Best Performances Of The Week, Here Are My Ten

First off, "thank you".

The Holiday Season is creeping up and, well, I am already getting a number of very nice cards, e-mails and calls from Toronto Star readers wishing me the best of the season and coated with words of appreciation for our coverage of school sports. Your comments are always welcome and, while on the topic, best wishes to all you for health and happiness as we bring to a close the first decade of 2000.

Now, to the high school athletes of the week. Lots of names and highlights, but I had to chop my list to only 10 from the past seven days. Here we go.

Brandon Bos, Markham District. A point guard, he scored 32 points in the Marauders 72-61 senior boys' basketball win over Brother Andre. He might be small, but he's very talented and one of the best players in York Region. He also scored 34 points in an 88-41 win over Stouffville. Team is off to a 4-0 start in the 45-school league.

Brandon Chase, Georges Vanier. Haven't heard much from this school in sports for years. How about this kid described to me as once being a "hothead" and now a captain, leader and very good basketball player. When this six-foot forward scores 25 or more points, Vanier tends to record a victory. He's had four consecutive games for the senior team - including one in a 49-45 win over York Mills.

Malik Cox, St. Theresa of Lisieux. He is a first year senior on the basketball team that has a 13-1 over-all record. Cox has led the Lions in scoring eight times this season including 26 points in a win over Westmount, 21 over King City and 20 against Bayview - all York Region league wins. Cox had 18 points in his last game - an easy 71-39 win over Richmond Hill.

Ryan Dixon, Donald Wilson. No big surprise. Let's start with all six touchdowns for his team in a 40-28 win over St. Michael's for the Ontario Regional Junior football title. There's more. Try 471 yards rushing on 44 carries. Yes, I charted the game. Must be some kind of record. He played at Paul Dwyer High last year and after transferring, scored 33 touchdowns in 10 games.

Misha Fitterer, Christ The King. Only in grade 10, she's got an older brother who is a very good linebacker with the school football team. But, back to Misha. She's a middle and power hitter for the Georgetown-area school and had eight kills and five aces in a senior volleyball win over Iroquois Ridge. She also plays rugby for the Halton Region school.

Emily Rose Galliani Pecchia, Leaside. Yes, she goes by all four names. Plays hockey too. Top scorer for the Lancers last year, she opened the season with five goals in a 6-3 win over Humberside in a Toronto District School Board girls' varsity game. She won the female athlete of the year award last year at her school and teacjes skating to four year olds.

Ted Hunt, St. Michael's. Two senior hockey teams at this school. No surprise since there were many who graduated from this institution to the National Hockey League. Hunt is on the Division Two team and might be making a case for a promotion. He scored two goals in a 5-2 win over Villanova. The next day, he scored two more in a 5-5 tie with De La Salle in the private school league.

Anthony Lyle-Wade, Borden. Last season, he scored 35 points in a senior basketball win over Thomson - and plays them again on Monday. This year, he hit for 42 points in a 63-59 Toronto District School Board East Division league win over Cedarbrae. Must admit, I haven't seen him in a game but I am told this kid can play.

Anthony Perri, St. Mary. A goalie and his first goal. Confused? Well, this should clear it up. Yes, he's the goalie for the Pickering-area school senior hockey team that has a 10-1 overall record. He scored his first goal, but playing as a winger. Perri got the day off between the pipes in a 4-0 win over Maxwell Heights, the newest team in the Durham Region league - and winless.

Michaela Reesor, Mayfield. A 5-foot-9 power hittter with the Mavericks senior volleyball team. She's a former junior athlete of the year at the Caledon-area school. Get this, last year - as a junior - she played on the senior squad that won the Peel Region championship. She was dominant in a three-set sweep over Heart Lake. In grade 11, she's off to a Kentucky showcase camp.

Comments

[Joe]

Great list of names and nice to see that they're from a variety of sports and not just the superstars from the sports schools - and you know what I mean.

[WP]

What's wrong with coaches?
I take it that you pick your athletes from performances either by these young people or from information submitted by school coaches.
I see the edge to boys over girls and while it would be nice to recognize more girls, I am guessing that you would if you were given more to work with by these coaches.
Come on people.

[PC]

I have to commend the Toronto Star because you continue to be the only newspaper to offer attention to high school athletes. Now, can you provide more stories in the paper too.

[Willy]

Classy move by the coach at St. Mary to pull his ace from goal and try give the other team a chance to have some fun.

[LK]

Got to like the way some kids pad their points and the coaches let it happen. Whatever happened to helping others score points rather than greedy jocks.
Why aren't teachers and parents and coaches offering up names of kids who did well and didn't think of just themeselves.

[Rocky]

Saw that basketball player Brandon Chase and he's a nice player. His coach should get the recognition also for helping this kid become a better human being.

[FB]

I like the way you include athletes in different sports but truly believe there should be more from the independent schools who run an excellent sports program.

[Jimmy]

What would it take to run pictures and videos for each of these athletes?
Guess you would have to rely on schools and players to submit the information and logistically wouldn't work.
But it would look great as we read along with your intresting descriptions.

[Erik]

Enjoy this very much. Keep it up.

[Glen]

I am a high school coach and several of us were sitting around talking about how people don't understand the job we do and the huge amount of time devoted to working with students.
I think it would be a great idea to have a top 10 of high school coaches.
What do you think?

[Allan]

There is far too much emphasis on basketball and it is becoming just as nauseating as the the tactics used by coaches and players to recruit kids and the nonsense by these athletic associations to play favorites to their high school teaching buddies and not clamp down on the ridiculous things that are destroying high school sports.