Play ball!

LINES IN THE SAND: On Jan. 11, a 24-year-old Santa Maria woman was killed by a pickup truck in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Her death called the efficacy of dunes-policing agencies into question. A holiday like New Year’s weekend can bring an estimated 50,000 vacationers and off-road enthusiasts into the area, overseen by four main groups, from paid rangers to safety-minded volunteers. Everyone operates under the same goal—keeping visitors safe—but there’s a lot of land to cover, and not always enough people to do it. Credit: FILE PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

Report unfolded a major-league steroid

DIVE IN: One Way Water Polo Club began tossing local kids into pools in early 2008. Co-founders Charlie Bell (St Joseph High School girls’ water polo coach) and Rob Knight (Righetti High School boys’ water polo coach) found sponsors in the form of Dan and Dave Pankratz, co-owners of the Santa Maria-based One Way Board Shop, in January, and boys and girls, ages 7 to 14, started competing under the moniker soon after. Credit: FILE PHOTO COURTESY EDLA ENBERG

scandal in national media, the Santa Maria Indians were reeling from the departure of head coach Scott Nickason and other key staffers with the team. The dearly departed didn’t stay gone for long, however. Nickason and crew quickly came together to head up the independent Packers, and both the Packers and the Indians started playing in the summer. Despite the unsure start, 2008 turned out to be a year filled with beginnings. Local sports, fitness, and recreation enthusiasts formed teams, built tracks, dedicated venues, and filled niches that had never been filled before. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the last 12 months.

Executive Editor Ryan Miller refrained from writing any Top 10 lists this year. Contact him atrmiller@santamariasun.com.

A FOND FAREWELL: Sarah E. Thien, revered Sun sports editor of several years, bid farewell to her readers—but not local athletes—late in 2008. While she’s no longer writing articles or her column for this weekly, she’s putting her pen to good use as a public relations specialist focusing on sports at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. As best as we can tell, she’s still a huge geek with a special place in her heart for Harry Potter.

GET DIRT IN YOUR SPOKES: Just before the Olympics started in August—debuting BMX racing as an official sport at the games—locals opened the Santa Maria BMX track. The project, which had been years in the making, came to fruition with help from the Santa Maria Elks Lodge. The track sits just behind the arena at the Elks Unocal Event Center, through Gate 1. Credit: FILE PHOTO BY SARAH E. THIEN

LONG-LASTING NAMESAKE: In September, Santa Maria High School named its new stadium after Ralph Baldiviez, who had been with the school for 36 years—25 as athletic director—and who played football as a Saint when he was in high school. After $2 million in renovations, Ralph Baldiviez Stadium opened for the 2008 football season, with soccer players eagerly awaiting their turn. Santa Maria High School was the third school in the district to get a new facility, after Righetti and Pioneer Valley. Credit: FILE PHOTO BY SARAH E. THIEN

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: El Camino Junior High teacher Rudy Calderon started a soccer league for junior high players in early 2008. Eager for an outlet besides basketball and volleyball, co-ed soccer teams at Tommie Kunst Junior High, El Camino, Arellanes, and Fesler Junior High went on to play against each other for school bragging rights. “Their goal is to play soccer in high school, and they know the more they play the better,” said Lisa Caruso, coach of the Arellanes team. Credit: PHOTO BY SARAH E. THIEN

BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER: Local athletic trainers Eliseo Munoz and John Malinowski kicked off an inaugural speed and agility clinic at Allan Hancock College in July. Their goal was to help football players—or any young athletes—improve their game in the off-season by making them lighter on their feet, more flexible, and better able to move with grace and speed. Credit: FILE PHOTO BY SARAH E. THIEN

BY THE NUMBERS: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released figures on the number of scholarships given out and the amount of money awarded to athletes for Divisions I and II for the first time ever in 2008. The most recent data available was from 2003-04, and revealed the average athletic scholarship to be about $10,000 per player, per sport, per year. Higher-paying sports, like basketball, balanced out the scholarship average with lower-paying sports, like track and field. Athletes looking for their best chance for a scholarship should develop their love for ice: Hockey scholarships come from a small pool of funds, but they go to a small pool of players. A boy who gets a hockey scholarship stands to receive an average of $21,755 a year. A girl’s average is $20,540.