Prep talk: Keisean Nixon of Green Bay Packers returns to Salesian High for honor
Two NFL players, Keisean Nixon of the Green Bay Packers and Deommodore Lenoir of the San Francisco 49ers, members of Salesian's 2013 Southern Section championship team, were chosen for the Golden Mustang award that honors alumni and other supporters of the school.
Nixon spent his senior year at Salesian and said it changed his life.
'Never quit,' he said of the lesson he learned. 'I never let anyone put me in a box. I stayed true to what I dreamed about my passion to play football. When I sought out my destiny, I chased it. I never gave up. Salesian changed me a lot. I didn't have structure. I met a lot of people who cared about me. I learned a lot being here.'
It's the final week of the regular season in high school baseball for the City Section and Southern Section. Playoff pairings will be announced on Saturday for the City Section and Monday for the Southern Section.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
City Section football coaches unite in challenging times as practice begins
As City Section 11-man football coaches prepare for the official start of practices on Monday, there's a noticeable change under way. They're not fighting one another. Rather, they are uniting as a group, understanding and embracing their similar challenges while trying to create environments to keep the players and their parents invested in the future. They still gripe and complain, but it's part of working in the Los Angeles Unified School District. They are sacrificing, many as walk-on coaches, for "little" victories that inspire them to keep coaching. Whether they realize it or not, this is the only way forward — helping kids develop as players and students first. Worry about on-field wins and losses later. All they want is a fair and equitable playing field, though sometimes even that can't be achieved. Coaches have had to put themselves out on a limb. There was courage displayed last season when the head coaches at San Pedro, Gardena, Carson and Banning decided to forfeit games against Narbonne while demanding an investigation by LAUSD into alleged rule violations. Families were not happy at losing the opportunity to play games. Purists who believe forfeiting is never acceptable were aghast. Coaches involved received strong criticism by some. It forced an investigation, resulting in players being declared ineligible and Narbonne vacating its City title and being declared ineligible for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 playoffs. Every coach who signed on to the protest ended up resigning except for San Pedro's Corey Walsh. They helped clean up a mess that shouldn't had been allowed to fester. When City Section coaches gathered for their annual meeting last month to discuss the season ahead, there were many hugs, handshakes and discussions of identical challenges (academic eligibility, increasing roster numbers, finding assistant coaches, concerns about federal immigration raids). The warmth was real because many of the older coaches have been mentors. Hamilton's Elijah Asante used to coach L.A. Jordan first-year coach James Boyd. So many families have left. The days when Carson, Banning, Dorsey and Crenshaw could compete against and beat the best of the Southern Section teams are gone. Remember when Crenshaw played De La Salle in the CIF Open Division state championship game in 2009? Coach Robert Garrett is still around with 290 career victories, but the Cougars' roster hovers around 25 players with no JV team. It doesn't mean the former powers can't rise again as champions within the City Section. Those who have stayed, from coaches to players, deserve praise for taking on an adventure that can be daunting. There are good, loyal people determined to help along the way. New facilities have opened. All-weather fields and new grass fields are multiplying. Garfield, Roosevelt and Hamilton debut new stadiums this fall. A strong collection of City Section quarterbacks are ready to let the ball fly, from Eagle Rock's Liam Pasten to Carson's Chris Fields. There is no certain dominant team, though the usual contenders — Birmingham, Carson, San Pedro — are teams to watch. So far, 71 schools are playing 11-man football. There's a story line certain to provide inspiration — Palisades High trying to rise again after its campus was damaged during the Palisades fire. Even though its football field was largely untouched, the team is starting the season not allowed to play on the field and will be playing at Santa Monica College. Students have yet to return to the campus. TV cameras will be out en force to capture the drama if the Dolphins can put together a dream season. Southern Section teams also begin practices on Monday. If you think you're watching the movie "Groundhog Day," you are correct. Every Division 1 title since 2016 has been won by Mater Dei or St. John Bosco. It's almost certain to happen again in 2025. It doesn't mean there shouldn't be some outstanding games in the Southern Section, starting with the Aug. 22 matchup of Santa Margarita and new coach Carson Palmer taking on Mission Viejo at Trabuco Hills. There's always excitement and intrigue when the pads first come on next week. Teaching kids who have never worn shoulder pads is both comedy and memorable. It will be just one more responsibility for City Section coaches who receive a $5,622 stipend over four months and are expected to be Superman every day. To all coaches, thank you for your sacrifice and for providing teenagers the guidance, discipline and structure that will be needed when their playing careers are finished. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
City Section football coaches unite in challenging times as practice begins
As City Section 11-man football coaches prepare for the official start of practices on Monday, there's a noticeable change under way. They're not fighting one another. Rather, they are uniting as a group, understanding and embracing their similar challenges while trying to create environments to keep the players and their parents invested in the future. They still gripe and complain, but it's part of working in the Los Angeles Unified School District. They are sacrificing, many as walk-on coaches, for 'little' victories that inspire them to keep coaching. Whether they realize it or not, this is the only way forward — helping kids develop as players and students first. Worry about on-field wins and losses later. All they want is a fair and equitable playing field, though sometimes even that can't be achieved. Coaches have had to put themselves out on a limb. There was courage displayed last season when the head coaches at San Pedro, Gardena, Carson and Banning decided to forfeit games against Narbonne while demanding an investigation by LAUSD into alleged rule violations. Families were not happy at losing the opportunity to play games. Purists who believe forfeiting is never acceptable were aghast. Coaches involved received strong criticism by some. It forced an investigation, resulting in players being declared ineligible and Narbonne vacating its City title and being declared ineligible for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 playoffs. Every coach who signed on to the protest ended up resigning except for San Pedro's Corey Walsh. They helped clean up a mess that shouldn't had been allowed to fester. When City Section coaches gathered for their annual meeting last month to discuss the season ahead, there were many hugs, handshakes and discussions of identical challenges (academic eligibility, increasing roster numbers, finding assistant coaches, concerns about federal immigration raids). The warmth was real because many of the older coaches have been mentors. Hamilton's Elijah Asante used to coach L.A. Jordan first-year coach James Boyd. So many families have left. The days when Carson, Banning, Dorsey and Crenshaw could compete against and beat the best of the Southern Section teams are gone. Remember when Crenshaw played De La Salle in the CIF Open Division state championship game in 2009? Coach Robert Garrett is still around with 290 career victories, but the Cougars' roster hovers around 25 players with no JV team. It doesn't mean the former powers can't rise again as champions within the City Section. Those who have stayed, from coaches to players, deserve praise for taking on an adventure that can be daunting. There are good, loyal people determined to help along the way. New facilities have opened. All-weather fields and new grass fields are multiplying. Garfield, Roosevelt and Hamilton debut new stadiums this fall. A strong collection of City Section quarterbacks are ready to let the ball fly, from Eagle Rock's Liam Pasten to Carson's Chris Fields. There is no certain dominant team, though the usual contenders — Birmingham, Carson, San Pedro — are teams to watch. So far, 71 schools are playing 11-man football. There's a story line certain to provide inspiration — Palisades High trying to rise again after its campus was damaged during the Palisades fire. Even though its football field was largely untouched, the team is starting the season not allowed to play on the field and will be playing at Santa Monica College. Students have yet to return to the campus. TV cameras will be out en force to capture the drama if the Dolphins can put together a dream season. Southern Section teams also begin practices on Monday. If you think you're watching the movie 'Groundhog Day,' you are correct. Every Division 1 title since 2016 has been won by Mater Dei or St. John Bosco. It's almost certain to happen again in 2025. It doesn't mean there shouldn't be some outstanding games in the Southern Section, starting with the Aug. 22 matchup of Santa Margarita and new coach Carson Palmer taking on Mission Viejo at Trabuco Hills. There's always excitement and intrigue when the pads first come on next week. Teaching kids who have never worn shoulder pads is both comedy and memorable. It will be just one more responsibility for City Section coaches who receive a $5,622 stipend over four months and are expected to be Superman every day. To all coaches, thank you for your sacrifice and for providing teenagers the guidance, discipline and structure that will be needed when their playing careers are finished.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Maryland Cycling Classic adds women's race for first time in September
The 2025 Maryland Cycling Classic is returning to Baltimore with some exciting new changes. For the first time, the race will have both men's and women's competitions and take place entirely within Baltimore city limits. The professional cycling race will take place Saturday, Sept. 6, on a new 17.9-mile circuit course. The women's race will start at 8:30 a.m. and cover 71.6 miles over four laps. The men's race begins at 12:30 p.m. and spans 107.4 miles across six laps. Both races will start at Harbor Point District's Central Plaza and finish on East Pratt Street along Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The annual race puts Baltimore City and County in the international spotlight. The race, which places Baltimore City in an international spotlight, will happen entirely within city limits for the first time. In 2023 the classic brought 112 professional cyclists from 21 countries together to compete. In 2024, the race was cancelled due to complications from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Race director Jim Birrell said organizers wanted to showcase Baltimore's scenery and highlight historic landmarks with the 2025 classic. "Baltimore is a city of great neighborhoods. We wanted to highlight Baltimore's famous and beautiful waterfront while telling the story of the city's rich history." The race route passes several historic landmarks and neighborhoods throughout the city. Riders will encounter 18th-century granite cobblestones in Fells Point within the first mile. The course travels through Patterson Park, one of Baltimore's oldest parks, dating to the War of 1812. At mile 5, cyclists pass the Washington Monument, completed in 1829, and ride through Mount Vernon's 19th-century architecture. The route continues through Hampden, a neighborhood with blue-collar roots dating to 1802. The King and Queen of the Mountain climb takes place at St. Mary's Seminary, America's first Catholic seminary, established in 1791. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott praised the event's return to the city and the addition of the women's competition. "We're excited to welcome the Maryland Cycling Classic back to our city this September," Scott said." The technical course features 28 turns, 550 yards of cobblestones, two climbs and a flat final stretch of 1,000 yards. The men's race will feature 5,682 feet of total climbing, while the women's race includes 3,868 feet of elevation gain. Points will be awarded for intermediate sprints after the first lap of each race and at the finish line. King and Queen of the Mountain points will be awarded at the top of Northern Parkway on each lap. Fan zones will be located at Harbor Point, Thames Street cobblestones, Patterson Park, Mt. Vernon and the finish line stretch. Some zones will provide free cowbells and thunder sticks, plus live race coverage on large screens.
