Steven Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
Today we left company headquarters after lunch time to head to De La Salle. It was a nice drive down to the Bay Area. We were lucky enough to not hit any traffic. Finding De La Salle was relatively easy, compared to last week, when we missed turns for both Trinity and St. X. on the first go-round. In addition, we were fortunate to have a beautiful day...clear skies and hot weather.
We got to practice and met up with Mitch Stephens, who introduced us to some of the De La Salle staff, assistant coach Mark Panella and athletic director Leo Lopez. Both were extremely informative, and I really enjoyed listening to them reminisce. Also, in getting to watch the team practice, it struck me just how unimposing their team looks. Mark Panella pointed out some of their starting linemen, and they looked WAY too small. Funny, I'm sure opposing teams' offensive lines think the same thing. De La Salle has a reputation of dominant line play, thanks to being well coached and well conditioned. The Spartans routinely maul much bigger opponents on both sides of the line.
Another thing that struck me from our conversation is that De La Salle truly has a bullseye mark on its back. Everyone guns for them, within California and across the country. It was funny hearing how many prominent out of state schools wanted to play De La Salle on their own terms, but in games that wouldn't benefit De La Salle.
Afterward, Mitch brought us to a great restaurant in that area, Willie McCovey's restaurant. It was a baseball fan's dream...cool decor that resembled a baseball field, lots of memorabilia, and great food. My father grew up a huge Giants fan, so I'm very familiar with the likes of Mays/McCovey/Marichal. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.
Tomorrow we'll be arrive early at De La Salle to take in the whole practice. We will also be hanging around afterward, when Nike will be on hand. It should be alot of fun, and Trevor and I will have more video up tomorrow. Check back then.
A final shout out to all the people at HQ's that made our brief stay terrific! MaxPreps has so many employees that do so much behind the scenes. Thanks everybody!