Standing tall

Mike Sciacca

“Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid.”

-- lyrics to the Elton John song “I’m Still Standing.”

Four years ago, a group of 15 to 20 fresh-faced freshman stepped

out onto the court in Dugger Gym, each looking to become a part of

the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball program.

These young girls -- some of them as young as 13 at the time --

weren’t expecting much, a few from the group recall. No, not from a

program that really didn’t have a reputation for winning.

Many in the group figured they’d play a few games, meet some new

friends and chalk it up to another high school experience.

When the 2002-03 school year rolled around, those one-time

freshman had become seniors. Out of that original group from the

1999-2000 season, just three players -- now young women -- have gone

the distance.

Leslie Schmalzried, Lizzy Friedman and Katie Gallagher were there

from the beginning, held on tight through the rough roller coaster

ride and are four games -- or more, if they qualify for CIF -- away

from the finish line.

The trio’s fortitude and determination has reaped benefits beyond

basketball.

“I wouldn’t change what we all went through for anything,”

Schmalzried said.

The journey began with multiple losses, coaching changes and a

league losing streak, but the current season has included a few

thrilling victories, as well as promise.

And their journey came about because of a challenge.

“We asked them to create a program where there really wasn’t one,”

said varsity coach Stacy Howard, who was an assistant coach when the

trio arrived at the school four years ago. “They literally came in as

freshmen and took the challenge, met it head on and have changed the

face of the program.

I’m just so thrilled with what these girls have accomplished,”

Howard said. “They are the first class that we have worked with all

four years.”

The two years before the three arrived at the school, Laguna had

won just three of its past 43 games.

This year’s squad has won six games, the most since the 1996-97

squad won eight.

In the past seven years, the program has seen five head coaches --

including three in consecutive seasons, from 1996-98.

To explain how the program lacked continuity, Howard, likened the

girls’ basketball program to “basketball day care.”

“It wasn’t a completely neglected program, but there wasn’t any

stability,” she recalled. “It seemed like more of a P.E. class. I

remember Leslie and Lizzy saying, when they were freshmen, that when

they were seniors, things would be different. Things are different,

and it’s because of these three young women.”

The trio began playing basketball at an early age, taking their

first steps at the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach. Gallagher

said she played on Laguna’s first girls’ National Junior Basketball

team.

The three all play the post position, and each has gone through

her own struggles.

For Gallagher, a two-year member of the varsity team, her senior

season has been one of mixed emotions: She’s been sidelined since

mid-November with a herniated disc.

“I have gone through this program for four years and was really

looking forward to this season. When this injury happened, it was

really frustrating. I thought, ‘How could this happen now?’

“But, it has become easier,” she said. “I have found my part on

the team, and that is to be on the sideline, cheering on my team.

I’ve also discovered that it’s not really about the game to me. With

our program, it’s about becoming friends. I’ve really had some great

times.”

For Friedman, a bright student with a 4.5 GPA who has applied to

several schools -- her top two choices are USC and Duke -- the

current season saw her miss six games because of injury.

Still, the three-year varsity player has managed to average six

points and five rebounds in the 13 games she has played.

“When I first started in this program and up to now, quitting

never crossed my mind,” she said. “It’s so much more than basketball,

though: it’s the challenges, such as balancing school work with

sports, overcoming that exhaustion and meeting the challenge.

“I love hard work and these four years have been incredibly

worthwhile. I won’t say I’ve loved every minute of it, but I have

enjoyed the majority of it.”

The 5-foot-11 Schmalzried, bound for the University of Colorado in

the fall, has played varsity ball all four years. She’s wrapping up

her prep career with a fine season which, through 19 games, has

included averaging nine points and six rebounds per outing.

“I’ve been friends with Lizzy since middle school, and all of us,

including Katie, are passionate about basketball,” she said.

“Our only goal has been to build up this program, to take it in

the right direction,” Schmalzried said. “We now expect to win every

time we step onto the court. That’s a long way from four years ago.

The program was at a standstill, and we all were aware about that

streak when we got into the program.”

Ah, “The Streak.”

Futility had set in during Pacific Coast League play in the final

three league games of the 1999 season. When the trio began playing at

Laguna, the streak had taken on a life of its own, as it had reached

23-consecutive losses.

Over the next three years, it would grow to 51 and, after the first game of the current season, it reached 52.

And then, it ended.

To say that jubilation reverberated throughout Dugger Gym on the

night the Breakers defeated visiting Northwood on Jan. 16 would be a

major understatement.

“We knew we’d break it this year and now, we’ve won two league

games,” Schmalzried said of the modest, yet monumental

accomplishment. “We now know we can win every time out, and our goal

is to make CIF. Wouldn’t that be an incredible ending to these four

years?”