his one-time color commentator) often bet ice creams on the outcome of a shot or game.
(He’s got) ice-water in his veins: When a player hits a clutch free throw.
(It’s) First and ten: Multiple players are sprawled on the floor after a physical play or diving for the ball.
(It’s) garbage time: The (often sloppily played) final minutes when reserve players get a chance to play in a game that’s out of reach (after it is in the refrigerator).
Give and Go: A player passes the ball, makes a quick cut, and receives a return pass.
(In & out,) heart-brrrreak!: A shot that appears to go in, but rattles off the rim and misses. Sometimes it went in so far you could read the Commissioner’s name from below.
He has two chances, slim and none, and slim just left the building: The player has no chance of success with this play.
If that goes in, I’m walking home: Similar to a prayer, when the opponent shoots a shot that is a prayer, a streak, or some amazing shot. (Usually on the road)
Leapin’ Lena: A shot made while the player is in the air and off balance.
Marge could have made that shot: A missed shot that was so easy, Hearn’s wife Marge could have made it. Marge was often referred to when a player messed up something that was easy.
Matador Defense: Poor defense that allows their opponent to drive uncontested through the lane to the basket.
(There are) lots of referees in the building, only 3 getting paid: The entire crowd acts as though they are the officials by disagreeing with a call.
(Like a) motorcycle in a motordrome: Ball spins several times around the inside of the rim, then drops through or goes “in & out”.
Too much mustard on the hot dog: Describing a player attempting an unnecessarily showy, flashy play.
The mustard’s off the hot dog: A player attempts an unnecessarily showy, flashy play which ends up in a turnover or otherwise unsuccessful, such as a missed dunk.
My grandmother could guard him, and she can’t go to her left!: Said of a slow, out of shape, or hurt player.
Nervous time: When the final moments of a game are pressure-packed.
94-by-50 hunk of wood: The basketball court, based on the floor’s dimensions. (Attacking 47 feet: The front court.)
No harm, no foul (no blood, no ambulance, no stitches): A no-call by an official when varying degrees of contact have occurred. (More adjectives means the non-call was more questionable.)
Not Phi Beta Kappa: Not a smart play.
…Since Hector was a pup A very long time (e.g., the Lakers haven’t had the lead since Hector was a pup.)
He’s in the Popcorn Machine (with butter and salt all over him): Meaning that a defender got faked into the air (and out of play) by an offensive player’s pump fake. (“Popcorn Machine” is a reference to an actual popcorn machine in the old Los Angeles Sports Arena, which was near the basket, but far from the court. Thus, if the player went far out of play, he was in the “popcorn machine.”) When Hearn guest starred as a mouse in the Garfield and Friends episode Basket Brawl, Odie literally runs into a popcorn machine.
(He’s) on him like a postage stamp: Very tight defense.
Seventeen five-oh-five, standing at the Forum: When a play drew universal acclaim (17,505 was the seating capacity for the Inglewood Forum)
Slam dunk!: Hearn’s most famous phrase; a powerful shot where a player forces the ball through the rim with one or both hands.
(He was) standing there, combing his hair: When a player uninvolved with the action comes up with the ball and gets an easy shot.
(He) takes him to the third floor and leaves him at the mezzanine: A move where an offensive player pump-fakes a defender and draws a foul from the leaping player.
Tattoo dribble: A player dribbling the ball while not moving, as though tattooing the floor with the ball, as he waits for the play to develop.
This game’s in the refrigerator: the door is closed, the lights are out, the butter’s getting hard, the eggs are cooling, and the Jell-O’s jigglin’!: The game’s outcome is set; only the final score is in question. Chick’s variation on “the game’s on ice.” (Reportedly, he set a record for the earliest he’s ever said this during the February 4, 1987 game against the Sacramento Kings, who were down 40-4 after the first quarter.)
Throws up a brick: When a player tosses up a particularly errant shot, particularly one that bounces off the front of the rim.
Throws up a prayer (…it’s (or isn’t) answered!!!): A wild shot that will need a miracle to score (and does or doesn’t).
Ticky-tack: A foul called when very little contact has been made.
Triple-double: A player gets 10 or more (i.e. double digits) in three statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots.
(On his) wallet: A player fell on his rear end. When Lynn Shackleford, color man 1970–77, who liked to sass his rather straitlaced senior partner, remarked once that a player had landed on his backside, Hearn admonished him in all seriousness, “That’s his wallet.”
Words-eye view: What listeners received while listening to Hearn call the game on the radio.
(He’s) working on his Wrigleys. A player is chewing gum.
(He’s) yo-yo-ing up and down: A player dribbles in one place as if he were playing with a yo-yo on a string.
(He’s dribbling) left to right (or right to left) across your dial: To let people who were listening to radio know which direction the ball was going up the court.
(He’s) alone, he sets, he fires, he gets!: Player not defended who stops, sets and shoots.
Rookies
Thanks to an end of regulation free throw from Oguz Aghayev, the Turtles escaped a tie game against the talented Zombies. Coach G. was proud of his entire team and felt that the score did not reflect the level of effort each of the turtle players put forth in the game. We had many shots bounce around on the rim … the ball could have gone either way on many occasions. Archie Lewis, Henok Tesfaye yet again showed great improvement, especially defensively. Our ball handlers Daniel Gruft and Aguz Aghayev proved difficult for the Zombies to stop. Cruz Hecklin, Austin Bernier and River Greenwell, with a strong effort from their teammate Nevoh Zach, were doing a great job getting rebounds. We were missing Hawkins Wakefield this week as he was celebrating his grandmother’s birthday. Hawkins will be our secret defensive weapon when we play the Zombies yet again this Sunday in the playoff bracket. Submitted by Coach Chris Greenwell
Game Summary: Bluesbreakers vs Yardbirds: The Bluesbreakers looked to get back on the winning track, but the League-Best Yardbirds stood in the way. With just 6 players vs a full Yardbird squad, the Blues faced a tough challenge.
This turned out to be a defensive chess match with both sides playing alert, staunch defense. Adrian Yen nabbed a steal in the first quarter to help his team. Joaquin Jimenez get in on the act and collected 2 steals to go along with 3 rebounds and several loose-ball tieups that helped keep the game close. Zeke Sarr continues to improve, making some nice plays on defense and passing the ball to his front-court teammates.
Stellan Haberli got the Bluesbreakers on scoreboard with a nice baseline jumper. In addition to his scoring, Stellan was aggressive on defense; gathering 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, along with 4 points. Aryan Abjani played a nice game to anchor the defense; pulling down 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Up 4-0 for most of the game, the Bluebreakers just needed to stay solid on defense to get the win. Efe Gocen played a valuable role coming in off the bench to help his teammates get a quick 4-minute rest. The team looked fresh down the stretch. Battling back-and-forth for rebounds and loose balls, both teams were looking to make plays. A critical offensive rebound by Aryan Abjani and some defensive plays by Joaquin Jimenez and Stellan Haberli kept the score as is. With time winding down and one last possession, the Yardbirds looked to make a move. Richard Haro got loose at the free throw line and hit a turn-around jumper to get the Yardbirds on the board as time ran out.
A close game that was hard-fought from start to finish. Final Score: Bluesbreakers 4 Yardbirds 2. Submitted by Coach Charles Ellinwood
Animals Come out Strong Over the Rascals, to Win 13 – 8: Player of the Game Mariella Belew led the Animals with a strong performance to give the Animals their second victory of the season. Mariella led the team with 8 points, including two last quarter field goals to give the Animals the edge. Mariella also had two steals and 6 rebounds for a solid all round performance.
Keanu Straughter also had a commanding performance with 4 points, 3 important steals, a rebound, and a team leading 3 blocked shots. Straughter’s blocked shots and steals were a crucial part of the Animals defense. Colson Moore also contributed to the defensive effort with 3 steals and Colson also grabbed 2 rebounds. Jasen Gaines also had 2 rebounds. Zayn Al-Shawe came through with a first half free throw shot to give the Animals a scoring cushion going into the second half of the game. Submitted by Jason Moore
YARDBIRDS GET THE BLUES – October 27th. This Yardbirds basketball team has been on a super streak of learning basketball, winning and (I hope) tons of fun. Yet, sometimes the ball pops out the hoop. Despite 7 steals from center August Richane, despite great defense and rebounds by nearly every player on our team, plus a late 4th quarter score from always-clutch, Richard Haro we fell a couple points short. We must commend the other team. They’re well coached, dribbled great and penetrated to the basket on offense, and played great defense too. Thus, the Yardbirds get their first loss–and their first chip on their shoulders–losing to the Bluesbreakers, 4-2.
PS: For all you Rookie League fans, look for the rematch in a battle for 1st this coming weekend. Should be scintillating stuff! Submitted by Coach Pete Harris
Bantams
The Police & the Pretenders took it to the court Saturday. These two teams practice at the same time including scrimmages between each other each week, so the players were familiar with one another. The Police started off strong taking a 9-2 lead by half time, and doing a heck of a job on defense. Theo Richards led the way with 7 points, one coming by way of a 3 pointer (2nd game in a row for him)…Theo also had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, and 1 assist for another great game.
The Pretenders woke up in a big way in the 2nd half scoring 16 points in the half!…and hitting some long shots. The Police’s initial strong defense ending up falling short in the 2nd half. It was a battle, and the Pretenders took it 18-15 in the end..a hard fought game from both teams.
Other Police highlights were Logan Cappicille with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, and 1 assist. Tristan Hayes with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Brandon Israels with 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. Jaxton Moore with 7 rebounds. Nick Varo with 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Ryan Drew with 1 rebound and 1 steal. Roman Gabriel with 1 rebound worked with Xander Zhou on defense. Submitted by Coach Holden Hayes
Revolution / Bosses: The Revolution had a showdown against the team immediately behind them in the standings, the Bosses. The Revolution played a great team game, especially on defense where Elliott Ma (two points, a steal, and two rebounds) and Jonathan Watson (two points and two rebounds) were given the unenviable task of trading off in an attempt to neutralize the Bosses’ main ball handler, which they did almost perfectly, with an assist from everyone else stepping up to lock down passing lanes. On offense the Revolution also improved their game, moving the ball well and playing a better team-oriented game with some great passing and unselfish use of screens to free up other players. First-year player Brooks Stuber chipped in a key steal and bucket to go with three rebound, with Alden Wong also grabbing a steal and a board and very nearly scoring on a ball that went in and out – a theme for the night for many Revolution players who got into good shooting positions but couldn’t quite get their shots to drop. Alex Ma was a monster on the boards grabbing a team-high seven, with Benjamin Sanders contributing a key rebound and steal and Teddy Chang another key rebound. Axel Trussler contributed a block and at the shot of the game, with Rhys Scheflen swishing two baskets and grabbing a rebound, and Wiley Scheflen had a nice assist, a steal, and four points total to grab Player of the Game honors on a day when all of the Revolutions players were deserving. The final score was 15-6 Revolution Revolution will enjoy a bye next week before a showdown with the league-leading Pretenders the week after. Submitted by Coach Sarah Scheflen
Bosses lose to Revolution: With four of our more experienced players in Vitalina, Lauren, Aaron, and Grace out for this game; we would need to play a perfect game to have a chance against the Revolution. Although we played hard, the rim wasn’t kind to us and we weren’t aggressive enough on defense to put a scare into the Revolution. Ryan Lim played hard on both ends of the court to keep us somewhat close and Davis Forkner found the net and played well, but we didn’t have the interior presence without Vitalina and Grace.
Kai Badat got a good run by playing hard for all 32 minutes. It was good for our players new to the game in Evelia Brea, Terry Gunderson, and Mason Alvarez to get extended playing time that will benefit their development as the season progresses. Submitted by Coach Rick Moncher
The Pretenders played their 5th game this past Saturday afternoon against the feisty Police in a game that turned out to be one of the more exciting Bantam games of the season. The first half the Police came out firing on all cylinders, making 3 point shots and keeping us from scoring much with a solid defensive game plan. Our shorthanded squad, missing some key veteran players, went to halftime frustrated down 9-2, with our only basket coming in David Casparian’s 1st ever Bantam score. But instead of letting the deficit get them down, The Pretenders players came out in the 2nd half with a fight and determination that made me proud to be their coach. Our three key veterans Ethan Pages, Noah Norman, and Dylan Kravitz led the way not accepting defeat on this late Saturday afternoon. Clawing our way back, the shots started to fall with Pages scoring 4 points and Norman scoring two. But it was Player of the Game, Kravitz, who after an emotional week, caught fire scoring 10 2nd half points to give us the lead in the 4th quarter. The last 4 minutes was a tight back and forth affair that had all the parents on the edge of their seats. In the end, we we hung on for a narrow 18-15 victory. Aidan Hill and Christopher Brehme contributed solid defense and dribbling to the all around team effort for our 1st Place Pretenders. Submitted by Coach Bill Kravitz
Minors
Clovers vs. Platters: The Clovers squared off against their practice floor-mates, The Platters. Although The Clovers came away victorious with a 28-19 win and improved its record to 5-0, the game was by far their tightest contest of this season. The halftime score was only 12-6 due in large part to a great Platters’ D. In the second half, The Clovers started moving the ball, finding open teammates and taking better shots and eventually pulled away.
The Coaches would like to tip our hats to Platters’ guard Max Hinton for playing an outstanding game. Along with scoring a team high 8 points, grabbing 8 boards and having 3 steals – he played with tremendous poise, sound fundamentals and adroit use of both his left and right hands to go to the basket.
On The Clovers side, Player of the Game, Leo Sikora had an all-around strong performance with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. When the offense became stagnant, Sikora attacked the rim and created opportunities for his teammates. Jonathan Shu was a beast on the boards with 6 rebs and 8 crucial points. Leo “Money” Mooney had 6 boards and was our defensive catalyst with 6 steals. The other half of the SMASH brothers, Rowan Booher, had 3 steals and was aggressive on D. Ryan Schuster chipped in 5 points and Guy Sikora had 4 points and 2 steals.
Henry Olivier was the only Clover to record an assist and complimented that with 2 points, 2 boards and a steal. Aiden Man and Patrick Chiang once again secured the post and prevented The Platters from getting any easy inside shots. Rayan Etemadi and Dominic Drew both pulled down big 3 boards and took several shots that were oh so close to finding the bottom of the net. They also played strong D on the trap.
The Clovers know that they will have to step up their game this Saturday and play with much more focus and intensity as they play a big Delfonics team. Submitted by Coach Jonathan Schuster
Coasters vs Whispers
Majors
LESSONS LEARNED: Commodores over The Godfathers: I am happy to report that beyond the win in the game this past week, our focus of the game was a big success. Nathan and Ben both learned the importance and moreover the effectiveness of HUSTLE and INITIATIVE., and as a result were on fire. Nathan had a few amazing steels and rebounds which forced turnovers on the other team. Ben I dare say had a “breakout” game, not only upping his “hustle, but also taking “initiative” to create three successful fast-breaks one of which he brought down the court himself to drop in a whopper of an exciting three-pointer, and he was awarded player of the game for his efforts. I hope the lessons learned by these two will spread and the whole team will get infected.
In fact I was very proud of the entire team putting an extra effort into how they were playing a smarter defense with only a handful of fouls assessed the whole game. I was also quite happy at how much the team adapted to the different lineups I mixed and matched to see who passed to whom and I love that for the most part I couldn’t tell the difference on line to the next – especially after Ben took charge in the 3rd quarter. Great job all around. I hope to see more of that kind of play and coachability this weekend. Submitted by Coach Darren Eng
Photography by Louis Yansen
This week Louis took amazing shots of the Parliaments against the Wonders.
This Week’s Profile
Each week, Swish has a profile of a coach, player, or someone in the program who inspires all of us involved in Santa Monica YMCA basketball.
This week’s profile is of the Pfanschmidt family. Kids Harriet and Siva are newcomers to YMCA basketball and have brought enthusiasm to their Rookie team, the Zombies, who are coached by their father Brain who is making his coaching debut this season, and managed by team mom Lakshmi.
I asked the Pfanschmidt family a few questions for the Swish:
DocDrew: What do you enjoy most about playing basketball at the Santa Monica YMCA?
Hattie: Passing to my teammates and cheering for them.
Siva: Scoring baskets! Winning!
DocDrew: Who are your favorite players and why?
Siva: Zander Chin and Theo DeCordoba. They are pretty tall, which is cool, but they’re not the tallest in the whole league.
Harriet: Siva Pfanschmidt! Because he’s funny!
DocDrew: What do you enjoy most about coaching youth basketball at the Santa Monica YMCA?
Coach Brian: A kid making his or her first basket ever. It’s shock followed by an outpouring of pure joy. A close second would be fast breaks toward the wrong basket.
DocDrew: Who inspires you as a coach?
Coach Brian: My dad. My friends knew if they were lucky enough to be on his team, it’d be a fun year and they’d win a lot of games. He had the ability to make it fun while requiring every kid to value sportsmanship, hustle, and being a teammate. Dad was strategic and had high expectations, but he kept cool and never made it too obvious that he desperately wanted to win every game.
DocDrew: what do enjoy about having your children participate in youth basketball at the Santa Monica YMCA?
Lakshmi: The friendship and support the kids give each other. The postgame snacks are good too.
The Santa Monica YMCA gives many thanks to the Pfanschmidt family for their support and enthusiasm to our youth basketball program.
Special thanks
I want to thank Dagwoods restaurant, and everyone who came to my birthday fundraiser to help raise money for the Santa Monica YMCA Camp Big Bear scholarship fund to help send kids to Summer camp.
SCORES
SAT 10/26/19
Minors
Clovers 28, Platters 19
Drifters 15, Impressions 34
Delfonics 30, Express 24
Whispers 29, Coasters 15
Bantams
Beat 12, Heartbreakers 12
Pretenders 18, Police 15
Revolution 15, Bosses 6
SUN 10/27/19
Rookies
Animals 13, Rascals 8
Bluesbreakers 4 Yardbirds 2
Turtles 9, Zombies 8
Bantams
Cars 10, Runaways 10
Majors
Wonders 36, Parliaments 48
Commodores 52, Godfathers 31
Spinners 38, Supremes 17
Culver Middle School(Culver-Palms YMCA Fall League)
SAT 10/26/19
6-7 division Culver YMCA 2, Santa Monica YMCA 4
8-9 division Culver YMCA 3, Santa Monica YMCA 10
10-11 division Culver YMCA 8, Santa Monica YMCA 26
Standings:
Teams are awarded 5 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 1 point for a loss, 0 points for a forfeit. Tournament games have greater point value. Teams are listed in their place in the standings with W-L-T and team points.
Rookies:
Yardbirds 4-1-0, 21 points
Bluesbreakers 3-2-0, 17 points *Bluesbreakers, Turtles, and Zombies were (1-1-0) against each other, but Bluesbreakers have best record against Yardbirds (1-0-0)
Turtles 3-2-0, 17 points *Turtles beat Zombies head to head
Zombies 3-2-0, 17 points
Animals 2-3-0, 13 points
Rascals 0-5-0, 5 points
Bantams:
Pretenders 4-1-0, 21 points
Revolution 3-1-1, 19 points
Cars 2-1-1, 14 points
Bosses 2-3-0, 13 points
Police 2-3-0, 13 points
Heartbreakers 1-2-2, 13 points
Beat 2-1-1, 13 points (-1 for UTF)
Runaways 0-4-1, 7 points
Minors:
Clovers 5-0-0, 25 points
Impressions 4-1-0, 21 points
Drifters 3-2-0, 17 points *Drifters beat the Whispers head to head
Whispers 3-2-0, 17 points
Coasters 2-3-0, 13 points
Delfonics 1-4-0, 9 points
Platters 1-3-0, 8 points
Express 0-4-0, 4 points
Majors:
Commodores 5-0-0, 25 points
Spinners 4-1-0, 21 points
Parliaments 3-2-0, 17 points *Parliaments beat Wonders head to head
Wonders 3-2-0, 17 points
Miracles 2–2-0, 12 points *Miracles beat Parliaments head to head
Temptations 2-2-0, 11 points (-1 for UTF)
Supremes 0-5-0, 5 points
Godfathers 0-5-0, 5 points
Upcoming schedule
All games are played in the gymnasium of the Santa Monica YMCA
R=Rookies, B=Bantams, MN=Minors, MJ=Majors
SAT 11/2/19
10:30 AM B Heartbreakers vs Runaways
11:40 AM B Bosses vs Police
12:50 PM B Pretenders vs Beat
2:00 PM MN Impressions vs Whispers
3:10 PM MN Clovers vs Delfonics
4:20 PM MJ Parliaments vs Godfathers
5:30 PM MJ Temptations vs Commodores
SUN 11/3/19
10:30 AM R Animals vs Rascals
11:40 AM R Turtles vs Zombies
12:50 PM R Yardbirds vs Bluesbreakers
STANDINGS AS OF 10-28-19 for above rookie games
2:00 PM MN Delfonics vs Whispers
3:10 PM MN Platters vs Drifters
4:20 PM MJ Supremes vs Miracles
5:30 PM MJ Spinners vs Wonders
Culver Middle School(Culver-Palms YMCA Fall League)
SAT 11/2/19
1:30 PM 6-7 division vs Santa Monica YMCA
3:30 PM 8-9 division vs Santa Monica YMCA
Thank you very much,
Dr. Paul Drew, youth basketball coordinator at the Santa Monica YMCA, editor and publisher of Swish
