By Uy Pham
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) student team proved victorious in a 103-92 win against the staff team in the annual charity basketball game on Friday. All proceeds from the game were raised by the FVHS Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy for the Orangewood Foundation, a Santa Ana nonprofit organization that aims to support the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of foster youth.
The student team, coached by new girls’ varsity basketball co-head coach Izabella Om, consisted of selected members from the FVHS boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. Mathematics teacher and former FVHS basketball coach Thomas Ngo coached the staff team consisting of teachers, athletic coaches and other classified staff members, with some having backgrounds as former high school varsity and college basketball student-athletes.
“We’ve done this before for years. We love to raise money for the Orangewood Foundation because they help disadvantaged youth,” FVHS Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy advisor Jane Springer said. “It’s really important to support the community, and the whole purpose is our motto, ‘impact through action,’ so we try to make an impact through our actions.”
At half-time, representatives from the Westminster Chick-fil-A location on Beach Boulevard and the Chick-fil-A cow facilitated the half-court shot competition and raffle contest. One student, who successfully made the half-court shot on his second attempt, won a year’s worth of free Chick-fil-A.
Members of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy facilitated concessions, FVHS Troubadour Madalyn Pham sang the national anthem and chemistry teacher Michael Olsberg provided commentary for the game.
“We had around 15-20 meetings to plan and have leader labs to train our members to be confident, enthusiastic and to leave a lasting impression … There’s a lot of planning and outreach activities,” FVHS Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy President Derek Ngo said. “Not only are we training to make an impact and demonstrate their leadership, but we also want to raise money to allow other youth in the Orangewood Foundation to make an impact as well.”
The event provided an opportunity for the FVHS community to support the Orangewood Foundation’s mission of empowering the lives of foster youth. For beach volleyball head coach and Baron alumni Luke Jacobsen, his connection to the work of the Orangewood Foundation is personal.
“The game raised money for a good cause. I was actually one of the kids that was in Orangewood so this has deep roots to me,” Jacobsen said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today … I would not be in as positive an environment as I was, and [Orangewood] put me in such a really loving family. I’m so grateful for them. I’m able to be a full-time teacher now and travel the world.”
The first half of the game consisted of back-and-forth action between the two sides. English teacher Matt Patton and new boys varsity basketball coach Brendan Holmes fueled the staff’s offense, with Holmes scoring several consecutive three-pointers. For the students, junior Troy Leach converted three-pointers of his own.
New girls’ varsity basketball co-head coach Camryn Hamaguchi, playing for the staff team, scored several points as she intensely faced off and exchanged jokes with several of her players playing for the student team.
As the first half progressed, chemistry teacher Jake Lee scored several points, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd. Holmes continued his decisive offense throughout the half, along with coach Justin Moore facilitating decisive plays and scoring crucial points. Jacobsen maintained strong defense, recording several steals throughout the entire game.
For the student team, senior Grace Latto, junior Marcus Castro and junior Candice Tran put points on the scoreboard. Junior Aiden Swaner finished the half strong for the student team with several points. Ultimately, the staff were leading 42-26 at the end of the half.
Despite Holmes assisting Patton and mathematics teacher Brandon Nguyen for points to begin the second half, Swaner and senior Parker Rodriguez scored a combined four consecutive three-pointers to seize the lead.
The student team dominated the rest of the second half. Swaner, Rodriguez and junior Devin Payne helped to accelerate the Barons’ offense by scoring points, despite Jacobsen and student teacher Sarah Yee attempting to strike back with points of their own.
Sophomore Kailey Nishi sank three three-pointers to counter her coach Hamaguchi’s three-pointer. The staff went on a six-point run at the end of the game with points from Yee and wellness specialist Kayla Perkoski, but the students ultimately won as the game concluded with a score of 103-92.
“I’m super grateful to the teachers, coach, players, announcers and everybody who donated their time. It made this event a huge success,” Springer said. “Thank you to everyone who came out to support.”
