Ann Meyers Drysdale to receive YWCA honor

Phoenix Mercury President and General Manager Ann Meyers Drysdale has been named the YWCA’s Sports Leader of the Year. The honor will be presented at the 18th Annual Tribute to Women luncheon tomorrow at the Arizona Biltmore.

Meyers Drysdale and two of her three children, DJ and Drew, appeared in a July 2009 cover story by multimedia journalist Vicki Louk Balint, who also recorded a podcast from her interview. Publisher & Editor Karen Barr wrote about the cover shoot, which took place in the Mercury locker room, in her blog, Behind the ‘Zine.

And thanks to help from audio/video production colleague Rob Turchick of yipDog Studios, we also posted a video featuring part of the interview.

Meyers Drysdale is entering her fifth season with the two-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury (2009, 2007). Enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. as a player in 1993, Meyers Drysdale’s basketball resume spans over four decades beginning with becoming the first high school player ever to make a United States National Team in 1974.

As an amateur, Meyers Drysdale was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship from UCLA. The Bruins basketball legend was a four-time Kodak All-American, the first male or female to achieve that honor, and was the first female to be named to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1976, she represented the United States in the Olympics, where she earned a silver medal as part of the first women’s US Olympic Basketball team.

Meyers Drysdale remains the only female ever to sign a free-agent contract with an NBA team when she signed with the Indiana Pacers in 1979. After being released by the Pacers, she provided color commentary for Pacers broadcasts and was the first woman to broadcast an NBA game.

In addition to her career on the court, Meyers Drysdale has established herself as an expert analyst on ESPN, NBC, ABC, FOX Sports and CBS and has done commentary for men’s and women’s basketball, softball, tennis, volleyball and baseball since 1979.

Meyers Drysdale, along with 10 other honorees, will be recognized at the event for accomplishments in their respective careers. For a full list of the honorees, visit ywcaaz.org.

Getting a good start

State 400 Meter Champion Michelle Kreutzberg works on her starts.

While the first practice for many Arizona high school track teams is tomorrow and the first meets will not take place until later this month or early March,  many of the top track athletes have been at it for many months now. I ran into four of them over the weekend at Chaparral High School.

For almost every Sunday morning since September, Ben Kmetz, Porter Marsh, Andrew Kaufman and Michelle Kreutzberg have trained with coach Brad Gettleman.  All four are seniors.  Ben does the triple jump and hurdles at North Canyon.  Porter and Andrew are distance runners at Chaparral.  And Michelle attends Desert Mountain, where she is the defending state champion in the 400 meter run in Division 5A II.

In addition to running, their Sunday training sessions include plyometrics, weight training, abdominal and core exercises (including a variety of ways of tossing the medicine ball around) and running with weighted jackets.

(R to L) Porter Marsh, Ben Kmetz and Andrew Kaufman work the rope ladder.

On Sunday, Michelle was working on her starts.  Ideally, a sprinter wants to drive straight ahead out of the starting blocks and not pick her head up to look forward during the first six to seven strides of the sprint.  “My starts have never been great,” said Michelle, who wondered on Sunday whether her second step at the start was too long, thus forcing her to stand straight up too soon after the start. Michelle’s starts couldn’t have been too bad, since she has not only won a state championship, but will be going to Tulane University next fall on a track scholarship.

Porter Marsh airborne.

While Michelle worked on her starts, Ben, Porter and Andrew did various agility drills, including using a rope ladder on the track small hurdles to do vertical leaps. One could hardly see their feet as their staccato steps zipped quickly through the rope ladder on the track.

After they finished their workout, I spent a few minutes with the four athletes. All said they loved competing and, like most high school athletes these days, did not fully appreciate when they started their track careers how much work would be required. From what I saw on Sunday, their effort has been worth it. — Dan Barr

From left: Michelle Kreutzberg, Andrew Kaufman, Porter Marsh and Ben Kmetz.

Football combine kicks off this weekend

High school football players from throughout Arizona will have multiple opportunities to show why they are worthy of playing at the next level when the National Underclassmen Combine hits Phoenix this week and Scottsdale in mid-March.

“We’ve really had a ton of great players from Arizona including two kids that played in our first ever All World Gridiron Classic in DJ Hubbard and Jacob Arzouman,” says David Schuman, NUC CEO & President. “The state has a lot of talent and the prospects of seeing an athlete who could star in the NFL one day is always exciting.”

The Phoenix combine kicks off Saturday, Feb. 5 at Apache Junction High School and Scottsdale’s event is set for March 13. Registration information is available at nationalunderclassmen.com.

All participants will participate in the 40-yard dash, broad jump, bench press, vertical leap and shuttle run. In addition to official combine testing, athletes partake in individual skill period which includes drills, 1-on-1’s and 3-on-3’s along with other position-oriented competitions.

Following the combine’s completion, a special guest speaker will talk to the athletes about recruiting, education and making the right choices.

“We’ve had some great athletes from Arizona in the past including nationally rated Todd Peat and Brett Hundley among others, so I’m excited to see what this year’s field has to offer,” says Schuman. “Every season we see more and more great players from all across the nation. Arizona now represents an emerging football hotbed that will continue to grow. The truth is, you never know where the next great football player will come from and Arizona has proven that in the last few years.”

Statistics from every participant will be sent to colleges at all three levels and various recruiting bureaus such as ArizonaVarsity.com, Rivals.com and ESPN.com will be on hand to scout athletes. Select top performers will have profiles created for them on Rivals.com along with a special write up on nationalunderclassmen.com’s brand new recruiting network.

In addition, The NUC will host Special Teams camp combine which will give the best opportunity for kickers, punters and longsnappers to showcase their skills.
Top performers will be selected for the exclusive Ultimate 100 Camp, which features elite players in their region. The NUC’s event staff will also rank the best players by grade .

Athletes can sign up for the combine as well as preparation sessions and a recruiting seminar on http://www.nationalunderclassmen.com. Potential prospects can also call 1-888-NUC-MVP1 for more details. . All the information for registration and information is at nationalunderclassmen.com.

The National Underclassmen Combine is the most respected and longest running football combine and camp in the country. Since their inception in 2005, the NUC guided more than 50,000 athletes from all walks of life. 70 percent of the participants went on to play in college, with 20 percent earning D1 or D1AA scholarships. Notable alumni include standout rookie Joe Haden of the Cleveland Browns, Marcus Lattimore, Robert Woods, Tyrod Taylor, Mason Walters, Tajh Boyd, and Steve Beauharnis. The NUC also hosted their first ever All World Gridiron Classic game last December in Charleston, SC.
For more information, go to Nucallworld.com and Nationalunderclassmen.com.
Contact – David Schuman, dschuman@nationalunderclassmen.com , 888-NUC-MVP-1

Gatorade guys

We recently received news from two Valley school districts about athletes who were named Gatorade Arizona Players of the Year.

George Malki of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix has been named the Gatorade Arizona Boys Soccer Player of the Year, and is the second Pinnacle student to receive the honor. Taylor Kaczmarek, pitcher for the varsity baseball team at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, was named Gatorade Arizona Baseball Player of the Year.

The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

George Maliki.

Malki, a 5-foot-11, 155-pound senior midfielder and forward led the Pioneers to the Class 5A-Division II state championship this past season, recording 22 goals and 26 assists. A 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Youth All-American selection for the club season, Malki is a 2010 First Team All-State selection for Pinnacle. The nation’s No. 32 recruit in the Class of 2010 as rated by TopDrawerSoccer.com, Malki spent his junior season traveling as a member of the United State’s under-17 national soccer team. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship this fall at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

At Pinnacle, Malki has maintained a 3.90 GPA in the classroom. A peer tutor, he has volunteered locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit brain tumor research and as a youth soccer coach. His coach is Brock Heykoop.

Taylor Kaczmarek.

Kaczmarek had already been recognized as the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year and East Valley Region Player of the Year. He graduated with a 3.519 GPA, completing engineering courses in the Project Lead the Way program. He also volunteers as a youth baseball instructor.

“This is the second consecutive year Desert Ridge High School has won this state award,” Kaczmarek said. “Last year it was Jake Barrett, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball.”

He has received a full-ride scholarship to South Mountain Community College and a “a few offers” from Division 1 schools, ” but I haven’t signed yet.” He plans to major in mechanical engineering. — Dan Barr