Orange Lutheran softball dazzles in season-opening victory against Roosevelt

• February 23, 2024

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CHINO HILLS  — Orange Lutheran didn’t hold back Thursday night against the opposition, or the outfield fence, when it finally got the chance to open its season at the SoCal’s Best Softball Showcase.

The Lancers produced a highlight reel-worthy effort in center field, belted three home runs and followed ace Brianne Weiss to a 9-1 victory against Roosevelt on Big League Dreams’ Crosley Field.

“We were so eager (to play) because of the rain delaying all of our games,” said Weiss, who fired a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts. “We just wanted to play because we’ve been practicing for so long.”

Weiss, a Notre Dame signee and reigning Orange County pitcher of the year, was sharp in the mercy-rule shortened game that ended with Orange Lutheran (1-0) batting with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The senior retired the first nine batters she faced, including eight on strikeouts.

The Lancers’ defense supported Weiss with a slick double-play in the fourth. In the fifth, Orange Lutheran center fielder Kai Minor delivered the best effort of the game, leaping over the mesh fencing to grab a towering drive by Breanna Aguilar. The Oklahoma-committed junior held onto the ball but the umpire ruled the drive a home run.

“(The umpire) said (home run) because (Minor) landed on the other side of the fence,” said Lancers coach Steve Miklos, who spoke to both umpires about the play. “It was a great effort.”

“Oh my God, it was incredible,” Weiss said of Minor’s effort. “Honestly, Kai is so good. I love that about her. She gives her all on the field.”

Roosevelt coach Katrina Pinkowski praised Minor’s effort but thought the correct call was made.

“Her feet were off the ground and she was over (the fence),” the coach said. “It (stinks) for (Minor) but it was a good catch.”

Orange Lutheran’s offense was powered by home runs by sophomore catcher Cate Medvitz, senior designated player Zara Mineo-Schrank and sophomore shortstop Madelyn Armendariz. Mineo-Schrank and Armendariz smashed back-to-back solo home ruins in the third to open a 6-0 lead.

Third baseman Carlyn Snyder belted a long double that almost cleared the fence for another home run in the second.

Miklos projects that his team, slotted fourth in the Orange County preseason rankings, will rely on its speed. But on Thursday, the Lancers flexed their muscles on the field modeled after the former home of the Cincinnati Reds.

“Everyone came out to play today,” Medvitz said of the power display, which included her first varsity home. “I had high expectations of this team since our practices but seeing it on the field first hand was amazing.”

Roosevelt (4-2), champion of the Upland tournament, didn’t pitch either of its top two pitchers due to injuries, Pinkowski said.

Orange Lutheran’s pitching depth with by challenged Friday with games against Los Altos and Murrieta Mesa. Two pitchers behind Weiss in the rotation are dealing with injuries, Miklos said.

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​ Orange County Register 

Kings’ 4-game win streak ends as Predators stifle them

• February 23, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It was pinball hockey on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Neither the Kings nor the Nashville Predators seemed to have a firm grasp of the puck, which careened off skates, sticks and players on a night when teams battling for a playoff spot might have hoped for more.

The Predators (30-25-2, 62 points) inched closer to their hosts in the Western Conference playoff race, besting the Kings (28-17-10, 66 points), 4-1, to take the three-game season series with a pair of wins in L.A. and a home loss at the end of January.

Nashville didn’t get a shot on goal for nearly six minutes.

The Kings, who saw their four-game winning streak end while losing for just the second time in seven games under interim coach Jim Hiller, endured a drought of nearly seven minutes.

With things not clicking on either side, the Predators took advantage of a pass that had been knocked down in the Kings’ zone when Colton Sissons fed the puck to Yakov Trenin, who was well-positioned for a first-time slap shot from the right circle.

Rittich appeared to have the angle covered, so Trenin continued skating across the face of the goal and switched to the backhand for his ninth goal of the season at 8:47 of the first period while Rittich looked stuck in concrete.

The Kings got back into the game late in the period while working a two-man advantage following high stick and tripping penalties against Nashville.

At 19:07, Anze Kopitar’s 29th assist found Kevin Fiala, who snapped off a shot from the high slot to beat Juuse Saros on the glove side for his 15th goal of the season.

Drafted in the first round by Nashville in 2014, the goal marked the 400th NHL point for the Swiss winger.

Nashville continued to hold the Kings down before regaining the lead at 14:46 of the middle period.

From the right boards, Lucas Evangelista threw the puck directly down the goal line. It clanged off the post and settled underneath Rittich, who couldn’t locate it before Mark Jankowski poked in his second goal in seven games this season.

Operating on a penalty kill, the Kings had a great opportunity to level the score with less than two minutes remaining in the second. But Trevor Lewis failed to get off a quality attempt as he appeared to be of two minds while Blake Lizotte, who returned after missing 14 games with a leg injury, trailed nearby in a two-on-none situation.

Coming off a goal-of-the-year candidate in his last game, Quinton Byfield was mostly bottled up by the Predators, yet the young forward, who joined Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Lizotte on the third line, had a good chance midway through the last period. Blocking a shot, Byfield snatched the puck and raced the other way. However Saros snatched it out of the air for one of his 27 saves.

The tight contest slipped away from the Kings after Rittich, who denied 17 of the 19 shots he faced, was pulled with more than three minutes remaining in the third.

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Empty-net goals at 17:00 by Sissons (his 15th of the season) and Jeremy Lauzon (his sixth) at 19:07 made the scoreline look more lopsided than the game actually was.

INJURY UPDATES

The Kings had movement in and out of their forward lines, with center Blake Lizotte returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for 14 games and forward Viktor Arvidsson out because of a lower-body injury after he got hurt during a win against Columbus on Tuesday.

Arvidsson was placed on injured reserve, but Hiller did not have an update on how long he might be out. Arvidsson, who missed the first 50 games of the season because of a back injury, had two assists in four games before he was sidelined again.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

LeBron-less Lakers can’t keep up with Steph Curry, Warriors

• February 23, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO — Especially in the modern NBA, sometimes 3-point shooting ultimately decides the result of a game.

That was the case in the Lakers’ 128-110 road loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at Chase Center.

Despite playing without LeBron James, the Lakers (30-27) matched or had a couple of advantages over the Warriors (28-26) in multiple areas. They were more opportunistic in taking advantage of Golden State’s mistakes, scoring 16 points off the Warriors’ nine turnovers, compared to the Warriors scoring nine points off the Lakers’ 11 giveaways.

They shot a similar percentage from the floor, with the Lakers going 43 for 88 (48.9%) from the field compared to the Warriors’ 50 for 107 (46.7%). Both teams scored 58 points inside the paint.

But it was the Warriors’ advantage from behind the arc that gave them the edge.

Led by Steph Curry (32 points, six 3-pointers, eight assists), the hosts knocked down 16 of their 41 shots from 3-point range (39%) compared to the Lakers’ 10-of-35 showing (28.6%).

The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who had 27 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. But Davis was among the Lakers who struggled with their shots, going just 1 for 6 outside the paint.

As a team, the Lakers shot 14 for 50 (28%) outside of the paint.

D’Angelo Russell had 18 points (6-for-15 shooting), nine assists, five rebounds and two steals while Austin Reaves recorded 16 points and four assists. Taurean Prince, who once again started in place of James, scored 12 points. Rui Hachimura, who scored a career-high 36 points in the final game before the All-Star break (also without James) was held to eight points in 32 minutes.

The Lakers stuck with the Warriors for most of the first half, leading 51-50 going into the final few minutes of the second quarter.

But Curry led a 15-3 run to close the second and give the Warriors a 67-56 lead going into halftime.

The Warriors maintained their momentum in the third.

With the Lakers playing on the first night of a back-to-back set, with a home game against the San Antonio Spurs awaiting them on Friday, Coach Darvin Ham pulled his core rotation players with his team trailing 113-96 with 5:52 left in the game.

Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points for the Warriors, with Jonathan Kuminga also adding 12 points.

Rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points and five rebounds off of the bench.

​ Orange County Register 

Londynn Jones’ career night helps UCLA women get payback against Utah

• February 23, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team often blocks off a portion of its practice to run over actions intended to feed a player who has the “hot hand.”

On Wednesday, that player was Londynn Jones.

For 15 minutes, each set was created for her to be the go-to scoring option. She’d pop off elevator screens, curl to the basket and shoot off the catch.

That drill showed its worth on Thursday night when Jones scored a career-high 23 points and made a career-high seven 3-point shots as the 12th-ranked Bruins never trailed while routing No. 18 Utah, 82-52, to avenge an overtime loss a month ago.

While Wednesday’s drill was curated to Jones, it seemed like it could have been anyone in that spot based on the Bruins’ offensive showing on Thursday. They shot 49% from the field and 39% from 3-point range, assisting on 24 of their 32 field goals.

Lauren Betts had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Bruins (21-5 overall, 10-5 Pac-12), while Charisma Osborne had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Betts anchored a defense that held Utah (19-8, 9-6) – the NCAA’s No. 6 offense in points per game – to its second-lowest total of the season.

UCLA, which snapped a three-game skid against the Utes after losing 94-81 in Salt Lake City, started the rematch on a 12-0 run that was sparked by its defense and Betts’ quick decision-making on offense.

The Bruins forced three turnovers in the opening two minutes, the first two coming on entry passes to Alissa Pili. Pili led the Utes with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but she was an inefficient 4-of-11 shooting from the field, often deterred by Betts’ length. She scored half of her points by making all 10 of her free-throw attempts.

To get their leading scorer going, the Utes put her in ball screen actions that forced a guard to switch onto Pili in the post. UCLA countered that by hounding entry passes and creating turnovers that led to transition opportunities.

With nine seconds remaining in the first half, Betts reached across the paint for a second-chance layup that put UCLA ahead 39-25 at halftime.

The Utes briefly cut the margin to nine in the third quarter, but the Bruins extended their lead quickly after by getting it inside to Betts, who embraced the defensive double-teams and sprayed the ball to open teammates on the perimeter.

The Bruins dominated the third, allowing just nine points while outscoring the Utes 20-2 in one stretch. Pili had just four in the period when the Bruins led 59-34 going into the fourth.

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Jones hit three 3-pointers during the Bruins’ run. Betts launched the spurt by grabbing Kiki Rice’s missed 3-point attempt and scoring. A couple of plays later, Betts snagged a defensive rebound and passed to Rice, who fed Angela Dugalic for a basket. Rice finished with 13 points and six assists.

Jones made two more 3-pointers in the fourth.

Utah’s Jenna Johnson caught an elbow in the head from Christeen Iwuala in the first quarter. She was bloodied and left the court to get stitches. She returned after halftime but didn’t score.

The Utes, who came in off a one-point upset of then-No. 8 Colorado, could never get untracked against the Bruins’ defense. They committed 20 turnovers that led to 26 UCLA points.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ LeBron James is ‘day-to-day’ with ankle injury

• February 23, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO — It doesn’t appear as if the left ankle ailment that kept LeBron James sidelined for Thursday night’s road game against the Golden State Warriors should keep him out for an extended period.

Coach Darvin Ham said before the game that James is “day-to-day” with the left ankle peroneal tendinopathy that he received treatment for during the All-Star break, the second consecutive regular-season game James has missed with the injury dating to the Feb. 14 road win against the Utah Jazz.

James has missed three of the last eight games because of the ankle issue.

Ham said they’ll figure out James’ status for Friday’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs, the second night of a back-to-back set, on Friday morning.

“We got a bunch of guys that’s active that have been playing at a high level, went into the break playing at a high level,” Ham said. “And I expect that to continue, but just again, playing the right way, competing every possession, and then covering for one another and being connected.”

James had an excused absence for Wednesday morning’s practice in El Segundo and met the team in San Francisco on Thursday. During his media availability on Sunday after the All-Star Game, James mentioned that the ankle injury could keep him sidelined for Thursday.

James, who was named an All-Star for a record-breaking 20th time, only played in the first half of the Western Conference’s 211-186 loss to the Eastern Conference on Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“I’m feeling OK,” James said. “I wasn’t going to put too much pressure on the game [Sunday] for me physically. I want to try to be as healthy as I can be physically. This last part of the season is very important for us. I got to make sure of that.”

Second-year guard Max Christie was back in the lineup after missing the previous three games before the break because of a sprained right ankle he suffered in a Feb. 8 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Forward Cam Reddish missed his 12th consecutive game because of the sprained right ankle he suffered in a Jan. 23 loss to the Clippers.

“He did a little extensive workout [Thursday] morning,” Ham said. “And so we’ll see how he’s feeling [Friday] morning.”

Guard Gabe Vincent (recovering from knee surgery) and forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot sprain) remain out, with Ham saying things were “status quo” for those two.

Forward Christian Wood will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks because of left knee effusion. Wood is averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game and gives the team a big player who can stretch the floor.

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“The Utah game, just played his normal minutes,” Ham said. “But in the process of that, sometimes you see little subtle things that end up being bigger things. And he experienced some swelling. And so we are where we are with it.”

With the Lakers without several wings/frontcourt options, Ham deployed several smaller lineups featuring three guards against the Warriors.

“A consistent rotation is based on the health of your players,” Ham said. “And so what it does, it forces you to get right to the point, keep the main thing the main thing, be efficient as possible, be creative with getting what you need out of a particular work day, whether be it a game day or non-game day.

“You just have to be creative. I have a staff full of highly intelligent coaches. And along with the support of the front office and ownership, we just go about our business and again try to extract the most positive productivity out of each and every day.”

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers fall to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder

• February 23, 2024

By TIM WILLERT The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pounced on another opportunity to thrive against his former team.

Gilgeous-Alexander – part of the blockbuster July 2019 trade that brought perennial All-Star Paul George to the Clippers (and lured free agent Kawhi Leonard to come join him) – scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Clippers, 129-107, on Thursday night in a matchup of Western Conference contenders.

Lu Dort added 19 points, Jalen Williams had 18 and Chet Holmgren 17 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder won the season series with the Clippers (securing a tiebreaker advantage) and improved to 38-17 to move within a game of Western Conference-leading Minnesota.

Gordon Hayward played 14 minutes in his first game with the Thunder since being acquired in a trade with Charlotte. He missed both of his shots and had four rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Norman Powell added 19 points for the third-place Clippers, who fell to 36-18.

Both teams were playing for the first time since the All-Star break. The game featured a return to Oklahoma City for former Thunder players Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, had 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting to help the Thunder take a 61-59 lead at halftime. Powell had 14 off the bench to keep the Clippers close.

Oklahoma City took control early in the second half behind nine points from Isaiah Joe, who started the third quarter in place of Josh Giddey. Joe’s third dunk of the quarter put the Thunder ahead 81-74 with 5:59 left.

A Giddey 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 91-79 advantage and the lead grew to 96-79 on a jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander with 35.2 seconds left in the quarter.

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The Clippers cut it to 111-99 on Powell’s jumper with 6:08 left in the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma City outscored them 18-8 the rest of the way.

UP NEXT

The Clippers play at Memphis on Friday at 5 p.m. PT.

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers’ Greg Roman looking to rekindle offensive success

• February 23, 2024

COSTA MESA — Greg Roman recalled one of his first meetings with Jim Harbaugh, one that left a lasting impression on one of them but apparently not both. Roman, as he retold the story Thursday, was an assistant with the Carolina Panthers at the time and Harbaugh was a veteran quarterback.

“True story,” Roman said. “He’s out warming up one day. It’s his last year as an NFL quarterback (in 2001). I’m out there on the field. He says, ‘You know, Greg, someday when I’m a head coach, I’m going to hire you.’ Here I was, going, ‘Who is this guy, telling me he’s going to hire me?’

“True story. He doesn’t remember it, of course.”

Harbaugh didn’t just hire Roman once he became a head coach.

He did it three times – first at Stanford University, then with the San Francisco 49ers and now with the Chargers. Roman was hired earlier this month to be the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator, replacing Kellen Moore, who took a similar job with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“When I accepted that job at Stanford, I immediately got a job offer from a very good NFL team with a Hall of Fame coach at the time,” Roman continued. “I thought about it and I said, ‘I think I’m going to go work for Jim.’ That was a great decision. Very good coach. Very good person.”

Now Roman and Harbaugh are together again, tasked with transforming the Chargers’ offense into something more than a statistical marvel. Their challenge is to allow quarterback Justin Herbert to meet and, ideally, surpass his remarkable potential while at the same time creating an engine for victories.

Roman and Harbaugh would seem like a natural fit, having coached for six seasons together. Roman also served as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2019-22, working on the staff of head coach John Harbaugh, Jim’s older brother. Roman didn’t coach this past season.

Roman and Herbert would seem like a mismatched pair. Roman, 51, is short and stocky, built more like a wrestler and looking very much like the football lifer that he has become since his Carolina days. Herbert, 25, is tall and lean, listed at 6-foot-6 and easily mistaken for a basketball player.

The Chargers’ goal is to establish an offense that relies on the running game as much as the passing game. An effective ground game has been absent for many seasons for the Chargers, something that Roman has vowed to change in the years to come while still taking advantage of Herbert’s arm.

So, what is Roman’s vision for the Chargers’ offense?

“Oh man,” he said, “it’s a team that when other teams see us on the schedule, they go, ‘Oh, God, we’ve got to play these guys? I’m going to get blocked from every different direction. Herbert’s going to be back there firing dimes. This player is going to be making plays. Trying to stop the run, they’re just going to be gashing us.’

“We’re trying to create that conflict. That’s the vision.”

COACHING HIRES

Virginia Tech’s Jeff Carpenter joined the Chargers’ staff as an offensive quality control/wide receivers coach, one of four additions to Harbaugh’s staff that the team announced. A fifth, running backs coach Kiel McDonald, reportedly was set to join the Chargers from USC.

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Jonathan Goodwin, a former NFL offensive lineman, was hired as an offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach. Nick Hardwick, a former Chargers Pro Bowl offensive lineman, was hired as an offensive line assistant. Will Tukuafu was hired as an assistant defensive line coach after leaving the Seattle Seahawks.

In addition, defensive assistant Mike Hiestand and offensive assistant Phil Serchia were retained from Brandon Staley’s staff.

ADDITIONAL STAFF

The Chargers hired Ben Herbert as their executive director of player performance after he spent six seasons with Harbaugh at the University of Michigan. Devin Woodhouse, Ben Rabe and Lincoln DeWolf also joined the sports performance staff. In addition, Jonathan Brooks remained on staff.

​ Orange County Register 

Spectrum Sailing brings inclusivity to the Newport Harbor

• February 23, 2024

The camp is not just about learning where the hull is on the sailboat or how to steer the vessel as it glides on the water – it’s about gaining confidence to navigate life.

Twenty neuro-diverse children were treated to a three-day Spectrum Sailing camp in Newport Beach this week, an opportunity for the youngsters to try something new with others on the autism spectrum.

“We want to make sure everyone has a chance to get on the water. You live in a place like this, or we go to tons of cities that are on the water, and there’s hundreds of hundreds of kids that have never been on a boat, or have never been to the beach or gone surfing,” the nonprofit Spectrum Sailing’s founder Scott Herman said as three 20-foot boats got ready to set sail in the Newport Harbor on Thursday, Feb. 22.  “It’s great to give the kids a chance to do something like this.”

Spectrum Sailing is a national autism sailing program, with 10 camps held around the country throughout the year. The program’s partnership this week with the Orange Coast College School for Sailing and Seamanship marked its first stop of the year.

Herman first launched the program about eight years ago, wanting to share his love of sailing with his then 8-year-old son, Daniel. There was one problem – there were no programs available geared toward children on the autism spectrum.

“No one would let him go to camp,” Herman recalled. “So we decided to create our own.”

He took inspiration, he said, from the Orange County-based Surfers Healing, a nonprofit group created by Izzy and Danielle Paskowitz after they found salt water helped calm their autistic son Isaiah.

They, too, faced frustration finding a place for their son to enjoy the outdoors, so the San Juan Capistrano couple created the surfing experience nearly 25 years ago to help children learn to surf, all for free.

Now, they too hold events around the country – including at Folly Beach, in South Carolina, where Daniel took a surf lesson about the same time Herman was feeling frustrated he couldn’t get his son sailing lessons.

“I stood on the beach and watched these guys and girls take them surfing. I was fighting back tears,” Herman said. “It literally is one perfect day.”

He saw what the experience on the water did for his son, he said, the boost in confidence and a newfound love for the ocean.

“My son really thinks he’s a pro surfer,” he said. “That’s the perception they create for these kids.”

By the next fall, drawing from Surfers Healing as a model and inspiration, Herman had set up his own program, Spectrum Sailing, to teach kids with autism how to navigate the waters.

There’s one key element that’s the same: Both are free.

“We try to raise money in the community,” Herman said, noting that everyone from locals to car dealerships to corporate matching programs have helped through the years.

There’s so many moments that show the impact of the program, he said. Like a 15-year-old who couldn’t tie his shoe, but after learning to tie a knot on the boat, had no problem learning the skill. A teenage girl struggled with learning to ride a bike, but when she returned home from the camps she got her’s out of the garage and rode it down the street.

“They believe in themselves,” Herman said. “It’s not about sailing. We use it as a vehicle to build self esteem and so they know there’s a place where they are welcome.”

The kids this week started the day in the classroom, practicing their knot-tying skills, going over the day’s weather and what parts of the boat are called.

Sofia Sanchez, 15, came ready to learn with a huge smile splashed across her face as she got to the classroom.

“I’m excited to learn new techniques on the boat,” she said.

The best part? “Sailing on the boat and being with my friends,” she said.

Out on the water, she threw her hands out to the blue sky as the boat cruised along the sparkling waters.

“Ahoy, matey!” she belted.

Her dad, Juan Sanchez, watched from the parking lot as his daughter cruised by on the boat. The new friends she made was one of the big takeaways for him.

“She was very excited,” he said. “It’s the first time she woke up at 6 a.m., she was happy to come. She’s very social… I’m very proud. There’s so many things she’s achieving.”

Sanchez said as parents they have tried to find as many programs as they can to boost Sophia’s self esteem, like swim team and horse therapy.

“It’s like a dream come true, it’s getting independence,” he said. “We give her all the chances to grow and be a strong individual. If there’s no programs like this, we wouldn’t have many choices as parents of special needs kids. The people who make all of this happen, it’s amazing.”

Alicia Glass, of Laguna Beach, brought daughter, Tinsley, 14, for her second-day session, a chance to get her outdoors and away from online school.

“For children on the spectrum, especially when they are at home, they miss those social interactions that the other kids have,” Glass said.

Knowing Tinsley was with others on the spectrum gave her comfort, Glass said.

There are times being in public with a child who has special needs can be difficult, she said. “It might look like bad behavior to other children.”

But the crew at Spectrum Sailing know better, she said. “They know what’s going on, we don’t have to worry about whether she is going to offend someone, or is someone going to get upset that she did something wrong. It’s a nice relief for me, as a mom, I don’t often get.”

It’s also a nice break from life stress, allowing the single mom a few hours of quiet time to herself, with plans for the morning to simply take a walk.

“This is just a real blessing for us,” Glass said.

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Mette Segerblom, sailing program coordinator for OCC, said she hopes the sailing opportunity is something the college can offer on a more regular basis, and said she sees the class as just the start to what they can offer.

“We know that we have kids on the spectrum in all of our classes. We want to learn more about how we can better serve that. His program helps with that,” Segerblom said. “It allows us an opportunity to work with a group that does this all the time and hopefully we can take what we learn into our programs or create a program of our own.”

Having sailing programs build on what he teaches is Herman’s vision as well.

For just the Newport Beach camp, Spectrum Sailing received 139 applications for the 20 spots available, he said.

“It’s like a double-edged sword, we had to turn away 119 kids, but the positive is that programs know there’s a massive demand,” he said. “We can leave that list for them, if they want to use that opportunity for neuro-diverse youth, they can pick up where we left off.”

​ Orange County Register