DOWNEY – The Warren High School softball program will be hosting their annual softball camp July 24-26.

The cost is $75 and registration will take place at the Warren softball field. The camp is designed for incoming freshmen and will be held from 9 a.m. to noon for each of the three days.

The camp focus will be centered around dynamic warm-ups, throwing, field work and hitting. The camp staff will include head coach Mary Starksen, assistant coach Bravo and assistant coach Olivas. 

Bravo is a former Bear who played college softball at the University of Pittsburgh and Olivas is a former Bear who was an All-C.I.F. selection while playing at Warren.

The Bears finished last season with an overall record of 17-13 and were 6-4 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Bears finished third in league play behind cross-town rival Downey and Gahr, who were league co-champions (9-1). Warren was eliminated by South Hills at South Hills 4-3 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 2 playoffs. 

Coach Starksen and her staff are getting ready for next season and looking for talented freshmen who are ready to play at the most competitive level.

Any questions regarding Warren softball can be directed to head coach Mary Starksen at mstarksen@dusd.net. 

WARREN SWIM: The Warren High School water polo and swim teams are busy running their summer programs in preparation for their upcoming seasons. 

The Warren water polo camp for boys and girls is being run through the Admiral Water Polo Foundation through Tuesday, July 31. 

The camp is currently in spring session and is holding workouts at the Murdoch Fraser Aquatics Center on the campus at Warren High School. Surprisingly, the Murdoch Fraser Aquatics Center is already celebrating its first full year of hosting competitions.

Potential water polo players and swimmers who are interested in Warren aquatics can sign up online at www.admiralwaterpolofoundation.com.

The boys’ water polo season takes place in the fall and the girls’ water polo season takes place during the winter. Both the boys’ and girls’ swim seasons take place during the spring. Both coaches are looking for talent to compete at the highest level for their respective teams.  

The coach for the Warren High School boys’ water polo and swim team is Edgar Villa and the coach for the Warren High School girls’ water polo and swim team is Laura Lopez. Coach Villa can be contacted at villawaterpolo@gmail.com and Coach Lopez can be contacted at llopez7@whittier.edu for further information and/or questions. 

DOWNEY SUMMER: Downey High School has been busy this summer with athletic teams holding summer camps and practices. 

The boys’ and girls’ swim teams have been busy swimming at the Downey Aquatics Center from 6-7:30 a.m. The boys have been practicing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the girls have been practicing Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams have been practicing Monday through Thursday from 7-9:30 a.m. to beat the mid-day heat. The cross-country teams have been training on and off campus. 

Boys’ soccer has been working out on the soccer field from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday and the boys’ basketball program was using the gymnasium Monday through Thursday from 8-10 a.m. from June 5 through the 21st. 

Girls’ volleyball will begin using the gymnasium on July 9th and will go from 7-10 a.m. Girls’ lacrosse is using the soccer field, after the boys’ soccer practice, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Girls tennis has been practicing Monday through Thursday from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and the boys have been practicing Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. on the tennis courts. The football team has been using the weight room and football field from 2-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday after observing the C.I.F. mandated “dead period” in June.

Things are certainly starting to take shape for the start of the fall sports seasons. Coaches and players are busy preparing and practicing and looking forward to the start of their respective sports.

WORLD CUP: The 2018 World Cup quarterfinals are upon us and drawing to a close. Eight teams have survived thus far and each team is looking forward to hoisting the coveted FIFA World Cup Trophy over their heads in the championship game. 

In the round of 16 games, France defeated Portugal 2-1 to advance, France defeated Argentina 4-3 to advance, Brazil defeated Mexico 2-0 to advance and Belgium defeated Japan 3-2 to advance. In other round of 16 action, Russia defeated Spain 1-1 (4-3 on PK’s), Croatia defeated Denmark 1-1 (3-2 on PK’s), Sweden defeated Switzerland 1-0 and England defeated Colombia 1-1 (4-3 on PK’s) to advance. 

Two quarterfinal games are scheduled for today and two more games are scheduled for tomorrow. Today’s quarterfinal games feature Uruguay against France at 7:00 a.m. and the other game features Brazil against Belgium at 11:00 a.m. 

On the other side of the bracket, one quarterfinal game will feature host nation Russia playing against Croatia at 11:00 a.m. and Sweden playing England at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. The semifinal round will be played on July 10th and 11th with both games starting at 11 a.m. 

The third-place game will be played on Saturday, July 14, at 7 a.m. in Saint Petersburg and the championship game will be played at Lizhniki Stadium in Moscow on Sunday, July 15, at 8 a.m.