Chills in Carpinteria

By Mike Takeuchi

In the midst of the din where one couldn't hear themselves think, a presence may or may not have been felt.

The Carpinteria High boys basketball team was about to rally for an improbable win to put themselves in the final of their very own 43rd Annual Jim Bashore Cage Classic tournament and the noise reached a crescendo.

I looked down at my arm and saw all the hairs standing up and a chill ran down the back of my neck. I wondered, "Is that you Coach?" The coach I was wondering about was my former teacher John Ward, who incidentally was a teacher as well as the basketball coach and athletic director at Carp High until he passed away in September. Since then, his son Johnny, along with Henry Gonzalez have taken over the program.

They, along with Johnny's forever smiling sister Nancy have taken the reins of the traditional tournament as well. In what could have been a tough act to go through, the siblings made it easier by insisting to one and all that it would be fun.

"That's the way my dad would have wanted it," Johnny said before the tournament.

And with one day to go, fun it has been. Not only has there been exciting basketball, but it has been accompanied by a lot of laughter, often at the expense of others. Whether it was Carpinteria coach Johnny Ward ribbing his guard Munchie Aguilar on wardrobe choice or his social habits, or a referee taking the court late in the second half because he was sampling the goodies in the hospitality room, no one was spared from being target-including reporters.

"That's the way John would have wanted it, to run a good tournament that everyone enjoys," co-coach Henry Gonzalez said. "We have all been working hard to get this going, but Johnny and Nancy have been amazing in the organization and keeping the tradition of the tournament. "

At halftime in front of a court filled with kids shooting baskets, Warriors baseball coach Pat Cooney surveyed the scene and expressed pride, yet not surprise at their success in doing so.

"They ran the tournament for their dad last year, so it's not a reach for them to continue what they have been doing," Cooney said. "But doing this in a year that has been difficult, is admirable on their parts.

The players have noticed and appreciated this as well.

"They both have been keeping us together by doing a lot of things together," Andrew Sova said. " No one's really staying sad, thanks to them, we are going towards being happier now. But I still think about (John Ward) just about every day."

So it was kismet that Sova, who was close to the elder Ward, was the one to make the winning free throws with no time left on the clock. And perhaps something more was at work because John Ward's own son brought his team to the school's own tournament final while doing it with a "have fun" attitude.

"He would have been so stoked to see Johnny do that," Nancy Ward said. "That was dad's favorite kind of game and he would have loved to seen that. He would have been very proud of my brother."

"Yeah, he would have been happy," Johnny Ward said. "He's happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy. We had a great atmosphere. He was part of that atmosphere, he was covering it....he was here."