Sports
Looking for leadership,
Falcons turn to Cabinet
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Coach Scott Ashby, left with members of the ‘Cabinet’: Casey Allred, Brian Djavaherian, Bryce Lewis, Danny Corbin, Robby Gallagher and Carter Norfleet. |
Nobody is quite sure exactly when the tradition began. But for at least the last 15 years, the Torrey Pines High football program has each year designated leadership responsibilities to a group of seven seniors. The group is called the “Cabinet.”
Coaches select Cabinet members based on leadership ability and leadership potential — not yards-per-carry, quarterback ratings and touchdowns.
Coaches and players say the Cabinet transcends wins and losses, and is an integral part of program that prides itself as much for doing things the right way as it does for its tradition of winning.
“It’s an honor just being on the cabinet,” senior receiver/defensive back Carter Norfleet said.
Over the years, the Cabinet has featured players of varied abilities and roles. Top-tier Div. I prospects and backups are given no particular preference.
Torrey Pines coach Scott Ashby said Cabinet members are primarily responsible for acting as liaisons between the coaching staff and the team.
Have a complaint about too much conditioning? Tell a cabinet member.
Some of the responsibilities mirror those of coaches. Cabinet members are brought in to weekly meetings to discuss personnel moves and address inevitable internal team issues.
Ashby said the Cabinet gives all players — not just Cabinet members — a sense of ownership.
“Ultimately, it’s (the coaching staff’s) decision, but we do listen,” Ashby said.
Cabinet members are expected to be role models on and off the field, and are responsible for maintaining a positive attitude in games and practices.
That job has been admittedly difficult this season. The Falcons are having one of their worst seasons in recent memory. They are 1-6 overall for the season and 0-2 in Palomar League play with just two regular season games remaining.
The seven Cabinet members are returning starters who’ve seen the program’s fortunes take a dramatic turn for the worse since the Falcons reeled off nine consecutive wins to start the 2006 season under since-retired coaching legend Ed Burke.
Players and coaches believe Torrey Pines is a better team than its record reflects, noting that the Falcons have been involved in close games against several highly regarded opponents.
But it has nevertheless been a difficult experience.
The Falcons have lost eight of their last nine games going back to last season.
“We need to keep the younger players’ spirits lifted,” Norfleet said. “It’s hard for them, and it’s hard for us too, but we can’t really show that. When we look like we’re out of control and we don’t really know what’s going to happen, they notice that, and they’re the ones we’re supposed to lead.”
The Cabinet addresses issues that vary from the mundane to the intensely personal.
“Any issue that would arise in a typical family,” Ashby said.
Torrey Pines has made developing leadership qualities a priority for years, establishing a leadership symposium for players in the mid-1990s under Burke.
Norfleet, quarterback Casey Allred, running back/defensive end Brian Djavaherian, running back/linebacker Bryce Lewis, running back/linebacker Robby Gallagher, and two-way linemen Danny Corbin and Derek Hegyi make up this year’s cabinet.
The Cabinet has won high praise from coaches for fostering team unity.
“These seven are doing a great job of leading and teaching life lessons and the way to behave and the way to act and react in trying circumstances,” Ashby said. “They’re as good as any seven we’ve had here since I got here (in 1992).”
Players say the responsibility of being on the cabinet isn’t one they take lightly.
“You’re held to a higher standard if you’re on the Cabinet, so you really have to be a leader out there,” Djavaherian said.
Djavaherian believes that respect is earned by supporting teammates.
“If someone drops a pass in practice or misses a block, the coaches will get mad at them, but we just work with them and tell them ‘you’ll get the next one,’” Djavaherian said. “We try not to let people get down on themselves. It’s our job to pick them up.”
Djavaherian said his experience on the Cabinet has helped put the role of sports in its proper place. He said the recent wildfires put football in perspective.
“Football is fun and all, but there’s more important things out there,” Djavaherian said. “You can’t lose yourself in a game.”
Said Norfleet: “There’s way bigger things than football.”
But as a community tries to return to a sense of normalcy, the Falcons will look to vindicate a difficult season with a strong finish.
Torrey Pines has just two regular season games remaining, including an eagerly anticipated Homecoming against Westview on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons play at La Costa Canyon on Nov. 9 in a regular season finale for both teams. Their Oct. 26 game against Mt. Carmel — along with all other scheduled high school events the week of the fires — was cancelled.
“It’s been a frustrating season, but there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Norfleet said. “We’re just going to try to win the last two games we have and hopefully finish on a winning note.”
Sports Brief
Games cancelled, not re-scheduled
Due to the fires, all CIF-San Diego Section activities, be it games or practice, were cancelled through Saturday, Oct. 27.
The games will not be made up or rescheduled, according to Dennis Ackerman, San Diego Section commissioner.
The no re-scheduling decision was made due to state playoff facility uses and the time constraints for fall playoffs, officials said.
Last weekend, both Torrey Pines and Cathedral Catholic varsity volleyball teams were to travel to Santa Barbara to play in the Tournament of Champions, but they withdrew from competition.
On Friday, Torrey Pines football missed a Palomar League match-up with Mt. Carmel, and Cathedral Catholic’s much-anticipated Holy Bowl against St. Augustine at Mesa College on Oct. 27 was also scratched. The event has drawn crowds of up to 7,000 people in past years.
Cathedral Catholic and the other schools can’t worry much about missed athletic events as athletes in the San Diego Section have lost their homes, including Poway High School’s stand-out tight end Ryan Deehan and Rancho Bernardo senior football player Naji Chaya, among others. — Karen Billing
